A Good Start

In a world increasingly dominated by a secular and materialistic mentality, there is a real need for the world’s faith communities to stand solidly together. Common Ground Between Islam and Buddhism participates in promoting such a stance. As the “logos” or revealed Word in the Islamic tradition is the Qur’an, Muslims abide by doctrines therein and have taken care to avoid what is not stated clearly in their own scripture. As the name of the Buddha was not specifically listed among the prophets sent by God which are mentioned in the Qur’an, and because Muslims have assumed Buddhists to be atheistic, there has hitherto not been much dialogue between these two august traditions. This volume represents a historic change of course. After a number of meetings in Jordan between HH the 14th Dalai Lama and HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, a true and profound “Common Ground” between Islam and Buddhism has been formally recognized. This follows a previous initiative by Prince Ghazi, entitled A Common Word, which has entailed meetings and conferences between a large number of Islamic clerics with the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and gatherings held at both Yale and Georgetown Universities over the last two years. These gatherings have become the basis for a new educational effort in both the Christian and Muslim world. But now we have this groundbreaking publication, authored by Reza Shah-Kazemi, introduced by contributions from the Dalai Lama and Prince Ghazi, and the renowned Islamic scholar, Professor Dr. Mohammad Hashim Kamali. The opening words by the Dalai Lama set the stage:
"This is an important and pioneering book, which seeks to find a common ground between the teachings of Islam and of Buddhism. It is my hope that on the basis of this common ground, followers of each tradition may come to appreciate the spiritual truths their different paths entail and from this develop a basis for respect for each others' practice and beliefs. This may not have occurred very often before, because there has been so little opportunity for real understanding between these two great traditions. This book attempts to set that right...From a Buddhist point of view, the practice of Islam is evidently a spiritual path of salvation".
From here the respected Islamic scholars go on to make an earnest attempt to help Muslims to see Buddhism as a true religion, or dīn, and Buddhists to see Islam as an authentic dharma. Although Buddhism is clearly non-theistic, the ultimate Reality affirmed by Buddhist thought, and the supreme goal sought by it, is proposed to correspond closely with the Essence (al-Dhāt) of God in Islam. Seemingly divergent issues are resolved in terms of the underlying principial realm. For example, one would imagine that the Buddhist doctrine of Karma/Reincarnation is irreconcilable with the Abrahamic Judgment Day. But, as Dr Shah-Kazemi explains:
“Nonetheless, the incompatibility between the two perspectives pertains to the operation of the principle of accountability, and not to the principle itself. In fact, one observes within Islam both modes of operation. The theistically conceived ‘Judge’ can be seen, from a Buddhist point of view, as one way of expressing the objectivity of the principle of cosmic recompense; while karma can be conceived, from a Muslim point of view, as one way of expressing the principle according to which the Judge evaluates all deeds. Moreover, as will be seen in the section on compassion, in both traditions there is a principle which transcends the cosmic chain of cause and effect, and this is divine mercy.”
Common Ground between Islam and Buddhism presents a series of reflections attempting to interpret some “central principles of Buddhism in the light of Islamic spirituality, doing so in a manner which we hope will nourish a spirit of mutual understanding and enriching dialogue between the adherents of the two faiths”.
From a review by Elena Lloyd-Sidle, Yale Divinity School in Parabola Magazine,2010