[Buddha-l] Re: Will new the pope verify Buddhist doctrine?

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Fri, 2005-04-22 at 08:56 -0400, Stanley J. Ziobro II wrote:

> When then Cardinal Ratzinger characterized Buddhism as "spiritual
> autoeroticism" I believe he based his remarks on a study by Fr. Henri
> DeLubac.  I thought he not only mischaracterized Buddhism, but also
> overlooked the potential for autoeroticism in certain forms of Christian
> ascesis and contemplation.

It was not Cardinal Ratzinger's job to get Buddhist doctrine right. As I
have said before, probably the best introduction to Buddhism I have ever
read was published by the Vatican. It was written by Etienne Lamotte, a
Belgian Catholic cleric who probably knew more about Buddhism than any
human being alive in his day. The famous Hans Kueng also wrote on
Buddhism and tried his level best to get things straight--he and I had
several conversations on the topic, and I was impressed by his
sincerity--but ultimately did not do such a good job, in my view.
Cardinal Ratzinger, whose is reputed to be a "towering intellect" and a
great scholar, probably could have written well on Buddhism if he had
had the time and if that had been his purpose. I am inclined to hope,
along with Kueng and many others, that Pope Benedict XVI will be a more
open-minded and open-hearted man that the Cardinal could be when he was
the head of the Office of the Inquisition (whose new-fangled name is so
long and cumbersome I can never manage to learn it).

> That said, the potential for autoeroticism in any contemplative
> tradition or practice is real.

That is a matter I am content to leave in the capable hands of experts
in autoeroticism.

-- 
Richard Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico