Islamic Studies 48:3 (2009) pp.

367394 367





Dialogue Between Islam and Buddhism through the
Concepts Ummatan Wasaan (The Middle Nation)
and Majjhima-Patipada (The Middle Way)

IMTIYAZ YUSUF

On truths path, wise is mad, insane is wise.
In loves way, self and other are the same.
Having drunk the wine, my love, of being one with you,
I find the way to Mecca and Bodhgaya are the same.

Rm, Kullyt-e Shams-e Tabrz # 302

Abstract
Monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam have coexisted with
Buddhism in many parts of Asia for centuries. This led in the past to dialogue as well
as misunderstanding between the two at the doctrinal and social levels. This paper
seeks to initiate dialogue between Islam and Buddhism through the Islamic concept of
ummatan wasaan (Middle Nation) and the Buddhist concept of majjhima-patipada
(Middle Way) as a means to build understanding and harmony in Asian societies.
The Buddha and the Prophet Muammad (peace be on him) as religious teachers
explained to humanity as to what is the true state of being and how the illusions which
drag humanity through darkness and injustice can be overcome. In this age of
globalization when physical barriers between various societies in terms of material
culture are virtually being eliminated there is an urgent need for dialogue between
monotheistic religious traditions and Buddhism. This could take place between Islam
and Buddhism or Judaism and Buddhism or Christianity and Buddhism, but it is
imperative that this dialogue takes place for it is likely to generate mutual
understanding and respect between the followers of these two categories of religion.

%
Introduction
The spread of religions from one part of the world to the other has led, from
times immemorial, to coexistence and dialogue between the followers of a
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
368
large number of different religions. Perhaps the main difference between the
past and the present is that while in the past this phenomenon was not called
dialogue, it is called so in our time and is consciously pursued. In the past this
phenomenon consisted of interaction between religions that gave rise to
parallel ideas and institutions in different religious traditions. This at times
resulted in various forms of religious syncretism. No doubt the purists
objected to this in the past as do their namesakes today.
Since Buddha and Buddhism do not seem to be much concerned with the
concept of theos (God), some people tend to believe that Buddhism is merely a
philosophy rather than a religion. However, the worldwide practice of
Buddhism shows that it certainly is a religion, albeit a religion with a
philosophical bent. In fact any judgment on this issue depends on how we
define religion. As for us, we adopt the following definition of religion and
consistently adhere to it throughout this paper: Religion is the varied,
symbolic expression of, and appropriate response to that which people
deliberately affirm as being of unrestricted value for them.
1
According to this
definition, Islam, Buddhism and all major world religions legitimately fall into
the category of religion.
Islam and Buddhism have engaged in a religious interchange in the course
of their encounters in Central, South and Southeast Asia. Their early
encounters were followed, in some instances, by conversion of Buddhists to
Islam as happened in Central and maritime Southeast Asia. Yet there were also
other regions where Buddhism and Islam continued to exist side by side for
long as happened in India and also mainland Southeast Asia.
The point being made here is that there is a long record of Muslim-
Buddhist dialogue, though this is at the present either non-existent or rare.
This, in our view, is largely due to the strong trend of reified interpretations of
religion in the contemporary world. This in turn is the outcome of ignoring
or overlooking the interchanges that took place between these religions in the
past, be they between region-based religions such as between Hinduism,
Jainism and Buddhism in South Asia or between Judaism, Christianity and
Islam in the Middle East, or between Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and
Islam in the Age of the Silk Road (4 BCE1400 CE) and the Age of Commerce
(14501680 CE) in different regions of the world.
Muslims often employ the Qurnic expression ummatan wasaan (the
Middle Nation) to characterize their religion and community. The expression
suggests that Islam is a moderate religion and that Muslims are required to be a
middle or moderate nation. In practice, Muslims conduct their daily life taking
the Prophet Muammad (peace be on him) as a paragon of moderation.

1
T. William Hall et al., Religion: An Introduction (New York: Harper & Row, 1986), 11.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
369
Similarly, the Buddhist expression majjhima-patipada refers to the notion that
Buddhism represents the Middle Way.
This paper attempts to study the concepts of ummatan wasaan (the
Middle Nation) in Islam and majjhima-patipada (the Middle Way) in
Buddhism, arguing that these concepts can serve as a model worthy of
emulation by Muslims (or other monotheists) and Buddhists in their respective
majority or mixed societies. It also seeks to make this study the starting-point
of a socio-religious interchange and dialogue between Islam and Buddhism.
The paper thus aims to contribute to reviving the Muslim-Buddhist
dialogue in contemporary times in the aftermath of Western colonialization
and the subsequent surge of Asian and African nationalistic sentiments.
Buddhism and Islam in History
Though Islam and Buddhism differ doctrinally, they came into contact first in
Central Asia,
2
and later in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
3

There is indeed a long history of relations between Islam and Buddhism.
4

The religious encounter between Islam and Buddhism is as old as Islam itself.
5

The first encounter between Islam and the Buddhist community, took place in
the middle of the 7th century in East Persia, Transoxiana, Afghanistan and
Sindh.
6
Historical evidences indicate that the early Muslims extended the
Qurnic category of Ahl al-Kitb (People of the Book or revealed religion) to
Hindus and Buddhists.
7


2
See, Richard C. Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road (New York: St. Martins Press, 1999).
3
See, Syed Muhammad Naguib al-Attas, Some Aspects of Sufism as Understood and Practised
among the Malays (Singapore: Malaysian Sociological Research Institute, 1963).
4
See, Imtiyaz Yusuf, Religious Diversity in a Buddhist Majority Country: The Case of Islam in
Thailand, International Journal of Buddhist Thought and Culture, vol. 3 (September 2003), 131
43.
5
That is, in 610 CE when the Prophet Muammad (peace be on him) received the first revelation
in Makkah.
6
S.v. Balkh in The Encyclopaedia of Islam
2
, eds. H.A.R Gibb et al. (Leiden: Brill, 1960) 1: 1101
and Buddhism in Encyclopaedia Iranica, editor-in-chief Ehsan Yarshater (New York: Center
for Iranian Studies, Columbia University, 1985-present), 4: 196, 199.
7
The term Ahl al-Kitb, or the People of the Book, is a Qurnic term. The Prophet (peace be
on him) also used this expression to refer to the followers of Christianity and Judaism,
indicating thereby that these religions were based on revealed books (Torah, Psalter, Gospel)
which gave them a position distinct from that of the followers of other religions in Arabia. See,
G. Vajda, Ahl al-Kitb in Encyclopedia of Islam, eds. P. Bearman et al. III edn. (Leiden: Brill,
2010), Brill Online; Andre Wink, Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World (Leiden: E. J.
Brill, 1990), 1: 193-194; Derryl N. Maclean, Religion and Society in Arab Sind (Leiden: E. J. Brill,
1989), 40-41; S. M. Ikram, Muslim Civilization in India (New York: Columbia University Press,
1964), 11.
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
370
During the second century of Hijrah/the eighth century CE, the Central
Asian Muslims translated many Buddhist works into Arabic. We come across
Arabic titles such as Bilawhar wa Bdhsaf and Kitb al-Budd, as evidences of
Muslims learning about Buddhism.
8

Significantly, in spite of being aware of the fact that the idol of the
Buddha was an object of worship, Muammad b. Ab Yaqb Isq Ibn al-
Nadm (d. 385/995), the author of al-Firhist observes that:

These people (Buddhists of Khurasan) are the most generous of all the inhabitants
of the earth and of all the religionists. This is because their prophet Bdhsf
(Bodhisattva) has taught them that the greatest sin, which should never be
thought of or committed, is the utterance of No. Hence they act upon this
advice; they regard the uttering of No as an act of Satan. And it is their very
religion to banish Satan.
9


There are also evidences of Buddhist influence on Muslims in the
succeeding period in Central Asia. One possible source of this unfluence was
the Barmak family, the descendants of Buddhist monks, who played a
powerful administrative role during the early Abbasid caliphs who ruled from
Baghdad for five centuries (132656/7501258) over the greater part of the
Islamic world. It is noteworthy that the Buddhist monastery of Naw Bahr
near Balkh in addition to other Iranian monasteries had remained in the past
under the supervision of the Barmak family.
10

We find vestiges of several Buddhist beliefs and practices among the
Muslims of Central Asia. For example, during the Smnid dynasty which
ruled Persia during the third and fourth/ninth and tenth centuries, the
madrasahs devoted to Islamic learning, were modelled after the Buddhist
schools in eastern Iran.
11
Similar seems to have been the case of pondoks or
pasenterens, the Muslim religious schools of Southeast Asia, which were
presumably influenced by the Hindu/Buddhist temple schools of learning that
existed in the region from times prior to the arrival of Muslims.

