Buddhists Voices is part of a series of books published by the Unitarian Universalist Association meant to encourage UU members to explore other faiths and examine how those faiths can affect and complement Unitarian Universalism. The book contains a collection of essays written by people who practice both religions. Many are UU ministers who are also Buddhist priests.
I found this book intriguing on many levels. I belong to a study group that discussed a selection of essays from the book, which helped us all learn about Buddhism and how it can be incorporated into our personal faiths and the UU congregational life. One of the essays that really spoke to me was written by Catherine Senghas on her adoption of Zen meditation while she was in UU seminary. She described herself as having three aspects of her nature: religion (UU), spiritual practice (Zen Buddhist), and theology (process thought). This breakdown makes so much sense to me in my own life, that it was a revelation to see it put into words, something I had been failing to do for myself.
If you are Buddhist or Unitarian Universalist, this book is a great way to learn about the intersection of the two. ( )

Buddhist Voices in Unitarian Universalism is a gathering of essays by Unitarian-Universalists who have adopted aspects of Buddhism and by Buddhists who have assimilated elements of Unitarian-Universalism. U-U’s have always accepted meaningful inspiration from other traditions. It was news to me that Unitarian-Universalists had helped Buddhism adapt to the New World and that some Buddhists had found a spiritual home in Unitarian-Universalism.
“Not unlike Unitarian-Universalism, Buddhism is not so much a religion as a spiritual way of life. …. It does not require a particular set of beliefs and allows people to explore and discover everything for themselves.”. (From the Foreward by Lama Surya Das).
The book has four sections: History and Context; Encounters and Journeys; Reflections; Divergence and Influence. It concludes with a Glossary of words in Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese and Japanese in common usage among Western Buddhists, and a list of suggested readings .
The first chapter, “Buddhism 101” by Sam Trumbore is helpful in understanding basic Buddhist ideas and concepts. I especially liked: “The Buddha focused like a laser beam on one problem and one problem only, that of human dissatisfaction, suffering, misery, and unhappiness – what he called dukkha. On the eternal questions of the nature of divinity, immortality, and ultimate reality, the Buddha remained mostly silent. He recognized that getting answers to these speculative questions one way or another wouldn’t address or help people solve the dukkha problem.”
“A Brief History of Unitarian Universalist Buddhism” is a fascinating account beginning in 1778. One of many, the most amazing story is that of Nakahama Manjiro, a young Japanese boy, steeped in Buddhist tradition, who with four other Japanese fishermen in 1841, were stranded on a tiny island in the Pacific. Rescued by a whaling ship from New Bedford, Massachusetts, he went with the ship back to Massachusetts, where he joined the Fairhaven Unitarian Church. About ten years later, he returned to Japan bringing a knowledge of western sciences, mathematics and naval techniques, as well as ideals of democracy, individualism, social equality and liberal Christianity. Like seeds blown by the wind or carried across oceans by birds to take root in the soil of distant lands, ideas can travel by unlikely messengers.
I was interested in how two ways of life, two traditions might come together within the same mind. I read the essays looking to see just how this melding, blending, merging, fusing, relating, knitting together (I struggled for the right word) occurred and how the relationship of the two was perceived and described by very different individual minds. I was not disappointed.
There is more than I can begin to describe. A few samples follow:
Catherine Senghas: “As a human being, I have three interdependent aspects of my nature that I struggle to understand: my religion, my spiritual practice, and my theology. I am a Unitarian-Universalism in my religion; I am a Zen Buddhist in my spiritual practice; and I connect best to the school of process thought, a metaphysical sense of ongoing creation, in my theology.”
Alex Holt: “… There’s one other lesson to be learned from my twin faiths of Buddhism and Unitarian-Universalism. The former has historically focused more on individual awakening and less on the healing of the world. The latter has for many years gazed outward, to bring sanity and wholeness to the world beyond our skin. Each tradition has its strengths and weaknesses.
Sam Trumbore: “ The parallels … between [Channing’s] self-culture and Buddhism are striking. Channing’s valuing of the development of concentration and “penetrating observation” are similar to the Buddha’s valuing of concentration and mindfulness.” He cautions those who identify with both traditions to resist “the temptation to limit our understanding to one or the other.” He wrote: “Life is much clearer when seen through multiple lenses.”
Thandeka looks to the future and concludes her essay with the following: “Those of us who have personal Buddhist practices should strive evermore to enhance our own Unitarian-Universalist faith rather than to replace it. And we should also strive to enhance our congregational life through new, collective Unitarian-Universalist liturgical strategies for our Sunday services. When we do both together, we dance.”
There is much to recommend about this book. It is thought-provoking and just plain interesting. (S.Knapp) ( )

Both the seven principles and the six sources of Unitarian Universalism affirm and encourage Unitarian Universalists in exploring world faith traditions while maintaining their UU identity. This book brings together for the first time the voices of UUs who have become Buddhists while not sacrificing that identity, and Buddhists who have found in Unitarian Universalism a spiritual home where they can sustain a practice and join in an activist religious community that accepts and encourages who they are. Also included is an exploration of how American Buddhism has been influenced by Unitarian Universalism and how UU congregations are being changed by Buddhist practice. (UUA Bookstore)