Project MUSE®: Buddhist-Christian Studies - Latest Articles
https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22
Project MUSE®: Latest articles in Buddhist-Christian Studies.daily12026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00text/htmlen-USVol. 19 (1999) through current issueLatest Articles: Buddhist-Christian StudiesTWOProject MUSE®Buddhist-Christian Studies1527-94720882-0945Latest articles in Buddhist-Christian Studies. Feed provided by Project MUSE®Editors’ Introduction
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979815
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The current issue continues the long-established tradition of publishing revised versions of the papers presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies held in concomitance with the American Academy of Religion every November. This year, we are also able to publish the contributions to a roundtable dedicated to Perry Schmidt-Leukel’s monograph The Celestial Web (Orbis Books, 2024), as well as the papers from a session on comparative theology that explored the role of humility across traditions. The issue also contains a number of other papers on a variety of different topics, submitted by scholars from many different backgrounds who often draw not only on their academic expertise in
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallEditors’ Introduction2026-01-13text/htmlen-USEditors’ Introduction2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®153132026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Self-Awareness (rang rig) and Nondual Presence: Tibetan Mahāmudrā and a Christian-Adjacent Correlation
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979816
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In this article, I take up classical presentations of self-awareness (Skt. svasaṃvitti, svasaṃvedana; Tib. rang rig) in Tibetan Mahāmudrā (“Great Seal”) in the Kagyü school and show how closely their view correlates with a recent, Christian-adjacent account of mind and consciousness vis-à-vis spiritual development. I do so to lay some groundwork for a more worked-out reception of Mahāmudrā for a systematic Christian contemplative theology, particularly Mahāmudrā’s understanding that the mind is fundamentally nondual, meaning undivided as to subject and object. Many Christians now have some acquaintance with Asian contemplative traditions, including Mahāmudrā, where nondual states or orders of consciousness (however
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallSelf-Awareness (rang rig) and Nondual Presence: Tibetan Mahāmudrā and a Christian-Adjacent Correlation2026-01-13text/htmlen-USSelf-Awareness (rang rig) and Nondual Presence: Tibetan Mahāmudrā and a Christian-Adjacent Correlation2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®1096942026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13“I Am But Lowly”: Humility in the Hagiographies of Yeshé Tsogyal and Mechthild of Magdeburg
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979817
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Fifteen years ago, comparative theologian Michelle Voss provided us with a detailed framework for understanding humility in the life and writings of the thirteenth-century German beguine Mechthild of Magdeburg.1 By imagining an organizational structure based on Dante’s descending rings of the Inferno, she was able to explore nine functions of the Christian virtue of humility, as seen in Mechthild’s work. Beyond creating a deeper understanding of the trope of humility, Voss argued that this functional approach creates new possibilities for seeing beyond its self-denigrating and self-limiting impact, often highlighted by feminist Christian theologians. Instead, humility has the potential to be reclaimed by Christians
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmall“I Am But Lowly”: Humility in the Hagiographies of Yeshé Tsogyal and Mechthild of Magdeburg2026-01-13text/htmlen-US“I Am But Lowly”: Humility in the Hagiographies of Yeshé Tsogyal and Mechthild of Magdeburg2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®602152026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Subjectivity and Śūnyatā: A Conceptual Bridge between Kierkegaard and Tsongkhapa
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979818
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Can Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) and Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) engage in a meaningful dialogue on the nature of truth? This paper examines the potential for such a cross-cultural and inter-religious dialogue by exploring whether Kierkegaard’s concept of “truth is subjectivity” in Concluding Unscientific Postscript (CUP hereafter) aligns with Tsongkhapa’s understanding of “truth is śūnyatā (emptiness)” in The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (byang chub lam rim chen mo; Great Treatise hereafter) and Ocean of Reasoning: A Great Commentary on Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Ocean of Reasoning hereafter).1 Obviously, historical, religious, and cultural contexts separate the two thinkers.
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallSubjectivity and Śūnyatā: A Conceptual Bridge between Kierkegaard and Tsongkhapa2026-01-13text/htmlen-USSubjectivity and Śūnyatā: A Conceptual Bridge between Kierkegaard and Tsongkhapa2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®649922026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13The Celestial Web: What Is It All About?