8
Ignaz Goldziher, Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law, trs. Audrns and Ruth Hamori
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981), 141.
9
Ab l-Faraj Muammad ibn Ab Yaqb Isq Ibn al-Nadm, Kitb al-Fihrist, ed. Ra-
Tajaddud ibn Al al-Mzindrn (Tehran: Ra-Tajaddud, 1391/1971), 407; see also, S.M. Yusuf,
The Early Contacts Between Islam and Buddhism, University of Ceylon Review, vol. 13 (1955),
28.
10
See, Richard C. Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road, 100. See also, Richard Bulliet, Naw Bahar
and the Survival of Iranian Buddhism, Iran, vol. 14 (1976), 1405.
11
See, Richard C. Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road, 100101. See also, The Encyclopedia of Religon,
ed. Mircea Eliade (Farmington Hills, MI: Thomas Gale, 2005), s.v. Madrasah.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
371
The celebrated historian and Qurnic exegete, Ab Jafar Muammad
ibn Jarr al-abar (d. 310/923), who was born in abaristn, northern Persia,
mentions that Buddhist idols were brought from Kabul to Baghdad in the
third/ninth century. It is also reported that Buddhist idols were sold in a
Buddhist temple next to the Makh mosque in the market of the city of
Bukhara in present Uzbekistan.
12

The next encounter between Islam and Buddhism which took place in
South and Southeast Asia during the 6th10th/12th16th centuries. In the case
of India, there is a common misunderstanding that Islam wiped out Buddhism
by means of conversion and persecution. Let us see what Marshall Hodgson
(d. 1968) has to say about this misunderstanding:

Probably Buddhism did not yield to Islam so much by direct conversion as by a
more insidious route: the sources of recruitment to the relatively unaristocratic
Buddhism for instance, villagers coming to the cities and adopting a new
allegiance to accord to their new status turned now rather to Islam than to an
outdated Buddhism. The record of the massacre of one monastery in Bengal,
combined with the inherited Christian conception of Muslims as the devotees of
the sword has yielded the widely repeated statement that the Muslims violently
destroyed Buddhism in India. Muslims were not friendly to it, but there is no
evidence that they simply killed off all the Buddhists, or even all the monks. It
will take much active revision before such assessments of the role of Islam, based
largely on unexamined preconceptions, are eliminated even from educated
mentalities.
13


The third encounter between Islam and Hindu-Buddhist civilization took
place in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. It was a sort of dialogue between a
monotheistic, monistic version of Islam on one hand and non-theistic religious
traditions on the other. The Islam that was introduced in this region had a
conspicuously mystic orientation which had been largely shaped by the
Persian and Indian traditions of Sufism.
The Muslims who first brought Islam to Indonesia and then to Malaysia
and southern Thailand during the 6th9th/12th15th centuries were largely
Sufi mystics. In religious terms, this led to a meeting between the Hindu view
of moksha (liberation) through the Hindu notion of monism, the Buddhist
notion of nirvana (enlightenment) through the realization of sunyata
(emptiness) and the Islamic concept of fan (the passing away of ones identity
by its merging into the Universal Being) as expounded in the monotheistic

12
See, Richard C. Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road, 100.
13
Marshall G.S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, 3 vols. (Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press, 1975), 2: 557.
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
372
pantheism of the Sufis.
14
Gradually there emerged a hybrid syncretic culture,
particularly in Java and other parts of Southeast Asia, giving rise to a version
of Islam that was mystical, fluid and soft, one that nurtured a spiritualism
peculiar to the region.
15

Today Islam coexists with Hinduism and Buddhism in South and
Southeast Asia. The state of this relationship is varied and diverse, something
that can be appreciated in the context of the regional and local histories of the
various countries of the region.
Buddhism as a Non-Theistic Religion
Humanity has experienced Ultimate Reality mainly in three ways: one,
viewed from outside as in the cases of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muammad and
other Semitic Prophets (peace be on them); two, viewed from within as in the
case of Indian religions of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism; and three,
through a shaman (medium) as in the case of Shamanistic and African
religions. In this regard we can say that the Buddhist encounter of Ultimate
Reality from within resulted in nirvana (enlightenment) which equals sunyata
(nothingness/nonsubstantiality). The Buddhist concept of sunyata seems, in a
sense, to parallel the Abrahamic religious notion of transcendental monothe-
ism or non-anthropomorphism. It can even be argued that notwithstanding
the known doctrinal differences between the two religions, the Islamic notion
of Gods dht or essence as distinct from His attributes appears to have a
degree of resemblance with the Buddhist transcendental monism.
Usually the monotheists, that is, Jews, Christians and Muslims of the
Middle East, along with their religious counterparts in Europe, are prone to
regard the Asian religions of Hinduism, Jainisim, Taoism and Shinto as
polytheistic religions. Were we to consider this from the perspective of the
history of religions it will help us appreciate that the notion of Ultimate
Reality in Asian religions is utterly alien to the Middle Eastern and European
cast of mind. As a result, it is extremely difficult for the adherents of
monotheistic religions to conceive of any non-theistic concept of Ultimate
Reality such as the one in Buddhism or, for that matter, the non-dualism of

14
The Islamic concept of fan, more traditionally, can be equated with the passing away of
ones will in complete submission to the Divine Will as expressed by the Prophet (peace be on
him) in a adth, None of you can be a true believer until his/her desires are completely
subdued to what I am sent with. See, Ab Muammad al-usayn b. Masd al-Farr al-
Baghaw, Shar al-Sunnah, Kitab al-mn, Bb Radd al-Bida wa l-Ahw.
15
See, Alijah Gordon, The Propagation of Islam in the Indonesian-Malay Archipelago (Kuala
Lumpur: Malaysian Sociological Research Institute, 2001), and Anthony Shih, The Roots and
Societal Impact of Islam in Southeast Asia, Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs, vol. 2 (Spring
2002), 114.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
373
Hinduism. John Hick explains this by referring to the inability of the
monotheists to distinguish between personal and non-personal views of
Ultimate Reality.
16
Monotheistic religions understand God in personal terms
whereas non-theistic religions view Ultimate Reality in two ways: (1) by
worshipping many devas (gods) at a popular level, and (2) by adhering to the
notion of non-personal Ultimate Reality at the philosophical level. Max
Mller (d. 1900) characterized this as henotheism, i.e. worshipping a single
non-personal universal principle called Brahman which is monistic in nature in
relation to the human soul (the atman) and also by accepting the existence of
other deities.
17
According to Michael Levine, Non-theistic concepts of deity
are seen as alternatives to theistic notions regarded as unacceptable on
religious, as well as affective and rational grounds.
18
Unlike the Semitic
theistic tradition, the theistic and non-theistic notions of deity are not seen in
the Greek, Indian and Chinese religious traditions as mutually contradictory;
they are rather viewed as complementary.
In the Western philosophy of religion, non-theistic concepts of deity are
found in the religious thought of process theology Alfred North Whitehead
(d. 1947), Paul Tillichs (d. 1965) concept of God as ultimate concern, Charles
Hartshornes (d. 2000) dipolar theism and the Christian existentialist
theology of John Macquarrie (d. 2007).
19

