"The sacrament of the present moment."
May 20, 2015 22:06:37 #
Each moment is the best and holiest thing that could happen to us, no matter the duty, sacrifice, temptation , or trial we may face. God, grace,and faith are found only in the moment. And also truth.
"If I did not simply live one moment to the next, it would be impossible for me to keep my patience. I can see only the present, I forget the past and take good care not to think about the future.We get discouraged and feel despair because we brood about the past and the future.It is such folly to spend one's time fretting, instead of resting quietly, without effort, on the heart of Jesus.
"If I did not simply live one moment to the next, it would be impossible for me to keep my patience. I can see only the present, I forget the past and take good care not to think about the future.We get discouraged and feel despair because we brood about the past and the future.It is such folly to spend one's time fretting, instead of resting quietly, without effort, on the heart of Jesus.
May 21, 2015 13:08:21 #
This title: "The sacrament of the present moment" has such a connotation of fragile futility, I am drawn to comment"
The quotes and remarks in parenthesis, other than scripture, are from the following article:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/sep/21/zen-buddhism-lessons
It is the claim of modern Zen Buddhist teachers, according to the above lesson, that
They also claim
The word "zen" is the Japanese way of pronouncing "chan", which is, in turn, the Chinese way of pronouncing the Indian Sanskrit term"dhyana" or "sunya", which, in the teaching of Hinduism, means emptiness or void.
They are, therefore, always in the moment, but they are not in Jesus Christ.
In their view, the view of Eastern Religious Mysticism,
Furthermore, they see
The Bible, however, teaches us, "By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own..." Hebrews 11:9
Zen Buddism further insists that you
To live without the value of a past from which we have learned, and a future to which we aspire in hope, life has no meaning.
For all zen writers, life is, (or so they claim)
Middle Eastern Mysticism, in tying to be wise, asserts:
Jesus never taught reincarnation. He taught, ..."each person is destined to die once and after that to face judgment," Hebrews 9:27
Life is a continuum into the eternal, an eternity where we will meet God face to face, and that is something to which we may look forward.
Jesus said, because of our Christian faith, He is with us every moment, every hour, and every day, throughout life.
and He said, It is fitting that we do the works of Him who has sent me while it is day; the night is coming in which a man cannot work. John 9:4
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of time." Matthew 28:19-20
This leaves us with no reason to either brood or to feel despair.
The quotes and remarks in parenthesis, other than scripture, are from the following article:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/sep/21/zen-buddhism-lessons
It is the claim of modern Zen Buddhist teachers, according to the above lesson, that
Quote:
"living in the moment" is "a view now supported by modern science, which sees phenomena at a sub-atomic level popping in and out of existence in a quantum froth." and that "this too, accords with modern scientific knowledge."
They also claim
Quote:
"...life had no intrinsic meaning, any more than a piece of music had an intrinsic point. Life is, in zen parlance, yugen a kind of elevated purposelessness."
The word "zen" is the Japanese way of pronouncing "chan", which is, in turn, the Chinese way of pronouncing the Indian Sanskrit term"dhyana" or "sunya", which, in the teaching of Hinduism, means emptiness or void.
Quote:
This is the basis of Zen Buddhism itself that all life and existence is based on a kind of dynamic emptiness."
They are, therefore, always in the moment, but they are not in Jesus Christ.
In their view, the view of Eastern Religious Mysticism,
Quote:
as they claim, "there is no difference between matter and energy,"
Quote:
"Look at anything closely enough even a rock or a table and you will see that it is an event, not a thing. Every thing is, in truth, happening."
Furthermore, they see
Quote:
- as they believe not in Montheism, but in Monism, "One is all, and All is one;" - "no multiplicity of events, but only one event, with multiple aspects, unfolding, believing"
Quote:
"We are not just separate egos locked in bags of skin. We come out of the world, not into it. We are each expressions of the world, not strangers in a strange land, flukes of consciousness in a blind, stupid universe, as evolutionary science teaches us."