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979819
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The Celestial Web is a comparative study of Buddhism and Christianity, and offers, as the subtitle says, “a different comparison.”1 While the first two chapters and the last one address methodological issues, chapters three to eight revisit past and present comparisons by Christian and Buddhist authors. From these, the book takes its comparative topics. But in contrast to existing comparisons, the central focus of this book is on intra-religious diversities. Starting with the typological contrasts/differences between the two traditions which have been identified by comparisons so far, this new comparison explores and identifies the presence of the same contrasts/differences within each of the two traditions. Thus
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallThe Celestial Web: What Is It All About?2026-01-13text/htmlen-USThe Celestial Web: What Is It All About?2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®174812026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Putting the Fractal Theory to Work: Review Article Perry Schmidt-Leukel, The Celestial Web
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979820
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After developing his fractal approach to religious diversity in theory some years ago, in The Celestial Web, Perry Schmidt-Leukel offers a compelling illustration of the theory by discussing some of the major topics and themes that have traditionally been used to distinguish and oppose Buddhism and Christianity: world affirmation versus world denial, impersonal versus personal conceptions of ultimate reality, sin versus delusion, divine versus human savior, and the afterlife as cessation versus communion. With expert knowledge of both traditions, he demonstrates that strains of both poles may be found in each tradition. Schmidt-Leukel does not deny that there are differences between the religions. However, he
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallPutting the Fractal Theory to Work: Review Article Perry Schmidt-Leukel, The Celestial Web2026-01-13text/htmlen-USPutting the Fractal Theory to Work: Review Article Perry Schmidt-Leukel, The Celestial Web2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®172962026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Normativity, “Acceptance,” and Fractals: Perry Schmidt-Leukel and the Future of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979821
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On March 18, 1716, after a long journey across the Tibetan plateau, the Italian Jesuit missionary Ippolito Desideri (1684–1733) reached Lhasa (Pomplun 2010, 68–71). Born in the city of Pistoia in the Grand-duchy of Tuscany, Desideri had gone through the customary Jesuit education at the Collegio Romano before Michelangelo Tamburini, the then General of the Society of Jesus, assigned him to the Indian missions. Desideri left Rome in September 1712 and reached the Jesuit mission in Goa one year later, eventually reaching Agra in Northern India in the fall of 1714. The Italian Jesuit and his Portuguese companion, Manuel Freyre, would then undertake a long and difficult journey to Tibet, stopping for a while at the
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallNormativity, “Acceptance,” and Fractals: Perry Schmidt-Leukel and the Future of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue2026-01-13text/htmlen-USNormativity, “Acceptance,” and Fractals: Perry Schmidt-Leukel and the Future of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®306412026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13A Different Comparison
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979822
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Perry Schmidt-Leukel’s book The Celestial Web (2024, German original 2022) proposes a “different comparison” between Buddhism and Christianity, as the subtitle indicates. The book addresses a captivating subject that prompts numerous inquiries. Consequently, this comment will commence with a general impression of the book and then focus on specific aspects of the relationship between Buddhism and Christianity that are discussed in the text. The crux of this assessment will be an examination of what renders this comparison distinctive.In my estimation, this is a work of maturity, the result of a lengthy process of reflection and analysis. At the same time, it signifies a timely updating of the discipline in which it
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallA Different Comparison2026-01-13text/htmlen-USA Different Comparison2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®276652026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13“Don’t get caught in Indra’s net”: A Response to The Celestial Web
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979823
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To begin I would like to congratulate Dr. Shmidt-Leukel on this book, which I found to be lucid, erudite, nuanced, and overall, a tour de force of interreligious theorizing. It exemplifies the kind of careful and highly informed scholarship that should be done when comparing traditions and approaching interreligious dialogue. I find the fractal a compelling framework for understanding or envisioning both inter- and intrareligious diversity, and I am persuaded by his book that in general one can see, as he put it, “a mutual presence of similar differences,” at least as far as Christianity and Buddhism are concerned. With the image of the fractal the author has found a powerful metaphor for seeing that, at least in
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmall“Don’t get caught in Indra’s net”: A Response to The Celestial Web2026-01-13text/htmlen-US“Don’t get caught in Indra’s net”: A Response to The Celestial Web2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®198852026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Essential Diversity: A Religious Studies Take on Schmidt-Leukel’s Celestial Web
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979824
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As readers of this journal are well aware, the two religions, Buddhism and Christianity, have been popular subjects of comparative studies since the nineteenth century, both in religious studies and among Christian and Buddhist authors. Perry Schmidt-Leukel’s book, The Celestial Web, offers an important new take on this topic.1 As the subtitle of the book correctly indicates, it is “a different comparison,” in that it refuses to essentialize the two religions. In the first chapter, the author states, “Today, there is no dispute in religious studies that there is no such thing as ‘Christianity’ or ‘Buddhism’ in the sense of constituting homogeneous entities.”2 He emphasizes the “intrareligious diversity and
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallEssential Diversity: A Religious Studies Take on Schmidt-Leukel’s Celestial Web2026-01-13text/htmlen-USEssential Diversity: A Religious Studies Take on Schmidt-Leukel’s Celestial Web2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®274562026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Fractals and Identities: A Response
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979825
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First of all, I would like to thank my colleagues for discussing various aspects of The Celestial Web (hereafter CW). In the broad area of what we may call Interreligious Studies, involving different disciplines and methods, discourse among colleagues is precious. It helps each one of us to clarify our position. It alerts us to hitherto unknown or overlooked facts and/or to aspects and arguments that we have not been sufficiently aware of. Moreover, it raises collaborative reflection to a level where new questions emerge, questions that could not have been asked beforehand, and thus carry the promise of possibly new insights. This is of vital importance to progress in humanities and thus very welcome to all who are
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallFractals and Identities: A Response2026-01-13text/htmlen-USFractals and Identities: A Response2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®408912026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Multiple Religious Belonging and Community Leadership from a Buddhist-Christian Perspective
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979826
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How does multiple religious belonging (MRB) or, in my case, “dual belonging,” affect the leadership of religious communities? Answering this question is a real challenge because it would require, at a minimum, a qualitative study of leaders who identify as multiple belongers and their respective faith communities. I hope to have the opportunity to do that work at some point in the future. In the meantime, I will be relying on a couple of related qualitative studies—namely Meredith B. McGuire’s Lived Religion and Rose Drew’s Buddhist and Christian? An Exploration of Dual Belonging. I will also turn to the theological analysis of John Thatanamil and Rita Gross. I will bring these theoretical frameworks into
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallMultiple Religious Belonging and Community Leadership from a Buddhist-Christian Perspective2026-01-13text/htmlen-USMultiple Religious Belonging and Community Leadership from a Buddhist-Christian Perspective2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®465402026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Buddhist-Christian Double Belonging in Resisting Ultranationalist Populism: The Case of Seiichi Yagi
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979827
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The resurgence of ultranationalist populism, both regionally and worldwide, echoes the socio-political climate of the 1930s and 1940s. Confronting this challenge demands collaboration between Buddhism and Christianity. While doctrinal differences exist, both traditions are fundamentally committed to countering ultranationalist ideology at the grassroots level. Through such collaboration, they can inspire people from all walks of life to serve as bridge-builders in a world that increasingly calls for interreligious and transnational solidarity.Ultranationalism, marked by an emotionally charged and nostalgic reinvention of national and racial origins, often emerges when communities feel threatened or lose confidence.
