What would you think about a catholic priest who teaches Zen meditation?
408712
Sounds like a pretty cool priest who is smart enough to know that Zen is not a religion, it is a philosophy, and there is nothing contrary to a Christian practicing Zen meditation.\n\nIn fact, it's a great way to relieve stress and decrease emotional disregulation.  It's psychologically healthy.  Cognitive therapists are beginning to use techniques taught in Zen, such as mindfulness, to treat a variety of mental illnesses with a pretty impressive success rate.  I'd say this priest is doing his best to help his parishoners.
142531
See a priest or cut the dosage.
962771
I know a bit about Hakuin, but I'm not familiar with "the great doubt."\n\nHowever, I looked it up, and my understanding--cursory as it is--is that a sudden realization comes upon a student of Zen after a perhaps years-long process of coming to.\n\nSo, it's both.\n\nWhich, given the practice of Zen, is fitting.
587290
There are some lovely meditations on the OSHO site.  They even have webcasting.  Take a look and enjoy...
941758
Be very careful about "web" priests. Anyone can pretend to be one.\n\nI suggest you walk down to your local parish and have a friendly chat with one in person.\n\nWith love in Christ.
1048120
Read about Thomas Merton.  He was a Trappist monk who became a Buddhist and remained a Catholic, a Trappist.  He also wrote poetry and went on speaking tours, and this while he was in an order that required a vow of silence.  The Catholic Church allowed him this freedom.\n\nSome websites you can go to for info about Buddhism are\n\nwww.religioustolerance.\n                                        org/buddhism.htm \nas well as \nwww.aiht.edu\n\nYour spirituality is an individual thing.  Your parents do not control this.  I hope they would encourage you to follow your heart.  If you show them what a loving, caring person you are as a result of your spiritual growth, they will have to share your joy.\n\nAnd do look up Thomas Merton.  He grew up in Canada and later moved to the USA.  His first book was an autobiography called The Seven Storey Mountain.
719648
Yes i do. He was a thinker who taught that in order for you to achieve happiness and inlightment you had to unattach yourself from things and concentrate. You must follow the 4 noble truths and a 8 way path in order to achieve this inlightment. He started buddhism.
1072366
Hi Tumirahdea,\nI met the ZagrosShahfaran once, a few weekends ago. I was walking to the corner market for a loaf of bread when I had to pass by a neighborhood church. I was somewhat acquainted with the structure as it was always mentioned in the newspaper's community section. Known as "The loft," folks would gather there on Thursday evenings for poetry readings.\nHowever, this day happened to be a Saturday afternoon and a pair of gentlemen greeted me as I walked by. They invited me inside to sample an hour of their presentation. Ok, I went inside and found myself to be a prospective new recruit for their brand of religion.\n\nMost of the pews were filled with hooded monks chanting a haunting rhythm. There were others who like me, were wearing their regular denims. The service began like most others that church-goers would be familiar with. A grand master of ceremonies led the group through some songs and gave a sermon. Near the end of the hour it was time for their ritual of "laying on of the hands." Some of the parishioners would come forward and ask for prayers for their ailments or for a sick grand mum who fell down in the tub. All the hooded dudes whose faces could not readily be seen would all place a hand on the person and their combined energies were presumed to have a strength and expedite a solution to the problem.\n\nOK now, there was another new guy in the pews who was watching eagerly. I recognized ZagrosShahfaran from a wanted poster viewed earlier at the post office. When he saw a chance, he approached the ring of conspirators and described how he was always moving around and never able to settle down. The hooded goons closed in upon him, all to make a physical connection. The master of ceremonies began a prayer, a dogmatic mix of logic and pure hocus-pocus. I immediately saw the effects of the procedure as the tension went out of ZagrosShahfaran's body. When the beseeching was near an end, the master asked, "Are the brothers ready?"\n\nA suspenseful few moments passed until he almost shouted, "NOW!"\n\nOn that cue, the brothers began to pummel their hapless victim. Continually delivering blows over head and to the solar plexus until ZagrosShahfaran was down on the floor getting stomped. After another minute, the grand Pooh-Bah decided the treatment administered was sufficient to induce a relaxing calm that would assuage the nervousness of ZagrosShahfaran for a long, long time.\n\nI can't say for certain if ZagrosShahfaran got the comeuppance he deserved as I had a loaf of bread to buy and some other errands to do that day. I hope for you Tumirahdea, that you do find a sense of closure to this difficult episode of life.\n\n-Bryce
1112465
Father, We come before you and ask your Mercy and grace for this person.  Please use this time to show him your love, compassion and power as he rests in your mercy.  Please restore him from the top of head to the soles of his feet.  Give the physicians the knowledge on how to treat him.  You are our Great Physician.  We ask for his life, and we pray your will in his life.  Lord change him so he will be able to share his testimony with others.  We ask this in Jesus Holy Name.  Amen.
7359
I would highly recommend a 10-day vipassana meditation course (http://www.dhamma.org/vipassan.htm... ) if you can get the time off. I think it's definitely worth it, so keep it in mind.\n\nIt's very intense, over 10 hours of meditation a day for 10 days, complete silence (except with the teachers), and guidance instructions basically broken up into hour-chunks. It might seem intimidating but it's very doable and you just need to have the intention to do it.\n\nAlso it's non-sectarian, anyone can practice it, and it's free from any dogma, blind belief, etc.\n\nAlso (again) the courses are free, by donation only, and no recommended or forced donation. Even the room and board are provided, because past students have found it to be beneficial so it's supported entirely by donation.\n\nVery intense but since it's so rigorous most people see distinct benefits after only 10 days.
1030426
http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/zenindex.html <<< koans\nhttp://www.hsuyun.org/Dharma/zbohy/Literature/essays/sangha-essays/reflections.html\n\nDeveloped from CH’an a school of Chinese Buddhism formed in the Seventh century from a blend of Taoism (Chinese philosophy outlined in the TaoTeChing). It aims is to achieve harmony with all that is by pursuing inaction and effortless) and Mahayana teachings. The school stressed experience rather than learning. One of the heroes of Zen is the fierce – looking Indian monk Boddhidharma who brought Buddhism to China.\n\nAbsolute faith is placed in a person’s own inner being. Zen came to Japan in the 13th century five centuries after the orthodox forms of Buddhism. It appealed because of its emphasis on the uselessness of words and the insistence of action without thought.\n\nZen teaches the possibility of enlightenment in the here and now, unlike the tendency that have developed in other strands of Buddhism as far off goals. It teaches that enlightenment is a spontaneous event, totally independent of concepts, techniques or rituals. Zen Monks are based on doing things, learning through experience.\n\nEsoterically regarded, Zen is not a religion but rather an indefinable, incommunicable (fukasetsu) root, free from all names, descriptions, and concepts, that can only be experienced by each individual for him- or herself. From expressed forms of this, all religions have sprung. In this sense Zen is not bound to any religion, including Buddhism. It is the primordial perfection of everything existing, designated by the most various names, experienced by all great sages, saints, and founders of religions of all cultures and times. Buddhism has referred to it as the "identity of samsara and nirvana." From this point of view zazen is not a "method" that brings people living in ignorance (avidya) to the "goal" of liberation; rather it is the immediate expression and actualization of the perfection present in every person at every moment.
834866
Meditation... Towards a Stress Free Life \n \n\nMeditation: What it is !!!  \nAn ordinary person may consider meditation as a worship or prayer. But it is not so. Meditation means awareness. Whatever you do with awareness is meditation. "Watching your breath" is meditation; listening to the birds is meditation. As long as these activities are free from any other distraction to the mind, it is effective meditation.\n\nMeditation is not a technique but a way of life. Meditation means 'to join together or to yoke' . It describes a state of consciousness, when the mind is free of scattered thoughts and various patterns . The observer (one who is doing meditation) realizes that all the activity of the mind is reduced to one.\n\nA Tibetan Lama was being monitored on a brain scan machine by a scientist wishing to test physiological functions during deep meditation. The scientist said - "Very good Sir. The machine shows that you are able to go very deep in brain relaxation, and that validates your meditation". "No", said the Lama, "This (pointing to his brain) validates the machine!".\n\nThese days it is commonly understood to mean some form of spiritual practice where one sits down with eyes closed and empties the mind to attain inner peace, relaxation or even an experience of God. Some people use the term as "my gardening is my meditation" or for jogging or art or music, hence creating confusion or misunderstanding.\n\nThe word meditation, is derived from two Latin words : meditari(to think, to dwell upon, to exercise the mind) and mederi (to heal). Its Sanskrit derivation 'medha' means wisdom.\n\nMany years ago meditation was considered something just not meant for modern people, but now it has become very popular with all types of people. Published scientific and medical evidence has proved its benefits, but it still needs to be much understood.\n\nTraditionally, the classical yoga texts, describe that to attain true states of meditation one must go through several stages. After the necessary preparation of personal and social code, physical position, breath control, and relaxation come the more advanced stages of concentration, contemplation, and then ultimately absorption. But that does not mean that one must perfect any one stage before moving onto the next. The Integral yoga approach is simultaneous application of a little of all stages together.\n\nCommonly today, people can mean any one of these stages when they refer to the term meditation. Some schools only teach concentration techniques, some relaxation, and others teach free form contemplative activities like just sitting and awaiting absorption. Some call it meditation without giving credence to yoga for fear of being branded 'eastern'. But yoga is not something eastern or western as it is universal in its approach and application.\n\nWith regular practice of a balanced series of techniques, the energy of the body and mind can be liberated and the quality of consciousness can be expanded. This is not a subjective claim but is now being investigated by the scientists and being shown by an empirical fact.
804293
A new priest at his first mass was so nervous he could hardly speak. \nAfter mass he asked the monsignor how he had done. \nThe monsignor replied, “When I am worried about getting nervous on the pulpit, I put a glass of vodka next to the water glass. If I start to get nervous, I take a sip.” \nSo next Sunday he took the monsignor’s advice. \nAt the beginning of the sermon, he got nervous and took a drink. \nHe proceeded to talk up a storm. \nUpon his return to his office after the mass, he found the following note on the door: \n\n\n\n1)Sip the vodka, don’t gulp. \n2)There are 10 commandments, not 12. \n3)There are 12 disciples, not 10. \n4)Jesus was consecrated, not constipated. \n5)Jacob wagered his donkey, he did not bet his ass. \n6)We do not refer to Jesus Christ as the late J.C. \n7)The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not referred to as Daddy, Junior and the spook. \n8)David slew Goliath, he did not kick the sh*t out of him. \n9)When David was hit by a rock and was knocked off his donkey, don’t say he was stoned off his ass. \n10)We do not refer to the cross as the “Big T.” \n11)When Jesus broke the bread at the last supper he said, “Take this and eat it for it is my body.” He did not say “Eat me”. \n12)The Virgin Mary is not called “Mary with the Cherry”. \n13)The recommended grace before a meal is not: Rub-A-Dub-Dub thanks for the grub, Yeah God. \n14)Next Sunday there will be a taffy pulling contest at ST. Peter’s not a peter pulling contest at St. Taffy’s.
11844
I would highly recommend a 10-day vipassana meditation course (http://www.dhamma.org/vipassan.htm ) if you can get the time off. I think it's definitely worth it, so keep it in mind.\n\nIt's very intense, over 10 hours of meditation a day for 10 days, complete silence (except with the teachers), and guidance instructions basically broken up into hour-chunks. It might seem intimidating but it's very doable and you just need to have the intention to do it.\n\nAlso it's helpful to go somewhere that's structured so you can get a "jumpstart" and learn it, and it'll stay with you for the rest of your life... like if you just say you're going to exercise regularly by yourself it's hard to be disciplined enough to do it, but if you learn it over a period of time it's more likely to stay with you.\n\nAlso it's non-sectarian, anyone can practice it, and it's free from any dogma, blind belief, etc.\n\nAlso (again) the courses are free, by donation only, and no recommended or forced donation. Even the room and board are provided, because past students have found it to be beneficial so it's supported entirely by donation.\n\nVery intense but since it's so rigorous most people see distinct benefits after only 10 days.
575952
All these meditation process are useful only till the time you find then useful. Actually a meditation in any form is good. Just dont shell out any money coz there are many cheaters who charge money
554397
Silent meditation is a good path.  Study Vipassina (Insight)Meditation.
346728
Here is a link to an interview with Lee Priest.  He discusses his training and some other things.  Very interesting.\n\nhttp://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KFY/is_9_21/ai_109666882