In Buddhism, the principle of non-personal Ultimate Reality or the
Absolute is described as nirvana (enlightenment). The Buddhist scholar
Nagarjuna (150250 CE) charaterized it as sunyata (emptiness/nonsubstan-
tiality). Entrance into nirvana is determined by the law of karma whose result
is based on the moral activity of the human being tied to samsara (the cycle of
rebirth) from which an individual seeks liberation. This teaching constitutes
the dharma (the teaching or the righteous path) comparable to sharah in Islam
and Halakha (the law, the path) in Judaism. Both Hinduism and Buddhism
have a non-dualistic view of Ultimate Reality.
To appreciate the Buddhist doctrinal orientation, it would be useful to
recall that the Indian religious scene was known for belief in the multiplicity
of devas (gods) along with the Hindu concept of monism, nature being
constituted of one substance. Buddhism too recognizes the existence of a great
number of impermanent devas (gods) and of men who become buddhas that

16
See, John Hick, God Has Many Names (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1982).
17
See, Max Mller, Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion As Illustrated by the Religions of
India (London: Longmans, Green and Co, 1878).
18
Michael Levine, Non-theistic Conceptions of God in Chad Meister and Paul Copan, eds.
The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion (New York: Routledge, 2007), 237.
19
See, ibid., 238.
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
374
is, those who achieve enlightenment, along with the belief that the world
operates according to the law of dharma (the moral order) and that Ultimate
Reality comprises of sunyata (emptiness).
20
Buddhism tends to view the
question of God as not quite relevant.
While this might appear as unjustified overgeneralization, there is
philosophical compatibility between the non-theistic seen from Asiatic
religions perspective, and the theistic views of Ultimate Reality, the latter as
enshrined in the concepts of Elohim/Yahweh, Christian Godhead, and Islams
monotheistic concept of Allah. According to the Buddhist view, however,
Ultimate Reality is constituted of sunyata (emptiness/nonsubstantiality).
Buddha and Muammad the Prophetic Dimension
From a Muslim perspective of the history of religions, God has from time
immemorial raised Prophets among all nations, only some of which are
mentioned by name in the Qurn.
21
The Qurn mentions 25 Prophets by
name including Muammad (peace be on them)
22
and all of them belong to the
Semitic religious tradition. One can appreciate the problems that would have
arisen had the Qurn mentioned all the Prophets (peace be on them) of the
world for in that case it would have been unfamiliar stuff to the Arabs, its
primary addressees. Furthermore, the Qurn is basically a book of guidance
rather than an encyclopedia of religions.
However, there is no ambiguity about the fact that the Qurn affirms
prophethood to be a universal phenomenon:

And indeed, [O Muammad], We have sent forth apostles before your time;
some of them We have mentioned to thee, and some of them We have not
mentioned to thee. (Qurn 40: 78. See also, Qurn 4: 164)

And never have We sent forth any apostle otherwise than [with a message] in
peoples own tongue . . . (Qurn 14: 4)

At the same time, Islams position regarding diversity of religious
identities is recognised by it as part of Gods scheme of things apart from its
affirmation, as already noted, that Divine Guidance was communicated to all
peoples. The Qurn also states that:

To each among you have We prescribed a Law and an Open Way. If Allah had so
willed He would have made you a single people but (His plan is) to test you in

20
Helmuth Von Glasenapp, Buddhism: A Non-Theistic Religion (London: George Allen and
Unwin, 1970), 15.
21
See, Qurn 40: 78.
22
See for example, Qurn 3: 333, 144; 6: 8387.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
375
what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is
to God; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute.
(Qurn 5: 48)

The Buddhas religious experience of nirvana (enlightenment) and the
Prophet Muammads experience of way (revelation) became important
sources of their essential message of religious moderation.
The significance of the Buddha and Muammad (peace be on him) is
related to their achievements as message-bearers of an enlightened and humane
outlook which overcame the impediments of religious ignorance and bigotry.
In the case of the Buddha, this ignorance is rooted in the cycle of samsara
(rebirth due to attachment to the world) and is the cause of dukkha (suffering).
In the case of Muammad (peace be on him), ignorance stems from the
illusions of kufr (human rebelliousness or human rejection/denial of the
existence of God) and shirk (polytheism or attribution of Divine qualities to
aught but God) as the cause of khusr (loss).
23

It would be interesting to explore what was the Buddhas own position
regarding Gods existence and unity. In this connection it would be necessary
not to take for granted that the Buddhist positions in post-Buddha sources on
these vital doctrinal questions were the same as those of the Buddha himself.
The available evidence indicates that he did not deny Gods existence: at times
he remained silent and on other occasions he did talk about the question, as
we shall see.
To have a better appreciation of the matter it would be pertinent to bear
in mind that the Buddha was born and lived in a world full of belief in magic
and petty gods and nature spirits of trees, mountains, rain, rivers and sky, a
world wherein priests had a vested interest in conducting prayers and rituals to
petty gods and spirits. All this, however, did not bring an end to the mental
anguish or social suffering caused by the human condition related with his
birth, sickness, old age and death which was the Buddhas primary concern.
In terms of geography of religion, the Buddha lived in the world of Indian
gods and demi-gods where there was no debate between indigenous
polytheism and the Semitic religions. The Buddha sought to dispel belief in
the superstitions prevalent in his time. He thus stressed what might be termed
a rational approach to salvation based on the adoption of humanist values of
compassion and cultivation of virtues. The Buddhas main goal was to show
the way to end human suffering. It was presumably for this reason that he
remained silent on questions about God and gods. This does not mean that he

23
See, Qurn 103: 13.
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
376
was an atheist. For he did believe in the Ultimate Reality although the thrust
of his teaching was to alleviate human suffering.
The Buddha, moreover, distinguished between the mundane and
supermundane world. He identified the supermundane world with
enlightenment, peace, and freedom from suffering. In the Buddhist scripture of
Udana [Udn (Inspired Utterances)], the Buddha describes the supermundane
realm as consisting of the eternal Being. He explains it as follows:

There is, O Bhikkhus (monks), an unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, unformed.
Were there not, O Bhikkhus, this unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, unformed,
there would be no escape from the world of the born, originated, created,
formed. Since, O Bhikkhus, there is an unborn, unoriginated, uncreated,
unformed, therefore is there an escape from the born, originated, created,
formed?
24


Interestingly, the classical Muslim scholar of comparative religion,
Muammad b. Abd al-Karm al-Shahrastn (479548/10861153), in the
section on Ar al-Hind (The Views of the Indians) in his magnum opus, Kitb
al-Milal wa l-Nial (Book of Religious and Philosophical Sects), shows high
regard for Buddhism and its richness in spirituality. This is evident from his
identifying the Buddha with the Qurnic figure of al-Khir as a seeker of
enlightenment.
25

More recently, the late Professor Muhammad Hamidullah (d. 1423/2002)
seems inclined to the view that the Buddha might have been a Prophet. He
refers to the mention of the fig tree in of the Qurn (95: 1). This, says
Hamidullah, according to several old and new commentators of the Qurn,
may refer to the Bode tree of the revelation of Buddha; and his birth place
Kapila-Vastu is supposed to have given the name of the prophet Dh l-Kifl.
He concludes that since the Buddha attained nirvana (enlightenment) (ficus
religiosa) under a wild fig tree and as that fig tree does not figure
prominently in the life of any of the Prophets mentioned in the Qurn
hence the Qurnic verse refers to Gautama Buddha.
26

