Welcome the neighborhood, now come to our church

So I just moved into a new neighborhood, its pretty nice; although I think life has a funny sense of humor because now, after writing that article about not killing cockroaches, it seems that I have found an apartment with them in it. But I am just keeping the place very clean, giving them little reason to be here, and I installed some of those electronic devices in my wall outlets that say they release high pitch sounds that make the little things look for a new home to dwell in. So far it is working very well, and I haven’t seen one in days.

Last night I had an interesting meeting with my next door neighbor — it was the first time we have met. It wasn’t a bad meeting or anything like that, in fact we got along quite well, but there was just something odd enough about the interaction that I thought I should document it.

I was coming home from a dinner meeting, and she was coming home from work. She introduced herself as my neighbor and we got to your basic, token, first meeting question and answer session. When she discovered I was not a total weirdo, about her age, and single… she invited me into her house so we could sit down and talk more.

In an shockingly short amount of time I was told that she was single, sexually active, and asked if I was into casual sex. I was a bit taken aback by this, but never lost my composure of anything like that. I just politely acted like I was dull to the fact that this was some kind of an advance and mentioned that as a Buddhist I don’t let myself fall into irresponsible sexual behavior.

“What? You mean you are not saved? You are not Christian?” she said.

I then got a talking to about how I needed to get saved and be more Christian and moral like she is. When I mentioned that I was quite happy with my current religious situation, and obviously quite moral as well, she mentioned how maybe I was “too moral” and that her church is great because they don’t care at all about if the people going there are having sex, living together, drinking a lot, or anything like that. “You should try it,” she said.

I asked her if they were so open minded about that kind of stuff how the church treated gay people that wished to attend there… “Oh no,” she said “gay people can’t go there. That’s a sin.”

Now that’s interesting. I think the irony of that one escaped her.

I politely said “no”, to her offer(s), said that it was nice to meet her and excused myself since it was getting late and I still had a few things to do before bed. I don’t think that the conversation ended awkwardly or anything like that.

When I got home I started thinking about something that my brother-in-law was telling me about his church a few months ago. I think it just got rated by some magazine as one of the fastest-growing in America; anyway, he was telling me about how every unmarried couple that he knows that goes to his church are having sex, and how most couples he is giving marriage counseling to are already living together and sleeping together.

He said it with a bit of surprise in his voice, and I asked him if he has considered WHY that is the way that the current situation is. His automatic response was simply that these people must be too caught up in the world, and they are the product of their environment.

But think about it… they are in your church, some of them have been for years, and are just as much the product of the environment of your church as anything else. And look at the statistics… you are saying that just about ALL, the overwhelming majority, of the people you are bringing up in your church are doing this, and you have not even stopped to consider for a second that MAYBE this has something to do with your church as well?

Maybe the same thing that is making your church “cool” and so appealing to people is the same thing that is killing any redeemable quality of it. Sure you are growing, and you are popular, but it is because you just supplying people with a new social club to join, and a way to feel like they are being religious… going to heaven or punching in that old church timecard, but without any kind of personal change or responsibility.

Heck, you are like the kid who buys all his “friends” everything they want to be popular, or the girl that puts out for every guy she comes across in order to fit in and be “loved” — really you are only cheapening yourselves, and your Jesus. From what I read in the Bible, Jesus never put out.

The Dhammapada tells us that if the people in your care are screwing up, stop concentrating on their faults and start looking at your own faults, because as leaders after your correct your own, the other’s will naturally fall into line.

If there is disorder if flows from the top-down, and not the bottom-up.

The Dhammapada, Chapter 4

CHAPTER IV: FLOWERS

(44)

Only a skillful flower arranger knows how to select from all the beautiful flowers the very best for their arrangements. But who can rightfully discern the choice flower of the Dharma from all the other tantalizing flowers that the world has to offer?

(45)

The learner who has dedicated themselves to this training will rightfully discern, as the flower arranger. The learner on this path will spot the correct Dharma teachings, it stands out among the others as plain as day to them, but to the rest it remains obscured and hidden.

(46)

Having learned that this body is as temporary as the foam produced by the waters, that it offers no more substance than a mirage, the learner has moved beyond the reach of the temptations and traps which ensnare.

(47)

The pleasures of the world are like beautiful flowers in the forest, one could become so absorbed in collecting them that they forget to stay alert of the dangers that are present, being easily swept into their downfall as a flood sweeps away a sleeping village.

(48)

The person immersed in gathering pleasures drowns in their own insatiable thirst, never satisfied, always reaching for the next and greater sensation.

(49)

As a bee travels from one type of flower to another, bringing out the honey but leaving each flowers own unique fragrance and color intact, so should a sage bring out the good in each village or person they meet without altering their uniqueness.

(50)

While working to bring out the good pay no attention the faults of others, or what they have haven’t done; instead, pay attention to your own faults and your own inactions.

(51)

For even a beautiful flower, full of color, but without scent is worthless, as worthless as your eloquent words if only spoken but never lived out personally.

