The Early Buddho-Daoist Encounter as Interreligious Learning in the Chinese Context
a Case in Comparative Theology
In: International Journal of Asian ChristianitySearch for other papers by Fu Yu in
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Google Scholar
Abstract
This paper contends that the methodological tool of comparative theology, arising from and developing in Euro-American academia, resonates strongly with the historical interreligious learning praxis of China. Attention to comparative theology may indeed help us rethink the formation of a Chinese cultural identity vis-à-vis its religious others. A malleable way of doing comparative theology may offer nothing less than the mutual transformation of the interreligious interlocutors in a way consonant with Chinese history.
A historical review of the interaction between Chinese Buddhism and Daoism shows that the adoption of Daoist terminology and concepts facilitated the Buddhist entry into the local milieu, while medieval Chinese Buddhism became paradigmatic for the elaboration of Daoist doctrine. The Buddho-Daoist interaction coheres with the enterprise of comparative theology with respect to the nature of interaction between religious traditions, the appropriative yet distinctive religious self-identification, and the transformation of the self and the other.
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The Early Buddho-Daoist Encounter as Interreligious Learning in the Chinese Context
a Case in Comparative Theology
In: International Journal of Asian ChristianitySearch for other papers by Fu Yu in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
This paper contends that the methodological tool of comparative theology, arising from and developing in Euro-American academia, resonates strongly with the historical interreligious learning praxis of China. Attention to comparative theology may indeed help us rethink the formation of a Chinese cultural identity vis-à-vis its religious others. A malleable way of doing comparative theology may offer nothing less than the mutual transformation of the interreligious interlocutors in a way consonant with Chinese history.
A historical review of the interaction between Chinese Buddhism and Daoism shows that the adoption of Daoist terminology and concepts facilitated the Buddhist entry into the local milieu, while medieval Chinese Buddhism became paradigmatic for the elaboration of Daoist doctrine. The Buddho-Daoist interaction coheres with the enterprise of comparative theology with respect to the nature of interaction between religious traditions, the appropriative yet distinctive religious self-identification, and the transformation of the self and the other.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 209 | 41 | 7 |
| Full Text Views | 44 | 1 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 79 | 7 | 0 |