A friend of mine inquired about my interest in Taoist Budda a while back and I’ve got to admit, until the last few weeks, Budda was never on my Radar. I believe it was God above that causes a convergence of things to lead me into a group with a Taoist Budda ethos with the aim of helping those with addiction. Recently, I’ve reconnected with many friends with high school. It’s crazy because from my perspective we all went our separate ways and unless it’s a re-gathering of the core group, I don’t see much reason to go back. Starting in 1987, I drove my best friend Jefe and two very lovely ladies to school for almost two years. One of those ladies had a sister who was let’s her own person from way back in the day and most intelligent and righteous in a girl kind of way.
Another partner in crime, Diamond Dave and I doubled once for prom or something and we had a great time. Dave took the sister, an I took one of the most smoking fine girls in all the school, how that happened, IDK but it did and I praise God for it because God is smoking fine too and he’s rock hard solid like a promise that doesn’t bounce and a check you can’t trounce.
Well this sister girl, we’ll call her yo yo sista gurl [YYSG] also has a very interesting art connection with a lady that drops the bomb on quilting which I am SO SO interested in. I got a text out of the BLUE inviting me to experience a ‘Free Hug’ and gather for coffee with her, her husband. Being where I was and really thinking that a free hug would be nice…and they are, I left work on-time (Praise GOD) and went out in the rain for some Budda style coffee. We could get into the whole, “Is a hug really free thing, but we’ll save that for another post”
This greeting thing has got me interested lately, I’m finding that how you say hello and communicate affection with your posse is vital. For what it’s worth, the whole guy hugging guy thing can be a little weird if you don’t understand what’s really going on…and it does take a while. And I’m not even going to mention the guy kissing a guy thing which is out there but could possibly be Biblical..IDK…just saying (we’ll address that in another post). Grateful and I for the guys who are willing to bridge that ‘hug’ gap and step up to showing ‘holy’ affection because I NEED IT! Even a good ‘hello’ and a smile or a joke can make ALL the DIFFERENCE in my day. So I was intrigued. As the dialog continued, I learned that this is a place where I can actually dialog with others in a free-form format, which I might add is especially helpful in peeling theological and humanist onions. AND they want to help people with addictions, of which I most obviously have with Facebook. The time was good and I learned something two valuable things.
A horse has a long face that gets no sugar cube. No seriously, I hang out with a ton of non-God and long distance God people and they’ve got lots of interests and ideas about spirituality, some of them I have never investigated or read about which could be tantamount to being a spiritual virgin. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but if you don’t know the language and culture it’s hard to connect. Rick Warren once challenged me with a saying that went kind of like this…If God can keep a fish from tasting salty when you eat it after spending it’s entire life in brine, then he can protect you when you’re in the world. The big G has got some serious deep pocket resources and he’s got this creative thing going on that, to my knowledge has never been duplicated. With all my heart I have come to depend on promises from a trustworthy source called TRUTH, so I’m interested in where others call their source and how they answer four vital questions about life.
- Where did I come from?
- Why am I here?
- What happens when they put me in the dirt?
And what about Budda, who is he and what does he offer? Honestly, I can’t answer that, but I know he wants people to stop and reflect before they respond and to treat others with respect. Is that uniquely Budda, well, I don’t think so, but it’s attracted some serious followers who may or may not have a concept for lasting, undeniable TRUTH. Call me Truth-centric, it all depends on a promise and a promise giver who gives something you can take to the bank of all time.
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Tolkien wrote well about multiple perspectives of God. Aslan forgave those that worshipped what some thought of as a devil-like creature, and said that the actions and the hearts of the worshippers were what mattered, that in worshipping their God, they were worshipping him. Of course it all gets more confusing when a) actions of worship are more controversial, less peaceful; b) people choose their religion as a multiple choice activity, rather than wrestling with and finding ways to marry the religion in which they and their ancestors were raised; and c) people are born with a mish-mash of various ancestral religious histories. What an exciting time to inherit the earth; Globalization brings such interesting challenges and opportunities.
I recently saw the movie, “Eat, Pray, Love”. The following day I bought and spent the next week reading the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. The book is about a year of Elizabeth’s life that she spends basically finding herself during a very difficult time. She tells of encountering a guru along her spiritual journey and spends much time in India actually studying practicies of this guru. She mentions other religions and practices that I personally have not encountered throughout the book.
The movie, book, and the entire opportunity I experienced during this eat, pray, love adventure actually was a very healing and spiritual experience for me. I found that rather than being closed or turned off by the “other” religious experience that would be foreign to me, I actually was able to hear God speak to me about my life through her experience. It did not change my basic faith beliefs. I have not waivered in what I believe is Truth but I do think God can use all things to speak to His people if they can listen and hear Him.
So, just as I may have experiences from my spiritual journey that are unique to me and may differ in some respects to other religions, I hope they can be of value and encouragement to others. I recognize that not everyone will believe or think the same as I do, nor will I towards their beliefs…but I can appreciate and learn and grow from the journey of another fellow human being-afterall we are all created in His image.
I love what you are saying here…and I so agree, there is much we can learn from others even if they have a differing concept of TRUTH. Perhaps it’s buried in the ‘Go Make Disciples’ that God blesses our understanding of Him and his SWAYs =)
These are interesting challenges aren’t they…so EXCITING to be living in THESE DAYs!