One of our own

At one level the various worlds of Faith are drawing closer together. Certainly they are when the experience of faith is compared, rather than the more dogmatic and creedal form

I have, though, noticed in some quarters an almost unyielding determination to retain a uniqueness, even an "only way" mentality, for ones own religion.

A case in point is with the Christian mystic Meister Eckhart. Although Eckhart is now quoted with pleasure and approval by those of numerous faiths, there are still some who insist that understood correctly, he is "one of our own" and of nobody else. Some diehards perform mental gynastics, logical somersaults, bend over backwards to see each and every sermon of Eckhart as only supporting the dogmatics of the Christian Faith.

Here is an Eckhart verse:- "They do Him wrong who only worship God in one particular way:- they end with the way, rather than God."

This is a very apt phrase in the context of this thread, in as much as there is the Biblical verse:- "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. "

Very easy then to simply say, with regard to Eckharts words, "yes, I have the Way, what is he on about?"

As I see it, there is only one Reality. Which can be experienced in infinite ways, each unique for each of us. My own faith is that another name for Reality could be "Grace" (A "gift" if one insists upon dual language) This for me is the "One Way", not a set of words, but Reality itself, in which we live and move and have our being.

I do not seek to downgrade those who have "accepted Christ as their own personal saviour". Why should I? But if subsequently such people refuse to acknowledge any "way" but their own then in effect, at least to me, they subscribe to "Jesusanity", not the Christian Faith as such.

A pertinent "scripture" (if anyone likes that sort of thing) is from the Lotus Sutra....


I bring fullness and satisfaction to the world,

like rain that spreads its moisture everywhere.

Eminent and lowly, superior and inferior,

observers of precepts, violators of precepts,

those fully endowed with proper demeanor,

those not fully endowed,

those of correct views, of erroneous views,

of keen capacity, of dull capacity -

I cause the Dharma rain to rain on all equally,

never lax or neglectful.

When all the various living beings

hear my Law,

they receive it according to their power,

dwelling in their different environments.....

..The Law of the Buddhas

is constantly of a single flavour,

causing the many worlds

to attain full satisfaction everywhere;

by practicing gradually and stage by stage,

all beings can gain the fruits of the way.


(The Lotus Sutra, Parable of the Dharma Rain)

Anyway, I think it best to see anyone else as "one of our own".

Given the evolving understanding of the Bible, such is now being seen as its core message.

Too see each as "one of our own" gets to the heart of what would be needed for a better world.

As someone interested in inter-faith dialogue (particularly Christian/Buddhist) I would offer the suggestion that "we are all one in Christ" actually relates to certain Zen persoectives.

"The premise of Zen is that our personality, culture, and beliefs are not inherent parts of our souls, but “guests” of a recondite “host,” the Buddha-nature or real self hidden within us. We are not limited, in our essence or mode of being, to what we happen to believe we are, or what we happen to believe the world is, based on the accidental conditions of our birth and up-bringing. This realization may not seem to have positive significance at first, until it is remembered how much anger, antagonism, and grief arises from the ideas of “them” and “us” based on historically conditioned factors like culture, customs, and habits of thought. Any reasonable person knows these things are not absolute, and yet the force of conditioning creates seemingly insurmountable barriers of communication."

As I understand it, there are limits to this perspective, this in respect of other zen thinkers such as Dogen. Nevertheless, it has merit for reflection.