A Review of Buddhist Inclusivism: Attitudes Towards Religious Others (Book Review‪)‬

Buddhist Inclusivism: Attitudes Towards Religious Others. By Kristin Beise Kiblinger. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2005, 145 pages, ISBN: 0-7546-5133-9 (hardcover), US $100.00. Buddhist Inclusivism: Attitudes Towards Religious Others is a most welcome, if wonky, addition to the growing body of literature about Buddhism and interfaith issues. Principally an impassioned plea for Buddhists to think more carefully about their ways of regarding non-Buddhists, author Kristin Beise Kiblinger's book is by sharp turns remarkably astute and highly debatable. On the one hand, a praiseworthy service is done here: Kiblinger identifies an enormously important issue that does indeed require further thinking and written reflection by Buddhist practitioners and scholars. On the other hand, though, it is often Buddhist Inclusivism's execution that emphasizes this need. Because the book comes from a scholar who does not self-identify as a Buddhist and it draws deeply from a project with decidedly Judeo-Christian roots (namely, theology of religions), square pegs do not infrequently meet with round holes. Though the book offers valuable critical reflections from outside the tradition, many of the rubrics used, assessments made, and advice proffered will require considerable mulling over by scholars and practitioners of Buddhism.