Sir, – It was heartening to read Brian Keane’s article about how he has found peace and joy in following the precepts of Buddhism and the practise of mindfulness.
Having worked in Asia for 11 years, I have learned a lot from my Buddhist friends and from our common search for truth and our struggle to be compassionate and loving, especially to those who are suffering and struggling in life. I also try to live in a mindful way: in our diocese in Hsinchu, Taiwan, we had a saying “The present is a present.”
I was therefore dissappointed to read Brian summing up Christianity in these words: “Christianity gives all power and responsibility to an external figure like a child does to a parent. And Buddhism reclaims that power and responsibility.”
At the heart of Christian anthropology is the idea that we have free will and that we have to take responsibility for our lives and actions. As Christians we are invited and challenged to choose the Gospel values of love, compassion, service, justice and forgiveness. Sometimes these choices are not easy and take a lot of courage and sacrifice.
The Gospels are full of references to how we will be judged on the basis of our actions – Chapter 25 of St Matthew’s Gospel clearly states that our Christian life is one of service and love, especially to the poor and marginalised: “When I was hungry you gave me to eat, When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me etc.”
In the parable of the Good Samaritan the last sentence of Jesus to the lawyer was “Go and do the same yourself.” As I understand it, the heart of the Christian message is one of love in action. As Christians we are responsible for the choices we make and how we live out our vocation to love. Yours, etc,
FR SEAN O’ LEARY CSSp,
St Ronan’s,
Clondalkin,
Dublin