Transcendence and Violence The Encounter of

The first two parts of this book present four detailed historical studies, filled with Geertzian "thick description," of the encounters of Christianity and Buddhism (universal religions with a high quotient of "transcendence") with various primal religious traditions ("biocosmic" or "immanentist") of the Asian-Pacific region, namely, Aboriginal Australia and Melanesia (Christianity) and Sri Lanka and Japan (Buddhism). In each case, the encounters represented a failure of the "great" traditions. In the third, constructive and theological part of the book, the author shows how an acknowledgment of these failures may provide a back door to dialogue.

John D'Arcy May, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, is Associate Professor of Interfaith Dialogue at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College, Dublin

Foreword

1

(2)

Acknowledgments

3

(4)

Introduction: WHY VIOLENCE?

Traditions of Transcendence and Their Failures

7

(14)

1. The Enigma of Transcendence

11

(3)

2. Confronting the Failures of Transcendence

14

(11)

2(a). The Failure of European Christianity in the Shoah

14

(2)

2(b). The Failure of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka

16

(5)

Part I CHRISTIANITY'S PACIFIC VOYAGE

Prologue

21

(4)

Chapter One: INTERNALIZING THE PRIMAL OTHER

The Christian Encounter with Aboriginal Religion

25

(17)

1. The Failure of European Theology

26

(4)

2. The Resilience of Aboriginal Religion

30

(2)

3. Confronting the Primal Other

32

(10)

Chapter Two: INITIATION INTO THE FUTURE

Christianity and Modernity in Melanesia

42

(23)

1. Myth and Magic: World Construction and Social Discernment

44

(6)

2. The Cult of "Cargo" as Rite of Passage

50

(7)

3. "Biocosmic" Religion and the Sacralization of Violence

57

(4)

Part II BUDDHISM'S ASIAN JOURNEY

Prologue

61

(4)

Chapter Three: THE BUDDHA IN SACRED SPACE

Japanese Buddhism in War and Peace

65

(19)

1. Japan's Embrace of the "Civilizing Religion"

66

(7)

2. The Buddha in the "Sacred Nation"

73

(5)

3. In Search of an Ethic for Postmodernity

78

(6)

Chapter Four: DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT VIOLENCE?

The Rebirth of Ethics in Thai Buddhism

84

(21)

1. The Symbiosis of Theravada Buddhism and Thai Culture

84

(3)

2. The Political Context of Religious Resurgence in Thailand

87

(5)

3. Towards a Buddhist Ethic of Development

92

(9)

Part III STRANGE ENCOUNTERS

Prologue

101

(4)

Chapter Five: TRANSCENDING DIFFERENCE

Parameters, Strategies and Outcomes of the Encounters

105

(19)

1. Parameters of the Encounters

107

(9)

1(a). Sacred Space

107

(3)

1(b). Sacred Time

110

(2)

1(c). Dualism: The Transcendence of Immanence

112

(2)

1(d). Non-Dualism: The Immanence of Transcendence

114

(2)

2. Strategies of the Encounters

116

(5)

2(a). Repression

116

(1)

2(b). Ritualization

117

(1)

2(c). Absorption

118

(1)

2(d). Institutionalization

119

(2)

3. Outcomes of the Encounters

121

(3)

Chapter Six: TRANSCENDING VIOLENCE

Dialogue as the Practice of Non-Violence

124

(24)

1. The Dialectics of Dialogue

125

(11)

1(a). The Analogia Relationis in Interreligious Encounters

126

(5)

1(b). The Analogia Relationis in Transcultural Contexts

131

(3)

1(c). The Acknowledgment of Failure as a Basis for Dialogue

134

(2)

2. Failures of Transcendence and Their Transformation

136

2(a). Christianity's Christological Crisis

137

(4)

2(b). Buddhism's Buddhological Crisis

141

Conclusion: BEYOND VIOLENCE?

The Deconstruction of Absolutism and the Completion of Religion

148

(21)

Appendix I: Competing Missionaries and Reluctant Ecumenists in Melanesia

155

(4)

Appendix II: China's Problems with the "Foreign Religion"

159

(10)

Notes

169

(52)

Index

221

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Transcendence and Violence The Encounter of Buddhist, Christian, and Primal Traditions

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials