The Ground We Share: Everyday Practice, Buddhist and Christian

Reviewed by Steve Schroede

Booklist
Vol.92 No.22 (August 1996)
pp.1858-1859

COPYRIGHT 1996 American Library Association

            This is a lovely, engaging, insightful conversation between two 
            important contemporary spiritual teachers and practitioners, one 
            (Aitken) an American-born Zen master and the other (Steindl-Rast) a 
            Benedictine monk. The conversation is drawn from a week-long retreat 
            that Aitken and Steindl-Rast shared in Hawaii in 1991. They agree 
            quickly to focus on "everyday practice" rather than on abstract 
            conceptions of Buddhism and Christianity. The result is not a formal 
            contribution to the growing body of uses the money as bait. Shading 
            all of Hammer's moves are two factors: his physical condition, which 
            forces him to use his brain rather than his brawn, and his impending 
            marriage to his loyal and voluptuous assistant, Velda. The first 
            factor enhances the mystery aspect of the plot since Mike can't just 
            beat the hell out of everyone until they tell him what he wants. The 
            looming nuptials provide comic relief as the always randy Hammer 
            decides he and Velda had best "save" themselves for their wedding 
            night. Hammer has always had his own moral code, but never has it 
            made him seem so ... prim. A wonderfully entertaining novel with a 
            more complex and interesting Hammer. Buddhist-Christian dialogue so 
            much as an illuminating and multifaceted exploration of common 
            ground - the sacred heart that beats at the center of a world shared 
            by Christians and Buddhists. This volume offers a rare opportunity 
            to eavesdrop on a conversation between compassionate believers 
            comfortable with their differences, fully engaged with each other, 
            and fully engaged in the world.