Marcus Borg Brings Jesus and Buddha together

If Jesus and Buddha were to meet, they would recognize one another as fellow prophets because they were teaching the same truths.

This fascinating book by one of the primo Christian experts, Marcus Borg, compares the lives and teachings of two of the most enlightened beings in our known history.

I used to do a workshop comparing what great spiritual lights said on specific subjects from Lao Tse, Buddha, Jesus to various mystics. My premise, now and then, is that they/we tap into the same Cosmic Energy. Some are more fully connected than others of course. And, furthermore, they all agree with one another in amazing ways, so that if I gave you a quote, it could have been said by any of these great lights and be consistent with their teachings.

It is enriching for our souls to know what is the spiritual consensus across the eons of time and the expanses of cultures. It is freeing to go beyond tribal limitations and embrace the workings of the Divine in hearts and minds everywhere and at all times.

Just a couple of examples: 

Jesus “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

 Buddha “Consider others as yourself.”

Jesus “Give to anyone who requests it.” 

Buddha “Give when you are asked.”

Seek Truth or ...

Lately I have seen numerous examples of seemingly intelligent people seeking to cling to biases, preconceived beliefs, and to ignore or shout down what would more likely be the truth. In a state of cognitive dissonance, they become agitated.

As a person who has sought, searched for, closer and closer approximations to truth, it is astounding to watch. It is fascinating, and yet disturbing. It is almost as if the particular bias is a religious tenet of some high and noble, but yet unknown religion. The mythical altar is strewn with protections of the sacred tenets.

I ask you, please, if you have some belief or other that you protect from all questions and alternative ideas, go for it - dare to consider it from other perspectives. If it is true, it will hold up to any investigation. If it is not true or partially true, it is best to know. Dare to question. Step out of any box that restrains. Be all you can be. Be free.

This Struck Me This Morning - Reaching Me From the 200's CE

We worship, therefore, the Father of truth, and the Son, who is the truth; and these, while they are two, considered as persons or subsistences, are one in unity of thought, in harmony and in identity of will. ---Origin

Oh my goodness, I love this point! It makes so much sense when considered with many things Jesus is reported to have said, such as: The kingdom is within you, Greater things than this shall you do, (calling us) brothers and sisters, Our Father, It's not I it's the Father within doing the work, etc.

Jesus as one in unity of thought with God and in harmony and in identity of will with God, that's what he asked us to do, to become. That's what it means to be a follower of The Way.

As Paul suggested, we need  to put away childish things, to stop looking through a dark glass and see face to face, and we need to be transformed by renewing our minds.

We need to do the spiritual work to move in the direction of unity with The Divine One. Listen with your heart...

Dark Nights of the Soul

One of my favorite writers of the 20th century is Rufus Jones. As a person who has walked, or sometimes crawled, through the valley. I appreciate this quote.

If you have not clung to a broken piece of your old ship in the dark night of the soul, your faith may not have the sustaining power to carry you through to the end of the journey.

Rufus Jones

I know for certain that every valley, every dark night of the soul, has been my teacher. Every wounding makes me stronger in its healing. There have been times I have barely been able to cling to the broken pieces of my faith. But I did manage, sometimes as a seeming miracle that I held on at all.

I also know that without those times, I  would not have been able to go through recent dark nights - I was given the sustaining power to keep on going by the faith developed in me by previous dark nights. I know I'll be able to be sustained for the remaining course of this life journey.

Perhaps there is a new way to look at your valleys too. May God bless you and lift you.

Origen vs Celsus

I have been wading through the long argument of Origen as he refutes Celsus' attack on Christianity. Just to refresh the memory, Origen wrote in the 200's and Celsus in the 100's. It seems to me that Celsus' arguments must have had a continual negative effect for Christianity, a thorn in its side, for such a renowned man as Origen to write a refutation in exquisite detail, seemingly sentence by sentence, a hundred years later.

This morning I read several things I want to share with you.

He mentions that some of the Bible is written as a Hebrew figure of speech, some as allegory, and all so that people at different levels can understand from where they are, that is, the simple at the surface level and deeper and deeper as spiritual senses develop.

One figure of speech mentioned is the famous the eye of the needle for a camel to go through. He says it is a figure of speech meaning the straight and narrow. He says the rich and the poor are not what can be seen, but rather rich or poor in wisdom, understanding, and discernment.

Apparently. Celsus said that the saying It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom God, is from Plato. Plato said it thusly, It is impossible to be distinguished for goodness and at the same time riches. Origen's argument is that Jesus was not acquainted with classics or any literature for that matter. The flaw I see in that argument is that he was apparently raised in Nazareth, a short 4 kilometer walk to Sephoris, the capital of Galilee and on a caravan trail. His father, a builder, would have found work there, as would his apprentice son. There a person would be exposed to many people and many ideas. I imagine he would have heard any number of exciting ideas discussed and argued from people of many diverse regions.

Another figure of speech he mentions is from the 18th Psalm, He made darkness his secret place. Origen said that God is hidden from those not ready or are unable to face His splendor and His deepest Truths. This is another example of the message available at different levels to folks at different levels. 