The Bible, however, teaches us, "By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own..." Hebrews 11:9
Quote:
as they complain that "The emphasis on the present moment is perhaps zen's most distinctive characteristic,
Quote:
The Zen Buddhist teacher is proud that they, to the contrary, "In our western relationship with time, in which we compulsively pick over the past in order to learn lessons from it, and then project into a hypothetical future in which those lessons can be applied, the present moment has been compressed to a tiny sliver on the clock face between a vast past and an infinite future.
Quote:
"more than anything else, is about reclaiming and expanding the present moment."
Zen Buddism further insists that you
Quote:
for to them, "try to understand, without arguing the point, that there is no purpose in getting anywhere if, when you get there, all you do is think about getting to some other future moment,
Quote:
"life exists only in the present, or nowhere at all, - and if you cannot grasp that you are simply living a fantasy."
To live without the value of a past from which we have learned, and a future to which we aspire in hope, life has no meaning.
For all zen writers, life is, (or so they claim)
Quote:
"as it was for Shakespeare, akin to a dream transitory and insubstantial. There is no "rock of ages cleft for me". There is no security. Looking for security, Watts said, is like jumping off a cliff while holding on to a rock for safety an absurd illusion."
Middle Eastern Mysticism, in tying to be wise, asserts:
Quote:
"Everything passes and you must die. Don't waste your time thinking otherwise. Neither Buddha nor his zen followers had time for any notion of an afterlife. The doctrine of reincarnation can be more accurately thought about as a constant rebirth, of death throughout life, and the continual coming and going of universal energy, of which we are all part, before and after death."
Jesus never taught reincarnation. He taught, ..."each person is destined to die once and after that to face judgment," Hebrews 9:27
Life is a continuum into the eternal, an eternity where we will meet God face to face, and that is something to which we may look forward.
MysticSuzie wrote:
Each moment is the best and holiest thing that cou... (show quote)
Jesus said, because of our Christian faith, He is with us every moment, every hour, and every day, throughout life.
and He said, It is fitting that we do the works of Him who has sent me while it is day; the night is coming in which a man cannot work. John 9:4
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of time." Matthew 28:19-20
This leaves us with no reason to either brood or to feel despair.
May 21, 2015 13:45:07 #
If there is God, and if HE/SHE/IT is wearing a watch, all 12 positions simply say, "now."
May 21, 2015 13:53:08 #
dennisimoto wrote:
If there is God, and if HE/SHE/IT is wearing a watch, all 12 positions simply say, "now."
Are you speaking of the twelve positions of power yoga, - performed while standing in left field??
May 21, 2015 19:10:22 #
Zemirah wrote:
Are you speaking of the twelve positions of power yoga, - performed while standing in left field??
Actually, I intended to speak of a wristwatch with the numerical 1-12 replaced by the word "now" repeated 12 times on its face. Because, to God, it is always, "now." Strangely, I went to a gathering of folks at noon and one of the people who spoke stated almost word for word what you explained about Buddhism above. When I hear something twice in a short time I become aware that I'm being communicated with.
May 22, 2015 00:34:55 #
Zemirah wrote:
This title: "The sacrament of the present mom... (show quote)
The quoted passage has nothing whatsoever to do with Buddhism, as you claim. It is from Saint Teresa, a Christian mystic,
May 22, 2015 00:39:52 #
Zemirah wrote:
This title: "The sacrament of the present mom... (show quote)
Comparing everything to what you think you know and your pat theology does not honor truth.
May 22, 2015 00:42:50 #
Zemirah wrote:
Are you speaking of the twelve positions of power yoga, - performed while standing in left field??
Are you rational? What does that have to do in any way with what I said?
May 22, 2015 00:43:00 #
Zemirah wrote:
Are you speaking of the twelve positions of power yoga, - performed while standing in left field??
