Buddhist Christian Empathy

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THE JOURNAL

OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OFBUDDHIST STUDIES

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFA . K. Narain

University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

EDITORSHeinz Bechert Leon Hurvitz

Universitdt Gottingen, FRG UB C, Vancouve r, CanadaLewis Lancaster A lexander W. MacD onald

University of California, Berkeley, USA Universite de Paris X, Nanterre, FranceB. f . Stavisky A lex Waym an

WN IIR, Moscow, USSR Columbia University, New York, USA

ASSOCIATE EDITORStephan Beyer

University of Wisconsin, Ma dison, USA

Volume 4 1981 Number I


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C O N T E N T S

I . A R T I C L E SThe Co nce pts of Tru th and M ean ing in the B uddh is t

S c r i p t u r e s , by Jose I. Cabezon 7Chang ing the Female Body : Wise Women and the Bodh i -

sat tva Career in Some M aharatnakvtasutras, by NancySchuster 24

liodhi an d Amhattaphala. From ear ly Buddhism to ear lyM a h a y a n a , h Karel Werner 70

II . S H O R T P A P E R SA Stud y on the Ma dhya mik a M ethod of Refu ta tion a nd I ts

Inf luence on Buddhis t Logic , by Shohei Ichimura 87An E xcep t ional G ro u p of Pain ted B ud dh a Figures a t Ajanta ,

fry Anand Krishna 96R un e E. A. Jo ha ns so n 's Analysis of Citta: A Cri t icism, by

Arvind Sharma 101

I I I . B O O K R E V I E W S A N D N O T I C E SCross Cur ren t s in Ear ly Buddh i sm, fry S. N. Dube 108B ud dh a ' s L ion s T he L ives of the E igh ty -Four S iddhas , by

James B. Robinson 1 1 1


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T a n g le s a n d We b s , by Padmasiri de Silva 11 3Buddhis t and Freud ian Psychology , by Padmasiri de Silva 114B u d d h i s t -C h r i s t i a n E mp a th y , by Joseph J. Spae 115The Re l ig ions o f T ibe t , by Guiseppe Tucci 119

I V . N O T E S A N D N E W SA R ep or t on the 3 rd Co nferen ce of the IABS 123B ud dh ism and Music 127Presiden t ia l Add ress at the 2nd IAB S Con ference a t Nalanda

hyP.Prndhan 12 8

contributors 143


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underlying theme: the image of man as a patient, society as s ick and theB u d d h a a nd Fr eu d as physicians." (p. 3) . This the n is wha t de Silva isgoing on to discuss in this fascinating and original book: a comparisonbe tween the the rapeu t ic methods o f Buddh ism and F reud ' s psychoana lys i s . The Buddh is t ax iom: "sabbe sattd um mattakd" (all worldlings arederanged) shows that both sys tems looked upon the neuros is of mankind as a problem with which to deal, but Freud saw the solution as ara t ional ins ight in to one ' s own condi t ion; whereas Buddha was concerned with a man 's emotions and whole being. Both sys tems had adynamic quali ty and not a s tatic one; however, in de Silva's view Buddhism goes fur ther than does Freud. Freud c la ims that man must l ivewith the bes t adaptat ion to the human condi t ion that one can have andB u d d h i s m ' s araliat professes to tran sce nd this cond ition entirely.

De Silva's new book discusses and compares the following notionsin the two systems: mind, unconscious, motivation, the l ibido versusknmd-Uinhd. the ego, ego instincts versus bhava-taJihd, and finally thedeath ins t inct versus vibhava-tanhd. The approach to these concepts isnovel , deta i led , and convincing. And, I would sugges t that a lmost anyreader cou ld l ea rn someth ing abou t bo th F reud and ea r ly Buddh ismfrom re ad in g this book. De Silva is know ledge able an d a good w riter as abon us . I co m m en d thi s book to your a t t en t ion .

Gary W. Hous ton

Buddhist-Christian Empathy, by Josep h J . Spae , C . I .CM . Chicago : T heCh icag o Ins t i tu te of Theolo gy and Cul tu re , and Tokyo: Or ie ns Ins t i tu tefor Religious Research, 1980. 269 pp. (bibliography, index). U.S.$ 1 6 . 0 0 . - 3 5 0 0 ( J a p a n ) .

T hi s is an i m po rta nt book an d a vexing book. I t says so m uch yet itsays so little. I am tempted to declaim that it was impossible to review,for I wished to haggle wi th the author over every o ther sentence, butshort of writ ing my own book, that I cannot do. That I should wish toha gg le is a ma rk of pra ise: worthless books need no t be dignif ied bycrit icism. Fr. Spae is incapable of writ ing a worthless book.

