What Appreciating Buddhism teaches me about being a better Christian
There are many Buddhist teachings and practices regarding the cause of Human Suffering, Non Dual Thinking, Loving-kindness and Compassion among others that have helped me to become more present and open to the Mind of Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These have resonated with other's as well as they seek for deeper ways to open to Christ's message.
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Through the course of my continued study of this topic I will look to share the insights and practices which help open me up more deeply to being able to live a Christian life. I'm inspired in my study by a letter Thomas Merton wrote to the famous Zen scholar and author, D.T. Suzuki, dated March 12,1959:
I will not be so foolish as to pretend to you that I understand Zen... And I think, too, that many of the Americans who are excited about Zen are perhaps, dealing with something in their own imagination, and not with a reality... All I know is that when I read your books -- and I have read many of them -- and above all when I read English versions of the little verses in which the Zen masters point their finger to something which flashed out at the time, I feel a profound and intimate agreement. Time after time, as I read your pages, something in me says, "That's it!" Don't ask me what ... I have my own way to walk, and for some reason or other Zen is right in the middle of it wherever I go. So there it is, with all it's beautiful purposelessness and it has become very familiar to me though I do not know "what it is." Or even if it is an "it". Not to be foolish and multiply words, I'll say simply that it seems to me that Zen is the very atmosphere of the Gospels, and the Gospels are busting with it. It is the proper climate for any monk, no matter what kind of monk he may be. If I could not breathe Zen I would probably die of spiritual asphyxiation. But still I don't know that it is. No matter. I don't know that the air is either.
I will use the following sources of study to assist me in developing my understanding of those teachings and practices which can support the deepening of my Christian living:
I will not be so foolish as to pretend to you that I understand Zen... And I think, too, that many of the Americans who are excited about Zen are perhaps, dealing with something in their own imagination, and not with a reality... All I know is that when I read your books -- and I have read many of them -- and above all when I read English versions of the little verses in which the Zen masters point their finger to something which flashed out at the time, I feel a profound and intimate agreement. Time after time, as I read your pages, something in me says, "That's it!" Don't ask me what ... I have my own way to walk, and for some reason or other Zen is right in the middle of it wherever I go. So there it is, with all it's beautiful purposelessness and it has become very familiar to me though I do not know "what it is." Or even if it is an "it". Not to be foolish and multiply words, I'll say simply that it seems to me that Zen is the very atmosphere of the Gospels, and the Gospels are busting with it. It is the proper climate for any monk, no matter what kind of monk he may be. If I could not breathe Zen I would probably die of spiritual asphyxiation. But still I don't know that it is. No matter. I don't know that the air is either.
I will use the following sources of study to assist me in developing my understanding of those teachings and practices which can support the deepening of my Christian living:
- Habito, Ruben. Living Zen, Loving God. Wisdom, 2004.
- Hanh, Thich Nhat. Going Home - Jesus and Buddha as Brothers. Riverhead Books, 1999.
- Johnston, William. The Still Point reflections on Zen and Chrisitian Mysticism. Fordham University Press, 1970.
- Kennedy, SJ, Robert. Zen Gifts to Christians. Continuum, 2000
- Knitter, Paul F. Introducing Theologies of Religions. Orbis, 2014.
- Merton, Thomas. Zen and the Birds of Appetite. New Directions, 1968.
- Warner, Brad. There Is No God And He Is Always With You. New World Library, 2013.
- Watts, Alan. Behold the Spirit. Vintage, 1971.