The Ground We Share: Everyday Practice, Buddhist and Christian

Reviewed by Scott Whitney

Parabola
Vol.20 No.1 (Spring 1995)
pp.110-111

COPYRIGHT Society for the Study of Myth and Tradition 1995

            TWO SPIRITUAL TEACHERS, one a respected American Zen Master, the 
            other a Benedictine hermit, secluded themselves for a week in a 
            cabin in the famous Waipi'o Valley on the island of Hawai'i. The 
            results of their week-long dialogue, taped and later edited by 
            California writer Nelson Foster, have become the text of The Ground 
            We Share. It is predictable that the two, who obviously respect and 
            listen closely to each other, find some basic commonalities in the 
            contemplative practices and insights which their two spiritual 
            traditions share. Yet what is more fascinating is how two honest men 
            handle the gaps, even the chasms, that separate their world views. 
            Amid the politeness and respect, there is some admirable butting of 
            heads in their spiritual duet. For instance, Aitken Roshi says at 
            one point, "Christians, I think, tend to take metaphysics seriously. 
            In other words, a Christian can never say that there's no such thing 
            as Christ." Some things, it seems, are non-negotiable. Perhaps in an 
            attempt to be broad-minded or accommodating, Brother David makes 
            some extraordinary and questionable claims, like: "The Western 
            tradition is not dualistic fundamentally or inherently." What about 
            body and soul, heaven and hell, good and evil, Christian and pagan, 
            divine and human, word and silence? The traditions of all the 
            "people of the book" are, by definition, dualistic. But the 
            Benedictine brother is also capable of sharp honesty about the 
            limitations of his church's institutions. They have a tendency to be 
            self-perpetuating and, often despite the best intentions, serve 
            themselves rather than the life they were created to serve. This 
            book is important, not because it advances any broad ecumenical 
            agendas, but because Buddhism has become an important element in the 
            American intellectual landscape and most "New World" Buddhist 
            practitioners have their roots in either the Jewish or the Christian 
            traditions. For committed Christians, the book's importance might be 
            found in the question: How can Buddhist meditative techniques--honed 
            to a diamond point by centuries of transmitted practice--be 
            incorporated into the body of Western spirituality? It is not just a 
            matter of Buddhism meeting the Judeo-Christian tradition in 
            America--this very meeting is changing both in the process. As the 
            two traditions meet and teach and change each other, their followers 
            need to discover what is essential, and what is mere cultural 
            artifact. Untangling these roots from the cultural media in which 
            they developed is one of the dicier tasks of any contemporary 
            student of religion--and one of the focal points of this dialogue. 
            Aitken Roshi addresses this cultural-his-torical problem in a 
            fascinating way when he says: The Buddha grew up in an environment 
            that was not monotheistic and in which the idea of vast, cyclical 
            world systems--huge cycles of time and being--was commonplace; ... I 
            suspect similar cultural factors help explain why the Buddha's 
            experience led to an emphasis upon enlightenment, whereas the life 
            of Christ led to an emphasis on salvation. Not presuming on the 
            expertise of the reader, editor Nelson Foster has provided a 
            graceful introduction to the histories of both men, and to the 
            occasion of their dialogue. His use of unobtrusive footnotes 
            throughout the main text also facilitates an easy read. Through the 
            course of the book, one gets a sense of both men reaching for the 
            limits of their understanding and experience. There is a sense in 
            which their week-long conversations were both ordinary and historic. 
            For American Buddhists trying to figure out their Christian origins, 
            or for Christians trying to renew their faith community, The Ground 
            We Share is valuable proof that equanimity and honesty must form the 
            common ground of dialogue.