Medium	alternate
alternate	Mormon
Mormon	Open
Open	Blog
Blog	Mormon
Mormon	Open
Open	Blog
Blog	How
How	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	has
has	Made
Made	me
me	a
a	Better
Better	Christian
Christian	Jaxon
Jaxon	Evans
Evans	Jaxon
Jaxon	Evans
Evans	BUTTON
BUTTON	Follow
Follow	BUTTON
BUTTON	Jan
Jan	min
min	read
read	BUTTON
BUTTON	BUTTON
BUTTON	BUTTON
BUTTON	BUTTON
BUTTON	Sermon
Sermon	on
on	the
the	Mount
Mount	by
by	Harry
Harry	Anderson
Anderson	Nearly
Nearly	a
a	year
year	ago
ago	I
I	checked
checked	out
out	a
a	book
book	The
The	Miracle
Miracle	of
of	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	by
by	Thich
Thich	Nhat
Nhat	Hanh
Hanh	from
from	my
my	local
local	library
library	I
I	checked
checked	it
it	out
out	because
because	of
of	an
an	interest
interest	in
in	meditation
meditation	but
but	it
it	wasn
wasn	t
t	exactly
exactly	what
what	I
I	was
was	looking
looking	for
for	it
it	focused
focused	more
more	on
on	general
general	mindfulness
mindfulness	in
in	life
life	than
than	on
on	the
the	actual
actual	practice
practice	of
of	meditation
meditation	However
However	it
it	did
did	introduce
introduce	me
me	to
to	the
the	tradition
tradition	of
of	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	which
which	I
I	immediately
immediately	was
was	captivated
captivated	by
by	Since
Since	then
then	I
I	have
have	studied
studied	Zen
Zen	consistantly
consistantly	Although
Although	I
I	certainly
certainly	am
am	a
a	novice
novice	at
at	best
best	I
I	have
have	found
found	everything
everything	that
that	I
I	have
have	read
read	both
both	inspiring
inspiring	and
and	life
life	changing
changing	Friends
Friends	and
and	family
family	have
have	all
all	reacted
reacted	differently
differently	to
to	my
my	study
study	of
of	Zen
Zen	I
I	was
was	born
born	and
and	raised
raised	LDS
LDS	Mormon
Mormon	and
and	am
am	still
still	a
a	member
member	If
If	you
you	are
are	not
not	familiar
familiar	Mormons
Mormons	are
are	a
a	Christian
Christian	based
based	faith
faith	if
if	you
you	want
want	to
to	know
know	more
more	here
here	is
is	the
the	wikapedia
wikapedia	article
article	on
on	the
the	LDS
LDS	Church
Church	The
The	reactions
reactions	from
from	fellow
fellow	ward
ward	members
members	family
family	and
and	friends
friends	to
to	finding
finding	out
out	that
that	I
I	have
have	been
been	studying
studying	another
another	religion
religion	in
in	detail
detail	can
can	pretty
pretty	easily
easily	be
be	broken
broken	down
down	into
into	categories
categories	Mild
Mild	interest
interest	A
A	slight
slight	concern
concern	that
that	I
I	was
was	being
being	pulled
pulled	away
away	from
from	the
the	LDS
LDS	Church
Church	Outright
Outright	horror
horror	that
that	I
I	was
was	rejecting
rejecting	Christ
Christ	and
and	jeopardizing
jeopardizing	my
my	soul
soul	None
None	of
of	these
these	responses
responses	have
have	ever
ever	bothered
bothered	me
me	because
because	I
I	always
always	knew
knew	that
that	all
all	come
come	from
from	a
a	place
place	of
of	care
care	for
for	me
me	and
and	my
my	wellbeing
wellbeing	That
That	being
being	said
said	I
I	consider
consider	the
the	last
last	two
two	to
to	be
be	somewhat
somewhat	misguided
misguided	The
The	reason
reason	for
for	this
this	is
is	simple
simple	my
my	study
study	of
of	Zen
Zen	by
by	far
far	has
has	strengthened
strengthened	my
my	faith
faith	and
and	understanding
understanding	in
in	Christ
Christ	It
It	has
has	made
made	me
me	a
a	better
better	Christian
Christian	It
It	has
has	taught
taught	me
me	how
how	to
to	study
study	scripture
scripture	from
from	the
the	Christian
Christian	canon
canon	in
in	a
a	way
way	that
that	I
I	have
have	never
never	before
before	done
done	so
so	It
It	has
has	allowed
allowed	me
me	to
to	come
come	to
to	a
a	place
place	that
that	I
I	feel
feel	I
I	am
am	better
better	able
able	to
to	recieve
recieve	personal
personal	revelation
revelation	The
The	benefits
benefits	of
of	Zen
Zen	in
in	my
my	life
life	go
go	on
on	although
although	this
this	post
post	is
is	about
about	how
how	it
it	has
has	changed
changed	and
and	improved
improved	my
my	Christian
Christian	faith
faith	it
it	has
has	also
also	improved
improved	my
my	life
life	in
in	many
many	other
other	ways
ways	as
as	well
well	A
A	few
few	have
have	asked
asked	me
me	why
why	I
I	feel
feel	it
it	is
is	neccessary
neccessary	to
to	look
look	outside
outside	of
of	my
my	current
current	faith
faith	for
for	answers
answers	about
about	that
that	faith
faith	and
and	about
about	the
the	nature
nature	of
of	God
God	The
The	example
example	I
I	like
like	to
to	cite
cite	to
to	this
this	question
question	is
is	that
that	of
of	C
C	S
S	Lewis
Lewis	a
a	man
man	respected
respected	by
by	members
members	of
of	every
every	Christian
Christian	faith
faith	C
C	S
S	Lewis
Lewis	was
was	a
a	champion
champion	for
for	Christianity
Christianity	and
and	religious
religious	faith
faith	in
in	general
general	He
He	has
has	contributed
contributed	to
to	my
my	faith
faith	and
and	I
I	am
am	sure
sure	to
to	countless
countless	others
others	as
as	well
well	He
He	was
was	also
also	a
a	member
member	of
of	The
The	Church
Church	of
of	England
England	So
So	I
I	would
would	rhetorically
rhetorically	ask
ask	the
the	same
same	question
question	of
of	anyone
anyone	who
who	is
is	not
not	a
a	member
member	of
of	The
The	Church
Church	Of
Of	England
England	that
that	has
has	benefited
benefited	from
from	the
the	teachings
teachings	and
and	writings
writings	of
of	C
C	S
S	Lewis
Lewis	Why
Why	do
do	they
they	feel
feel	it
it	neccessary
neccessary	to
to	look
look	outside
outside	of
of	their
their	current
current	faith
faith	for
for	answers
answers	about
about	that
that	faith
faith	and
and	about
about	the
the	nature
nature	of
of	God
God	The
The	answer
answer	to
to	the
the	question
question	I
I	am
am	often
often	asked
asked	and
and	the
the	similar
similar	rhetorical
rhetorical	question
question	I
I	respond
respond	with
with	is
is	simply
simply	this
this	I
I	believe
believe	that
that	any
any	person
person	regardless
regardless	of
of	what
what	religious
religious	traditions
traditions	they
they	may
may	hold
hold	can
can	have
have	something
something	to
to	teach
teach	us
us	C
C	S
S	Lewis
Lewis	was
was	not
not	Mormon
Mormon	but
but	we
we	are
are	each
each	Christian
Christian	and
and	so
so	I
I	can
can	learn
learn	from
from	him
him	in
in	respects
respects	to
to	the
the	similarity
similarity	of
of	belief
belief	in
in	God
God	and
and	Christ
Christ	Similarly
Similarly	although
although	niether
niether	Thich
Thich	Nhat
Nhat	Hanh
Hanh	and
and	by
by	extension
extension	Siddhartha
Siddhartha	Gautama
Gautama	Buddha
Buddha	were
were	not
not	Christian
Christian	we
we	each
each	are
are	believers
believers	in
in	a
a	higher
higher	truth
truth	and
and	so
so	I
I	can
can	learn
learn	from
from	them
them	in
in	respects
respects	to
to	that
that	similarity
similarity	We
We	are
are	asked
asked	to
to	be
be	the
the	best
best	we
we	can
can	be
be	if
if	there
there	are
are	traditions
traditions	or
or	teachings
teachings	in
in	other
other	religions
religions	that
that	could
could	bring
bring	us
us	closer
closer	to
to	Christ
Christ	who
who	are
