Conversation in the Clouds

Flying from Minneapolis to Chicago, I sat down on the isle next to a coffee cup that occupied the otherwise empty seat between myself and the older gentlemen in the window seat. The flight attendants had announced that it was not going to be a full flight and when the boarding ended he took the cup back in hand. As he sipped it, he smiled at me and said that its always nice to have extra space. I commend him for his clever plan.  He seemed to be the keep to himself sort, but he spoke kindly, offering me his name, Bruce. He was obviously well traveled as he had all his gear and snacks packed up with precision. We mentioned where we were both headed, I home to NC, he to Massachusetts. 

I asked him why he had been in Minneapolis. 

“Courses in Buddhism”, was his reply. 

I could not have anticipated that response, but it didn’t shock me. …No, that’s not entirely true, I suppose, it did shock me, but the kind of shocking that jolts you awake. Like, I had just been sleeping and now I needed to wake up and pay attention. I was only surprised for a second before curiosity took over. The possibility of where this conversation could go was too intriguing to waste energy on surprise. 

Naturally, I asked him how long he had been studying Buddhism.

 “Since 1985” he said. 

“Oh, so, since before I was born.” I said, with a smirk. 

Then, with intimidation nipping at my heels, I took the conversation a step forward. I asked him what had drawn him to Buddhism. 

He said his parents weren’t really engaged religiously, his dad was a Christian or was raised one, and his mom did not really believe in anything. I guess you could summarize it as a very loose “culturally, Christian” childhood. He proceeded to tell me when he was 15 years old, he had fallen 30+ feet out of a tree. He thought he had died, but instead he just had this moment of cognitive release; he described being free from all worldly cares, the expectations of his parents, peers, etc… just untethered peace and grace. … He had walked himself home from that incident, finding out later that he had broken his back. (Clearly he had recovered well from this injury as he was traveling without any aid for walking or sitting up.)  He said that after that experience, he began to look into religion in hopes of finding an answer for that feeling, and the closest he could get to it was through Buddhism. 

I asked him to describe again what exactly it was that he was in search of.

He said that it was this experience of peace, and grace that he was after. 

I asked him from whom was he seeking to receive this from.

He responded by telling me that my line of questioning gave me away as a Christian. 

I smiled and affirmed the assumption. 

I don’t think he answered my question directly then, but I moved on and asked him if he had been successful, in all his years of studying Buddhism, to achieve that feeling. 

He held up a hand with thumb and fingers 1” apart (The universal sign for a very small amount.), implying that the success rate was minimal. 

I told him that in Christianity the full measure of peace and grace comes to us after we have lived this life, its a gift to be hoped for with patience and received with joy at the end; that there are measures of joy and peace given in life but the aim was not at achieving those things in this flesh. 

He then asked me what it meant for a Christian to be one with God. (More or less, what is the Christian equivalent to Buddhist enlightenment?) I said that we live this life in anticipation of the gift of wholeness, and that once we die, we assume our proper place and that is how we are made whole, it is Not oneness with God. We do not become Him or equals to Him, but we embody and enact our created purpose; we glorify Him in that, and we are in communion with Him. 

He had already asked me about the book I had out on my lap to read (a young adult fiction *novel written by a friend of mine.), so I brought that back up saying that I’m not usually reading fiction these days, but instead researching, including studying the trend of Christians syncretizing their faith with Buddhism. The excuse they give is that spiritual experience/ enlightenment is necessary and a cure for the disillusionment and disconnection that has infiltrated even our Christian faith. The necessity of this is a lie of course, and I told Bruce so.  

He asked me if I’ve read Thomas Merton (Thomas Merton is the poster child for building a bridge between Christianity and Buddhism.)

I told him that I have indeed, and that I’m currently reading his Asian journal (His last writing, as He was keeping this journal on his trip to Asia where he died suddenly, and still relatively young.), and that it was apparent that *by the end of his life he was much more Buddhist than he was Christian. Bruce agreed. 

“What about other Saints that described spiritual experiences?” He asked.

