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Good Morning

The slogan ‘Unite or Die’ is now inspiring some within our new government to put aside differences and work towards a common goal. The main question this raises for me is ‘What do we mean by unity?’

I’ve spent much of my life teaching Buddhist Studies and encouraging good relationships between people of different religious traditions. I chose this path after spending seven years in Sri Lanka, immersing myself in Buddhism, as a Christian. I not only studied Buddhist texts but also experienced how Buddhists lived their religion so that I could begin to see the world through Buddhist eyes. I learnt that Buddhism and Christianity share many things in common. Both see the world as being out-of-joint because of human greed and love of money. Both emphasize compassionate action. Yet, I also came across differences. In contrast to Christianity, Buddhism’s world view does not contain a creator God, although there are many celestial beings and most Buddhists believe that we are reborn again and again until we reach liberation. Views of the self also diverge in the two religious traditions but not as much as I first thought.

These differences challenged and, initially, even disorientated me. My immersion in another religious tradition wasn’t easy and I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. What I learnt from it, though, was most important. I learnt that engaging with difference in a positive way led to new insight into truth. Let me put it another way. When I allowed Buddhism to ask questions of my Christian beliefs, positive things happened. I grew spiritually and emotionally and was never the same again. I became a Christian who drew deeply from Buddhist wisdom. Now, Christian and Buddhist ways of seeing the world and acting within it dialogue in my mind but I’ve created a workable unity between them, whilst still respecting the differences.

I would suggest that this could work in other contexts as well. Whether in a family, a community, a charitable organization or even a political party, unity is not created by enforcing uniformity. Neither is it created by ignoring difference. True unity arises when the ethics that underpin it affirm all who seek to unite. It’s an ethics of goodwill and good faith. Listening to differences of opinion with empathy rather than defensiveness is necessary. Allowing the views of others to challenge one’s own views is also important. And if this is done with openness to change, then there need be no limit to the creativity that could result.

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