John Berthrong

Love, Lust, and Sex: A Christian Perspective

When I was assigned the topic of love and sex (and I decided to add lust/desire as the link between the two), I immediately consulted with a number of my colleagues at the Boston University School of Theology.1 The response of my colleagues was uniform. Representing different theological disciplines and denominational backgrounds, they noted that the answer as to the Christian perspective on sex was simple: don’t; but if you do, be sure not to enjoy it. If this seems a vast and hasty overgeneralization, please consult Mark Jordan’s new book (2002) on Christian sexual ethics to see that this confident and consistent rejection of sex and pleasure has been the dominant and main position for the entire history of the cumulative Christian tradition.2 As Clifford Bishop has noted, the West has held “a wounded body” in ambiguous embrace as chronicled by the history of its written discourse and artistic representation of sex.3 Once my colleagues had delivered this ironic teaching, they did go on to give me good advice as to how to grapple with the topic, as well as to wish me well in the attempt. I then decided to take solace in Daoism, often a good idea for a despondent Christian with strong Confucian tendencies, but came across this quote from Livia Kohn’s new study of the tradition: “Anyone who commits debauchery and indulges in sex will suffer from insanity. Having passed through this, he will be born among the sows and boars.”4 So much for differences between Daoism and Christianity—though I should point out that Kohn blames Buddhist influence for such a retrograde teaching. One wonders what will happen to women who act in a similar fashion. However, I was cheered in my search when I read the great Tiantai master Zhiyi’s account of the matter: “It is like fighting bandits. Bandits are the root of glory; it is because a general is able to destroy bandits that he attains fame and reward. Infinite lust is a seed of the Tathagata in just the same way. It makes the bodhisattvas come up with an infinite number of Dharma-ages in response.”5 According to Mark Heim, Dante had a slightly more charitable view: “Lust is a type of shared sin; at its best, and so long as it remains a sin of incontinence only, there is mutuality in it and exchange.”6 At least Dante thought we were in it together.

Confucian Views of Nature

Just as there are many diverse forms of Confucianism, there are divergent Confucian views of nature. The tradition called Confucianism in the West has a long and developmentally complex history in East Asia (Schwartz, 1985; Graham, 1989). Although Confucianism or the teaching of the Ru (scholars) has Chinese origins, Confucian teachings spread and flourished in Korea, Japan and Vietnam (Berthrong, 1998). In order to understand characteristic Confucian reflections on nature, two questions concerning definitions must be addressed. What is Confucianism as a self-reflective tradition or set of traditions? And what do Confucians make of nature?

Master Zhu's Wisdom

It is a commonplace in the study of Chinese philosophy to observe that Zhu Xi [Chu Hsi] (1130–1200) believed that he taught a form of Confucian philosophy called daoxue ( ) or the ‘Teaching of the Way’ as the cardinal virtue of zhi ( or ), or wisdom/discernment, within the large educational structure of the Confucian Way. Zhu Xi is important because he is recognized as one of the two or three most influential of all Confucian scholars, ranking along side Kongzi [Confucius] and Mengzi [Mencius] as a great Song dynasty (960–1279) reformer of the teaching of the founding sage teachers. The reason for this assumption is that the Confucian Way had been adopted in the Second Century B.C.E. by the Han dynasty as its official teaching, and for better or worse, the ru ( ) or Confucian teachers dominated the political, social, educational, and often the philosophical and religious life of the Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese peoples until it was officially abolished as the ideological superstructure of the Chinese state by the last dynasty in 1905 in response to the tidal wave of Western influence in the modern period. The Confucian tradition, even during the flourishing of Buddhism starting in the Second Century C.E. and the rise of great Buddhist schools such as Tiantai, Huayan, Chan [Zen in Japanese] and the Pure Land traditions as well as the foundation of many great Daoist religious lineages, became even stronger with the increased dominance of Confucian civil service examinations from the Song dynasty right down to 1905. Because Confucianism provided the curriculum for the civil service examinations, and since these examinations were the ladder to social success in later imperial China, Confucianism reigned supreme as the most important philosophical and educational discourse in this long period of Chinese history. Moreover, it was Master Zhu’s interpretation of the Confucian Way that was adopted in 1313 as the model for orthodox Confucian thought in the examination system. Nonetheless, Master Zhu was controversial because he had strong opinions about how one should go about the process of self-cultivation for the sake of wisdom and because he had such a rational and analytic philosophical style that set him apart from so

Religion in the Xunzi: What Does Tian 天 Have to Do with It?

