A blended tradition

My overall path comes from a blended background studying the religions I have been exposed to and am attracted to. I am influenced mostly by Christianity, because of my youth in a Christian family, however I am a Zen Buddhist now because I value their practiced non-violence in the vast majority of their affairs. I am also influenced and attracted to Hinduism because of their universal inclusion in the value of people as one whole inseparable from the Great Whole, Om, the essence of all things.

If you’ve been reading along, you know that I practice daily. I am a firm believer that Zen has been the most valuable to my stillness, especially in my middle age. Zen mindfulness is a powerful slowing down that so much of this world needs. It promotes peace and loving kindness, forgiveness and patience, and a calmness that I only found when I began to practice. I would say that this mindfulness has made me conscious in a way I couldn’t have known, and has allowed me to accept and value myself in a brand new way. Mindfulness was taught by the Buddha himself and has endured for millennia. I will be grateful for this awakening and my self discovery for the rest of my life.

Christianity got very complicated for me, which is why I started to seek a change, but I have done more research since my conversion and have come to a more concise description of the essence of Christianity as I see it. 1.) The love of God desired reconciliation to mankind, because of His peacefulness. 2.) That reconciliation was achieved through Jesus (Yeshua is his real name). 3.) Those that want to imitate Yeshua were given a rule to live by, but those who cannot follow the rule, or follow a different wisdom tradition Are Still Reconciled, whether or not they belong to the church. Matter and spirit have been made One, end of story… Christ was supposed to solve the problem, not create a bunch of new ones. It’s easy to get very distracted by the many stories and teachers of Christian scripture (especially for people that already have a fragile mind, like my SPMI friends), so I hope you can take this with you and let those troubles go. It is not necessary to profess in every single place that you’re Christian, nor do you need to cling to some image in your mind of Heaven or some holy relic, or whatever you think you need. If you’re still afraid, maybe Christianity is not for you.

Hinduism comes down to one thing for me, inclusiveness. Inclusiveness for human kind, for animals (even bugs), and the natural world in all its majesty. Every human has within them the potential of awakening. It begins with awakening the ego early in life, which is then reformed into consciousness. There is no indication, that I have found, of a damnation place, and if there is, they don’t generally espouse it. God or “Brahman” is described as the essence of the universe itself, the ground of being, consciousness itself, the teacher within all of us. They do have many gods taking on many forms, but there is a very large school of Hinduism that is formed in the idea that like us, the gods are just aspects of the Divine Om. Hinduism is where Buddhism comes from, the Buddha was a Hindu. Most Hindus are vegetarian, and they believe in karma, like Buddhists. 

It’s important to have a balanced and informed worldview, in my opinion. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around groups that are entirely wrapped up in one small idea about the universe when there is wisdom in every direction. I chose Buddhism largely because the church and its shadow drove me there. I do not regret my time as a Christian, but I am grateful for Zen now. There is wisdom in most traditions, I have not studied them all, but the ones I do give me a new perspective. 

Be well, travelers, more to come…