California

Like your site a lot. But I just can't get behind re-incarnation. It seems to me neither zen, nor christian, nor science. I can see the logical pull towards it, but I think of it as another of the many "attachments" that must be relinquished somewhere along the path. Thanks again for your efforts.

Hartland VT

Hi - Zen freed me from any guilty feelings I had about leaving organized religion. I finally posted a book I wrote way back in 1986 when I was better read and more capable of serious thought. It is a free book, so maybe you can get a thought or two from it? Find it at http://sites.google.com/site/thezenwayback/. Kent

The aim of Zen is no Zen.Zen is just a finger pointing at the moon;look to the moon,not to the finger.
Can the same be said of Christianity?

You are my first stop in my exploration of the possibility of zen and Christianity are compatible. Somewhere along the way I took a wrong turn in my Christian life and I am cranky, narrow-minded and ever clucking quietly in my mind at the wrongness of everybody else. I'm tired of myself. I remember being drawn to Christianity by the goodness, kindness and love of God. How did I end up here? I recognize that everything you've said may well be heresy, but right now I'm not thinking that my brand of Christianity is likely the real thing either. May God love and direct us both as we need. Thanks for your thoughts.

Just as a clarification, most of what this article talks about *is* in contradiction to Biblically focussed Christianity. That should be obvious, but unfortunately, not everything in this world is as clear as it should be.

Your page is appreciated. I have been reading and following a Zen and meditation path with various forms of Christianity for a few years. There's a lot of religious confusion out there and having so many choices seems to be making it harder. Having something "certain" felt good as a child, but these things don't last through life these days for most. Sometimes, meditation is the only source of truth for me...

moi

I Am the Origianl zen christian

how dare you re-interpert w/out my permission.

i could SUE

Maha John

postscript, where is sophia charas?

post-postscript- thank you to the man who "served" in the mideast for his beautiful and of moment Koan.

Emerald Heart Rays -
M

Iowa

just spent a year in Iraq/in the moment
should be dead/thank you Jesus
i dig zen/thank you Kerouac
if you meet "religion" on the road, kill it

Guatemala

I agree with you, sometimes people dont care of taking care of knowing themselfes, that is important because you notice that the limits that you put to youself are not completly real, and we take responsability of our acts, isntead of blaming God

US - Texas

Interesting web site...I see a quantitatively impressive amount of zen-christian ideas that I have come to on my own, and thought original in a sense.
Just a few thoughts for contemplation:
-Zen Christianity is congruent with Soren Kirkegaard's philosophies (father of existentialism).
Perhaps "Existentialism" is the Western equivalent with the East's "Zen". ...and both are elusive, yet practical.
-Read the All and Everything Series by G. I. Gurdjieff
&
-Watch the movie "Waking Life" by Richard Linklater

Both seem to explore the amalgamation of existentialism and zen, west and east, and christianity and contemplation...

I have so many ideas on the subject, but I must be going.
Syonara
-Hanzu

[originally posted 22/Aug/2002:09:56:52]

[originally posted 26/May/2002:19:17:59]

I am continually trying to justify my my belief that a zen path should be followed, but trying to be a "christian". I feel that the way of zen is simply a way to stop being dragged around by our "ego" mind, which causes all our suffering and to be happy despite it. I have made progress. At first only with great difficulty would I stop judging, conceptualizing, and needing. Now as I do so my mind will spontaneously switch to zen mind and I realize what I am doing and stop. It gets easier week by week and the results seem to be cummulitive. Enlighten-ment, maybe never. Happiness...maybe soon. May God help me.

Sheffield, UK

Hello, say what you think, or feel, or both. Note the possibility of posting a private comment.

This is a reincarnation of this guestbook (it was on BeSeen originally), so I'll copy over the previous entries though their date/times won't be right, but that's reincarnation for you.