Like many of the Buddhist meetings that I attended, I sat at the feet of one of our leaders and listened to him teach. Unlike many, this man was the leader for our entire organization in the United States of America. I am not sure of the name that his parents gave him at birth, but his Japanese countenance and accent told me that it was not George M. Williams.
Sensei…that’s what I called him.
I was with a small group of young men in the brass band practice room of the Denver Culture Center. He asked us what we were reading, it was important to always be reading. I was reading Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina at the time. I had to hold back from mocking the answers that others gave: Shakespeare. Shakespeare didn’t write to be read…he wrote his plays to be seen.
(Obviously some guys were just trying to impress him. I later confirmed that none of them knew the difference between “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Taming of the Shrew.”)
At any rate, we were sitting and he was teaching. He asked me directly how my chanting was going. I told him that I tried to chant every day, but some days were harder than others. An honest answer, which is what I thought he wanted.
He nodded briefly, harrumphed, and then came out with a remark that has stuck with me for 16 years. “You must just ignore the distractions of the world and chant. Otherwise you are living a half-hearted religion, and not true Buddhism. You are, now a Judeo-Christian Buddhist.”
They all laughed at this intended stinger. I blushed at the assumed insult and thought a lot about what it meant to be a “true Buddhist” as opposed to a “Judeo-Christian Buddhist.” Well, I wasn’t in a monastery living a removed existence, so I would have to agree with my sensei: I was allowing myself to be distracted by the opinions of the world. I believed that the soul was internal. I knew that the universe worked on a cause and effect basis…thus karma. I chanted, but I wanted to get off of my knees and “do” things as well. Besides a commitment issue, what other things would spin my Buddhism in a Judeo-Christian slant?
Well to qualify for the Judeo part I would have to believe that I was a part of God’s own chosen people. I would have to follow the 10 Commandments and look forward to a Messiah. I would have to follow a diet prescribed by God himself. Circumcision? Yeah, that too.
Christianity would require, first and foremost, that I believe in Jesus Christ. That would mean that I believed in God as well, the Bible, prophets, the Holy Ghost, prayer, baptism, and serving my fellow beings as if I were serving God himself. I would have to love God and then love my neighbor.
That was some time ago, 17 or 18 years, and my religious life has come full circle.
As a young man I shied away from my family’s religion, Mormon, because I didn’t want people to think that I was “weird.” I was afraid that someone would ask about my “golden Bible”, or want me to tell them about Joseph Smith. Someone might ask me why coffee and tea are evil, or why I didn’t dance. Someone might even ask me if I had my tail and horns removed at birth. I had a mohawk, pierced ears, wore make-up, sang in a band, hung out with actors and artists, lived in my car, and begged on the streets for handout change…but I didn’t want anyone to think that I was “weird.”
Weird.
Now, when people inquire about my religion, I tell them that I am a Judeo-Christian Buddhist. I could tell them that I am a Mormon, but that invites stereotypes that are neither fair nor true. I could say that I am LDS, but so very few people know what that means, and it forces me to further clarify by saying that I am a Mormon…back to the unfair and untrue stereotypical thinking.
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I know that God’s Plan of Salvation is based on cause and effect: “what we sow, so also shall we reap.” I know that our spirits are eternal, and that this life is just the mortal portion of our existence. I know that God chose Abraham and his family to bless the world…not just to receive blessings that no one else could enjoy. I am a descendant of Ephraim (the grandson of Israel himself) and thus a part of God’s chosen people. I strive to keep the 10 commandments. I keep the Word of Wisdom by abstaining from tea, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, and drugs while eating small portions of meat, grains, vegetables, and fruits in their seasons. I am baptized. I pray. I read the scriptures and seek guidance from the Holy Ghost. I pay to heed the words of the prophets. I serve others whenever and wherever I can.
A good Mormon is the best Judeo-Christian Buddhist around.
Sensei…that’s what I called him.
I was with a small group of young men in the brass band practice room of the Denver Culture Center. He asked us what we were reading, it was important to always be reading. I was reading Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina at the time. I had to hold back from mocking the answers that others gave: Shakespeare. Shakespeare didn’t write to be read…he wrote his plays to be seen.
(Obviously some guys were just trying to impress him. I later confirmed that none of them knew the difference between “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Taming of the Shrew.”)
At any rate, we were sitting and he was teaching. He asked me directly how my chanting was going. I told him that I tried to chant every day, but some days were harder than others. An honest answer, which is what I thought he wanted.
He nodded briefly, harrumphed, and then came out with a remark that has stuck with me for 16 years. “You must just ignore the distractions of the world and chant. Otherwise you are living a half-hearted religion, and not true Buddhism. You are, now a Judeo-Christian Buddhist.”
They all laughed at this intended stinger. I blushed at the assumed insult and thought a lot about what it meant to be a “true Buddhist” as opposed to a “Judeo-Christian Buddhist.” Well, I wasn’t in a monastery living a removed existence, so I would have to agree with my sensei: I was allowing myself to be distracted by the opinions of the world. I believed that the soul was internal. I knew that the universe worked on a cause and effect basis…thus karma. I chanted, but I wanted to get off of my knees and “do” things as well. Besides a commitment issue, what other things would spin my Buddhism in a Judeo-Christian slant?
Well to qualify for the Judeo part I would have to believe that I was a part of God’s own chosen people. I would have to follow the 10 Commandments and look forward to a Messiah. I would have to follow a diet prescribed by God himself. Circumcision? Yeah, that too.
Christianity would require, first and foremost, that I believe in Jesus Christ. That would mean that I believed in God as well, the Bible, prophets, the Holy Ghost, prayer, baptism, and serving my fellow beings as if I were serving God himself. I would have to love God and then love my neighbor.
That was some time ago, 17 or 18 years, and my religious life has come full circle.
As a young man I shied away from my family’s religion, Mormon, because I didn’t want people to think that I was “weird.” I was afraid that someone would ask about my “golden Bible”, or want me to tell them about Joseph Smith. Someone might ask me why coffee and tea are evil, or why I didn’t dance. Someone might even ask me if I had my tail and horns removed at birth. I had a mohawk, pierced ears, wore make-up, sang in a band, hung out with actors and artists, lived in my car, and begged on the streets for handout change…but I didn’t want anyone to think that I was “weird.”
Weird.
Now, when people inquire about my religion, I tell them that I am a Judeo-Christian Buddhist. I could tell them that I am a Mormon, but that invites stereotypes that are neither fair nor true. I could say that I am LDS, but so very few people know what that means, and it forces me to further clarify by saying that I am a Mormon…back to the unfair and untrue stereotypical thinking.
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I know that God’s Plan of Salvation is based on cause and effect: “what we sow, so also shall we reap.” I know that our spirits are eternal, and that this life is just the mortal portion of our existence. I know that God chose Abraham and his family to bless the world…not just to receive blessings that no one else could enjoy. I am a descendant of Ephraim (the grandson of Israel himself) and thus a part of God’s chosen people. I strive to keep the 10 commandments. I keep the Word of Wisdom by abstaining from tea, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, and drugs while eating small portions of meat, grains, vegetables, and fruits in their seasons. I am baptized. I pray. I read the scriptures and seek guidance from the Holy Ghost. I pay to heed the words of the prophets. I serve others whenever and wherever I can.
A good Mormon is the best Judeo-Christian Buddhist around.
