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Reconsidering the Christian Understanding of Universal Salvation in Mahayana Buddhist Perspective
The Mahayana Buddhist understanding(s) of universal salvation embodied in the doctrine of Buddha-nature 佛性, the belief of Pure Land 淨土 and the worship of Kṣitigarbha 地藏菩薩 constitute important challenges to Christian theology, especially the mainstream of Protestant theology. In response to these challenges, Christian theology can develop a Mahayana Christian understanding of salvation which consists of a more comprehensive and balanced understanding of salvation, reflects more adequately the richness of the Christian tradition, addresses the cultural context of East Asia in a more appropriate way, and provides useful doctrinal resources to inform the pastoral, social and ecological praxis of Christianity in East Asia.
An Early World-Wide Web Religions of Eurasia
There is now evidence of a “world-wide web” of diffuse religiosity deeply embedded in large parts of the Eurasian continent, starting in pre-history, and continuing up to perhaps AD 500. Religions we know as “Christianity” and “Buddhism” (and various others) were at the time of their emergence important local embodiments of this pervasive religious and cultural complex. The now familiar institutionalised religions are crystallisations of a shared heritage. They may well have mutually influenced each other, and perhaps more importantly they each partly embody an ocean of religious belief and symbolism: each is unique in its precise configuration, but far from unique in its component parts.
Toward a Buddhist-Christian Theology of Creation: An Exercise in Inter-religious Theology
"The paper suggests that future inter-faith dialogue should move towards an inter-faith theology, that is, an attempt to integrate insights from different faith perspectives and ask for their eventual compatibility. Apparent contradictions can and should be seen as an “invitation to synthesis” (W. C. Smith). Following this suggestion, the paper looks at the Buddhist denial and the Christian affirmation of a divine creator and asks whether, despite the seeming incompatibility, a
closer hermeneutical investigation can indeed reveal that motives and concerns on both sides have more in common than one would originally expect."
Buddhist-Christian Encounter in the Age of Science: A Case Study of Modern Chinese Buddhism
Some modern Chinese Buddhist intellectuals, including Zhang Taiyan 章太炎 (1869–1936), Wang Jitong 王季同 (1875–1948), and Taixu 太虛 (1890–1947), attempted to respond to the challenges received from modern science and Christianity. Although their responses might differ due to their respective intellectual backgrounds and motivations, they shared the affirmation on the compatibility between Buddhism and science on the one hand, and upheld the superiority of Buddhism vis-à-vis science and Christianity on the other. Furthermore, their responses to Christianity were shaped, in different ways, by their responses to modern science. As similar Buddhist responses can be found in some other countries, the Chinese cases may reflect a global trend which deserves to be further investigated.