(52)

But a beautiful flower, full of color, and full of scent is a joy to others, like one whose good words matches their own good deeds.

(53)

One may look at a heap of flowers, cut down and consider them futile, knowing they will soon wither and die, but a skillful flower arranger knows they can use the time they have left to make beautiful garlands. Just so, your own life is mortal and fleeting but you can still do many skillful things.

(54)

The scent of a flower cannot travel against the wind, not even the strongest incense or perfume can. But the fragrance of a person of virtue will spread to the ends of the earth, regardless of how the wind blows.

(55)

The aroma of flowers, incense or perfumes can be excellent, but the aroma of virtue surpasses them all.

(56)

Compared to virtue, whose scent reaches up to the heavens, even the strongest incense becomes nothing.

(57)

Living life as a fragrance, the virtuous have no body or home to be found in by their enemies, like a vapor they cannot be grasped by their snares, for they dwell in mindfulness and are freed by right understanding.

(58-59)

Every once in a while a beautiful flower sprouts forth out the piles of trash heaped on the sides of the road, and when it does it dazzles us all. Just so, you, the disciple of the Buddha have risen out of the heap, distinguishing yourself as a light to those still blind and bound to the limitations of this world.

The Dhammapada, Chapters 1-3

Preface

This lovingly made, non-literal, contemporary translation of the Dhammapada is provided for you as a free service. For those of you who are interested in the teachings of the Buddha on meditation, concentration, discipline and even the morals and ethics of Buddhism but who are turned off by “Religious Buddhism”, it is my hope that this more proverbial, even somewhat humanist translation will be of use to you. For others, who were leery of it such an old writing could be pertinent to them today, I hope this more modern translation will show you that it still is. For those who already know this text well, and even live by it, it is my hope that this may either challenge you to think of it anew, or at the very least may it refresh your spirits.

THE DHAMMAPADA

CHAPTER ONE: TWIN VERSES

(1)

As one thinks, so one acts. Thought precedes action, gives birth to action, and brings it to maturity. Speak or act with impure thoughts and suffering follows, as the wheel of a wagon follows the ox which pulls it.

(2)

As one thinks, so one acts. Thought precedes action, gives birth to action, and brings it to maturity. Speak or act with a pure thought and happiness follows, as a shadow follows a traveler on a sunny day.

(3)

“I was hurt, I was mistreated, I was defeated, I was robbed!” Holding onto these thoughts only keeps the pain alive.

(4)

“I was hurt, I was mistreated, I was defeated, I was robbed!” Letting go of these thoughts releases you from suffering further.

(5)

For hating those who wronged you will not release you from hate, it will only create further suffering. The cycle of hatred will only be broken by non-hatred. This is an ancient truth.

(6)

Most do not live in the realization that life is short. For those who fully realize this, quarrels become unimportant.

(7)

One who lives for self gratification, is over-indulgent, uncontrolled, unrestrained, full of laziness and apathy, is easily broken by hard-times and temptations, just as a small storm can easily break a weak tree.

(8)

One who lives for a higher purpose, is moderate, controlled, restrained, not afraid of hard work and devout, cannot be easily broken by hard-times and temptations, as even a great storm still cannot move a mountain.

(9)

The robe does not make the monk. If the one wearing the robe lacks self-control and honesty, they have defiled it.

(10)

One who is free from inner defilements, having self-control, and honesty, standing strong in the precepts, only such a person is worthy of a monk’s robe.

(11)

Those who consider the unimportant things in life to be important and the truly important as unimportant will never find that which is important, for they were looking in the wrong place all along.

(12)

However, those who correctly see the important as important and the unimportant as unimportant will find the important, rightfully discerning where to begin their search.

(13)

As rain will always find the crack in a poorly-made roof, so Want will find its way into an undisciplined mind.

(14)

As rain cannot find a way through a well-made roof, so Want cannot find its way into a well-disciplined mind.

(15)

For those who do wrong to others it will only end in grief, grief in the present, grief in the future. In both states the wrongdoer grieves; from the initial seed, to seeing the seed come to bear fruit.

(16)

For the doer of good there is much rejoicing, rejoicing in the present, rejoicing in the future. In both states there is joy; seeing one’s own pure acts bear good fruit brings joy and delight to everyone.

(17)

Those who do wrong suffer in the present, suffer in the future. In both states there is suffering. Tormented today by the thought, “I have done wrong”, tormented tomorrow, having fallen into the cycle of suffering.

(18)

Those who do well to others delight in the present, delight in the future. In both states there is delight. Here they are delighted knowing, “I have treated others well”, and tomorrow for they have entered into the cycle of bliss.

(19)

One, who studies the teachings, memorizes them, quotes them often, but doesn’t do what they say, is like a banker, surrounded by other people’s wealth, counting it as their own, deluding themselves into thinking that they are now rich. Such a person does not gain any real benefit from their studies.

