Lately I've been on a Zen kick. The Zen/Dao thing has been a constant in my life. In many ways I am a Daoist Christian. My Bible is marked at certain passages (especially in Ecclesiastes) with a 'DDJ' indicating parallels with the Dao De Jing. It was in the context of the Dao that my spiritual awakening first began.
Anyhow, there are a series of 'comic' books of Chinese philosophy by illustrator Tsai Chih Chung and translated by Brian Bruya that are brilliant in their simplicity. They are, ironically enough, very Zen. One of them, Zen Speaks, was, aside from the Dao De Jing, my first book on Zen/Daoism. It's a first edition and, though a bit beat up, I still leaf through it on a regular basis.
I find that Zen provides some penetrating insight into Christian theology without having to compromise. In fact, in meditating upon this in church today I realized that it is possible to parallel the Trinity in Zen thought. Granted, there is the "personal" or "relationship" element in Christian theology that is lacking in Zen. In Zen there is no "person" with Whom to have a relationship as in Christian theology.
However, there is a parallel that can be made. Instead of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in Zen there is the One, the Sage (or, perhaps, Mind) and the idea of 'emptiness' that is the essence of Zen practice. In this emptiness is everything, the "insight" that comes in a flash causing us to act according to our original nature. One who has reached this level of understanding is a Sage, persons who, over time, have become mythologized. In the One is the origin of everything, from which everything flows.
This parallel is obviously sorely lacking in the person of Jesus but as Christians are to be Christ-like and Christ is a 'Sage' in the sense of acting according to his true nature, so too is the person who practices Zen attempting to be Sage-like in his actions, operating not according to self but acccording to 'emptiness' and thus his original nature. The parallel is that a Christian in surrendering his everything allows the Holy Spirit to act through him, much like emptiness in Zen allows the person to operate in the manner of ziran (tzu jan), self-so or operating according to the way it is.
Again, this is not an exact parallel. In Zen there is no purpose, no goal to achieve, no concern with accomplishing God's will or such "personal" notions. These things, if operating in this emptiness, will occur naturally and thus according to the way they are supposed to be. No higher purpose just the way it is.
I would, however, make the case that when we operate according to God's will we are acting in the way it is supposed to be. This is the way it is. All that means is that it is not forced, it is not polluted by the imposition of our will or selfish motive on our part. It may not have the glory of attributing something to a personal God who we believe cares rather than the more impersonal approach in Zen.
Having walked these two paths in some parallel over the past fifteen years has enabled me in many ways to be open to Christian doctrine, especially when it comes to things (e.g. the Trinity) that don't at first make sense. But by being open, empty if you will, I have come to a deeper understanding of the Trinity that is theologically correct.
Zen is a mindset and one that might benefit many a Christian who tries to "force" his or herself to accept propositions that simply do not fit thus leading to a spiritual walk that is less than peaceful. I wouldn't tag myself a Zen or Daoist Christian as a badge, no matter how much this may (or may not) be true, but I find nothing wrong with investigating other truth claims.
"But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good..." (1 Thessalonians 5:21, NASB)
In context this probably applies to truth claims of Christian doctrine but expanding this beyond this particular context it easily extends toward any truth claim.
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