Today one of my students and I had a wonderful dialogue during the break midway through our class. Daji is a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and the class covers the history of Contemplative Christianity. During our discussion, he told me that when he reads the story of the Fall in which Adam and Eve eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he sees this as a fall into the realm of DUALITY where contrasting qualities emerge and enter into conflict with one another. By contrast, he said, the Tree of Life, whose fruit the cosmic couple never ate, represents unity or NON-DUALITY. It is this enlightenment into non-duality that is the goal of Buddhist study and practice.
I then noted that for Christian Contemplatives - as well as for
mystical Muslims or Sufis - the world of duality in which the the
various opposites seem opposed to one another is actually NEEDED for any
one of us to realize enlightenment. We believe there would be no
awareness of Divine Union without first experiencing what seems to be
non-union or duality. Daji then mentioned Tibetan master Chogyam
Trungpa's idea that although ego and enlightenment seem to be opposites,
the suffering caused by ego is actually the PERFECT FUEL for
enlightenment. For without the burning of ego, there would be NO flash
of enlightenment.
Later in our conversation, Daji talked about the experience in Contemplative Christianity where Christ acts as a mirror in which we are finally able to see our true and sacred self. He mentioned how this actually corresponds to the Tibetan practice of "creation-and-completion." Here, during the creation phase, the practitioner visualizes one of the Tibetan deities or bodhisattvas (embodiments of compassion). Then, one brings that visualization within oneself (the completion phase) and identifies completely with the deity as a mirror of one's own true self. He said that the difference between the two traditions seems to be that while the Christian CONTINUES the Christ-visualization phase throughout his or her entire life - alternating it with the practice of completion or union - the Tibetan ENDS the process with the completion phase, when one's inner self once and for all BECOMES the visualized deity.
I really appreciated the honesty and openness on both sides in this dialogue, and very much valued Daji's interest in discussing both the commonalities and differences between the two traditions. As I walked back to my car after class, I marveled at the fact that Naropa University is such an amazing place for this kind of dialogue to occur. It made me wonder - in how many other places can one find this kind of meaningful interaction? I feel grateful to be able to teach in such an atmosphere of kindness and mutual respect.
Photo: Two Subalpine Firs at treeline, above Emerald Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, January 19, 2015
Later in our conversation, Daji talked about the experience in Contemplative Christianity where Christ acts as a mirror in which we are finally able to see our true and sacred self. He mentioned how this actually corresponds to the Tibetan practice of "creation-and-completion." Here, during the creation phase, the practitioner visualizes one of the Tibetan deities or bodhisattvas (embodiments of compassion). Then, one brings that visualization within oneself (the completion phase) and identifies completely with the deity as a mirror of one's own true self. He said that the difference between the two traditions seems to be that while the Christian CONTINUES the Christ-visualization phase throughout his or her entire life - alternating it with the practice of completion or union - the Tibetan ENDS the process with the completion phase, when one's inner self once and for all BECOMES the visualized deity.
I really appreciated the honesty and openness on both sides in this dialogue, and very much valued Daji's interest in discussing both the commonalities and differences between the two traditions. As I walked back to my car after class, I marveled at the fact that Naropa University is such an amazing place for this kind of dialogue to occur. It made me wonder - in how many other places can one find this kind of meaningful interaction? I feel grateful to be able to teach in such an atmosphere of kindness and mutual respect.
Photo: Two Subalpine Firs at treeline, above Emerald Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, January 19, 2015
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