SEOUL (UCAN) -- A French Jesuit priest who practices Seon (Zen) Buddhist meditation in Korea says Buddhist and Christian teachings have something in common in their understanding of humans.

This commonality, according to Father Bernard Senecal, who teaches Buddhism at Jesuit-run Sogang University in Seoul, should motivate Buddhists and Christians to dialogue. He also says that Korea, steeped in Buddhism and with a large number of Christians, is a good place for such dialogue.

Father Senecal was born in 1953 in Montreal, Canada. At age 19 he went to France to study medicine. After six years of medical studies, he joined the Jesuits in France, in 1979. In 1984, he was sent to Korea. He was ordained a priest in 1992. Currently a French citizen, he earned his doctorate in Buddhism from Paris 7th University in 2004.

The first foreign Catholic priest to study Korean Buddhism in South Korea, Father Senecal prefers to be called by his Korean name, So Myong-won.

UCA News spoke with the scholar-priest in mid-November in his room in Sogang University. He was dressed in the gray robes often worn by Buddhist monks. The interview follows:

UCA NEWS: Why did you become a priest?

FATHER BERNARD SENECAL: While studying medicine I faced a crisis. I felt insecure and could not find peace. Studying medicine was interesting and (smiling) among the girls I was very popular as a marriage partner who could make much money. However, I was very curious about death. I was really curious about birth, aging, disease and death. But studying medicine did not tell me anything about these. The studies were too scientific, and did not give me happiness and peace. Therefore I decided to become a Religious.

Why were you sent to Korea?

There was a time when the Korean Jesuits had only American and Korean members. They asked other countries to send members to Korea to create an international community here.

At the time, the Jesuit provincial in France was very interested in Korea. He thought Korea was a very special country in terms of history and culture. He was even called "a Korean." When he told us during a seminarians' meeting that Korea was requesting members, I was sure I would be one of them.

Immediately, I referred to a map to find Korea. On first impression, my breath was taken away. The country was surrounded by powerful countries like China, Japan and Russia. It was a special country.

Now Korea is my country. When people are asked why they live with their wife, they usually fail to give the reason. The same is true with my experience about Korea. It is a special bond that I cannot explain fully. Three Americans and four Filipinos came to Korea with me at that time, but only I remain. I cannot help but say this is the Lord's providence.

When and how did you get interested in Korean Buddhism, especially Seon?

For two years after I came to Korea, I visited Buddhist temples, practiced Seon meditation, studied Confucianism and Taoism, and got along with Korean shamans. I wanted to know Korean culture far and wide.

In the meantime, the then-Jesuit superior in Korea, Father Joseph Jung Han-chae, and Australian Jesuit Father Antony Ruhan, who worked here among the urban poor, recommended that I study Buddhism. In 1990, when I returned to France to study theology, a professor of Paris 7th University also encouraged me to study Buddhism.

Tell us something about Korean Seon Buddhism.

China, Japan and Vietnam also practice Seon meditation. The main stream in Europe is Japanese Zen. Korean Seon is not that well known in the world. Its most outstanding feature is that there is an active "sudden-gradual" debate going on. Venerable Jinul (1158-1210, founder of Jogye Order, the country's largest order of Buddhist monks) preached sudden enlightenment and gradual cultivation.

However, Venerable Seongcheol (1912-1993) preached sudden enlightenment and sudden cultivation. He triggered a heated debate by criticizing Venerable Jinul's teaching, which has long been the Korean Buddhist Seon tradition, and also made a big contribution to the renewal of modern Korean Buddhism. This living debate makes Korean Buddhism alive.

How would you compare Buddhism and Christianity?

The Christian doctrine that man was created in God's image and the Buddhist teaching that all people share the Buddha nature actually say the same thing in terms of human understanding.

The Book of Genesis says, "God created man in his image." And the Mahayana (great vehicle) school of Buddhism, or "Northern" Buddhism, says that all people have the same Buddha nature, meaning that anyone can become Buddha. Like Christians who should be a living Christ, Buddhists also should be a living Buddha. In this sense, I say Buddhism and Christianity are the same.

But there is also difference. We Christians acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God's son who became man, the eternal Word, the Way and the Truth. Buddhism just shows the way that Buddha found. Buddha does not say that he is the way, the truth and the life.

If they were totally different or exactly the same, there would be no need to dialogue. But it is worth having dialogue since they are similar and at the same time different. This is why we have a meeting with neighboring religions.

Is Korea a good place for such dialogue?

Korea is the only country where Buddhists and Christians respectively comprise about 25 percent each among the whole population. It is not the case with China, Japan and Vietnam. Korea is the land where Buddhists and Christians live together. Koreans' minds are impregnated with Buddhism. Korean Buddhists and Christians already have common ground to learn from each other. In such a favorable environment, there needs to be an effort to meet each other more systematically.

