Living Buddha, Living Christ

I’ve been reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s "Living Buddha, Living Christ". About half way through I am amazed at Hanh’s depth of understanding and communicating who and what Jesus is. Jenn and I were talking about how many Christians, even clergy, have a very limited understanding of the Eucharist. There is an element of mystery in the Eucharist but some people we have come across seem uncomfortable with it all together and view it as a hassle, an inconvenience, and negative to attracting visitors.
Hanh writes, “The message of Jesus during the Seder that has become known as the Last Supper was clear. His disciples had been following Him. They had had the chance to look into His eyes and see Him in person, but it seems they had not yet come into real contact with the marvelous reality of his being. So when Jesus broke the bread and poured the wine, He said, This is My Body. This is My Blood. Drink it, eat it, and you will have life eternal. It was a drastic way to awaken His disciples from forgetfulness. We eat and drink all the time, but we usually ingest only our ideas, projects, worries, and anxieties. We do not really eat our bread or drink our beverage. If we allow ourselves to touch our bread deeply, we become reborn, because our bread is life itself. We touch life, and we touch the Kingdom of God.” I don’t know many Christians who understand the symbolism and mystery of the Eucharist or could communicate it in such a beautiful way.
If feel just a little uneasy when I read, “ I think it is important to look deeply into every act and every teaching of Jesus during His lifetime, and to use this as a model for our own practice. Jesus lived exactly as He taught, so studying the life of Jesus is crucial to understanding His teaching. For me, the life of Jesus is His most basic teaching, more important than even faith in the resurrection or faith in eternity.”
It’s that last sentence that concerns me. Please don’t misinterpret what I am trying to communicate. I just feel uneasy about the idea of placing one aspect of Jesus’ life above any other. I am always concerned about my Gnostic tendencies and Hanh’s book takes me to an uncomfortable place at times. I admire Buddhism and I think it is vitally important for Christians and Buddhists to continue to dialogue and connect with each other. When it comes down to it I am concerned that the eschatological reality of Judeo-Christian heritage does not translate to Buddhism.
I have enjoyed reading about how Hanh sees Buddha and Christ as his spiritual ancestors. If only more of us could be open to the idea of learning from other faith traditions rather than keeping a safe and supercilious distance from them. Above all, the importance of mindfulness stressed by Hanh is something all of us could benefit from, irrespective of our faith tradition.