A Buddhist reads the Bible

Reflections from my first semester at Union Theological Seminary

I’m delighted that a “Buddha and Jesus” Google search reveals this anime series.

Hello! I trust this post finds you as well as possible at the beginning of 2026. I’m wishing you well :)

I thought I’d check in and share about my latest life transition- entering grad school at Union Theological Seminary in pursuit of a Master’s of Divinity in Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement. I’m happy to report that I treasure the program, the studies, peers, professors, and so on. And it probably goes without saying that living in New York City has been a change! Anyways, for the first time in a long time, it feels like I’m in the right place, at least a place I can foresee myself being and growing in for the next 2 1/2 years. I’m so grateful to all the people in my life who have supported and inspired me to reach this point, so please consider this a personal thank you. If you’re reading this, it’s highly likely you’ve been part of the equation.

This past fall semester, I was enrolled in the following courses: Intro to Buddhist Meditation Practices, Spiritual Care in Crisis, Pastoral Listening, and Intro to the Bible. While there are lovely, unique experiences and insights from each, I thought I’d share about my experience in the Bible course. It was life-changing to read the Bible in an interfaith context, and our professor, Rev. Dr. Brigette Kahl, continually left me awe-struck by her ability to read and interpret the Bible with profound insight, having devoted decades of scholarly study to the task.

Below, I share my final paper for the class. If you're interested in reading it, I’d love to hear your thoughts/perspectives/insights, regardless of your religion/spirituality/etc. Furthermore, if you find this interesting, please let me know, and I may continue to share other tidbits from additional courses/experiences.

Biblical Narratives for Inter-eating: Realizing Interdependence Through Divinely-Intended Consumption

Throughout the Bible, key stories elucidate how an individual’s or community’s consumption directly correlates to their capacity to be in good and proper relation with one another, the land, and the divine. Therefore, ethical consumption is an imperative foundation and embodied practice from which to subvert proclivities for domination and violence. The following account will highlight Biblical stories with divine commandments, which facilitate remembering and honoring the divinely intended, interdependent nature of creation.

Beginning with the first origin story of Genesis 1, a divine “food manifesto” is revealed in 1:29-31 as the apex of the account, the means through which creation’s harmonious and interdependent functioning is fulfilled. While there is commonly a fixation on the creation of humanity as the pinnacle of God’s creations, often presupposing that humanity, as given the order to “subdue it; and have dominion over…”, is the apple of God’s eye, the account continues beyond 1:28. From 1:29, God casts humanity, along with “every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life”, into a plant-based order of consumption, where every green plant is available for their collective food. Altogether, all of creation is intended and able to consume in a manner that reinforces non-harm, co-existence, and equality. From this vision, seeing the harmony and interdependence of all creation, God displays a climax of delight by proclaiming how “very good” everything is, not just humanity. While the Bible is nuanced, complex, and vast, it is important to honor this preliminary creation account and correct popular anthropocentric assumptions that obscure God’s intentions for non-harm and equality among the totality of creation. Furthermore, it could be argued that if this is the context of creation, such equality is both inherent and necessary for both collective well-being and the delight of God, as part of humanity’s original instructions.

Moving into Exodus 16, the Lord is making an effort to correct humanity’s tendency, as evidenced throughout Genesis, to fall vulnerable to greed and inflict domination and violence upon one another, including all of creation. The Lord attempts to rectify these harmful habits by offering an immersive (and non-optional) reset of humankind’s consumption that fosters thrift, integrity, rest, equality, sustainability, and gratitude. When the Israelites found themselves in the wilderness without their accustomed creature comforts, they complained and idealized the food accessibility that Egypt had afforded them, even though this accessibility was only made possible by their own subjugation. Since then, they were freed from slavery by their Lord. In the wilderness, the Lord offered the Israelites bread from heaven, manna, and espoused principles upon which their daily bread was dependent. These principles include gathering just enough for each day, except on the day before the Sabbath, where they gather twice as much (Ex 16:4-5). When they gathered the manna, regardless of the amount collected, they all ended up with the same amount, which was just enough for the day. Instructed by the Lord not to save any of it for the following day, whatever was dishonorably saved became foul, which proved the inherent lawfulness of the Lord’s guidance (Ex 16:17-20). However, on the Sabbath, what they made and saved from the previous day remained good, and there was no manna available to be collected.

