"Come, Oh Creator Spirit" (Veni Creator Spiritus) today is a hymn that swells up from the heart of Asia and finds expression on the lips of millions of its daughters and sons. As we Asians are facing the marvellous new things unfolding before our eyes today in every realm of life, we experience the irresistible power of that Spirit "blowing where it wills" crossing in one divine sweep, across all kinds of barriers and boundaries. The Spirit moves on, and in its movement it wants us to follow it, so that we may see, experience and savour the sublimity of the divine realities for which Asia has always been longing. It leads us, at the same time, to the arcane mysteries of all life in its every shade and form, filling our quest for the human and the cosmic with a new vigour and force.
        On the face of the Spirit, coming fresh upon us today, we recognise the power with which generations of our foremothers and fathers have been familiar during the millennial history of this continent. It is especially, the life and experience of the poor and the marginalised peoples of Asia that has been much attuned to the world of the Spirit as we find in their many religio-cultural beliefs, rites and expression. The Spirit binds us in a marvelous way with all those who have left the indelible imprint of their spirit, heart and mind in innumerable forms on our cultures and on our traditions. It is the same Spirit of God that Asia wants to rely on in shaping its future destiny. At the threshold of a new millennium, our Asian local Churches invoke the Spirit, knowing that its transformative and creative power is what we need most to be able to respond to the new and unprecedented challenges the continent is facing, and thus become truly Churches of the Spirit.
        As disciples of Jesus Christ in Asia, we want to follow his path as one filled with the power of the Spirit of God. It is the same Spirit which opens eyes and leads us to experience and confess its singular presence in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me..." (Lk. 4: 18). The more we follow the leading of the Spirit, the deeper and closer will also be our understanding of the mystery of Jesus Christ. It also helps us to relate in a harmonious and integral way the universal plan of God manifested in Jesus Christ with our Asian history and experiences. This broad and open vision is what we find running through the numerous reflections and statements of FABC.
        This modest document of the Office of Theological Concerns is an attempt to deepen further the insights and orientations of FABC on the Spirit, with a view to help the Asian Churches in their pastoral commitment and renewal. In a way, this document continues our earlier work, in as much it seeks to bring out the implicit pneumatology in our previous documents relating to inter-religious dialogue, local Church, Church and politics, and the theology of harmony. During our deliberations on the above themes, we were often led to widen our horizons so as to be able to follow the working of the Spirit of God both in our experiences within the Church as well as in those of our context.
        We want our reflections to be in communion with the local Churches world over who will all be celebrating the Year 1998 as the Year of the Holy Spirit, in preparation for the new millennium. On this occasion, it is wish that the document serve the Church, particularly the Asian local churches, to bring about a renewed awareness, acknowledgement and experience of the mystery of the Holy Spirit who accompanies our journey of faith, hope and love.
        The first two chapters of the document reflect respectively on the working of the Spirit in other religion-cultural traditions and in the socio-political realities of our continent. The third chapter is devoted to the study of the Spirit as we experience it through the Biblical tradition. It is followed by a kind of survey of the Spirit's working in the Church and throughout its history. In the light of all these reflections, the final chapter highlights certain perspectives which appear to us to be very significant from an Asian theological perspective. The document concludes with a few pastoral recommendations.

1.   THE SPIRIT AT WORK IN VARIOUS RELIGIO-CULTURAL TRADITIONS OF ASIA

        The Second Vatican Council spoke of "all people of good will in whose hearts grace works in an unseen way. For since Christ died for all, and since the ultimate vocation of humanity is in fact one and divine, we ought to believe that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to everyone the possibility of being associated with this Paschal mystery." (GS 22) In our reflection on the Spirit at work in various religio-cultural traditions of Asia, we try to discern the presence of the Spirit as experienced, believed, imaged and symbolised by believers themselves of these traditions.

1. 1   Hinduism

        In this section, we turn first to Hinduism. We briefly review concepts that are very much part of Hindu belief and practice and which at the same time evoke resonances with the understanding of the Holy Spirit in Christianity.

1.1.1    Atman:  In Hinduism atman means "the Self', "the ultimate Divine subject". Some point to the meaning of breath contained in atman. This Hindu concept of atman rooted in the Vedas, but mostly Upanishadic and Vedantic, signifies the ultimate Reality, the Absolute, and hence does not resonate with our understanding of the Holy Spirit in Christian faith. However, it is interesting to note that Indian Christians, especially in North India, have used the Hindu term atman, with the adjective pavitra, for the Holy Spirit.

1.1.2    Prana (Breath):  This is an interesting concept that reminds us of the Hebrew idea of ru'ah which literally means breath and pneuma in Greek signifying the same. In the Bible, the latter two terms are used for the spirit.
      Prana (used both as singular and plural) means "breath of life". It is pre-upanishadic in origin and signifies life. In early Hinduism its meaning is metaphysical. It is identified with life. Later prana is used in its literal sense in the yoga exercise pranayama -- control of breath. The earlier metaphysical meaning gets lost. There is another word for prana, namely asu. In its earlier meaning prana evokes resonance with the biblical meaning of the Holy Spirit as breath and as breath of life or life itself. It is strange that Indian Christian theology did not consider this term in the theology of the Holy Spirit.
        There are four more concepts of Hinduism which evoke rich resonance with the Spirit as understood in Christianity, namely, antarayamin, ananda, sakti and agni.

1.1.3    Antarayamin ("the inner controller" or "indweller"). It is an Upanishadic concept, signifying the being who is immanent. It means "inner controller" or "inner director", "inspirer", one who leads the individual soul to salvation. Sometimes it is identified with the Supreme Spirit as guiding and regulating humankind. Antarayami indwells, directs and regulates all changes and motions in the world. This concept is more dynamic than atman. It resonates well with Christian understanding of the Holy Spirit, especially, with the way St. Paul speaks of the Spirit (cf. Rom. 8). This term is used in Christian hymnology (Hindi).

1.1.4    Ananda:  Ananda means bliss or joy. In all Hindu religious and philosophical traditions ananda is ontological, characteristic of Brahman, the Absolute, with other characteristics such as sat (being) and cit (consciousness). It is an outflow of reality beyond categories of knowledge. This concept belongs to the long tradition of the Upanishads. The human being is supposed to be made up of five coverings or sheaths called koshas of which the innermost kosha is ananda.
        In the Christian tradition, joy is associated with the Holy Spirit. The spirit is the joy of God (see the writings cf. Brahmabhandav Upadhyaya). The Christian tradition has accepted the expression saccidananda, as present in late Vedanta and medieval Hindu bhakti literature, giving it a fuller meaning to signify the mystery of the Trinity. In this formula sat (meaning "being of existence") comes to signify the Father, cit (meaning "consciousness") to signify the Word, the Son and ananda (bliss) comes to signify the Holy Spirit.
      Ananda belongs to the Absolute (Brahman) on the ontological level. It is not contingent on the Absolute. Even in the human being it resides in the core of his or her existence. Hence ananda resonates richly with the Christian understanding of the Spirit as joy (cf. Lk, Jn, and St. Paul in the NT).
        The western tradition, both Greek and Christian, concentrated on bonum: the Indian (Hindu) tradition on ananda. In this sense in the thought of the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, creation is participation in ananda. Ananda belongs to the heart of reality. It is one of the most interesting concepts of Hindu theology which evoke deep resonance and bring enrichment to the Christian understanding of the Holy Spirit.

1.1.5    Sakti: Sakti means "power", "energy" and like rua'h is feminine. Its occurrence is frequent in popular Hinduism, Saivism, Vaisnavism, and also in the Dravidian and Brahmanic traditions. The origins and development of the concept of sakti as a cosmogonic and cosmological principle of power or energy are complex. Its development and articulation as a cosmogonic and cosmological concept is quite late and is primarily outside the mainstream of the Vedic-Brahmanic tradition. In Hinduism, as referred to above, sakti is often mythologised, but the myth is rich in metaphysics and theology.

        a. Sakti is the female principle or consort or aspect of a male divinity, particularly manifesting his ability to create. It is creative power, female consort of Siva and inseparable from the one reality of Siva. Siva-Sakti is one reality (binitarian).
        b. There is also the idea of sakti as a cosmogonic power possessed by a single deity (Deva/Isvara). It signifies the embodiment of power, of ability to create the world without its being identified as female.
        c. There is also the notion of sakti being an abstract, all pervasive power inherent in creation.

1.1.6    Agni.  At the level of symbols in Hinduism, the concept of Agni (fire) as pavaka (purifier) is very significant. In Vedic terms, pavaka could mean both fire and wind. Here we just point to the potential of Agni as pavaka to symbolise the Spirit in Christian Tradition.

