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Chinese Spirituality & Christian Communities Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change Series III, East Asian Philosophical Studies, Volume 31 Series VIII, Christian Philosophical Studies, Volume 17 General Editor George F. McLean Chinese Spirituality & Christian Communities A Kenotic Perspective Chinese Philosophical Studies, XXXI Christian Philosophical Studies, XVII Edited by Vincent Shen The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy Copyright © 2015 by The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy Box 261 Cardinal Station Washington, D.C. 20064 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Kenosis, Chinese spirituality and Christian communities / edited by Vincent Shen. pages cm. -- (Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series III, East Asian philosophical studies ; v. 31) (Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series VIII, Christian philosophical studies ; v. 17) (Chinese philosophical studies ; 31) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Christianity--China. 2. Incarnation. 3. Christianity--Philosophy. 4. Christianity and other religions--Chinese. 5. Catholic Church--Doctrines. I. Shen, Qingsong, editor. BR1288.K46 2015 2015003120 275.1--dc23 CIP ISBN 978-1-56518-309-4 (pbk.) TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I. Introduction 1 Vincent Shen Chapter II. Kenotic Theology: A Perspective from “Regress” 9 Theory traced in the Thought of Chiara Lubich and Meister Eckhart Chan Tak-Kwong Chapter III. Kenosis, Transcendence and Body: 31 Comparing Christian Mysticism and Chinese Spirituality Vincent Shen Chapter IV. Logos and Tao: the Johannine Jesus and a Taoist Sage 55 Joseph H. Wong, OSB Cam Chapter V. Humility and Humiliation-Kenotic Experience 85 in Modern Chinese Painting, and in the Historical Experience of Chinese Christians Benoît Vermander SJ Chapter VI. Christ’s Kenosis in Christianity from 103 a Perspective of Sunyata in Chan Buddhism: Explanation and Addition to Masao Abe Guo Sheng-Ping Chapter VII. Theory and Practice of Ethics of Generosity 119 in Chinese Mahayana Buddhism Vincent Shen Chapter VIII. Religious Communities in Contemporary 149 Shanghai and the Tasks of East Asian Theology Benoît Vermander SJ Chapter IX. Bring Christ to all Cultures on Earth and Bring 163 all Cultures to Christ: Spreading the Spirit of Fu Jen Catholic University Bernard Li Chapter X. The Catholic Church on Freedom of Religion 181 and Religious Freedom in China Thomas Yang INDEX 203 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION VINCENT SHEN In response to Charles Taylor’s diagnosis of today’s Catholic Church in the West in four growing disjunctions between the Church and people as regards: (1) seekers and dwellers, (2) Church teaching authority or the magisterium, (3) historicity and morality, especially in the field of gender, and (4). the plurality of spiritualities now unfolding in these global times, Professor George McLean has the wisdom to appeal to the kenotic theology as the key to find a way of solution. In facing the challenges brought to us by these two proposals, the research team constituted by colleagues from Toronto, Taiwan and China will focus on the concept of kenosis in the context of Chinese spirituality in regard to Charles Taylor’s fourth disjunction on the diversity of spiritual traditions. Therefore our topics will be articulated as “Chinese Spirituality and Christian Communities: A Kenotic Perspective,” which is exactly the title of this volume. To say it frankly, from a Chinese point of view, all these four disjunctions constitute at their most a diagnosis of today’s Church in the West and the problems brought to other parts of the world by the West. Nevertheless, we are very pleased to join the synergy to identify a certain thoughtful solutions to these problems in Chinese wisdom and spirituality and, in the meanwhile, to express the needs of Christian communities in China. Thus, we will explore the wisdoms implied in the resources of Chinese philosophy and spirituality (in the so-called Three Teachings: Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism) comparable to the Catholic kenotic theology and spirituality in view of inspiring the re-vitalization of the Catholic Church. Our emphasis is Christ’s kenosis in his act of incarnation in the world and his crucifixion for this same world, with humility and love, ever revitalizing and creative in the movement of time. We understand that Christ enters this world of multiple cultural traditions, in order to bring them all to God. Thus Christ is there in the diverse cultures and civilizations marching towards God each in their own ways. Our focus is on the Asian (mainly Chinese) spiritual and cultural traditions. Thus, we will speak more about the original generosity and strangification that might inspire a Church of service. Under this spirit, the Church’s Magisterium should invite creative and comprehensive interpretations so as to manifest Christ’s wisdom and love and his kenotic presence and energetic working in the world. 