"The author's experience in daringly crossing the theological and ecclesiastical boarders of his own faith in order to enter into the inner sanctuary of another religion—without intruding impolitely but allowing himself to be welcomed as a humble learner—is an art that the Son of God taught us when he took our flesh in silence and mystery. This Son later received God's visible and audible confirmation of his ministry when he humbled himself before John, the most revered Asian Guru of the time, and became his disciple. This is an aspect of Jesus' life that is seldom witnessed to. Fr. Béthune—whose writings I have always read with spiritual profit, and whose experience as described here is an encouragement to those of us Asians who yearn to be or have already been baptized in the Jordan of Asian religiousness—offers us a valuable theological catechesis on the discipline of dying into and rising from the faith of our neighbors."Aloysius Pieris, SJ, Tulana Research Centre, Sri Lanka
"Only a person who has been engaged in interreligious dialogue for so many years and at the deepest level of spirituality as Pierre-François de Béthune can write this kind of book. It is not only full of theological insights and historical information, especially on the past giants and pioneers of interfaith dialogue, but also suffused with profound wisdom, especially on interreligious prayer. I cannot recommend this book enthusiastically enough, for those who are beginning to undertake the journey of being religious interreligiously as well as for seasoned practitioners of interreligious hospitality."Peter C. Phan, Ellacuría Chair of Catholic Social Thought, Georgetown University
Foreword vii
Introduction xiii
I. The History of a Breakthrough 1
The Situation Prior to the Mid-Twentieth Century 1
A Turning Point: Vatican II 4
Four Kinds of Dialogue 6
The Pioneers of the Dialogue of Religious Experience 9
Two Emblematic Figures 13
Henri Le Saux—Abhishiktånanda (1910–1973) 13
Thomas Merton (1915–1968) 18
II. Theological Interpretation 26
Theological Reflection and Spiritual Experience 27
Raimon Panikkar (1918–2010) 28
Serge Beaurecueil (1917–1998) 33
Interreligious Dialogue and Hospitality 35
Evangelical Hospitality 39
New Paths for Theology 42
Changing the Way We See Things 43
Accepting Poverty 46
Sharing Unconditionally 48
III. Interreligious Prayer 51
The Testimony of Tibhirine 51
The Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, October 27, 1986 53
Trans-religious Meditation 58
Enomiya Lassalle (1898–1990) 58
The Dialogue of Silence 60
IV. A New Conversion to the Gospel 64
Vincent Shigeto Oshida (1922–2003) 65
A Lectio Divina of Other Religions 71
Preparing a Welcoming Dwelling 72
Welcoming with Respect and Confidence 74
Hoping for a Blessing 76
Evangelical Universalism 78