Later, Jesus took his disciples apart to teach them sayings the multitude were not ready for, so he obviously taught at various levels.

Oh Divine Presence, prepare our hearts to receive ever deeper and deeper understanding of You. Lead us on Your Path, leading us ever farther. Open our inner senses to You. Lead us away from the simple surface to dwell in Understanding and Communion with You.

Ego --- Go

Some thoughts from Aldous Huxley in his book "The Divine Within", which I am re-reading, seemed to be so pertinent to the current times as I read them this morning. Let's consider them.

A measure of detachment from egoism and alter-egoism is essential even if we would make contact with the secondary aspects of cosmic reality. Thus, in order to be fruitful, science must be pure. That is to say, the man of science must put aside all thoughts of personal advantage, of “practical” results, and concentrate exclusively on the task of discovering the facts and coordinating them in an intelligible theory.

This statement seems obvious. It is what I learned in the sciences in the university. Science is neutral, only seeking the truth about whatever it studies. It puts forth hypotheses, tests them, reaches tentative conclusions, then tests those, until a reasonable certainty can be found.

But some "science" these days is the slave of those in power. It is bent to conclude what those in power want it to say. Absurd things are spoken of as "science." They even have the gall to say absurd, obviously untrue things, with a straight face. The egos of the power hungry, the power drunk, shout down actual science.

Why are such absurd things happening here in this advanced society? 

There are many hypotheses. Some are wild conspiracy theories. Some are timid. It has been my practice to look for patterns in all manner of things. What do the patterns of the elites portray as we look at them? 

Most go against the long established understandings of science, philosophy, psychology and the study of history. Most have a control feature. Most have an upending of freedoms at their root. Most create confusion. Most have a very dark side. Many are part of the global push to one world government, ruled by a few. Most have a Marxist theology. Most follow the pattern laid down by Saul Alinksy in his "Rules for Radicals."

The patterns that are there for all who look and are willing to actually see, are dangerous to our way of life. If you and I are awake and see, then it is up to us to awaken others.

Look. Ask God for Guidance.

Navigating Being Human

There are many writings and speakers across history who have declared tenets for the ideal human life. They pretty much agree that we should avoid wickedness and strive toward virtue.

However, there are many, maybe most, people who struggle with living a virtuous life, and quite a few who just give up. There are, of course, some who have not significantly been exposed to the ideal. Then there is the problem of defining virtue and giving help in avoiding the pitfalls that lead us astray.

In my study and experience, there are several essentials to living a virtuous life: kindness, integrity, service, generosity, a spiritual underpinning, a community of others also striving toward ideals - all with generous splashes of forgiveness, self-reflection, critical thinking, and a commitment to life-long learning. 

Our egos can lead us astray. We can become boastful, judgmental, and even cruel. This especially so when the ego labels some as "other" and therefore not worth receiving kindness or consideration. Or when we elevate ourselves as higher than or better than the "others."

To protect our ego positions we can engage in confirmation bias. We ignore any study or opinion or person not in agreement with our positions, and we recite and pay attention only to those in lockstep with us. We even out and out lie to demonize others and to elevate ourselves. This results in a lot of negativity including fear, persecution, violence, and the shutting down of free speech.

We become easy prey for the propagandists and demagogues of this world who have gone far astray from the ideal human.

The question I think of is - then how do we help those who have gone so far astray as to be a danger to themselves, others, and even our civilization?

So far, I don't think anyone has come up with a workable and useful solution to bring all those who have gone into the far reaches of negativity back into the human ideal, or at least moving in that direction. 

Of course, we strive to keep moving in that direction too, knowing full well we have broken places in us that are in need of care and healing. 

While that is important, that doesn't solve the larger problem of restoring those with a cruel, violent and criminal sickness and who do not know or care about the ideal human they can be. They obviously don't know about our responsibility here to develop and be all we can be, and that we will be held accountable when we pass from this earth.

I know there is some success in prisons where religious groups lead studies and discussions. There is quite a lot of success in 12 Step programs helping people rise out  of various addictions. There are some effective groups restoring those who have been trafficked and in prevention of it. There are those who see and do something about it.

But nevertheless, my heart breaks to see the horrors of war right now, or the rampaging youth destroying buildings and carrying out armloads of stolen merchandise, or the shootings and stabbings going on in neighborhoods and parties and even on the streets. So much is going on in plain sight that is the opposite of the ideal human.

Won't you pray with me this week for wisdom and for an answer, or more likely answers, to be found? There has to be a way through and out of this. I offer a simple prayer:

Oh Divine Presence, You have inspired many over the centuries to show us Your Way, the Way we as humans are to be and live. You spoke through Jesus great and wondrous words. Help us to hear with our inner spiritual ear, to see with our inner spiritual eye, and to heal our lameness in our spiritual walk. Grant us Wisdom to live as closely as possible to the ideal You have shown us. Guide us to find a way to restore those who have gone astray. We are open to You and are thankful to know that because You are everywhere present, You have heard our prayer and are even now in this moment in process of answering. We listen. We seal this with the ancient seal of faith, Amen, Amen and Amen