An Interspiritual Dialogue between Buddhist Meditation and Christian Meditation.

Nowadays, Korea is moving into a more multi-religious society. Along the way, the incidents of religious conflicts between Buddhism and Christianity have been happening occasionally. One of the insulting behaviors against Buddhism is the liturgical walking inside Bong-un temple, one of the biggest temples in Korea. It seems to me that parts of Christianity in Korea is becoming more conservative. This article attempts to examine the analytical comparison between Buddhist meditation and Christian meditation. The author intends to find the similarities and differences between the two. It would help the interreligious dialogue progress and enhance the richness of the spirituality of each religion. The methodology is the foundational pneumatology of the theology of religions. It has been suggested by Amos Yong who draws on a Catholic theologian, Donald L. Gelpi building on the work of Lonergan. Gelpi suggests that The Holy Spirit is present and active, not only in the world that Christians inhabit, but also on the cosmic or universal level. This point supports this project. Buddhist meditations such as Seon in Korean(Chan in Chinese, Zen in Japanese), Vipassana, Mindfulness are based on Buddhist philosophy. Among them, mindfulness becomes the main subject of the psychologists who scientifically studies it to facilitate the healing and growth of ordinary people. In contrast, Christian tends to interpret the experience of contemplation as the work in the Holy Spirit within its institution. In this respect, Christians seem likely to be a barrier to progress in the dialogue between the two religions. While the voices of the extreme conservatives has become even stronger, the significant number of Christian voices for the interreligious dialogue has also gradually increased. This study shows that there has been a minority view which emphasizes spirituality and inner dimension of faith. For example, Thomas Merton and Paul Knitter recognize that an essence of Buddhist meditation would contribute to the renovation of Christianity.