(20)

One, who knows little of the teachings, but still lives according to them, free of grasping, hate, and delusions; revering and discerning what truth they find, not clinging to this life or the next, such a person, will gain the benefits of the contemplative life.

CHAPTER II: DILIGENCE

(21)

Diligence is the path of liberation; negligence the path to bondage. The vigilant can never be truly bound; the negligent can never be truly free.

(22)

The wise, knowing this to be true, develop their diligence; consider it a joy to do so, having found their happiness in the wisdom of the noble ones.

(23)

Now awakened, dedicating themselves to meditation, striving forward with firm minds, they find the ultimate liberation.

(24)

The glory of a virtuous person is their reputation, and for one who is active in pursuing that which is good, diligent, pure and considerate to others, it is ever increasing.

(25)

The wise, by much effort, discipline, restraint and self-control, make for themselves an island which no flood can submerge.

(26)

The foolish surrender themselves over to negligence; while the one who is wise carefully guards their discipline as their most valuable possession.

(27)

Don’t give in to negligence; don’t look for pleasure in temporal desires — for it is the disciplined, who having absorbed themselves in meditation find true happiness.

(28)

The wise, drives out negligence with discipline, like a climb up a tall mountain; now free from sorrow, they see the sorrow of the masses in the valley from which they came.

(29)

The disciplined among the negligent, the awake among the sleeping — so the wise advance, like a well-trained racehorse surpasses the weak and untrained.

(30)

Even in the fable of Indra, it was through diligence that he became king of the gods, for even these gods praised diligence, and looked down on negligence with contempt.

(31)

A monk who delights in diligence and sees the danger in negligence advances like a fire, burning the ropes which bound them both great and small.

(32)

A monk who delights in diligence and sees danger in negligence is bound to never fall astray and is close to liberation.

CHAPTER III: THE MIND

(33)

As a skilled arrow maker knows to shape the arrow straight so that it will not waver, so does a skilled mediator know they must shape their wavering mind.

(34)

Like a fish when lured of its watery home thrashes about on dry land, so a mind thrashes about from thing to thing when lured into the land of pleasing the senses.

(35)

It is difficult to wrestle with the mind; it is hard to pin down, nimble and quick — wishing to wander wherever it pleases. Difficult but worth it, for a well disciplined mind brings much happiness.

(36)

The wise should pay close attention to what tries to slip into their minds, for its enemies are subtle and can be difficult to perceive. A mind well guarded brings much happiness.

(37)

The mind like a ghost is bodiless, strays far and wide, and can hide itself alone in secret chambers; however those who learn to restrain it will be freed from their bonds.

(38)

For a person with an unsteady mind, not knowing the true Dharma will be incapable of recognizing it until their mind and wavering faith has settled.

(39)

For the one who is awake, whose mind is calm and steady, having abandoned the dualities of good and evil, there is no more fear or danger to perplex their hearts.

(40)

Aware that this body is fragile like a clay jar, and that it is the mind which we must make strong like a fortress; fortify your mind, and then battle the enemy with the sword of truth, protecting the spoils you have won, knowing never to let your guard down, even in victory.

(41)

For soon this body will simply lie on the ground, lifeless, deprived of this consciousness, to be cast aside like a useless scrap of wood.

(42)

Think of two people who hate each other, or two mortal enemies locked in combat, then realize that your mind if not under your control can cause you more difficulties than either of these.

(43)

Think or a loving mother, father, or any friend or relative who cares for you, then realize that your mind if well-centered can do you more good than any of these.

Peeing in the Pool of Wisdom

Several months ago a friend of mine, with many more years in Buddhist age than I, got into a good discussion with me about why I felt such a need to study Buddhist scriptures so throughly, literally, and why I searched so much for a very pure practice. You see, I would be practicing Soto and would start reading Dogen and wonder why our current practice was so far off from his teachings. Or I would study the Pali Canon and wonder why so much of it is ignored. I also was looking for a practice that was “pure” from the standpoint of it being very established, traditional, and with a long lineage and history behind it.

He, on the other hand, was very eclectic and had little concern otherwise. He was into really anything that appealed to him at that moment, gathering things from here and there along his path, and forming his own kind of practice that suited him best. There was certainly a kind of freedom there that he was enjoying that I was not, but I questioned if this was right way, or at least if this was the way for me.

I was more of the mindset of researching and finding a tradition/Master that I felt in my heart to be true and sticking to it… even the parts that I didn’t like or that “cramped my style”. Also, as a scholar, I was and still am into the notion that scripture and history must be revered and considered seriously. Now I am not saying that it ALWAYS has to be followed — just that it always has to be considered seriously and if not followed for good and defensible reason.

He proposed two arguments to me which I had no real answer for that I would like to finally answer today. They were as follows:

1. If whatever it is they are doing/believing, is helping them they who really cares if it’s false or true?
2. Even the oldest of scriptures still is most likely impure, so who cares if we adjust them even more?

The first of the two arguments lead into a long discussion on Upaya, and it did open my mind up to a lot of things. There is some truth to this argument, and I must concur that there is time and place for expedient means. However, we must also agree that the purpose of Upaya is to get someone to move from one state to another, so that they may receive a new truth and be freed from the old one. Once this is accomplished the individual now should be able to walk in this new truth and no longer feel the need to cling to the past delusion or the delusion that was presented to them through Upaya to motivate them in the first place. If this is not done, then was progress really made?

Also, what is the definition of something helping? What is the definition of something not harming? Does something help someone if it does not really lead them to liberation? Doesn’t it harm someone if they pick up some teaching or mindset along the way that hinders their long-term progress even though it provides some kind of temporary solution to a problem? This technique of expedient means must be used by a Master out of loving-kindness and tempered with wisdom, for the good of their student to move them along the path. It is not license for us to simply do as we wish and see fit without skill and purpose.

For the second argument, I was already familiar with this topic from my days in Bible Seminary. Not only do we have to take into account when reading ancient text that it may have been, and was most likely altered by people with alteriar motives or agendas, but we also have to take into account the fact that even the most pure, divine revelation is still going to have to be filtered through the eyes and mind of a mortal and even their most direct and accurate account will still be tainted in some way, shape or form. As the Apostle Paul wrote himself, “we see in a mirror, dimly“.

Yet, does this give taint us license to further filter scripture as we see fit to adjust it to our own social, political, personal or other preferences?

I think it is a lot like peeing in a pool.

If you were in a large pool of water with a group of people and word got out that someone may have peed in it, does that mean that we all then will just figure it’s ok for the rest of us to take a dump in it?

The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore

Book Review on Deepak Chopra’s The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore

I have seen many reviews of this book online, so I guess the question is: “Why one more?” However, if you look at them carefully you will probably notice that they are either by institutions trying to sell you the book, fans of Deepak Chopra; or, in the opposite vein, person’s of a fundamentalist Christian background who automatically already knew they would disagree with this writing. So in all fairness, none of these commentaries would be fair.

Here are a few things that will set this review apart: I actually read the book (most reviewers only skim). I neither like nor dislike the author or his views. I am a Bible Scholar, ex-minister, and I am a practicing Buddhist. Finally, I am currently working on my Masters on the very subject of comparative religion (Eastern and Western).

Let’s start off with what the book is and isn’t. Deepak presents us with his thesis that the Christ of the bible, and of Christian lore, could have possibly been instead another enlightened or awaken being, akin with Gautama Buddha and various other noteworthy religious figures. So what it “is” is a thesis, then followed up with some practical, although sadly not unique, instruction as to how one could meditate and have a very “Eastern” faith experience while still holding onto their familiar Jesus figure, prayers, and bible passages.

What the book “isn’t” is apologetics. The author offers little historical, biblical, or intellectual argument to support his thesis. He simply puts it out there, and moves along swiftly into application. His arguments for why he believes his thesis to be true is that it makes sense to him, he likes it, Jesus had similar teachings and experiences to the Buddha, and his main argument is that not only would Jesus’ teachings be impossible for a person to live out without awakening, but they make little sense unless reinterpreted that way. He does a very good job going through various teachings or sayings of Jesus and then showing how it could very well be him referring to an awakening experience that was later misinterpreted; or more likely, deliberately.

The major claim that may ruffle some people’s feathers is that he believes that the Christ did exist, but that through many years of religion, and the passing along of information, and in the hopes to establish a dominant religion, this original Christ has been altered, added to and deleted about so that his real message has become muddled; although still hidden in the text if we look at it through a new perspective. There is more than enough viable, undeniable, and confirmed information out there by noteworthy scholars to back up a claim that certain text in the bible has been purposefully changed by the church, especially during its formative years and it’s rise to power as the State lead religion of the Roman Empire; however, the author takes little-to-no time to delve into the facts, and even if he did it would still not back up his theory that Jesus was a “Buddha”; its reference only serves to cast a shadow of doubt.

This then breaks down then into their three different Christs. The first being the actual, historical person who walked the earth; but, whom we can not say with any clarity that we actually know since all we know of him is from religious, non-historical, text. The second Christ is the Jesus of myth and religion. The one who comes to our minds when we hear the word Jesus; based off the influence of the bible, our society, televisions and homes–the one that was “invented” to fit into a certain religion, culture, and philosophy. Then, Chopra presents us with the third option: Chopra’s own made up, non-historical and mythical Christ — one that fits well into his own philosophy and suites his own philosophy. The hard part to swallow about this train of thought though is that after the author establishes his pretense that nobody can actually say that they really know who the historical Christ was, and that the Christ of the Bible is myth, then how in the world can one offer up a third option with any certainty or conviction? It is not based of the historical, for it was stated that nothing is known of the historical, and it is not based off the mythical; so what source is really left over for this deduction?