T h o se w ho do no t know Fr. Spae certainly shou ld. H e is a Belgian(hence he pronounces h is name spah) Cathol ic pr ies t of immensele ar ni ng a nd global aware nes s, wh o has l ived in Ja p an for over thir tyyear s , tho ro ugh ly pe ne t ra t ing and luc id ly ex pou nd ing Japa nese c u l tu rein a l impid , rhythmic Engl ish which only rare ly s tumbles , reminding usthat i t is not his mother tongue. A pupil of Lamotte, he displays many of1 1 5


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the features of that bionic Belgian Buddhologist . Herein he turns towh at is eviden tly close to his hear t , the dialogue betw een Christ ianityand Buddh i sm, a phenomenon wh ich Arno ld Toynbee f e l t wou ld berecorded as the grea tes t event o f the twent ie th cen tury (pp . 66 , 223) .

The book is in three par ts which, having been writ ten for differentau die nc es at different t imes, do no t quite gel , as Fr . Spae w arns us (p . 7) .T h u s th e elem ent ary 2:5 follows the advanc ed 1:3 and 2 :1 ; 2:7 is asuperf icial re -ru n of the insightful 1:4; and the hop e that "some day thetwa in shall m ee t" (p. 70) has been realised by p. 131, "alrea dy the tw ainhave met." Disregarding these sl ight f laws, the book can st i l l be minedfor much in format ion no t o therwise read i ly ob ta inab le . Perhaps themost usefu l sec t ions a re 1 :4 , on the phenomenon of the young , unmarr ied , whi te Amer ican in te l l igensia who seek to unders tand Buddhism;2:4 on Ja pa ne se Bu dd hist l i turgies; 2:6 on D . T . Suzuki 's f li r tat ions withChristianity (which, however, fails to discuss his possible predilection forSw eden borg , whom he t r ans la t ed in to Japa nese , and who migh t be asource for the curious ideas quoted on p. 182); 3:1:2, "EncounterC en te rs th ro ug ho u t th e Wo rld"; and 3:4, a select bibl iography of a fewhundred i t ems in many l anguages .

T h e a u th o r ' s a pp r oac h is un re pen ten t ly theo log ica l, bu t it iseirenical ly so. Christ ian ity contin ue d th e Jewish controvers y over exclusivity (e.g., Lexiticus) versus openness (e .g . , Ruth) by main ta in ingChrist as ei ther the unique saviour (e .g . , Mark) or the un ique focus of auniversa l movement towards sa lva t ion (e.g., John). Exclusivity was championed above al l by Calvin (and, in our own day, by Hendrik Kraemer)who decreed tha t even noble works done ou t o f Chr is t mer i t God 'swra th , whereas Or thodoxy, and now Cathol ic ism's Second Vat icanCounci l , has p refer red the openness of "Logos Chr is to logy ," accord ingto which Christ is the enfles hm ent of the eternal ord er in g pr inciple inthe G od he ad ( the Logos) , so tha t w hereve r the re is o rd er ( logic) the re isChrist (Logos) in some obscure form. Fr . Spae consistently adopts thestance of a Catholic Logos Christologist (Protestantism is mentionedminim al ly and O r tho do xy only as a com m ent on my own rem ark conc e r n i n g ekphrasis in T 'an -lu an p. 102) , looking for an ear ly-Pa nikkar-esque "h idden Chr is t o f Buddhism." He c la ims to f ind an inc ip ien t Godin Bud dh ism , s ince bo th Chr is t ians and Buddhis ts be lieve in "a comm onSupreme Reali ty" (p . 199) but regrets that "unfortunately" this bel ief"did not doctr inal ly r ipen into the acceptance of an object ively absolutebeing" (p . 90) even though the " t rue self" is, for him, both God andN irv an a (p . 39) . H e states tha t Bu dd him s is a "m onis m " (p. 105 etpass im ) , tha t B ud dh a prea che d a "Cause less Cau se" (p . 107), and tha tthis is so obvious i t must be "taken for granted" (p. 108) .

A Buddhist is taken up short by such remarks. First , they could be116


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turned around to give an equal and opposi te polemic effect : whatever iswell said (suvacana), we could reply, is a Bu dd ha W ord {bwldhavacana),and Christ was a Bodhisat tva-Mahasat tva. We could insist that the bookbe re-t i t led Christian-Buddhist Empathy, for nowhere do we find firmevidence from Fr. Spae that Buddhists see incipient Buddhas in Christ iani ty , al though this would evident ly be a very Buddhist opinion.

Secondly, and far more seriously, a Buddhist must object that hedoes not bel ieve in a Supreme Real i ty or a Causeless Cause, that he isnei ther a monist nor a dual ist nor both nor nei ther, that sftnyatd isne i th er N oth ing ne ss (pp . 39 . 113) no r an impers onal Absolute (p. 114 etpas sim ), and tha t every day reality is a delu sion b ut in no sense an"i l lusion" (p. 114 et passim). Simply put . Christ ians preach an incompr eh en si bl e U ltim ate R eality while Bud dh ists teach that Reality is ultim ately inc om pre hen sib le. B etween these two posi t ions the re is not eventhe feasibili ty of a bridge. They live in mutually irrelevant universes.The Buddhists in Fr. Spae 's book point this non-dual i ty out to him (e.g. ,p . 119), and he himself states i t (p. 162) in an immediate contradiction toh is own monis t ic remark . One has the uncomfortab le fee l ing tha t theauthor is l is tening but not hearing. "Non-dual i ty" (as Fr. Spae 's friendA be M asao has often said) is not M onism. It is a Mad hyam ikan non-aff i rming negat ive .

