This is my first post to this group. I came to zen from Christianity via the mystical route in my search for something more experiential and less dogmatic.
While it's true that in mainstream Christianity it would be considered heresey to say that an individual person and God are one, there are exceptions in the history of Christian thought. Many of the Medieval mystics, taking their cue from the Song of Songs, spoke about oneness with God, and used sexual union as a "metaphor." Of course, this was also done by certain Sufi and Indian mystics. Meister Eckhart went even further. His writings were declared heretical by Rome for his insistency that we are all of one substance with the Godhead. In fact, Eckhart is often considered the missing link between Christianity and Buddhism. His descriptions of the Godhead as the ultimate reality, as the place where all dualisms dissolve, as nothing that can be described, explained, or understood outside of direct experience would make a lot of sense to any Buddhist. Speaking in archetypal terms, in the Jungian sense, the Christ and the Buddha are both variations of the hero archetype, come to lead us on a journey. In mainstream Christianity that journey ends with the follower joining the Christ at the heavenly banquet in the Father's house. In Buddhism and Mystic Christianity the journey leads to the experience which Buddhists call enlightenment--the first hand discovery that all is one, along with everything that means. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> 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/