1.1.7    Conclusion

        Reflecting on the Holy Spirit and Hinduism, one finds concepts such as atman, prana, antarayamin, ananda and sakti that evoke resonance in meaning with the Christian understanding of the Holy Spirit. Of the above mentioned concepts, antarayami(n), ananda and sakti have deeper resonance with the Christian concept of the spirit of God.
        However, one can ask: was the Spirit (apart from concepts congenial with the Spirit) present in the Indian Tradition? Yes. If we are able to discern the signs of the Spirit we can read the history of Hinduism as a Holy history, where the Spirit has led our brothers and sisters to the depths of the mystery of God and leads them towards Christ. The Second Vatican Council in Nostra Aetate no. 2. speaks of "that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of human life." (Here see also Gal. 3:23-26; Jn. 4:38; Wisdom 1:7; Rom. 11:32-36; Acts 14:16f). The early nature symbolism and apparent polytheism of the Vedas becomes purified by the strong affirmation in the Upanishads of the above without a second (ekam eva advitiyam). The metaphysical depth is imbued by an ethical concern and a spirit of detachment characteristic of Buddhism and Jainism. Out of this encounter the monotheistic creeds of a personal God (Vaisnavism and Saivism) emerge, with a relation of love to the world. The devotional trend and the monotheistic faith are strengthened by the arrival of Islam and the later bhakti trends. Meanwhile the knowledge and love of the name of Jesus was present in India from the earliest century: That name is received with devotion by the Hindu tradition in the Renaissance of the 19th and 20th centuries. The actual teaching of Jesus enters, more and more, the centre of the Hindu and national consciousness and finds an articulation in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution where the people of India affirm their faith in justice, freedom, equality and fraternity of all citizens.
        Surveying the contemporary scene of Hinduism, we see both positive and negative signs of Hindu revival. Many Hindu religious leaders, thinkers and artists move in the direction of a humanist renaissance of Hinduism suited to the religio-cultural pluralism of India. Christians can discern the Spirit at work in these movements and aspirations and become open to generous co-operation with the stirrings of the Spirit who blows where He wills. Harmony and communion between religious believers is also a fruit of the Spirit.

1.2   Buddhism

1.2.1    The Approach

        One cannot talk about a concept of the "Spirit" in Buddhism and any attempt to do so, or to try to "find the idea of the Spirit in Buddhism", would be an exercise in distortion of the very essence of Buddhism. Buddhism must be taken on its own terms and understood within the frame-work of its own concepts. Buddhists insist that one must approach a study of Buddhism with a Right Motive, and this motive is ultimately desire to attain Enlightenment. Dharma is a vehicle of emancipation. It has been compared to a raft that ferries one across of the waters of birth-and-death to the farther shore of Nirvana, a vehicle which carries one across to the transcendent. Hence Dharma is something that must be experienced rather than studied. Ultimately to understand what Buddhism is all about one must walk the way, one must experience. Yet there is an intellectual content which can form a legitimate subject of study provided one remembers that the spatial and temporal forms which one studies are mere pointers veiling the reality. Further, one must realise that there are important differences between Christianity and Buddhism which stem not merely from problems of religious language, but from deep structural differences; and one must respect the differences.
        Above all one must not approach Buddhism with pre-conceived theories of the nature of the transcendent and the nature of phenomenal reality. These would preclude any understanding. As a path to be walked, as a way to be experienced, Buddhism does not have dogmas; but there are two basic concepts that run through all of the various schools of Buddhism and which are essential to even the most rudimentary understanding of Buddhism. The first of these is anatma, the idea that things have no "own being", no permanent identity or unchanging selfhood. The Mahayana philosophers would use the term a-svabhava for all of phenomenal reality, that is to say, nothing is "self existent". This applies to all phenomena, including the human person, human consciousness and human mental processes. The Buddha would accept the Brahmanical concept of rebirth (karma-samsara) but insist that the great illusion is that there is a perma-nent, enduring self (atman) which passes from one life to the next. Secondly, Buddhism does not admit a personal God. The Buddha in fact taught that belief in a personal God and an enduring, unchanging self were rationalisations of desires, of our craving for love and protection, our attachment to our own personalities and our thirst for life. If one sets out to "find God" in Buddhism, the result will be either frustrated disappointment or distortion of the tradition.
        Where than is the meeting point? Not on the level of these concepts, but rather on the level of experience of human life and the human quest for the transcendent. The fact that a Christian also belongs to a tradition which affirms the transcendent, the existence of a spiritual world beyond the world of physical senses and the rational mind, should make the Christian open to a different conception and experience of that reality. A Christian should be willing to give consideration to the Buddha's claim that he had achieved an experience of the transcendent himself and that by following his teaching others too might achieve it. The meeting point will be beyond concepts, dogmas, symbols and rituals at the level of experience.

1.2.2    The Four Noble Truths

        The Buddha's claim is that as he sat under the tree in Gaya he had an experience, an awakening or enlightenment in which he experienced the true meaning of human life. He explained this experience to his followers in the "Four Noble Truths". The first of these truths was sarva dukha, "all is dukha". Dukha is usually translated as "suffering", hence human life is basically "suffering". The word does mean suffering and would include all of the things we would ordinarily include under this term: physical suffering, pain, death, the loss of a loved one, poverty, social and economic oppression, etc. But it is much more radical than this. It is the realisation that human life ends in a kind of existential frustration. One spends one's life acquiring, but no matter how fortunate one may be in his or her possession of material goods, faine, friends, family, intellectual attainments one never seems to have enough and ultimately one will grow ill, old and finally lose it all in death. The second truth is the realisation that one experiences this frustration because there is an all consuming "desire" burning at the core of our being which is insatiable. The word the Buddha actually used was "thirst" (trsna).
        Thirdly he said that he realised that this burning desire at the center of one's being does finally come to an end. He compared this desire to the flame of a candle or a small oil lamp. Finally the oil runs out and the flame simply goes out -- nirvana. The term is a negative term and means quite literally "extinguishing". Further definition the Buddha refused to give. People, of course, asked for a definition, and scholars ever since have tried to give a definition, but the Buddha did not, and this is important to remember. What happens is that this thirst, which is the root cause of all human suffering and hence the cause of the series of births, finally comes to an end. Then there is no more re-birth and no more suffering. People asked if nirvana was something and he responded "it is not something". "Ah," people would reply, "then nirvana is nothing." He responded "No, nirvana is not nothing." This second response is often forgotten with the result that Buddhism is described as "a negative religion". It is not a negative religion; the same Buddha who described this ultimate state as "extinguishing" went on to further describe it:

       There is, monks, the stage where there is neither earth nor water nor fire nor wind nor the stage of infinity or space nor the stage of the infinity of consciousness nor the stage of neither consciousness nor non-consciousness; neither this world nor the other world nor sun and moon. There, monks, I say there is neither coming nor going nor staying nor passing away nor arising. Without support or going on or basis is it. This indeed is the end of pain.
       There is, monks, an unbom, an unbecome, an unmade, an uncompounded; if monks there were not here this unbom, unbecome, unmade, uncompounded, there would not here be an escape from the bom, the become, the made, the compounded. But because there is an unbom, an unbecome, an unmade, an uncompounded, therefore, there is an escape from the bom, the become, the made, the compounded.

(Udana, VIII  11 and 3)

1.2.3    The Four Sublime States

        As one walks the way one begins to experience upeksa (a tranquillity, a peace of mind, an equanimity) which frees one of the habit of blind reaction flowing from desire. Then one can take positive action which is creative, productive and beneficial for oneself and for all others. Along with this peace of mind arise three other qualities of a pure mind: good will, a love (maitri) that seeks the benefit of others without expecting anything in return, karuna (compassion) for others in their failings and sufferings and mudita (sympathetic joy) in their success and good fortune. The key is maitri; for without love, compassion turns to contempt, sympathetic joy to vicarious satisfaction, and equanimity to heartless indifference.
        This active aspect of Buddhism reached its deepest expression in the Mahayana tradition which evolved the ideal of the bodhisattva ("enlight-ened being"), one who is bent on attaining Supreme Enlightenment, not merely for his own sake, but for the sake of all sentient beings. He refuses to simply enjoy his attainment and pass from this world but returns aeon after aeon to be of service to sentient beings as long as there are those who need his assistance:

Like a fire his mind constantly blazes up into works for others;
At the same time he always remains merged in the calm of the trances and
formless attainments (Ratnagotravibhaga, 1:73)

1. To save all beings (from difficulties)
2. To destroy all evil passions
3. To learn the Truth and teach others
4. To lead all beings towards Buddhahood

1.2.4    Devotional Buddhism

        The later schools of devotional Buddhism, so popular in China, Korea and Japan, gave rise to a series of transcendent Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to whom the people have great devotion. The most well known of these Buddhas, Amitablia (or, Amida Buddha) is addressed in the following terms:

Oh Amitablia, incomparable light,
Oh Arnitablia, infinite splendour
so pure, so tranquil,
so sweet and consoling,
Oh how we desire to be reborn in thine abode!

Thou whose power is limitless
Thou to whom the beings of every world have recourse,
How beautiful is thy Kingdom,
Where the wind strews flowers beneath the fees of the blessed,
Oh how we desire to be reborn in thin abode !

How beautiful is thy kingdom,
Where sweetest music is heard
Where most precious perfumes emit their fragrance
Where all beings are holy!
Oh how we desire to be reborn in thine abode!

Madly, through countless existences
Have we renewed the karman which binds us to earth
Oh look upon us, kindly light, Henceforth! -
That we may no longer lose wisdom of heart!

We exalt thy knowledge and thy works,
We desire that all things may progress towards thee!
That no obstacle may prevent any being
From being reborn in peace and happiness in thy abode!
We offer thee all that we have, all that we are.
In exchange, grant that we may be reborn in thine abode.

