My wife, Runee, and I have now lived in Lowville, NY, for some 15 months, and I've served First Presbyterian Church, Lowville, as pastor for just over a year. One of the things that attracted me to the church is its tradition of serious study and reflection that goes back for several pastorates. This fall (2011), there are two study groups that meet on Mondays (1:00 and 7:00 pm) involving some 20 participants, most but not all of whom are members of the church. We are currently reading the book, Living Buddha, Living Christ (Riverhead Books, 2007; originally published in 1995), by the well-known Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. The discussions have been lively, wide-ranging, and challenging; their purpose is to use Thich Nhat Hanh's reflections as a mirror that will help us to see our Christian faith more clearly and deeply .I thought it would be interesting to engage in some parallel reflections on Living Buddha, Living Christ here. So, interspersed with other things, I'm going to start out on a series of such reflections. They are not intended to summarize or even comment on the discussions taking place in our study groups. Rather, they are personal explorations of the ways in which we can learn more about our own faith from our neighbors of other faiths and religions. They are also autobiographical, reflecting my own personal experience of living in an intensely Buddhist nation, Thailand, for 25 years. My neighbors in the village of Ban Dok Daeng (near Chiang Mai), where we lived for 11 years, are Buddhists. We attended numerous community events at the local temple. I got to know the abbot fairly well, and we had some good discussions on matters of religion as well as life in our community. Runee and I took part in a remarkable reconciliation of the two faiths in the village, Christianity and Buddhism, which for over a century had lived in uneasy tension with each other. The result has been that the small church in Ban Dok Daeng has grown in strength, numbers, and spirit while also living in peace with its Buddhist neighbors.
Buddhism, personally, never had even the slightest appeal as an alternative to the Christian faith, but what I do find helpful are insights gleaned from Buddhist writings and from my neighbors in Ban Dok Daeng, which have helped me better understand my faith as a Christian. There's a lot of good "stuff" in the various forms of Buddhism that can add texture and depth to our own journey toward Christian faith. I'd like to share some of what I've learned from my Buddhist neighbors here. Peace on the journey! Herb
