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A Buddhist Critique of, and Learning from, Christian Liberation Theology
Abstract
This article is an exercise in comparative theology from a Buddhist perspective. Christian liberation theology and engaged Buddhism both seek to empower people by liberating them from causes of suffering that prevent them from realizing their deeper identity and fuller potential. Christian and Buddhist liberation theologies differ in what they identify as the main conditions of suffering, as well as in the epistemologies they use to disclose those suffering conditions and to address them. Through their differences, the author argues, each tradition points out an epistemological weakness in the other that would otherwise have remained unnoticed and, by exposing it, helps correct it.
... But our primary motivation for doing so will not be the demand of justice, but the demand of love. We will confront oppressors with what Makransky calls "a fierce compassion" (Makransky 2014). ...
... Scholarship on Buddhist perspectives of ecofeminism are notable for their scarcity, at least in English language publications. While John Makransky takes up the topic in the course of his comparative theology of Christian liberation theology from a Buddhist perspective (Makransky 2014), the scholar to take up ecofeminism not only as the central topic, but constructed an indigenous Buddhist ecofeminism from a culturally-situated perspective, is theologian Hyun-Shik Jun from Yonsei University in Seoul. Jun's paper takes a philosophical approach, comparing Hegelian, Madhyamaka, and Korean Tonghak non-duality philosophy and arguing their synthesized application, " a Korean ecofeminist critical reconstructive dialectics of negative identity " (Jun 2014), to custom-fit the ecofeminism articulated by theologian Rosemary Radford Reuther (of which more will be said below). ...
This article employs a Christological lens, deeply informed by Bernard J. F. Lonergan’s theology of history and soteriology, to discern the conditions necessary for all-inclusive solidarity. It highlights the twofold kenotic aspect of solidarity, addressing a gap in mainstream theological discourses that often emphasize ‘particular’ solidarity with those in need while neglecting its ‘universal’ (all-inclusive) dimension. Affirming ‘universal’ solidarity necessitates guarding against a misleading notion of neutrality and against totalization, as well as resisting a truncated understanding of intersubjectivity that is prone to group bias. After laying the foundations for understanding solidarity in light of its secular origins and Christian theological context, the article concludes that redemptive solidarity cannot exist without a christomorphic kenosis, which encompasses two incommensurable dimensions: solidarity with victims and solidarity with victimizers as potential converts (that is, as capable of metanoia). In the pursuit of transforming evil into good in history, kenotic solidarity requires prioritizing the common good over personal advantage, even to the extent of refusing to exploit what is (or seems to be) rightfully one’s own—whether privilege, possessions, or the right to strict retribution— just as Christ did when he did not exploit his equality with God to his own advantage (Phil 2:6).
Since the final report of the extraordinary synod of 2014 made no mention of conscience, this note proposes a notion of a socially oriented and accountable conscience as opposed to the contemporary understanding of the term “conscience” among US Catholics, that is, as dissenting from the law. Turning to the European use of “conscience” that arises from the social remorse of their own conduct in World War II, the note proposes that when the United States finally repents over its racist history, we citizens might begin to see that conscience requires us to enter into solidarity with others and to be vigilant of the threats to our own humanity.
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