Rescue Remedy

I had a really bad weekend. Well, it wasn't all bad, but for someone who is generally spreading sunshine everywhere I go, and always seeing the bright side of everything, the silver lining in every cloud, etc...well, "Into every life a little rain must fall," I guess.

The good news is that someone else took their turn to spread the sunshine into my life, and I was most grateful to get it. I was feeling pretty alone, but I checked my Facebook news feed; and there was Thich Nhat Hanh with his hand held out and ready to give me a lift. He had shared a prayer from his blog "Touching the Earth // Guided meditations from the Thich Nhat Hanh book 'Touching The Earth.' ". When I clicked the "Play" button on the sound file, a tone sounded, and then he began the guided meditation. It was generally about how the Earth has the capacity to absorb everything back into itself, to rescue human beings from bad "places" or states. At the sound of the tone I immediately felt myself focus and begin to calm. Then I was able to listen to the words. I was more relaxed, calm and at peace than at any other time during this "bad" weekend. I was (and am) extremely grateful to Thich Nhat Hanh for being there (if only in cyberspace) at precisely the moment I needed to be "rescued" from my bad mood.

Who is Thich Nhat Hanh? He is a Thien Buddhist of the Lâm Tế Dhyana (Linji Chanzong) of Buddhism, and founder of the Order of Interbeing. I learned of him through his wonderful book, "Living Buddha, Living Christ," in which he helps us to understand how Buddhists and Christians are essentially after the same things. (It's a good read. I highly recommend it.)

Some (perhaps many) Christians would start praying for my salvation at this point, since I'm taking prayers and advice from a Buddhist. But they would be misguided. In the 9th book of Mark, verses 38-40, John is all upset because he's seen someone casting demons out of people in Jesus' name, "but I told him not to, because he doesn't follow us." Jesus tells John not to forbid anyone to do good in his name, whether he follows Jesus or not, because doing good for others is a worthy pursuit, and it does the cause of Jesus and his followers no harm.

This is exactly the sort of connection Thich Nhat Hanh makes in his book, "Living Buddha, Living Christ"; and it's exactly the sort of kindness that Thich Nhat Hanh did for me this evening. There were no Christians around when I needed to have my "demons" cast out, but Thich Nhat Hanh was available, and he got the job done. Now I am back in the center of the narrow way, calm and peaceful, able to focus on what's important, thanks to a Buddhist monk. I prayed along with the meditation and felt the peace that passes all understanding. I am certain that Jesus doesn't mind a bit that it wasn't someone from Church who performed this service for me.

Today I was reminded by a Buddhist to thank God for rescuing me; and that there is always help, sometimes from places we least expect to find it. I am grateful for Thich Nhat Hanh, and I am grateful for the words of Jesus in Mark that remind us that we are all connected. Life is good, and I am grateful.

Overwhelming the Haters with Love

"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." --Sir Isaac Newton

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” --Mohandas Ghandi

The recent news involving the Westboro Baptist Church and its hate activities should be instructional for us all. Though I find what they are doing extremely disturbing, ever the optimist I also find that their activities are highly educational. 

So far the best thing that has come about as a result of their hate activity is the "Love-In" organized by students of Gunn High School in the Bay Area. Mother Theresa once said, "I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there." Throwing more "anti" and "against" at something that's wrong just exponentially escalates the "wrong factor," and generates more angry energy, which has never once brought about peace. 

Mohandas Gandhi led an entire country, who had been colonized against their will for over a hundred years, to justice through "peaceful non cooperation." Dr. Martin Luther King, a Baptist preacher, followed the example set by Gandhi (a Hindu) because he found it to be consistent with Jesus' directive to "turn the other cheek." In doing so, Dr. King led an entire nation of African-Americans to justice, who had been first enslaved, then badly mistreated upon emancipation for another hundred years. He used what he called "the Gandhi method" of peaceful non-cooperation, and changed the world. 

And now the students of Gunn High School have done the same in response to a wave of hate that is sweeping the nation in the name of God. 

The 3rd of the ten commandments says that "You shall not take the name of God in vain, for God shall not hold guiltless the one who takes his name in vain." (Exodus 20:7, BHTL Version) For my entire life I've heard this verse interpreted as a directive to avoid cussing which includes the name of God or Jesus; but this has never made sense to me. What does make sense to me is this: to take the name of God in vain is to say "I am a Christian" and then behave in a manner completely inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus. 

When asked what was the greatest of the commandments, Jesus said, "Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. All of the teachings of the prophets hang on these two commands." (Matthew 22:37-40, BHTL Version) 

The students of Gunn High School may or may not call themselves Christians, but they were the best examples of what Christianity is supposed to be all about, according to Jesus, when they decided to overwhelm the haters with love. 

Unfortunately, so many Christians in America choose to boldly declare all the things that they "hate" in the name of Jesus; not as extremely as the folks of the Westboro Baptist Church have been doing, but bad enough. Jesus taught us we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, to be the light that shines on a hill, to spread the good news to every creature. He told us that others would know that we are Christians by our love for one another, not by our angry so-called righteous indignation. 