How could such a learned man say such things? I bel ieve thatthere are two interconnected reasons: l inguist ic and cul tural . Fr. Spae 'sm ain co nc ern is with Ja pa ne se B ud dh ism , which he knows best . But theJap ane se lan gu ag e is (as Fr. Spa e is at pains to dem ons trate ) heavy onaes thetic s an d light on noetics. Specifically, I wo uld say, am means both"exist" and "be at a place," and ichi i s bo th "one" and "unique ." Thisleads to a lack of interest in distinguishing sharply between a Being andsom eth ing on e which h app ens to be her e , and be tween "on e" and"on ly." I see this confusion (as I wo uld call it) or non -distinc tion (as aJapanese would cal l i t ) going on in the English language works of D. T.Suzuki , many of which , o f course , were made presentab le by h is Ameri can wife. Isshin dc am, for instance, is not (Buddhistically) "The OneM ind exists" but "On ly m enta t ion is observ able." Th is l inguistic situat ion needs to be approached , by a Westerner , th rough a methodology ofde-encul tural isat ion or historico-l inguist ic unpacking.

Fr. Spae 's emphasis is not only on Japanese Buddhism, but chieflyon Shin an d, to a lesser exte nt , Soto. I t is ge rm an e to point out that theseare K am ak ura forms of Bu ddh ism . A d iscussion of Tibe tan Budd hism(ex cep t for i ts con trove rsial ly B ould erise d form of Vajra dha tu) iscon spicu ously abse nt . Ha d the re been such , we should have had amarkedly d i f feren t book. One need not accept tout court the d(ie lugs pal ine that Tibetans have the pu re Ma hayana to recognise that , whateve r117


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la te In di an M aha yan a was, i ts nearest surviving relative is probably aTibe tan . There in we f ind an e legant ba lance be tween Hinayana , Yoga-cara , M adhy am ika and Vajrayana , a r ra ng ed in an ord ere d ser ies whichpreserves their several individuali t ies. Chinese Buddhism took this, orsomething very much l ike i t , and Sinif ied i t in to a yin-yang/t'i-yungcosmology in which (as witness T' ien- t 'a i and Hua-yen) the edges of theInd ian l ineages began to b lur . In Ka ma kura t imes, the Jap ane se comp ressed the ga lumph ing Tenda i Shu in to the One Th ing necessa ry .Th i s One Th ing , be i t shinjin, shikandaz/i o r daimoku, became the focus ofthe exerci tant 's energies, with evident pract ical effect , but with theattendant impossibi l i ty of explicating such a compressed mdrga. TheKydgydshinshd, tor instance, is not an argument, i t is a testament.Now, in o rde r to unde r s t and wha t shinjtn, etc. is all about, theB u d d h o l o g i s t m u s t culturally unwrap it by tracing it back to its Chineseand Indo-Tibe tan roo ts (wi thout , o f course , identifying it with suchroots) . Sh inran means to speak of the balance of Teaching, Pract ice andAttainment, as the or iginal t i t le of his work, Ken Jddo Shinjitsu KydgydshdMonrui ( "Proof Te xts Dem ons t ra t ing the True Te ach ing , Prac tice andAtta inment accord ing to Sukhavat l" ) , shows, bu t he s imply exults, hegives us a Shin version of the Zen Shout (see esp. chapter 3p. 323,l ines 2-3 in the N iho n Shiso Daikei edit io n) . Much as 1 adm ire Sh inran(witness my own work) he does not have the precision of Tsong kha paand h is Law rim chen mo. Any discussion of Buddhism as such must moveaway from the poli te vagueness of Japanese aesthetics to the sharp logic,of Tibetan no etics. A nd th en , no incipient God would be found inB u d d h i s m . O n l y karund an d sunyatd.

Fu rth er , I am b ou nd to say that thou gh I was f lat tered to beacc ord ed five pages of apprec ia t ive com m ent (pp . 9 9 - 103) , I was surpr is ed t o f ind th at 1 had s pok en of "a ru m or of Go d" in T'an -lua n (p.99) . Religionswissenschaftliche, I had pointed to structural but not to contents imi lar i t ies be tween Pure Land and Theism. Fr . Spae makes me, andothers l ike me, say more than I would wish.

My cr i t icism has been extensive and harsh because of the importance of the book. It is the best book of its kind I have seen, it will bewidely read, and it should become a classic. It tells us where we are inChr is t ian-Buddhis t d ia logue . But , the top ic i s c lose to my own hear talso, an d 1 th ink we sh ou ld know how far we still hav e to travel befo reany kind of "symbiosis, a kind of synergist ic merger" (p . 233) betweenthese two grea t sp i r i tua l t rad i t ions can occur .

Roger Tashi Corless.

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