Buddhist-Christian dialogue is important to the understanding and tolerance of other beliefs and people of the other faith. If conducted in the right manner with the right people participating in the dialogue, it can be a very constructive and informative media. It can help make sense of these two religious traditions by hearing views on certain topics from the perspective of another faith other than our own. This dialogue can also answer questions of those wondering whether our religious differences divide us, or whether they can create a need for aid from other traditions and values. The meeting between Thich Nhat Hanh and Daniel Berrigan was a form of Buddhist-Christian dialogue. Both are ordained clergy in their own religions and both were exiled because of their protest of the Vietnam war. They sat down together and shared the aspects of their religious life with the other. What brought them together and made their conversations interesting was sense of compassion and similarities brought about by their experiences of the Vietnam War that deepened their religious lives.
             In my own experience, I have found that conversations between religious people can turn into opinionative speeches rather than dialogues. The Raft is not the Shore is a good example of actual constructive dialogue because it has a certain structure that keeps it from turning into a religious monologue by each of the two men. There are many aspects of an interreligious dialogue that help to make it useful and constructive.
             First, Buddhist-Christian dialogue is a specific type of conversation between people of the two religious traditions that does not have underwriting or negative motives. This is perhaps the most important element of this book. The dialogue is a mutual sharing between the two, neither seeking to place the other's faith in an inferior light, but instead each shares his own faith perspective openly and honestly with the other person. S...