From a bible scholar’s perspective the defense of his thesis does not stand up well, and if you are looking for an intellectual argument you will not find one here. From a Buddhist perspective, if you are looking for a book to teach you about Buddhism, meditation or any such thing… then I suggest that there are much better books out there to instruct or inspire you. This books closes out with average instruction to begin a quest for awakening, that is really sub-par, although it may seem appealing to those from a Christian background since he revamped it to use Christian prayers and bible verses.

Was the book worth the read? Yes. Yes it was. But I see it more as a primer education piece for someone who wants to hold onto their title of Christian but is slowly finding themselves to be swayed into and enticed by New Age or Buddhist philosophies. So, if that is you and you want to read something that tells you something that you already know you want to hear… great. If you are looking for something “deep” about the practice of Buddhism… then not so great. Finally, if you are looking for a real thesis that digs into factual information to confront your current perception of Christ… this is not going to cut it. You would be better off reading Pagan Christ or The Jesus Mysteries. I personally was just fascinated to see what Chopra’s own personal “take” on Jesus would be, and I was not disappointed by it.

In closing, it was a good read and I am going to keep the book on my shelf instead of trading it in at the used book store, but it was nothing too surprising, new, and it was full of information that I had already heard before but that was presented to be better the first time.

Personal Note:

In the East many are against how the States had taken meditation and stripped it down into some kind of relaxation or self-help guided therapy. In India most yogis are dismayed at how we are teaching yoga as some fitness package for middle-age ladies and did away with all spiritual aspects and benefits of the practice. So I find it of little surprise that Westerners would prefer that their Jesus be left alone. I don’t want to go to a Christian church to meditate, no more than I want to show up to my Buddhist temple to hear about Christ. Some may call that closed-minded, but as someone who studies and loves religion I disagree. It is because I love it that I think it’s integrity should remain untouched.

Forever Observing People

The following is just a personal note/entry. Seeing how even some of my best readers have labeled me narcissistic, I figured why not? Besides, I never thought anyone was going to read any of this anyway. The blog started off as a very blunt, rough, honest account of all the things in life I was observing and studying, and it will continue to be so.

Maybe that is why some people have found it to be endearing in some way? Because it is so unfiltered, honest, and as well meaning and inquisitive as it if offensive.

Anyway, enough about me guessing why someone would read this… and on to me writing about me:)

This last weekend I was in conversation with a new friend who was trying hard to get to know me. I could tell that we were both skilled in conversation, since we both were doing very well in sticking to the formula of listening more than talking, asking good questions, and had a pretty even back and forth of dialog going. The funny part was that we were both so skilled at it, you could almost see us counting in our heads the number of questions or lines we were taking up in the conversation and deciphering when it was the appropriate time to pass the ball back to the other person’s court. It was formulaic, not organic in the least; and as it contained no flaws at all… it was very inhuman really.

It seems that having one person who studied counseling and psychology conversing with a trained sociologist is an interesting mix.

Anyway, during a moment of sheer openness I said something about my fascination of studying people and their beliefs that came out of my lips, but I am still trying to figure out in my head today.

I said that I “observe” people and the human experience, but I feel like I am observing it as an outsider; almost like I am an alien. “Let’s see what these humans are up to today,” I would think. Or, “I wonder what these people believe and why?” And so it goes. I even like to go to the mall and “people watch” or a church or a temple… all the same to me really. I even went to a huge outside cowboy hangout where they drive cattle and drink on the streets, and even though it is nothing that I can relate to or enjoy I was fascinated by it since I was seeing what these people are into and how they interact with each other.

I am sure that it makes me a good academic, and that it is fitting for my particular field of study, but I just want to stop and wonder what makes me this way… and in all my studies am I really just studying or am I looking for a home that I never can seem to find?

I have always been detached. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t. That is just normal life to me. My one friend, a professor, claims that it is fitting to the mold of displacement theory since I was uprooted so much as a child and moved from town to town so often. On the other hand, to me it just seems like this is my personality and I feel less like a victim to this than I feel like it is a part of my personality make-up that I have come to enjoy. The world is made up of all kinds of different people, isn’t that part of the beauty of it? Why if someone deviates from the current acceptable norm do we have to come up with some kind of a trauma or cause and effect that is to blame for it… so that it may be potentially corrected?

In fact, it was the detachment that drew me to Eastern philosophy and eventually Tao and Buddhism in the first place. I have not only found something that I could relate to, but I was already doing an aspect of it that others in this culture have to struggle to get past. In stead of their being something wrong with me… there was something I was doing right!

The only part that throws me for a loop is when I run into teachers in person, or in writings, who talk about a disconnectedness while still retaining a certain engagement with humanity. I can’t quite wrap my head around that one, and it seems like a contradiction to me. The more engaged I am in love, compassion, good works, and the world around me the more involved I tend to become and I start to gain certain hopes, expectations and dualities that I was previously trained to do away with. On the other hand, when I fully detach myself I feel peaceful and calm, yet cold to the human experience and those around me, and I can’t understand this overflowing love and joy that some of these sages are saying is out there as part of the Buddhist package.

