Meaning, Consensus, and Dialogue in Buddhist-Christian Communication

There is no lack of phenomenological literature on both Buddhism and Christianity, nor of theological literature on the «dialogue» between them. There is need, however, of a theory of communication between such communities of belief. Analyses of Buddhist and Christian canonical texts reveal the linguistic patterns underlying the «construction» of meaning in the earliest communities; a theory of consensus formation provides a broader framework for understanding the development and interaction of social meaning systems; and in this framework the problems posed by Buddhist-Christian communication are formulated and analysed.