Henri Nouwen: "one of the world's great spiritual writers."

June 05, 2013

A Christian pastor friend posted another quote by Henri Nouwen:

Adversity is no stranger to any of us, though some of us may have encountered it more often than others. We cannot avoid troubles, both the kind that moves in to stay and the kind that just shows up unannounced at our door. One of the most practical uses of faith is to put it to work when things are a struggle. God is a steady partner in times of need. With humor, patience and hope: God works at our side to get us through even the hardest challenges. We may not be able to predict when adversity will appear, but we can always count on God to be there to help.

I have read several of his books. Looking back, I find them inspirational but the next part of his advice just does not resonate with me. I can't read this quote now without recognizing the first of the four noble truths. The first two sentences admit that "adversity, troubles, and struggles" are a part of every life. Buddhist thought just seems so practical at this point. I am not trying to ridicule Henri Nouwen, nor dispute that many find him to be, "one of the world's great spiritual writers."

Throughout my life, I have been inspired by writings like this but nothing seems to happen when "faith is to put it to work when things are a struggle." I have not had any really difficult struggles in my life. I went to a psychologist in the midst of a mid-life depression. After I read him some of my autobiography, he said, "You are really hard on yourself." At the time, I thought the sessions hadn't done anything helpful for me. It was only later that those words came back to me and I realized that he had helped me turn the corner to recovery.

Since I have been reading and listening to dharma talks, I am reminded of how helpful his words were.  Now I think a wise Christian would give me the same advice but it is sort of "built in" to Buddhist teachings. I also know there are lots of Christian pastors who would not have that understanding of the cause of my suffering. They would have lots of God words and there is a chance that would hit upon something as helpful. There is also a chance that I would feel worse as I try to understand what "God is trying to tell me."