The Heart of Brother Wayne Teasdale's Vision of ... - Vision in Action

Buddhist “shunya” or emptiness, however, is not total nothingness nor completeabsence; beneath this emptiness of individual and impermanent forms lies a deeper interconnectednessof Being, of “co-dependent arising” as the Buddhists call it.The transient world of passing forms and this deeper inter-connectedness of Beingtogether form what the Buddhists call “immanent emptiness.” What is it whichexperiences and recognizes this “immanent emptiness?”It is again Consciousness, the Light of Awareness, which the Buddhists call“transcendent emptiness,” “cognizing emptiness,” the “emptiness” which is “fullness,”which does not pass away.As Wayne expresses it, “Ultimate, or transcendent emptiness is equivalent toparinirvana, or the goal of existence as boundless consciousness beyond desire andpersonal identity” (MH, p.57).In this way, Wayne identifies the mutual ground of both Buddhism and Hinduismas pure and universal Consciousness.How does he do the same for Christianity?He begins with Plato and Aristotle whom he says share the same core dualism ofmind/soul as separate from body. For Plato, this dualism is antagonistic; the soul is a“prisoner” of the body. For Aristotle, the relationship is more co-operative. The soul isboth the “animating” and the “intelligent” substance or force. First it provides movementand mobility to “primary” matter; it “enlivens” it. It also provides a cognizing orintelligent aspect, once again, awareness or Consciousness.For Aristotle, this is the higher function of the soul, “active reason.” It is “active”reason or “mind” which separates from the body and has an independent and perpetual8