I hope that all of the people in America who call themselves Christians, especially those who call themselves "fundamentalists," will take a leaf out of the Gunn High School students' book, and get back to the basics of what Jesus taught us: pure love trumps hate every time; he taught us to overwhelm the world with the former, and to have no part in the latter. 

With all of the plethora of Christian denominations and non-denominations in America, I say that the purest and most righteous Christians in the entire country right now are students at Gunn High School, whether they call themselves that or not. They overwhelmed the haters with love, and were a light on a hill. My prayer is that their light will shine far and wide across this entire country, spreading the good news.

So I don't worry about the "haters." I'm beholding the beautiful lilies of Gunn High School. Life is good, and I am grateful. 

Easter Unveils A Mysterious Universe

"What if we were to understand the resurrection and ascension not as the bodily translation of some individuals to another world--a mythology no longer credible to us--but as the promise of God to be permanently present, 'bodily' present to us, in all places and times in our world? In what ways would we think of the relationship between God and the world were we to experiment with the metaphor of the universe as God's 'body,' God's palpable presence in all space and time?" --Sally McFague, The Body of God: An Ecological Theology

It is pleasant to remember today that I am an Easter person; that we who trust in the teachings of Jesus are Easter people; children of the resurrection.

But what does that mean exactly?

According to the book of John:

19 Later on, in the evening of the same day, which was the first day of the week, the disciples met behind closed doors for fear of the Jews. Jesus went and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be unto you."

20 As he said this, he showed them his hands and his side, and the disciples were glad when they saw him.

21 Then Jesus said to them again, "Peace be unto you. As the Father has sent me, I send you."

22 As he said this he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

23 If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you don't forgive their sins, it's on you."

24 But Thomas, who was one of the original twelve followers of Jesus, and who was also called Didymus (which means Twin) was not there when Jesus first showed up and spoke to them.

25 So when he got there the others said to him, "We've seen the Lord." But he said, "Unless I see the nail holes in his hands and put my hand through the gashes in his side, I won't believe a word of it."

26 Eight days later, the disciples met again behind closed doors, and Thomas was with them. Jesus appeared as if by magic in the room with them, not having come through the door, which had been closed, and he said, "Peace be with you."

27 Then Jesus said to Thomas, "Hold out your finger and put it here in the holes in my hands; and hold out your hand and put it into the gash in my side. Don't doubt what your eyes are telling you is true. Believe."

28 Thomas answered, " My Lord! My God!"

29 Jesus said to Thomas, "You believe because you've seen with your own eyes that I am risen from the dead. Even more blessed are those who believe without having seen." (John 20:19-29, BHTL version)

There are several important messages here. The first is that these guys are scared--their leader, who they thought was going to defy the church leaders, the governor, and the Roman Empire, is dead. Well, they thought he was; they saw him killed, after all. And then, "poof," like magic he shows up in the middle of a room with a locked door. The first thing he says to them when he shows up is "Peace." In other gospel accounts he says, "Don't be afraid." The message is the same regardless of the specific greeting: "Yes, this is freaky, but don't be afraid. I'm here with you right now--you are not alone."

The second important message is about the Holy Spirit, or the Breath of God. In Genesis it says that as God created all of the living things of the Earth, including man, he breathed into them the breath of life. Jesus does it again in this book--what happened to it in between? Did all of creation stop breathing? Of course not. But there is this mysterious thing that all living things have that animates us that no one understands: what is it that leaves the body when we die, that mysterious something that is us? Medical doctors and scientists are as yet unable to definitively answer this question. Though we can't say what it is, we know when it isn't here anymore.

They saw "it" leave Jesus' body when he died, saw him dead, but here he is, walking and talking, and breathing on them. I don't know what "it" is anymore than anyone else does, but I can guess: it is what connects us in spirit to our Creator; the implication being that while we live in these fragile, temporary bodies, our breath is on loan to us from God.

The disciples are afraid, only meeting behind locked doors. Jesus breathes their faith right back into them; gives them spiritual mouth-to-mouth; reconnects them to the Creator.

The third thing that's going on here concerns doubt. How do I know this little scene behind closed doors ever happened? I don't. There are four different accounts of it in the New Testament, and they all have different takes on these events (though the stories generally agree). How do I know someone hasn't tampered with this story? (I'm pretty sure it's been tampered with and manipulated a lot over the millennia, and not for the purpose of clarifying, either.) And even if I do believe that all of this happened, on the word of a few folks who didn't even write the story down for around 30 years at best, how can I explain all this supernatural stuff?

I can't. And I don't have to. That's not the point of the story. Thomas is the only real scientist in the group. Though he's been ridiculed for doubting for over 2000 years, I think he showed real bravery. He was the only one in the group willing to apply the scientific method to the situation, and because of that I'm most apt to buy his story over the others'. My great-grandmother used to say, "Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see." Apparently Thomas subscribed to this philosophy also. He wanted proof. Evidence.

