I am glad Lent is coming to an end tomorrow. It's been hard work keeping up the Lenten devotions. I have stayed away from fried foods, neglected my intention of reading the Morning Office every day, and my legs are perpetually cramped from all the zazen meditation I have been doing at the local Zen center.
I have been going to the zendo (meditation hall) a couple of days each week. I wanted to sit intentionally in the silence to connect to "G-d." I suppose it's rather funny that a Christian would seek out "G-d" (whatever that may mean) in a Buddhist center. Buddhism is an non-theistic religion, though I find it to be very spiritual. I came up with the idea to sit zazen as part of my Lenten devotion after reading that an Episcopal bishop-elect had took his lay ordination vows in Zen Buddhism.
Lay Ordination in the Mahayana tradition (the Greater Vehicle,) of which Zen is a part, is comprises of taking 5 precepts (vows). They are: abstained from killing, misuse of intoxicants, false speech, sexual misconduct,and stealing. These are consistent with the baptismal and confirmation vows in the Episcopal Church. Yet, this bishop-elect has been receiving a hard time from some who think it inappropriate for a Christian bishop to practice Buddhist meditation.
In a similar vein, a female Episcopal priest was defrocked (thrown out) by her bishop for proclaiming that she could be both a Christian priest and a Muslim. As both of these are two separate theisitc religious traditions (albeit with a shared origin from Judaism), I can somewhat concede the confusion. Yet, as both are monotheistic traditions, I am not sure that it was completely inappropriate for her to follow both paths. Maybe what we call "G-d" is big enough to transcend our religious traditions? Besides, the former priest in question is an academic. Everyone knows professors are different. I think she should have been given a break.
One of my constant rubs in both situations is that I think the organized structures of our religious systems inevitably puts people in dire straights. I suspect it is not intentional, but what is one to do when part of the way we strengthen our faith is to connect to practices and insights that arise outside of our traditions. Christ was a Jew. The Buddha was a Hindu. Sort of ironic that the traditions they later inspired cannot be reconciled to the traditions from which they came.
Me, myself, I dig the experiences I have been having at the Zen center, as a Christian. Zen is relatively non-dogmatic. They are pretty clear that they see the Buddha as a human being who found a pragmatic way to deal with suffering. If what he taught squares with one's experience, use it. If it doesn't, discard it. That makes sense to me.
As Lent gives way to Easter tomorrow, I realize that I want to be a person of integrity about my faith. I don't want to deny my experiences of faith only to make someone else feel more comfortable. I like hanging out with both Christians and Buddhist. One of my good friends is a Hindu.
I may be wrong, but I don't think "G-d" has a problem with any of it. I think it's our head trip. I keep putting "G-d" in quotations, because I don't want to define the term. I'll leave that to others to fill in the blank. I am cool with what I think I mean by it, but am willing to let my own experience negotiate my meaning. Peace.
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