Are you rational? What does that have to do in any way with what I said?
May 28, 2015 08:40:49 #
dennisimoto wrote:
Actually, I intended to speak of a wristwatch with the numerical 1-12 replaced by the word "now" repeated 12 times on its face. Because, to God, it is always, "now." Strangely, I went to a gathering of folks at noon and one of the people who spoke stated almost word for word what you explained about Buddhism above. When I hear something twice in a short time I become aware that I'm being communicated with.
God doesn't require your wristwatch. God exists outside of time. Man, however, does not. Our days on earth are numbered. We are on a linear timetable while on this earth, with a beginning and end.
It is wise to refrain from wasting our allotted time in a meditative trance, contemplating one's own navel.
May 28, 2015 08:50:08 #
MysticSuzie wrote:
Comparing everything to what you think you know and your pat theology does not honor truth.
My only theology is the written word of God.
Jesus said, in praying to God, the Father, "Thy word is truth."
John 17:17 "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth."
May 28, 2015 08:54:00 #
MysticSuzie wrote:
Are you rational? What does that have to do in any way with what I said?
Quote:
Interesting. My thought exactly. Are you rational?
May 28, 2015 09:37:41 #
MysticSuzie wrote:
The quoted passage has nothing whatsoever to do with Buddhism, as you claim. It is from Saint Teresa, a Christian mystic,
Really??? The author is a Jesuit, one of Roman Catholicism's Holy
Warriors.
Teresa may, at some point, have quoted from de Caussade, however, she did not originate one word of it, nor did her name even appear in an online search of the title.
It is Eastern Religious Mysticism in concept, and in reality, irregardless of the author- de Caussade's affiliations.
Jean Pierre de Caussade (7 March 1675 8 December 1751) was a French Jesuit priest and writer known for his work "Abandonment to Divine Providence," also translated as The Sacrament of the Present Moment" in Nancy, France.
Jean-Pierre de Caussade was born in Toulouse, France, and was ordained a member of the Society of Jesus in 1708. In 1731, he was appointed spiritual director of the Jesuit retreat house in Nancy, where he undertook the spiritual direction of the Nuns of the Visitation. It is the notes of his addresses to the nuns that form this book.
Caussade believed that the present moment is a sacrament from God and that self-abandonment to it and its needs is a holy state a belief which, at first glance, would appear to be heretical relative to Catholic dogma.
It is heretical relative to Holy Scripture.
In fact, because of this fear (especially with the Church's condemnation of the Quietist movement), Caussade's instructions to the sisters were kept unpublished until 1861, and even then they were edited (by fellow Jesuit Henri Ramière) before publication.
Please note this:
Quote:
Writers such as Alan Watts have found in Caussade an Occidental, Christian-theological analogue to the Eastern religion of Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Zen Buddhism.
The above quote is from Wikipedia.
My original message was (in the moment) based on thirty five years of study/research in Comparative Religion, done without a search.
May 28, 2015 12:19:16 #
Zemirah wrote:
God doesn't require your wristwatch. God exists outside of time. Man, however, does not. Our days on earth are numbered. We are on a linear timetable while on this earth, with a beginning and end.
It is wise to refrain from wasting our allotted time in a meditative trance, contemplating one's own navel.
It is wise to refrain from wasting our allotted time in a meditative trance, contemplating one's own navel.
Gotcha there, kiddo. Hernia surgery removed my belly button years ago. Consider: "God gave us memory that we may have roses in December." We do imagine that we live in a linear "time" but really, "now" is all the time there is.
May 29, 2015 01:29:36 #
Zemirah wrote:
This title: "The sacrament of the present mom... (show quote)
My thread quotes a recognized Christian saint, not a Zen Buddhist. That you may have trouble with the lingo not being pastorized in church is unfortunate. Jesus instructed us not to dwell on the past or fret about the future: what is left? Where else can we meet and be and act in Christ than now. Now is all there is.
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