And Jesus condemned him for this. NO! That's not what happened. Jesus was patient and encouraged him to investigate. Jesus did not ask him to go back outside and check his brain at the door. What we can learn from this is that there is no penalty for skepticism. We are all encouraged as Thomas was to investigate further; to question. In the end Thomas believes, based on the evidence.

The Universe is enormous and mysterious. For every question scientists answer through discovery, another dozen questions (at least) emerge. More mysteries and wonders invite further investigation. What this tells me is that the Universe is friendly. God is friendly and encourages investigation, and rewards our curiosity with beautiful wonders.

And what about the resurrection itself; that troublesome supernatural event that some Christians say you have to believe happened in order to be saved. Did Jesus really rise up from the dead? I don't know. I wasn't there. What I do know is that it doesn't really matter--the power of Jesus' resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven is in the story and what we can learn from it, and how those of us who choose to follow Jesus behave as a result of the work it does in us.

In his book "Thank God for Evolution," Michael Dowd says:

"I can resurrect virtually any troubled relationship via the same path Jesus incarnated: humble myself and take on the experience of the other, die to my own perspective as "the truth," take responsibility for doing the reconciling, be generous and compassionate in my communication, act with a grateful and faithful heart, and harbor no attachment that my effort should yield any particular outcome."

Today I am reminded that I am an Easter person, daily resurrected into the mysterious body of God, not alone in this friendly Universe. Life is good, and I am grateful.

Every thought is a prayer. Every action is a meditation.

Photograph by Jonathan Aspensen.

I used to beat myself up a lot for not praying the way I thought I should. Of course the way I thought I should was the way someone or another had taught was the "right" way to pray. Some teach that you have to do it at a certain time of day; some that you have to say it a certain way; others that you must pray in a language that even you don't understand, and that if you don't then that's evidence you haven't been "anointed by the Holy Spirit," and therefore haven't been "saved."

What I finally figured out was that Jesus already dealt with all of that in his teachings, and made it really, really simple:

5 And when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in churches and on the street corners, so everyone will see them. But I'm telling you, the attention they get while they're putting on such a spectacle is their reward. 6 But when you pray, do it privately and where no one can see you, praying to God who meets you in the solitude of your secret place, and receive your reward accordingly. 7 And don't just say the same old tired prayers over and over again, because it's not a contest to see who can say a memorized prayer the most times. 8 So don't be like them: God knows what you need before you even ask. (Matthew 6:5-8, BHTL version)

A few weeks ago, one of my colleagues gave a Japanese Sumi-e painting demonstration for my Art Club students. He explained to them that Sumi-e painting isn't just a watercolor painting technique, but a meditation; and each step in the process of Sumi-e painting is a meditation in itself. Grinding the pigment. Mixing the paint. Visualizing the finished painting. Loading the brush with paint. Making the brush strokes.

I had put on some traditional Japanese Koto and Shakuhachi music to get us all in the mood, and the students were nothing less than enraptured. When it was their turn to try the painting, it struck me that they all looked like they were praying. They didn't have their eyes closed, but they were very still and focused, pictures of intense concentration.

Photograph by Jonathan Aspensen

This past Thursday my husband and I went to Washington, D.C. to see the Cherry Blossoms on the peak day. This is the third year in a row that we have done this. As we walked around the tidal basin (which takes about an hour and a half), we saw some Buddhist monks who were there enjoying the blossoms as well. On any given day in D.C. you will see many people from many countries taking in the sites. Somehow seeing the monks brought to my mind the reality that enjoying the beauty of the Cherry Blossoms, the sunshine, the mild breeze and pleasant temperature--all of these things were a kind of prayer. The monks were praying. I was praying. Everyone was praying.

In the same way that the grinding of the pigment for Sumi-e painting is a meditation, every step I took around the tidal basin was a meditation. Every breath was a prayer, breathing in (thank you), breathing out (thank you). I was immersed in the beauty of creation, grateful to God and the Japanese Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo who gave us the trees, and grateful to the trees themselves for persevering through the 3 feet of snow that was on the ground just a month and a half ago (many of them had lost low-hanging limbs to the weight of the snow, which had to be cut off, but the trees were as beautiful and hearty as ever).

Even in the public place of the tidal basin, I was able to meet God in the solitude of my secret place, that place inside of me where the "still small voice" resides when I am quiet enough to hear it. Every silent, internal "thank you" was rewarded with yet more beautiful blossoms to enjoy, more soothing breezes, more sunshine, still more beauty. I most definitely received my reward, and it was so worth it.

You may not be able to enjoy the Cherry Blossoms, but there is beauty all around us. A bird on the windowsill in the grayest of concrete cities. A dandelion growing through the crack in a sidewalk. A smile on the face of a friend. The kindness of a stranger. These are all ways that our great Creator whispers "I love you" to us, and when we take notice of the beauty and say "thank you" back from the solitude of our secret place, we are praying. When we breathe in the beauty around us, and exhale our gratitude, we are meditating on the greatness of God.

Life is good. Be grateful, and be happy.