The new anthology “The Pilgrim and the Sage” edited by Fr Ari C Dy SJ features essays that explore the meeting points between Ignatian spirituality and Buddhism. It includes the works of 10 authors, nine of whom are Jesuits, with extensive experience in Theology, Buddhist studies and Asian religions.
“[T]here is a long tradition of Christian prayer that promote[s] consciousness of God’s presence, mindfulness and the practice of meditation”, writes Fr Dy in his introduction to the book. He cites Anthony the Great, Evagrius Ponticus, Meister Eckhart and Thomas Merton as figures throughout Christian history who practised and encouraged mindful living.
Ignatian spirituality has at its core “finding God in all things”. The Examen trains us to develop the habit of pausing amidst the busyness of our daily lives to look into ourselves and expect to find God there.
The book is divided into three parts. In part one, the authors draw out similarities or differences between the Buddha and St Ignatius of Loyola. Fr Javier Melloni SJ compares the lives of the two figures and discusses convergence and divergence points in Buddhism and Ignatian spirituality that are very promising for continuing dialogue. Fr Aloysius Pieris SJ highlights how the Buddha and St Ignatius both found a middle path of “self-realisation through self-negation”. Fr Michael Amaladoss SJ focuses on mindfulness and egolessness as basic principles underlying Buddhism and Ignatian spirituality, and Justin Whitaker, the only lay contributor in the anthology, examines the ethical implications of meditation in the Spiritual Exercises and in the Theravada tradition.
Part two centres on the Zen tradition of Buddhism. Fr Daniel O’Hanlon facilitates a dialogue between faiths by contextualising Zen and the Spiritual Exercises in the Western desire to learn from Eastern traditions. Fr Melloni returns with 11 key elements that are present in each tradition, and then does an Ignatian reading of the famous 10 pictures of a man in search of a bull presented by the 10th century Chinese monk, Kuo-an, as a metaphor for the seeker’s path to illumination. Fr Michael Barnes SJ and Fr Ama Samy SJ explore the dynamics between Zen and the Exercises.
Four short chapters from Kakichi Kadowaki’s “Zen and the Bible” are reprinted where Zen koans are considered alongside the Weeks of the Exercises. Fr Bernard Senécal SJ shares his personal engagement in Zen Buddhism and Ignatian spirituality over the last three decades, and describes how zazen can be incorporated in an Ignatian retreat. Fr Jerome Cusumano SJ provides commentary for 27 direct quotes from Ruben Habito’s book, “Zen and the Spiritual Exercises”.
The anthology concludes with an article by Fr Pieris, in which he identifies recollection and recognition as particular movements in mindfulness that are analogously similar in Buddhism and the Christian Scriptures.
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