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallBuddhist-Christian Double Belonging in Resisting Ultranationalist Populism: The Case of Seiichi Yagi2026-01-13text/htmlen-USBuddhist-Christian Double Belonging in Resisting Ultranationalist Populism: The Case of Seiichi Yagi2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®328102026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Problems and Perils of Dual Practice/Belonging
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979828
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There is a proverbial saying in Japanese that goes, “Those who run after two rabbits will catch neither.” (Ni-tō wo Ou mono wa, ittō mo ezu). This comes to mind in considering the question of Dual Practice or Dual (or multiple) belonging, referring to those persons who profess to engage in practice in or belong to two (or more) religious traditions. (See Bidwell 2019 among others.) Does this apply in this case?Here I would like in particular to address the question of Buddhist and Christian dual practice and/or belonging, and raise some problems and perils involved in this endeavor. Three key issues arise that present challenges to those who profess dual practice/belonging for a cogent response. First, there is the
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallProblems and Perils of Dual Practice/Belonging2026-01-13text/htmlen-USProblems and Perils of Dual Practice/Belonging2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®422132026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Response to a Panel: “Reflecting on Buddhist-Christian Double Belonging: A 2024 Update”
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979829
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This response will primarily consist of observations from my real-time response and notes taken during the panel itself, with the addition of some theoretical frameworks post-conference in order to organize and contextualize the presentations in light of the purpose of the panel, which was to present a snapshot of the current state of Buddhist- Christian double belonging. As a unifying theme for the panel in terms of my response, I will focus on the theme of whether or not Buddhist-Christian double belonging transforms suffering into peace, joy, and liberation, as that theme arose in the papers presented. Each panelist balanced a deep personal lived experience of double belonging with theoretical frameworks that
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallResponse to a Panel: “Reflecting on Buddhist-Christian Double Belonging: A 2024 Update”2026-01-13text/htmlen-USResponse to a Panel: “Reflecting on Buddhist-Christian Double Belonging: A 2024 Update”2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®199872026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Hearing Common Chords: An Experience of Multiple Religious Belonging
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979830
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Ruben Habito, who is still my teacher, was also my teacher in graduate school at both master’s and doctoral levels, and then my teacher since 2006 in the Sanbo Zen tradition. In 1990, I actually gamed the system to be in his spiritual formation group at the start of my first semester at SMU. We were supposed to be choosing solely by the professors’ anonymous descriptions of what they might do in a spiritual formation group, but one week in, I already knew that the description that included breathing as a specific activity would definitely be Ruben’s, and I very much wanted to learn from him. It was a good choice and has had a profound effect upon me for the good. At this point, my life has been indelibly marked by
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallHearing Common Chords: An Experience of Multiple Religious Belonging2026-01-13text/htmlen-USHearing Common Chords: An Experience of Multiple Religious Belonging2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®295172026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13A Heart-Mind that Heals
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979831
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Dr. Ruben Habito’s insights stand the test of time, as evident in the relevancy of his 2006 book, which is an updated version of his 1993 book, Healing Breath: Zen for Christians and Buddhists in a Wounded World. His publications exhibit the mark of an authentic intellectual. Devoting his scholarly expertise to breathe wisdom into the world, though he is facile with scintillating abstract concepts, he is not distracted by the mere allure of them. He trains his keen analytical skills and insights to illuminate us to ourselves. His sense of urgency is both transcendently inspired and earthly practical. He sees the spheres of interrelatedness that affect us all and offers a guiding light to help us navigate through
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallA Heart-Mind that Heals2026-01-13text/htmlen-USA Heart-Mind that Heals2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®129842026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Buddhist and Christian Transformation
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979832
<p></p>
In the Fall of 2017, Ruben Habito asked me to present a review of his book, Be Still and Know: Zen & the Bible, at the faculty book celebration. By that time, Ruben and I had been teaching at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University for sixteen years. He arrived at Perkins from Japan in 1990. I arrived 11 years later in 2001. I appreciated Ruben as my colleague, who taught world religions, directed the school of theology’s Spiritual Formation courses, and directed the External Program for Spiritual Direction, and as a friend. He was also our Associate Dean for a few years. We had children who attended the same schools, and sometimes he picked my children up from school along with his own. I knew
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallBuddhist and Christian Transformation2026-01-13text/htmlen-USBuddhist and Christian Transformation2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®167432026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Proceeding in the Way of Zen and the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises: Ruben Habito’s Legacy
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979833
<p></p>