So that’s about it. This is something that I am currently working on; the balance between detachment and engagement. If any of you readers out there have any words of advice for me, feel free to drop me a line or two. Pretty soon my Masters program studies will start back up and this time I have on my hands to self-reflect will disappear as I go back to studying others instead of myself. I may as well take advantage of this while I can.

What’s the allure to keeping the title “Christian”?

“Christian” is a social phenomena that has permeated every aspect of our Western culture, and I hold little doubt that as adamant as we Westerners tend to be about keeping the term tied to our identities, as best we can, there are similar modes of thought going on in other cultures clinging to their common, comfortable, and socially accepted titles of Buddhist, Islamic, or Jewish; while, in all truth they are walking in clearly different religious, social, or philosophical path.

I have even seen the opposite to be true, intellectuals who have been born and bred in the homes or classrooms of professors and great minds to be atheist, humanist, or at the very least practical agnostics; who, despite their social peer pressure to keep this intellectual title deep-down are very spiritual and have a secret faith in God, gods, or some kind of Universal Mind or consciousness.

I know a professor of computer science who is an adamant atheist, and practices a humanist Zen Buddhism that focuses on ethics, discipline and being at peace mentally in this life, but with no promise of nirvana nor enlightenment. That doesn’t surprise me that much and that holds no great contradiction.  However, what surprised me with him occurred one day while we were talking about our differing practices over some tea after meditation. I casually stated that I wasn’t Christian and I watched as his jaw dropped and an look of shock fell over his face. “What do you mean you are not Christian? I’m a Christian” he said.

Confused I got him to break down certain aspects of his belief system. He is atheist, Buddhist, does not believe in any kind of an afterlife, nor God the Father, and he believes that there was a Jesus but that he was just a man, not the Son of God, and that when he (Jesus) died he simply decayed and decomposed like the rest of us. And where exactly does the title “Christian” come into play?

His defense was that he agreed with the basic principles, ideals, morality, social constructs, and felt akin to the myths and inspirational stories that appeal to the better nature of us all that come from the Bible. And that as a Westerner he identifies with the label of Christian since this is a Christian nation and culture.

As a Bible scholar, though an non-believing one, I tried to explain the biblical criteria for calling yourself Christian, but that didn’t get me too far. Eventually I just dropped the subject, and went on to enjoying his great company and our friendship. I filed the conversation in the back of my brain to ponder upon a later date and went on with life. It wasn’t until the other week, where I was having a conversation with a sociology professor about gay rights that this past conversation was triggered back into play with some kind of clarity.

While discussing the gay rights movement we happened along the tangent of how difficult it is to “come out of the closet” as they say. The professor asserted that it is so counter culture to do so that one risks alienating themselves from everything they consider comforting. They risk losing identity as a straight “normal” person. They risk losing family, friends, their church, their social status… all kinds of things that we, as pack animals, tend to hold dear. It was then that the whole Christian thing made sense to me.

We hold onto the label for the same reasons. We do not want to risk the alienation or the discomfort or being different from the norm and the acceptable. Even mentally we can not escape the guilt and the oppression of feeling bad about ourselves for rejecting a Christ that we do not even really believe in. So instead we practice our New Age, Buddhism, Atheism, or other philosophy or religion and tag onto it the hyphenated “Christian” to form some kind of ease in our minds about the whole ordeal.

Please understand that this is not an attack against Christianity. To the contrary, it is out of a great respect and understanding of the religion that I defend its integrity in stating that I, and many who still cling to the term, are not Christian. Let those who are pure in their faith be free to practice without us others confusing people as to what the religion truly is, and let those who in their hearts want nothing to do with their God be free from the social shackles of thinking that they have to keep identifying with the religion.

Through my own personal studies I came to a very logical conclusion that there was never at any time a historical Christ figure that lived and died and rose again. However, even if you believe there was some kind of a man who was a great leader, sage, reincarnation of the Buddha, or prophet, but was not the Son of God, you still can’t fit your square peg into the clearly defined round hole of the Christian faith. Once I depersonalized my concept of “God” from the old, grey haired king sitting on his throne in heaven surrounded by his worshipping angles; into a broader, more universal concept of “energy” or an interconnectedness of all things… I left the fold. As soon as I opened up to the idea of their being many paths to experiencing and communing with this life force I immediately validated all religions and alienated myself from all of them at the same time – since just about all of them hold true the statement that they are the only path.

So I am nothing and I am everything, and I have to learn to be comfortable with and accept the fact that I just do not fit in quite well with my current society. It is unfamiliar, it is unsettling, disturbing at first… but it is also liberating!

