Today I actually bathed in the sun! What a great start to spring break! I woke up, made a pot of coffee, put on my swimsuit top and board shorts, grabbed a blanket, one of my MANY books and my journal, and went out to commune with nature. The air was fresh (or as fresh as it gets in Metroplex, USA), the sun was warm (80 degrees, already!) and the birds were singing. Nice!
I read a great chapter out of Thich Nhat Hanh's book, Going Home - Jesus and the Buddha as Brothers, that I wanted to share with you. The chapter is called "Person to Person" and begins by talking about how every living being is related to every other living being. Jesus, the Son of Man (a real, living person), has the five elements: form, feelings, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. These elements make Jesus relatable to us and very much like our brother or father. What we have is a "person to person" relationship with him in this respect. Thich Nhat Hanh says about Jesus,
"This person is an extraordinary person; he is a teacher and he carries within himself the Way. 'I am the Way.' And the Way is Tao. The Way is the Dharma.
"The Dharma is deep and lovely. Because the Way and the Dharma dwell in him, he is our teacher. He has become our teacher. Jesus is our Lord because he embodies the way, he embodies the Dharma. There is a kind of love between both of us. 'Jesus loves me, this I know.' We know this because first of all Jesus is the Son of Man - he is a living being. He has the five elements, and we can conceive, we can see nature of love between us and him. Love your teacher, love your student...
"We know the nature of our love. Loving Jesus is something we can experience. We need our teacher, we need our students, and with this presence around us we feel happy. This love is quite tangible, touchable, and conceivable."
I love this idea.
AND What a gorgeously profound way to begin a holiday!
I think it is supposed to rain tonight which would make the day all the more perfect. I do, however, need to break out the aloe. The first sunburn of the season, though slightly painful, is a magnificent foundation to what will be many more days spent outside for me! (and yes, Mom, I do know to wear sunscreen next time...)
8 comments:
Truly, the beauty of Christianity is the approachability of Jesus - the presentation of the Great Mystery in a way we can (somewhat) understand. Instead of having to comprehend the vague complexities of the I Am, we have an example to show a path to human fulfillment and wholeness. The example is effective because it speaks to the universal connectedness we all embody whether we acknowledge it or not. It extends to all our interactions and inner actions; far beyond the wearing of WWJD bracelets.
It was a beautiful day here too. I broke out my sandles and capris! I LOVED IT! Happy Spring Break Break!!!
I love it when the weather is nice enough to sit outside and play Dungeons & Dragons.
I would totally approve of using that image. Honestly, it was just a couple of stamps put together. I don't really remember where the stamps came from, but they were free for download. So I guess I'm sort of stealing? I don't know. But yeah, thumbs up.
So why don't you just rub my nose in it!!??! It's like a heatwave up here right now & it's only 40 degrees! At least it's cloudy & gray out. Of course you get the awesome weather, & don't give me that crap about how I chose to live in Buffalo! I hear that enough. "Oh, so WHY did you move here FROM Texas?" Flippin' Yankees! Rant off -
I will say that is an interesting take on the relationship between Buddha & Jesus. I have never thought much about that. So who do you think wind an arm wrestling match? Jesus or Buddha? Buddha is a big guy, but don't count out The Almighty.
Wins, I meant wins, not wind. Dangit!! no spellcheck on this blog. & Im writin on an English Teachers sight! What has my colledge degree gotten me?
Sorry Cliffy!
I am pretty sure you'll be rubbing MY nose in it on the day when the temperature rivals the sun in heat index here (I'm thinking July and August, pretty much EVERY stinkin' day) and it's a pleasant 72 there!
As far as the Buddha/ Jesus arm wrestling match is concerned, I don’t have any idea. BUT yeah, the Almighty wins every time! And I think both contestants would definitely acknowledge that! I’ve often wondered what would happen if Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed sat down to dinner together. I actually think it would be an awesome example of community.
AND, don’t worry about spelling mistakes here. I’m not on the clock and I also misspell words; I make heinous grammar mistakes ALL OF THE TIME!
I’m a big believer in forgiveness. Welcome to my blog! Now I expect comments all of the time.. :)
Hi to your family!
OH and I may be in NYC in July.. Get ready.
Buddhism & Christianity, I'm tellin' ya -- they're like peanut butter and jelly. Why have we tried so hard to keep them apart all these years?
Now, Christianity and Islam -- that's a little bit trickier, but not through any fault of Allah/Jehovah or Jesus/Mohammed. We're the ones who screwed up that relationship. Crusades/Jihads will do that to a relationship... Somehow I suspect we'll never be able to really appreciate each other until we stop trying to convert each other.
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