Soon
you will not know the difference between a Catholic or a Buddhist.
Evangelicals are next. Interreligious dialogue
is changing everything ...
"...as
Buddhism becomes increasingly popular in the United States
-- outpacing Episcopalianism with as many as four million
members -- a growing number of Christians are exploring Buddhist
practices while remaining within their own tradition. Christian-Buddhist
meditation groups, retreat centers, books and websites attest
to the growth of the trend." (Religious News
Blog.com)
Buddhism:
Doorway to Contemplative Prayer
"As
a movement, those who practice contemplative prayer, on the whole,
tend to develop spiritual kinship to other religions, especially Buddhism."—Ray
Yungen
*NOTE*
When Ray Yungen once asked Brennan Manning who he would recommend
as an excellent source in prayer, Brennan said: Bede
Griffiths.
"Mysticism
from the East or from Western traditions relies on techniques such
as repetitive prayers, repeating over and over a word or phrase (mantras,
which maybe names of deity), contemplations of icons or images real
or imagined, also involved are methods of emptying the mind, extreme
asceticism and in some cultures the use of hallucinogenic drugs. Through
these and other methods the mind goes blank or passive and one enters
an altered state of consciousness. Buddhists call this state Nirvana
or Satori...New Age people call it at-one-ness, etc...,Christian mystics
perceive they have experienced some kind of ecstatic union with God."
[from Mystical
Deception Files - Noah's Dove Research]
"...as Buddhism
becomes increasingly popular in the United States -- outpacing Episcopalianism
with as many as four million members -- a growing number of Christians
are exploring Buddhist practices while remaining within their
own tradition. Christian-Buddhist meditation groups, retreat centers,
books and websites attest to the growth of the trend." read
more
*Mysticism
Molds The Mainstream* Aging baby
boomers who dabbled in Eastern and New Age spiritualities in their
youth are returning to organized religion and bringing those spiritual
experiences with them ...
more
Quotes
by Those Professing to
Be Christians
"I
want to be the best Buddhist I can be."
—Thomas Merton
"I am struck
in this book and in his Living Buddha, Living Christ, by Thich Nhat
Hanh's ardent desire to re-enliven both his Buddhist tradition and
the Christian tradition for the sake of the young people. He ends
this book showing great compassion and concern about the future
of the young and demonstrating how an awakened Buddhism and an awakened
Christianity might assist them to face the grave problems of ignorance
and despair, of violence and destruction, that face our species
at this time."—Matthew Fox, Going
Home, Jesus and Buddha as Brothers
"It
is very good to recite the mantra OM," said the Dalai Lama
"The world
of American religion is going through enormous change. It will
be increasingly difficult to distinguish Christians and Buddhists."
University of Chicago sociologist Stephen R. Warner.
"The
popularity of Buddhist practice among Christians has grown substantially
during the last two decades, said John Cowan, author of Taking Jesus
Seriously: Buddhist Meditations for Christians ..."
read more