Some Non-Meditating Monks

After my research on the Christians over at Life Church I found a group of Vietnamese monks who had set up a temple in the middle of a beautiful forest in a near-by area. It was a hike to get there, but seemingly well worth it; for when I arrived it was picturesque in beauty. The temple was everything you would expect one to be; a giant Buddha statue in the middle of a luscious garden, a well kept pond with a waterfall and some coi fish swimming peacefully inside, a little shack of a room where the monks live simply, and a larger temple room with 3 large, golden statues and one lone altar surrounding them all.

I showed up at a time where there was nothing going on, but one of the monks greeted me anyway and told me it was ok to go into the temple and meditate. Which I did, and I decided to come back the next day for a service.

I read up on their particular fashion of Buddhism, as not to arrive more ignorant than needed, and discovered that they do place a higher emphasis on prayer and worship/ceremony than they do meditation. I prepared myself for this, and I figured that it would be nice to see a religious Buddhism experience for once anyway — seeing that I mostly run into humanist Zen practitioners most of the time.

The service was nice, a lot of bowing and prostrating, some chanting and singings. They were kind enough to let me know when to do what and gave me an English translation for most of what they were doing. In other cases I was handed a phonetically “accurate” translation of different chants or prayers that I could attempt to recite in Vietnamese. The only thing that I found odd about the whole thing was that for the service they “plugged in” the 3 Buddha statues, and I came to find that they were electric and around their heads shined an over-the-top light show of psychedelics and neon. I laughed at that (internally) but figured that it was nothing to get hung up on.

After the service I talked to the monks and they asked me about my practice. I told them that I was used to long periods of sitting meditation, and knew much less about the ceremonies and prayers they were doing, but that I wanted to learn more about it.

I mentioned some of my Theravada experiences/training; which they kept on referring to it as Hinayana (lesser vehicle) and made it clear (through some mocking and jokes) that they held little respect for that school. That bothered me a bit, but I figured that nobody is perfect and it is to be expected from a very traditional Mahayana sect.

They told me that in a few days they were going to have a “meditation retreat” and that since I like to meditate I should show up to that. That made me very hopeful actually, and I marked it off on my calendar.

For the next few days I showed up to the grounds to meditate alone in the temple. The monks were never in there, but i figured that I just must be going in at different times then they are. I didn’t give it much more thought than that. But on the day of the meditation retreat, I came to find out that there was much more to it than that.

I showed up 15 minutes early (I was raised to always be early… thanks dad) and got myself situated in the temple. I picked out a good spot, got a cushion that was just the right height for me, and started to prepare myself mentally — winding down all the words and impulses that wind up so easily by simply waking up, getting ready and driving down there.

When it was time for the meditation to start I looked up and realized that nobody was there; so I waited. After about 15 mins I wondered if it was cancelled or if there was some other room it could be held in, and after half and hour I got up to ask someone what was going on.

When I finally found the monks they informed me that I was sitting in the right room earlier, and it is simply the case that nobody showed up for the meditation but me. When I asked them if they were going to meditate they simply laughed and said that they don’t meditate, they don’t need to, and that they do enough in their lives as monks to gain merit… without meditating.

I went back into the temple alone and sat for about 3 hours. I got up, put my cushion back neatly in the pile that laid against the wall, bowed and walked out of the temple.

Now I knew that they put a “lower emphasis” on meditation that I was used to, but this? To not do it at all? That I can’t wrap my brain around. I guess to them the singing and the offerings to the cold, dead statues is enough. But I am not looking for penance or for gaining merit. I was looking for enlightenment.

Life Church; Craig as the CEO and the campus pastor a Sales Rep

I had a chance to spend a month side-by-side with the folks over at Life Church (LifeChurch.tv) to try to see what is making them all the “buzz” these days. You know… fastest growing, most creative, most “innovative”… etc, etc, etc. And all of those things I must admit they are.

They got their act together, better than most churches I researched and have known, from a sales and marketing standpoint. They know exactly how to look, talk, and dress for their target audience. They have their demographic figured out to the dot, to the decibel even – knowing that one octave higher of a worship experience is deemed too loud from their studies and focus groups.

In the month that I spent there though, getting to know the leadership, what I did not see was anything separating them from a non-believing (atheist, agnostic, or other religion) nice person.

They all rocked iphones, were consumed with twitter and their facebook status. They all had to have the latest SUV’s to drive, and the best clothing to wear; although, some said that it was in the name of “reaching people”, since those were the kinds of things their target audience found appealing. One even said that they had little handbooks and letters that went out to them telling them what the latest buzz words, music and fashion tips were so they could use them to their marketing advantage.

Materialism aside though, was there more? The pastors invite me into their homes, where every room has a widescreen TV in it… and boast music and movie collections larger than I have ever seen before. None of it was religious though, and most of the movies were rated R; most of the music were by bands that I as a non-believer would never even lower myself to listen to.

After several days I noticed that none of them prayed, talked about God, or read the bible on their free time. No “quite times” as they call it. When I asked about this they simply told me that since Craig did all the preaching and broad casted it to the other churches, they did not have to spend all that time reading the bible and praying… they could simply use their time to pastor the flock.

