Mindful Christians: Gone Fishing...

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Gone Fishing...

I've taken on a month-long residency at Zen Garland - a Zen sangha in New York that includes a Zen-Christian community. It's proving to be a wonderful and very productive time. But I'm not writing a whole lot - spending my time sitting, and reading, mostly. That seems important right now - and it could change. Stay tuned!

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Zen Christianity? Hmm...

I am an Episcopal priest and a Zen student finding, and no doubt losing, a "Beginner's Mind of Christ". My intention is to capture the connections I find in this journey with Christ and mindfulness practices - to use Paul Knitter's metaphor, using the "Buddhist bucket" to dip into the "Christian well." I am also very engaged in deepening a relationship with contemplative practices native to Christianity, especially as outlined by Thomas Keating and Cynthia Bourgeault. I'd love to hear from other Mindful Christians who want to join the conversation or who have resources to share.

Mindful Christian Communities

If you know of any genuine Zen Christian, or Non-Dual Christian, communities (beyond churches that offer the odd yoga or meditation group), email me! Here are a few I've discovered:

Mercy Center East-West Meditation, Burlingame, CA. Led by Fr. Gregory Mayers, Catholic priest and Zen roshi. Weekly meetings on Wednesday evenings, and Sunday meditation & worship once/month. Greg Mayers is living Christian Zen.

Christian Zen at Zen Garland, Airmont, NY. This Zen community and training center includes a wonderful Roshi named Ann Ankai Wagner. Working with Roshi Paul Genki Kahn (who heads Zen Garland), she is developing Zen Christian community that explicitly affirms both paths. I spent a delicious month with them in the Spring of 2015 and admire what they are doing very much.

Maria Kannon Zen Center, Dallas, Texas. Led by Ruben Habito, author of Living Zen, Loving God; Ruben is a practicing Roman Catholic and former Jesuit priest who has created a very Christian-friendly sangha.

Morning Star Zendo, Jersey City, NJ. Led by Robert E. Kennedy, author of Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit and Zen Gifts to Christians. Kennedy is a Jesuit priest and Zen Roshi; his vision is "to foster continuously an environment for interfaith dialogue—to be a place where people of all religious varieties meet and respect one another's traditions and points of view."

Open Door Interfaith Zen, Santa Rosa, CA. Led by David Parks-Ramage, a UCC pastor and longtime Zen student of John Tarrant's. This is not a "Christian Zen" group per se - rather, it's an interfaith Zen group, meeting in the sanctuary of a Christian church (First United Church of Christ, 2000 Humboldt Ave., Santa Rosa). David leads the group in meditation on Zen koans and koan-like sayings from the Bible, and also keeps a blog, JesusPointsToTheMoon.

The Mindful Church Initiative, Grace Church, Gainesville, Georgia. The Rev. Stuart Higginbotham is working with his parish to re-imagine their life together, with mindfulness principles at their center. He is also very actively blogging, lecturing, and offering workshops and conferences on the topic.

This blog is not to be confused with Irene Kraegel's website, TheMindfulChristian.net, which is much nicer and more professional, including beautiful reflections on mindfulness in Jesus' teachings. Her approach is a bit more clinical (yay neuroplasticity!) and not as preoccupied with the whacky Christian-Buddhist mashup that has grabbed my attention.

Resources for Mindful Christians

The Wisdom Jesus by Cynthia Bourgeault. This book could change your life. A thorough and academically solid view of Jesus as a non-dual teacher, including excellent discussions of the Gospel of Thomas, Christian contemplative practices, and the meaning of the cross, resurrection, and Eucharist.

Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian by Paul Knitter. An excellent discussion of how Buddhism can help bring Christian faith to life, with a thorough and easy-to-read discussion of the theological issues. If you think it's impossible to be a Zen Christian, you haven't read this book.

Living Zen, Loving God by Ruben Habito. This is a gorgeous book, simply written and deeply profound. Habito was a Jesuit priest from the Philippines when he stuck his toe in the waters of Zen and ended up falling in. This might be my favorite.

Listen to the Desert: Secrets of Spiritual Maturity from the Desert Fathers and Mothers by Gregory Mayers. Fr. Mayers is a Zen Roshi as well as Catholic priest. This gorgeous little book meditates on the sayings of the Desert Fathers & Mothers almost as if they were koans.

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki. Not a Zen Christian book, but a classic and delightful must-read for anyone interested in Zen.

Resurrecting Jesus by Adyashanti. A charming discussion of Jesus by a very popular non-dual teacher who returns to his Christian roots. Fresh and fun to read.

The Cloud of Unknowing with the Book of Privy Counsel by Anonymous. I found the new translation by Carmen Acevedo Butcher to be fresh and absorbing. The audiobook is wonderful!

Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton. A classic, and as piercing today as when it was written in 1949. Worth returning to regularly.

When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron. When everything fell apart for me, this book was enormously helpful. Highly recommended.

I Am That I Am by Francis Bennett. Francis was a Trappist monk who experienced an awakening during Eucharist. Beautifully written, with important insights.

Happiness and the Art of Being: An introduction to the philosophy and practice of the spiritual teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana by Michael James. This was recommended to me by Francis Bennett. The long introduction is an excellent overview of Bhagavan Sri Ramana, who was enormously influential in bringing non-dual spirituality to Western consciousness. The rest of the book was too much for me; but the introduction was worth the price.

Great website with lots more resources:

TheMindfulChristian.net

On My Reading List:

Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit by Robert E. Kennedy

The Marriage of East and West by Bede Griffiths

Zen Contemplation for Christians by Elaine MacInnes.

The Flowing Bridge: Guidance on Beginning Zen Koans by Elaine MacInnes.

An Invitation to Christian Yoga by Nancy Roth.

Bring Me The Rhinoceros and Other Zen Koans to Bring You Joy by John Tarrant.

The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity by Martin Palmer.

Coffee with the Buddha by Joan Duncan Oliver.

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle.

Mindful Christians

Beginner's Mind... of Christ

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Gone Fishing...

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