What is unconditional love in Zen and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and how does it fuel the transformation of suffering? What is the source of this love in both of these transformative spiritual paths? And perhaps most importantly, how does one connect with this source? Zen Master Ruben Habito ties these traditions together by exploring the above questions in Zen and the Spiritual Exercises as well as in Be Still and Know: Zen and the Bible. To explore his legacy and understand how he infuses both of these practices with unconditional love, this article will look at Habito’s exploration of how both practices help practitioners untwist their conditioning and thus become more free, and how this
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallProceeding in the Way of Zen and the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises: Ruben Habito’s Legacy2026-01-13text/htmlen-USProceeding in the Way of Zen and the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises: Ruben Habito’s Legacy2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®462682026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Be Still and Know: Effing the Ineffable—A Response
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979834
<p></p>
Ludwig Wittgenstein, in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, after waxing profound on various philosophical topics on language and reality, wrote as the last line, “Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen.” (Whereof one cannot speak, one must be silent.” Given the volumes and volumes of written works in theology that address issues of ultimate reality and how it relates to our mundane reality and our human experience, it seems that many, if not most, of those who are into God-talk, professional theologians (that is, those who are luckily able to eke out a livelihood by engaging in theological research and reflection, and teaching about it and especially writing books about it), are liable to a
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallBe Still and Know: Effing the Ineffable—A Response2026-01-13text/htmlen-USBe Still and Know: Effing the Ineffable—A Response2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®138882026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Dying, Death, and the Afterlife: An Analysis and Comparison of Karl Rahner and the Dalai Lama
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979835
<p></p>
We live in a culture that “worships” youth and beauty.With new cosmetic inventions we can now use up-to-date cosmetic products, which, on the one hand, enhance our physical appearance, but on the other hand, lure us into a make-believe world in which we are tempted to view life-value as consisting primarily in being young and beautiful. But if we contrast the make-believe world of long-lasting youth and beauty to the starker realities of the recent wars, the COVID-19 pandemic, and hunger that continue to destroy human lives at a greater scale than before, we are reminded that life does not consist mainly of youth and beauty. Rather, sickness, old age, and ultimately death comprise an essential part of life. Life
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallDying, Death, and the Afterlife: An Analysis and Comparison of Karl Rahner and the Dalai Lama2026-01-13text/htmlen-USDying, Death, and the Afterlife: An Analysis and Comparison of Karl Rahner and the Dalai Lama2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®682082026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13True Self Is No Self? A Comparative Reading of Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Please Call Me by My True Names” and Thomas Merton’s “Hagia Sophia”
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979836
<p></p>
In the last decade of his life, Thomas Merton (1915–1968) delved into interfaith engagement, underscoring that the depth of interfaith communication goes beyond words and concepts to communion.1 This is demonstrated in his bond with Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022), the Vietnamese Buddhist monk exiled from his war-torn country, as reflected in Merton’s heartfelt appeal: “I have said Nhat Hanh is my brother, and it is very true [. . .] They are the bonds of a new solidarity [. . .] do for Nhat Hanh whatever you would do for me if I were in his position. In many ways, I wish I were.”2Merton’s interfaith engagement was influenced by his Sophia-inspired Christology, anchoring him in his Christian commitment while nurturing
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallTrue Self Is No Self? A Comparative Reading of Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Please Call Me by My True Names” and Thomas Merton’s “Hagia Sophia”2026-01-13text/htmlen-USTrue Self Is No Self? A Comparative Reading of Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Please Call Me by My True Names” and Thomas Merton’s “Hagia Sophia”2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®955842026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13“Destroying the Suffering of the World”: Christian and Buddhist Perspectives on Universal Salvation
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979837
<p></p>
It could be argued that modern Christianity is predicated on a contradiction. The contradiction in question lies in the fact that many Christians accept as divine truth two opposing doctrines. The first is that God loved humanity, all humanity, so much, so unconditionally, that God was willing to suffer a brutal death in human form to give us salvation. With the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, sin, evil, and death have been overcome and defeated. As David Bently Hart’s translates John 16:33: “In the cosmos you have suffering; but take heart; - I have conquered the cosmos.”1The second doctrine is that, despite Christ’s death, God’s love, in fact, does have conditions, that if you are not entirely “good,” or even
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmall“Destroying the Suffering of the World”: Christian and Buddhist Perspectives on Universal Salvation2026-01-13text/htmlen-US“Destroying the Suffering of the World”: Christian and Buddhist Perspectives on Universal Salvation2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®691602026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13H. H. Kung (1880–1967) and Multiple Religious Belonging: Christian–Confucian–Buddhist Interfaith Encounters in the Early Twentieth Century
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979838