Hail, Oh inscrutable splendour!
With all our heart and with all our confidence we bow down before thee!
(see L. Weiger, Historie des croyances, p. 594-5.)

The Lord Amitayus [Amitabha] makes a smile of thirty six niyutas of kotis of rays, which rays having issued from the circle of his mouth light up the thousand kotis of Buddha countries. And all of these rays having returned there again settle on the head of the lord; gods and men produce (perceive) the delight, because they have seen there the light of him. There rises the Buddha-son, glorious, he indeed the mighty Avalokitesvara. (F.  Max Muller, ed., The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 49, p. 48.)

1.2.5    Conclusion

        For so many centuries Buddhism has nourished the spiritual life of almost the whole of Asia bearing the fruits of sympathetic love, compas-sion, joy, and peace of mind in the lives of millions of Asia's people. As Christians come to share something of the vision and experience of the Buddha as lived out in the lives of the people with whom they share the Asian heritage, what can they perceive but the work of the Spirit which they too have experienced?

1.3   Confucianism-Taoism

1.3.1   Confucianism

1.3.1.1    Master Confucius (551.479)

        Confucius lived in the Chou dynasty which shaped the characteristics of the Chinese empire but which was weakened in Confucius' time by the division of the empire into several powerful states. Master Confucius was convinced that if he became a minister of one of these states he had the necessary qualities and preparation to restore the Chou dynasty, but no head of state wanted to give him such power and dignity. Then he went his way of educating people for government office. According to the Se Machien's book Shih Chi ("Record of History") Confucius had 3000 disciples among them 72 closely related to him. These disciples had long and extensive contact with the Master and later on recorded their conversations with him in a book called today Analecta Confuciana (Lunyu). The most important contribution of Confucius to Chinese culture has been the education of every kind of people and the spread of leaming not only of morality, but also of liberal arts, history, poetry and human behaviour. The famous eulogy attributed to Confucius in most Confucius temples consists of four Chinese characters you chiao wu lei, i.e. teaching any one without discrimi-nation. The respect and veneration paid by Confucius' disciples after the Master's death surpassed by far all other school founders. In this sense Lunyu is similar to the Christian gospels both in content, mainly the relationship of a master with his disciples, and in the way of becoming a book, a living memory of deeds and words recorded and preserved by a group of faithful disciples. That is why a reading of Lunyu in a way similar to the reading of the gospels is inspiring and mutually enriching. It is mutually enriching in the sense, that as the Old Testament is not only fulfilled by the NT, but also illuminates and complements the NT (Vat. 11, Dei Verbum), so Lunyu is saying many things about teacher-disciples not said in the gospels. This is made possible because the same Spirit was and is working in the OT, in the Gospels and in the ancient sages, especially before the Christian era.
        When Confucius reached the age of seventy he said, with a little pride but much sincerity, that he was able to act according to the dictates of his heart without transgressing any commandment (Confucian Analects or Lunyu II 4. Recall St. Augustine's "Ama et fac quod vis".) Confucius' life and teaching have influenced China's history for 2,500 years and its influence has somehow spilled over into the neighbouring countries also. It is unthinkable that such a human spirit did not have the Spirit working in him.

1.3.1.2    Confucius' Sense of Mission

        In his lifetime Confucius twice narrowly escaped being killed. Precisely in such critical moments of life and death he expressed the fearless confidence that he would be saved because of the mission entrusted to him: "If Heaven has given me power, what can this man called Huen Tuei do to me." (VII 22) Or again, "After the death of Wen Wang, is not wen (the spirit) here in me? If Heaven wanted wen to perish, then posterity would not see wen. If Heaven doesn't want this to happen what can the people of Kuan do?". (IX 5) Happily in both cases Confucius played the role of a true prophet; he and his disciples came safely out of the danger.

1.3.1.3    Confucius' Openness to a Continuous Process of Learning

        The first three sentences of Lunyu are quite revealing. The Master says: "I) What a joyful thing to learn and to repeat what one has learned from time to time. 2) What a pleasure to have a friend coming from afar. 3) What a gentle person is that man who is ignored but bears no resentment at all." The first sentence can be interpreted as referring to oneself, the second to one's relationships with others, and the third to Heaven, because, in another passage, Confucius says: "It is Heaven who know me." (XIV 37) Again, in another context, he says, "In a village of ten families it is not hard to find someone as faithful as 1, but not easy to find one so eager to learn as I am." (V 28)

1.3.1.4    Confucius' Humility in Acknowledging his Limitations

        One of his most famous sayings goes: "When you know something, say you know it. When you do not know something, say you do not know it. That is wisdom." (I 117) In fact that was what Confucius did himself as, for example, when a disciple asked about the service of ghosts and spirits. His answer was, "If I am not able to serve human beings properly, what use is it to speak about service of ghosts and spirits.?" The disciple insisted, "What about death?" The Master answered, "I have not sufficient knowledge of life, how can I have it about death?" (XI 11) One of Confucius' aspirations was expressed in this way, "If in the morning I hear the Tao (way) , in the evening I shall die peacefully." (IV 8) This statement shows his conscious-ness of and acknowledgement that he had not yet heard the Tao, and at the same time his readiness to depart from the world once he has heard the "way", like old Simeon of Luke's Gospel.

1.3.1.5    Confucius' Discernment of Spirits among his Disciples and his Utter Honesty in Dealing with Them

        In countless conversations with his disciples and in answering questions addressed to him, Confucius revealed himself as an accomplished master in discerning the spirits within himself and in his disciples. It is not hard to discover similarities between the disciples of Confucius and those of Jesus. Tzu Lu is like Peter: courageous and outspoken but with a tendency to speak before reflecting. He became a minister later and was killed, as foretold by the Master. (XI 12) Yen Yuan was like John, often praised by the Master as a perfect disciple but unfortunately he died young. There was even a Judas among his disciples, Jan Qiu, who was the financial adminis-trator for a rich minister. He was repudiated by Confucius because of his lack of compassion towards the poor (XI 16).

1.3.1.6    Confucius' Respect for Divinity and the Afterlife

        Confucius spoke seldom about divinity, because he was conscious of not having direct revelation from God (after the manner of the Old Testament prophets). Hence, he usually avoided the issue, but on some ten occasions, when he could not avoid speaking about Heaven, he showed great respect. We have seen this twice when he was in danger of death. Once when he was sick and close to death, his disciples told him they were praying for him. He answered, "Is that so? I have been praying now for a long time." (VII 34) Self-others-Heaven are interrelated in the following saying of the Master, "I want to stand by myself and make others stand; I want to reach the goal myself and help others reach the goal; leaming here below and reach the goal above, I am known only by Heaven." (XIV 37) A minister had a beautiful wife who was sick and Confucius visited her and talked with her. The disciples gossiped about the master, and Confucius said, "If I had some ulterior motive, Heaven punish me, Heaven punish me!" (VI 26) When his beloved disciple Yen Yuan died, Confucius cried bitterly, "Such a man died at such an age! It is Heaven who makes me perish! It is Heaven who makes me perish!" (XI 8) Regarding the afterlife Confucius said nothing; but he paid great respect to the dead and composed himself duly when he saw a funeral passing by (X 160). He helped financially for the burial of a poor man in the neighbourhood (X 15). Such a humble and open Spirit was all ready to receive One who is "Way, Truth and Life" (In 14:6). No wonder Matteo Ricci and his companions found Confucianism most adaptable to Christianity. Master Confucius can be seen as an agent of the Spirit before the coming of Christ.

1.3.2   The Taoist Tradition*
 

1.3.2.1    The Founder

        According to tradition, Taoism originated with a man named Lao Tzu born about 604 B.C. However, the historicity of Lao Tzu is uncertain because all we have is based on legends about him. He was a solitary recluse and remained practically unknown. Nevertheless, his influence has been enormous. His ideas are contained in the book Tao Te Ching which continues to inspire those who seek for an authentic spiritual liberation through a different way of looking at life. The philosophy of Taoism reflects the workings of the Spirit in humankind's attempts to seek for harmony and meaning in existence.

1.3.2.2    The Way Of The Tao

        The opening verse of Tao Te Ching, reads "If Tao can be Taoed, it's not Tao. If its name can be named, it's not its name." (Ch 1) Indeed, "He who speaks does not know. He who knows does not speak." (Ch 56) Thus, the first difficulty in speaking about the Tao is the problem of language and meaning. The Tao which is the ineffable and the ultimate is beyond language. At best, it can only be described in imagery, metaphors, paradoxes and in cryptic terms.
        What then is the Tao? The word Tao literally means the Path or the Way. But more specifically, it is the Way of the Cosmos. It has a twofold aspect, namely, Wu (non-being) and Yu (being). Hence Tao is the Mystery, both transcendent and immanent.
        Being transcendent, Tao as the Wu is first and foremost the way of Ultimate Reality. Being formless and hidden, it cannot be conceived. It is also fathomless and beyond human understanding. Nevertheless, this nameless, ineffable and transcendent Tao is the ultimate source of all, the ground and origin of everything and the Unoriginated. This is expressed thus: "Tao bore one, one bore two, two bore three; Three bore the ten thousand things." (Ch 42) It is the Mystery of all mysteries.
        Being immanent, Tao as the Yu manifests itself in the universe. As the manifestation of Tao in form, Yu is derived from Wu. It incarnates itself in the world by giving life to all things and hence can be called the Mother of the World, the Eternal Law of the World and the Spirit of the universe. It must be noted that the Tao does not 'create' but things emerge as a result of Tao.
       Yu in turn is the product of two forces or principles, Yin and Yang which together are called Qi. Hence, we say that the One gives birth to Two. These forces are complete opposites. In their eternal interaction, they generate energy (qi) which becomes a life-giving force in the entire creation, causing all to come to birth. It is of divine origin; it vivifies and unifies the world. Two then gives birth to the Three, namely, Heaven, Earth and Humanity. This triad is the form by which all living things come into actual existence. By understanding this cosmological progression of the origin of life and by returning to it, the Taoist arrives at the Ultimate. From the Taoist cosmology, the whole Taoist approach to the way of life; who we are and our purpose in life is derived.