2 Vincent Shen We will start with a positive response to Charles Taylor and George McLean’s diagnosis with a possible solutions from first of all inside the West, leading nevertheless to similar ideas in Chinese traditions. Thus we will begin with the chapter presented by Chan Tak-Kwon’s “Kenotic Theology: A Perspective from “Regress” Theory traced in the Thought of Chiara Lubich and Meister Eckhart,” which refers to George McLean’s diagnosis of the four disjunction and their remedy as kenotic theology. Starting with the viable solutions first proposed in the West, this paper undertakes its research into ‘kenotic theology’ through a comparative study of the mysticism of Chiara Lubich (1920-2008) and Meister Eckhart (1260-1327/8). Chan Tak-Kwon focuses on the “regress’ theory,” which explains the kenotic (self-emptying) character in the theory of love of Chiara Lubich and the same character in the theory of intellect of Eckhart. “Regress theory” elucidates the way to accomplish unity from “Jesus forsaken” (Chiara) and Oneness from “detachment?” (Eckhart). Then, Professor Chan turns to the Confucian concept of ren (kenosis of love) and Daoist concept of Dao (kenosis of intellect) in the Chinese philosophical traditions. Chiara’s idea resembles the ideal of Ren 仁 or benevolence of the Confucians, while Eckhart’s idea comes close to the dao 道 of the Daoists. Kenosis of love in community making that promotes the ideal of the unity of mankind, and so resembles the benevolence of Confucianism. Kenosis of intellect in self-discovery uncovers the oneness of the individual with the universe and comes close to the philosophy of the Daoist. For Chan Tak-Kwon, God has shown a kenotic spirit of both love and intellect in his relation with the world, which we can appreciate and to which we can respond. In this way, he hopes to renew human spirituality and promote religious dialogue for the Church in the 21st century. Now, a fuller comparison between Christian tradition and Chinese traditions is in order. Thus we present Vincent Shen’s “Kenosis, Transcendence and Body: Comparing Christian Mysticism and Chinese Spirituality.” This chapter situates the concept of kenosis and its corresponding ideas in Chinese philosophy and religion in the context of a comparison between Christian mysticism and Chinese spirituality. Indeed, from a philosophical point of view, Chinese spirituality and Christian mysticism raise a lot of interesting issues. However, this chapter only discusses three of them: the representability of the Chinese experience of spiritual transformation and the Christian mystic experience of spiritual ecstasy or transcendence; whether they are the pure experience of silence or whether this silence nevertheless leads to some kind of dialogue; and the status of the body in Chinese spirituality and Christian mystical experience, whether it is merely negative or that there is some positive role for human body to play in the mystic/spiritual Introduction 3 experience. From Vincent Shen’s comparison, we can clearly see that both Christian and Chinese traditions show a common concern with experience of the ultimate reality and they share the idea that mystic experience, in its emptiness and darkness, is not a totally silent experience without any possibility of dialogue. On the contrary, mystic experience begins with dialogue, climaxes in loving dialogue, and should return finally to dialogue. Moreover, mystic experience can be achieved by surpassing all representations, but they do not exclude representations, which may make ultimate reality accessible to human understanding. For both traditions, symbolic representations not only prepare for the advent of mystic experience, but they also express this experience and thereby leave some traces behind that other people to come may follow. Also, mystic experience needs not deny the body and presupposes a dualistic body/mind opposition. The negation of the body has only the status of a method, just as the positive use of the body is a method when it performs meditation and rites. The comparative study between Christian and Chinese traditions continues in the chapter written by Joseph H. Wong, “Logos and Tao: Johannine Jesus and a Taoist Sage,” which focuses on comparing St. John’s Gospel and Lao Tzu, in particular in regard to the nature and role of Jesus and the sage. Joseph Wong identifies certain affinities between the two traditions, such as both having two complementary functions, the cosmological and the anthropological, and the fact that, while John presents Jesus as the Logos incarnate, Lao Tzu conceives the Taoist sage as the embodiment of Tao. He presents the essential traits of a Taoist sage and explores similar traits on the face of the Johannine Jesus. For him, wu-wei (non-action), the hallmark of Tao, is also the foremost quality of a Taoist sage. Likewise, it is a distinguishing trait of the Johannine Jesus who is constantly referred to the Father. Far from being self-centered, Jesus’ whole existence is orientated toward the Father: he is sent by the Father, coming from the Father and returning to the Father. Jesus came not to do his own will but the will of the Father, in humble service of humanity.
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