Re (1): awakening

Hello,

One does not have to be a Universalist to see the beauty in other religions and learn from them: one needs only seek truth and admire it wherever it may be found. Put another way, in listening to a lecture, one does not have to accept or agree with every last word spoken to appreciate and benefit from the talk as a whole. For most men, it would be rather unusual, in fact, if they did agree with every word spoken all the time everywhere that words are spoken, though if they are wise, they will know wisdom when they hear it. For example, it is possible to see value in tathata without disbelieving in rational thought altogether—much less without resorting to the brutality of certain Zen schools, where “If a learner persists in reasoning by asking further questions, the Zen Master may kick him, slap him, or even throw him down”—we might call this “tathata by force” (World Religions: A Historical Approach 91).

While the Buddha spoke about being “lamps unto yourselves,” at least five-hundred years before him, the Psalmist penned these words concerning his Lord: “Your word is a lamp to my feet / And a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). By empirical observation, the Buddha understood many things about the nature of reality and of truth. But you are correct is saying that the Buddha was neither a god nor did he wish to be venerated as one. Theravada (literally “way of the elders”) Buddhists still see him as a mortal man though one whose ways we do well to emulate; the Mahayana (literally “the greater vehicle”) Buddhists see Buddha “as an incarnation of an eternal Buddha essence that has existed in all ages and in innumerable worlds for the liberation of all sentient beings” (World Religions: A Historical Approach 88). This teaching prompted some on this path—admittedly among the largest if not comprising the largest percentage of contemporary Buddhists—to “deify and worship Buddha,” for as an incarnation of the eternal Buddha nature he was essentially divine in nature, or at least as divine as Buddhism can ever be (World Religions: A Historical Approach 88). The Pure Land Sect sings praises to the Buddha in order that they may go to the Western Paradise where they thus achieve a favorable stop-over in the cycle of rebirths to help them on their way to final enlightenment; in this case, the understanding of the Buddha appears to redefine the conception of a bodhisattva, for the Buddha “called into existence the domain called Sukhavati, the “Western Paradise,” or, as it is generally known, “the Pure Land” (World Religions: A Historical Approach 89). Thus, the bodhisattva not only helps pilgrims along the way but goes away and prepares a (temporary) place for them.

Yes, the Buddha was able by contemplation and empirical observation to arrive at many compelling conclusions about the world and about human life in general. But in the end, if we are to follow the Buddha we must be a lamp unto ourselves, for, as you so well note, by his own admission he cannot save us. By contrast, as Christians, we believe we have found that light and it is not a path that we must pursue but is instead divested in the King of the Universe, the sole intermediary between God and man, narrow enough that few may find but wide enough so that all might enter who so choose. Once possessing this light, we may look at all others who claim to see with mortal power and see beyond what they see, drawing close to the God who has at times been known to draw back a corner of the universe and let His children have a peek into the mysteries that reside behind it.

Having thus tried to be lights to ourselves, we have admitted that our lives have become unmanageable and have turned our lives over to the Light that is Christ. We believe because we have seen; we have seen because by an initial act of faith we have been shown. Faith is the evidence of things unseen precisely because faith connects us to the invisible, unseen God who is then pleased to reveal Himself to us in increasing measure. Without faith, however, it is impossible to please the Lord, for without faith, we will never draw near and thus faith can never become sight. My point in writing God in the Re-Creative Silence was not ultimately to praise the Buddha. My point was to praise and honor my Lord, who, after I have been experiencing many days of doubting and struggling and being filled with mental anxieties of all sorts seemingly without end has again shown Himself to me: shown Himself to be the God above all other Gods and Lord above all other Lords: the Heart from which the universe emanates and the God who sets the captives free.

I can offer you no proof. But I will not tell you to be a lamp unto yourself either. I will rather tell you that it is only by faith that you will ever know and that much of faith is a matter of doing, whether that be leaping (as was the case with the fleet-footed Kierkegaard) or by more feeble means. If you can find that initial faith, you will be given eyes with which to see something beyond that initial faith; something that could never have been produced by that faith as faith itself or wishful thinking either one: you will have a private audience with the living God, His eyes a terrible fire that will cauterize your soul with the only real Love the universe has to offer and indeed the only Love it will ever need. He will show you the joy that may be found in sorrow for His sake and assure you that though you suffer much for His name—even to the point of death on a cross—you will achieve final victory through Him. Having thus seen God, you will now find Him in the very same places the Buddha found only the void, for you will have been given new eyes with which to see even as you have been given a new heart with which to love. No more will you peer blindly with white, scaly eyes and feel nothing with a heart of stone. You have previously seen only the crust of Christianity; now, for the first time, you will have seen its Lord.

I leave you with the vision of the Sadhu, who, one day while looking for Brahma, Vishnu, or Shiva, instead was discovered by Yeshua, Savior of the (then) much-hated Christian missionaries:


God bless,
Eric

• Re(2): awakening— By Sara September 25, 2005 at 04:54:52 PM
  • Re(3): awakening— By karen September 25, 2005 at 05:54:23 PM
    • Re(4): awakening - By Sara September 26, 2005 at 10:26:13 AM
      • Re(5): awakening - By Eric November 5, 2005 at 02:41:30 PM