<p></p>
H. H. Kung (1880–1967)—Kung Hsiang Hsi (孔祥熙, Kong Xiang Xi in today’s pinyin romanization)1 is well-known as a politician and financier who held prominent offices during the Republican era in China. Kung interfaced with many of the most prominent figures of his time and place: Sun Yat Sen and Chiang Kai Shek, to name two prominent examples, whom he also claimed as brothers-in-law through marriage to the three Soong sisters. Sun Yat Sen is remembered as the first president of the Republic of China, a revolutionary who, along with Kung, participated in the overthrow of the Qing dynasty in 1911. Chiang Kai Shek was Sun’s successor and is claimed as the founding father of modern Taiwan.Less well known are Kung’s
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallH. H. Kung (1880–1967) and Multiple Religious Belonging: Christian–Confucian–Buddhist Interfaith Encounters in the Early Twentieth Century2026-01-13text/htmlen-USH. H. Kung (1880–1967) and Multiple Religious Belonging: Christian–Confucian–Buddhist Interfaith Encounters in the Early Twentieth Century2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®1374972026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Peace in Action: Venerable Chin Kung’s Approach to Interreligious Dialogue
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979839
<p></p>
Venerable Chin Kung (1927–2022) was one of the most influential Chinese Buddhist monks of the last century. A popular teacher who taught the Dharma for over sixty years, he was also an important leader in interreligious dialogue.1 Beginning in the late 1990s, his ministry at the Singapore Buddhist Lodge succeeded in uniting the nine major religions of Singapore through various activities of friendship and dialogue. Since then, his international apostolate has participated in many peace conferences and dialogue initiatives featuring university scholars, faith leaders, and government officials. His contribution to interreligious harmony has been well recognized by the United Nations and political and religious
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallPeace in Action: Venerable Chin Kung’s Approach to Interreligious Dialogue2026-01-13text/htmlen-USPeace in Action: Venerable Chin Kung’s Approach to Interreligious Dialogue2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®872182026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Why Mindfulness Is Not Sati: The Genealogy of the Mindfulness Boom
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979840
<p></p>
Until the late 1990s, “mindfulness” was known only to a handful of people interested in Buddhism. Thirty years later, “mindfulness” can be found even in the strangest of contexts, for example, a popular TV series called “Murder Mindfully,” and almost everyone seems to know about mindfulness, maybe even practice it, or at least appreciate the concept of “being mindful.” Nevertheless, it is obvious that mindfulness while knitting, taking a shower, or doing target practice in the military is not exactly what Buddhist monks, as well as lay people, practice as mindfulness. The evolution of “mindfulness” from a specific monastic practice to a tool for industrialized societies is remarkable, not only as an example of
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallWhy Mindfulness Is Not Sati: The Genealogy of the Mindfulness Boom2026-01-13text/htmlen-USWhy Mindfulness Is Not Sati: The Genealogy of the Mindfulness Boom2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®645452026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Empowered Speech from Indic Mantras to the Name of Jesus
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979841
<p></p>
Paul the Apostle had a problem. For several days he and his missionary friends (Silas, Timothy, and Luke) had been hounded through the streets of Philippi by a “fortuneteller.”1 Far from revealing anything about their futures, however, this gifted girl boisterously and repeatedly announced these missionaries’ present identities as “slaves of the Most High God.”2 Eventually, after enduring the girl’s incessant shouting for many days, Paul reached his limit and decided to silence the girl—and the divinatory spirit within her—once and for all. Luke reports that Paul, “greatly annoyed” (διαπονηθεὶς), turned to the spirit-in-the-girl and commanded it, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.”3
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallEmpowered Speech from Indic Mantras to the Name of Jesus2026-01-13text/htmlen-USEmpowered Speech from Indic Mantras to the Name of Jesus2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®745962026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Self-Love in Religious Altruism: A Dialogical Comparison between Thomas Aquinas and Śāntideva
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979842
<p></p>
The theme of altruism is a central concern in Christian and Buddhist ethics. Christian altruism finds its supreme manifestation in Christ’s self-sacrificial love. Buddhist altruism, in its Mahāyāna variety, is epitomized by the Bodhisattva’s disinterested resolve to liberate all sentient beings. In exploring this key theme, previous scholarship has focused on comparing the Christian concept of love (agape/caritas) to Buddhist concepts of a similar ethical moment, namely loving-kindness (maitrī ), compassion (karuṇā), and the spirit of awakening (bodhicitta).1 As far as altruism is concerned, these studies suggest that an unrelenting devotion to selflessness constitutes the most significant similarity between the
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallSelf-Love in Religious Altruism: A Dialogical Comparison between Thomas Aquinas and Śāntideva2026-01-13text/htmlen-USSelf-Love in Religious Altruism: A Dialogical Comparison between Thomas Aquinas and Śāntideva2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®766412026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13The Heart Unbound: Chastity in Theravada Buddhism and Franciscan Religious Life
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979843
<p></p>