are	we
we	to
to	cast
cast	them
them	aside
aside	who
who	are
are	we
we	to
to	reject
reject	that
that	because
because	we
we	don
don	t
t	understand
understand	it
it	or
or	because
because	we
we	fear
fear	it
it	So
So	is
is	it
it	possible
possible	to
to	be
be	a
a	member
member	of
of	two
two	religions
religions	Possibly
Possibly	Of
Of	course
course	if
if	they
they	have
have	teachings
teachings	that
that	contradict
contradict	each
each	other
other	it
it	is
is	probably
probably	not
not	possible
possible	but
but	I
I	do
do	not
not	see
see	any
any	major
major	contradictions
contradictions	between
between	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	and
and	Christianity
Christianity	Buddhist
Buddhist	do
do	not
not	have
have	a
a	God
God	They
They	do
do	not
not	worship
worship	any
any	one
one	God
God	in
in	the
the	way
way	Christians
Christians	do
do	and
and	they
they	do
do	not
not	worship
worship	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	Therefore
Therefore	there
there	are
are	no
no	issues
issues	regarding
regarding	the
the	commandment
commandment	to
to	not
not	worship
worship	other
other	Gods
Gods	in
in	Christianity
Christianity	Most
Most	of
of	the
the	teachings
teachings	given
given	to
to	us
us	by
by	Christ
Christ	sound
sound	quite
quite	similar
similar	to
to	those
those	given
given	by
by	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	Not
Not	only
only	do
do	most
most	of
of	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	s
s	teachings
teachings	not
not	conflict
conflict	with
with	Christian
Christian	beliefs
beliefs	instead
instead	they
they	compliment
compliment	eachother
eachother	in
in	a
a	strong
strong	symbiosis
symbiosis	Another
Another	great
great	book
book	by
by	Thich
Thich	Nhat
Nhat	Hanh
Hanh	Living
Living	Buddha
Buddha	Living
Living	Christ
Christ	explores
explores	how
how	one
one	can
can	strive
strive	to
to	live
live	as
as	both
both	Buddha
Buddha	and
and	Christ
Christ	did
did	In
In	it
it	he
he	explores
explores	the
the	question
question	of
of	following
following	two
two	religions
religions	But
But	can
can	a
a	person
person	have
have	two
two	spiritual
spiritual	roots
roots	at
at	the
the	same
same	time
time	Can
Can	both
both	of
of	them
them	learn
learn	Christianity
Christianity	and
and	Buddhism
Buddhism	and
and	practice
practice	both
both	traditions
traditions	We
We	know
know	that
that	when
when	someone
someone	does
does	not
not	have
have	any
any	root
root	he
he	or
or	she
she	will
will	suffer
suffer	tremendously
tremendously	But
But	what
what	about
about	the
the	question
question	of
of	having
having	more
more	than
than	one
one	root
root	Before
Before	I
I	met
met	Christianity
Christianity	my
my	only
only	spiritual
spiritual	ancestor
ancestor	was
was	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	But
But	when
when	I
I	met
met	beautiful
beautiful	men
men	and
and	women
women	who
who	are
are	Christians
Christians	I
I	came
came	to
to	know
know	Jesus
Jesus	as
as	a
a	great
great	teacher
teacher	Since
Since	that
that	day
day	Jesus
Jesus	Christ
Christ	has
has	become
become	one
one	of
of	my
my	spiritual
spiritual	ancestors
ancestors	As
As	I
I	have
have	mentioned
mentioned	on
on	the
the	alter
alter	of
of	my
my	hermitage
hermitage	in
in	France
France	I
I	have
have	statues
statues	of
of	Buddhas
Buddhas	and
and	bodhisattvas
bodhisattvas	and
and	also
also	an
an	image
image	of
of	Jesus
Jesus	Christ
Christ	I
I	do
do	not
not	feel
feel	any
any	conflict
conflict	within
within	me
me	Instead
Instead	I
I	feel
feel	stronger
stronger	because
because	I
I	have
have	more
more	than
than	one
one	root
root	Thich
Thich	Nhat
Nhat	Hanh
Hanh	has
has	also
also	speculated
speculated	that
that	a
a	more
more	western
western	form
form	of
of	Zen
Zen	is
is	necessary
necessary	for
for	it
it	to
to	take
take	hold
hold	in
in	the
the	West
West	as
as	it
it	did
did	in
in	the
the	East
East	I
I	believe
believe	strongly
strongly	that
that	the
the	western
western	form
form	of
of	Zen
Zen	he
he	talks
talks	about
about	is
is	Zen
Zen	as
as	an
an	assistant
assistant	and
and	perhaps
perhaps	even
even	as
as	a
a	partner
partner	to
to	the
the	Christian
Christian	teachings
teachings	we
we	already
already	have
have	This
This	is
is	how
how	I
I	view
view	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	as
as	a
a	catalyst
catalyst	to
to	my
my	Christian
Christian	beliefs
beliefs	as
as	an
an	additional
additional	set
set	of
of	teachings
teachings	to
to	enable
enable	me
me	to
to	live
live	a
a	life
life	similar
similar	to
to	that
that	of
of	Christ
Christ	In
In	Christianity
Christianity	we
we	are
are	guided
guided	towards
towards	salvation
salvation	through
through	Christ
Christ	but
but	in
in	the
the	teachings
teachings	of
of	Buddhism
Buddhism	we
we	are
are	guided
guided	towards
towards	enlightenment
enlightenment	essentially
essentially	a
a	perfect
perfect	understanding
understanding	and
and	view
view	of
of	the
the	world
world	around
around	us
us	viewing
viewing	everything
everything	as
as	it
it	is
is	truly
truly	is
is	The
The	Buddha
Buddha	spent
spent	several
several	decades
decades	teaching
teaching	attainment
attainment	of
of	this
this	goal
goal	and
and	Zen
Zen	masters
masters	have
have	added
added	other
other	methods
methods	of
of	attainment
attainment	in
in	the
the	nearly
nearly	three
three	thousand
thousand	years
years	since
since	his
his	death
death	I
I	believe
believe	that
that	attainment
attainment	of
of	a
a	form
form	of
of	enlightenment
enlightenment	to
to	be
be	possible
possible	and
and	to
to	be
be	a
a	powerful
powerful	step
step	to
to	living
living	as
as	Christ
Christ	did
did	Although
Although	many
many	of
of	these
these	concepts
concepts	and
and	teachings
teachings	have
have	changed
changed	the
the	way
way	I
I	think
think	three
three	stand
stand	out
out	to
to	me
me	as
as	powerful
powerful	aides
aides	to
to	Christianity
Christianity	Mindfullness
Mindfullness	Interbeing
Interbeing	The
The	Dangers
Dangers	of
of	Knowledge
Knowledge	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	is
is	the
the	initial
initial	teaching
teaching	that
that	sparked
sparked	my
my	interest
interest	in
in	Zen
Zen	It
It	is
is	simple
simple	to
to	understand
understand	but
but	very
very	hard
hard	to
to	put
put	into
into	practice
practice	However
However	the
the	benefit
benefit	of
of	that
that	practice
practice	is
is	somewhat
somewhat	beyond
beyond	explanation
explanation	A
A	more
more	technical
technical	term
term	for
for	mindfulness
mindfulness	is
is	metacognition
metacognition	or
or	thinking
thinking	about
about	thinking
thinking	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	means
means	being
being	consciously
consciously	aware
aware	of
of	every
every	action
action	you
you	take
take	of
of	every
every	thought
thought	that
that	you
you	have
have	Buddhism
Buddhism	teaches
teaches	that
that	if
if	we
we	are
are	not
not	aware
aware	of
of	the
the	present
present	moment
moment	then
then	we
we	are
are	not
not	truly
truly	alive
alive	I
I	agree
agree	strongly
strongly	with
with	this
this	teaching
teaching	If
If	you
you	were
were	to
to	watch
watch	a
a	funny
funny	movie
movie	but
but	the
the	entire
