Australian

eJournal of Theology 20.2 (August 2013)

Book Review / Pneumatology and the ChristianBuddhist Dialogue

PneumatologyandtheChristianBuddhistDialogue:DoestheSpiritBlow throughtheMiddleWay? AmosYong

Leiden: Brill, 2012. ISBN: 978 90 04 23117 7. 359 pages Amos Yongs Pneumatology and the ChristianBuddhist Dialogue is an impressive exercise in comparative theology. Drawing inspiration from the comparative theological endeavours of Keith Ward, Robert Neville, Francis X Clooney and James Fredericks, Yong sets out to discover whether the trajectory of the Holy Spirit in the Christian tradition converges with the Middle Way proposed by the Buddha. Does the wind of the Holy Spirit blow along the Buddhist path that affirms the emptiness (nyata) yet interrelatedness (prattyasamutpda) of all things? Yong recognises that Christological categories like incarnation, resurrection and atonement possess no easy equivalents in Buddhism, because the fundamental concern of Buddhism is not sin and expiation but the pain arising from attachment to an impermanent self. To open up relational space between the two traditions, he utilizes three pneumatological categories: divine presence; divine activity; and divine absence. Under the rubric of divine presence, he juxtaposes the ruah Elohim of Genesis 1&2 alongside Ngrjunas Prajpramit tradition of no self (antman) and emptiness (nyata), and Nishidas later philosophy of Absolute Nothingness. Bravely venturing into contemporary debates in the neurosciences about spirit, mind and body, he analyses complex Christian and Buddhist notions about the world and human nature, and draws attention to ways in which both traditions express reality in nondual terms. Yongs second category, divine activity, has a soteriological focus. He imaginatively aligns the contemplative practices of the Desert Fathers, as preserved in the Jesus Prayer and the Philokalias teaching on theosis (union with God), with the Theravada understanding of renunciation and liberation (nibbana) in Buddhaghoas Visuddhimagga (The Path of Purification). Identifying how both traditions promote the outward disciplining of the body and the inward centring of the mind, in order to go beyond the rational mind, he pinpoints parallels between the Christians participation in the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4) and the arahants perfection in wisdom and understanding. The final category of divine absence does not refer to the dark night of the soul, as one might reasonably expect, but to Pentecostal and Buddhist notions of demonic activity. Here, Yong juxtaposes Asian Pentecostal insights into satanic activity alongside popular demonologies from the Theravada tradition of Sri Lanka and the Buddhist Tantric tradition of Tibet. Examining the Satan/Mara threat along the way, and the means of exorcism, he asks whether the Mahayana concept of skilful means (upya), which

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Book Review / Pneumatology and the ChristianBuddhist Dialogue

identifies different methods of liberation for different people, might have some relevance for Christian experiences of the demonic. The volume possesses numerous admirable qualities. The author locates his work within his own faith experience and is refreshingly honest about his commitment to Pentecostalism, both before and after his comparative explorations. In an autobiographical note, he tells of his birth to Chinese Malaysian parents, his emigration with them to California at the age of ten, and his startling discovery at seminary that other Christians besides Pentecostals displayed the virtues of kindness, love, joy, peace, etc. Later, during a brief return visit to Malaysia, he comes to question whether the same Holy Spirit might not also be active in the lives of Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Jews. Yongs argumentation is cautious, logical and respectful. He identifies the precise traditions and texts he intends to investigate, uses vocabulary that practitioners within the traditions can recognise, and never compromises the integrity or alterity of the traditions. In addition, he skilfully avoids the mistake of marginalising the work of the Holy Spirit from the work of the Father and Son, and resists the temptation to generalise. For instance, although he demonstrates that the attainment of wisdom in Theravada Buddhism is comparable to the Orthodox saints attainment of inner stillness in the presence of God, and that the Theravada path of lovingkindness, joy, compassion and equanimity is analogous to the way of the Holy Spirit in Christianity, he does not propose that the traditions are identical. A noticeable difference between Yongs, Clooneys and Fredericks comparative theology is that Yong seeks to ground his theology of religions in pneumatology, whereas Clooney and Fredericks move away from an a priori approach and engage traditions on their own terms. The author is not conversant with Sanskrit or Pali, the languages of the Buddhist canon. However, the broad scope of his reading, his extensive bibliography and his meticulous footnotes go far in compensating for this lack. Strikingly, when referencing Buddhist textual sources, he preserves accurate Pali terms (like dhamma, anatta, nibbana) and appropriate Sanskrit words (like dharma, tman and nirva). Pneumatology and the ChristianBuddhist Dialogue makes an erudite contribution to comparative theology. It establishes sensible grounds for a productive ChristianBuddhist encounter, provides signposts for future ventures and helps to eliminate misconceptions about Buddhism and Pentecostalism. The work may well challenge the reader in quite unexpected ways and perhaps even increase her commitment to her own faith tradition. Reviewer: Anita C. Ray is an Honorary Fellows in the Centre for Interreligious Dialogue, located within the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy at Australian Catholic University. Anita focuses on Christian, Hindu and Buddhist theologies. Email: anita.ray@acu.edu.au

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