Living Buddha, Living Christ

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.

Product Description
A widely followed Vietnamese monk and Buddhist teacher explores the common ground of Christianity and Buddhism on such subjects compassion and holiness and offers inspiration to believers in both religions to renew their spiritual calling.

Hahn does view Christ as a living person and a historical figure. In fact, he very pointedly remarks that most Christians seem to be more interested in Christian dogma than in what Christ actually did-the example he lived for all of us. By the way, "Living Christ" is part of the title.

"Traditional" Christianity has much in common with the Pharisees of Jesus' day. Now that Hanh is living and speaking in a Christ-like way, it's not surprising that he's encountering resistance, misunderstanding, and intolerance.

"Traditional" Christianity is what it is, not because of being true to itself, but because of being true to Western Civilization's ethos of valuing material things, exploiting nature, and controlling the masses for political gain. Christianity and Science (the modern religion) both struggle with the problems that arise from the presumed existence of an objective world. "Traditional" Christianity diverged from the teachings of Christ within the very first century of the Church. Hanh exposes this quite convincingly, as long as you're not afraid to see it. Some reviewers have suggested that a Buddhist such as Hanh has no authority in defining what Christianity is or what it means to be a Christian. Who does? The very labels "Buddhist" vs. "Christian" cause a divisiveness that is as unfortunate as it is unnecessary. Each one of us is a human being on a spiritual journey. Ultimate Truth is self-evident and cannot be expressed in any system of thought, language, or symbols. Does the Universe conform to a Buddhist view or a Christian view? Is a photon a wave or a particle? Authority ultimately resides with the observer.


Introduces the Christian to Buddhism.   June 13, 2005
Aaron W (Ridgecrest, CA USA)
40 out of 42 found this review helpful

This book was largely my introduction to Buddhism. I was a Christian who was losing my faith and became interested in Buddhism. This book helped me come to terms with the two faiths and showed me how their core teachings are compatible.

Thich Nhat Hanh's language is always compassionate and patient. He is more like a friendly uncle than a spritual master. I think that the two major themes of this book (indeed of any of his books) are love and awareness. This book will show you how to awaken both love and awareness within yourself while also helping to restore your faith while understanding the faith of others.


A wise and beautiful book about you and your neighbors   February 20, 2001
Thomas Lapins (Orlando, Florida USA)
56 out of 62 found this review helpful

I originally purchased the book because Elaine Pagels put her stamp of approval on it (she wrote the introduction). This is a wise and beautiful book. If you're caught up in dogma, tradition and need to be pampered and saved, this book might not be for you. If you wish to live, learn and love humanely, open your mind and look beyond the horizon, you'll enjoy this feast. I keep this book by my bedside table, close to my "YES Yoko Ono" art book, very different yet very similar books. I'm not interested in any one religion but I very much enjoy being human. Our culture and history weighs us with so much baggage. Life is full of illusion and delusion. There is a simplicity and honesty behind all that distracts and prejudices us as individuals and a culture. So much talk about "peace" and "love" yet we remain empty headed to the Truth behind our existence. This book brings what's of importance to the surface. A book to read in whole and in parts over and over again. A book of healing and awakening. No great revelations. Just you reading about you and your neighbors.


Pearls of wisdom   January 30, 2004
DAVID-LEONARD WILLIS (Thessaloniki Greece)
36 out of 39 found this review helpful

All religions have as their common thread the Golden Rule expressed in Buddhism as: "Hurt not others with that which pains yourself" and in Christianity as: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you". Almost certainly, if Jesus and Buddha were to meet today they would embrace each other and tell us that we have misinterpreted their teachings by permitting or perhaps even advocating religious intolerance, religious rivalry, religious hatred, religious fanaticism and religious war. It was therefore like a breath of fresh air to discover a Buddhist monk from Vietnam who thinks, speaks and acts the Golden Rule - a man about whom Martin Luther King wrote: "I Know Thich Nhat Hanh and am privileged to call him my friend. He is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. He is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity". In 1947 in Egypt early Christian documents were discovered, believed to have been hidden after orders to destroy them as heretical were given by the archbishop of Alexandria. The Gospel of Thomas resonates with the Buddhist tradition. These long-hidden sources show that the early Christian movement contained much more diversity of viewpoint and practice than later Christians acknowledged or even imagined. Because these teachings were smothered, many Christians today are adamant that the only path to God is via Christianity. Shortly after Buddha died there were two schools of Buddhism; after 400 years there were 20 schools; and today there are many more. Each is an attempt to keep the Buddhist teachings alive under new circumstances. Likewise Christianity has splintered into many groups. It is only by respecting the differences within our own church and seeing how these differences enrich one another, that we can be open to appreciating the richness and diversity of other traditions.

Thich Nhat Hanh is not a monk who lives in a hermitage and runs away from the world. For more than 30 years he has been active in combating poverty, ignorance and disease; rescuing boat people; evacuating the wounded from combat zones; resettling refugees; helping the hungry and orphans; opposing wars; training peace and social workers; and rebuilding villages destroyed by bombs. But he has only been able to do this because of the practice of meditation - stopping, calming and looking deeply. It is only through the practice of deep looking and deep listening, that we become free, able to see the beauty and values in our own and others' tradition and that we know what we should be doing in the world.

This book is about interfaith dialogue. "In a true dialogue, both sides are willing to change. We have to appreciate that truth can be received from outside of - not only within - our own group. If we do not believe that, entering into dialogue would be a waste of time. If we think we monopolize the truth and we still organize a dialogue, it is not authentic. We have to believe that by engaging in dialogue with the other person, we have the possibility of making a change within ourselves, that we can become deeper. Dialogue is not a means for assimilation in the sense that one side expands and incorporates the other into its 'self.' Dialogue must be practiced on the basis of 'non-self.' We have to allow what is good, beautiful, and meaningful in the other's tradition to transform us. But the most basic principle of interfaith dialogue is that the dialogue must begin, first of all, within oneself. Our capacity to make peace with another person and with the world depends very much on our capacity to make peace with ourselves."

This book is about seeking peace. "Until there is peace between religions, there can be no peace in the world. People kill and are killed because they cling too tightly to their own beliefs and ideologies. When we believe that ours is the only faith that contains the truth, violence and suffering will surely be the result." And "When there are wars within us, it will not be long before we are at war with others, even those we love. The violence, hatred, discrimination, and fear in society water the seeds of the violence, hatred, discrimination, and fear in us."

This book is about mindfulness: "In Buddhism, our effort is to practice mindfulness in each moment - to know what is going on within and all around us. When the Buddha was asked, 'Sir, what do your monks practice?' he replied, 'We sit, we walk, we eat.' The questioner continued, 'But sir, everyone sits and walks, and eats.' And the Buddha told him, 'When we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are eating.' Most of the time, we are lost in the past or carried away by future projects and concerns."

This book is about being there for others: "The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When our mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers." This book is about meditation. This book is about the common ground between Christianity and Buddhism - for the author there is no conflict in having images of both Jesus and Buddha on his hermitage altar. He worships them both; he touches them both as his spiritual ancestors. This book is wisdom. There are pearls of wisdom on every page of this book for seekers of the truth.