A Jesuit priest, a Trappist monk, and a Tibetan buddhist walked into a bar. (No, this is not a joke). A sign above the bar said, “Free drinks to everyone…
Category: Interspirituality
In the Beginning Was the Tao…
Ken Leong, the author of The Zen Teachings of Jesus, posted this on Facebook the other day: I was having a conversation with a group of American Christians. I told them…
How Should A Christian Respond When a Friend Becomes Interested in Witchcraft and Magic?
As long-standing readers of this blog know, I have not always been a Catholic; I embraced Catholicism in 2004 after a Protestant upbringing and then about a seven-year stint in…
“You Wrote Books About Paganism?!?”
The late Kenneth Leech used to tell the story about giving a lecture at a seminary in America on the topic of race relations, and afterwards a seminarian seemed surprised to…
Philippians 2 and the Heart Sūtra
One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is the hymn found in Philippians 2:5-11: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he…
The Contemplative Story of Dear Prudence
I love the Beatles, and like many Beatles fans, I think The White Album is one of their great masterpieces. And one of the best songs on The White Album…
How Mysticism is Unique — and Universal
How, exactly, does Christian mysticism relate to all the other “mysticisms” of the world (Kabbalah, Sufism, Taoism, Vedanta, Zen, etc.)? A reader of this blog writes: I have been reading…
Interfaith Dialogue, Interspirituality, and Holy Daring
Recently I spoke at a church located about an hour north of where I live. As I drove to the church, I chatted on the phone with my brother who…
Embracing Depth and Diversity: a Contemplative Approach to Interspirituality and Religious Commitment
Autumn in Georgia is a mild and lovely season, marked by golden sunlight, cool mornings and temperate days. And even if we can’t boast the shock of gorgeous color that…
A List of Books for Buddhist-Christian Dialogue
Are you interested in exploring the richness of dialogue and interspiritual practice between Christianity and Buddhism? If so, then here’s enough literature to keep you going for a while. Each…
World Mysticism, Interfaith Dialogue, and Interspirituality
In my first book, Spirituality, I wrote, In my experience, my faithfulness to Christ and my openness to the wisdom of other traditions are two aspects of my spiritual journey…
Nasty
The other day I took a walk with a friend of mine, about my age, who is going through a spiritual transition. He was at one point a very devout…