Tara Brach: The Healing Power of Self Compassion

I was inspired this morning as I listened to The Healing Power of Self Compassion, Part 2 (03/30/2011). The main aspect was an insight into ways I react to my spouse that are not helpful to either of us. This spilled over into my thoughts about being a Christian who is so inspired by Buddhist thought and teachings. I have been a Christian my whole life but in the second half of my life I feel more contented and at peace with myself than I ever had in my life.

With Christianity, I think it has always bothered me a bit that I don't have a personal experience of God. I always felt like it could be explained away as just an emotional event. So many Christian stories are about God answering prayer and acting on our behalf; a personal God. That is one of the thing that I just can't get behind. I have a deep sense of God in the world but not a personal God that acts on my behalf. It doesn't bother me that space exploration has given God no where to hide. (As liturgist this past Sunday, I read Act 1: 9 without smirking.)

I still consider myself a Christian but one who finds so much value in the basic teachings in Buddhism. I think that I have always felt I was lacking as a Christian without a deep sense of a personal God that sends people to heaven or hell after they die. I don't have to make a leap of faith with the four noble truths. I think they have been described in the same way as scientific principles that were discovered after experimentation. You can find out their "truthiness" for yourself. Many Christian preachers emphasize the need for a the leap of faith, trust in God, and you will be rewarded. My experiment as a life long, searching Christian has not found the truth in that statement.

As I listened to Tara Brach this morning, I thought about how helpful the first Noble Truth is, "We all have s sense of unease." It is not just me, everyone experiences Dukkah. Tara then tells us to pause and without judgement, offer ourselves kindness. This is not saying it is ok when we hurt others but it is a part of being a human being.

There is this whole belief thing that each denomination explains differently on how we get "saved" and live a Christian Life. The Christianity that has attracted me has emphasized that we don't have to do anything. It always seemed like you had to believe something but listening to Marcus Borg keeps that fear in check. This seems to be the great fear in Christianity; you have to require some minimal standards of belief for those who want to be Christian. Those Christian authors who have attracted me emphasize the carrots rather than the stick: the ways that our lives are changed rather than avoiding going to hell. Many Christian are obsessed with who is going while they avoid it themselves. The popularity of the Left Behind series is evidence of the popularity of this idea.