Interpreters of Xunzi have disagreed about whether there is a religious element to be found in his thought, and if there is such an element, where it is to be found. Much of the debate has focused on the notion of tian 天 (commonly translated as “Heaven”). This essay reviews some of these debates and the challenges that are involved in seeing Xunzi as a religious thinker. I situate Xunzi’s thought against the broader background of Confucian religiousness and propose that although it is not unreasonable to see a religious attitude in his discussions of tian, the primary locus of Xunzi’s religious element is better found in his views about the human realm. Using Frederick Streng’s conception of religion as “a means to ultimate transformation,” we can see Xunzi’s religiosity in the path to sagehood that he articulates. The essay traces out some of the major elements of his program of self-cultivation, as a way of sketching the religious dimension of the Xunzi.

Xunzi and Zhu Xi

Mou Zongsan 牟宗三 ironically once wrote that Zhu Xi 朱熹 could be considered Xunzis 荀子 philosophical revenge on Mengzi 孟子. Mou implied that when you retreat from Zhus staunch rhetorical support of Mengzi philosophy, what you discover are all kinds of significant analogies between the philosophical lexicon as well as deeper structural affinities between Xunzi and Zhu Xi. We discover, ironically, that there is a great deal of merit in Mous offhanded suggestion of the comparison of two of the greatest Confucian masters.

Zhu Xi’s Cosmology

In the Western tradition, cosmology has carried two principal connotations. First, ontologia generalis, general ontology, which is concerned with the question of the being of beings. The second sense is that associated with the term, scientia universalis, the science of principles. The first type of cosmology is well represented by the project of Martin Heidegger, who pursued the question, ‘‘Why is there something rather than nothing at all?’’ The second type of speculation address the question: ‘‘What kinds of things are there?’’ Whitehead represents this sort of philosophic activity. (Hall and Ames 1987: 199)

Reflections on the Fourth Buddhist-Christian Conference

Buddhist-Christian dialogue now flourishes as never before as a global encounter of two religious traditions. In many respects, the relationship between Buddhists and Christians serves as a model for what contemporary interfaith dialogue can achieve in terms of the scope and sophistication of the other conversations.1 Contemporary Buddhist-Christian dialogue (hereafter BCD) can be divided into three main types of activities: the dialogue of life; the dialogue of meaning; and the dialogue of the heart.2 Yet, as we shall see, there is always room for improvement and expansion. Part of the reason for the harmonious nature of the dialogue derives from the previous history of Buddhist-Christian interaction. History always plays a pivotal role in dialogue even if it is sometimes a painful topic. For instance, dialogue among Christians, Jews, and Muslims has to account for the centuries of conflict, distortion, and misunderstanding-not to mention mutual contempt, slaughter, and the Holocaust. While most Christians, Jews, and Muslims will deny that their religions intrinsically have anything to do with promoting these terrors, there is little doubt that religion in theory and practice lies at the root of much of this communal evil between those the Muslims call the People of the Book. At the other end of the spectrum, we can contemplate the relatively easy relationship among Christianity, Buddhism, and other East Asian traditions such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintoism.3 The first caveat about BCD is that it is usually initiated by academicians or contemplatives. This means that the participants and the audience are inevitably educated members of the middle class. While there is nothing fundamentally disturbing about this, there is a frequently voiced desire to find some way to enlarge the circle of conversation beyond those already convinced of the positive nature of the interchange.4 This is especially the point when the conversation moves from scholarly or spiritual interests to the question of social action. Along with the desire to expand the circle of conversation beyond the academic and contemplative world is the recognition that the participants need to discover ways to invite new people to join the dialogue. BCD must escape becoming a comfortable club where the partners talk only to each other.

The Tao and the Daimon: Segments of a Religious Inquiry@@@Process Metaphysics and Hua-Yen Buddhism: A Critical Study of Cumulative Penetration vs. Interpenetration@@@Buddhism and the Contemporary World

THE TAO AND THE DAIMON: SEGMENTS OF A RELIGIOUS INQUIRY. By Robert C. Neville. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1982. XV + 281 pp. PROCESS METAPHYSICS AND HUA-YEN BUDDHISM: A CRITICAL STUDY OF CUMULATIVE PENETRATION VS. INTERPENETRATION. By Steve Odin. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983. XX + 242 pp. BUDDHISM AND THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD. By Nolan Pliny Jacobson. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1982. XII + 190 pp.