Jesus, Zen, letting go of materiality
"Each day is a little life; every waking and rising a little birth; every fresh morning a little youth; every going to rest and sleep a little death." -Arthur Schopenhauer
From Sri Easwaran:
My grandmother, my spiritual teacher, used to tell me that the pain we associate with the great change called death arises from our innumerable selfish attachments. One day she illustrated this in a simple way by asking me to sit in a chair and hold tight to the arms. Then she tried to pull me out of the chair. She tugged and pulled at me, and I held on tight. It was painful. She was a strong person, and even though I held on with all my strength, she pulled me out.
Then she told me to sit down again, but this time not to hold on anywhere, just to get up and come to her when she called. With ease I got out of the chair and went to her. This, she told me, is how to overcome the fear and pain of death. When we hold onto things: houses, cars, books,
guitars, our antique silver teapot , we get attached and tied down.
As I walk along the journey that we know as reality; life...I realize that I am seeking to slowly let go of all material attachments- houses, property, furniture, special keepsakes, books, possessions. I have been able to do that, however, I find that I will gather new furnishings, new items that bring creature comfort. My earnest desire is not to let these things take precedence over the eternal values that draw my heart closer to the ascended master of all, Christ. I grow in relation to Christ through meditation, and the attachments of the world lose their grip.
As I seek to grow in the practice of Zen, I become more conscious that The Man who became the Christ was indeed a Zen master. A teacher of prayer, of meditation.
When He instructs us to go into our closet and go in secret to our Father who hears us...he is advocating a Zen practice. So, what he says is, according to the NIV, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen." How is this not meditation? Letting go of materiality...that is the effect of the practice.
I am not becoming a buddhist, a non believer in the messianic mission of Christ, I am simply pointing out that the wide river of wisdom flows from many many sources.
From Sri Easwaran:
My grandmother, my spiritual teacher, used to tell me that the pain we associate with the great change called death arises from our innumerable selfish attachments. One day she illustrated this in a simple way by asking me to sit in a chair and hold tight to the arms. Then she tried to pull me out of the chair. She tugged and pulled at me, and I held on tight. It was painful. She was a strong person, and even though I held on with all my strength, she pulled me out.
Then she told me to sit down again, but this time not to hold on anywhere, just to get up and come to her when she called. With ease I got out of the chair and went to her. This, she told me, is how to overcome the fear and pain of death. When we hold onto things: houses, cars, books,
guitars, our antique silver teapot , we get attached and tied down.
As I walk along the journey that we know as reality; life...I realize that I am seeking to slowly let go of all material attachments- houses, property, furniture, special keepsakes, books, possessions. I have been able to do that, however, I find that I will gather new furnishings, new items that bring creature comfort. My earnest desire is not to let these things take precedence over the eternal values that draw my heart closer to the ascended master of all, Christ. I grow in relation to Christ through meditation, and the attachments of the world lose their grip.
As I seek to grow in the practice of Zen, I become more conscious that The Man who became the Christ was indeed a Zen master. A teacher of prayer, of meditation.
When He instructs us to go into our closet and go in secret to our Father who hears us...he is advocating a Zen practice. So, what he says is, according to the NIV, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen." How is this not meditation? Letting go of materiality...that is the effect of the practice.
I am not becoming a buddhist, a non believer in the messianic mission of Christ, I am simply pointing out that the wide river of wisdom flows from many many sources.
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