1.3.2.3    Living Out The Tao In One's Daily Life

1.3.2.3.1    Seeking Unity With The Ultimate Reality

       Union With The Tao:   The Taoist seeks to find the fullness of life by following the Way of Tao which ultimately leads to a union with the Ultimate Tao beyond the One. Turning to Tao is innate in every person; it brings life. On the other hand, separation from Tao would be unnatural; it brings death. As the Kingdom of heaven and earth, the Tao is both within and outside us. Since, the Way is within us, we have only to follow the inner prompting of the Spirit. Being outside us, we must simply travel the path, for the path is as life-giving as reaching the end of it. By so doing, a person achieves fullness of life and union with the Tao.
       Union With Nature:   Since all things are linked to the Tao, the corollary of this is that all things are inter-related. The fundamental unity of all in and through the Tao is central to Taoism. Deriving from this truth is the principle of a harmonious relationship of the world with the Tao. Nature is not an object to be conquered nor dominated. Rather, nature is our valued friend which we should be attuned with. The Taoist's approach to nature is ecological. By co-operating with the forces of nature, Tao works through them. Taoism therefore favours the natural and the ordinary.
       Union In Immortality:   The Taoist is not only concerned about this life but is equally concerned about the immortality of life. The Taoist idea of immortality entails the transformation of the whole body into an eternal vehicle for the soul. Without the body, there could be no immortality. So, the immortality that is sought is that of the entire human being, body and soul.
       Union In Mysticism:   In Taoism, the mystical element is also evident. Taoist philosophers retreat from the world, not because the material world is evil but for the sake of freedom and preserving life. The joy of the Taoist ties within; for it is within that he finds the whole cosmos and the meaning of life. As such, the Taoist abandons the pursuits of the worldly since they bring only strife. The Taoist is a reclusive sage who meditates and develops his/her spirit and lives a life in union with the Tao and the whole universe.

1.3.2.3.2    Living A Life Of Wu Wei (Non-Action)

An Altruistic Life

        A real union with the Cosmos, however, requires one to live a life of wu wei, the way of non'-action or selfless action. This entails, a withdrawal from the world of temptations and illusions. But wu-wei must not be misconstrued as a mere physical withdrawal, nor living a life of idleness and non-involvement. Rather, it is to live life unselfishly and to do things for purely altruistic motives. Wu wei could be rendered as a life of creative quietude; a life that is fully active and yet in a relaxed and non-ambitious way. By surrendering one's ego and self-will, the Tao works in and through us in a natural and spontaneous way. Action which flows from being is always authentic, creative and new. That is why, the way to act is simply to be. With such an approach to life, one lives above tensions because one lives effortlessly responding to the tune of nature.

A Peaceful And Non- Violent Life

        As an illustration, water is chosen as the prototype of wu wei. "Nothing beneath heaven is softer and weaker than water. Nothing is better to attack the hard and strong, and nothing can take its place." (Ch 78) The qualities of water, namely, its flexibility and its softness empower it to overcome all things hard and inaccessible. These virtues of water are precisely those of wu wei as well. The persons who adopt such qualities "conquer without competing"; "answer without speaking"; "attract without summoning" and "get results without hastening." (Ch 73) There is indeed great strength in weakness; and weakness in strength. Consequently, Taoists are basically peacemakers and averse to violence. This pacifist attitude is reflected in the following passages: "He who uses Tao to guide rulers does not force beneath-heaven with arms. Such things recoil on their users. Where armies are, briars and brambles grow." (Ch 30) "Fine weapons are tools of ill fortune; all things seem to hate them. Whoever has Tao does not depend on them.... Peace and quiet he upholds; Victory he does not enjoy. To enjoy victory is to like slaughter. Whoever likes it cannot thrive beneath heaven." (Ch 31)

A Non-Ambitious But Creative Life

        Necessarily, Taoists also reject all forms of self-assertiveness, ambition and competition. "On tiptoe you don't stand. Astride you don't walk. Showing yourself, you don't shine. Asserting yourself, you don't show. Boasting yourself won't get you credit." (Ch 24) Instead of competing, one must live in selfless love and service in humility like the water. "True goodness is like water; Water benefits the ten thousand things but does not compete with them .... If you do not compete, you will not be faulted." (Ch 8) The true values of life are not what the world pursues but what the world rejects as useless. One tends to see only the superficial and not the hidden. Indeed, Taoists say that the value of cups, windows, and doorways lies in their emptiness.
        Hence, success for the Taoists is but an illusion since it provides one with no peace and lasting joy. The search for success is but a vain and futile attempt to overcome one's insecurity and to fulfil one's ego. Rather, real success is to see the failure of success. Once that is realised, then we can just simply be and allow the Tao to flow in and through us. "The great Tao flows everywhere ... The ten thousand things draw life from it; and it does not deny them. It completes its work, but takes no title. It clothes and feeds the ten thousand things, but does not own them. You can call it small. The ten thousand things return to it, but it does not own them. You can call it great. Because it does not seek to be great, its greatness is accomplished." (Ch 34)

The Relativity Of All Values And The Embracement Of All Values

        If a Taoist could give up the pursuit of success and competition, it is only because all values are seen as relative. This principle of relativity is expressed by the traditional Chinese yin/yang symbol which sums up all the polarities of life: good/evil, active/passive, positive/negative, light/dark, summer/winter, male/female. Taoism teaches neutrality with regard to the polarities. "When all beneath heaven know beauty as beauty, there is not beauty. When all know good as good, there is not good. For what is and what is not beget each other. Difficult and easy complete each other; long and short show each other; high and low place each other; noise and sound harmonise each other; before and behind follow each other." (Ch 2) All opposites are therefore complementary not competitive. The Yang initiates but it is the Yin that completes. Both find their wholeness in each other, producing a harmonious state.
        The implication of this principle is that we are mutually inter-depen-dent. Just like the Yang and Yin which are held in tension, one must not dichotomise the realities of the world. Nothing is absolute, especially values and concepts which are conditioned by our environment and interpretations we give to them. By transcending the distinctions between good and bad; self and the universe, all are gathered together in the Tao where everything is one. This is the final vision of reality as well.
        Once this realisation is attained, detachment easily follows because like the sage, one "does not shun the ten thousand things; rears them without owning them; works for them without claiming them; accomplishes but takes not credit. Because he does not take credit, it cannot be taken from him." (Ch 2) One also learns to trust in divine providence because the Yin and Yang will somehow achieve its own equilibrium and restore the balance of nature. Everything in life that happens can then be taken in stride, in an attitude of equanimity. However, to arrive at this mystical union with the Tao, and to trust in its graciousness, entails the emptying of the senses and the mind itself.

A Life Of Docility To The Tao

        If life is to surrender oneself to the Tao, then peace and contentment could only come from a life of nothing-doing. Yet, nothing-doing is actually a way of getting things done efficaciously and spontaneously. Nothing-doing is not doing nothing. To do nothing itself is already a doing. It is adopting an attitude of non-interference and non-manipulation of people and things and situations. It has nothing to do with self-will or one's efforts because that would be violating the process of nature.
        Nothing-doing calls for a total openness to all of reality, to the universe and to the Tao, placing no obstructions but always co-operating with the flow of the Qi. And because one responds to the rhythm of nature totally, one becomes a powerful instrument of nature. Nothing-doing thus surpasses doing something because it is the work of Tao not the vain efforts of man. Such is the hidden and dynamic power of Tao for "the softest things beneath heaven overcome the hardest. Nothing alone penetrates no space. Hence I know the use of nothing-doing." (Ch 43)
        Furthermore, docility equally demands an attitude of nothing-wanting, that is, an attitude of non-attachment and non-desire. "Keep to simplicity. Grasp the primal, reduce the self, and curb the desire." (Ch 19) This virtue is necessary lest our involvement with people and their affairs spring from our ego-centricity. Attachment is detrimental to our well-being; but so is attachment to detachment. Instead, we are exhorted to live a life of simplicity and contentment without any craving of any sort. "No calamity is greater than not knowing what is enough. No fault worse than wanting too much. Whoever knows what is enough has enough." (Ch 46)
        However, a life of nothing-doing and nothing-wanting presupposes that we have become intimate with the Tao. This intimacy with the Tao is forged not via knowledge but through experience. That is why, "the wise are not learned; the learned are not wise." (Ch 81) Experiencing the Tao is to allow ourselves to be totally absorbed by it, for the Kingdom of Heaven is both within and without us. "Without going out of the door, you can know beneath-heaven. Without looking out of the window, you can see heaven's way. The farther you go, the less you know. Thus the Sage knows without walking, sees without looking and does without doing." (Ch 47) Truth to be whole cannot simply be the work of the intellect or the will. Truth is an experiential knowledge. Truth ultimately is an event.
        Finally, this basic attitude of docility and emphasis on the yin element gives rise to the assertion that Taoism favours the feminine over the mascu-line. "Know the masculine; keep to the feminine" (Ch 28) Such claims can be further substantiated for the Tao is spoken of as the mother of all things and of the world. "Beneath-heaven has a beginning: The mother of beneath-heaven. Knowing the mother, we may know the children. Knowing the children, we may keep to the mother." (Ch 52) The feminine element of the Yu indeed highlights the importance of total receptivity to providence, a receptivity that nurtures natural growth.

