These two come from totally different arenas. On one hand, Matthew Fox is an Episcopal priest who blends his Roman Catholic roots with a deeply mystical perspective and an urgent social justice agenda; he is a prolific theologian, having written 35 books and been translated into 60 languages. His exploration of Creation Spirituality has offered millions of Christians a way to affirm and live their faith, seeking to reform rather than endorse or abandon religious institutions. On the other hand we meet Lama Tsomo, one of a very few Americans ordained as
'lamas', a term for venerated spiritual leaders in Tibetan Buddhism. Tsomo grew up happily ensconced in a Jewish home. She discovered Tibetan Buddhism, pursued it, and became learned, as these conversations demonstrate time and again. Her Why Is the Dalai Lama Always Smiling? A Westerner's Introduction and Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Practice won a 2016 Independent Publisher award.
On meeting each other, the two noticed their compatibility and shared pleasure in exploring the life of the spirit. They agreed to have conversations in different settings over the next dozen years. Their sessions were recorded in a Sante Fe home surrounded by friends, in Stanford University classrooms filled with students, at the Jung Center in Houston, and at Tsomo's home in Montana's Rocky Mountains, where it was just the two of them and a tape recorder. At the end, each is individually interviewed by Michael Frisbie and Katy-Robin Garton. The whole book is conversational, personal, filled with anecdotes, and frequently interspersed by the spiritual practices they used to punctuate the dialogue. They talked about the rituals as well as practiced them.
Tibetan Buddhism and mystical Christianity have enough in common to keep their conversation rolling for nearly 500 pages. At each site where the two meet, they have an agenda, a set of subjects that gives their conversation context and direction. At the opening series in Santa Fe, for instance, we read an index of subjects for their first set of conversations:
- Personal history
- Wave metaphor (where Tsomo discusses her understanding of Buddhism)
- Christian mystics
- Cosmic Christ lineage
- Compassion and generosityThis is not a book you need to read cover to cover, all at once, though some will devour it. A couple of pages, a chapter can suffice. After a particular ritual is explored, for instance, you may want to try it yourself._______________________________I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.