Jesus and Buddha: The Common Ground

Today I was invited to join the Woking Friends for a workshop on the topic of Jesus and Buddha: The Common Ground.  It was facilitated by Geoff and Bev Hunt, a married couple who live the topic.  Geoff is, amongst other things, a Professor of Philosophy and a Buddhist Chaplain.  Bev is a non-stipendiary Anglican Minister.

The workshop was divided into 5 sessions:

1. Love for Enemies
2. Materialism (wordliness)
3. Judging/Criticizing Others
4. Worry
5. Love

For each session, Geoff had chosen some relevant teachings of the Buddha and Bev had chosen relevant Gospel passages.  Below I've provided links to the online Bible Gateway if you want to read the Gospel passage, and quoted the Buddha teachings in full (as I don't know of a single unified online source of the Buddha's teachings).

1.  Love for Enemies

Gospel readings:  Luke 6: 27-36 

Dhammapada Bks 1, 10, 17 

Buddha said ...

3.  "He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me." Those who harbour such thoughts do not still their hatred.

4.  "He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me."  Those who do not harbour such thoughts still their hatred.

5.  Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world.  By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased.  This is a law eternal.

129.  All tremble at violence; all fear death.  Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.

133.  Speak not harshly to anyone, for those thus spoken to might retort.  Indeed, angry speech hurts, and retaliation may overtake you.

134.  If, like a broken gong, you silence yourself, you have approached Nibbana, for vindictiveness is no longer in you.

221.  One should give up anger, renounce pride, and overcome all fetters.  Suffering never befalls him who clings not to mind and body and is detached.

223.  Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth.

224.  Speak the truth; yield not to anger; when asked, give even if you only have a little.  By these three means can one reach the presence of the gods.

After Geoff and Bev had read the passages aloud, they invited those present to discuss them.  I found myself drawn to the Buddhist teachings as they were new to me.  Once I'd explored the novelty, I focused on the last sentence:  By these three means can one reach the presence of the gods.  Aloud I commented that there seemed to be an unwritten assumption that that would be one's goal.  From there my thoughts went to the foundational lesson of  'A Course in Miracles':  What is unreal does not exist, what is real cannot be threatened.  Therein lies the peace of God.   I shared with the group the idea that 'reaching the presence of the gods' was perhaps another way of speaking of the peace that 'transcends all understanding'  (Philippians 4:7)

2)  Materialism  (worldliness)

Gospel reading: Luke 12: 15 - 21 

Khuddakapatha 8.9

The Buddha says ...

'Let the wise man do righteousness:  a treasure that others cannot share, which no thief can steal; a treasure which does not pass away'.

Udanavarga 1.20-21

'Truly, it is the law of humanity that though one accumulates hundreds of thousands of worldly goods, one still succumbs to the spell of death.  All hoardings will be dispersed, whatever rises will be cast down, all encounters must end in separation, life must finally end in death'.

In this session it was the Gospel reading that caught my attention, the parable of the rich man who built bigger barns to store his surplus grain, to whom God said, "You fool!  This very night your life will be demanded from you..."  Jesus closes the parable with the warning to his listeners:  "This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God."  Recently I bought a new fridge-freezer.  There was nothing wrong with the old one, it worked perfectly well, but I told myself I needed a bigger one to store up the extra food I planned to cook so that I could have a stock of ready meals against the times when I might not choose to cook a meal from scratch.  No sooner had the new fridge-freezer taken its place in the kitchen than the washing machine died!

3)  Judging/Criticizing Others

Gospel reading: Luke 6: 37 - 42 

Udanavarga 27:1

The Buddha said...

The faults of others are easier to see than one's own; the faults of others are easily seen, for they are sifted like chaff, but one's own faults are hard to see.  This is like the cheat who hides his dice and shows the dice of his opponent, calling attention to the other's shortcomings, continually thinking of accusing him.

Dh vv 50, 51

The Buddha said ...

'Do not remark on the faults of others, but see what you yourself have left undone.  Then overlook the faults of others'.

'Like beautiful flowers that have colour but no scent are the eloquent but empty sayings of the man who does not act according to his words'.

This session generated a lot of discussion.  I put forward the suggestion that when we look into the world, it is like looking into a mirror that allows ourselves to adjust our image - if we see something we don't like 'out there', it offers the opportunity to observe an attitude of our own heart and adjust accordingly.  As we talked about those who judge, criticize and condemn others harshly, I offered the phrase that it's like beating up the reflection you see in the mirror.  