entire	time
time	be
be	distracted
distracted	and
and	not
not	pay
pay	attention
attention	to
to	the
the	movie
movie	you
you	would
would	likely
likely	not
not	be
be	able
able	to
to	truly
truly	say
say	that
that	you
you	watched
watched	and
and	enjoyed
enjoyed	the
the	movie
movie	I
I	believe
believe	the
the	same
same	is
is	true
true	with
with	life
life	If
If	we
we	do
do	not
not	spend
spend	every
every	moment
moment	of
of	the
the	day
day	aware
aware	of
of	our
our	thoughts
thoughts	actions
actions	and
and	joy
joy	then
then	how
how	can
can	we
we	truly
truly	say
say	that
that	we
we	have
have	had
had	thoughts
thoughts	really
really	took
took	those
those	actions
actions	and
and	really
really	had
had	joy
joy	My
My	favorite
favorite	parable
parable	to
to	explain
explain	the
the	benefit
benefit	of
of	mindfulness
mindfulness	is
is	one
one	often
often	given
given	by
by	Thich
Thich	Nhat
Nhat	Hanh
Hanh	about
about	drinking
drinking	tea
tea	and
and	washing
washing	dishes
dishes	If
If	you
you	are
are	planning
planning	to
to	have
have	others
others	over
over	for
for	tea
tea	later
later	and
and	spend
spend	all
all	of
of	your
your	time
time	as
as	you
you	prepare
prepare	the
the	tea
tea	thinking
thinking	of
of	drinking
drinking	the
the	tea
tea	then
then	you
you	are
are	not
not	really
really	preparing
preparing	tea
tea	you
you	are
are	living
living	in
in	the
the	future
future	Thinking
Thinking	about
about	drinking
drinking	tea
tea	in
in	the
the	future
future	is
is	not
not	drinking
drinking	tea
tea	it
it	is
is	an
an	illusion
illusion	The
The	time
time	spent
spent	preparing
preparing	the
the	tea
tea	is
is	wasted
wasted	Worse
Worse	because
because	you
you	are
are	not
not	in
in	the
the	habit
habit	of
of	being
being	mindful
mindful	you
you	will
will	likely
likely	not
not	be
be	able
able	to
to	maintain
maintain	mindfulness
mindfulness	as
as	you
you	drink
drink	the
the	tea
tea	you
you	will
will	think
think	only
only	of
of	doing
doing	the
the	dishes
dishes	after
after	and
and	as
as	you
you	do
do	that
that	you
you	will
will	think
think	of
of	going
going	to
to	sleep
sleep	after
after	that
that	If
If	in
in	every
every	moment
moment	you
you	only
only	contemplate
contemplate	and
and	look
look	forward
forward	to
to	the
the	next
next	moment
moment	then
then	the
the	current
current	moment
moment	is
is	wasted
wasted	The
The	parable
parable	of
of	doing
doing	dishes
dishes	spoke
spoke	especially
especially	strong
strong	to
to	me
me	because
because	of
of	my
my	job
job	at
at	the
the	time
time	I
I	worked
worked	at
at	In
In	N
N	Out
Out	Burger
Burger	and
and	spent
spent	a
a	large
large	part
part	of
of	my
my	shifts
shifts	washing
washing	dishes
dishes	Although
Although	I
I	consider
consider	that
that	job
job	to
to	have
have	been
been	an
an	important
important	stepping
stepping	stone
stone	for
for	myself
myself	and
and	I
I	was
was	very
very	lucky
lucky	to
to	have
have	it
it	I
I	struggled
struggled	with
with	it
it	emotionally
emotionally	I
I	wanted
wanted	desperately
desperately	to
to	be
be	a
a	software
software	engineer
engineer	my
my	current
current	occupation
occupation	and
and	I
I	felt
felt	like
like	I
I	was
was	stuck
stuck	Those
Those	moments
moments	when
when	I
I	was
was	doing
doing	something
something	trivial
trivial	like
like	washing
washing	the
the	dishes
dishes	I
I	would
would	get
get	caught
caught	in
in	my
my	own
own	thoughts
thoughts	I
I	would
would	reflect
reflect	on
on	where
where	I
I	was
was	where
where	I
I	wanted
wanted	to
to	be
be	and
and	how
how	far
far	I
I	needed
needed	to
to	go
go	to
to	get
get	there
there	These
These	thoughts
thoughts	were
were	very
very	destrucive
destrucive	Even
Even	worse
worse	I
I	spent
spent	hours
hours	of
of	my
my	life
life	effectively
effectively	as
as	a
a	drone
drone	Both
Both	the
the	future
future	and
and	the
the	past
past	are
are	only
only	things
things	of
of	our
our	imagination
imagination	Neither
Neither	truly
truly	exists
exists	the
the	only
only	reality
reality	is
is	the
the	present
present	moment
moment	Studies
Studies	in
in	psychology
psychology	and
and	of
of	cognitive
cognitive	science
science	have
have	shown
shown	that
that	our
our	memories
memories	are
are	completely
completely	unreliable
unreliable	Memories
Memories	often
often	have
have	stronger
stronger	emotions
emotions	attached
attached	to
to	them
them	than
than	we
we	actually
actually	felt
felt	at
at	the
the	time
time	and
and	worse
worse	we
we	often
often	mix
mix	them
them	together
together	unaware
unaware	that
that	we
we	are
are	remembering
remembering	multiple
multiple	events
events	as
as	one
one	or
or	even
even	events
events	that
that	never
never	actually
actually	happened
happened	People
People	have
have	been
been	known
known	to
to	remember
remember	experiencing
experiencing	events
events	that
that	were
were	actually
actually	only
only	described
described	to
to	them
them	When
When	we
we	live
live	in
in	the
the	past
past	we
we	live
live	in
in	something
something	that
that	is
is	mostly
mostly	fabricated
fabricated	Although
Although	we
we	can
can	learn
learn	from
from	it
it	dwelling
dwelling	too
too	much
much	in
in	the
the	past
past	is
is	a
a	waste
waste	of
of	the
the	current
current	moment
moment	The
The	same
same	can
can	be
be	said
said	for
for	the
the	future
future	The
The	reason
reason	that
that	mindfulness
mindfulness	teachings
teachings	spoke
spoke	to
to	me
me	so
so	strongly
strongly	is
is	that
that	at
at	the
the	time
time	I
I	lived
lived	almost
almost	exclusively
exclusively	in
in	the
the	future
future	I
I	thought
thought	of
of	things
things	I
I	wanted
wanted	to
to	do
do	one
one	day
day	I
I	day
day	dreamed
dreamed	There
There	is
is	nothing
nothing	wrong
wrong	with
with	planning
planning	for
for	the
the	future
future	but
but	living
living	in
in	it
it	is
is	destructive
destructive	The
The	future
future	we
we	imagine
imagine	is
is	not
not	real
real	which
which	makes
makes	it
it	so
so	much
much	more
more	tempting
tempting	to
to	spend
spend	time
time	in
in	it
it	In
In	the
the	futures
futures	that
that	we
we	create
create	in
in	our
our	mind
mind	everything
everything	can
can	be
be	perfect
perfect	it
it	is
is	easy
easy	for
for	a
a	possible
possible	future
future	to
to	be
be	everything
everything	that
that	we
we	want
want	but
but	it
it	too
too	is
is	an
an	illusion
illusion	The
The	only
only	thing
thing	that
that	is
is	real
real	is
is	the
the	present
present	moment
moment	and
and	so
so	that
that	is
is	where
where	Zen
Zen	teaches
teaches	us
us	to
to	live
live	After
After	reading
reading	about
about	mindfulness
mindfulness	my
my	attitude
attitude	towards
towards	my
my	job
job	and
and	specifically
specifically	washing
washing	the
the	dishes
dishes	changed
changed	I
I	started
started	to
to	look
look	at
at	washing
washing	the
the	dishes
dishes	and
and	other
other	similar
similar	tasks
tasks	as
as	a
a	chance
chance	to
to	practice
practice	mindfulness
mindfulness	I
I	focused
focused	on
on	what
what	I
I	was
was	doing
doing	and
and	tried
tried	not
not	to
to	think
think	of
of	anything
anything	else
else	I
I	focused
focused	on
on	the
the	dishes
dishes	After
After	a
a	while
while	of
of	doing
doing	this
this	I
