Watching Clouds

Watching Clouds is about how to have productive§interreligious §theological dialogue between different traditions§when the religious §differences are so large that finding common ground§seems §unlikely. The book offers a way to think about§interreligious §dialogue that allows us to stay committed to our own§truth as we §have come to know it while being open to learning§from other §religions. It then outlines a way for Christian§theologians to enter §into a profitable dialogue with the beliefs and§traditions of other §religions. §The book examines a long-standing religious debate§within §Buddhism surrounding the Buddha-Nature, comparing the§rang-§stong view of Tsongkhapa and the gzhan-stong view of§Dolpopa, §two medieval Tibetan Buddhist scholars, as well as§the modern §work Francis X. Clooney, S.J., who pursues§Hindu-Christian §dialogue in the mode of comparative theology. It then§uses the §philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein to construct a§framework with §which to understand these religious debates and§comparative §approaches and ends with offering practical§guidelines on making §these dialogues productive.