But pastor the flock with what energy? With whose power and authority? Out of flesh and technique or out of something more? And if “more” then where is this filling coming from when they spend no time getting closer to God in the day.

I did notice though that they all went to the gym every day… like clockwork. In fact, they would wake up early every day to go before their day at the office (church) began. They carved out time every day for this, and if for some reason they missed it, they would complain all day at how they felt like something was lacking and would make it up by a night visit to the gym or extra time the next day.

Funny though that this same discipline and passion was never represented in their prayer lives or bible study, but I guess that is just Craig’s job.

Not once did I ever hear a conversation about what God was doing, or how excited they were about Jesus. The closest I ever got to hear was about what Craig was doing or what Life Church was doing. It was really quite amazing to me. The thing they go the most excited talking about was their numbers. How many thousands they had going to their place vs the other place, and how much money each location was bringing in. When I asked why they talk about numbers so much and money they said that numbers = souls and money = more resources to get more souls, and really they are excited about the people… but it just sounds like they are talking body count and dollars. I tried talking to one pastor about the bible, some basic apologetics, and he admitted to me that he really knew nothing about any of that, didn’t study much, and that wasn’t his job. I started talking to the worship pastor and all he could speak about was the latest secular music bands he enjoyed and asked me to go out to a bar with him later that night to have some beers. When I informed him that I did not drink because of my religion… things got a bit awkward.

My dad used to be a pastor, now he is nothing really… just another agnostic. I called him to ask him what he thought about it all and he simply said; “They are in the business of selling God. Craig is the CEO and the campus pastor is the sales rep.” And I guess that is about it, and they are wonderfully good at it. Slick, polished, and timely to the “t”.

It was disappointing though. Deep down I was kind of hoping that they would show me something about God that I had missed along the way. Deep down, I think I was hoping that they would have proved me wrong about some things.

Smoke and mirrors. The proverbial pig dressed in make-up. But we fall for it don’t we? We have a generation searching to see if there is something “more” out there than science and all our school taught humanism has given us, and this is what is handed to us? Disappointing, but not life shattering, and certainly not life changing.

Loving-kindness for Cockroaches

I had an interesting day today, and in it, I got to practice some loving-kindness… although it was towards something I never tried it on before – cockroaches.

I guess I had better explain this some; you see, I volunteered today to do some charity work for the United Way, and they asked me and a group of others (that I did not know) to show up to this house and paint the inside of it. It seems that the place is home to a nice group of 3 older ladies, one of whom is bed-ridden, and it was in a bit of disrepair. Although, it seems the place was also home to many more beings than we were told.

The walls of the house were not really in need of painting, they were just caked with layer upon layer of roach droppings, and they were everywhere. I am talking broad daylight, and hundreds upon hundreds of the little buggers just hanging out I plain sight like they owned the place. It was very interesting to observe.

I noticed a few things though, and here are some of my observations…

Firstly, ever since becoming a Buddhist I had taken a vow to cause no harm to any sentient being, and for me that also includes insects. When I was younger a sight light what I saw today would have given me the willies, but today there was no apprehension or disgust to be found in me. I just saw all these roaches and knew that I was looking at another living thing, and it did not bother me at all. Not anymore. And, unlike the rest of the people in the room working with me, I had compassion on them. Yes, I felt sorry for the ladies living there, that they were in such a circumstance, but I also had compassion for the insects there.

Secondly, instead of swatting at and smashing and scurrying about the roaches so I could paint, I simply talked to them (yes I talked to them) or at other times just waited and thought kind words towards them, and asked them to move so I could paint… and they moved out of the way.

Thirdly, these ladies were not messy and their home was quite orderly and neat… other than the roaches and their droppings, and so I inquired into the matter a bit with them. You see, although they themselves are very clean and tidy people, the neighborhood that they live in has gone down-hill, turning from a once lovely little place and into the ghetto, and their neighbors do not share their particular views on hygiene and upkeep. So, if all the homes around them are inviting roaches… they get them too.

Finally, I could not help but wonder the whole time what good we were actually doing there. These ladies approached the charity looking for help and the solution they were given was that we would paint over all the roach droppings… but the roaches are still there. Nothing was done to actually solve the problem at hand. I immediately thought of tons of little proverbs and ways that this could be used as a life lesson, or a sermon about taking care of the real problem and not just ‘white washing the tombs” if you will. I considered many of my own areas in life that I need to deal where a lesson or analogy could also apply… and I found a few.

One of the volunteers was a pastor of a local church and asked the ladies when we were done if he could pray for them and they said yes. As he prayed for them and their health, in my head I offered up my own thoughts of loving kindness towards the roaches and wished them and the ladies happiness and that the roaches would leave and find a new home in which there was not this conflict between them and others; so that they may all be happy, healthy and at ease.

Nobody should have to live like that though, I know that these ladies deserve a clean, healthy environment and I wish them well. I am also grateful that I myself and in a safe and warm home today that I can enjoy.