I	realized
realized	that
that	I
I	was
was	no
no	longer
longer	trying
trying	to
to	be
be	mindful
mindful	while
while	washing
washing	dishes
dishes	it
it	came
came	naturally
naturally	I
I	came
came	to
to	enjoy
enjoy	washing
washing	the
the	dishes
dishes	and
and	my
my	job
job	much
much	more
more	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	is
is	what
what	brought
brought	me
me	towards
towards	Zen
Zen	and
and	improved
improved	my
my	life
life	greatly
greatly	I
I	highly
highly	recommend
recommend	that
that	anyone
anyone	not
not	familiar
familiar	with
with	the
the	subject
subject	look
look	further
further	into
into	it
it	here
here	is
is	a
a	link
link	to
to	the
the	book
book	that
that	introduce
introduce	me
me	to
to	the
the	concept
concept	The
The	Miracle
Miracle	of
of	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	is
is	my
my	favorite
favorite	teaching
teaching	of
of	Zen
Zen	It
It	has
has	changed
changed	my
my	life
life	in
in	various
various	ways
ways	but
but	as
as	it
it	relates
relates	to
to	Christianity
Christianity	it
it	has
has	taught
taught	me
me	a
a	better
better	way
way	to
to	live
live	like
like	Christ
Christ	and
and	from
from	it
it	I
I	have
have	learned
learned	to
to	appreciate
appreciate	every
every	moment
moment	of
of	life
life	as
as	a
a	blessing
blessing	from
from	God
God	Christ
Christ	died
died	and
and	suffered
suffered	for
for	our
our	sins
sins	of
of	course
course	such
such	a
a	great
great	gift
gift	deserves
deserves	our
our	gratitude
gratitude	but
but	at
at	times
times	I
I	feel
feel	we
we	let
let	it
it	distract
distract	us
us	from
from	other
other	gifts
gifts	he
he	gave
gave	us
us	that
that	also
also	have
have	value
value	Among
Among	these
these	other
other	gifts
gifts	is
is	his
his	life
life	and
and	example
example	Christ
Christ	was
was	required
required	to
to	live
live	a
a	perfect
perfect	life
life	in
in	order
order	to
to	take
take	the
the	burden
burden	of
of	our
our	sins
sins	for
for	us
us	the
the	consequence
consequence	of
of	this
this	is
is	that
that	the
the	life
life	of
of	Christ
Christ	is
is	a
a	perfect
perfect	road
road	map
map	as
as	to
to	how
how	we
we	should
should	live
live	Yet
Yet	most
most	of
of	us
us	stray
stray	from
from	this
this	map
map	all
all	too
too	often
often	myself
myself	included
included	In
In	some
some	cases
cases	this
this	is
is	due
due	to
to	willfully
willfully	throwing
throwing	the
the	map
map	aside
aside	but
but	I
I	think
think	that
that	in
in	most
most	situations
situations	the
the	mistake
mistake	is
is	simply
simply	forgetting
forgetting	that
that	we
we	are
are	trying
trying	to
to	follow
follow	the
the	map
map	Nearly
Nearly	everyone
everyone	has
has	experienced
experienced	moments
moments	of
of	rage
rage	In
In	those
those	moments
moments	we
we	often
often	do
do	things
things	we
we	would
would	not
not	usually
usually	do
do	We
We	do
do	this
this	because
because	we
we	forget
forget	that
that	we
we	are
are	striving
striving	to
to	live
live	as
as	Christ
Christ	did
did	If
If	we
we	had
had	remembered
remembered	that
that	we
we	were
were	to
to	be
be	like
like	Christ
Christ	then
then	we
we	would
would	likely
likely	not
not	do
do	things
things	we
we	later
later	regret
regret	This
This	is
is	the
the	second
second	gift
gift	of
of	mindfulness
mindfulness	If
If	we
we	are
are	aware
aware	of
of	every
every	action
action	that
that	we
we	take
take	every
every	moment
moment	aware
aware	of
of	our
our	emotions
emotions	in
in	every
every	moment
moment	and
and	aware
aware	of
of	our
our	thoughts
thoughts	in
in	every
every	moment
moment	then
then	we
we	cannot
cannot	forget
forget	that
that	we
we	have
have	a
a	map
map	to
to	follow
follow	We
We	will
will	always
always	be
be	aware
aware	of
of	the
the	map
map	and
and	always
always	be
be	aware
aware	of
of	the
the	things
things	pulling
pulling	us
us	away
away	from
from	it
it	For
For	most
most	people
people	living
living	a
a	life
life	similar
similar	to
to	that
that	of
of	Christ
Christ	does
does	not
not	come
come	naturally
naturally	The
The	only
only	way
way	to
to	live
live	that
that	way
way	then
then	is
is	to
to	change
change	our
our	behavior
behavior	Changing
Changing	behavior
behavior	is
is	very
very	difficult
difficult	and
and	yet
yet	possible
possible	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	is
is	the
the	key
key	to
to	a
a	change
change	in
in	behavior
behavior	If
If	in
in	every
every	moment
moment	we
we	can
can	remember
remember	that
that	we
we	are
are	trying
trying	to
to	live
live	a
a	better
better	life
life	then
then	we
we	have
have	taken
taken	the
the	first
first	step
step	to
to	doing
doing	so
so	As
As	my
my	ability
ability	to
to	be
be	mindful
mindful	grows
grows	so
so	does
does	my
my	remembrance
remembrance	that
that	I
I	should
should	be
be	living
living	as
as	Christ
Christ	With
With	this
this	teaching
teaching	I
I	have
have	been
been	able
able	to
to	slowly
slowly	start
start	to
to	change
change	my
my	behavior
behavior	most
most	noticeably
noticeably	I
I	have
have	learned
learned	to
to	keep
keep	calm
calm	in
in	heated
heated	situations
situations	Because
Because	I
I	am
am	more
more	aware
aware	of
of	my
my	own
own	thoughts
thoughts	I
I	am
am	better
better	at
at	watering
watering	only
only	the
the	thoughts
thoughts	that
that	will
will	lead
lead	to
to	a
a	better
better	life
life	I
I	am
am	able
able	to
to	make
make	decisions
decisions	that
that	usually
usually	would
would	happen
happen	subconsciously
subconsciously	on
on	a
a	conscious
conscious	level
level	instead
instead	In
In	every
every	moment
moment	that
that	I
I	am
am	mindful
mindful	I
I	have
have	the
the	chance
chance	to
to	question
question	if
if	my
my	thoughts
thoughts	and
and	actions
actions	mirror
mirror	that
that	of
of	Christ
Christ	Another
Another	quote
quote	from
from	Thich
Thich	Nhat
Nhat	Hanh
Hanh	I
I	am
am	going
going	to
to	overquote
overquote	him
him	in
in	this
this	post
post	I
I	have
have	read
read	from
from	various
various	other
other	authors
authors	on
on	the
the	subject
subject	of
of	Zen
Zen	and
and	Buddhism
Buddhism	but
but	he
he	has
has	moved
moved	me
me	more
more	than
than	any
any	other
other	People
People	usually
usually	consider
consider	walking
walking	on
on	water
water	or
or	in
in	thin
thin	air
air	a
a	miracle
miracle	But
But	I
I	think
think	the
the	real
real	miracle
miracle	is
is	not
not	to
to	walk
walk	either
either	on
on	water
water	or
or	in
in	thin
thin	air
air	but
but	to
to	walk
walk	on
on	earth
earth	We
We	consider
consider	walking
walking	on
on	water
water	or
or	on
on	air
air	to
to	be
be	a
a	miracle
miracle	but
but	isn
isn	t
t	mere
mere	existence
existence	even
even	more
more	of
of	a
a	miracle
miracle	Isn
Isn	t
t	simply
simply	being
being	alive
alive	the
the	greatest
greatest	miracle
miracle	we
we	could
could	ask
ask	for
for	And
And	yet
yet	we
we	spend
spend	nearly
nearly	our
our	entire
entire	lives
lives	in
in	a
a	state
state	of
of	unawareness
unawareness	that
that	we
we	being
being	blessed
blessed	with
with	every
every	moment
moment	We
We	get
get	so
so	caught
caught	up
up	in
in	life
life	that
that	we
we	throw
throw	away
away	the
the	vast
vast	majority
majority	of
of	our
our	life
