religious choices

As I was leaving the house this morning, I grabbed my mum's car keys and proceeded to head out the door. I got to the garage and my mum's Camry was nowhere to be found, so I went inside and asked where she was at. My sisters said that she leaves really early in the morning to pray at temple. I thought it was kind of ironic because here she is going by herself to temple when her son wants to borrow her car to go to church.

Pastor Chanh's talk today was on meditation, which I found kind of coincidental. Obviously it means something different to Christians as it does to Buddhists, so I settled in to hear what he was going to orate about. Chanh has this evangelical fire and brimstone way, so you know you are at least going to be entertained, if not partially offended in some way, on what he's going to lecture about.

He introduced the topic by making sure to separate the physical aspects of meditation with the religious aspects: Meditation = f(godliness) as opposed to f(health). He was then rather quick to lump holistic health and eastern religions including Buddhism together, touting them as paths to clearing your mind and reaching enlightenment. This said with a hint of a scoff. He said, "Anyone can meditate on a mechanical level", which I agree with, but he was rather happy to put Christian meditation on a pedestal and not explore the benefits of spiritual cleansing from the Buddhist point of view. Admittedly, this is a church and perhaps that's a talk for another time and place.

So the Christian approach to meditation is to meditate on God's word. He identified three things the Godly avoid according to Psalm 1:1-3:
1. Counsel of the wicked
(thinking, perceiving and valuing those things that are worldly;
Christians hold to their own ideas)
2. [Standing] in the path of sinners
(taking the actions, behaviors, lifestyle of the world;
Christians are not shaped by the world)
3. [Sitting] in the seat of scoffers
(identifying with groups that mock the world of God)

The message I see here is the classic message of deontology - hold to your principles and never let anyone change them. Segregate yourselves from the world because we are "better than that".

So all background aside, what are we talking about here? If Pastor Chanh says that the main purpose of meditation is to "reflect on God's word for the purpose of application", what are we to do? Are we to separate ourselves from anyone who does not stand by God? Are we to alienate those that do not believe in JC? What is the message he (deliberately ambiguous he) is sending to us on what we should do? If there is such a crisis that we must save our fellow man from the clutches of the Devil, how can we do so when we are meditating on how best to separate ourselves from our fellow man?

This is one of my biggest concerns with the Christian way of life. I was so deeply moved by this religion when I first came to it because it was beautiful in its principles - on paper it sets rules and criterion to hold by with answers to every question you might have. A leads to B, and if B then C. Elegant. But the more I deal with Christians the more I see hypocrisy. I see those who live by the way of God, but the ones who stand out are the ones that don't. Then they go and repent, and Jesus absolves them of blame. In ACTION, how are Christians any different from anyone else in the world? How are they so different from Buddhists? How can they stand in front of the church preaching that they are going to Heaven, when my mom kneels in the swirling incense of the temple and she is going to Hell. I see no difference in the lives that they lead that makes me believe their actions are any different. I sat down with God in the pew today and asked him to clarify this for me in the next coming weeks, because it's relevant and important, and central to why I don't call myself a Christian or a Buddhist. I'm opening this up to you because what I talk about with my peers is also what I talk about with God. He's a homey too - gotta tell him about what's going on in my life.

Principles are principles on paper.
Actions are the purpose of these principles.
If actions do not equate to the Word,
I see no purpose in principle.

So I thought it funny when I was walking to my car after sermon, and there hanging from my rear view mirror was a little Buddhist keychain. In front, Jesus. Look in the mirror and it's Buddha.