Rejoicing in The Lord, or In Better Understanding Ourselves It is sometimes frustrating for those individuals who wish to learn and practice Yoga and Buddhism to come across some individuals from the Christian faith who condemn or look down on their efforts or for some reason think of these disciplines as being sinful or not of Gods wishes.
Some have even gone as far as to say that the practice of meditation is unwise or sinful because it does not allow an individual to put their full trust in God. For us to rejoice in the lord or to appreciate the gifts that he has given us or the beauty of the world and people in which we live, we have to have a degree of balance and focus in our mind and life. How can we rejoice in the lord and follow his advice if we are not balanced and focused enough to see and understand him, her or it clearly? What Yoga and Buddhism aim to do through their teachings and disciplines is to give us the tools and ways to better understand ourselves, so that as and when we get balanced and focused, we can, if we wish to, rejoice in a wiser and more constructive and productive way in the lord, and if we think that such a thing is not important to our life, still seek out and perform holiness in our actions. In pursuing this path of achieving a deeper understanding of ourselves, we will interestingly for some, be asked to think, speak and act in the same manner that Biblical and Christian teachings ask of us. Yoga and Buddhism instruct us to be compassionate and charitable in thought, word and action just as Biblical and Christian teachings do. Yoga and Buddhism instruct us to be mindful and skillful in thought, word and action just as Biblical and Christian teachings do. And Yoga and Buddhism instruct us to make a sincere attempt to love and understand all in thought, word and action just as Biblical and Christian teachings do. If Yoga and Buddhism tell us that we can achieve this through meditation, posture practice, scripture study and our thoughts, words and actions, how is this process, procedure and path radically different from Christianity where we are asked to pray, and study the scriptures and center and structure our thoughts, words and actions in a certain manner to ourselves and others. Perhaps instead of rejoicing in the lord in a sometimes and somewhat blind or unquestioning manner at times, we should rejoice in the fact that life offers us the opportunity to get closer to him, her or it and that whatever way we do that is acceptable and worthy of respect and understanding, be it Yoga, Buddhism, Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, Jainism or Judaism, among others. ©2006 John C. Kimbrough Yours in Yoga, John __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BuddhiBase http://www.buddhibase.org To subscribe, send an blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] BuddhiBase Team (Muthu Veerappan, Mohamed Nisar & Vivekhanandam) Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BuddhiBase/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BuddhiBase/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