1.3.2.4    Conclusion

The Effortlessness Of Following The Path

        To many people, this way of life as proposed by Taoism seems to be only for the reserved few. Nay, this way of life is available to all. If the path of Tao is perceived as difficult if not impossible, it is because one has not come to the realisation that such is the truth of life. The path can easily be followed when one comes to an experiential realisation that the world's life-style cannot offer true peace and freedom. In order to give up worldly pursuits, one must come to the realisation of the vanity and emptiness of such pursuits. Indeed, to follow the path of Tao, the effort that is required is as little as one who instantly moves his hand away from a hot stove. In the words of Tao Te Ching, "Only by being sick of our sickness, are we not sick. The sage is not sick. He is sick of his sickness and therefore not sick." (Ch 71)
        Such awareness leads one to the true emptiness of Tao, an emptiness that liberates. "Tao is empty! Use it and it isn't used up." (Ch 4) Tao liberates because Truth liberates. Joy and freedom does not come to the self-centred person but to a self-less person who follows the Way. "Therefore the sage puts himself last, finds himself first; abandons his self, preserves his self. Is it not because he has no self that he is able to realise his self?." (Ch 7)

The Way Of Divine Providence And Love

        In recapitulation, to follow the Tao is to simply trust in the Way, or the Way of the Cosmos, as shown to us in the natural operations of the universe. When we align ourselves to the Way, we walk the way of a selfless love. "The sage has no fixed heart. He finds his heart in the hundred families' heart. He is good to the good; He is also good to the not-good, for virtue is good. He is faithful to the faithful; He is also faithful to the unfaithful, for virtue is faithful." (Ch 49)
        To walk the Way is to live the Kingdom of Heaven in our lives, not only at the end of time, but already as we journey along. Indeed, we will always be on the Way for the Way is eternal and inexhaustive. The Way is the Tao and the Tao is the Way. The Way is the Goal and the Goal is the Way. Comprehending this sublime truth will free us from undue anxiety about our life; enabling us to live in utter trust and simplicity. Indeed, Taoism is a remedy for the sickness of humankind today. By following the Path, people can recover their innocence and enjoy a newness in their ordinariness because the Tao makes all things new.

Confucianism And Taoism As Complementary Paths

        Just like the yin and yang, Taoism and Confucianism represent two opposite but complementary ways of looking at life. Taoism being more akin to the yin element stresses the virtues of docility, receptivity and withdrawal; whereas Confucianism as the yang element gives emphasis to social responsibility and action. Still yet another difference is that whilst Lao Tzu promotes ordinariness and spontaneity, Confucius teaches disci-pline and character. Thus, if Confucius forms our human spirit, then Lao Tzu leads us beyond our human spirit to the universal spirit. Indeed, the Chinese says that Confucius roams within society but Lao Tzu wanders beyond.

Confucianism And Taoism As Human Attempts To Live The Life Of The Spirit

        In the light of the above study on Confucianism and Taoism, we cannot but recognise the lofty moral and spiritual values that these two philosophies of life offer to humankind's search for peace, harmony and meaning. In many ways, they reflect the workings of the Holy Spirit in the Cosmos and particularly in humanity and its history. The Taoist virtues of docility, trust, humility, non-violence, detachment, equanimous love; and the Confucianist virtues of responsibility, honesty, loyalty and fidelity are but manifestations of the fruits of the one Spirit of God working in all sorts of different ways in different people in the world.

1.4   Primal Religions

        Primal religions in general have a clear belief in One God or a Supreme Being, called by different names as the Great Spirit, the Great One, Heaven, the One who lives above or other designations. There is also a belief in other beings which are above humankind but are less than the Supreme Being. They are sometimes called spirits and considered to be part of the divine world. Cult or worship in primal religions is directed to the spirits and the ancestors in the forin of prayer, worship at shrines and communal sacrifices. The attitude towards the world of the Supreme Being and the spirits is on the one hand awe and confidence, but there is the other element of fear of the evil spirits present as well. Thus we find different religious rituals of venerating the well-meaning spirits and asking for their protection and blessings, as well as practices of exorcisms to ward off the influence of the evil spirits. Primal religions generally do not have sacred scriptures or theoretical statements about their doctrines and beliefs. The riches of their traditions and moral values are more often found in their celebrations, myths and proverbs, and conveyed through attitudes towards the cosmos, sense of the sacred, customs and codes of conduct.
        The difficulty in describing the role of the primal religions in Asia lies in the fact that these religious traditions have been superseded by the major religious traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity which have superimposed their traditions, their sacred scriptures and liturgical/ritual practices on the many forms of traditional religiosity of various tribal societies. In many Asian societies the adherents of the primal religions are not only numerically minorities but are considered to be culturally inferior, less developed, and, because of the lack of written sources, their religious traditions and practices are deemed to be of less value. Indigenous peoples are often referred to as tribals or aborigines, terms they reject as perpetuating stereotypes depicting them as backward. In various Asian countries the adherents of primal religions are living in remote areas, isolated from the urban centres. As regards their possibilities of having access to education and participation in the economic processes these people are marginalised and disadvantaged. In most Asian countries the growing industrialisation and urbanisation, coupled with an exploitation of the natural resources in mining and ecological destruction of local forests, seas and wildlife, threatens the existence and livelihood of indigenous peoples who are used to traditional ways of life based on symbiotic relationships with nature.

1.4.1    The Role of Primal Religions

        The primal religions normally do not have organised structures such as education facilities for their ministry, fixed forms of administration and documentation, and other aspects of organised religious life found in the major religions. Nor do primal religions have structures to propagate their beliefs in forms of organised missionary endeavours. Their beliefs and religious practices are handed down as a matter of custom and way of living within the family structure among people bound together by community or kinship ties. With their festivals, cycles of annual observances, rites of passage, ceremonies of exorcism and the like, primal religions put the greatest emphasis not on ideas but on rituals. Among the rituals, particularly numerous are those that serve the aim of securing tangible benefits such as fertility, growth, prosperity, protection from danger, healing of diseases, that is, immediate, concrete benefits in this world. The role of primal religions can best be described as providing the matrix for many phenomena of popular religiosity. Very often one has only to scratch certain forms of piety and religiosity which are found within the religious life of members of the major religions to discover the heritage of the primal religion which may no longer be extant in any organised form, but which exercises a lasting influence on the religious world of the ordinary people. Many basic ideas regarding the world, the human condition, the whole realm of the Spirit, or rather the spirits, the relationship with the dead in ancestor veneration, the role of religious practices to restore health and prevent sickness can be traced to images, ideas, concepts, myths originally found in the primal religions.