Have efforts been made to bridge Seon meditation and Christian prayer?

The Japanese Jesuits have been working on this for 50 years, and several priests in foreign countries also have made such an effort. Among them are Irish Jesuit Father William Johnston, former director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at Sophia University in Japan, the late German Jesuit Father Hugo Enomiya-Lasalle and Japanese Jesuit Father J.K. Kadowaky.

Korea is a country that is linked with Buddhism. Koreans' mind always flows into Buddhism. Therefore I think we should have Seon meditation for (Korean) Christians to help them live their Christian faith while cherishing Buddhism in their heart.

I find that Buddhism keeps emerging in Korean people's heart. We must acknowledge it is a major part of Korean people's heart and their way of thinking, and develop it positively rather than oppress it.

Korean bishops have issued documents in 1997 and 2003 warning of potential danger to Catholics' faith from trends including Seon meditation, religious pluralism and religious syncretism.

It is very clear that the center of Christians' life should be Jesus Christ. The mission that Jesus entrusts to us is an absolute one. My faith is absolute to me, but we should not force it on others.

The bishops' warning is like forcing others to admit our superiority. Such superiority must be revealed through our everyday life, not with academic argument. We should acknowledge that if I have the absolute, others also have it.

But I would like to point to the obscure identity of some Korean Christians, in whom Buddhism and Christianity are mixed up. I can smell the syncretism in them. That's why they are told not to practice Seon or yoga. In this sense, I fully understand the bishops' warning. But you should not ban it because it is dangerous. There is much to learn from Buddhism, even if it is dangerous.

If you really want to practice Seon meditation, you have to know Buddhist teachings too. Similarly, those who want to do the Ignatian spiritual exercises need to understand Christian doctrine. You have to have background knowledge, such as the Buddhist view of the universe, human beings and values. But nowadays some Christians have been doing Seon without such basic knowledge. They are just doing it pretentiously without understanding what it is. They could easily be led to religious syncretism.

How do people around you react to your Seon practice?

I started it 10 years ago. My mentor is a lay Buddhist who teaches physics at Sogang University. Under his guidance I have almost finished "Mumungwan" (gateless gate), which is a collection of 48 "hwadu." (Editor's note: A hwadu -- "kung-an" in Chinese, "koan" in Japanese -- is a story, dialog, question or statement meant to be a catalyst to awaken one's true nature. "Mumungwan," known as "Wu-men kuan" in Chinese and "Momon-kan" in Japanese, was compiled with commentaries and verses in 1228 by Wu-men Hui-k'ai.)

When you first enter Seon, you meditate by counting numbers for one or two months. Then you resolve 15 hwadu for beginners. After that you can get a dharma name. My dharma name is Chondal, meaning "he who knows heaven." When you resolve the 15 hwadu, you can begin "Mumungwan." After finishing it, you can teach others. The duration depends on the time one takes to resolve the hwadu. It sometimes takes up to one or two years to resolve just one hwadu.

No Jesuit has asked me not to do Seon, while few really understand what I am doing. And there is also some prejudice that I, a Westerner, might do it superficially.

Last year, I was invited to give a lecture by the Suwon diocesan seminary. I also gave a retreat combining Christian prayer and Seon meditation to some 150 seminarians of Pusan diocese. I have led such retreats not just in Korea but also in Canada and Belgium.

What challenges have you faced while practicing Buddhist meditation?

In 1990, on the way to France to study theology, I visited India and experienced "vipassana" (insight meditation, a discipline of Theravada, or "Southern," Buddhism) for 10 days. It was a great experience. I did the meditation for 11 hours a day. After that I totally got into an "identity crisis." Since I was then so deeply merged with Buddhism, I almost lost my Christian identity.

It took some 10 years to fully recover my Christian identity and rediscover my Christ. I put this experience into my thesis for my master of theology in 1995. I also published a book later by rearranging the thesis.

To rediscover my Jesus, I started to read the New Testament again and got help from a senior French Jesuit. He was the only one who understood me. He did not judge me but helped me meet Jesus personally, understanding that I was in a faith crisis.

How do you maintain your Christian identity while studying Buddhism and practice Seon meditation?

I have made a choice through the Ignatian spiritual exercises. Before entering the Jesuits I experienced a very strong calling from God while doing an Ignatian retreat. I can never run away from that calling.

Without such experience I might have lost my Christian identity after having experienced vipassana in India. Since I once experienced Christ calling in a concrete way, I could return to my original calling.

If you are called as a Christian and really have a personal contact with Christ, you cannot escape his calling. It applies not only to Religious and clergy, but to all Christians.

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(Accompanying photos available at here)