life	by
by	not
not	truly
truly	experiencing
experiencing	it
it	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	is
is	the
the	cure
cure	to
to	this
this	wastefulness
wastefulness	Interbeing
Interbeing	Interbeing
Interbeing	teaches
teaches	us
us	that
that	there
there	is
is	no
no	separation
separation	between
between	individuals
individuals	or
or	between
between	objects
objects	Everything
Everything	that
that	exist
exist	depends
depends	on
on	everything
everything	else
else	in
in	existence
existence	The
The	universe
universe	as
as	we
we	know
know	it
it	is
is	interdependant
interdependant	On
On	an
an	literal
literal	level
level	this
this	is
is	easy
easy	to
to	see
see	A
A	tree
tree	cannot
cannot	survive
survive	without
without	the
the	sun
sun	water
water	and
and	earth
earth	Humans
Humans	cannot
cannot	survive
survive	without
without	oxygen
oxygen	water
water	food
food	and
and	other
other	humans
humans	Nothing
Nothing	that
that	exist
exist	is
is	independent
independent	of
of	other
other	objects
objects	This
This	is
is	often
often	described
described	as
as	saying
saying	that
that	a
a	table
table	is
is	made
made	entirely
entirely	of
of	non
non	table
table	elements
elements	Everything
Everything	that
that	a
a	table
table	is
is	made
made	of
of	is
is	not
not	a
a	table
table	Without
Without	the
the	tree
tree	a
a	table
table	could
could	not
not	exist
exist	Without
Without	nails
nails	or
or	screws
screws	a
a	table
table	could
could	not
not	exist
exist	Without
Without	a
a	carpenter
carpenter	to
to	build
build	it
it	a
a	table
table	could
could	not
not	exist
exist	But
But	trees
trees	nails
nails	and
and	carpenters
carpenters	also
also	rely
rely	on
on	countless
countless	things
things	themselves
themselves	for
for	existence
existence	Those
Those	things
things	themselves
themselves	rely
rely	on
on	countless
countless	others
others	and
and	so
so	on
on	By
By	this
this	association
association	every
every	object
object	and
and	person
person	in
in	existance
existance	to
to	some
some	extent
extent	relies
relies	on
on	every
every	other
other	object
object	and
and	person
person	to
to	exist
exist	By
By	harming
harming	or
or	changing
changing	any
any	one
one	thing
thing	you
you	also
also	change
change	all
all	things
things	dependent
dependent	on
on	that
that	thing
thing	and
and	the
the	things
things	dependent
dependent	on
on	those
those	and
and	so
so	on
on	This
This	is
is	why
why	Zen
Zen	teaches
teaches	us
us	that
that	there
there	is
is	no
no	true
true	separation
separation	between
between	objects
objects	animals
animals	or
or	people
people	We
We	have
have	a
a	tendency
tendency	to
to	view
view	our
our	bodies
bodies	as
as	being
being	us
us	and
and	other
other	people
people	s
s	bodies
bodies	as
as	being
being	them
them	However
However	in
in	reality
reality	these
these	perceptions
perceptions	are
are	not
not	completely
completely	accurate
accurate	At
At	any
any	given
given	time
time	there
there	is
is	a
a	certain
certain	amount
amount	of
of	oxygen
oxygen	and
and	water
water	in
in	our
our	bodies
bodies	that
that	water
water	may
may	even
even	be
be	trapped
trapped	within
within	our
our	fat
fat	cells
cells	It
It	can
can	be
be	said
said	that
that	those
those	cells
cells	are
are	a
a	part
part	of
of	us
us	However
However	eventually
eventually	we
we	breathe
breathe	out
out	and
and	release
release	the
the	oxygen
oxygen	in
in	our
our	bodies
bodies	and
and	we
we	expel
expel	the
the	water
water	from
from	our
our	bodies
bodies	When
When	we
we	do
do	so
so	it
it	is
is	quite
quite	plausible
plausible	that
that	the
the	same
same	air
air	will
will	be
be	breathed
breathed	in
in	by
by	someone
someone	else
else	in
in	the
the	very
very	near
near	future
future	and
and	given
given	time
time	it
it	is
is	all
all	but
but	guaranteed
guaranteed	that
that	it
it	will
will	be
be	reabsorbed
reabsorbed	The
The	same
same	goes
goes	for
for	water
water	although
although	it
it	make
make	take
take	longer
longer	to
to	be
be	reused
reused	Even
Even	cells
cells	die
die	often
often	and
and	are
are	recycled
recycled	Furthermore
Furthermore	both
both	me
me	and
and	him
him	rely
rely	on
on	countless
countless	things
things	around
around	us
us	to
to	live
live	We
We	both
both	rely
rely	on
on	the
the	same
same	air
air	same
same	sun
sun	same
same	water
water	same
same	society
society	and
and	same
same	culture
culture	Without
Without	those
those	things
things	niether
niether	of
of	us
us	would
would	be
be	who
who	we
we	are
are	in
in	this
this	moment
moment	We
We	share
share	more
more	than
than	we
we	could
could	ever
ever	imagine
imagine	Although
Although	it
it	is
is	sometimes
sometimes	easy
easy	to
to	see
see	that
that	certain
certain	things
things	depend
depend	on
on	others
others	for
for	existence
existence	interbeing
interbeing	teaches
teaches	that
that	all
all	things
things	are
are	dependent
dependent	on
on	all
all	other
other	things
things	even
even	if
if	the
the	connections
connections	are
are	not
not	observable
observable	Those
Those	connections
connections	can
can	be
be	direct
direct	or
or	indirect
indirect	Ultimately
Ultimately	because
because	everything
everything	in
in	existence
existence	exists
exists	coherently
coherently	all
all	things
things	are
are	connected
connected	in
in	more
more	ways
ways	than
than	are
are	visible
visible	This
This	brings
brings	a
a	very
very	new
new	more
more	literal
literal	meaning
meaning	to
to	two
two	of
of	my
my	favorite
favorite	scriptures
scriptures	Mathew
Mathew	But
But	I
I	say
say	unto
unto	you
you	Love
Love	your
your	enemies
enemies	bless
bless	them
them	that
that	curse
curse	you
you	do
do	good
good	to
to	them
them	that
that	hate
hate	you
you	and
and	pray
pray	for
for	them
them	which
which	despitefully
despitefully	use
use	you
you	and
and	persecute
persecute	you
you	and
and	Mark
Mark	Thou
Thou	shalt
shalt	love
love	thy
thy	neighbor
neighbor	as
as	thyself
thyself	There
There	is
is	none
none	other
other	commandment
commandment	greater
greater	than
than	these
these	If
If	you
you	consider
consider	no
no	separation
separation	between
between	things
things	then
then	love
love	of
of	your
your	neighbor
neighbor	is
is	literally
literally	love
love	for
for	yourself
yourself	and
and	love
love	of
of	your
your	enemy
enemy	is
is	love
love	for
for	yourself
yourself	Love
Love	of
of	an
an	enemy
enemy	and
and	love
love	of
of	a
a	close
close	friend
friend	are
are	the
the	same
same	Conversely
Conversely	hating
hating	an
an	enemy
enemy	and
and	hating
hating	a
a	close
close	friend
friend	are
are	also
also	the
the	same
same	This
This	is
is	an
an	essential
essential	teaching
teaching	in
in	Zen
Zen	and
and	it
it	also
also	one
one	of
of	the
the	main
main	teachings
teachings	of
of	Christ
Christ	Once
Once	again
again	this
this	can
can	be
be	viewed
viewed	two
two	ways
ways	one
one	on
on	a
a	deeper
deeper	more
more	spiritual
spiritual	level
level	and
and	secondly
secondly	on
on	a
a	very
very	literal
literal	level
level	In
In	a
a	literal
literal	sense
sense	any
any	emotion
emotion	put
put	into
into	the
the	world
world	will
will	affect
affect	the
the	world
world	If
If	a
a	person
person	goes
goes	throughout
throughout	their
