An aspect of interreligious dialogue which Merton believed to be the most important for an authentic dialogue was the admission of past wrongdoing. Merton constantly writes about the injustices performed by Christians to those of other religions, in an attempt of asking for the others’ forgiveness. In a letter to Suzuki from April 1959, a letter from the early stages of their friendship, Merton comments on injustices done to the east, saying:
I feel obliged to say this because of the huge burden of sins of the Western world, the burden of our sins toward the east: sins committed in the name of the Good and even in the name of Christ. I want to speak for this Western world which has been and is so utterly wrong…we have shamed the Truth of Christ
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For two months, Merton traveled through various parts of Asia, India, Thailand, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. There, he gave several lectures on interreligious dialogue and Catholicism, as well as learned from many of his contemporaries of various religious backgrounds. Although Merton tragically died during this trip, it was still extremely important to shaping his view of Buddhists. In one lecture, he said “I have left my monastery to come here not just as a research scholar or even as an author (which I also happen to be). I come as a pilgrim who is anxious to obtain not just information, not just “facts” about other monastic traditions, but to drink from ancient sources of monastic vision and experience…to become a better and more enlightened monk” Here, Merton was able to leave his monastery and fully engage with the religion he had been in dialogue in for so many years—not just depend on his own private …show more content…
Nostra Aetate touches upon many of the subjects practiced in Mertons’s study. These include focusing on the similarities of religions as well as the belief that other religions can strengthen your own faith. William Apel, in Signs of Peace: The Interfaith Letters of Thomas Merton, writes on Merton’s revolutionary relationship with other religions. He writes. “It is hard to remember in the twenty-first century just how new the terms ecumenism and interfaith dialogue are. Certainly, from a Roman Catholic perspective, they were virtually unheard of prior to the Second Vatican Council, just forty years ago. Yet, prior to the Second Vatican Council, Merton had begun dialoguing…” Merton himself embraces Nostra Aetate’s message and comments upon it in his writings. In Mystics and Zen Masters, he quotes Nostra Aetate and draws upon its message by saying “The Church rejects nothing which is true and holy in these religions’ says the Council, and it adds that the purpose of dialogue should be to combine ‘the sincere witness of Christian faith with the understanding and preservation and promotion of the spiritual and moral goods found in other cultures. '” Merton’s view of other religions and their relationship with Catholicism lead the way for further Church teaching on interreligious
Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
In Dr. Osman’s lecture and in Life and Miracles of St. Benedict, monasteries were portrayed as places for people to escape the harsh times and live together worshipping God. In The Dark Ages, the narrator discusses how many nuns and monks would try to escape because they were forced to go there, some even going as far as scaling the walls of their convent or monastery. These holy places offered many people the escape and religious freedom that they craved, but not everyone loved the strict life that monks and nuns lived. (The Dark Ages, “Marriage of Monks and
... of the Christian faith front and center by uniting two camps of believers in one reading; a starting point. As illustrated by the authors, “Though we have not, of course, reached agreement, we are satisfied that we have eliminated misunderstandings, that is, that neither of us has misrepresented the other. We offer the result to the reader as a celebration of shared friendship, faith, and scholarship” (xi).
This paper is a comparison between two very different religions. Specifically Christianity and Buddhism. Coming from opposite sides of the globe these two religions could not be any farther apart in any aspect. I will discuss who Christ is for Christians and who Buddha is for Buddhists. I will also get into the aspects of charity, love, and compassion in both religions and I will be looking at the individual self and how christians see resurrection where the buddhists feel about the afterlife. One thing to keep in mind is that the two religions are very different but they seem to have a very similar underlying pattern. Both believe that there was a savior of their people, Buddha and Christ, and both believe that there is something good that happens to us when our time is done here on earth. This is a very generalized summarization but in order to go in to depth I need to explain the two religions more to fully convey this theory.