1.4.2    Examples of Asian Primal Religions

        The cult of the spirits and cosmic forces as the Bons (Tibet), Devas (South-Asia), Nats (Burma), Phis (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia), the ancestral spirits (in the Confucian cultures of China, Korea, Vietnam, the Kalash in Pakistan) and the Kami (Japan) are an essential element of the spirituality of primal religions. The most persistent influence of primal religions on religious ideas and popular religious practices can be found in the many expressions of ancestor worship or veneration in the various Asian countries. The attitudes towards life and death are heavily influenced by beliefs which stress the permanent relationship of the living with the dead and the many obligations which result from it. The belief that the dead ancestors are actively influencing the fate of their living descendants can be seen in the many forms of burying the dead and caring for the upkeep of their graves which have to be selected in strict observance to prescriptions deriving from geomancy (fengshui). In the home the altars with the name-tablets of dead ancestors and/or the urns with some of their bones have a place of honour, and on special days and occasions gifts of food and incense are made to them. Major events in the lives of the descendants are reported to the ancestors, and during the feast of the dead (0-Bon-Festival, Spring Festival) their temporal presence is noted with reverence and fear. The influence of ancestor veneration can be seen as a work of the Holy Spirit in as far as it fosters the sense of honouring the parents, of gratitude to former generations who have made their contributions to the prosperity of their descendants. The insight that every generation depends on the achievements of the preceding one is a good simile for the lasting dependence on the grace of God and the Holy Spirit which is at the essence of Christianity. On the other hand there are negative elements in ancestor worship which can enslave people to a conservative outlook on life and bring them into opposition to the stirring of the Holy Spirit to new forms of life and constant change. In the history of the Christian mission in Asia the controversy about ancestor worship has been a major hindering influence, because of the decision taken by the major authorities in the Church to consider all forms of ancestor worship as belonging to the realm of superstitious and idola-trous practices, condemned by the Church as idol worship. The negative decision regarding the problem of rites and ancestor worship was revised only in the thirties of our century. The Roman authorities gave permission to Catholics in Japan and Korea to take part in burial ceremonies and ancestral rituals, as long as these could be considered as civil ceremonies, common in the cultural society to express respect and gratitude to the ancestors.
        In Asia a widespread form of primal or popular religiosity can be found in Shamanistic religious expressions, especially in Korea, but also in Japan, China and other Asian societies. In Korea most of the Shamans are women (mudang) who are considered to be in contact with the world of the spirits and who conduct ceremonies (kut) for healing, for protection against evil spirits and for the rest of the souls of dead relatives. In Japan Shintoism has had a deep influence on Japanese religiosity and the understanding of the Holy. As a religious system Shintoism does not have a corpus of defined tenets of faith. That makes it difficult to discern the traces of the work of the Spirit in its many forms of worship, prayer, intercessions, divinations and sacrifices. There are elements like the belief in the uniqueness of the Japanese people, the special relationship of the Japanese emperor to the Sun Goddess Amaterasu which have to be seen as idolatrous beliefs or practices. On the other hand we find precious elements in the sense of awe of nature and creation, respect for ancestors and elders which can be seen as coming from the Holy Spirit.
        In the Philippines we can find remnants of primal religions among the indigenous population in the mountainous areas of Luzon, in different parts in Mindanao and other islands which have had, and still have, a deep influence on the lives of the indigenous peoples and which influence the popular religiosity in the whole country. Similarly in various parts of the Indian subcontinent in the different countries of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal we find many forms of living primal religions. Among the various groups of adivasi or indigenous peoples there is a sense of the sacred, religious forms of world-view and understanding of the destiny of humankind which preserve age-old traditions and customs which give witness to the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the ages. In the countries of Southeast Asia Hinduism and Buddhism have become the dominant religious forces, but within popular religiosity we find many influences from the tradition of primal religions, as e.g. the belief in various spirits, ceremonies of healing, traditions of the sacredness of the earth, ceremonies for planting and harvesting and other elements which influence the world-view and the understanding of the destiny of humankind.

1.4.3    The Holy Spirit at Work in Primal Religions?

        In the past it has been primarily ethnologists who have taken an interest in the phenomena of primal religions rather than theologians. In missionary practice and theory the primal religions, their leaders and adherents were normally considered to have been under the influence of evil spirits rather than under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The primal religions were often accused of propagating idolatrous and satanic practices. Their members were called people living in "darkness and far from God", because they were considered to believe in a world full of evil spirits and powers and to depend on the intercession of dubious magicians, witch-doctors, healers and exorcists. The Christian message was presented to them as the liberating force, which, with the power of the Holy Spirit, brought light into the darkness and delivered these people from an age-old oppression and slavery to religiously false ideas which could only be called super-stitious and idolatrous. The new outlook towards other religions and their values, advanced in the first place by the Second Vatican Council and then taken up especially by Asian Christian theologians, brought about a rescinding of these negative general judgements with regard to the primal religions and a re-thinking of their beliefs and their religious and moral practices. In 1995 the Office of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs of the FABC organised a conference on the Church's attitude towards the indigenous peoples of Asia in which Christian theologians from ten Asian countries, many of them members of indigenous peoples, reflected on the theological significance of the heritage of Asian primal religions and proposed new ways of responding to them. For the first time the Christian churches in Asia acknowledged that in the past the religious traditions and practices of indigenous peoples were treated unjustly and their adherents marginalised within the Church.
        The need for a new approach was expressed in order to come to a more profound encounter between the core values of indigenous peoples and the Biblical faith. The Asian churches reflected on the fact that the Christian church has grown and continues to grow especially among indigenous peoples. Christians are not only called to evangelise indigenous peoples but must be evangelised by them and learn from them new insights in areas such as ecology, community life and the celebration of life's joys and tragedies. Since much of the indigenous people's world view and ethos is compatible with the Christian faith, traditional beliefs, rites, myths and symbols of indigenous peoples provide material for developing indigenous theologics and liturgical ceremonies. There was a call for a more consistent way of dealing with the phenomenon of primal religions in Asia by, for example, setting up a special commission within the Office for Inter-religious Affairs of the FABC exploring further steps of entering into dialogue with the religious heritage and values of Asian primal religions. A demand was made also to make the concerns of indigenous peoples and their cultural and religious heritage a priority for the Special Assembly for Asia of the Synod of Bishops to be held in 1998.

1.5   Islam

        The Divine Spirit, who works unceasingly to renew the face of the universe, is also active in the religion of Islam to produce the Spirit's inimitable fruits in the lives of Muslims. In recognising the signs of the Spirit's activity in Islam, as elsewhere, Christians praise and glorify the Holy Spirit for its wondrous works.

1.5.1    The Fruits of the Spirit's Activity

        "By their fruits you will know them", says the Lord. "A good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit." St. Paul notes the fruits of the Spirit in the lives of people, without claiming that his list is exhaustive. They are: "love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Christians who observe these qualities in the lives of their Muslim neighbours must ask themselves where Muslims learned the religious value of these human characteristics and what has motivated them to produce these traits in their lives.
        A study of the Qur'an, the Sacred Book of Islam, shows a constant effort to sow in the lives of believing Muslims those qualities that Christians recognise as the fruits of the Spirit. In the Qur'an, love is mahabha. Joy is sara', patience is sabr, and musabara is long-suffering endurance. Kindness is ihsan, faithfulness is sidq, and so on. A few example's of Qur'anic teaching must suffice.

      "Virtue does not mean that you turn your faces towards the East or the West, but virtue means to believe in God, the Last Day, the angels, the Scriptures, and the prophets. And to give your wealth away, out of love for Him, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveller, and beggars, and towards freeing captives. And to keep up the prayer and pay the poor tax. And those who keep their word whenever they promise anything and are patient under suffering and hardship in time of violence. Those are the people who are loyal to God. They are the ones who are mindful of His teachings" (Qr 3: 200).
      "You who believe, be patient, show long-suffering endurance, and hold yourselves in readiness. Heed God so that you may prosper" (Qr 28:77).
      "Those who act with kindness will find kindness and even more besides, and neither grief nor any disgrace will line their faces. They will be inhabitants of the Garden and will live in it forever" (Qr 10: 26).
      "Act kindly, just as God has treated you kindly" (Qr 28: 76).
      "Do not sneer down your cheek at others nor walk affogantly on the earth. God does not love swaggering boasters" (Qr 31: 18).

       "Those will be rewarded with the Mansion because they have been so patient, and welcomed there with greetings of Peace!" (Qr 25: 75).
      "Whenever those who believe in Our signs come to you, say: 'Peace be with you'" (Qr 6: 54).
      "Be servants of the Compassionate One who walk on the earth in humility and who, whenever the ignorant address them, answer 'Peace'" (Qr 25: 63).

      "Hasten towards forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden broader than Heaven and Earth which has been prepared for the heedful, who spend themselves for others in joy and hardship, and suppress their anger and overlook what other people do. God loves the kindly and those who remember God and seek forgiveness for their offences when they commit an indecent act or harm themselves. Who forgives offences except God? - and do not knowingly persist in what they have done. They will find forgiveness from their Lord" (Qr 3: 133-135).

1.5.2    Love and Compassion

        Another point of departure for discerning the action of the Spirit in Islam is the words of Christ in the parable of the Last Judgement: "NVhen I was hungry, you gave me to eat" etc. It is significant that in the Gospel parable both those who accepted Jesus and those who rejected him are unaware that it was He whom they have met. It is not correct to say that some people have never met Christ, for everyone meets him repeatedly in the person of the neighbour in need. In each encounter, Christ offers the grace of salvation, which each person either accepts or refuses, depending on one's response to the neighbour. Applying this criterion to Islam, we must ask, first, whether Muslims respond in love and service to the neigh-hour in need and , secondly, whether it is their Islamic faith that prompts them to do so. Throughout Asia, one can point to countless examples of Muslims who, in response to the exhortations of the Qur'an, have expended their energies and material goods for the welfare of those in need.

      "Show kindness to your parents and to relatives, orphans, the needy, to the neighbour who is close to you as well as the neighbour who is a stranger, to the companion at your side and to the wayfarer, and to anyone who is under your control" (Qr 4: 36).
      "(Believers) offer food to the needy, the orphan, and the captive out of love for Him: 'It is for God's sake we are feeding you; we look for no reward from you nor any thanks" (Qr 76: 8-9).

      "Zakat is (not for the rich but) only for the indigent and the poor, for those who collect the tax, those whose hearts are to be won over, for (ransoming) prisoners of war, for the relief of those who are in chronic debt, and for the 'cause of God' (jihad and social welfare purposes), and for the wayfarer" (Qr 9: 60).

      "Did you see the one who gives the lie to the Faith? It is he who maltreats orphans and works little for feeding the poor. Woe betide those who pray yet, neglectful of their prayers, pray for show but refuse even the use of their utensils (to the poor)" (Qr 107: 1-7).

