now we’ll delve into the final paragraph of that section, which answers a vital question: to what extent can christians incorporate buddhist practices into their spirituality? in principle, this would not represent an obstacle if it were limited to incorporating certain techniques into the pedagogy of christian prayer that predispose the body and spirit to the silence necessary for prayer. we should also recall, however, that the spanish bishops apply the term “zen” to all meditative practices that originate in buddhism. it is not possible, however, to have true christian prayer that assumes a method in its entirety that does not originate in, or departs from, the content of faith.” incorporating a complete program of buddhist meditation into one’s prayer life would be problematic. if one exclusively used buddhist methods in place of traditional christian ones, one might adopt a view of human nature and of the divine that has no room for redemption in christ.
the congregation for the doctrine of the faith (cdf) noted this same possibility in its 1989 document “on some aspects of christian meditation.” in context, the cdf is referring to such practices as focusing on one’s breath or doing stretches before prayer. while a particular technique might be separable from the goals and assumptions of buddhism, a method of meditation cannot. what, then, about mindfulness, which often relies on buddhist meditation to help form the habit of living in the present? like other buddhist practices, mindfulness is “inseparable from … the anthropological, religious and theological assumptions from which it is born and that sustain it” (no. connie rossini is a member of st. peter parish in omaha.
the example i like to cite to this question is that of c.s. lewis was not mormon, but we are each christian and so i can learn from him in respects to the similarity of belief in god and christ. i believe strongly that the western form of zen he talks about is zen as an assistant, and perhaps even as a partner to the christian teachings we already have. i believe that attainment of a form of enlightenment to be possible, and to be a powerful step to living as christ did. worse because you are not in the habit of being mindful, you will likely not be able to maintain mindfulness as you drink the tea, you will think only of doing the dishes after, and as you do that you will think of going to sleep after that. in the futures that we create in our mind everything can be perfect, it is easy for a possible future to be everything that we want, but it too is an illusion. christ was required to live a perfect life in order to take the burden of our sins for us, the consequence of this is that the life of christ is a perfect road map as to how we should live. in every moment that i am mindful i have the chance to question if my thoughts and actions mirror that of christ.
mindfulness is the cure to this wastefulness. when we do so it is quite plausible that the same air will be breathed in by someone else in the very near future, and given time it is all but guaranteed that it will be reabsorbed. this is an essential teaching in zen, and it also one of the main teachings of christ. to be clear i do not mean that we cannot criticize our politicians or even people in our personal lives; instead i believe that we should try out absolute best to do so in a way that is constructive and causes no offense, as is the spirit that christ taught. mistaking the teachings of zen for that which zen exist to help find is a dangerous mistake, and i believe the same is true of jesus’s teachings. if someone looks to scripture and doesn’t use it to live in a christlike way, the scripture is meaningless. on my first applying this teaching of skepticism of strong beliefs to my understanding in christ, i egotistically thought “that is a teaching that a lot of people could benefit from”. i also believe that the buddha’s enlightenment, his teachings, and many of the teachings based on his life since then were inspired by the same god we worship as christians.
first, zen seeks self-enlightenment. christian prayer or meditation, in contrast, seeks god’s enlightenment of the believer. zen buddhism paragraph 14 of “my soul thirsts” begins, “sometimes zen meditation is practiced by christian groups and church organizations. buddhist meditation often involves mantras which edify the gods of either buddhism or hinduism. meditating on and chanting a word or phrase, zen buddhism and christianity similarities, zen buddhism and christianity similarities, zen christianity and a lot of bull, zen christianity, what does the bible say about zen.
in christianity we are guided towards salvation through christ, but in the teachings of buddhism we are guided towards enlightenment — christianity. for them, zen is a means of discovering christianity’s mystical truth. some even equated zazen, zen’s seated meditation, with. in zen for christians, author kim boykin—who has personally experienced the gifts of buddhism in her own christian faith and has taught this subject in a, is meditation against christianity, zen christian church, zen catholicism, christian meditation, christianity and yoga, meditation, reconciling buddhism and christianity, transcendental meditation and christianity, dangers of mindfulness christian, christian meditation tips, importance of meditation in christianity.
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