There are three different perspectives towards all religions: Excluivism, Pluralism, and Inclusivism (lecture notes, 1/12). These views towards religions vary greatly and determine the parallels or disconnects between all of them. In brief, excluivism determines that whatever faith is outside their belief system is false. Pluralism is on the other side of the spectrum. Pluralism express the fact that though there are many different religions and practices they are all equal in truth. Catholicism takes the perspective of Inclusivism. This point of view stresses the fact that all religions have some grasps of objective truths but, to do not have the universal truth.
During the Great Jubilee year, John Paul II gave a relevant speech of apology on behalf of the entire Catholic Church for the serious sins committed by its members for over 2,000 years. Since John Paul II did that, he wished the Church to enter the new millennium with a clean slate, allowing it to speak to and discuss freely with the other religions of the world, including the cultures and nations from a place not only of permanency but also of moral and religious power, having acknowledged in specific ways the crimes, from time to time unbearable, committed by its human origins throughout history. These apologies were hardly accepted, and common apologies for sins committed against the Church and its members have not been imminent. “Catholics distinguish between the holiness of the inevitable sinful nature of men, including the men who serve the Church stated by Thomas E. Woods Jr.”
Armstrong, Karen. Buddha. New York: Lipper/Penguin, 2004. 66-98. Print.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century church theologian, Martin Luther, wrote the 95 Theses questioning the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. In this essay I will discuss: the practices of the Roman Catholic Church Martin Luther wanted to reform, what Martin’s specific criticism of the pope was, and the current practices Pope Francis I is interested in refining in the Roman Catholic Church today.
Within mainstream society it seems as if there is not a great deal of emphasis on the contributions made by theologians in society, as well as contributions by theologians to religious thought. Particularly in Christendom, ecclesiastical assemblies are so consumed with vain ideas of worship, and content on hearing biblical messages that capitulate to their personal desires, that theological studies are often neglected. Yet the contributions theologians have made in society, and the impact these contributions have had on religious assemblies have been pivotal in guiding religious discourse on subjects such as ethics, morality, and social transformation. It is for this reason, that in this essay an attempt will be made to analyze three essays from three world-renowned theologians of the 20th century. The theologians are Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Walter Wink, all of which have produced the essays used for this analysis, and have written works that have completely challenged status quo religion, and changed the landscape of Christendom forever.
He also makes reference to the long history of religious intolerance and persecution within the Christian tradition, brought about by greed, mistrust, and ignorance. He emphasizes the need for continuous practice, prayer, meditation, mindfulness, and personal growth within individual religious traditions and cultures. We must make the spirit of the Buddha and the spirit of Christ part of our everyday lives. He explores the “Five Wonderful Percepts of Buddhism”: reverence for life, generosity, responsible sexual behavior, speaking and listening deeply, and ingesting only wholesome substances; comparing them to the teachings of Christ. These precepts are without a doubt, very similar to the principles thought by Christ and his apostles. Each precept or teaching works with the next, interconnecting and building upon each other toward the same goal to end suffering, bring about personal and worldly understanding, world peace, and spiritual
Bibliography: Religious Persons and Traditions Buddhism- Plain and Simple
"You know, my friend, that even as a young man, when we lived with the ascetics in the forest, I came to distrust doctrines and teachers and to turn my back to them. I am still of the same turn of mind, although I have, since that time, had many teachers. A beautiful courtesan was my teacher for a long time, and a rich merchant and a dice player. On one occasion, one of the Buddha’s wandering monks was my teacher. He halted in his pilgrimage to sit beside me when I fell asleep in the forest. I also learned something from him and I am grateful to him, very grateful. But most of all, I have learned from this river and from my predecessor, Vasudeva. He was a simple man; he was not a thinker, but he realized the essential as well as Gotama, he was a holy man, a saint" (141).
During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, “this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation”.
The life of a Buddhist monk involves a considerable amount of patience. One must go through an immense amount of training which requires a great amount of time to accomplish to become a Buddhist monk. One must also become familiar with the background behind Buddhism to fully understand the life of Buddhist monks. The restrictions on their daily life also allow us to visualize the life of Buddhist monks. A person seeking insight into Buddhist monks’ lives should learn about meditation in Buddhism to increase background knowledge.