Product Description

Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley reads Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh's inspiring masterpiece.

"When you are a truly happy Christian, you are also a Buddhist. And vice versa."
-- Thich Nhat Hanh

Buddha and Christ, perhaps the two most pivotal figures in the history of humankind, each left behind a legacy of teachings and practices that have shaped the lives of billions of people over the course of two millenia. If they were to meet on the road today, what would each think of the other's spiritual views and practices?

The bestselling author of Peace is Every Step, and one of the most beloved Buddhist teachers in the West, Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh has been part of a decades-long dialogue between the two greatest living contemplative traditions, and brings to Christianity an appreciation of its beauty that could be conveyed only by an outsider. In a lucid, meditative prose, he explores the crossroads of compassion and holiness at which the two traditions meet, and reawakens our understanding of both. "On the altar in my hermitage," he says, "are images of Buddha and Jesus, and I touch both of them as my spiritual ancestors."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #260519 in Books
• Published on: 1997-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

From Amazon.com
If you have always assumed that Christianity and Buddhism are as far apart philosophically as their respective founders were geographically, you may be in for a bit of a surprise. In this national bestseller, Zen monk and social activist Thich Nhat Hanh draws parallels between these two traditions that have them walking, hand in hand, down the same path to salvation. In Christianity, he finds mindfulness in the Holy Spirit as an agent of healing. In Buddhism, he finds unqualified love in the form of compassion for all living things. And in both he finds an emphasis on living practice and community spirit.

The thread that binds the book is the same theme that draws many Christians toward Buddhism: mindfulness. Through anecdotes, scripture references, and teachings from both traditions, Nhat Hanh points out that mindfulness is an integral part of all religious practice and teaches us how to cultivate it in our own lives. Nhat Hanh has no desire to downplay the venerable theological and ritual teachings that distinguish Buddhism and Christianity, but he does cause one to consider that beyond the letter of doctrine lies a unity of truth.

From Library Journal
In this popular work Hahn, a Vietnamese Zen monk, offers some parallels between Eastern and Western spiritual practice in an accessible style that will please general readers.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Drawing on Christian theology, as well as his own Buddhist beliefs, this bestselling author and beloved monk examines the qualities of compassion and holiness, and eloquently shows that they're integral parts of both traditions. Ben Kingsley reads with class. His British accent is never overbearing or intrusive. He's in command of the text all the way. No doubt his Academy Award-winning role as Gandhi prepared him well for the Indian terms and phrases. P.B.J. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

AWESOME READ!
IN TIMES PAST AS IS NOW, I BELIEVE GOD HAS HIS OWN TIMETABLE... REVELATION (THE CONCEPT, NOT THE BOOK) IS A LINEAR THING...AND IT IS ABOUT TIME WE CHRISTIANS OPENED OUR UNDERSTANDING TO THE EASTERN THOUGHTS THAT ARE SO IN TUNE WITH THE WORDS OF CHRIST!
THICH HAS FINALLY OPENED THE DOOR FOR BELIEVERS IN CHRIST TO READ THE TRUTH OF THE BUDDHA AND UNDERSTAND THAT THEY FIT TOGETHER LIKE A PUZZLE.
CHRISTIANS UNDER THE GUISE OF SUPERIORITY HAVE GONE INTO FOREIGN LANDS AND CONVERTED THE "HEATHEN" AND TRIED TO AMERICANIZE CULTURES THAT ARE A THOUSAND YEARS OR MORE OLDER THAN OUR OWN 21ST CENTURY GARBAGE.
IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT EVERY BORN AGAIN CHILD OF GOD READ THIS BOOK! THIS NOT A CULT BOOK, IT IS GOD'S TRUTH FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN THAT WILL OPEN YOUR EYES AND STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH. THE PAST IS GONE..WE CANNOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT... THE FUTURE IS AHEAD..THAT TOO IS UNKNOWN TO US...WE LIVE IN THE NOW..THIS MOMENT...GOD IS THE GREAT "I AM"..IN THE NOW..ALWAYS IN THE NOW!! FAITH IN JESUS THE CHRIST REMOVES THE PAST...ASSURES US OF THE FUTURE...AND LIVES WITH AND IN US NOW!
TO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS CONCEPT....YOU WILL BE SCARED OF THE TEACHINGS OF BUDDHISM....HE ISN'T A SAVIOR..HE IS A TEACHER... HEED THE WORDS OF THIS HUMBLE MONK....AND BE CHANGED FOREVER!
DON'T BE LIKE THE CHILD STANDING WITH HIS EYES CLOSED WISHING HE COULD SEE THE FOREST AND GRASS AND FLOWERS AND ANIMALS AND BIRDS... SIMPLY OPEN YOUR EYES TO THE TRUTH THAT WAS THERE FOR YOU TO SEE ALL THE TIME.... IF ONLY WE WOULD SET ASIDE TIME FROM OUR HURRY HURRY RUSH RUSH SCHEDULE AND SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH THE MAKER AND SUSTAINER OF THE UNIVERSE...THICH TELLS YOU HOW....
IF ONLY YOU WILL HEED THE WORDS ... OF BOTH THE CHRIST AND THE BUDDHA....AND SEEK WHAT IS WITH YOU NOW..THIS MOMENT..IT MAY BE ALL YOU HAVE! USE IT WISELY!!!

Excellent
Thich speaks as someone who's suffered immeasurably. But his suffering, transformed, had enabled him tremendous insight.

Thich is able to understand the dynamics that underpin two great traditions. He is able to step outside of time and tradition on speak on truth.

He is not a "philosopher" or "lawyer" who plays with language to "prove" how these religions are one. Rather he speaks from his own experience to express his feelings regarding Jesus and Buddha.

Highly recommended to all Christians looking to deepen their understanding of the holy spirit and to open their hearts to the living Christ.

Nijmegen, The Netherlands
In Living Buddha, Living Christ, Thich Nhat Hanh explains the similarities between all earthly religions, giving particular emphasis on his own background in Buddhism and his view of Christianity as it has been formed by direct interactions both hostile (missionaries in Vietnam) and serene (monks, nuns, and priests met during travels). As somebody that can an outside-in view to both traditions, I heartily concur with Hanh.