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Christians Practicing
Zen
How can you be Christian and practice Zen meditation? This question has been explored in our time by prominent Christians such as Thomas Merton and Anthony de Mello. Christians are discovering that Zen meditation practices invigorate and deepen their prayer life and spiritual growth. Zen training is especially helpful to those seeking to integrate prayer with ministry or social action. The tensions which seem to exist between religious ideals and life "as it is" are dissolved by the practice of awareness both in sitting meditation and in daily life. Meister Eckhart described this process in two simple ways: "Just do the next thing" and "Let God be God in me." A Zen perspective on religious practice is to see what is already so and to remove the barrier between ourselves and the fundamental nature of all things. Zen awareness practices provide concrete methods to work through the "barriers." ZCOC
welcomes Christians who wish to practice Zen. In our community, we have active
Roman Catholics, Jews, atheists, Buddhists and people from all backgrounds and
traditions. Yamada Roshi pointed out that we all drink the same cup of tea,
whether we call ourselves Christian or Buddhist. But from a Zen perspective, one
notes that we seldom do actually drink our tea....we are lost in thought, doing
several things at the same time, waiting for something more important or
interesting to do! Our practice helps us to be "in the moment" and to
experience fully, apart from words to describe its meaning. Specific questions or concerns about the relationship of Zen practice to Christianity may be discussed individually or during group discussions. From time to time, we offer an Introduction to Zen Practice for Christians Workshop, but we encourage Christians to register for the Introduction to Zen Workshop or Zen JumpStart program. Appointments also may be made to meet with Sr. Virgie Luchsinger, a teacher who practices both Christianity and Zen, when she is at the Center, or also by phone or email: SisterVirgie@zcoc.org (--Deborah Barrett) Christian Zen Reading List
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Revised: 02/28/08. Privacy Notice.
Zen Buddhism | Zen Meditation Instruction | Zen Practices |