One participant told an amusing tale - she works as an office cleaner, going in at the end of the day when everyone has gone home.  She polishes the desks.  One day one of the staff members had spent some considerable time sharpening pencils over his computer, leaving the fragments for her to deal with.  She declined to do so (struggling inwardly at the same time), certain it was the wrong thing to do, and smiling to herself at the thought of him having to clear it up himself when he next came in.  I imagined my own reaction in such a situation, and amused myself with the idea I would have wanted to leave a comment for him:  

Keep practicing and you may make it to the Tate Modern!

4)  Worry 

Gospel reading:  Matthew 6: 25 - 34

Majjhima nikaya 27

The Buddha teaches ...

'On returning from his almsround, after his meal he sits down, folding his legs crosswise, setting his body erect, and establishing mindfulness before him.  Abandoning longing for the world, he dwells with a mind free from longing ... Abandoning worry and remorse, he dwells free from agitation with a mind inwardly peaceful..

Dh 90-93

The Buddha teaches ...

90.  The fever of craving does not exist for him who has completed the journey, who is sorrowless and wholly set free, and has broken all ties.

91.  The mindful ones exert themselves.  They are not attached to any home; like swans that abandon the lake, they leave home after home behind.

92.  Those who do not accumulate and are wise regarding food, whose object is Emptying, the Unconditioned Freedom - their track cannot be traced, like that of birds in the air.

Bev and Geoff gave us a chance to talk amongst ourselves in small groups.  I was with two other women and we talked about the difference between the freedom a Monk might have from considerations that a Mother has to deal with. 

5) Love

Gospel reading:  Matthew 22: 36 - 38

Sutta Nipata 149-50

The Buddha says ...

'Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, even so, cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings.

Let your thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world: above, below and across without any obstruction, without any hatred, without any enmity.

We closed with a few moments of silence.  I found it a thoroughly engaging, interesting, energising workshop and very much enjoyed the company in which I found myself.  Many thanks to Geoff, Bev, and to Woking Friends for hosting the afternoon.

Cautionary Tales

Rather than attending the Beacon this Sunday, I visited the local church. One of the readings was from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 11 v37-52; to put it in context, Jesus had just been talking to a large crowd. A Pharisee (a Jew who was so well versed in the Old Testament he was recognised as a practitioner and teacher of law) invited Jesus to come and eat with him. Jesus accepted the invitation, went in and 'reclined at the table' with the Pharisees' guests. The Pharisee is surprised when Jesus doesn't wash before the meal as was the Jewish custom.

As a Christian I've been accustomed to reading this story from a perspective that says more or less 'Jesus is the perfect shining example of all that is good and can do no wrong'. However, for some reason upon reading it this time I was able to step out of that mindset and see how it would look if I was reading a story about myself as the 'named character'.

So I've just been out addressing the crowds and getting my ego stroked by being the centre of attention, and someone important, someone others respect and look up to, compounds that by inviting me to enjoy his hospitality. Wow, am I doing great or what? Accepted into the 'highest' circles! So I go in and I'm familiar with the custom of washing before eating but today I just go to the table and take up my place. Now is that because I'm hungry and can't wait to eat, or because I understand the reason for the rules and have faith that I'm not going to suffer on this occasion through throwing convention to the winds, or because I want to make a point, or some other reason such as being so caught up in what happened outside that I simply forget ... on this point the story is silent. The consequence, however, is that this important person who has just extended me the acceptance of being his equal now finds his notions of equality being challenged. He who has exhibited his adherence to the rules through his outward habits is now faced with someone who seems profoundly 'other'. Where there had been acceptance of the 'we' position, now he is feeling surprised by this glaring difference between us. A simple omission on my part signals the underlying 'me, you' sense of separation as the Pharisee fails to recognise himself in my action.

What happens next? Rather than taking some action that will reconcile us, smooth over the awkward moment and switch us back into brotherhood, effectively I emphasise my own sense of the difference, and more: of my sense of being superior to my host and his colleagues. Ungraciously I lambast them about their behaviour. Now here's the point that really caught my attention. In the speech Jesus is quoted as saying:

" Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all."

