“Should Christians who are attracted to Buddhist teachings become Buddhists?”
Christians who know how to generate mindfulness, concentration and insight are already Buddhist, whether they have formally taken the Five Precepts and the Three Refuges or not. They are truly Buddhist, even if they don’t call themselves Buddhist, because the essence of Buddhism is mindfulness, concentration and insight. There are Christians, who are capable of being mindful, concentrated and insightful, and they are already Buddhists; they don’t need to wear the label “Buddhist.” When they express the desire to take the Three Refuges and the Five Wonderful Precepts (Mindfulness Trainings), they know that this practice also strengthens their faith in Christianity. They know they do not lose their roots and they do not betray their tradition, based on the insight that, in their tradition, mindfulness, concentration and insight are also very important. Coming to a Buddhist practice center, they learn methods of practice that can help them generate mindfulness, concentration and insight. They know that in their tradition, these energies are also very crucial. They want to make use of their insight, their experience, in order to renew their tradition so that many young people will know more concrete ways to generate these energies. Practicing Buddhist meditation in that way not only helps them to be a better Christian, but also helps them to renew Christianity in such a way that the young generation of Christians will feel more comfortable. Every tradition should renew itself in the light of the new developments in the world; Buddhism also should renew itself.
So we should not be caught by the appearances. There are people who call themselves “Buddhist” who in fact are not very Buddhist, because there is discrimination and dogmatism in them. They are less Buddhist than many Christians. There are many Christians who do not call themselves Buddhist, but they are more Buddhist than these “Buddhists”. We have to learn to look in that way. When a Christian embraces the Buddhist practice correctly, he will never be uprooted from his Christian heritage. In fact, he or she has more opportunity to rediscover his or her own tradition and help renew it. The right attitude is not to encourage people to be uprooted from their tradition. The right attitude is to urge them to go back to their traditions, and the practice of Buddhist mindfulness, concentration and insight should be able to do this. I think there are enough Buddhists; we don’t need to convert more people to Buddhism. Just taking care of the Buddhists we have now takes a lot of energy already. Many of them don’t practice. So let us not worry about making more Buddhists."
From "The Art of Prayer"
THE NINE PRAYERS
"May I be peaceful, happy, and light in body and spirit. May he/she be peaceful, happy, and light in body and spirit. May they be peaceful, happy, and light in body and spirit.
May I be free from injury. May I live in safety. May he/she be free from injury. May he/she live in safety. May they be free from injury. May they live in safety.
May I be free from disturbance, fear, anxiety, and worry. May he/she be free from disturbance, fear, anxiety, and worry. May they be free from disturbance, fear, anxiety, and worry.
May I learn to look at myself with the eyes of understanding and love. May he/she learn to look at him/herself with the eyes of understanding and love. May they learn to look at themselves with the eyes of understanding and love.
May I be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in myself. May he/she be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in him/herself. May they be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in themselves.
May I learn to identify and see the sources of anger, craving, and delusion in myself. May he/she learn to identify and see the sources of anger, craving, and delusion in him/herself. May they learn to identify and see the sources of anger, craving, and delusion in themselves.
May I know how to nourish the seeds of joy in myself every day. May he/she know how to nourish the seeds of joy in him/herself every day. May they know how to nourish the seeds of joy in themselves every day.
May I be able to live fresh, solid, and free. May he/she be able to live fresh, solid, and free. May they be able to live fresh, solid, and free.
May I be free from attachment and aversion, but not be indifferent. May he/she be free from attachment and aversion, but not be indifferent. May they be free from attachment and aversion, but not be indifferent." ----- Thich Nhat Hanh
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