This book is an attempt to contribute to interfaith-dialogue initiatives spearheaded by the Catholic Church with Zen, one of the major and fast-growing spiritual traditions in East Asia. In recent years, the Catholic Church has emphasized the importance of interfaith dialogue in its missionary activities and has encouraged all to take part actively. The number of conferences organized, discussions held, and articles written on interfaith dialogue has escalated. However, interfaith dialogue remains mostly in the realm of specialists. The majority of ordinary believers/laity have not yet become part of interfaith-dialogue activities. Many are unaware of such activities because often they don't take place where ordinary people spend their daily lives. Others shy away because interfaith-dialogue activities are too specialized. But Joseph's experience growing up in a multireligious context in India taught him that the participation of ordinary believers is necessary if interfaith dialogue is to achieve its intended results. Christian-Zen Dialogue focuses on narratives of faith in Christianity and Zen. Can these sacred stories--gospel stories of Jesus and Chan/Zen stories (K_ans)--be a starting point for dialogue between the two faiths? The book focuses on two aspects: First, what model of interfaith dialogue can help Catholics and Zen followers of all walks of life engage in faith dialogue while remaining in their own life situations? Second, how can they make use of the common elements found in their narratives of faith as the most appropriate starting point for dialogue between them? To achieve the intended results, Joseph applies the hermeneutic phenomenological approach of Paul Ricoeur.
Jijimon Alakkalam Joseph is from Kerala, India. He is a Catholic religious missionary priest belonging to the Society of the Divine Word (SVD). He holds an MA in Buddhist studies from University of Bristol, UK. He holds a PhD in religious studies from Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan, where he works as assistant professor. He is also a postdoctoral research fellow at Fu Jen Academia Catholica, Taiwan.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION PART ONE CHAPTER 1 INTERFAITH DIALOGUE: FOCUS ON AN EXPERIENCE-BASED STARTING POINT The urgency of interfaith dialogue -- Forms/models of interfaith dialogue - Focus on religious experience -- From a theology of dialogue to a spirituality of dialogue CHAPTER 2 STORIES: CARRIERS OF EXPERIENCE Significance of stories -- Stories in spiritual traditions -- The New Testament literature and literary types -- The Zen literature and literary types -- Functions of gospel stories andk_ans-- Stories as carriers of experience -- Stories as classics CHAPTER 3 INTERPRETING STORIES: THE HERMENEUTIC PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH Self and narrative -- Language as discourse -- Discourse as text and the need for hermeneutics PART TWO CHAPTER 4 STORIES: THE ULTIMATE-ORIENTED Describing the ultimate -- The Trinity - The God experience and its demonstration -- Satori - The Enlightenment experience and its demonstration -- Spirituality of the ultimate-orientedstories CHAPTER 5 STORIES: HUMAN-CENTERED The problem of evil/suffering -- Approaches to the problem of suffering in Christianity and Buddhism -- Compassion in Jesus' mission andMah_y_naBuddhism -- Salvation/Liberation in Christianity and Buddhism -- Spirituality of human-centered stories CHAPTER 6 STORIES: NATURE-INCLUSIVE 'Burden of guilt' -- Christianity and the otherworldly eschatology -- Zen and iconoclasm -- Nature imageries in gospel stories and k_ans -- Spirituality of nature-inclusive stories PART THREE CHAPTER 7 INTERPRETATION OF THE SPIRITUALITY OF SACRED STORIES: EMERGENCE AND APPROPRIATION OF THE NEW WORLD Spirituality of sacred stories - Emergence of the new world -- Appropriation of the new world CHINESE GLOSSARY REFERENCES