Be that as it may, there is a great deal of parallel between the Qurnic
concept of prophethood, i.e. history of Prophets (named and unnamed) and

24
The Udana, tr. D.M. Strong (London: Luzac & Co., 1902), 112.
25
Muammad b. Abd al-Karm al-Shahrastn, Kitb al-Milal wa l-Nial (Cairo: Mabaat al-
Azhar, 1328/1910), 2: 1275. See also, Bruce B. Lawrence, Shahrastani on the Indian Religions
(Hague: Mouton, 1976), 11314. For al-Khir see, Qurn 18: 64.
26
Muhammad Hamidullah, Muhammad Rasulullah (Lahore: Idara-e-Islamiat, n.d. 1974), 54 and
160 f. See also, David Scott, Buddhism and Islam: Past to Present Encounters and Interfaith
Lessons, Numen, vol. 42 (1995), 14155.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
377
the Buddhist concept of Buddha. Buddha is not a personal name, but a
designation which, in a way, could be considered, if not identical with then at
least somewhat similar to the designation of a nab or rasl (Prophet). Buddhas
appear over time to teach religion and the path to nirvana (enlightenment/
salvation). Buddhist sources mention that 27 Buddhas have appeared over a
period of 5,000 years.
27

The Buddhas enlightenment experience of nirvana and the Prophet
Muammads experience of way (revelation) had a liberating effect on both in
so far as the both became free from the shackles of ignorance and uncalled-for
fetters of social custom. Both were well-wishers of humanity and sought
answers to age-old questions about the human predicament: What does it
mean to be human? Why is there anguish, suffering and injustice? The Buddha
called this phenomenon dukkha (suffering), whereas the Qurn refers to man
as having been created in kabad (affliction).
28
The parallel between the
teachings of the Buddha and Muammad (peace be on him) on this point can
be seen in the Buddhist doctrine of the Four Noble Truths and a significant
doctrine in the Qurnic srah titled al-Balad which we shall mention ex tenso
below.
The Buddhist doctrine of Four Noble Truths consists of the following
teachings:
1. Life means dukkha (suffering).
2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.
4. The (eight-fold) path leads to the cessation of suffering.

Compare the above with the verse 4 of Srah al-Balad (Srah 90):
(, - ' - ' ')
(Verily, we have created man unto [a life of] kabad pain, toil and trial).

The srah reads as follows:

NAY! I call to witness this land
this land in which thou art free to dwell
and [I call to witness] parent and offspring:
Verily, We have created man into [a life of] kabad pain, toil and trial.
Does he, then, think that no one has power over him?
He boasts, I have spent wealth abundant!
Does he, then, think that no one sees him?

27
See, Paul J. Griffiths, On Being Buddha: The Classical Doctrine of Buddhahood (Albany, NY:
State University of New York Press, 1994), 87119. See also, Jamshed Fozdar, The God of
Buddha (New York: Asia Publishing House, 1973), 13.
28
See, Qurn 90: 4.
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
378
Have We not given him two eyes,
and a tongue, and a pair of lips,
and shown him the two highways [of good and evil]?
But he would not try to ascend the steep uphill road...
And what could make thee conceive what it is, that steep uphill road?
[It is] the freeing of ones neck [from the burden of sin/bondage],
or the feeding, upon a day of [ones own] hunger,
of an orphan near of kin,
or of a needy [stranger] lying in the dust
and being, withal, of those who have attained to faith, and who enjoin upon one
another patience in adversity, and enjoin upon one another compassion.
Such are they that have attained to righteousness;
whereas those who are bent on denying the truth of Our messages they are
such as have lost themselves in evil,
[with] fire closing in upon them. (Qurn 90: 120)

I see an analogical compatibility between the Qurnic usage of the word
kabad meaning pain, distress, hardship, toil and trial and the
Buddhist religious term, dukkha (suffering). This is of help in explaining the
Islamic concept of the meaning of life, its struggle and its goal, especially to the
Buddhists.
Through nirvana (enlightenment) the Buddha was liberated from the
fetters of suffering (dukkha) and entered the state of relief, peace, calmness and
rest. He was freed from the state of confusion, turmoil, anguish and distress
and entered the state of bliss (detachment). Similarly, the Prophet
Muammads experience of way (revelation) liberated him from the suffering
caused by religious ignorance obtaining in his milieu symbolised by shirk
(polytheism, that is, attribution of divine qualities to aught but God) and kufr
(rejection/denial of the existence of One Unseen God) which led to
submission to God. Thus through nirvana the Buddha entered the state of
bliss, marking his freedom from suffering and rebirth, and Muammad (peace
be on him) entered the state of salm (peace) through his experience of way.
Both became propagators of world religions which carry the message of
human freedom and liberation. The Buddha realized the state of being arahant
(the state of enlightened human being) and Muammad (peace be on him) the
state of being rasl (the Messenger of God).
29
Each of them defeated the

29
For the Buddha there might not be much historical evidence to show that he was or claimed
to be Gods Messenger or Prophet. However, the possibility that he was a Prophet has not been
altogether ruled out in view of the fact that his original teachings might have been from God
which have not remained unaffected by the vicissitudes of history. It may be noted,
nevertheless, that some outstanding Muslims scholars have either affirmed or did not
categorically reject the possibility of the Buddhas Prophethood. We have already drawn
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
379
antagonistic forces of evil, called mara in Buddhism and Shayn in Islam. This
is described in the Buddhist narrative of the Buddhas struggle with the forces
of mara during the process of his enlightenment as contained in the Buddhist
text of Sutta Nipata (425449).
30
Similarly, in the case of Islam, a adth states:
aslama shayn
31
(my shayn has become a Muslim and does whatever I
order him), meaning that through internal jihd the Prophet (peace be on him)
had turned his lower faculties and instincts to the service and obedience of
God. The Prophet (peace be on him) thereby became al-insn al-kmil (the
perfect man) who had full control over the Shayn.
32
Likewise, through
nirvana the Buddha realized his Buddha-dhatu (Buddha nature or the true, pure
nature) and emptiness of every being; in other words, he realized the original
nature latent in all beings which, when realized, leads to enlightenment.
The Buddha obtained nirvana from within himself on the basis of self-
effort in the course of seeking an answer to the question of dukkha (human
suffering) and pursuing salvation. As for Muammad (peace be on him), he
reached his singular spiritual stature through way (revelation) from outside
himself while seeking to comprehend the meaning of being insn (human) in
terms of the purpose of creation and the goal of life.
Buddhisms Middle Way and Islams Middle Nation as Rejections of
Extremism
Majjhima-Patipada (The Middle Way)

