48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two Different Religions-Same Message, April 27, 2008
This review is from: Living Buddha, Living Christ 10th Anniversary Edition (Mass Market Paperback)
In this short and effectual book, Thich Nat Hahn draws substantial paralells between two completely different religions from different spheres. He is asking us to look at the similarities rather than the differences. He is asking for inter-faith cooperation and communication. And, he is asking for tolerance and compassion, which Buddhism and Christianity, Hahn supposes, ask of us.
He also seems to be asking the narrowness and exclusivity that can be in Christianity, to create a space and a tolerance for other religions. But he says this on subtle levels, and with a consciousness that both religions are equally vital. At one point he states "It is not only true that Christians need Jesus, but Jesus needs Christians also for His energy to continue in this world" (p.73).
He is speaking of an aliveness that is dynamic in the practice of ones' faith. It is directly experiential. It is about bringing the presence of our minds, hearts, Holy Spirit, or however one chooses to frame it, directly into a practice such as a prayer or meditation.
He states this from a spiritual standpoint, not an intellectual one. He states it within a context of a mystic, not orthodox.
The reader may complain that he reframes Christianity in Buddhist terms. However, this is what is to be expected from a devout Buddhist.
He has opened his mind to creating a dialogue between two religions which seem to be at odds with each other, to effectively create peace, love, compassion, and harmony in the world. I believe this is what both Buddha and Jesus came here to teach.
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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Illuminating, May 16, 2008
This review is from: Living Buddha, Living Christ 10th Anniversary Edition (Mass Market Paperback)
As with his other works, Hahn's thoughts are always illuminating. I use illuminating in a very deliberate manner: he helps show us the way but is not the way(as the Buddha said, my finger may point you to the moon but my finger is not the moon). The ways of thinking expoused by both belief systems work best when they are lived. And that's his Big Idea: it is living the precepts, not thinking about them or even believing them, which is what matters. When they are lived, that is true prayer. He suggests how to do so. The book is an extended meditaion on this core idea. Good intro by Pagels.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful book, January 21, 2009
This review is from: Living Buddha, Living Christ 10th Anniversary Edition (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a great book for thinking about the shared spiritual essence of Buddhism and Christianity. When those of different faiths disagree, they do so on points of dogma. About charity, compassion, or love, there is no disagreement, especially when these are manifest qualities of a spiritual life. Thus "the letter kills, but the spirit gives life". This is a book primarily about the spiritual life, and the unity thereof, although it also discusses the similarities and differences of specific teachings of Buddha and Christ.
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