Spiritual Tips for Making it up as You Go Along
For instance, today I was on Facebook and someone asked the question “is it possible to be a Buddhist and a Christian at the same time?” Surprisingly a whole bunch of folks started posting about how you could not be a Buddhist and a Christian at the same time because Christians believe in Jesus, and God, and whatever, and that Buddhism is a different religion, etc.
I chuckled and responded with a very nice, and polite note simply saying in simple terms that these individuals were misguided. In fact, one of the greatest Zen teachers of the 20th century Thomas Merton was a Christian Monk. Alan Watts, whether you like his take on Zen or not was an Episcopal minister at some point in his life and was respected by many if not all Zen Masters.
If you DWJWD (do what Jesus would do) you are essentially living a Buddhist life, and if you are detached from the world, and live with kindness, and compassion many of my Christian friends think you’ll make it into heaven.
I have spent 1/2 a century with every kind of Buddhist imaginable. I am not arrogant about this or seeking to be right in any way. I have just never heard that a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim cannot be a Buddha. It is simply not part of Siddhartha’s sutras.
Takeaway
The venerable D.T. Suzuki who introduced Zen to the West taught there could be a Buddhist Christian, and a Christian Buddhist. If you think not, then please read some Merton, as I mentioned, a great Zen Teacher, and a Roman Catholic monk.
Author: Lewis Harrison is a serial entrepreneur, and an Independent Scholar with a passion for knowledge, innovation, personal development, self-improvement, problem-solving, and being happy. He teaches Transmodern Zen and is the creator of Harrison’s Applied Game Theory, an executive coaching system. His website is AskLewisGameTheory.com
“I am always exploring trends, areas of interest, and solutions to build new stories upon. Again, if you have any ideas you would like me to write about, just email me at LewisCoaches@gmail.com.
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