The fourth Noble Truth prescribes the eightfold path implying that the
practice of the eight prescribed principles leads to the end of suffering. These

attention to observations of Muhammad Hamidullah about the Buddha. See, pp. 376377 and n.
26 above. An Egyptian mid-twentieth century scholar, mid Abd al-Qdir, published a work
Bdh al-Akbar: aytuh wa Falsafatuh (Cairo: Maktabat Nahat Misr, 1957), in which he takes
the position that the Prophet Dh l-Kifl (meaning the one from Kifl) mentioned in the
Qurn (21: 85 and 38: 48), refers to Buddha. Although most scholars identify Dhu l-Kifl with
the Prophet Ezekil, Abd al-Qdir believes that Kifl is the Arabicized form of Kapil, the
abbreviation of Kalipvastu (the site where Buddha received enlightenment). He is also of the
view that the fig tree mentioned in the Qurn (95: 1) refers to Buddha since he received
enlightenment at the foot of a fig tree. See also, Alexander Berzin, Buddhism and its Impact on
Asia, Asian Monographs no. 8 (Cairo, Center for Asian Studies, Cairo University, June 1996).
For a more circumspect attitude on the question, see, Muammad if al-Ramn Sewhrw,
Qaa al-Qurn, 7th edn. (Delhi: Nadwat al-Muannifn, 1964), 2: 229233.
30
Encyclopedia of Buddhism, s. v. Mara.
31
See for the full text of this adth, Ab Abd al-Ramn Amad b. Al b. Shuayb al-Nis,
Sunan al-Nis, Kitb Ishrat al-Nis, Bb al-Ghrah; see also, Amad b. Hanbal, Musnad
Amad, Kitb Musnad Abd Allh b. Masd Ra Allh Tal anh.
32
See, Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Lahore: Sang-e Meel Publications,
2003), 113, 196.
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
380
eight principles are as follows: Right views; right intent; right speech; right
action; right livelihood; right effort; right mindfulness and right
concentration.
By pursuing the course of wisdom, moral conduct and mental discipline
as contained in the eightfold path one can achieve nirvana (enlightenment).
The first two prescribed practices of adopting (1) right views (samma-
ditthi) and (2) right intention (samma-sankappa) stress on the development of
the panna (wise/wisdom) dimension of personality. These constitute the
preparatory steps needed to follow the Middle Way. These include having a
clear conceptual understanding of reality which will lead to the adoption of
right intention in dealing with matters of life and death and to see things as
they really are.
The next three practices, viz. samma-vaca (right speech), samma-
kammanta (right action) and samma-ajiva (right livelihood) put stress on the
sila (ethical development) of personality as a means of exiting from the course
of suffering. Mental purification through ethical conduct will lead one to clear
concentration; restraining oneself from unethical conduct will prevent one
from engaging in speech and acts which pollute ones conscience.
The last three practices of the eightfold path, namely samma-vayama
(right effort), samma-sati (right mindfulness) and samma-samadhi (right
concentration) put stress on developing mental discipline so as to attune
oneself to the Middle Way. This will bring mental calm, repose and
collectedness in dealing with different dimensions of human experience and
prevent one from falling a prey to distorted perspectives. But one must pass
beyond a merely intellectual understanding: Enlightenment consists in fully
internalizing that understanding, realizing it in fullest sense, and so silencing
the passions.
33

The Buddha, as mentioned in his biography, after having practiced
extreme yogic (ascetic) practices to attain liberation rejected the path of the
extremists. He did so on the grounds that it led to nowhere, only resulting in
more suffering and selfishness: they had left his secular self unchanged; he
was still plagued by desire and still immersed in the toils of consciousness.
34

Hence he proposed the Middle Way, as the route to liberation, enlightenment
and salvation. The Middle Way is the path of avoidance of suffering and
getting caught in the cycle of pratityasamutpada (dependent origination).
The Middle Way of the Buddha is the path to liberation by overcoming
the forces of the five skandhas (aggregates) which are the cause of suffering,
that is, body/matter, sensation/feeling, perception, mental formations/

33
Richard F. Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism (London: Routledge, 2006), 63.
34
Karen Armstrong, Buddha (New York: Viking/Penguin, 2000), 57.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
381
conditioning and mundane consciousness to which one clings and thereby
suffers. One thinks of them as real self while they are not. The five aggregates
are mara (demons) which cause one to be tied and attached. The Middle Way
of the eightfold path is the path of freedom, of liberation from being attached
to the five aggregates, or it means to overcome materialism. The Buddhist
Middle Way seems a valid option to confront the contemporary scourge of
excessive materialism which is challenging all religious ways of life.
The eightfold path is described in the following way in the Buddhist
scripture of Dhammapada.
The Path
273 The best of the paths is the path of eight. The best of truths, the four sayings.
The best of states, freedom from passions. The best of men, the one who sees.

274 This is the path. There is no other that leads to vision. Go on this path, and you
will confuse MARA, the devil of confusion.

275 Whoever goes on this path travels to the end of his sorrow. I showed this path to
the world when I found the roots of sorrow.

276 It is you who must take the effort. The Great of the past only show the way.
Those who think and follow the path become free from the bondage of MARA.

277 All is transient. When one sees this, he is above sorrow. This is the clear path.

278 All is sorrow. When one sees this, he is above sorrow. This is the clear path.

279 All is unreal. When one sees this, he is above sorrow. This is the clear path.

280 If a man when young and strong does not arise and strive when he should arise
and strive, and thus sinks into laziness and lack of determination, he will never
find the path of wisdom.

281 A man should control his words and mind and should not do any harm with his
body. If these ways of action are pure he can make progress on the path of the
wise.

282 Spiritual Yoga leads to light: lack of Yoga to darkness. Considering the two
paths, let the wise man walk on the path that leads to light.

283 Cut down the forest of desires, not only a tree; for danger is in the forest. If you
cut down the forest and its undergrowth, then, Bhikkhus, you will be free on the
path of freedom.

284 As long as lustful desire, however small, of man for women is not controlled, so
long the mind of man is not free, but is bound like a calf tied to a cow.

IMTIYAZ YUSUF
382
285 Pluck out your self-love as you would pull off a faded lotus in autumn. Strive on
the path of peace, the path of NIRVANA shown by Buddha.

286 Here shall I dwell in the season of rains, and here in winter and summer; thus
thinks the fool, but he does not think of death.

287 For death carries away the man whose mind is self-satisfied with his children and
his flocks, even as a torrent carries away a sleeping village.

288 Neither father, sons nor ones relations can stop the King of Death. When he
comes with all his power, a mans relations cannot save him.

289 A man who is virtuous and wise understands the meaning of this, and swiftly
strives with all his might to clear a path to NIRVANA.
35


The Buddhist sage Nagarjuna mentioned earlier, who is also known as the
second Buddha, was the founder of the Madhyamaka or the Middle Way
school. He composed the Mulmadhyamakakarika (Fundamental Verses) on the
Middle Way which is divided into 27 chapters. It is comprised of Nagarjunas
comments on topics such as the nature of causality and conditionality, motion
and action, the self, its suffering and bondage, nirvana, and the Buddha. The
verses are philosophically dense and rather difficult to understand. Nagarjuna
asserts the Buddhist concept of sunyata (emptiness of all things) including the
Buddha himself, and also the identity between pratityasamutpada (dependent
origination) and sunyata (nothingness/nonsubstantiality), of nirvana
(enlightenment) from samsara (cycle of rebirth) and conventional nature of all
truth. In this way, Nagarjuna maintains that it is a delusion to think that the
world we experience is real. The world is a construct and clinging to it causes
suffering. Overcoming such delusions leads to understanding the true nature
of things which replaces our emotional and mental anxieties by serenity.
The upshot of Nigarjunas discourse is that we misunderstand the world,
taking it for real, permanent and everlasting. However, the realization of
sunyata (that things have no self-being or essence) leads to the Middle Way
which frees us from attachment to things.
36


35
Juan Mascaro, tr. The Dhammapada (Hammondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1973), 7576.
36
Nagarjuna uses concepts to undermine the thought-constructed ways in which we
understand the world has long led critics Buddhist and non-Buddhist, Eastern and Western
to accuse him of nihilism. Indeed, it is likely that the Yogachara school of Buddhism, which
emphasizes the reality of consciousness, arose partly as a response to such nihilistic
interpretations. Evidently some later Buddhist thinkers were concerned that Nagarjunas
exclusively negative approach using language solely to remove the delusions created by
language needed to be supplemented by more positive descriptions of the Buddhist path and
goal. Eventually, the Madhyamaka and Yogachara approaches became understood as
complementary, providing what is generally accepted as the basic philosophy of Mahayana.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
383
The Middle Way is the path of avoiding extremes of anger and fanaticism
and also of hedonism and asceticism. It is the path of moderation, peace and
compassion. It is the path that leads to the realization of sunyata (emptiness).
Upon attaining nirvana, one does not abandon the Middle Way but
continues its practice to further develop ones adherence to morality,
meditation and wisdom. Damien Keown drgues:

The Eightfold Path is thus a path of self-transformation: an intellectual,
emotional, and moral restructuring in which a person is reoriented from selfish,
limited objectives towards a horizon of possibilities and opportunities for
fulfillment. Through the pursuit of knowledge (panna) and moral virtue (sila),
ignorance and selfish desire are overcome, the cause of the arising of suffering is
removed, and nirvana is attained.
37


The Middle way is explained further in Dhamanapada as follows:
10. Violence
All beings tremble before violence.
All fear death.
All love life.
See yourself in other.
Then whom can you hurt?
What harm can you do?
He who seeks happiness
By hurting those who seek happiness
Will never find happiness.
For your brother is like you.
He wants to be happy.
Never harm him
And when you leave this life
You too will find happiness.
38

17. Anger
Let go of anger.
Let go of pride.
When you are bound by nothing
You go beyond sorrow.

David Loy, Second Buddha: Nagarjuna Buddhisms Greatest Philosopher, available at:
<http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/Nagarjuna/SecondBuddha_Nagarjuna_Loy.html>,
accessed 20 February 2009.
37
Damien Keown, Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press,
2000), 56.
38
Thomas Byrom, tr. The Dhammapada, available at: <http://www.thebigview.com/
buddhism/dhammapada.html>, accessed 3 March 2009.
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
384
Anger is like a chariot careering wildly.
He who curbs his anger is the true charioteer.
Others merely hold the reins.
With gentleness overcome anger.
With generosity overcome meanness.
With truth overcome deceit.
39

Ummatan Wasaan (The Middle Nation)
Coming to Islam, a monotheistic religion, its characteristic moderate stance is
expressed by the word wasa. Unfortunately this important concept of the
Qurn is currently eclipsed by the extremist views of the few, who justify
their views and acts by coming up with radical and extremist interpretations of
the political thought of Islamism which arose in the 20th century as a political
critique of the secular ideology of Muslim nationalism.
The Qurnic concept of Ummatan Wasaan (middle nation or people of
moderation) is enshrined in the following verse:

( -' ' = - ' - - ' ' )

And thus have We willed you to be a community of the middle way, so that
[with your lives] you might bear witness to the truth before all mankind (Qurn
2: 143)

The expression ummatan wasaan can be translated into English as a
community of the middle way,
40
as a justly balanced
41
community or
middle nation.
42
Basically it means that the Muslims should not be a
community of extreme right or extreme left but follow the middle path or the
straight way, i.e. the way of Gods guidance which is characterised by
moderation.
Muhammad Asad comments on the term community of the middle
way as follows:

Lit., middlemost community- i.e., a community that keeps an equitable balance
between extremes and is realistic in its appreciation of mans nature and
possibilities, rejecting both licentiousness and exaggerated asceticism. In tune
with its oft-repeated call to moderation in every aspect of life, the Quran exhorts
the believers not to place too great an emphasis on the physical and material

39
Ibid.
40
Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qurn (Gibraltar: Dar al-Andalus, 1984), 30.
41
Abdullh Ysuf Al, The Holy Qurn: Text, Translation and Commentary, New Revised
Edition (Brendwood, MD: Amana Corp., 1409/1989), 58.
42
Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Quran (Lahore: Taj Co. n.d.), 23.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
385
aspects of their lives, but postulates, at the same time, that mans urges and
desires relating to this life of the flesh are God-willed and, therefore, legitimate.
On further analysis, the expression a community of the middle way might be
said to summarize, as it were, the Islamic attitude towards the problem of mans
existence as such: a denial of the view that there is an inherent conflict between
the spirit and the flesh, and a bold affirmation of the natural, God-willed unity in
this twofold aspect of human life. This balanced attitude, peculiar to Islam, flows
directly from the concept of Gods oneness and, hence, of the unity of purpose
underlying all His creation: and thus, the mention of the community of the
middle way at this place is a fitting introduction to the theme of the Kabah, a
symbol of Gods oneness.
43


In terms of intra- and inter-religious relations, the concept of ummatan
wasaan implies that the Muslims should have cordial and reciprocal relations
with other communities in keeping with the Qurnic view of religious
pluralism as expressed in the following verses:

And if God had so willed, He could surely have made you all one single
community: but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you by means of what
He has vouchsafed unto you. Vie, then, with one another in doing good works!
(Qurn 5: 48)

O men! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female, and have
made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another.
Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply
conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-knowing, all-aware. (Qurn 49: 13)

Verily those who have attained to faith (in this divine writ), as well as those who
follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians all who believe in
God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds-shall have their reward with their
Sustainer; and no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve. (Qurn
2: 62)

There shall be no coercion in matters of faith. (Qurn 2: 256)

The above Qurnic verses indicate that:

(1) The unification of religious belief and practice does not form part of Gods
plan for humanity. On the contrary, religious differences are natural and
should make humans compete with one another in doing good works rather
than destroying themselves in mutual antagonism and strife.
(2) Humanity constitutes a single family of equals and none has been invested
with inherent superiority over others. Diversities found among various

43
Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qurn, 30.
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
386
groups of people should foster mutual understanding rather than
antagonism and hostility. The Qurn condemns all kinds of prejudice
whether racial, national or tribal. The Prophet Muammad (peace be on
him) remarked: Behold, God has removed from you the arrogance of
pagan ignorance (jhiliyyah) with its boast of ancestral glories. Man is either
a God-conscious believer or an unfortunate sinner. All people are children
of Adam, and Adam was created out of dust.
44

(3) A fundamental doctrine of Islam is that salvation hinges on three
elements: belief in God, belief in the Day of Judgment, and righteous
action.
(4) There is no compulsion in [matters of] dn i.e. in faith and religion in
the sense of compliance with a morally binding law. Muhammad Asad
further comments on this verse as follows: all Islamic jurists (fuqah ),
without any exception, hold that forcible conversion, is under all
circumstances null and void, and that any attempt at coercing a non-believer
to accept the faith of Islam is a grievous sin: a verdict which disposes of the
widespread fallacy that Islam places before the unbelievers the alternative of
conversion or the sword.
45


The characteristics of the members of ummatan wasaan (Middle Nation)
are as follows:

they are monotheists in terms of religious belief;
they are kind to their elders (especially to parents);
they do not slay their children out of fear of poverty; that is, they do not
engage in infanticide;
they refrain from shameful acts, whether open or secret;
they never kill anyone unless it be a necessary requirement of right and
justice;
they treat orphans with tenderness;
they adhere to fairness and equity in business transactions;
they speak kindly;
they recognize a legitimate social role for women;
they fulfil their covenants with God;
46

they call upon their Sustainer humbly and in the secrecy of their hearts. For
God loves not those who transgress the bounds of what is right; and
they do not spread mischief on earth after things have been set right.
47