Lately I've been thinking about quantum physics. A while back I watched Dr Brian Greene's 'The Elegant Universe' and read the book. I watched the TV series 'FlashForward' and when it stopped midway through the series for Christmas, I borrowed the novel from the library and read that. (It draws on quantum physics). I've been watching the extended DVD set, 'What the Bleep do we know? ', learning about 'entanglement' and 'consciousness'. I've been reading books that suggest that the energy we send out comes back to us (also a physical 'law': every action has an equal and opposite reaction). When I look at this tirade and put it in the context of the story of Jesus' life as told in the Gospels, it becomes a cautionary tale reminding me to be careful what I say when I'm in a state of perceiving myself to be separate from others.

The Sunday morning service continued with a reading from Paul's epistle to the Galatians chapter 6 v1-18 which includes the warning: "God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." Sadly from the Gospel accounts, it would appear Jesus reaped the consequences of his words, dying on a cross bearing the responsibility for the blood of the prophets.

(I would like to add that the above is not the thrust of the preaching at the service, and this blog post in no way pretends to represent the views of the Vicar who led the service)

Words during Worship: Morning Service

Dan M_: Romans 5, v 12 & 8
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned; But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us
Dan encouraged us to abandon our preconceived notions about what love is, and to focus today on what God’s love really is.

Dave R_: Was having a bible time with his kids this morning, talking about doing good and being obedient. He said, “Sometimes you don’t do what Daddy says”. His little boy looked at him with a cheeky smile and answered, “Yeah, but you love me anyway”. This is a profound understanding of God’s love for us – we may feel undeserving but ‘He loves us anyway’.

Scripture: Proverbs 16:1-9
To man belong the plans of the heart,
but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.
All a man's ways seem innocent to him,
but motives are weighed by the LORD.
Commit to the LORD whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed.
The LORD works out everything for his own ends—
even the wicked for a day of disaster.
The LORD detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil.
When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD,
he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
Better a little with righteousness
than much gain with injustice.
In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps.

Pete C_: Feels God saying to him there are people here today who aren’t free to worship Him; that all the words are just floating past them. Believes God wants to say to you the way to be released: we need to hear the word of God – it is powerful to work in our lives, we need to live in it. Pete read from Romans 8:
Life Through the Spirit
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Paul M_: Took his wife to the cinema this week to watch a film in 3D. Similarly there is another dimension to life, a spiritual dimension. At the cinema, if you watched the film without the special specs, it just looked blurry; with the specs, you could see the film in 3D. Make sure you’ve got your special specs on to see the spiritual dimension.

Andrew: summarised the words in the spirit and the scriptures – God says He loves you; God says there is no condemnation; there is a spiritual dimension to our lives – seek righteousness and more of God’s spirit.

Words during Worship: Morning Service

We sang the worship song 'Your Grace is Enough' and Amanda B prayed thanks to God that His grace IS enough, that she might keep her eyes fixed on Him so that she doesn't go back to the filthy place she came from.

Katja: As we sang the words 'solid ground', I had a strange word for someone: 'Spiritual vertigo' - vertigo is that feeling of the world spinning around you, a feeling of being at sea, almost - you are on the solid rock of Christ, yet you feel like your world is spinning round, is in chaos, and you are unsupported. If you have set your heart on Christ, He wants to bring healing to whatever is causing that sense of spiritual vertigo. We stand on the rock of Christ.

Stuart W: Meditate on the challenge God is bringing to your life:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-12) Stuart went on to say that the Lord delights in you, and has cast your sins into the depths of the deepest ocean (which is about 36,000 feet deep) and remembers them no more. Stuart used to enjoy buttered toast at the ABC Cafe where the butter was lavishly spread and used this as an image to depict the generosity with which God lavishes on us the 'riches of God's grace .... with all wisdom and understanding'.

Paul M: "A couple of weeks ago I woke in the middle of the night thinking about Jesus feeding the 5,000. It seemed a strange thing to be thinking about in the middle of the night. I looked up a couple of versions and realised there are three key stages:
1) time of refreshment.
Recently God pulled us together and poured out His Holy Spirit releasing spiritual healing.
2) huge crowds came.
The crowds came because Jesus was healing the sick. I believe the next phase we'll experience is signs, wonders and miracles. There is too much pain and suffering in the church body - I feel God wants to bring physical healing.
3) Small boy brings fish and bread.
God takes what the small boy brings and breaks it - there is miraculous multiplication. I feel we can be like the small boy bringing what we have, and God will work his miracle of multiplication.

Paula M_: After reminding us of Moses' last words to the people of Israel, Paula said, "I feel God wants us to be a people to rise to the challenge, to know who you are in Him".

