​​​
Can a Buddhist be a Process Theologian, Too?
​
Twenty Points of Contact between Whitehead-influenced process theology and Buddhism
​

Many people rightly say that, historically speaking, the many schools of Buddhism are themselves instances of process philosophy.  This is true.   Here I use the term "process theology" to refer to Whitehead-influenced process philosophy with a religious dimension, aimed at helping people be wise, compassionate, and free in their daily lives.  Each of the twenty points refer to ideas found in Whitehead or other process thinkers, such as John Cobb.  The kind of Buddhism represented in the list is influenced by the Ch'an (Zen) tradition, Pure Land Buddhism, and socially-engaged Buddhism.  If you are interested in exploring these ideas, please post a question or comments on the Open Horizons Facebook Page: 
PictureCan a Buddhist be a Process Theologian, Too?




1.   The present moment is holy ground 

2.  The self is a series of momentary experiences (anatman)

3.  We are part of, not apart from, a larger web of life (the sangha is the universe)

4.  Time is a perpetual perishing (Impermanence)

5.  Creativity is the ultimate reality (Emptiness is Form; Form is Emptiness: Heart Sutra)

6.  The universe is enfolded within a Great Compassion (Amida Buddha, Pure Land Buddhism)

7.  All beings are present in one another even as more than one another (Indra’s Net, Hua Yen Buddhism) 

8.  Subjectivity is everywhere (Buddha Nature)

9.  All sentient beings have intrinsic value (Buddha Nature)

10.  We are inwardly beckoned to save all sentient beings (Bodhisattva Vow)

11.  We should love even our “enemies” (John Cobb, Metta Sutra)

12.  Withness of the Body (experience in the mode of causal efficacy, breathing meditation)

13.  Each experience begins with objective data (Tathata, Suchness, Thisness)

14.  There is a continuing journey after death (Reincarnation)

15.  In our time the need is for ecological civilization (Socially Engaged Buddhism, Sarvodaya Movement)

16.  The consummation of life is a Peace that includes the whole of life (Whitehead)

17.  Jesus of Nazareth is a Jewish Bodhisattva, revealing the social dimension of Peace

18.  There can be no social Peace without deep listening (hearing the voices of others on their own terms and for their own sakes)

19.  Meditation helps us become better listeners
​
20.  When we abide in meditation, we touch the Deep Listening
​
Each of these ideas deserves further consideration.

- Jay McDaniel
​Holy ground

“I would only remark that the understanding which we want is an understanding of an insistent present. The only use of a knowledge of the past is to equip us for the present. No more deadly harm can be done to young minds than by depreciation of the present. The present contains all that there is. It is holy ground; for it is the past, and it is the future.” (Whitehead, Aims of Education)


The Idea of No-Self in a Whiteheadian Context

  1. The subject of experience is the activity of experiencing
  2. Each experience is concrescence of the universe: “the hills and rivers, trees and stars, all are part of the true self,” says Dogen)
  3. The self is different at every moment, but always here-and-now.
Open Horizons