Common Ground - Islam and Buddhism

c o m m o n g r o u n d between i s l a m a n d b u d d h i s m
will aim to base discussion as much as possible on the verses of the
Holy Qur’ān and the authenticated sayings of the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him and his family)—even while plumbing some
of the deeper, unarticulated implications of commonly held ideas and
practices, for it is in this process of exploring the spiritual dynamics
underlying fundamental tenets of belief that some of the most striking
analogies and affinities between the two faiths are revealed. We
are aiming here at commonalities on the level of the spirit of the two
traditions, rather than pretending that any unity on the level of the
‘letter’ of the formal dogmas can be achieved. It would be a mistake
to compare Buddhist doctrine to the Islamic creed as if the two were
situated on the same plane of thought. They are not. The dogmas in
Islam play a very different role within the configuration of Islamic
thought and praxis from that played by the doctrines of Buddhism
within the Buddhist traditions Indeed, doctrines play different roles
even within the diverse Buddhist traditions themselves: what ‘doctrine’
means for a Zen Buddhist is very different from what it means
for a Theravadin Buddhist.
However, if we start by making a distinction between the doctrinal
creed (‘aqīda) of Islam and the spiritual wisdom (ma‘rifa) nourished
within its framework, we may come closer to appreciating
the ways in which the two traditions might be compared. Ma‘rifa
pertains to the subtleties of the heart, to inward contemplative states,
to mystical experience; ‘aqīda pertains to the beliefs which form
the bases of salvation in the Hereafter, and at the same time, serve
as the foundation and framework for those spiritual experiences in
this world. Most, if not all, of the Buddha’s teachings should in fact
be situated on the level of what is called ma‘rifa in Islam, and not
on that of ‘aqīda; if we focus on this dimension of spiritual wisdom,
then the correspondences between his teachings and the spirit of the
Islamic tradition will come into view. Since the doctrines expounding
the dimension of ma‘rifa in Islam are in complete harmony with
the essential sources of the Islamic revelation—the Qur’ān and the
Prophetic Sunna, upon which they are but commentaries and elaborations—it
follows that making an effort to understand Buddhist
doctrine in the light of Islamic spirituality helps us to see the underlying
common ground between Buddhism and the Islamic tradition
per se, and not just between Buddhism and Islamic spirituality. Thus,
the affinities revealed on the level of the Spirit will inevitably have
some impact on our perception of the gap separating the two faiths
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