44
Ab s Muammad b. s al-Tirmidh, Sunnan al-Tirmidh, Kitb Tafsr al-Qurn an Rasl
Allh, Bb Wa min Srat al-ujurt.
45
Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qurn, 88.
46
See, Qurn 6: 151152.
47
See, Qurn 7: 5556. The above directives for human welfare are found more or less in all
religions, monotheistic or otherwise.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
387
The majority of Muslims is moderate while the extremist tendency has
affected the outlook of only a very meager minority that seeks to inflate its
importance through propaganda. For Muslims, the Prophet Muammad
(peace be on him) is the example par excellence of a moderate person who is
worthy of emulation through imitatio Muammadi.
Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation between Socially Engaged
Islam and Socially Engaged Buddhism
Interreligious dialogue between Monotheism and Buddhism is a new initiative.
Of late there has taken place considerable interaction between Christianity
and Buddhism as can be seen in the works of Masao Abe,
48
John Cobb,
49

Leonard Swidler,
50
and others.
51
Dialogue between Hindus, Buddhists and Jews
and Muslims at the bilateral and multilateral levels has, however, also been
proceeding gradually.
52


48
Masao Abe, Zen and Western Thought (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989); Masao
Abe, Buddhism and Interfaith Dialogue (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1995); Masao
Abe, Zen and the Modern World (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2003).
49
John B. Cobb, Beyond Dialogue: Toward a Mutual Transformation of Christianity and Buddhism
(Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1982).
50
Leonard Swidler and Seiichi Yagi, A Bridge to Buddhist-Christian Dialogue (Mahwah, NJ:
Paulist Press October 1990); Leonard Swidler and Antony Fernando, Buddhism Made Plain: An
Introduction for Christians and Jews (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, April 1985).
51
For topical discussions in Buddhist-Christian dialogue see the journal, Buddhist-Christian
Studies.
52
See, Yudit Kornberg Greenberg, Hindu-Jewish Summits (20072008): A Postmodern
Religious Encounter, Interreligious Insight, vol. 7, no. 1 (2009), 2639; Hananya Goodman, ed.
Between Jerusalem and Benares: Comparative Studies in Judaism and Hinduism (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1994); Rodger Kamenetz, The Jew in the Lotus: A Poets Re-
Discovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India (New York: Harper One, 1995); Sylvia Boorstein,
Its Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness (New York: Harper One, 1997);
Sylvia Boorstein, Thats Funny, You Dont Look Buddhist: On Being a Faithful Jew and a
Passionate Buddhist (New York: Harper One, 1997); Majid Tehranian and Daisaku Ikeda, Global
Civilization: A Buddhist-Islamic Dialogue (London: I. B. Tauris, 2008); Chandra Muzaffar and
Sulak Sivaraksa, Alternative Politics for Asia: A Buddhist-Muslim Dialogue (New York: Lantern
Books, 2002); Imtiyaz Yusuf, Dialogue Between Islam and Buddhism: The Concepts of al-Insn
al-Kml and Bodhisattva (forthcoming); also by the same author, Muslim-Buddhist Relations
in Islam and the Future of World Peace (New York: Interreligious and International Federation
for World Peace, 2002), 8489; Presenting Islam to the Buddhists in Rizwan Wu, ed. Readings
in Cross-Cultural Dawah (Singapore: Darul Arqam Muslim Converts Association of Singapore,
2001), 137163, Dialogue between Islam and Buddhism Through the Concepts of Tathagata
and Nur Muhammadi, International Journal of Buddhist Thought and Culture, vol. 5 (February
2005), 103114; Religious Diversity in a Buddhist Majority Country: The Case of Islam in
Thailand, International Journal of Buddhist Thought and Culture, vol. 3 (September 2003), 131
143.
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
388
In order for this dialogue to advance further the monotheists, i.e. Jews,
Christians and Muslims, have to come to the common ground and share a
common view of their religious identity as monotheistic and also avoid to
write each other off by hurling charges of imposture, deception and
blasphemy. The monotheistic religions should not claim the monopoly of
truth and should further proceed to find the common ground with Asian
Religions through the essentials of truth found in their scriptures, so to
proceed towards a state of religions harmony.
53
This will involve engaging in
dialogues of scripture, religious experience and action. Of these the last type
has a greater chance of extensive application while the first two types are
limited to specific groups.

The dialogue of action involves religious engagement between socially
engaged monotheism and socially engaged Asian religions. Religious
engagement will address the issues of building ethical values, mutual
relationship and trust and active pursuit of common good. The aim is to build
interreligious cooperation between religious communities in order to alleviate
anguish and pain in the world by spreading the ethics of compassion, peace,
harmony and hope. These values lie at the heart of each religion but are not
noticed in their interreligious dimension when each religion views itself
myopically. The challenge before the followers of religions is to build
religiously pluralistic societies that are compassionate and caring and are not
bound by or enmeshed in petty politics in the name of religion. Religions have
to solve rather than create problems and this requires them to foster good
practices. One might ask: is that not the goal of the original propagators of all
religions? As far as we are concerned, this is very much the goal of religious
engagement.
Socially Engaged Islam
A Muslim statement on religious engagement says that:

The roots of current political, economic and social imbalance and inequality are
behavioral. Institutional reforms alone cannot improve the situation. The pursuit
by each individual of his or her self-interest must be moderated by a concern for
others resulting in caring and sharing. This ingredient is best supplied by

53
Theological similarities between the three monotheistic religions has been addressed by Karen
Armstrong, A History of God (New York: Ballantine Books, 1993). Karen Armstrong has also
pointed out the basic similarity between the fundamentalist movements in these three faiths in
her, The Battle for God (London: Harper Collins, 2001). On the similarities in the theme of
monotheistic theology, see also, F. E. Peters, Children of Abraham (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 2006).
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
389
religions, but reason too affirms that in view of humanitys shared habitat and
the interdependencies in the human situation in general.
54


The statement also confirms Muslim tawidic (monotheistic) principle
which, apart from affirming the unity of Deity, also implies unity of
humankind and requires economic and social justice and solidarity with fellow
beings and responsible living in an interdependent world. It prescribes the
following:

(a) That the Muslims respect differences in belief and practice among religious
and spiritual communities and appreciate all efforts at developing better
mutual understanding among the followers of different religions.
(b) Religion should function in contemporary society as a moral force leading
to a peaceful, just and sustainable world.
(c) Religious people should cooperate to make this world a better place and
should not allow differences in religious belief and practice to stand in the
way of this cooperation.
(d) Men and women of religion should rise to the occasion, expose the calls to
destructive confrontation, and rally humanity to the causes common to all
civilizations: survival, freedom, justice, human dignity, peace, sustainability,
and moral excellence and progress. They must oppose all hegemonic
agendas that would impose the will of some over others.

In the area of taking specific actions the statement emphasises the
following:

1. The global Muslim community should demonstrate that terrorists have no
place in Islam.
2. It should actively engage in the international campaign against land mines.
3. It should join efforts to find globally shared paths to sustainable economic
growth and social justice.
4. It should support the Earth Charter in respect of safeguarding the planetary
ecosystem.
5. It should restore democracy in the Muslim world and urge Western powers
to end support for anti-democratic forces in Muslim countries.
6. It should empower Muslim women.
7. It should support the building of civil society to address the problem of
corruption.
8. In the sphere of Islamic education it should emphasise values such as peace,
universal human solidarity, justice, compassion, honesty and integrity.

