Am I a Zen Buddhist?

Earlier this week, I visited a Zen Buddhist temple.  As I sat there listening to Abbot Carlson lecture (along with the other students from my World Religions course), I couldn’t help but wonder, Am I a Zen Buddhist too?

The Abbot began his talk by tracing the history of Buddhism. Over the centuries, Buddhism, like all major religions, began to stagnate. Leaders were too dependent on political structures. The practice was getting lost in facades. It was the type of stuff that would never happen in Christianity. Because of this stagnation, some people decided they wanted to get back to basics. They wanted Buddhism to be free of the lust for power. They wanted a more pure and true Buddhism. I began to sympathize a bit.

He then said that Zen Buddhists are welcome to newcomers, but they try to steer people away from becoming Zen priests. They realize that being a priest is a great responsibility. It calls for a greater renunciation of goods. It calls for more dedication. It calls for a higher spirituality. Sound familiar?

Abbot Carlson went on to describe something he called dharma. The dharma, he said, is living life in deep harmony with what is inherently true. When you do it, it feels like you’re dancing. In the past seven years, I’ve had moments of dancing.

He then said that selfishness is hollow in the long run. Each of us needs to recognize that I am the problem of the world. G.K. Chesterton said the same thing as a Christian. The Abbot then said that evil is the degree to which we become entangled, disillusioned, or attached to things that aren’t important. We need to get beyond materialism and realize what’s worthwhile. We need to mindfully engage our lives. Once again, a nod of agreement.

Finally, he talked about living in balance. We mustn’t hold too tightly to praise from others or to good things. But, at the same time, we mustn’t hold too tightly to the bad things that happen and become embittered and angry. He said there is ease to be found in not grasping. Hm…

So my question is: Am I Zen Buddhist or am I a Christian? What distinguishes one from another?

Thanks for what?

Generally, I’m not thankful on Thanksgiving. So here’s what I am  doing to remedy the situation: Today, I am making a list of 100 things for which I am thankful. Then I will remember who is the Giver of good gifts.

Let’s do it together. Post your top 10:

  1. A baby on the way (7-11-11)
  2. A wife who loves me
  3. A place to live
  4. Books
  5. The all-classical radio station
  6. Pecan pie
  7. My wife’s job
  8. Imago-Dei Community
  9. Seminary classes
  10. Blogs!!!

The Prophet Nietzsche

A main component of Friedrich Nietzsche’s thinking was the notion of a master-slave morality. He asserts that in society there are people with power, aka masters, and people without power, aka slaves. I think we can all agree with that idea. We may not agree with the terms, master and slave, but we agree that there are people with power and without it. He also asserts that masters make decisions that keep them in control, for they value strength and tradition. Slaves, on the other hand, value kindness and humility; but their morality is in a sense, a way to villainize their oppressor. They want to overthrow the oppressor, but they can’t. Nietzsche asserts that Christianity is a slave morality. He says these things in an effort to get beyond good and evil, to critique the foundational assumptions of morality. 

So I wonder, was Nietzsche right about Christianity being a slave morality? Is the master-slave relationship between man and man, each having their own sets of morality? Or is there a sense in which there is God’s morality and our morality? Is God the master and we are the slaves? Does Christianity want to make all people slaves? Does Jesus? I don’t know. I just wonder. This is where I want to hear your feedback and your answers.

As for Nietzsche’s most famous phrase, “God is dead,” it has one wrong word—dead.

Note: This is a preliminary musing. I haven’t read all of Nietzsche’s work. I know there is still much to learn. I’m sure my interpretation of Nietzsche could be given more nuance as well. My purpose here is to have us think, “Is it possible to see truth in Nietzsche? Can we learn from him?”

Please offer challenges and critiques. Fill in the holes. Continue the discussion. If you need a good summary of his life and work, scan read this: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/

A Simple Gift

In the post last Thursday, I said we would talk about provocative ideas. Here’s one:

Hannah is pregnant!!!

I know. It is exciting. *Hugs, high fives, thank-yous, more thank-yous, taking a bow*

I know I said I would not talk about the mundane things of life, and my friends, this is certainly not mundane. This falls under the heading of “significant life happening.” It is more provocative than any musing on Nietzsche or on communism. Don’t worry, Nietzsche and communism will come. But they won’t come this week. This week is about pregnancy. This week is about the production of a new creation. A new life. A simple gift. A gift from God himself, the God of LIFE.

If you want to see how this new life is formed inside the woman, here it is.

A Preview of Things to Come

First, we will look at provocative ideas, like the prophetic ministry of Friedrich Nietzsche or the possibility of heaven being a type of communism. We’ll look at philosophical ideas like post-modernism, utilitarianism, and the golden mean of Aristotle. We’ll also come out of the clouds from time to time and talk about things at ground-level. We’ll look at ethical decision-making in hot issues of the day. We’ll talk about the unique opportunities we have as Americans. We’ll look at current events and try to make sense of them. If that’s not enough, I might share a snippet from a writing project I’m working on at the time so you can give me feedback. I might write about some significant happening in my life. And who knows, we may even talk about theology.

As you can tell, this blog will not be a daily rambling in that it will not be daily and it will not be a rambling. I will try to post once a week, and ideally, I would like to post on a certain day every week. That way, we have time to think, respond, and see other people’s responses. Then, it is no longer my blog, but it’s your blog too. It will be our blog, and it will be beautiful because we will each bring something different to the discussions. In short, I hope we find our minds challenged and our hearts stirred.

Don’t be shy. Make some posts (even on this one). Peace be with you.-Omer