We are meditating on an important and hopeful sign of our times—that of Deep Ecumenism, the sharing of wisdom of all the world’s spiritual traditions (instead of competition and religious one-up-man-ship).
Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh tells us that for him,
…there is no conflict at all between the Buddha and the Christ in me. They are real brothers, they are real sisters within me…. A Christian is a continuation of Jesus Christ. He is Jesus Christ, and she is Jesus Christ. That is how I see things, this is how I see people. A Buddhist is a child of the Buddha, he is, and she is, a continuation of the Buddha. She is the Buddha, he is the Buddha.
Nor does Meister Eckhart see a conflict, since “the nature assumed by God is given to every person to become the son of God” and other Christs.
The “I am” statements of the Cosmic Christ, as we saw in yesterday’s DM including Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 25–“do it to the least and you do it to me”–is another way of talking about how we are all other Christs, other Buddhas, etc.
Meister Eckhart has a striking passage where he tells us that relation is the essence of everything that exists.
This parallels the teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh on “interbeing,” where he asks the question: “Is there anything that has a separate self? No, a tree that stands in the front yard does not have a separate self.”
Why? Because without sunshine, soil, rain, and so on, the tree does not exist.
All things are interdependent—Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas Aquinas, Meister Eckhart, today’s science, and Thich Nhat Hanh all say that.
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times, p. 56;
Also Matthew Fox, Passion For Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart, pp. 338-353.
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE.
Banner Image: The Buddha and Jesus as brothers. Iconographer unknown.
Queries for Contemplation
What does it mean to you to be called another Christ or another Buddha, etc? And to deepen your awareness of interdependence and interbeing? How does that translate to transforming society?
Recommended Reading
Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Time
While Matthew Fox recognizes that Meister Eckhart has influenced thinkers throughout history, he also wants to introduce Eckhart to today’s activists addressing contemporary crises. Toward that end, Fox creates dialogues between Eckhart and Carl Jung, Thich Nhat Hanh, Rabbi Heschel, Black Elk, Karl Marx, Rumi, Adrienne Rich, Dorothee Soelle, David Korten, Anita Roddick, Lily Yeh, M.C. Richards, and many others.
“Matthew Fox is perhaps the greatest writer on Meister Eckhart that has ever existed. (He) has successfully bridged a gap between Eckhart as a shamanistic personality and Eckhart as a post-modern mentor to the Inter-faith movement, to reveal just how cosmic Eckhart really is, and how remarkably relevant to today’s religious crisis! ” — Steven Herrmann, Author of Spiritual Democracy: The Wisdom of Early American Visionaries for the Journey Forward
Passion for Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart
Matthew Fox’s comprehensive translation of Meister Eckhart’s sermons is a meeting of true prophets across centuries, resulting in a spirituality for the new millennium. The holiness of creation, the divine life in each person and the divine power of our creativity, our call to do justice and practice compassion–these are among Eckhart’s themes, brilliantly interpreted and explained for today’s reader.
“The most important book on mysticism in 500 years.” — Madonna Kolbenschlag, author of Kissing Sleeping Beauty Goodbye.
9 thoughts on “Deep Ecumenism: Thich Nhat Hanh on Jesus, the Buddha, and Us”
Thank you for sharing this teaching at the heart of all things, with our brother Thich.
To be called another Christ for me personally is both an empowering truth and at the same time a humbling awareness. It’s empowering, because it gives me a sense of identity, meaning and purpose… of nurturing, cultivating, birthing and manifesting this potential reality from within.
It’s humbling because I am aware of how I often miss the mark, or realize how far I still have to grow and mature into this potential, which at times seems like a possibility that I am never quite able to reach. It’s humbling because I know that in and of myself I am not what I am called to become and be, but that I need the indwelling presence and essence of the Holy Spirit… Christ incarnate within me… to respond to this call of coming into beingness.
There is a kind of tension in this in-between space of who I am and who I am called to become and be, much like the outstretched arms of Christ on the Cross. I’ve sensed during contemplative times, that the Stations of the Cross reflect and mirror the process, the suffering involved in this journey that leads to resurrecting this other Christ, which we are called to surrender to… in trust.
This tension at first seems like a contradiction, a paradox. Yet within this, one also encounters the graciousness of Christ’s mercy, His willingness to alleviate our pain and our suffering throughout this transformational process of becoming Oned With, all the while compassionately being loved to love.
Jeanette, Thank you for your comment today, which I’m sure most can relate to. You say, “To be called another Christ for me personally is both an empowering truth and at the same time a humbling awareness.” Then after explaining why you feel this way, in summation you say, “This tension at first seems like a contradiction, a paradox. Yet within this, one also encounters the graciousness of Christ’s mercy, His willingness to alleviate our pain and our suffering throughout this transformational process of becoming Oned With, all the while compassionately being loved to love.” Thank you again Jeanette!
Mathew mentioned in today’s DM, two books written by Thich Nhat Hanh, about Christ. Could you tell me the titles of these please, as I would like to read them for myself. Thanks.
Jeanette, I’m not sure which TWO books Thich Nhat Hanh wrote about Christ, but his classic is LIVING BUDDHA, LIVING CHRIST…
The second is: Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers
Thank you Matthew !!!
I too feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of being “another Christ.” Also, like Jeanette, I feel so unqualified and unprepared as I know so well my weaknesses and know how far I need to grow. Still, I reject any ideas of perfectionism. In our human state to be another Christ entails acting as imperfect human beings in manifesting the Christ spirit. We are not called to be perfect in this role as “another Christ” are we? I don’t see how any of us could ever carry this role out perfectly. I do not need to live up to another ideal of perfectionism in my life. I guess we need to keep the ideal out there in front of us as an ideal to keep working towards. And, yes, like Jeanette, I feel I definitely need the help of the Holy Spirit.
Cosmic “seeing”