Simplicity of being, Joyful doing

April 29, 2022

Christianity seems full of aphorisms which are vaguely based on bible verses. When Christian authors get practical, it sounds like Buddhism either directly or indirectly. American Buddhism directly emphasizes the simplicity of being, conscious of our body, and joyful doing in daily life. Thich Nhat Hanh has certainly brought that to the U.S. 

I am not criticizing people who find meaning in Christianity. I have just let go of certain beliefs that are strongly identified as being basic to Christianity. I identify as Christian because I still identify with Jesus. I just don't accept much of what people made of him after his death. Many people find have found the creative power of God which I see in them. That description of reality just doesn't work for me but I can see how it works for others.

Wisdom

April 15th, 2022

I was thinking about how I have read and listen to many wise Christian authors and speakers. I was thinking about the comparison with the Buddhist authors and speakers that I am currently enjoying and learning from. I thought about how the Buddhist teachers are basing their teachings on Buddhist literature such as the Dhammapada. I kind of came to the realization that there isn't the same depth of wisdom in the Christian tradition, as I see it. There is extensive theology and even Christian apologetics that try to figure out what all this means, the triune God, original sin, the resurrection, and life after death. There are books on how to live but there's not really a lot in this complicated theology that help you figure out how to live your life. The wisest authors have figured that out and those are the ones that I'm attracted to I think. Buddhism not only has many branches but each teacher interprets in a different way. But They get along for the most part because it's all based on the precepts and other items that they agree on. As they adapt to each culture in different countries and even changing as the culture changes they can always go back to the basics and make sure that there's a direct connection. I just don't feel that in Christianity that when you get back to this confusing mess of somebody had to be crucified because we are sinful and we should love each other but hate our father, mother, and love Jesus. You can also end up with today's fundamentalist Christianity that somehow thinks Donald Trump is the second coming of Christ and that hating most people and what they do is the loving thing. I suppose I should read more about the problems in Buddhism but I just think Christianity went through the funnel of an empire and has never fully recovered the teachings of Jesus. 

This is sort of my latest thinking as I work through being a Christian but practicing Buddhism.

Christian and Buddhist

April 6, 2022

I keep thinking what it means to be immersed in the Christian community while being nurtured by and accepting Buddhist teachings and practices. I think of my life's journey and how it has led me to this point. I think of the influence of the many letters of Paul in the Christian scriptures and the narrow choke point that Christianity went through with Constantine and the Roman empire. How we know from Nag Hammadi and other evidence that "Hundreds of rival teachers all claimed to teach the true doctrine of Christ and denounced one another as frauds." I tend to think that among those hundreds were some teachers that Buddha would have recognized. We have intimations in some of the early writings that have been found and the interfaith dialogues that have gone on among Christian monks and Buddhists which hint at the similarities. So I am in this somewhat in between place where my immediate community is quite Christian but my beliefs are radically out of the mainstream of Christianity and I am very comfortable with Buddhists. I also feel called to Zen Buddhism especially the Ordinary Mind school. The monthly gathering I attend has only one other regular person. The leader is in touch with her teachers and wants to share the Dharma with others. It feels symbiotic, because at this point I want to be part of some group and have not found one locally that clicks as much as with this dedicated but inexperienced teacher. She is not sure how to expand the Sangha but I am hanging in there and appreciating her desire and dedication to share the Dharma.

Buddha identified three fires, or three negative qualities of the mind that cause most of our problems

April 6, 2022

Suffering can be caused by "ourselves through grasping, aversion and ignorance. And that's the part through practice that we can transform. Personal responsibility is very central to Dharma practice and that's why we have precepts along with meditation. In our particular school, the first sutra we read is the Purification sutra about recognizing all the harm and suffering we've done in our lives through greed, hatred, and ignorance and acknowledging them."

Personal Responsibility and Non Judgementalism, Geoff Dawson, Ordinary Mind Zen School, Sydney