This manna-based diet is one of thrift, making use of what is plentiful and generously provided, rather than extracting and imposing harm, which presupposes power-over. This thrift, or dependence on the Lord, also provokes humility, where they must contend with their utter dependence and lack of control. Their manna consumption also promotes integrity, as there is no alternative but to do what is right, since inequities are immediately remediated, as opposed to the restorative justice that can occur over a prolonged timescale. Rest proves to be an essential modality for maintaining balance, providing a restraint against the overworking and overexertion of oneself and others. While rest is critical to the Sabbath, even in a day, the manna melts in the heat of the sun, insinuating that there are subsequent rhythms within a day to fulfill work and rest (Ex 16:21). From a praxis of thrift, integrity, and rest, sustainability and equality are empowered. Everyone is given equal access to sustenance, and the sustainability of their consumption is bolstered by not undermining their collective source. Finally, the Israelites are commanded to keep an omer of manna throughout the generations, to tell the story of and keep alive the way of manna and how, through it, the Lord provided salvation from Egypt and domination.

Out of the confines and naturally explicit constraints of the wilderness, the Lord’s commandments are relied upon to evoke adherence to the manifold teachings of the divinely bestowed manna. In Deuteronomy, the Lord’s covenant is given through Moses, reminding the Israelites to honor the Sabbath (Deut 5:12-15). Like in Genesis 1, the Israelites are asked to follow in God’s example, of resting and delighting in the interdependence of creation; however, now entrenched in systems of exploitation and domination, the Sabbath also becomes a tool for realizing remembrance and restoration of interdependence and equality, therefore necessarily including women, children, slaves, livestock, foreigners, and the earth. Further, the Sabbath is also a day for remembering their personal enslavement, their intimate knowing of the harms of being subjugated, and how the Lord brought them out of slavery, which showcases the Lord’s ongoing ministry of restoring justice to the oppressed. Now, as a people with more freedom and capacity to actualize power over others, they are commanded to realize and restore wellbeing for themselves and for all with regimented regularity, to resist tendencies of subjugating others.

In the New Testament, another element of divine teaching is weaved in to reinforce adherence to interdependent consumption. In Mark 6:30-44, Jesus and the disciples feed a crowd of 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish, where the food is distributed equally, all are fed and filled, and twelve baskets brimming with abundant leftovers remain. In Mark 8:1-21, Jesus and the disciples again feed the masses, however, Jesus has since undergone a transformation that delivered him to the heart of his ministry, a lesson taught to him by the Syrophoenician woman’s faith in Mark 7:24-30. From his learning, he was enabled to refine his theology when he fed the next 4,000. With seven loaves of bread and a few fish, once again all are fed and filled, yet now seven baskets full of leftovers remain. These seven loaves and baskets could represent the seven days of creation, and serve as a reminder of the indiscriminate inclusion of everyone in the divine nature of consumption. With wit and divine wisdom, the Syrophoenician woman is able to remind Jesus that there is enough nutriment, literal and spiritual, for everyone, a message that corrects the trajectory of his ministry and, consequently, the message he is able to impart and bestow. From there on, because of the Syrophoenician woman, Jesus strengthens his message of radical faithfulness, of there being enough for everyone, which begets dogged, indiscriminate generosity and hospitality.

Through these Biblical narratives, ethical consumption is revealed as an embodied practice through which creation’s interdependence is remembered, enacted, and sustained. From the plant-based order of Genesis 1 to the manna pedagogy in Exodus 16, the Scriptures showcase that what and how people consume is intended to resist domination/dominating, cultivate equality, and participate in God’s delight. The Sabbath covenant in Deuteronomy and the gospel meals of Jesus further demonstrate that ethical eating is a primary means through restoring right relationship among people, land, and the divine. These arcs of creation, liberation, covenant, and ministry are able to evoke harmonious teachings where: enough is divinely provided for all, and humanity actively participates in this “enoughness” via practives that prevent hoarding, exploitation, and harm. The Syrophoecian woman’s insistence that even crumbs bear abundance, and Jesus’ subsequent transformation, testify that God’s vision of sustenance refuses the boundaries humans draw. Divine nourishment is expansive enough to dismantle hierarchies and to extend belonging where society withholds it.

In conclusion, biblical narratives of consumption cultivate dispositions capable of subverting violence, resisting greed and domination, and recovering humanity’s vocation within creation. Ethical consumption engenders communities of remembrance, caretaking, restraint, and shared flourishing. By attending to these stories, contemporary readers have the potential to recover divine intention: a way of living and eating that honors the interconnected nature of creation, sustains and restores justice, and reflects the abundance of God.