      "Love those among you who are weak, and you will receive sustenance because of them."
      "If you give alms openly, that is good, but if you give them to the needy in secret, it is even better, and will atone for some of your bad deeds. God is aware of all you do."
      "No one of you is truly a believer unless he loves his brother as he loves himself."

        The concept of Islam, after which the religion is named, more broadly indicates the act of submitting the whole of one's life to God. One who does Islam, a "Muslim", seeks only to do God's will, to desire nothing but that which God desires, to allow God to reign over his or her life. The act of Islam means acceptance of God's sovereignty over every aspect of life -the personal, familial, social, economic, even political sphere. For Christians, the "Reign of God" indicates neither a place nor heavenly realm, but the concrete, active, and prayerful transformation of human society in accord with the will of God. Those who pray daily "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven" can see the same Spirit at work in the Islamic concept.
        One who bears witness to the Islamic profession of faith (There is no god but The God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God) is a member of the Islamic community. But to accept fully God's sovereignty over every aspect of one's life is a lifetime struggle, a continual striving that ends only in death. Muslims call this struggle jihad. A widely misunderstood concept, jihad has three aspects. The first is the "greatest struggle" (al-jihad al-akbar), and indicates the lifelong effort to submit every aspect of life to God's will. Muslim Sufi s have developed this aspect of jihad into a comprehensive, subtle, spiritual program.
        The second aspect is the struggle to make God's will be done in social life. Parents who strive to raise their children to be upright, God-fearing believers know the struggle this involves. Dedicated school-teachers, medical and development workers, and conscientious scholars, honest businessmen and civil servants, are all involved in the second type of jihad. The third aspect is the necessity for Muslims to oppose actively all forms of injustice and oppression even, when necessary, by force. It is this last and, in actual practice, rarest form of jihad which has erroneously given rise to the misconception of "holy war" in Islam.
        Obviously, not everything done by Muslims is inspired by the work of the Holy Spirit. Muslim and Christian spiritual writers often pointed out that it is the very virtues and aspirations of believers that the Evil Spirit uses to try to destroy and negate the work of the Divine Spirit. This is true in Islam, as it is in Christianity and other religions. Thus, in their conunitment to serve God and to make His will done on earth (jihad), Muslims have often been guilty of intolerance, disrespect for the rights of others, and oppression. Like Christians, Muslims are no strangers to the fruits of self-indul-gence: sexual irresponsibility, feuds and wrangling, jealousy and envy, resentment and anger, and factionalism.
        However, in recognising the many profoundly beautiful and good elements of the religion of Islam, Christians are neither compromising nor belittling their own faith. Rather, they are discovering some of the many and varied gifts so lavishly bestowed by the Spirit on the human family. By forming friendships with Muslims, by coming to know better their faith and practices, and by working together with them for good, it is God's Holy Spirit who is praised and worshipped.

2.   THE SPIRIT AT WORK IN SOCIO-POLITICAL REALITIES

Introduction

        The vast Asian continent with its teeming population, its many cultural and religious traditions presents a colourful and bewildering kaleidoscope of sociopolitical realities. In describing some of these situations and the responses by various groups of people and institutions it will be necessary to present a picture which preserves the full variety of the many spiritual forces operative in these often contradictory realities. The presentation of these various phenomena might lead to bewilderment and bring about a feeling of helplessness, or on the contrary, kindle a spirit of hope and expectation for a brighter future. As in the parable of the wheat and thistles (Mt. 13:24-30), there is the need to be patient, to restrain from passing quick judgements, and to forego the urge to hastily discern the many spirits at work in these realities. There is no exalted stand-point from which to view the many facets of the Asian sociopolitical realities, which would enable us to separate the good elements from the bad, without entering into life situations and letting ourselves be exposed to and immersed in them. Out of this immersion and the readiness for compassion, there might result the insights necessary to begin to discern which elements in these processes are fostering wholeness, integrity, peace and justice, and other fruits of the Kingdom.
        Looking at the socio political realities of contemporary Asia provides a bewildering picture, full of contrasts and contradictions. There are Asian countries where the economy is growing on a scale to be found nowhere else in the world. There are other areas in Asia where the plight of natural calamities like earthquakes, floods, cyclones are causing havoc year after year. We find countries where recently the political situation has changed from an authoritarian military government to more participatory forms of political life. And again, there are other countries where corruption is rampant, where human rights are violated, where people are forced to go abroad to work as migrant workers, where tourism is threatening family life, the dignity of women and children. There are signs of religious revival in many of the old religious traditions in Asia which give rise to hope and which are responding to the challenges of modernisation and technology invading nearly all spheres of individual and communal life in Asia. The pattern of development is different from that of the West, where a widespread secularisation can be observed. In Asia, too, religions are threat-ened by the forces of a secular world view and value system. But there is another phenomenon as well, that of religious revival in various forms. There are, in addition, new forms of religious "fundamentalism", under-stood as a simplistic affirmation of one's own religion and world view as the only true one, and, "communalism," that is, the idea that people who share the same religious belief also have the same economic and political interest - both of which threaten the peaceful living together of people of different faiths and cultures.

2.1   Movements For Liberation/Socio-Economic-CulturaI Movements

2.1.1    Social & Political Movements

        In this century Asia has experienced many political and social movements for liberation in the various struggles for national independence and liberation from colonial rule. In India it is fifty years since the long struggle of the "Swaraj-Movement" succeeded in winning the independence of the sub-continent from British rule. There was the shining example of non-violence (ahimsa) as practised and lived by Mahatma Gandhi. In China the long struggle against Western and Japanese colonialism ended after a bloody civil war in the establishment of the People's Republic in China which accepted Marxism, Leninism and the Mao-Zedong-Thought as the guiding ideology. Indonesia emerged from the struggle for its independence from the Dutch as a new nation which looks to the ideology of Pancasila as a means to preserve unity in plurality. The people of Vietnam had a long road to independence and finally overcame the division of their country, but only after wars and the loss of many lives. Korea, too, has experienced many obstacles to national independence and freedom and is still looking forward to the re-unification of the two parts of the country. In South Korea the various movements of farmers, fishermen and students brought an end to the military dictatorship and the beginning of democratically elected government. Ten years ago the phenomenon of "People's Power" in the bloodless Rosary Revolution in the Philippines succeeded in toppling the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. In Taiwan the process of democratisation has brought to an end the many years of one-party government which were accompanied by the imposition of martial law, and prepared the way for the emergence of a multi-party system with free election of the president.

2.1.2    Ecological Movements

        As a reaction to the growing destruction of nature and the ensuing ecological crisis there have arisen several ecology movements in Asia. In Taiwan an ecumenical group of theologians and sociologists has been studying the growing ecological problems of the island. The results of this study on the quality of life in the bio-region of Taiwan, published by the Taiwan Area Research Group on Theological Issues (TARGTI), have been widely noticed. In the Philippines the national bishops' conference has taken up the issue of an ecologically minded spirituality and called on all Catholic Christians to work for the protection of nature in the islands of the Philippines.
       A special form of the ecological movement for the protection of nature and integrity of creation is eco-feminism which advocates feminist spiritu-ality as -an antidote against the patriarchal destruction of nature and the environment out of an andro-centric perspective and world view. There is for example the Chipko-Movement of Asian women struggling for the protection of trees, which had its origin in the conflict about forest resources, i.e. an unlimited deforestation of the Himalayas and other areas in India with disastrous consequences for the environment in the form of landslides, floods and erosion, and the accompanying shortage of drinking water. The demands of the Chipko Movement are of an ecological nature pointing out the natural inter-relatedness between the preservation of the forests and the preservation of the soil and water resources.

2.1.3    Womens' Movements

        There is a rising consciousness among women and movements of women in various societies against the injustice that has been heaped upon them which strive for full participation in the life and transformation of the social order.
        Feminist theologies are, in a certain sense, also an answer to a special problem of poverty, that is the problem of the inequality of the sexes, of discrimination and oppression of women, especially of the poor women who are victims of physical poverty, of ethnic and racist discrimination. Feminism is less a theoretical movement than a liberation movement of women with the aim of social changes in the society and churches as well.
        Feminist Theology in Asia has a cosmic approach which is very different from the secularist approach of Western feminist theologians, because it has its origin in the religiosity of the Asian poor and the religious myths. The commitment of women from the oppressed castes and groups, therefore, constitutes a specific form of Asian feminism. There is the devel-opment of a distinct Asian women's spirituality, as faith experience and awakening of the Asian women's soul to their concrete historical reality of poverty, oppression and suffering in many cases, and a response and commitment of their souls infused by the Spirit, to the challenge for human dignity, freedom and a new life of love. Such a spirituality will be integral, outgoing, community-oriented, active, holistic, and all-embracing. Asian women's spirituality emerges from the common experience associated with the creative process, in partnership with the God of life, to co-create, sustain, and nurture life. This creative process also involves care and concern for others (final statement of the 1987 Asian Women's Conference in Singapore). The emerging Asian feminist spirituality has been called a spirituality of empowerment. Indian feminist theologians use the ancient term of sakti, meaning power, force, the feminine energy, as an apt expression of the primal creative principle underlying the cosmos. Asian women are aware that most Asian cultural and religious traditions contain elements which in the past have been used to downgrade women and to keep them in an inferior position. In trying to maintain their specific Asian way of being women, they, therefore, see the necessity to critically purify their Asian religio-cultural heritage.

