The Lord's Prayer in the Light of Shin-Buddhist-Christian Comparative Considerations

Abstract

abstract: This paper reflects on the "Lord's Prayer" by relating it to various aspects of Shin-Buddhist practice and teachings as expounded in the writings of Shinran. The address of Ultimate Reality as parent, the concept of the "name," and the act of prayer, especially in its petitionary form, are considered in a comparative light. This does not only produce some "reciprocal illumination." It rather leads to an interreligious inquiry into the problem of evil and the problem of freedom and grace as they appear in both traditions. This triggers the insight that both traditions operate within a framework in which dualism and nondualism are simultaneously identified and distinguished.