Monks, I don’t know of even one other form that stays in a man’s mind and consumes it like the form of a woman . . . one other sound . . . one other smell . . . taste . . . touch that stays in a man’s mind and consumes it like the touch of a woman. The touch of a woman stays in a man’s mind and consumes it.Monks, I don’t know of even one other form that stays in a woman’s mind and consumes it like the form of a man . . . one other sound . . . one other smell . . . taste . . . touch that stays in a woman’s mind and consumes it like the touch of a man. The touch of a man stays in a woman’s mind and consumes it.2So begins the Aṅguttara Nikāya, the Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, one of the major collections of the
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallThe Heart Unbound: Chastity in Theravada Buddhism and Franciscan Religious Life2026-01-13text/htmlen-USThe Heart Unbound: Chastity in Theravada Buddhism and Franciscan Religious Life2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®751922026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Purifying Mind and Heart: The Sāmaññaphala Sutta and Austin Farrer’s Glass of Vision
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979844
<p></p>
This essay was inspired by two passages coming from works widely differing in the time and place of their origin and in the culture and tradition from which they emerge, yet employing a similar metaphor. One is to be found in an early Buddhist sutta, and the other in a series of lectures given by an Anglican in Oxford in the 1940s. Through a close examination of the texts, an attempt will be made to locate the selected quotes in the context of their times and teachings, exploring the background to their usage of the metaphor and delving into the respective thought worlds from which the passages emerge. In conclusion, it will be argued that, while differences must be acknowledged, common ground is to be found. The
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallPurifying Mind and Heart: The Sāmaññaphala Sutta and Austin Farrer’s Glass of Vision2026-01-13text/htmlen-USPurifying Mind and Heart: The Sāmaññaphala Sutta and Austin Farrer’s Glass of Vision2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®725462026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13The Nature of the Embodiment of “Law” (dhamma/λόγος) in Early Buddhism and Christianity
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979845
<p></p>
A renowned passage from the Gospel of John (14:9) states, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Show us the Father?” (ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ ἑώρακεν τὸν πατέρα πῶς σὺ λέγεις Δεῖξον ἡμῖν τὸν πατέρα;), and further, in 14:10: “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?” (οὐ πιστεύεις ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί ἐστιν;).This statement, wherein Jesus associates Himself with the Father (“he who sees me sees the Father”), can certainly be interpreted theologically as Jesus proclaiming His identity with the Father. However, if analyzed from a philosophical standpoint and considering the historical-cultural context, one might inquire whether, in this particular speech, Jesus
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallThe Nature of the Embodiment of “Law” (dhamma/λόγος) in Early Buddhism and Christianity2026-01-13text/htmlen-USThe Nature of the Embodiment of “Law” (dhamma/λόγος) in Early Buddhism and Christianity2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®970592026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13SBCS Board Meets Online (11/7/2024) To Maximize In-Person Time Together at AAR and Minimize Expenses
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979846
<p></p>
Background—In 2020 and 2021, the SBCS annual governing board meeting, paper sessions, and members meeting were all held entirely online. They were skillfully hosted by then-president Leo Lefebure on Zoom platforms provided by Georgetown University. Three things the board noticed during these two years were:Many routine board meeting tasks can be accomplished just as well in a Zoom meeting hosted by a board member’s institution—at no cost to the SBCS!—as they can be accomplished in person in a conference center or hotel space for which the society pays high downtown room and Wi-Fi fees.It’s often significantly easier for our international advisors and other board and committee members outside the US to attend
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallSBCS Board Meets Online (11/7/2024) To Maximize In-Person Time Together at AAR and Minimize Expenses2026-01-13text/htmlen-USSBCS Board Meets Online (11/7/2024) To Maximize In-Person Time Together at AAR and Minimize Expenses2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®102802026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13SBCS In-Person Annual Meeting Events At the San Diego AAR Meeting (11/22–24/2024)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979847
<p></p>
The SBCS, a related scholarly organization of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), held the following events in conjunction with the AAR’s annual meeting in San Diego:Friday morning board meeting at the Omni HotelVisit that afternoon to the Buddhist Temple of San DiegoDinner that evening at Sab Lai Thai KitchenSaturday afternoon paper session on double belongingPost-paper session SBCS members meetingSunday afternoon session honoring Ruben Habito.President Carolyn Medine called the meeting to order at 9AM. From his seat at the table, vice president Julius Kei (JK) Kato hosted a Zoom meeting for board members unable to attend in person while Carolyn presided. After personal introductions and a review of our
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallSBCS In-Person Annual Meeting Events At the San Diego AAR Meeting (11/22–24/2024)2026-01-13text/htmlen-USSBCS In-Person Annual Meeting Events At the San Diego AAR Meeting (11/22–24/2024)2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®149612026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Buddhist and Christian Perspectives on the Mind July 2−6, 2026 Hamburg, Germany
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979848
<p></p>
The European Network of Buddhist Christian Studies will hold its next conference from 2 to 6 July 2026 in Hamburg, in cooperation with the University of Hamburg. The conference will continue the topic of the last conference (2024: Buddhist-Christian Dialogues on the Body) by discussing Buddhist and Christian Perspectives on the Mind. Sub-topics will include “Mind and Matter from the Perspective of Neuroscience,” “Understandings of Mind in Buddhism and Christianity,” questions of “Transforming Mind,” the relation between “Mind and Ultimate Reality,” and the issue of “Mind and Continuity Beyond Death.” Among the confirmed speakers are Carl Becker, Thomas Cattoi, Douglas Duckworth, Christopher Jones, Louise Nelstrop
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallBuddhist and Christian Perspectives on the Mind July 2−6, 2026 Hamburg, Germany2026-01-13text/htmlen-USBuddhist and Christian Perspectives on the Mind July 2−6, 2026 Hamburg, Germany2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®26622026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13European Academy of Religion’s Eighth Annual Conference Vienna, Austria July 8–12, 2025: Panel: Tibetan Buddhism in Comparison
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979849
<p></p>
With the rapid expansion both of comparative studies and of Tibetan Buddhist studies, Tibetan Buddhist traditions are more and more present as core interlocutors in comparative theology and philosophy, interreligious theology and philosophy, and global theology and philosophy. This panel showcases comparative theological, philosophical, and contemplative engagements with Tibetan traditions of thought and practice. Each paper demonstrates a different predominant mode of comparative engagement, and each indicates the way conversation with Tibetan Buddhist traditions engenders specific insight in its domain of inquiry. Tibetan traditions are here brought into conversation with Eastern Christian Hesychasm and its
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallEuropean Academy of Religion’s Eighth Annual Conference Vienna, Austria July 8–12, 2025: Panel: Tibetan Buddhism in Comparison2026-01-13text/htmlen-USEuropean Academy of Religion’s Eighth Annual Conference Vienna, Austria July 8–12, 2025: Panel: Tibetan Buddhism in Comparison2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®68902026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Upcoming Events/Members’ Projects
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979850
<p></p>
The Catholic Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue in collaboration with Buddhist colleagues plans to convene the next international Buddhist-Christian Colloquium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 27–29, 2025, on the theme of Peace, Reconciliation, and Resilience. SBCS members Thomas Cattoi and Leo Lefebure have been invited to speak on this topic with regard to the New Testament and the Christian tradition, respectively.Leo Lefebure recently spoke on Buddhist-Christian Relations Today at the Won Institute of Graduate Studies in Warminster, Pennsylvania, on April 3. He also plans to visit the Humanistic Buddhist Centre of the Nan-Tien Buddhist Institute of Higher Education in Unanderra, New South Wales, Australia, in
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallUpcoming Events/Members’ Projects2026-01-13text/htmlen-USUpcoming Events/Members’ Projects2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®24502026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Membership
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979851
<p></p>
[AI Generated Alt Text] Website banner showing two individuals in Christian and Buddhist robes standing outdoors with overlaid text The Society for Buddhist/Christian StudiesIf you haven’t renewed for 2024–2025, please do so now. Membership includes our newsletters, our journal, and other benefits. You can renew via our website.Some of you have asked about how membership works. Here is a brief Question & Answer.What are current dues?Dues range from $10 for students to $25 for Adjunct Professors, Independent Scholars, and Assistant Professors and $45 for Associate and Full Professors.What are the terms of membership?You may join or renew at any point during the calendar year, although it is more convenient to join
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallMembership2026-01-13text/htmlen-USMembership2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®64572026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Constructing Reality in Comparative Theology by Paul S. Chung (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979852
<p></p>
Paul S. Chung, the author of this sophisticated monograph at the intersection of theology, sociology, and phenomenology, is trained both as a sociologist and a theologian and brings his unusually broad expertise to the analysis of the contribution that comparative theology can make to understanding the genealogy of the divergent sociocultural paths embraced by different societies. Francis X. Clooney, S.J., the pioneer of comparative theology, promoted an understanding of the discipline that Chung calls “commentarial.” Clooney’s main intellectual interest was the joint reading of texts from different religious traditions, thereby seeking to foreground the points of contact, but also the irreducible differences
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallConstructing Reality in Comparative Theology by Paul S. Chung (review)2026-01-13text/htmlen-USConstructing Reality in Comparative Theology by Paul S. Chung (review)2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®142152026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Euro-Buddhism and the Role of Christianity ed. by Kurt Krammer, John O’Grady and Martin Rötting (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979853
<p></p>
Every scholar of Buddhism or Buddhist-Christian Studies has an origin story. My teachers often attributed their initial fascination with Tibetan Buddhism to Lost Horizon. More than a few of my friends in the 1980s explained their interest by pointing to Jack Kerouac’s Dharma Bums or Timothy Leary’s The Psychedelic Experience—oddly, I might add, since both were published well before we were born. My (now older) students point to the Beastie Boys. These examples are very American, but they point to an important fact about Buddhism in the West. Often presented by its European and American followers as an alternative to Christianity, Western Buddhism has been, as Kurt Krammer, John O’Grady, and Martin Rötting remark
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallEuro-Buddhism and the Role of Christianity ed. by Kurt Krammer, John O’Grady and Martin Rötting (review)2026-01-13text/htmlen-USEuro-Buddhism and the Role of Christianity ed. by Kurt Krammer, John O’Grady and Martin Rötting (review)2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®106452026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Karma and Grace: Religious Difference in Millennial Sri Lanka by Neena Mahadev (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979854