their	day
day	in
in	a
a	Christlike
Christlike	way
way	then
then	they
they	will
will	touch
touch	all
all	of
of	those
those	they
they	come
come	into
into	contact
contact	with
with	with
with	love
love	If
If	that
that	same
same	person
person	goes
goes	thorough
thorough	their
their	day
day	in
in	a
a	negative
negative	way
way	then
then	they
they	will
will	still
still	touch
touch	all
all	of
of	those
those	they
they	come
come	into
into	contact
contact	with
with	only
only	this
this	time
time	with
with	hatred
hatred	It
It	might
might	seem
seem	that
that	being
being	rude
rude	to
to	someone
someone	you
you	don
don	t
t	know
know	or
or	even
even	just
just	do
do	not
not	like
like	will
will	not
not	affect
affect	you
you	or
or	the
the	ones
ones	you
you	care
care	about
about	but
but	I
I	think
think	that
that	this
this	is
is	untrue
untrue	You
You	may
may	not
not	see
see	how
how	that
that	effect
effect	will
will	ever
ever	make
make	its
its	way
way	back
back	to
to	you
you	or
or	someone
someone	you
you	care
care	about
about	but
but	eventually
eventually	it
it	will
will	When
When	we
we	are
are	kind
kind	to
to	people
people	we
we	create
create	a
a	kinder
kinder	world
world	and
and	when
when	we
we	are
are	unkind
unkind	we
we	create
create	a
a	harsher
harsher	world
world	In
In	this
this	way
way	loving
loving	your
your	enemy
enemy	actually
actually	is
is	love
love	for
for	yourself
yourself	and
and	for
for	all
all	of
of	humanity
humanity	I
I	have
have	seen
seen	a
a	lot
lot	of
of	people
people	post
post	online
online	with
with	hateful
hateful	comments
comments	towards
towards	a
a	group
group	they
they	disagree
disagree	with
with	or
or	consider
consider	to
to	be
be	their
their	enemy
enemy	The
The	people
people	posting
posting	these
these	things
things	think
think	that
that	it
it	doesn
doesn	t
t	matter
matter	because
because	they
they	don
don	t
t	care
care	for
for	the
the	feelings
feelings	of
of	those
those	they
they	disagree
disagree	with
with	or
or	consider
consider	to
to	be
be	lesser
lesser	Even
Even	if
if	not
not	caring
caring	for
for	those
those	that
that	disagree
disagree	with
with	you
you	was
was	appropriate
appropriate	however
however	the
the	consequences
consequences	of
of	this
this	unkindness
unkindness	cannot
cannot	be
be	seen
seen	Firstly
Firstly	that
that	person
person	is
is	now
now	even
even	more
more	alienated
alienated	from
from	the
the	person
person	that
that	insulted
insulted	them
them	and
and	will
will	feel
feel	justified
justified	in
in	retaliating
retaliating	furthering
furthering	divide
divide	and
and	creating
creating	even
even	more
more	hate
hate	Secondly
Secondly	it
it	is
is	impossible
impossible	to
to	know
know	how
how	that
that	hate
hate	will
will	be
be	redirected
redirected	The
The	person
person	who
who	receives
receives	the
the	negative
negative	emotion
emotion	will
will	likely
likely	treat
treat	those
those	around
around	them
them	worse
worse	off
off	because
because	of
of	their
their	hurt
hurt	and
and	anger
anger	You
You	do
do	not
not	know
know	if
if	it
it	will
will	be
be	the
the	cashier
cashier	at
at	the
the	store
store	they
they	visit
visit	next
next	one
one	of
of	their
their	family
family	members
members	a
a	coworker
coworker	employee
employee	or
or	a
a	random
random	stranger
stranger	that
that	will
will	be
be	the
the	victim
victim	of
of	the
the	anger
anger	you
you	inspired
inspired	We
We	just
just	faced
faced	an
an	extremely
extremely	divisive
divisive	election
election	and
and	I
I	know
know	that
that	a
a	lot
lot	people
people	do
do	not
not	support
support	the
the	new
new	president
president	I
I	would
would	include
include	myself
myself	in
in	this
this	group
group	However
However	when
when	I
I	see
see	others
others	post
post	hateful
hateful	things
things	about
about	him
him	online
online	it
it	worries
worries	me
me	greatly
greatly	Not
Not	just
just	out
out	of
of	concern
concern	for
for	the
the	president
president	but
but	for
for	all
all	of
of	the
the	people
people	s
s	lives
lives	he
he	will
will	inadvertently
inadvertently	affect
affect	This
This	is
is	a
a	man
man	who
who	will
will	affect
affect	the
the	lives
lives	of
of	all
all	of
of	us
us	There
There	may
may	even
even	come
come	a
a	time
time	when
when	he
he	has
has	to
to	decide
decide	whether
whether	or
or	not
not	to
to	use
use	a
a	weapon
weapon	that
that	will
will	end
end	millions
millions	of
of	lives
lives	If
If	he
he	is
is	treated
treated	poorly
poorly	he
he	will
will	be
be	less
less	humane
humane	less
less	full
full	of
of	compassion
compassion	than
than	if
if	we
we	all
all	showed
showed	overwhelming
overwhelming	compassion
compassion	towards
towards	him
him	Even
Even	if
if	you
you	do
do	not
not	care
care	for
for	the
the	president
president	I
I	hope
hope	that
that	you
you	care
care	for
for	the
the	civilians
civilians	of
of	other
other	countries
countries	whose
whose	lives
lives	will
will	be
be	endangered
endangered	by
by	a
a	less
less	compassionate
compassionate	American
American	president
president	leading
leading	the
the	military
military	I
I	hope
hope	that
that	you
you	care
care	for
for	the
the	people
people	of
of	this
this	country
country	who
who	will
will	be
be	affected
affected	by
by	the
the	president
president	s
s	demeanor
demeanor	as
as	well
well	as
as	his
his	actions
actions	This
This	same
same	attitude
attitude	can
can	be
be	applied
applied	to
to	anyone
anyone	in
in	power
power	To
To	be
be	clear
clear	I
I	do
do	not
not	mean
mean	that
that	we
we	cannot
cannot	criticize
criticize	our
our	politicians
politicians	or
or	even
even	people
people	in
in	our
our	personal
personal	lives
lives	instead
instead	I
I	believe
believe	that
that	we
we	should
should	try
try	out
out	absolute
absolute	best
best	to
to	do
do	so
so	in
in	a
a	way
way	that
that	is
is	constructive
constructive	and
and	causes
causes	no
no	offense
offense	as
as	is
is	the
the	spirit
spirit	that
that	Christ
Christ	taught
taught	Before
Before	I
I	understood
understood	the
the	teaching
teaching	of
of	interbeing
interbeing	I
I	could
could	never
never	comprehended
comprehended	why
why	someone
someone	would
would	love
love	their
their	enemy
enemy	and
and	in
in	all
all	honesty
honesty	I
I	never
never	gave
gave	these
these	verses
verses	much
much	thought
thought	Now
Now	that
that	I
I	understand
understand	interbeing
interbeing	I
I	have
have	a
a	renewed
renewed	faith
faith	that
that	these
these	are
are	Christ
Christ	s
s	most
most	important
important	teachings
teachings	and
and	although
although	I
I	a
a	most
most	certainly
certainly	have
have	much
much	improvement
improvement	to
to	make
make	I
I	have
have	noticed
noticed	that
that	this
this	teaching
teaching	has
has	already
already	influenced
influenced	the
the	way
way	I
I	hold
hold	discussions
discussions	especially
especially	around
around	politics
politics	as
as	well
well	as
as	the
the	way
way	I
I	think
think	about
about	those
those	I
I	disagree
disagree	with
with	Interbeing
Interbeing	implies
implies	what
what	Jesus
Jesus	taught
taught	that
that	we
we	should
should	do
do	unto
unto	others
others	as
as	we
we	would
would	have
have	them
them	do
do	unto
unto	us
us	but
but	it
it	further
