Zen Korner: Meditation vs Prayer
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Taro says,
Doc, I'm suprised how open minded you are to spiritual leaders from other paths. Its seems unusual for someone from a western Christian background.
Do you practice meditation regularly now?
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Will take that as a high compliment my friend. Yes, I meditate, though with an asterisk.
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To me the question as to Christians 'being open to spiritual leaders from other paths' is quite reasonable. Even if you were to disregard Christianity as you see it on TV (which IMHO is usually a grotesque perversion of the religion), it is still the case that many humble Christians are taught to regard *anything said by non-Christian teachers* as suspect. Many 'rank-and-file' Christians look at you quizzically if you quote the Dalai Lama. Even in my own congregation I usually need to explain myself before going much into his teachings.
As I see it, real Christianity is about the search for truth. So if we stipulate for a moment, for the sake of argument, my own belief that Christ is who He said He was -- and the New Testament therefore a special revelation -- it would still be the case that human beings would deduce much truth through natural logic, as IMHO Buddhists have. I regard Buddhism as an amplification of an important 20% of the New Testament, as if you took a magnifying glass to its verses on Compassion, Virtuous Thought, Peace of Mind, and a few other key concepts.
Buddhists are in many (maybe most) cases BETTER with these things, this 20% excerpt of Christianity, than Christians are. Modern brain imaging often studies monks and their ability to activate neurotransmitters through their amazing ability to focus their thoughts on virtuous things -- joy, gratitude, and so on.
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The (current) Dalai Lama himself is an atheist and a man whose IQ is at least 150. He is very friendly and kind towards those of other religions and in fact encourages (say) Christians to continue on their paths as opposed to converting to Buddhism. I therefore have come to regard Buddhism as the best, and nearly-perfect, man made religion. Of course from my standpoint the best man-made religion means little if compared to one delivered from God.
MEDITATION is inwardly directed: when the Dalai Lama "meditates" on gratitude he will CONTEMPLATE the nature of gratitude, how it is generated, what its results are, the difference between gratitude for people vs. gratitude for circumstances, and so on. His contemplations are incredibly profound, well-centered, and have much to offer any Christian.
PRAYER is upwardly directed: one thanks God formally for benefits received, presents petititions for His interventions, apologizes for rebellions committed, and so on. The Christian views PRAYER and BIBLE STUDY as learning from God directly, as opposed to attempting to deduce truth. Obviously if there is such a thing as Divine instruction available, it is superior to one's own investigation. You'd rather be taught chess by the world champion, than sit on a desert island with a board and try to teach yourself.
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The Western media has attempted to convince Americans that "an open mind" is equivalent to "accepting all statements as equally worthwhile." The Dalai Lama would utterly reject this absurdity, as would any sabermetrician. None of us believe that it's "open-minded" to accept the assertion that seven infielders and one outfielder would be a good defensive formation. In sabermetrics we search for truth as we do in any other science. Philosophers, including religious teachers, are obligated to adopt this same scientific attitude.
All that said, Christians do meditate along with their prayer and study (Ps. 63:6 "I remember You on my bed; I meditate on You in the night watches.") Buddhist meditation is the form of spirituality I would pursue if I were ever to conclude there was no Transcendent Creator from Whom to learn (and by Whom to be redeemed).
The Dalai Lama's books, speeches, and teaching are the highest form of purely human thought I'm aware of ... and that's speaking as a Bobby Fischer groupie. :- ) I never spend an hour in his teachings without becoming wiser for it. Any Denizen who has yet to read him will be glad he did.
Respectfully,
Jeff