2.1.4    Workers' Movements

        In the urban centres, there are workers' struggles and movements for justice and equity. In varying degrees the workers' struggles continue to prosper in the various Asian countries despite all the controls imposed upon them. In the countryside there are movements of peasants which fight for a change in the old feudal system of landholding, demand control over the harvest of their work, and ask for a just share in the revenues. In the big cities of Asia we see the growth of slums where people from the rural areas, the so-called unorganised labour, are forced to live in sub-human conditions.

 2.1.5    Child Prostitution

        An ecumenical movement called End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT) has been formed in several Asian countries to fight the evil effects of modern tourism. In the Philippines GABRIELA, a national organisation of women's groups, is working for the provision of alternative jobs for prostitutes and more stringent laws against vice establishments. Similar work is done by women's groups in Thailand which set up New Life Centres for prostitutes.

2.1.6    Minority Group Movements

        Several groups of people like the tribals, the outcasts and other minority groups are deprived of their fundamental human rights and in need of advocates who at the local, regional and international level join in their fight for justice. In India we have the Jharkhand Movement in tribal Bihar which fights against mining, industrial and economic exploitation of their ancestral land and ethnic discrimination. It is a liberation movement of the deep human spirit enshrined primarily in the tribal vision of life and experience, and in this sense, it is a counter-culture movement challenging the modern, scientific and technological view of life. There are other tribal liberation movements in India and other Asian countries. On the Indian sub-continent the system of bonded labour is still operative and thousands of men, women and children are kept in inhuman situations of dependency, deprived of their individual freedom.

2.1.7    Mass Media

        The role of the mass media for development and education of the peoples in Asia is of immense importance. Today, mass media in Asia and elsewhere in the world are predominantly controlled by authoritarian governments, or by a few economically or politically powerful persons, while the vast majority of Asian peoples are passive recipients. There is a need to foster a spirit of responsibility and greater participation of a variety of people and talent to make use of the vast potential of cultural, artistic and linguistic values among the Asian peoples. In various Asian countries "Street Theatre" is used to highlight social injustice.

2.1.8    Co-operatives

        The movements of the co-operatives in agriculture, in fishing, in handicraft, in marketing, in banking and various other fields are an expression of Asian solidarity and signs of hope. Internationally known are the examples of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, the inter-ethnic and inter-religious Satyodaya Movement in Sri Lanka and others.

2.1.9    Education

        Education in all the variety of different schools and training programmes plays a vital role to foster spiritual values and to help to bring about a more humane society. All Asian countries have made progress in setting up more effective and numerous educational facilities without, however, succeeding in providing education for the multitudes of young people in all Asian societies.

2.2   The Process Of Modernisation, Technology, Signs Of The Times

2.2.1    Asia is an immense and extremely complex continent which at present is characterised by rapid social change, by overwhelming poverty in most countries and economic growth in others, as well as by cultural and religious pluralism. The whole process of modernisation is experienced in many Asian societies as a crisis for the individual in the search for his own identity and for society at large. The "signs of the times" point to the necessity for change. The question is, however, what of the old value system can be saved, transformed and applied to the new pattern of society emerging? Does modernisation necessarily imply taking over the life-style of the so-called modern Western nations wholesale? Is it possible to adopt certain forms of modern technology and, at the same time, preserve the essentials of Asian ways of living? How to find a new national and Asian identity, by blending ancient and modern values so as to be able to face the challenges of the future?

2.2.2    In the eyes of many Asians, the Japanese people have been able to bring about the change from a traditional culture to a modern industrial country, which is able to compete in the field of modern technology with the most advanced Western countries and, at the same time, manages to continue living basically in the traditional Japanese way. The Japanese model, however, is tinged with the history of Japan's aggression on its neighbour countries, when the Japanesetried to enforce their model of the "Greater East Asian Prosperity Sphere" by the use of military force upon several Asian countries. The new Japan emerging after the Pacific War developed into a gigantic economic power which again in many ways continues to dominate its neighbours.

2.2.3    The People's Republic of China, on the other hand, has followed a different way by accepting the alien imported ideology of Marxism-Leninism with the addition of Mao Zedong Thought in order to transform the whole of Chinese society. The disasters of the "Great Leap Forward" in 1957, and the Cultural Revolution during the period 1966-1976 have led to widespread wreckage of the old society and, at the same time, to chaos and confusion. The young people, who as Red Guards were in the fore-front of this revolutionary drive, were the ones to pay the price for this ill-fated attempt to create a completely new society and change human behaviour by the way of force and mass-education. From the ideological extreme leftism the People's Republic of China has been moving into the pragmatism of Deng Xiaoping by discarding more or less all ideological baggage but keeping political authoritarianism and opting for a crude form of capitalism, euphemistically called "Socialism with Chinese characteristics". The attempts to discard the one-party system of the Chinese Communist Party by the Democracy Movement were brutally suppressed in the crackdown at Tiananmen in June 1989.

2.2.4    In the aftermath of independence from colonial powers most Asian countries have yet to find stable political structures in accord with their history and culture. The process of modernisation entails for many Asian societies serious problems of political structures and forms of government. Most governments in Asia pursue a policy which gives the highest priority to providing a peaceful and conducive atmosphere for economic growth rather than encouraging people's participation. Forrns of participative, Western style democracy have been tried in several Asian societies but have often given way to forms of military government, autocratic ways of governing or other oppressive systems. In several Asian countries the military has played and plays a disastrous role in suppressing human freedom, violating human rights and ruining the economic and political processes. Oppression and exploitation are realities that result from the greed of vested economic interests and political power. Ethnic, cultural and linguistic conflicts, which are rampant in several Asian societies, are also linked with economic and political divisions. Many Asian countries are still in a process of political growth and looking for an appropriate way of political life suitable to their Asian tradition and identity.

2.2.5     Whereas some Asian countries are experiencing great economic growth and increasing wealth, the majority of Asian societies is still suffering from massive poverty and inequality in the distribution of wealth. There is a distinct lack of a spirit of solidarity with the poor and readiness to share in order to give everyone a fair chance to live a life of human dignity and self-respect. There is a need for a fundamental change in the frame-work of economic market conditions on the national, continental and global scale in order to pave the way to greater social justice. The dominance of trans-national corporations and the forces of the emerging global market threaten the livelihood of small farmers, traditional fishermen and urban workers at the local level. Thus, economic structures are characterised by dependence, exploitation of cheap labour, destruction of natural resources and the environment, problems connected with migrant workers, exploita-tion of women and child labour.

2.2.6     The unjust political and economic structures are also partly responsible for the problems in social life where growing urbanisation, migration and industrialisation are threatening the old values. The inimical implications of the Western style of life with consumerism, hedonism, drug addiction, break-up of family life, alienation of the individual in the big cities, homelessness are widely felt in Asia.

2.2.7     Against these powerful, anonymous forces there is the need to mobilise a new spirituality of life and work by going back to traditional cultural and religious values. All religions are called to co-operate in this endeavour to develop a new form of economy, commerce, agriculture and industry which leaves room for justice and equity. Faced with the phenomena of material poverty in many Asian societies, there is a need to be reminded of the distinction made at the very first Bishops' Institute for Social Action in 1974 where it was stated: "The overwhelming majority of our people are poor, but let it be clearly understood what we mean by poor. Our people are not poor as far as cultural tradition, human values, and religious insights are concerned. In these things of the spirit, they are immensely rich" (BISA I, Final Reflections No. 2, in: For all the Peoples of Asia, p. 199).

2.2.8     The specific Christian contribution to the discussion on development can be seen in advocating the concept of an "integral human development". The Asian bishops have been speaking about a "liberative spirituality for social action" among the poor and by the poor. The church's social teaching is based on three principles: the centrality of the human person, the human rights language and the primacy of the common good which constitute the Christian theory of justice in which commutative, distributive, legal and social justice are interconnected, with the last mentioned form of justice serving as the all-embracing and determinant component.

2.2.9     The work for Justice and Peace of the Office for Human Development of the FABC and its series of special seminars (BISA or FEISA seminars) have helped to shape and articulate the thinking of the Asian bishops and the Churches. There is the work of the Asian Partnership for Human Development, an association of 23 national Catholic development agencies in Asia-Pacific, Europe and Canada. The Protestant counter-part within the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) is the Urban Rural Mission (URM) and the Asian Committee for People's Organisation (ACPO) in Hong Kong.

2.2.10     The emergence of inter-religious co-operation in the field of development and liberation is a hopeful sign. There is a growing understanding of the necessity of inter-religious dialogue as dialogue of life.
        In Asia most societies are religiously pluralistic, that is, members of different religions share the same socio-cultural and socio-political order. In living and working together in the social, economic and political field the people, who hold different religious beliefs and draw their inspiration from them, will have to agree on common human and spiritual values and some forms of common action. The necessity to respond to the deepest aspirations of the Asian cultural and religious traditions is expressed repeatedly by the FABC. "We will need to relate more fully with the ancient cultures and religious traditions of Asia and their deep spiritual heritage. We accept, therefore,