An interview with Steve Kanji Ruhl: The Making of Enlightened Contemporaries
“I was a returning adult student as an undergraduate,” began Steve Kanji ‘02. “I was in the honors program for Religious Studies. I was interested in the Fund because of the opportunity offered to meet other people from other faith traditions.” An eighth-generation Pennsylvanian and first-generation college student, Kanji decided to pursue studies in comparative religions for intellectual and personal curiosity. “I had a very spiritual upbringing. Both of my parents were models for me of unconditional love, and they both had a very spiritual sense of nature and what it is to live a moral life.”
Kanji understood his time at Penn State University as a unique opportunity to learn more about mystical Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam. Forming his thesis during the immediate post years of September 11th, 2001, Kanji hoped to create a multifaith work that would valorize Islam amidst a time of pronounced animosity. “My first instinct was to investigate Rumi. I immediately thought about other figures during the same period. I realized, in my own Zen Buddhist tradition, that there is a chronological overlap with Dogen. Francis from the Christian tradition also lived during the 13th century. This project would be the first comparison of these three significant figures in their respective traditions. I knew I was breaking new ground.”
“There was a voluminous amount of research. During the final week of actually writing the thesis, I had piles and piles of books from the library stacked up next to my computer and reams of notebooks.” The work engaged Kanji in a state of flow independent of sleep or caffeine. “I was vaguely aware of the sunlight moving around the room in my apartment. It would get dark and light again and again while I’d just type away, running on a surge of physical and intellectual adrenaline.” Kanji’s honor thesis continued to develop during his time at Harvard Divinity School while pursuing his Master of Divinity degree and serving in a colloquium for Buddhist ministry. Kanji found encouragement from both his advisor at Penn State as well as his advisor at Harvard, and it became clear that his research could advance as a book beyond academic circles.
“I wanted to give a global perspective on that medieval period of the 13th century because it’s usually so Eurocentric,” commented Kanji. “When we see historical accounts of the 13th century, it’s usually the stereotypes of castles, knights, and armor, and I wanted to break away from that Eurocentrism. I wanted to take a pause in the book to give a more spacious view of what was happening at that time and I think it was very illuminating for people to come across this information for the first time.” To transform an academic thesis into a book, Kanji prioritized adding more lyricism to his prose while illuminating the spiritual questions and context behind the three spiritual masters. “It’s a difficult balance to make the language as compelling as possible while ensuring that the narrative is as vivid and engaging,” reflected Kanji.
Francis, Dogen, and Rumi are figures whose works from the 13th century continue to speak to our spiritual development today. “These three figures give us models for honoring spiritual traditions while innovating and being independent,” commented Kanji. “Each of the three still speaks to us today very vibrantly, serving as examples of the sacred masculine to complement the sacred feminine. There’s a wonderful, very important resurgence of the sacred feminine in western culture today, but we also need new models of what masculinity can be in the archetypical sense, regardless of what our personal gender identities may be.” Kanji analyzes several themes connecting Francis, Dogen and Rumi, including nature. “Given the current environmental apocalypse that we’re facing, their attitudes towards nature gives us a model of how to see nature as sacred.”
“I’m proud of Enlightened Contemporaries for the novelty of the approach,” reflected Kanji. “Valorizing Islam at a time of villificiation, moving away form the Eurocentric focus, this book is especially important in the 21st century.” The role of women, the theme of nature, engagement and withdrawal from society, the body, and spiritual love are all all examined themes within the work. “By interweaving the spiritual lives of these Christian, Buddhist, and Muslim teachers,” reads Enlightened Contemporaries, the work “will help readers enhance their own lives and find new paths of spiritual understanding.”
Enlightened Contemporaries: Francis, Dogen, and Rumi: Three Great Mystics of the Thirteenth Century and Why They Matter Today is featured within our Fellows Publication Library and can be purchased on both Kanji’s website as well as Amazon. In November 2022, Kanji will be releasing his newest publication, Appalachian Zen, “my personal account of growing up as a working class person in the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania and coming to Zen Buddhism as a practitioner.” In Appalachian Zen, Kanji recounts his experience “straddling two very different worlds,” and “seeking the true home.” Appalachian Zen is currently available for preorder on Kanji’s website.
Kanji’s website (full-text): http://www.stevekanjiruhl.com/
If you’re interested in learning more about or purchasing Enlightened Contemporaries, please click here.