further	implies
implies	that
that	what
what	we
we	do
do	to
to	other
other	s
s	is
is	also
also	done
done	to
to	all
all	of
of	humanity
humanity	The
The	Dangers
Dangers	of
of	Knowledge
Knowledge	The
The	Buddha
Buddha	was
was	extremely
extremely	worried
worried	that
that	people
people	would
would	confusing
confusing	his
his	teachings
teachings	with
with	what
what	he
he	taught
taught	about
about	After
After	his
his	enlightenment
enlightenment	he
he	refused
refused	to
to	teach
teach	others
others	what
what	he
he	had
had	learned
learned	because
because	he
he	feared
feared	he
he	could
could	not
not	convey
convey	it
it	properly
properly	and
and	that
that	misconceptions
misconceptions	about
about	his
his	teaching
teaching	would
would	only
only	hurt
hurt	people
people	s
s	ability
ability	to
to	achieve
achieve	liberation
liberation	To
To	prevent
prevent	his
his	followers
followers	from
from	becoming
becoming	confused
confused	by
by	his
his	teachings
teachings	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	taught
taught	that
that	his
his	teachings
teachings	are
are	like
like	a
a	finger
finger	pointing
pointing	to
to	the
the	moon
moon	The
The	finger
finger	could
could	be
be	instrumental
instrumental	in
in	showing
showing	the
the	moon
moon	to
to	another
another	but
but	even
even	so
so	it
it	would
would	be
be	absolutley
absolutley	ridiculous
ridiculous	to
to	ever
ever	suggest
suggest	that
that	the
the	finger
finger	was
was	the
the	moon
moon	Confusing
Confusing	the
the	finger
finger	with
with	the
the	moon
moon	would
would	detrimental
detrimental	because
because	one
one	who
who	thought
thought	they
they	had
had	already
already	found
found	the
the	moon
moon	would
would	quit
quit	looking
looking	and
and	not
not	able
able	to
to	see
see	it
it	when
when	it
it	finally
finally	was
was	visible
visible	to
to	them
them	In
In	Zen
Zen	all
all	teachings
teachings	are
are	considered
considered	ultimately
ultimately	useless
useless	without
without	application
application	For
For	this
this	reason
reason	many
many	Zen
Zen	masters
masters	have
have	stated
stated	that
that	Zen
Zen	is
is	not
not	a
a	religion
religion	not
not	a
a	philosophy
philosophy	but
but	instead
instead	is
is	a
a	practice
practice	Mistaking
Mistaking	the
the	teachings
teachings	of
of	Zen
Zen	for
for	that
that	which
which	Zen
Zen	exist
exist	to
to	help
help	find
find	is
is	a
a	dangerous
dangerous	mistake
mistake	and
and	I
I	believe
believe	the
the	same
same	is
is	true
true	of
of	Jesus
Jesus	s
s	teachings
teachings	Without
Without	application
application	any
any	teaching
teaching	is
is	useless
useless	Love
Love	thy
thy	neighbor
neighbor	means
means	nothing
nothing	Actually
Actually	taking
taking	the
the	time
time	to
to	love
love	and
and	care
care	for
for	your
your	neighbors
neighbors	is
is	the
the	true
true	teaching
teaching	of
of	Christianity
Christianity	I
I	think
think	that
that	all
all	too
too	often
often	people
people	get
get	caught
caught	up
up	in
in	scripture
scripture	This
This	is
is	how
how	the
the	parable
parable	of
of	the
the	finger
finger	and
and	moon
moon	applies
applies	to
to	Christianity
Christianity	Scripture
Scripture	is
is	the
the	finger
finger	pointing
pointing	us
us	to
to	God
God	s
s	will
will	however
however	scripture
scripture	is
is	not
not	itself
itself	God
God	s
s	will
will	it
it	is
is	only
only	a
a	direction
direction	towards
towards	it
it	Scripture
Scripture	is
is	of
of	course
course	important
important	but
but	only
only	to
to	the
the	extent
extent	that
that	we
we	apply
apply	what
what	we
we	read
read	to
to	our
our	lives
lives	Without
Without	that
that	application
application	is
is	is
is	nothing
nothing	more
more	than
than	religious
religious	dogma
dogma	If
If	someone
someone	looks
looks	to
to	the
the	finger
finger	pointing
pointing	at
at	the
the	moon
moon	and
and	doesn
doesn	t
t	use
use	it
it	to
to	find
find	the
the	moon
moon	the
the	finger
finger	is
is	meaningless
meaningless	If
If	someone
someone	looks
looks	to
to	scripture
scripture	and
and	doesn
doesn	t
t	use
use	it
it	to
to	live
live	in
in	a
a	Christlike
Christlike	way
way	the
the	scripture
scripture	is
is	meaningless
meaningless	In
In	a
a	similar
similar	parable
parable	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	taught
taught	about
about	a
a	man
man	whose
whose	entire
entire	family
family	was
was	killed
killed	by
by	robbers
robbers	while
while	he
he	was
was	in
in	town
town	The
The	robbers
robbers	also
also	burned
burned	all
all	of
of	the
the	bodies
bodies	beyond
beyond	recognition
recognition	On
On	his
his	return
return	he
he	went
went	into
into	a
a	depression
depression	and
and	spent
spent	the
the	next
next	year
year	in
in	sadness
sadness	carrying
carrying	the
the	ashes
ashes	of
of	his
his	family
family	around
around	his
his	neck
neck	What
What	he
he	did
did	not
not	know
know	however
however	is
is	that
that	one
one	of
of	his
his	son
son	s
s	had
had	been
been	taken
taken	prisoner
prisoner	by
by	the
the	robbers
robbers	and
and	later
later	escaped
escaped	When
When	his
his	son
son	finally
finally	made
made	his
his	way
way	home
home	his
his	father
father	became
became	enraged
enraged	that
that	someone
someone	was
was	pretending
pretending	to
to	be
be	his
his	son
son	after
after	all
all	he
he	knew
knew	his
his	son
son	to
to	be
be	dead
dead	The
The	son
son	plead
plead	with
with	his
his	father
father	but
but	the
the	father
father	was
was	not
not	able
able	to
to	let
let	go
go	of
of	what
what	he
he	believed
believed	to
to	be
be	true
true	and
and	eventually
eventually	the
the	son
son	left
left	Another
Another	story
story	demonstrates
demonstrates	the
the	same
same	point
point	Mara
Mara	Buddhism
Buddhism	s
s	Satan
Satan	figure
figure	and
and	his
his	assistants
assistants	were
were	watching
watching	a
a	man
man	practice
practice	walking
walking	mediation
mediation	when
when	the
the	man
man	stopped
stopped	and
and	picked
picked	something
something	up
up	One
One	of
of	Mara
Mara	s
s	companions
companions	asked
asked	him
him	what
what	was
was	picked
picked	up
up	and
and	Mara
Mara	replied
replied	A
A	piece
piece	of
of	truth
truth	The
The	questioner
questioner	replied
replied	Doesn
Doesn	t
t	this
this	bother
bother	you
you	when
when	someone
someone	finds
finds	a
a	pice
pice	of
of	truth
truth	O
O	Evil
Evil	One
One	Finally
Finally	Mara
Mara	responded
responded	No
No	Right
Right	after
after	this
this	they
they	usually
usually	make
make	a
a	belief
belief	out
out	of
of	it
it	Both
Both	of
of	these
these	allegories
allegories	demonstrate
demonstrate	the
the	danger
danger	of
of	overconfidence
overconfidence	in
in	knowledge
knowledge	Even
Even	the
the	greatest
greatest	religious
religious	scholar
scholar	has
has	more
more	to
to	learn
learn	about
about	the
the	teachings
teachings	of
of	the
the	Christ
Christ	However
However	if
if	we
we	become
become	sure
sure	that
that	our
our	way
way	of
of	thinking
thinking	is
is	the
the	correct
correct	way
way	or
or	the
the	only
only	way
way	then
then	we
we	disable
disable	any
any	chance
chance	for
for	ourselves
ourselves	to
to	grow
grow	and
and	improve
improve	If
If	what
what	we
we	know
know	is
is	absolute
absolute	then
