A Buddhist-Christian-Muslim Reflection on the Concepts of Mercy, Surrender, and Union

This essay is a reflection on a 2017 American Academy of Religion (AAR) panel of the Society of Buddhist-Christian Studies on the topic of "What Buddhists and Christians Can Learn from Muslims?" The three presentations discussed the themes of mercy, generosity, prayer, surrender, sunyata, and union. I reflect on these themes through the prism of three stories from Islamic wisdom tradition: the philosophical tale of Ibn Tufayl, the statement of Abul Hassan Kharaqani, and the story of Abu Yazid Bastami and the ants. The goal is to draw parallels for understanding of self and other as an interexisting entity.