Author Affiliations: Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University
摘要
Christianity and Buddhism, in diverse ways, assert a fundamental flaw in the human condition expressed by terms like "sin" or "delusion"—a flaw that we are largely unconscious of, which prevents us from noticing the extent to which we ourselves as individuals and societies contribute to the harms we see around us. In what ways are Christian or Buddhist diagnoses of a basic human flaw critical for understanding the causality of current world problems, such as growing social and economic inequalities, religious animosities, racism, environmental degradation, and violence? Can any of these problems be addressed without adequate consideration of such traditional diagnoses? If not, what specific Christian or Buddhist understandings of the human condition need to be raised up today to shed light on such problems? How might Buddhist and Christian perspectives challenge or complement each other? And how might these traditional perspectives on the human condition undergo reinterpretation when relating them to current problems?