The Christ and the Bodhisattva (reprint)

Pages: 280 (8 B/W Illustrations)From the jacket In this book, the authors explore and reconsider the contemporary significance of the Christ and the Bodhisattva. The volume includes essays by three eminent Christian theologians, Langdon Gilkey, Brother David Steindl Rast, and Ann Belford Ulanov, that explore the significance of the Christ from the perspectives of the Roman Catholic contemplative tradition, modern depth psychology, and liberal Protestantism. Drawing on information previously unavailable in English, three distinguished scholars of Buddhism, Robert Thurman, Luis Gomez, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama investigate the significance of the Bodhisattva in India, East Asia, and Tibet. A substantive introduction sets the historical background for the Christ in Christianity and the Bodhisattva in Buddhism. Contributors essays enhance our understanding of current presuppositions, problems, and prospects for the Buddhist Christian dialogue. IntroductionIn the figures of the Christ and the Bodhisattva, Christianity and Buddhism have developed powerful symbols of the ideal possibilities of human nature, operating both as liberating and redemptive forces in the lives of individuals and as sources of inspiration in the quest for a just and compassionate society. In the history of human culture, few other symbols can rival the creative influence that the Christ and the Bodhisattva have exercised in the future will be determined by the ways in which the Christ figure remains alive. The same may be said about Mahayana Buddhism and the Bodhisattva ideal. In addition, Christian understandings of the Christ