“Oh, like Monks and monastics and contemplatives? They are operating under the same spirit that ultimately leads away from Christ and not towards Him.” I answered. And then I laid out for him the explanation from the beginning. 

“The root of it all (I began), goes back to Genesis where humans were created to have dominion over the earth, yet even in the garden, there was a deceiver. A representative of the spiritual rebellion against the Most High. He told Adam and Eve that they didn’t have everything they needed, if they would just eat the fruit they would have the wisdom they were lacking, and they would be like God. After that first human rebellion, the Most High promised redemption.  In response to the pronouncement of this incomprehensible grace towards humanity, the fallen spiritual realm set themselves to sabotage the plan. Genesis 6:1-4. These sons of God (Watchers/ Anunnaki/ Fallen Angels) took human women for wives, and the women birthed giants. These were the ancient heroes, the “*gods”, who hated and enslaved humanity, nearly bringing them to extinction.  Then the Most High sent a flood (Genesis 6&7), and the flesh bodies of the giants died but their eternal spirits (because they were both human and angelic) remained bound to the earth and had nowhere to go. These disembodied spirits became known as demons, they wander seeking to embody hosts and cause chaos among men.” 

At this point, I paused to acknowledge my audience, he was still listening intently and nodding either in agreement or bewilderment. I chuckled and offered that I bet he hadn’t been expecting our conversation to be like this. He smiled and willed me to go on. 

I did:

“So, after the flood men tried to re-gain their connection to the heavenly knowledge that the watchers had before bestowed upon men. The Tower of Babel was their strongest attempt. It was there that the Most High separated men into nations, keeping Israel for Himself as a beacon to draw all nations back to Him. Over all the nations He set Spiritual beings in authority over these nations of men. These spiritual rulers either eventually or abruptly (not sure which) demanded the worship of men for themselves. From there we have Buddhism, Hinduism, Native American Spirituality… you name it, there is a spiritual reality to it. All of these spiritual expressions, offer experience and knowledge but always fall short of communion with the Most High. Meanwhile, He offers the one true way to Himself, through Himself, the man Jesus Christ. 

Bruce spent a few moments lost in thought. He told me that this actually made a lot of sense and that I explained it all really well…And then we landed. 

*Check out Amanda Auler’s, developing trilogy here, you won’t be disappointed.

*Here’s a few quotes form Thomas Merton’s Asian journal that highlight his intentions in syncretizing Buddhism and Christianity (Merton was a Catholic monk but his writings, as he hoped, have since become integral in certain Christian expressions, the most prominent being, Contemplative Christianity.)

  “I need not add that I think we have now reached a stage (long overdue) of religious maturity at which it may be possible for someone to remain perfectly faithful to a Christian and Western monastic commitment, and yet learn in depth from, say, a Buddhist discipline and experience. I believe that some of us need to do this in order to improve the quality of our own monastic life and even to help in the task of monastic renewal which has been undertaken within the Western Church.”  -Monastic Experience and East-West Dialogue - Thomas Merton

“I believe that by openness to Buddhism, to Hinduism, and to these great Asian traditions, we stand a wonderful chance of learning more about the potentiality of our own traditions… The combination of the natural techniques and the graces and the other things that have been manifested in Asia, and the Christian liberty of the gospel should bring is all at last to that full and transcendent liberty which is beyond mere cultural differences and mere externals….” -Monastic Experience and East-West Dialogue - Thomas Merton

*this is not the narrative of the “gods” that has perpetuated, and is even now being revived, as there are many modern people who are anticipating a return to a “golden age” of human interaction with the gods. The Hebrew Scriptures and adjacent writings (ex Enoch) are the only accounts of ancient history that give satisfactory context to the loss of advanced knowledge and technology at the flood. An accompanying thought experiment to this statement is to consider that there is more or less universal acceptance of all spiritual expressions and beliefs, except for Christianity. At the same time there exists an inexplicably universal hatred for the Jewish people. Why is this the case? Christians and Jews have the truth. Even if we don’t fully comprehend it, we have access to it, and that makes us a threat to the enemies of the Most High, who pull the strings behind the thrones of men.