No Man's Land

After reading my article on Buddhist Christian interfaith, I got a letter from a close friend who was concerned about my 'converting' to Buddhism. I sent that person a reply letter, and he's realized the real situation that's been going on in my life for the last couple years. Here, with his permission, is the reply I sent to him to assure him I haven't left Christianity. The phrases in italics are taken from his original letter to me.

Hey.

I love religious discussion. I just love it. I'm glad we can have meaningful argument like this, I’m just sorry it's not in person over a bottle of port...

...But there's a lot of things three days of research won't tell you. Like the fact that you don't need to throw out all of your stuff and be a monk or wander the countryside to be a Buddhist. That's the way Siddhartha Gautama (the original Buddha) did it, but that's because he originally tried several other Shamanist religions before becoming the first Buddhist. The real message in Buddhism is not to cling to the things you have. As if all of the things you own belong in a Salvation Army bag. Like one famous monk said, there is "no sentimentality for spit."

There were countless times in the bible that Jesus denounced material possessions, too. Jesus wandered and owned nothing. You don't need to throw out all of your things and leave your family to be a Christian, do you?

I also think that the whole back to nature philosophy is good as a philosophy, but not a religion.

Buddhism is a nontheistic or agnostic religion, and in any Buddhist interfaith, Buddhism (or Zen, Chan in China) serves as the lifestyle, and lets you to better experience your religion. In Japan, many Buddhists pray to their ancestors because of Zen being so intertwined with the native Shinto religion that was there before. In China, it's been mixed with Taoism, which is why a lot of people think the yin yang is a Buddhist symbol. In India, many Buddhists worship the Hindi gods. It's only natural that once Zen hit the west, it would be used in conjunction with Christianity.

Think of it as taking a lot of ecstasy and then having a good shag. Because of the ecstasy, your senses are heightened and you are more aware to fully enjoy what's going on. Zen (which is the Japanese word for meditation) trains you to rid yourself of distractions and take everything exactly as it comes, and not to judge the moment, but instead to experience it exactly as it is with full attention (mindfulness) in this same way.

the thought that the past and the future are not real -only the present moment is real, somehow lacks reality.

First off, name one time when it's ever been tomorrow. The future hasn't happened yet, so it doesn't exist yet. It's going to be how it's going to be, and you can't change or alter the future until it's come to be now. And once it's passed, you can't change it or experience it anymore. So it no longer exists.

Plus, to give up the "existence" of the future and the past is to recognize that you have no control over them (you can't control what doesn't exist), and that in itself is freedom. Clinging to the past or struggling to control the future is like fighting to stay still or swim upstream in a violent river. Either way, you'll exhaust yourself. If you just lie back and go with the flow of things, you'll be better able to appreciate the scenery.

Enjoy nature as Buddha's teachings but hold relationships close.

The original Buddha was just a dude. He never claimed to be anything more than that. Buddhism translates out to 'seeking the truth,' and the Buddha just means 'enlightened one' (or, one that found the truth). There's been so many Buddhas that a majority of Buddhist knowledge nowadays comes from all kinds of different people in all kinds of different places. But the basic Zenist view of relationships is to view your relationship as two ships floating down the same river. Not one ship with two captains fighting over control, but two fully self-sufficient/self-contained vessels travelling the same river side by side. You could both make the journey alone, but you choose to do it together; it's that mutual choice that makes a relationship beautiful.

Letting go of all that in a Buddhist trance can be seen as just lazy and unmotivated

If you're in a trance, you're not a Buddhist. You might be Jainist, you might be Taoist, or some sort of shaman; maybe even a witch doctor, but not a Buddhist.

Everything in moderation. Too much Zen = bad. Too much work and stress = bad. Balance = good.

'Everything in moderation' is right at the heart of Buddhism. It's called the middleway. Balance and Zen are completely synonymous. If you over-consume, or starve yourself, your mind will focus on that and you'll be distracted from the moment. Plus, Zen and work aren't opposites at all. Zen is full concentration on whatever you're doing, including work. One of the most famous Zenist books in the Western world is called "Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance."

Plus, it's a common belief in both Buddhism and Christianity that "if you don't work, you don't deserve to eat." We're all on the same page here.

I'm a Christian, I want you to know that. I've put as much research into Christianity as I have into Buddhism. I've read the bible. I know what Jesus and God have done and are doing for us every day. That's why I'm making the effort through Zen to be able to better appreciate my life and all of the other gifts God has given me.

Not once have I ever denounced Christianity as my religion. What I don't agree with is the way people live as 'Christians' here. What is the typical Western Christian lifestyle? You go to church for a couple hours on Sunday if you feel like it, and then you go back to your life for the rest of the week without another thought about it. Maybe pray every once in a while when you feel you need something that you don't want to work towards for yourself. In fact, a vast majority of Christians I've known have never read the bible.

In the bible, Jesus himself took time by himself to meditate on several occasions. His time in the desert living with temptation was and is a form of Buddhist meditation.

The point of Zen in my life is very clear for me, for several reasons:
· It helps me realize that I'm not in control. God is in control
· It wipes the distractions from my mind, and helps me to better concentrate on and fully appreciate my life and all the experiences that God floats my way
· It gives me more self control than I've ever had in my life. Ever. Self control is useful when you're being tempted to sin
· Buddhist meditation accomplishes one thing above all others, and that is that in wiping away your distractions, temptations, and whatever else is floating around in your head, it leaves you with one thing: Love (or in Buddhism, Loving Kindness). Love is the base of our soul, and our true gift from God. It is the one thing at the core of all human beings; the thing that makes us all equal.

Scribble words in the breeze
Drag cigars that draw with ease
Enjoy the sun on your bare skin
To which of these is my cancer not akin?

Crack a beer and meditate
To unhealthy hobbies I relate
Shortened life, I feel my fate
Cut excess, re-motivate

It's 10 a.m.

Lying in the grass with a vanilla breath
Enjoying the day you have right to detest
Nothing to say, and no one to hear it
Let the rain fall in your eyes

The evening's dark, damp and cold
Not even mosquitos leave their homes
Not a soul in arms reach, earshot and so
Refresh what underlies

The life of a warrior was a hard one to stick to
An unclouded mind
Exercise
Why don’t I live like I used to?
What’s changed? Marriage?
Blame what you will. This is your choice.

But what about solidarity?

Get a gym pass.
Join the military (go the way of the Kels).
Write more thoroughly.
And turn off your bloody cell phone.

Lying in the grass with a vanilla breath
Enjoying the day you have right to detest
Nothing to say, and no one to hear it
Let the rain fall in your eyes

The evening's dark, damp and cold
Not even mosquitos leave their homes
Not a soul in arms reach, earshot and so
Refresh what underlies

Papi’s got the idea. ‘Cept all that beer and meat.

Where’s that carefree young man
That sprouted into this worried old coot?
I’m getting there.
Day by day, one day at a time.

Let’s get a trampoline

Lying in the grass with a vanilla breath
Enjoying the day you have right to detest
Nothing to say, and no one to hear it
Let the rain fall in your eyes

The evening's dark, damp and cold
Not even mosquitos leave their homes
Not a soul in arms reach, earshot and so
Refresh what underlies

Random? That’s how I like my music.
Manic Depressive.
Bipolar.

With no remorse.

Copyright © 2008 Raggy Domain

"We ascertain the way of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha as the 'how to' of Christianity: how do I love my neighbour as myself? how do I love myself? how do I realize myself or my neighbour?"

This group on Facebook, the "Christian and Buddhist Interfaith Discipline," describes the unique way the Zen lifestyle has been transformed and adopted by the Western world over the past century.

Buddhism is a 'nontheistic' or 'agnostic' religion, and in any Buddhist interfaith, Buddhism (or Zen, Chan in China) serves as the lifestyle, and lets you to better experience your religion. In Japan, Buddhists worship the spirits and pray to their ancestors, because of becoming intertwined with the native Shinto religion that was there before Buddhism was introduced. In China, India, and everywhere else Buddhism has reached, the Buddhist lifestyle is influenced by local religions and beliefs. It's only natural that once Zen hit the west, it would be used in conjunction with Christianity.

Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a book on the subject, titled "Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers," in which he explains how Buddhist meditation works to clear the fog that clouds our relationship with God. Here's an excerpt*:

In Christianity, we hear the expression "horizontal theology." Horizontal theology helps us establish links with what is around us...Our daily practice should help us get in touch with these beings, animate or inanimate, because in getting in touch with them we will be able to get in touch with God.

Getting in touch with God is called "vertical theology." These are the two dimensions. If you do not succeed in getting in touch with the horizontal dimension, you will not be able to get in touch with the vertical dimension. There is a relationship between the horizontal and the vertical. There is inter-being between the two...The capacity for loving God depends on your capacity for loving humankind and other species.

According to Deborah Barrett of the Orange County Zen Centre, "Christians are discovering that Zen meditation practices invigorate and deepen their prayer life and spiritual growth...The tensions which seem to exist between religious ideals and life 'as it is' are dissolved by the practice of awareness both in sitting meditation and in daily life. Meister Eckhart described this process in two simple ways: 'Just do the next thing' and 'Let God be God in me.'

"A Zen perspective on religious practice is to see what is already so and to remove the barrier between ourselves and the fundamental nature of all things. Zen awareness practices provide concrete methods to work through the 'barriers.'"

ZCOC welcomes Christians who wish to practice Zen. In our community, we have active Roman Catholics, Jews, atheists, Buddhists and people from all backgrounds and traditions. Yamada Roshi pointed out that we all drink the same cup of tea, whether we call ourselves Christian or Buddhist. But from a Zen perspective, one notes that we seldom do actually drink our tea....we are lost in thought, doing several things at the same time, waiting for something more important or interesting to do! Our practice helps us to be "in the moment" and to experience fully, apart from words to describe its meaning.

Some people don't necessarily call it Zen Christianity. Zen, Japanese for 'meditation,' is something that has gone hand in hand with Christianity since the beginning of Christianity itself. So naturally, Many Eastern Orthodox Christians (the oldest and longest lasting sect of Christianity, started by Jesus and his disciples, and Orthodox meaning "the right way") utilize meditation as well, and always have.

There are web sites devoted to the art of Christian meditation, such as the World Community for Christian Meditation website, that offer instruction if you're just starting out.

I sincerely hope this article stirs up some comments from those of you reading this right now. I would love this to turn into a discussion. Please feel free to comment below or email me at elrusoqueviene@hotmail.com OR raggy.jester@hotmail.com

Enjoy
-Raggy

*excerpt edited for length

 
I came pretty close to accidentally killing this bug today. I thought I nearly gave the thing a heart attack, too. It went into a convulsing fit on the ground and everything. Turns out it was just being a big drama queen, though; I let it munch on a bit of lettuce and a piece of bean sprout and it was fine.

I was standing on what seemed to be a flat on the red mountain, a clearing in the thick foliage. Canyon walls rose up from the red rock, thirty feet up all around me, and there was a spring gushing violently out of the middle of the flat. Swirling around itself, it poured into a rushing five foot wide, six foot deep rapid that emptied into an equally violent river tearing past on my left. The stormy sky was a pinky-mauve colour, and students from my college class were partying everywhere. Several of them, if not all of them, were binging heavily.

I couldn't seem to shake the sense of being scattered. People were making fools of themselves all around me, having a great time, doing what college students do. But the atmosphere was so gloomy; it all seemed completely familiar, but at the same time I felt I didn't quite belong.

One redneck girl from the class, wearing a hunting vest and an ammunition belt full of cans of Bud, was being particularly rowdy. With an open beer in each hand, she jumped into the swirling spring at the centre of the clearing, hoping to climb out down the stream before reaching the larger river, but was swept away.

"We don't know where this river leads to," somebody said.

"It flows directly to Calgary," I told them. "Me and Eric did this once."

Suddenly, people were coming down around me on parachutes. I couldn't figure out where from, until I realized they were using the wind and the parachutes to jump in the air to the top of the cliffs, like some bad 'Marry Poppins' movie. While I was talking to that guy I always see but never really talk to, I picked the ropes of one of the parachutes up off the ground, and jumped into the air. It was alright at first, but after the first second or so of rising upward, I could tell that something wasn't right. I was ascending way too fast, and going way to far. Why haven't I stopped yet?

Before I knew it, everything had disappeared behind the clouds below me, and I was still rising way too fast. I thought to myself, 'maybe if I use both hands, I can steer this thing back to the ground." The arm I was holding on with wasn't even all that tired yet, and though the climb was rapid, it was very smooth. Nevertheless, I reached up with my left hand to try to take control, and not a second passed after I grabbed on before I started spinning uncontrollably. The sky began to shoot with lightning all around me. I felt sick, dizzy, and held tight with both hands until I felt as though I was about to pass out.

I let go with my left hand, and immediately everything evened back out. I continued to rise, but the lightning stopped; the spinning stopped and I felt physically fine again.

I considered letting go. 'I'll get tired and fall off eventually. Either way, it's over. I might as well save myself the extra grief. I can't control this.'

I decided against it. Instead, I released all the tension in my body. I gave myself to the sky; whatever happens, happens. My mind, all the thoughts, all the pessimism, all fell silent. In a matter of seconds, I was back down through the clouds, falling at an intense speed but indescribably comfortable with it. "Maybe I'll try to land in the spring water," I thought, but as soon as the thought arose, I dismissed it. If it happens, it happens.

I landed in the exact same spot I took off from. The whirlpool had calmed to a blue jewel of a mountain spring, emptying into a gentle stream, flowing over the red rock and emptying into the now peaceful river. The dark, ominous atmosphere had lightened under the blue sky, and was now a welcoming mountain forest oasis rather than an intimidating clearing in unnavigable jungle. Everyone was gone. The shape hadn't changed, but the whole area had gone completely from one extreme to the other.

Or was it just my perception that had changed? Moreover, were all of the people actually gone?

Were they ever really there?

When I awoke from this dream, I couldn't help but ask myself these questions. Everything, down to the last detail, made so much sense. What do you think?

elrusoqueviene@hotmail.com

-Raggy