Where Jesus and the Buddha agree. It is okay to use practical buddhism in your Christian walk

incidentally, Jesus meditated. Scripture tells us so. It was the practice of getting still, quiet and listening for God. that is meditation. Many Christians fill their prayers with words and forget to be still and quiet.

i would offer you a challenge. for one week, open each prayer with thanks and praise, then spend an half hour in silence in the presence of God.

silent, contempatio meditatio.

or better yet - ask the Holy Spirit to give you a scripture for you to meditate upon. read the scripture without any pre-judgment or comprehension. just read the words. then spend 15 minutes in silent contemplation and meditation in the presence of God and see what God does with that scripture for you. write down in a journal what you receive.

this is meditation.
it doesn't mean become a new ager and try to send your spirit to the astral plane.
it means be silent, still and open to God without your ego, self and will getting in the way.

Please specify exactly which statements of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas are 'heretical' according to Christian theology and why.

Michael

i am growing tired of your thread hijack.
stay on topic or i will be forced to put you out of the thread.
thanks in advance.

What is the purpose of this thread?

It serves only to confuse.

Jesus and His Teachings stand alone. He doesn't need any philisophical support.


There will be a GREAT DECEPTION in the end of days.

STAY CLOSE TO THE LORD AND HIS TEACHINGS!

Discard anything else.

Hi Koffee --

I think you know that I am a fully-devoted follower of Christ. I have also studied Buddhism in depth for several years, as well as similar things like yoga.

There are several concepts that Buddhism describes in a way that's accessible to others regarding the nature of life, a "Rule of Life," if you will. I use them all the time to great benefit. I do not think it lessens either my walk with Jesus or my Christian witness one bit.

I do not, though, perform water offerings, prostrations, and such that many Buddhist adherents find useful, nor do I subscribe to certain foundational precepts of Buddhism and their implications.

I sincerely belief that OP is talking about the former and not the latter.

Last Edited by Life and Love on 04/15/2013 11:43 AM

the purpose is to help followers of buddha to understand Christ by looking at the similarities.

If I was witnessing to a buddhist, I would depend on the Holy Spirit 100% for His fruit to shine through me.

My sinful flesh will only get in the way and seek glory for itself.

Once I have prayed and put on Christ, than I am fully confident that what shines through my soul will be of God and not me.

Most importantly, it will be His TRUTH, not mine.

And it will be truth spoken in Love.

Love, God's love, must be the light that shines.

Agape love is shown more through the actions we perform.

It is not the affectionate, emotional counterfeit taught in many churches--Christian love is obedience!

Divine, godly love is defined in 1Corinthians 13.

When you read those Bible verses, you will not see a single mention of feeling there.

We should be obedient to God's word, which includes speaking truth and revealing deception.

And when we are walking in His Spirit, not our own, then Love and Truth will shine, His Love and Truth, and His Name will be glorified throughout the discussion.

to whom this might concern: what makes you think that this thread is not guided by the Holy Spirit? and, then, what makes you come to your answer to my first question?

I have shared my faith with several Buddhists over the years.

I believe that my thoughts, words, and deeds were led by the Holy Spirit.

The way it all unfolded is pretty much what OP said.

Salt, there is no need to offer a challenge. I assumed most true followers of Christ already do these things.

The object of your meditation/contemplation, should only be God’s Word.

Psalm 1:2 says, "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."

When we meditate on God's Word, the bread of life, you could say we "chew" on it, by reading and thinking about it on a deeper level.
Then it seeks down into our hearts. As we go on throughout the day, the words might come back to us, and we ponder or reflect on them some more.

Salt,

My apologies, I am pet-sitting and not at home on my own computer. I was all set to leave to go back home so I logged out. After giving GLP on more final look before I leave, I noticed your reply and decided to reply back.

I do have to leave, I've spent too much time on this subject.

If I feel led by our Lord to say more, I will post later.

God's Peace be with you, my sister in Christ.
:luv2:

Your work also I presume?

Are you seeking to be a cohesive force in the kingdom of God or trying to create confusion?

I'm not sure what seminary school you're attending but it may explain why so many churches are in the condition that they are.

I would have to agree with Johnny .. you are a false teacher.

Someday you will give an account for the divisive posts you seem to enjoy posting.

Shame on you.. or pity you... not sure which really.

