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How Buddhists and Christians can both be right.

Posted September 21st, 2009 by Greg Mayers

I think I must be a rare example of Integral Principle in practice. (Please excuse my arrogance and bragging – but we ain’t going to get anywhere if we aren’t willing to abandon affected modesty and be intellectually honest in these blogs.) My understanding of the principle is summarized by KW: Everyone is right. I live a paradox in which two traditions live in me, or I live in them, I don’t know which. I embrace fully the irreducible Christian claims, they are simply obvious to me; and I lost track of the number of kenshos I’ve had – Zen Buddhism makes perfect sense to me. It’s a paradox. I refuse to water down or conflate either Zen Buddhism or Christianity. I take each of them at their word and on their own terms. I live comfortably in both traditions, or to speak oxymoronically, I have two primary spiritual addresses.

Many on this site seems to be caught in the either/or exclusivity. They seem to draw arbitrary spiritual lines in the sand and then do all kinds of egocentric maneuvers around the fabricated barrier. The Buddhist/Vedantic sympathizers organizes cross boarders raids into the Christian zones and loot their terminology bringing it back claiming it as a Buddhist/Vedantic teaching in disguise. The Christians get accused of one-upmanship by trying to make that great Tradition superior to all others, when in fact they are just being faithful to the persistent Christian claim. They can’t do otherwise and be Christian.

On the other hand, those on this site also have a legitimate beef when they encounter Christians who enjoy burning pagans at the stake, because they love them so much, of course. The obvious self delusion and spiritual narcissism of this approach to the “outsider” is generally not lost on most thinking people. I also want to point out that the Buddhist/Vedantic and material-scientific perspectives can also be oblivious to the same self-delusion and narcissism when they raid or reject the Christian claims, burning them at the intellectual stake for the sake of the love of truth. If this pattern keeps going on we are going to end up with a pile of ashes.

Look, I’m not saying there aren’t any differences between traditions. There clearly are. As Cameron has said elsewhere, Buddhism and Christianity are superficially similar, but fundamentally different. But deep differences are not impenetrable barriers! I’m living proof of that.

If I can serenely and respectful live in two traditions simultaneously, anyone can do it, without relinquishing any of their current convictions. I’m actually not exceptional at all – I’m just persistent. Just step into the world space of paradox that Integral Theory illuminates: Everyone is right. If that is accurate, then one should be able to hopscotch from one to another tradition and not step on the lines, occasionally standing in two boxes at once without difficult or anxiety.

Greg Mayers

Zen taught me everything I can do

Christianity taught me everything I can’t do

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