Paths to Perfection: Contemplative Practices in Christianity and Buddhism

Jesus counseled his followers to be perfect as their Father in heaven is perfect, and for centuries, mystical union with God (understood as perfect love and omniscient wisdom) was the ideal of Christian contemplatives. Buddha counseled his followers to realize perfect freedom from suffering by irreversibly dispelling all the afflictions and obscuration of the mind. The ideals of personal liberation and perfect enlightenment have been pursued by Buddhist contemplatives over the past 2,500 years.

While these two contemplative traditions appear to have had little contact throughout their long histories, they did exhibit remarkable parallels as well as differences. Ideals of perfection and the means to realize it will be explored in this lecture, with the hope that the vitality of both the Christian and Buddhist contemplative traditions may be revitalized in the modern era, which could so deeply benefit from their insights and wisdom.

This DVD was recorded in April 12, 2008 at the Unity Church in Santa Barbara, California.