For many Christians, especially those who grew up in Protestant circles, the Gospel is essentially defined in opposition to the Jewish Law: There is Law and then there’s Grace and ever the twain shall meet. But we get a very different picture of the Law from the Scriptures, including the texts we Christians know as … Continue reading Sweeter than Honey: A Reflection on Jeremiah 31 & Psalm 119
The previous post in this series introduced the Eightfold Path, which outlines the eight basic elements of Buddhist commitment and life that they believe lead to freedom from the cycle of attachments, suffering, and karma, and discussed the first of these elements, right (or, skillful) understanding. This is about the way we understand the world … Continue reading The Eightfold Path, Part 2: Right Resolve
A few weeks ago, towards the start of this series, we looked at the Fourth Noble Truths, which are the most basic distillation of Buddhist thought. As a reminder, they go something like this: Dissatisfaction or suffering is everywhere; the cause of this suffering is our attachment; suffering can end by severing those attachments; and … Continue reading The Eightfold Path and the Gospel: 1. Right Understanding
So far in this series exploring Buddhist thought as a mirror to better understand Christianity we’ve seen just how central the idea of attachment/non-attachment is in Buddhism: We are dissatisfied with the world, thereby suffering and acting to cause others to suffer, because we are overly attached to the transient things of the world around … Continue reading The Gospel and the Three Poisons
Of the basic teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha one of the most influential for Buddhist thought and life is what is called the ‘middle way’ or ‘middle path’. This was the epiphany that true freedom and wisdom is to be found neither in the life of indulgence knew knew in the palace … Continue reading The Gospel and the Middle Path
Matthew Root 