Amanda B_: Our enemies are fear, poverty, sickness, disobedience, rebellion - take the sword of the Spirit and cut them down!

Mark Landreth-Smith spoke on the closing passage of Colossians and quoted from Leonard Ravenhill: "No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. The pulpit can be a shopwindow to display one's talents; the prayer closet allows no showing off. Poverty-stricken as the Church is today in many things, she is most stricken here, in the place of praver. We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere."

Small Group

I was asked to take notes for some unspecified reason, but I figure it must be to share them so here goes.

Paula M_ led us in worship. We meditated on Psalm 147 as we listened to a worship song (Won't you reign in me again) and then shared aloud the thoughts and insights we had received. Paula spoke about Julian Adams' word, where he felt that the Lord is saying to us as individuals and to the church that He is doing a new thing - to put off the old and move with God as He ushers in the new thing He is doing in us and with us and through us.

Paula Dickson had been drawn to verse 7: Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make music to God on the harp. Yesterday she and Christina were breaking up an old piano - once they had taken away the shell, they were left with the strings which could now be plucked to make a different sound: they had changed the piano for something like a harp; changed something old for something new, something different.

Paula M_ read from Hosea 2, linking the mention of a gate in the Psalm to the mention in Hosea of the gate of trouble becomes a door of hope.

Hope was the word which Chris had, too.

Beverley had also focused on the verse about the gate: 'for he strengthens the bars of your gates' . Beverley suggested that the gate is to keep evil out and also to safely preserve the good things within - Beverley spoke about how we need to strenthen the gates of our minds to ensure that we treasure within the things of God and lock out anything which will contaminate that.

Barbara had a cross-reference in her Bible against this verse to Deuteronomy chapter 33 v 25: The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days.

In Psalm 147 it speaks of God's understanding having no limits, and Christina had focused on this theme - that our understanding has a limit. Also on the idea that we are asking God to 'reign in me AGAIN' - ie that we want God to reign supreme in our lives as He has before.

Trish brought a reading from Isaiah 58 on the kind of fasting God desires of us, and all the promises it holds: Your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear ...

Christina gave us the Lord's Prayer to read and a list of questions. We broke into groups of 3 and worked through the questions together, listening for what God would say to us through the questions and answers.

An interesting debate arose on the subject of forgiving yourself - is it biblical, or simply to be dismissed as 'new-agey'? I googled it this afternoon and found this interesting article: http://www.allaboutgod.com/forgiving-yourself.htm

Letter from St Cyprian to Donatus, 1st Century AD

"This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see. Brigands on the high road, pirates on the seas, in the amphitheatres men murdered to please the applauding crowds, under all roofs misery and selfishness. It is a really bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. Yet in the midst of it I have found a quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasures of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians ... and I am one of them"
~St Cyprian
Hi
This page gets more hits than any other on this blog - please add a comment to say what prompted your search for St Cyprian's letter, or to tell myself and others a little more about where you're coming from.  Many thanks.
Trish

Guest Service & Baptism

Pete C_: I have a picture for somebody here. As a child you had something special to you, something you held precious. That thing became less valuable to you as you got older - recently you went up in the loft and found it. I feel God would say to you through this picture, "Once I was of value to you but have been pushed out - I want to come back into your life - I'm something to be with you throughout your entire life, I'm not something just for your childhood - I want to be with you"

Chris B_ shared his testimony with the congregation:

I come from a C of E background that started before I was ten. No baptism was taught there. Over the years I had several challenges but did not respond. I eventually left the church I was in, and spent about 7/8 years outside any church or fellowship.

Earlier this year I went to Adrian, to discuss if there was anything that could be done spiritually to help my daughter. When we parted he gave me an invitation to the Easter Sunday service, and later on I decided to go.

Why I responded to the offer of baptism.
The first thing was that someone asked me if I was baptised in the Spirit and I said I was. Later I realised that was not exactly the case but the idea lingered.
Then Mark made the offer and my right arm just went into the air. My brain was in shock, but my heart knew it was the right thing to do.
There is no argument that can be made with the Bible teaching of baptism by immersion for believers.

Very soon I had different forms of opposition, mental, physical and emotional too which made me realise that Satan was having a go, so I was encouraged and more certain than ever.
I am seeking everything that the Lord has for me, so that I can grow into the man that God sees me as.
I know I have already changed since last Easter Sunday, and others have witnessed to this, but there is so much more to come.