I would like to hear from you on whom the posts are dividing. They are not dividing me. I presume they are dividing you.

that is precisely what i described.
there are several ways to receive God's word. this is part of my seminary training. This is the Lectio Divina. It holds different parts that are important parts of our spiritual formation. they are called Lectio, Meditatio, Oracio, Contemplatio, etc. Instead of me trying to recite definitions for all of these, I will supply a link that might suffice.

i am not telling people to be buddhists. i am not telling people to apply buddhists principles. you are trying to set me in opposition, and there is no need. what you have failed to read in this thread that the ideas for meditation and introspection comes from Judiasm beliefs and practices.

stop being afraid. and try something on the next level of your Christian walk.

here is that link. i hope it sheds more light on the type of meditation that the Lord prescribes:

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

and more:

lectio (reading): "looking on Holy Scripture with all one's will and wit"

meditatio (meditation): "a studious insearching with the mind to know what was before concealed through desiring proper skill"

oratio (prayer): "a devout desiring of the heart to get what is good and avoid what is evil"

contemplatio (contemplation): "the lifting up of the heart to God tasting somewhat of the heavenly sweetness and savour"

Through the practice of Lectio Divina by monastics in group settings, three other steps are sometimes added to the four above such that the steps become:

statio (position)

lectio (reading)

meditatio (meditation)

oratio (prayer)

contemplatio (contemplation)

collatio (discussion)

actio (action)


The Steps in Detail

Statio
First, we arrange a place so it is restful, warm, and non-distracting. This may involve the lighting of candles, the burning of incense, the shutting of doors and drawing of curtains -- whatever makes one feel calm and at peace. Then we assume a bodily posture that is conducive to prayer and reading. We breathe slowly, focusing on the Holy Name of Jesus and nothing else, until we are relaxed and able to focus our attention solely on Scripture. If our minds wander, we gently bring our attention back to the Holy Name of Our Lord, breathing in and out rhythmically. Note that, unlike in Eastern prayer which seeks to empty oneself to be open to some great "Nothing", we are ever mindful of the One Almighty Triune and Transcendent God, and are trying to calm ourselves so that what He might reveal to us through His Word may more easily be perceived.

It is good if the place chosen for Lectio Divina is a comfortable area chosen just for this and other prayerful activities. The presence of relevant icons and other visual aids to meditation can be of great benefit. Now pray a prayer to the Holy Ghost, such as this one:

A Prayer Before the Reading of Any Part of the Holy Scripture

Come Holy Ghost, fill the hearts and minds of the faithful servants, and inflame them with the fire of Thy divine love.

Let us pray: O God, who by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, didst instruct the hearts of thy faithful servants; grant us in the same Spirit, to discern what is right, and enjoy His comfort forever, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth, one God, with Thee and the same Spirit, world without end. Amen.


Lectio
When we are relaxed and in a contemplative mode, we trace the Sign of the Cross on the book of Scripture, kiss the Cross we traced, and then open it to read. Some may want to focus on Scripture from that day's Propers. Others may want to read the Bible straight through, starting with Genesis. Others may want to focus only on the New Testament or the Psalms. We aren't trying to "accomplish a goal" of reading X amount; we read what is easily digested at that time. Whichever selection we choose, we read it with our minds, slowly, gently, coming to an understanding of the words themselves.

Having a solid orthodox Catholic commentary (pre-Vatican II commentary with Imprimatur or the rare, well-chosen post-Vatican II commentary), a nice Concordance, etc., in order to get a good grasp of the meaning of the actual words -- their historical cultural context, their etymologies, the Fathers' thoughts on the relevant Scripture, etc. -- is imperative. We should always approach Scripture with the mind of the Church, in the spirit of the Ethopian eunuch who asked Philip to guide him:

Acts 8:30-31
And Philip running thither, heard him reading the prophet Isaias. And he said: Thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest? Who said: And how can I, unless some man shew me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

We should always keep in mind Peter's admonition that "no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20) and that Scripture can be difficult to understand, something "which the unlearned and unstable wrest...to their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:16).

If you come to a verse you don't understand, or that you understand in a way that is contrary to Catholic teaching, seek traditional Catholic commentary on it. Any apparent contradiction between Scripture and Catholic teaching is just that: apparent, and not real. As an example, even a simple verse such as one that refers to Mary's "firstborn" will be misunderstood if one is ignorant of Jewish law, as are many Protestants who believe that reference to a "firstborn" means there must be a "secondborn," and who then go on to deny Mary's virginity. Seek a Catholic commentary which would refer you, in this case, to the Old Testament law of the "firstborn" and will teach you what that word really means (see Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:14-15, Numbers 18:15 and research the term "pidyon ha-ben").