then	we
we	stunt
stunt	any
any	chance
chance	at
at	spiritual
spiritual	growth
growth	I
I	try
try	my
my	hardest
hardest	to
to	not
not	allow
allow	myself
myself	to
to	have
have	any
any	religious
religious	beliefs
beliefs	that
that	I
I	know
know	to
to	be
be	true
true	To
To	do
do	so
so	would
would	only
only	stop
stop	me
me	from
from	growing
growing	spiritually
spiritually	I
I	have
have	beliefs
beliefs	I
I	hold
hold	strongly
strongly	that
that	I
I	have
have	faith
faith	in
in	but
but	I
I	always
always	try
try	and
and	be
be	in
in	a
a	state
state	to
to	accept
accept	changes
changes	or
or	re
re	evaluate
evaluate	my
my	beliefs
beliefs	I
I	don
don	t
t	want
want	to
to	be
be	like
like	the
the	man
man	who
who	couldn
couldn	t
t	recognize
recognize	his
his	son
son	because
because	of
of	he
he	was
was	stubborn
stubborn	Buddha
Buddha	taught
taught	that
that	his
his	teachings
teachings	were
were	like
like	a
a	raft
raft	useful
useful	for
for	crossing
crossing	the
the	river
river	but
but	if
if	you
you	carried
carried	it
it	with
with	you
you	beyond
beyond	that
that	you
you	would
would	only
only	slow
slow	yourself
yourself	down
down	The
The	biggest
biggest	threat
threat	to
to	enlightenment
enlightenment	is
is	counter
counter	intuitively
intuitively	the
the	teachings
teachings	about
about	how
how	to
to	achieve
achieve	enlightenment
enlightenment	I
I	think
think	that
that	to
to	an
an	extent
extent	the
the	same
same	can
can	also
also	be
be	true
true	about
about	Christ
Christ	s
s	teachings
teachings	They
They	provide
provide	a
a	guide
guide	to
to	unmeasurable
unmeasurable	happiness
happiness	but
but	in
in	their
their	misinterpretation
misinterpretation	can
can	also
also	be
be	a
a	roadblock
roadblock	to
to	such
such	hapiness
hapiness	The
The	reason
reason	these
these	teachings
teachings	can
can	be
be	so
so	dangerous
dangerous	is
is	because
because	of
of	how
how	powerful
powerful	they
they	are
are	The
The	teachings
teachings	of
of	Christ
Christ	are
are	probably
probably	the
the	most
most	profound
profound	words
words	spoken
spoken	on
on	earth
earth	and
and	therefore
therefore	so
so	many
many	people
people	feel
feel	strongly
strongly	in
in	them
them	Misdirected
Misdirected	though
though	that
that	power
power	can
can	be
be	dangerous
dangerous	On
On	my
my	first
first	applying
applying	this
this	teaching
teaching	of
of	skepticism
skepticism	of
of	strong
strong	beliefs
beliefs	to
to	my
my	understanding
understanding	in
in	Christ
Christ	I
I	egotistically
egotistically	thought
thought	that
that	is
is	a
a	teaching
teaching	that
that	a
a	lot
lot	of
of	people
people	could
could	benefit
benefit	from
from	About
About	a
a	half
half	second
second	later
later	I
I	realized
realized	how
how	ridiculous
ridiculous	it
it	was
was	that
that	I
I	thought
thought	something
something	would
would	be
be	good
good	for
for	other
other	people
people	and
and	at
at	the
the	same
same	time
time	completely
completely	exonerated
exonerated	myself
myself	from
from	any
any	form
form	of
of	self
self	reflection
reflection	I
I	could
could	write
write	much
much	more
more	about
about	how
how	Zen
Zen	has
has	helped
helped	me
me	in
in	my
my	personal
personal	life
life	and
and	as
as	a
a	Christian
Christian	but
but	I
I	think
think	this
this	post
post	is
is	long
long	enough
enough	as
as	is
is	A
A	relative
relative	recently
recently	asked
asked	me
me	what
what	I
I	though
though	about
about	the
the	Buddhist
Buddhist	sutras
sutras	and
and	their
their	and
and	importance
importance	relative
relative	to
to	the
the	Bible
Bible	I
I	m
m	still
still	not
not	sure
sure	if
if	I
I	have
have	an
an	answer
answer	for
for	that
that	but
but	what
what	I
I	do
do	know
know	is
is	that
that	I
I	was
was	taught
taught	growing
growing	up
up	that
that	if
if	you
you	read
read	scripture
scripture	you
you	would
would	know
know	if
if	it
it	was
was	true
true	by
by	the
the	presence
presence	of
of	the
the	spirit
spirit	as
as	you
you	read
read	I
I	believe
believe	I
I	received
received	that
that	for
for	the
the	scriptures
scriptures	I
I	grew
grew	up
up	reading
reading	Recently
Recently	I
I	have
have	read
read	several
several	religious
religious	texts
texts	and
and	scripture
scripture	from
from	various
various	religions
religions	and
and	I
I	haven
haven	t
t	felt
felt	the
the	same
same	feeling
feeling	I
I	did
did	with
with	the
the	Bible
Bible	until
until	I
I	read
read	the
the	Buddhist
Buddhist	sutras
sutras	I
I	don
don	t
t	know
know	exactly
exactly	what
what	the
the	relationship
relationship	between
between	The
The	God
God	of
of	Israel
Israel	and
and	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	is
is	but
but	I
I	believe
believe	there
there	is
is	one
one	I
I	also
also	believe
believe	that
that	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	s
s	enlightenment
enlightenment	his
his	teachings
teachings	and
and	many
many	of
of	the
the	teachings
teachings	based
based	on
on	his
his	life
life	since
since	then
then	were
were	inspired
inspired	by
by	the
the	same
same	God
God	we
we	worship
worship	as
as	Christians
Christians	If
If	you
you	are
are	interested
interested	in
in	hearing
hearing	more
more	on
on	this
this	subject
subject	as
as	well
well	as
as	Zen
Zen	in
in	general
general	I
I	would
would	love
love	if
if	you
you	followed
followed	me
me	here
here	or
or	on
on	Twitter
Twitter	Mormon
Mormon	Open
Open	Blog
Blog	A
A	Mormon
Mormon	community
community	on
on	Medium
Medium	BUTTON
BUTTON	BUTTON
BUTTON	Christianity
Christianity	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	Mormon
Mormon	BUTTON
BUTTON	claps
claps	BUTTON
BUTTON	BUTTON
BUTTON	BUTTON
BUTTON	BUTTON
BUTTON	BUTTON
BUTTON	BUTTON
BUTTON	Mormon
Mormon	Open
Open	Blog
Blog	Mormon
Mormon	Open
Open	Blog
Blog	A
A	Mormon
Mormon	community
community	on
on	Medium
Medium	Jaxon
Jaxon	Evans
Evans	Written
Written	by
by	Jaxon
Jaxon	Evans
Evans	BUTTON
BUTTON	Follow
Follow	BUTTON
BUTTON	I
I	write
write	to
to	learn
learn	as
as	I
I	explore
explore	religion
religion	philosophy
philosophy	and
and	metaphysics
metaphysics	iOS
iOS	Developer
Developer	Zen
Zen	Buddhist
Buddhist	jax
jax	evans
evans	on
on	Twitter
Twitter	Mormon
Mormon	Open
Open	Blog
Blog	Mormon
Mormon	Open
Open	Blog
Blog	A
A	Mormon
Mormon	community
community	on
on	Medium
Medium	More
More	From
From	Medium
Medium	Suffering
Suffering	and
and	Hope
Hope	Exodus
Exodus	Darryl
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jpeg	Turning
Turning	Grief
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into	Blessings
Blessings	Jeffrey
Jeffrey	Erkelens
Erkelens	YNYGOv
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Tales	My
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Life	R
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Blog	Kathleen
Kathleen	Meyer
Meyer	hn
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Learning	Humility
Humility	and
and	The
The	Sacrament
Sacrament	of
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the	Present
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Lyndsey	Huckaby
Huckaby	in
in	Reflections
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on	Music
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