Vajradhara
One of Many
Re: Christian-Buddhists
Namaste all,
hehe... i has posted earlier but it was dumped into cyber space...
there are a few things in the thread which i'd like to expound upon, just a bit, if i may.
the first thing i'd like to touch on is the idea of Nirvana/Nibbana being somehow equilivant to God. this is not correct, for several reasons which are not all that applicable to our discussion. however, what is applicable is how these ideas are understood.
beings which hold a belief in a Creator Deity generally also hold that this creator is the "ground of being" from which all things spring. Buddhism holds no such view. Buddha Shakyamuni teaches that there is nothing which can rightly be regarded as the root sequence, not even Nirvana. thus, should a theistic being state that their understanding of their Creator God is not of something which eternally exists and from which all things spring, then mosts Buddhists probably wouldn't have much issue.
with regards to using Christian praxis as a Buddhist or Buddhist praxis as a Christian there are some definiate commonalities in their approaches, especially in regards to interpersonal relationships and their compassionate views towards sentient beings. as such, it seems to me that one could take some of the other tradition to enchance their already existing praxis in some manner or the other.
with regards to being a Buddhist or/and a Christian, this seems to be unworkable on many levels, not least of which is doctrinal. it is, perhaps, no where more clear than in the idea of the Soul which is found in the Christian tradition. Buddhism does not teach that such a thing really exists in any meaningful sense. of course, Buddhism also teaches that each being is responsible for their own karma, no other being can mitigate this for us.
generally speaking, the Buddhist view is that whilst a being can practice a wide array of teachings to enter into the Dharma Doorway, a being will tend to make little progress if they are trying to walk down two different paths. ultimately, Buddhism and i suspect most Buddhists, would rather a person be wholly committed to their spiritual path, even non-Buddhist, rather than trying to be a practiconer of both and consequently making little progress.
i think that Lunamoth touched on the seeming lack of a contemplative tradition within Christianity. this is something which has been noted by others and, as such, the World Council on Christian Meditation was formed. the interested reader can check it out here:
http://www.wccm.org/splash.asp?pagestyle=default
metta,
~v
Namaste all,
hehe... i has posted earlier but it was dumped into cyber space...
there are a few things in the thread which i'd like to expound upon, just a bit, if i may.
the first thing i'd like to touch on is the idea of Nirvana/Nibbana being somehow equilivant to God. this is not correct, for several reasons which are not all that applicable to our discussion. however, what is applicable is how these ideas are understood.
beings which hold a belief in a Creator Deity generally also hold that this creator is the "ground of being" from which all things spring. Buddhism holds no such view. Buddha Shakyamuni teaches that there is nothing which can rightly be regarded as the root sequence, not even Nirvana. thus, should a theistic being state that their understanding of their Creator God is not of something which eternally exists and from which all things spring, then mosts Buddhists probably wouldn't have much issue.
with regards to using Christian praxis as a Buddhist or Buddhist praxis as a Christian there are some definiate commonalities in their approaches, especially in regards to interpersonal relationships and their compassionate views towards sentient beings. as such, it seems to me that one could take some of the other tradition to enchance their already existing praxis in some manner or the other.
with regards to being a Buddhist or/and a Christian, this seems to be unworkable on many levels, not least of which is doctrinal. it is, perhaps, no where more clear than in the idea of the Soul which is found in the Christian tradition. Buddhism does not teach that such a thing really exists in any meaningful sense. of course, Buddhism also teaches that each being is responsible for their own karma, no other being can mitigate this for us.
generally speaking, the Buddhist view is that whilst a being can practice a wide array of teachings to enter into the Dharma Doorway, a being will tend to make little progress if they are trying to walk down two different paths. ultimately, Buddhism and i suspect most Buddhists, would rather a person be wholly committed to their spiritual path, even non-Buddhist, rather than trying to be a practiconer of both and consequently making little progress.
i think that Lunamoth touched on the seeming lack of a contemplative tradition within Christianity. this is something which has been noted by others and, as such, the World Council on Christian Meditation was formed. the interested reader can check it out here:
http://www.wccm.org/splash.asp?pagestyle=default
metta,
~v