54
Jim Kenny and Irfan Ahmad Khan, Vision to Action: Statements on Interreligious
Engagement Project (IEP21): Muslim Statement, Interreligious Insight, vol. 6, no. 2 (April 2008),
61.
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
390
9. It should make use of media to develop empathy and understanding among
Muslims for all human beings and all living beings.
10. It should develop a univocal commitment to civilizational dialogue with the
aim to build understanding and harmony between Islamic and all existing
civilizations.
55


Socially engaged Islam which is permeated with Islamic values is
committed to changing society along progressive lines. These values are:
muswh (equality), adl (justice), isn (benevolence), salm (peace), ramah
(compassion) and ikmah (wisdom). Thanks to these values, engaged Muslims
are striving to remove suffering, injustice and oppression on earth for the sake
of the betterment of human life and society. This stance parallels that of the
Buddha who espoused similar ideas. The aim of Islams call that Muslims
become a middle nation is that they should contribute to building peace on
earth in cooperation with other religious and socio-political entities.
Engaged Islam lays stress on acquiring education and knowledge in order
to remove illiteracy and achieve development so as to build a moderate
society. But political rivalry between different social factions and nations is the
greatest obstacle in the path of achieving this objective. Hence the need for
acquisition of knowledge is essential for Muslim social engagement. In this
regard the Muslim educators should put stress on the following verses of the
Qurn:

My Lord! Increase me in knowledge. (Qurn 20: 114)

Read for thy Sustainer is the Most Bountiful One

Who teaches by the pen,

Teaches man that which be knew not. (Qurn 96: 35)

You are indeed the best community that has been brought forth for [the good of]
mankind: you enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is
wrong, and you believe in God. (Qurn 3: 110)

Socially engaged Islam supports the building of democracy in the Muslim
world which is largely either non-existent or has a very slander base of
existence. Democracy is operational only in no more than a handful of the 52
Muslim member countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).
Socially Engaged Buddhism
Socially engaged Buddhism seeks to engage actively with the problems of the

55
Ibid., 6065.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
391
world social, political, economic, and environmental on the basis of
Buddhist ideas, values, and the spirituality enshrined in the religious concepts
of karma, Dependent Origination, the Four Noble Truths and non-violence.
Many people believe that Buddhists focus exclusively on spiritual
attainments. However, the fact is that socially engaged Buddhists involve
themselves with the problems of the world and seek to reconcile this
involvement with the Buddhist teaching of nonattachment with worldly
objects.
56

Engaged Buddhists hold that since the root of human suffering is in the
mind rather than the external world, the pursuit of enlightenment does not
require one to turn away from the world. Thus working to reduce the
suffering of humans, living things and the planet is integral to the Buddhist
spiritual stance leading to selflessness and compassion.
Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, (1926 ) who
is also a poet and peace activist, mentions the following 14 points as the
principles of engaged Buddhism:

1. Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology,
even the Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are a means to guide;
they are not absolute truths.
2. Do not think that the knowledge you presently possess is a changeless,
absolute truth. Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views.
Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive
others viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual
knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe
reality in yourself and in the world at all times.
3. Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt
your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even
education. However, through compassionate dialogue, help others to
renounce fanaticism and narrow-mindedness.
4. Do not avoid suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose
awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to
be with those who are suffering, including by personal contacts, visits,
images and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the
reality of suffering in the world.
5. Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not make fame,
profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure as the aims of your life. Live simply and
share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.
6. Do not maintain anger or hatred. Learn to penetrate and transform them
when they are still seeds in your consciousness. As soon as they arise, turn

56
See, Sallie B. King, ed. Socially Engaged Buddhism (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press,
2009).
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
392
your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of
your hatred.
7. Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Practice
mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present
moment. Be in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both
inside and around you. Plant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in
yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of
your consciousness.
8. Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to
break. Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however
small.
9. Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress
people. Do not utter words that cause division and hatred. Do not spread
news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticise or condemn
things of which you are not sure. Always speak truthfully and
constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice,
even when doing so may threaten your own safety.
10. Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or
transform your community into a political party. A religious community,
however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and
should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.
11. Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not
invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a
vocation that helps realize your ideal of compassion.
12. Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect
life and prevent war.
13. Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of
others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the
suffering of other species on Earth.
14. Do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect. Do not look on
your body as only an instrument. Preserve vital energies (sexual, breath,
spirit) for the realization of the Way. For brothers and sisters who are not
monks and nuns, sexual expression should not take place without love and
commitment. In sexual relations, be aware of future suffering that may be
caused. To preserve the happiness of others, respect the rights and
commitments of others. Be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new
lives into the world. Meditate on the world into which you are bringing
new beings.
57


57
Thich Nhat Hanh, Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism (Berkeley: Parallax
Press, 1993). A Muslim reader of these points would find himself familiar with most of the
principles stated herein as expressed in various verses of the Qurn or in the sunnah of the
Prophet Muammad (peace be on him) recorded in the books of adth.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM THROUGH THE CONCEPTS UMMATAN WASAAN
393
A Thai Buddhist activist Sulak Sivaraksa (1933 ) is a socially engaged
Buddhist who uses Buddhist ethics for social and spiritual transformation. In
an interview describing socially engaged Buddhism he remarked that, Each
one of us carries within seeds potentialities for love, anger, happiness,
violence, and peace. These lie dormant until we water them with our actions.
Being angry sprouts the seeds of sadness and discontent. Living in awareness
sprouts seeds of peace.
58

Sulak holds that true change could only be brought about through social
activism. He holds that socially engaged Buddhism stresses on practicing sila
(not exploiting yourself or others) and meditation to sow the seeds of peace.
The aim is to attain prajna (understanding of reality) and to practice
karuna (compassion).
Thus began Sulaks search for development models based on Buddhist
ideals. He founded the International Network of Engaged Buddhists which
also engages in interreligious dialogue and social activity with members of
other religions.
59

Socially engaged Buddhism stresses on undertaking efforts to build a sense
of universal responsibility in the areas of social justice and care for earth;
building cultures of peace, engaging in dialogue of action with other religious
communities in the areas of youth development and social service to the poor
in society.
60

Conclusion
This paper has shown that both monotheistic and non-theistic religions
expound moderation in religion. Their essential message to humanity is to
avoid extremism of all sorts in order to build mature human beings and
peaceful societies. That is the ideal. The history of religions shows that
religious extremism has emerged in all religions. While these religions present
themselves as sources of building peace between different segments of
humanity, their historical record is not free from the stain of violence. Hence,
reviving the message of the middle way or middle nation is an urgent task,
especially today when the extremism of religious nationalists and fundamental-
ists threatens to wreak havoc on humanity.
The Islamic moderate position of wasaiyyah is a middle position between
religious conservatism and extremism. In the words of Charles Le Gai Eaton:

58
The interview is available at: <http://www.lifepositive.com/spirit/world-religions/
buddhism/sulak-sivaraksa.asp>, accessed 24 February 2009.
59
Ibid.
60
Jim Kenny and Sallie B. King, Vision to Action Statements on Interreligious Engagement
Project (IEP21): Buddhist Statement, Interreligious Insight, vol. 6, no. 2 (April 2008), 6570.
IMTIYAZ YUSUF
394
The Quranic concept of a middle nation tells the Muslims to be worthy of
being heir to ancient and universal truths, and to principles of social and human
stability (often betrayed but never forgotten) of which our chaotic world has a
desperate need; a nation which witnesses to a hope that transcends the dead ends
against which the contemporary world is battering itself to death.
61


Buddhisms notion of Majjhima-Patipada (Middle Way) and Islams
notion of Ummatan Wasaan (Middle Nation) emphasize moderation and
offer firm foundations to promote cooperation between different
communities. This is promising because the goal of building peaceful relations
between different religions communities is an urgent need of our time in view
of the fact that immoderate religious views are likely to ignite animosity and
conflict that can inflict incalculable harm on humanity and its habitat the
earth.
Interreligious relations and dialogue between monotheistic and Asian
religions require initiatives by moderate and socially engaged monotheism of
Judaism, Christianity and Islam and socially engaged Buddhism and other
Asian religions. This process can be initiated by engaging in the dialogue of life
and action at the general community level, leaving the task of more
sophisticated dialogue of theology, doctrine, scripture and experience to the
specialists.




61
Charles Le Gai Eaton, Islam and the Destiny of Man (Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1985), 26.