Buddhist Retreat

I was very impressed by this video of Thubten Chodron, speaking on why retreats are good for practice. She comes across as very thoughtful but practical.
This was the first time I had heard of her and found the description of what is available for lay people and for monastics to help me understand my own experience.

Suffering

When I posted earlier today about Jack Kornfield, I hadn't realized that my last post was also about him. As I listened to the second disk about the four noble truths, I thought about the question of suffering. I remember that I had read several books about the problem of suffering from a Christian perspective during my exploration just out of college. I also remember when the book When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner came out. A couple of years ago, I touched on suffering in this blog.

What struck me today is that the first noble truth does not try to explain why God allows suffering as is common in Christian teaching. One should not begin a discussion by being defensive, yet that seems to be the approach in Christianity. Buddha does seem to have looked clearly at the world and began with something that should be obvious. Jack's teaching is the first time I have really paid attention specifically to the four noble truths though I have begun to become familiar with the buddhist view of suffering from other causal reading (articles and the web rather than books).

meditation

I picked up mediation for beginners by Jack Kornfield as an impulse buy in the store. Although familiar with his name, I don't think I have read any of his books. I posted the following:

A retreat in a box! Jack come across as a compassionate teacher in these sessions in front of an audience. He has such a clear explanation of meditation interspersed with practice on the first disk. The second disk is similar but covers the four noble truths. He gives real, practical examples without religious jargon. From the LA Times; "More and more, we're teaching meditation not as a religious activity but as a support for living a wise and healthy and compassionate inner life," Kornfield said recently. "A number of the people I teach don't consider themselves Buddhists, which is absolutely fine with me. It's much better to become a Buddha than a Buddhist." The title of the May 29, 2010 article by Kate Linthicum says a lot, "Teacher who helped shape American Buddhism is still on a quest." While having heard of him, I have not read his books but look forward to them. Up till now, I have read and listened to Jon Kabat-Zinn who I also recommend.

Using the programming functions on the CD Player, I have listened to just the talks or sat for just the meditations.

Teacher who helped shape American Buddhism is still on a quest

This article was interesting in the pivotal role it assigns to Jack Kornfield in shaping American Buddhism. I knew his name along with Sharon Salzberg and Vipassana meditation. I didn't realize that he is "credited as one of the teachers who helped Buddhism take root in the West by making it palatable and relevant for Americans."

This distinctly American incarnation encouraged students to find mindfulness in all parts of life, not just in meditation. It was less religion and more practice.

"More and more, we're teaching meditation not as a religious activity but as a support for living a wise and healthy and compassionate inner life," Kornfield said recently. "A number of the people I teach don't consider themselves Buddhists, which is absolutely fine with me. It's much better to become a Buddha than a Buddhist."

Beginnings of Christianity

The account of the beginnings of Christianity, the more miraculous the details have become. For example, in the writings of Paul (50-64) there are no miracles, no virgin birth and the resurrection is not understood as physical resuscitation. The miracles are added by Mark when the first gospel is written somewhere after 70 and probably before 72. The virgin birth is introduced by the second gospel to be written, Matthew between 82 and 85. The resurrection, understood as physical resuscitation is introduced, or at least strongly emphasized by Luke (88-93) and by John (95-100). These facts are elementary in reputable Christian learning centers, but for a variety of reasons this knowledge has not filtered down to those who sit in the pews of our churches Sunday after Sunday. Bishop Spong

I quote Bishop Spong often since I get the complementary email. It is so easy to cut and paste and I find his summaries to be clear and concise. As a lifelong church member, I have a good foundational knowledge and the ability to incorporate the modern understanding into my faith. But I feel immersed among those in the "pew" and I have to constantly review the concepts since I am not otherwise exposed to them.

rapture theology

Joy to (the End of) the World

November 8, 2006

This article appears in the Eschatology issue of Trinity News , the magazine of Trinity Church-St. Paul's Chapel.

By Robert Owens Scott and W. Mark Richardson

the age of the spirit

“Does Biblical Worldview Emerge? A Look Ahead.” by Samir Selmanovic

Different authors have attempted to give different names to the interpretative shift we are presently experiencing. In her latest book The Case for God, Karen Armstrong frames the discussion as the “return of the mythos” to the center of religious experience, displacing the logos that usurped the place after the Enlightenment. In The Future of Faith, Harvey Cox dubs the coming era as “the age of the spirit” that follows “the age of belief.” Other authors talk about our spiritual journey to non-duality, a correction that current and healthy interest in the mystical aspects of religion can bring. In addition, one of the most important insights into our current context of faith comes from behavioral science. We are discovering that most people’s beliefs and practices do not neatly fit into conventional categories. A growing number of us hold hybrid worldviews made, at times, from seemingly incompatible or even contradictory beliefs or practices. We do what works, because life has the power to change the rules, break the hierarchy of authority, alter the meanings of our texts, and interrupt our theologies. We cannot but honor what life insists on.

I use google reader to explore and find inspiration for my spiritual journey. Samir Selmanovic's blog is one I have discovered. His mention of Karen Armstrong caught my attention. This paragraph provides a context and connections to her recent declaration.

Was Jesus God coming into the world in human form?

If God is not external to life as theism projects, then God cannot invade the world in human form. That is an idea that grew up in Christianity and, in my mind, still distorts the meaning of Jesus. The early Christian writings suggest that God — the Holy external other — designated Jesus to be "son of God." That designation took place at his resurrection for Paul, as he writes in his letter to the Romans about the year 58. It took place at his baptism for Mark, who writes his gospel in the early 70's. The literal identity between Jesus and God that brought about such doctrines as the Incarnation and the Trinity are the products of the next three hundred years, and are based on what I regard as a Greek misreading of the Fourth Gospel. The claim of divinity for Jesus, or the suggestion that he is the second person of the Trinity, is unique to later Christianity. – John Shelby Spong

Jesus as God coming into the world in human form is something I have been taught since I took Lutheran Catechism classes as a child.  I hadn't thought about how this contradicts the recent understanding I have come to in my faith. That is why this quote is so notable to me.

Bridges of the Mind

Bridges of the Mind
"Our negative thoughts and resulting litanies of complaint create grooves in our psyches just as a wheelbarrow carves out a rut in the dirt, burrowing deeper as it reinforces the same track over and over. If we want to establish new patterns of thought, we place our attention on thankfulness, joy, and love so that the groove of gratitude is deepened. So even when circumstances take us out of the groove temporarily, we can slip back into it with ease and grace." From Linda Douty's exploration of the many ways we can become gratitude, be thankfulness.
http://www.explorefaith.org/livingspiritually/a_thankful_life/bridges_part_2.php

Free yourself from oppression by technology

Yair Amichai-Hamburger states is his New Scientist article,  Free yourself from oppression by technology 

My prescription is self-determination theory, developed by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan of the University of Rochester in New York state. It identifies three vital elements of healthy personal development and functioning which I think can be used to recalibrate our relationship with technology.

After discussing the three elements, he adds a fourth

I believe that autonomy, competence, relatedness and critical thinking are the best ways to establish a balanced approach to technology, and so enhance our well-being