Christians are followers of Christ, many of whom would say that they seek to have Christ live within them. Buddhists are followers of the Buddha’s dharma or teaching, and many, particularly Mahayana Buddhists, would say that they seek to literally be/become Buddhas, or bodhisattvas.              

 

The profound similarity in Christ and the bodhisattva is that both define and offer an extraordinary care for others. Followers do not seek simply to ramp up their normal forms of other-concern, but to radically remake the very terms on which care for others is understood and realized. The two figures and the paths of their followers both diverge and intertwine. They mix love and wisdom in ways that are mutually enriching. They raise differences that can be stark conflicts or creative tensions. 

 

This workshop offers some reflections on comparative theology and practice, a brief exploration of the somewhat different problems for which the bodhisattva and Christ are transformative solutions, and a brief sample of practice: Christian and Buddhist appreciation of the practice of “exchanging self and other” from Śāntideva’s classic The Way of the Bodhisattva.