Book Review: "In Search of the Christian Buddha: How an Asian Sage Became a Medieval Saint"
BUDDHADHARMA
By Annabella Pitkin
PUBLISHING---Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a king who wished for his son to succeed him on the throne. Despite his father’s resistance, the prince renounced the royal life and, after much self-cultivation, became a great and holy individual who benefited many people. To most Buddhists, this broad outline is instantly recognizable as a retelling of the life of Shakyamuni Buddha. How startled we might be, then, to hear that the brief sketch above is the story of a Christian saint whose obstinate father is a pagan idolator (or in some versions, a Muslim). Such is the argument of "In Search of the Christian Buddha," a new book by Donald Lopez and Peggy McCracken. [link]
By Annabella Pitkin
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| Saint Barlaam Teaching Josaphat Detail from illuminated manuscript, France, 1463 |