<p></p>
In her Introduction, Neena Mahadev states, “Karma and Grace sets out to contribute to scholarly literature on nationalism and evangelism, rupture and cultural continuity, religious media and mediation, and the negotiated nature of pluralism in a multireligious context” (6). She achieves this with academic skill and rigor. Her work is relevant not only to Sri Lankan studies but also to studies of nationalism, culture, and Buddhist-Christian relationships in postcolonial societies.Mahadev first visited Sri Lanka in 1998 and carried out the fieldwork for this book between 2009 (the year the civil war ended) and 2011 in wider Colombo and selected villages on the south coast, updating her material to at least 2020. Her
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallKarma and Grace: Religious Difference in Millennial Sri Lanka by Neena Mahadev (review)2026-01-13text/htmlen-USKarma and Grace: Religious Difference in Millennial Sri Lanka by Neena Mahadev (review)2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®119822026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Christian Imaginations of the Religious Other: A History of Religionization by Marianne Moyaert (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979855
<p></p>
The purpose of this volume is to explore and map the way in which Christians throughout their history have developed an understanding of their religious “others,” thereby setting up Christianity as normative and, effectively, creating conceptual boundaries around religious traditions that played an extraordinarily important role in the intellectual history of the West. This is a vast undertaking that is not for the faint-hearted, but Marianne Moyaert manages to balance erudition and accessibility to produce a monograph of almost breathtaking scope that will certainly set the terms of the conversation around this theme for the foreseeable future. The comprehensive arrangement of the material in a chronological
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallChristian Imaginations of the Religious Other: A History of Religionization by Marianne Moyaert (review)2026-01-13text/htmlen-USChristian Imaginations of the Religious Other: A History of Religionization by Marianne Moyaert (review)2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®141892026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Christian Perspectives on Transforming Interreligious Encounter: Essays in Honor of Leo D. Lefebure ed. by Peter C. Phan and Anh Q. Tran (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979856
<p></p>
In his Introduction, Peter Phan suggests that the “red thread” in Leo Lefebure’s work is the theme of wisdom. I would add a second red thread, one that is not about content but method: the comparative theological praxis of reading. The organization of the volume around these two red threads can be seen in its bipartite structure: Part I is about the comparative theological method of reading, while Part II is about the fruit of that comparative reading, which is transformational wisdom. The volume’s clear organization lends credence to its pedagogical goals: to serve as a textbook that introduces college students to the sacred texts of various religions, how to read them, and how to be transformed by them.Does the
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallChristian Perspectives on Transforming Interreligious Encounter: Essays in Honor of Leo D. Lefebure ed. by Peter C. Phan and Anh Q. Tran (review)2026-01-13text/htmlen-USChristian Perspectives on Transforming Interreligious Encounter: Essays in Honor of Leo D. Lefebure ed. by Peter C. Phan and Anh Q. Tran (review)2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®81792026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13The Great Open Dance: A Progressive Christian Theology by Jon Paul Sydnor (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979857
<p></p>
Jon Paul Sydnor of Emmanuel College in Boston earlier contributed to the field of comparative theology through his study of Ramanuja and Schleiermacher: Toward a Constructive Comparative Theology (2012). In The Great Open Dance, he develops further his proposal for a constructive Christian theology informed by the comparative study of other traditions, including Hindu and Buddhist perspectives. Sydnor emphasizes the perspective of infinite relatedness, comparing contemporary physics to ancient views of interdependence and interconnection. While he mentions the Buddhist tradition at various points, this is not a direct comparative study of Buddhism and Christianity. His comparative comments tend to discuss Hinduism
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallThe Great Open Dance: A Progressive Christian Theology by Jon Paul Sydnor (review)2026-01-13text/htmlen-USThe Great Open Dance: A Progressive Christian Theology by Jon Paul Sydnor (review)2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®56342026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13Martin Luther’s Theology of Two Kingdoms in Buddhist and Christian Communities: Transforming Contemporary Myanmar Society by Pa Yaw (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/979858
<p></p>
As the title suggests, Pa Yaw’s book seeks to apply Martin Luther’s theology of Two Kingdoms to the current Myanmar religious context, which is marked by an oppressive military government and tension between the dominant Buddhist majority and minority Christian and Muslim communities. The book is laid out as follows. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the religious context in Myanmar. It begins with an introduction of how Buddhism came to Myanmar, then moves into the twentieth century, and describes the civil war that has been waging since the country gained its independence in 1948. The conflict is between ethnic minority groups and, thus, has both ethnic and religious ramifications. It also describes the ways in
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/22/image/coversmallMartin Luther’s Theology of Two Kingdoms in Buddhist and Christian Communities: Transforming Contemporary Myanmar Society by Pa Yaw (review)2026-01-13text/htmlen-USMartin Luther’s Theology of Two Kingdoms in Buddhist and Christian Communities: Transforming Contemporary Myanmar Society by Pa Yaw (review)2026-01-132026TWOProject MUSE®106602026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002026-01-13