As announced on the National Catholic Reporter, Raimon Panikkar died on August 26:
Professor Raimon Panikkar, one of the greatest scholars of the 20th century in the areas of comparative religion, theology, and inter-religious dialogue, died at his home in Tavertet, near Barcelona, Spain, Aug. 26. He was 91.
While controversial, and providing positions I do not always agree with, I found Panikkar’s books to be necessary reading when engaging Buddhist and Hindu traditions with Western theology. His work, The Intra-Religious Dialogue is a classic work which deserves wide recognition, not just because it engages inter-religious issues, but it provides a good outline on how one should engage dialogue (and not just on religious issues). He told people one should not ignore one’s beliefs and hide them when addressing the other, because if you did so, you just hindered the dialogue through dishonesty. Rather, one must be open, not only to the other, but also in expressing oneself as fully as possible.
His Nine Ways Not To Talk About God can be read online. Key works of notes include:
The Unknown Christ of Hinduism
The Silence of God: The Answer of the Buddha
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