At any rate, in Lectio, we are reading for the literal sense of the words, trying to understand the reality the writer of the text intended to convey.

***********************
Meditatio
Now we meditate on what we have read, perhaps even reading it again, visualizing it and listening for the aspect of it that reveals the Divine Mysteries. We want the deeper, spiritual meanings of the words now, and read for its anagogocal (or "eschatalogical") sense and its typical (or "allegorical") sense -- i.e., we consider types and anti-types, shadows and symbolism in order to understand the deeper reality the Holy Ghost intends to convey by arranging nature and history as He did, thereby inspiring the writer of the text to write as he did.
************************

Oratio
We ask God to for the grace to be changed by what we have read, to come more fully into being what He wants us to be, and to help us apply the tropological (or "moral") sense of the Scripture to our lives.


Contemplatio
We rest in gratitude for God and His Word.


Collatio
If we are engaging in Lectio Divina with others, we discuss what we've learned.


Actio
We live what we have learned.

Consider engaging in Lectio Divina with your family, perhaps on the Lord's Day each week (if not daily). Discuss Scripture together, encouraging even the littlest ones of your family to participate (the very small can draw pictures of the stories you are reading). Make the Bible a familar and integral part of their lives.

[link to www.fisheaters.com]

For someone who has yet to make a decision for Christ or an immature believer.. all that has been written here can easily serve to create confusion.

If you do not fall into one of those two categories, I have no concern for you.

Divisive also means "creating disunity."

We all know who the author of confusion is.

I'm out of this thread.

No more bumps from me.

One thing for certain on this planet;

You cannot bypass being involved in a kind of religion, while on your journey, on this planet...

It is the way of control on this planet, and the different types of control techniques appeal to specific races and cultures...

It is within the genetic structure...

nobody is creating division except you.

you continue to miss the point and probably continue to block others out who do not know God like you might.

I would welcome your pointing out anything I said in the post of mine you cited that does not resonate with my signature.

Last Edited by Life and Love on 04/15/2013 01:36 PM

That would be fine.... if Christians did believe that there was an actual 'deceiver' out there luring you to break faith with the true God.

Unfortunately we do. And it starts with compromise. And yes this is a classic type of compromise.

This is true. It is an innate desire for power over others, AKA greed, evil.

What Jesus did is to come and speak revolution against such evil, AKA sin.

Jesus came to "set the captives free" from such control systems.

Vitalism

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

Your first line is mostly true, except the evil part... Evil is a relative term...

As far as the rest about jesus - No...This is also nothing more then a control device...

Sin is not a valid concept... Working through experiences to eventually achieve balance is a valid concept...

You need no one to give you what you already have - an eternal soul experiencing through many incarnations, of which you are one...

The genetic structure I am talking about - a cutting up of the original 12 strand dna structure that gave you a much stronger awareness of your non-physical nature... Think what is classified as junk dna in your system is actually junk ??? No, it is the remnants of 10 strands of dna...

Due to this, combined with dna programming, you are highly susceptable to outside influence, when it comes to your spiritual nature...

keep your curses to yourself. there is no shame or pity to be had here.

my ministry is to remind people of the pure love message which is killed with the eternal damnation false teaching. yes, there is eternal damnation, but it doesn't come like you think.

you are rude. be nice or you have no place in this thread. this teaching might be way over your head.

Buddhism is older than Christianity, so that seems unlikely

buddhism is not older than judaism which is the root to Christianity.

Is it, though? But that's another thread.

For those who think we should eschew any non-scriptural source, either for private study or in talking with others, this article may be of interest:

[link to humblesmith.wordpress.com]

This article analyzes Paul's speech to pagan philosophers in Athens. The last paragraph of the article sums it up:

The questions all Christians should ask themselves are these: Am I reaching out to a lost world? Am I going out to Athens, or am I expecting Athenians to come to Me? When I speak to lost people, am I able to start where they are, then lead them to Jesus, the only true way? Am I able to follow Paul’s example by knowing enough of the false teachings in the world, and enough of God’s truth, to refute the error and present the truth?

Proverbs
21:16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
2 Corinthians
11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Acts
4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

There is enough information given in this thread for you to make an informed decision...if indeed you do seek after the truth. Your posts so far indicate that the truth is not of paramount importance to you at this stage.

Please also note that my posts are short. That's because I'm posting from my phone. I returned to this thread to give it one star, but clumsily I clicked the 5 star button by mistake. Oh well...

precisely.