This fascinating book takes a fresh look at interreligious dialogue with St. John of the Cross and Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa as representatives of Christian and Buddhist paths to liberation. As the world is increasingly experienced as a global village, dialogue with other religious traditions is widely regarded as possibly the greatest modern (or post-modern) challenge, and the distinctive journey of our time. Dialogue not only informs our understanding of various expressions of holiness, it also can inform one's own religious faith and practice. This book investigates a form of dialogue that can be a model for future dialogues. Without laying assumptions on the nature of religious experience, it allows these classic texts and their representative religions to speak for themselves. What is often lacking in this history of dialogue is its lack of appreciation for distinctive religious paths and the experiences described therein.

Christianity Looks East: Comparing the Spiritualities of John of the Cross and Buddhaghosa, Peter Feldmeier, Paulist Press, Paperback, 166 pages, $18.95

Peter Feldmeier is a Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis. He holds an STL in systematic theology from Weston Jesuit School of Theology and a PhD in Christian Spirituality at the Graduate School of Theology in Berkeley, CA. He is associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN.

Chapter One: Dialogue and the Future of Theology
A. The New State of Theology
1. Post-Modernity and the Crisis of Catholic Theology
2. The Critical Move toward the Other
B. Interreligious Dialogue
1. Why Dialogue at All?
2. The Posture for Dialogue
3. Goals and Possibilities in Dialogue
4. Last Note: Dialogue and Spiritual Practice
C. Our Dialogue Partners: John of the Cross and Buddhaghosa
1. St. John of the Cross
2. Buddhism and Buddhaghosa
D. NotesII.
Chapter Two: On Being Human: Anthropologies East and West
A. Who Are We?
B. The Anthropology of St. John
1. Sensory and Spiritual Faculties
C. The Anthropology of Buddhaghosa
1. The Five Aggregates
2. Dependent-Origination
3. Karma4. Summary
D. Anthropologies Compared
1. Convergences
2. Divergences
E. NotesIII. Chapter Three: The Path to Holiness
A. Where Are We Going?
B. St. John's Path to Union with God
1. The Nights of the Senses
2. The Nights of the Spirit
C. Buddhaghosa's Path to Nirvana
1. Virtue (Sila)
2. Concentration (Samadhi)
3. Understanding (Panna) or Insight (Vipassana)
D. Spiritual Paths Compared
1. Convergences
2. Divergences
E. Notes
IV. Chapter Four: Final Bliss
A. What Are We Striving For?
B. St. John and Union with God
C. Buddhism and Nirvana
D. Ultimate Horizons Compared
1. Convergences
2. Divergences
3. Unanswered Questions
E. Notes
V. Chapter Five: The Future of Dialogue: Interreligious Practice
A. What's Next?
B. A Model for Interreligious Practice
C. Possibilities for the Christian Use of Buddhist Practices
1. Limitations for a Christian
2. Cooperating with the Christian Path
3. Complementing the Christian Path
4. Critique of the Christian Faith
D. Notes
VI. Epilogue
VII. Summary of Comparisons
VIII. Glossary of Terms
IX. Bibliography
X. Index of Terms