The journey from there to here
Published on February 25, 2005 By Gideon MacLeish In Religion

This is one of those things that got me to thinking. While I want to remain neutral in JU feuds, I did get a little intrigued by the charges against the Buddhist practices of one of JU's members. Not a Buddhist myself, I nonetheless have had to learn to understand why I shouldn't take "you're not a good Christian" charges personally, and feel the same principles apply.

In my walk as a Christian, I have found there's no such thing as a "perfect" Christian; the closer one SAYS they are to that mark, the farther they likely are. In my somewhat limited experience with Buddhists I have found similar principles apply. Because some of the more esoteric principles of the two faiths overlap, I believe I can have some level of understanding.

"Perfection" is not a state we're likely to know in our mortal bodies. We battle constantly against our fleshly desires, and, although they're not always controlling, they always have influence. We are not immune, therefore, to outbursts of emotion that may not be desirable or representative of a "perfect" emissary of our faith, but...that's who we are.

Our "walk" as Christians, as a Buddhist's "walk" as a Buddhist, are just that; journeys that will not end until at LEAST the end of THIS lifespan (IF then; we have limited knowledge of the nature of the afterlife).

And so, I submit that the myth of a "perfect" Christian or Buddhist is just that: a MYTH. And that the standard of perfection should not be used as a weapon by our opponents.


Comments (Page 2)
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on Feb 27, 2005
Preacherman, everyone has their own views, and are usually settled in them. Preaching often comes in the form of imposing one’s views on another, uninvited and dogmatic. It can be a bit like getting an annoying housefly in the room, which buzzes around and doesn’t go away.

That’s not always the case, mind, and I don’t mind your preaching, preacherman. You wear it on your sleeve, and you have compassion and integrity. You have good circles, and people accept you for it, so stay with it. It’s a question of personal taste and preference anyway. Preaching wouldn’t suit me, though. I'm so set in my views I'd come across as arrogant.

One of the things I love about Buddhism is that its philosophy is so sublime and deep, there is nothing to preach, in the traditional sense at least. Buddhism is about embodying your beliefs, and doesn’t require verbally imposing anything. This is power, in my view. It's liberating, because Buddhism accepts the ‘is-ness’ of reality, and of others, and doesn’t attempt to change anyone’s views. If it does succeed in changing others, then this would be a by-product of the Buddhist’s peaceful or compassionate energy. Well that’s what I’ve gathered from Buddhism, anyway.

I think it would benefit Western religionists to incorporate these Eastern practices into their model of the world. Whilst Western religion is chock-full of rigid rules, regulations and dogma, Eastern wisdom has none of it. A balance is a good thing, and I believe that if the Buddhist scope was widened, (which would be a wide scope indeed), then we would see that there is a rigid, Mindful Master Plan in progress, which transcends the universe and our finite human awareness. Most Buddhist philosophy is agnostic, and I believe that if we merged Eastern and Western wisdom, the full picture of Ultimate Reality would be disclosed. Whilst Buddhist philosophy describes the Ground of Being, (and Buddhist practice demonstrates that our souls are intricately connected to It), Western revelation describes the structure and nature of the Plan, devised intentionally by the Creator.

Anyway, I hope to God this doesn't come across as preaching. (This paranoia must be coming from a past life, you know.) Preacherman, there’s a time and a season for everything, and your preaching has a fine place in life’s rich pageant. Keep it up dude.
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