Exploring Treasures From Christianity and Buddhism

“The meeting of Buddhism and Christianity will come to be viewed as the most important event in modern history” – Arnold Toynbee, historian.

“Their meeting is the hope for the world” – Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist teacher.

Many Quakers feel some connection with Christianity or Buddhism, or both. This course is an opportunity to share and learn together about what those traditions mean to us, and through that sharing to discover practices that may support us in integrating our worshipping life into our daily life and witness.

In keeping with both those traditions, and Quakerism itself, the idea of friendship will shape the way this course is offered. In gathering together, we will seek to create a restful and supportive space, where the emphasis will be on application rather than ‘head’ study. The tone of the course will be creative and experimental, with participants encouraged to discover for themselves practices that may help them navigate the day-to-day.

We aim to look at two teachings/practices in each session and prepare to do some practice that is appropriate to each of us in the week between sessions. Themes that may be included are the following: the body/body of Christ; metta/loving-kindness/love; friendship and welcome; liberation theology/engaged Buddhism; devotion/resting in an energy that is beyond one’s own; thanksgiving/rejoicing; song/chanting; steadying the mind/heart; relationship with land and ancestry. Each session will include time alone as well as time in small groups and in the larger group.

There will be some material to look at before the first session. We will email you around one week prior to the course with information about accessing the course, including this material, on our online learning platform (Moodle).

“Many cultures of the world have no word for spirituality. In these cultures spirituality is in the living. It is so integrated into life that it needs no separate designation” – Anne Wilson Schaef