Zendancer's Book

[skyblue]

A Path to Christ Consciousness

I love simplicity. Truth should be simple and Zendancer has eloquently written a book that explains nonduality in simple terms. I wish I could get this book into the hands of every Christian who is seeking more than what their church is giving them. Like Scott Kiloby, ZD has a gift for relating nonduality in terms that I can understand.

When I read the book again, I will be highlighting the many pointers he gives. This isn't a self help book that gives step by step instructions but he does give pointers to the waking up process.

Thanks Zendancer for sharing your words with us.

SkyBlue

[R]

Where can this book be obtained?

[zendancer]

New copies of the book were listed on Amazon, but for some reason, they are not currently shown as available. Amazon has been contacted, and they should be listed as available within the next 24 hours. If no copies appear there shortly, then they can be ordered from The Very Center, 1615 Brown Ave, Unit #2, Cookeville, TN 38501 for $15.00 plus $3.95 for shipping.

[zendancer]

Amazon just fixed the problem and the book is now listed there through the seller Woodesigns, Inc.

[jeff]

I have also read Zendancer's book, and it helped me to better contextualize my experience in a Christian family that was raised in a town where no matter what denomination you were, it's all southern baptist. Those days are gone and the wounds are healed, and this book reminds me of the journey. The thing I like most about this book is it drips with a kind of honesty and sincerity that is rare. The author isn't selling you a hero's journey at all. In fact, there are things about this book that you just will not find in others because people are just too prideful to reveal these parts of themselves. I read it and thought "I've been in the same position, thought very similar things, but would never admit to it." Courage, as it turns out, is to tell even the things you could leave out, but that show the frailty and weakness that all of us have. I'm fortunate to have this in my shelf to refer to as needed in my search...and hopefully when my search is no more.

[Guest]

So the book is written by a zen buddhist? Yet the theme is Christianity? I don't think many fundi Christians will dig it.

[Guest]

Is this it?

www.amazon.com/Christ-Consciousness-Ocean-Non-Conceptual-Awareness/dp/1892679000/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276021576&sr=1-1

[Guest]

I typed both of those names into google both the authors are not Christian they are Buddhist.

Paul Lynch, JDPSN
Guiding Teacher, Five Mountain Order
Paul Dochong Lynch, JDPSN received Inka, which is approval to teach koans and lead retreats, from Zen Master Moore on April 9, 2006. His title, Jido popsa-nim means Honored Dharma Master and is the equivalent to the title of Sensei bestowed in Japanese Lineages. Popsa-nim has been the Abbot of the Zen Center since 1993 and began practicing with Moore Sonsa-nim in the late eighties. Before coming to Zen Paul practiced Vipassana Buddhist Meditation for several years with a teacher in Escondido.

Robert Harwood
Director and Spiritual Leader of The Very Center in Cookeville, Tennessee
Bob Harwood has practiced Zen for almost 20 years and enjoys writing about mysticism in all spiritual traditions. He currently gives satsang in the Advaita Vedanta tradition, dharma talks in the Zen tradition, and workshops in meditation and mysticism in Christian churches. Bob's teaching is that who we are is already perfect and complete. Who we are is whole and complete, in love, at peace, and needs nothing. The sense of having a personal self is an illusion created by the intellect, and no separate entity exists who can attain enlightenment. The realization of this fact is what the word “enlightenment” points to. Anyone wanting to verify these claims need only stop, be still, and perceive what IS.

wapedia.mobi/en/Paul_W._Lynch

www.oezc.com/guidingteacher.html

I see they both own a Buddhist center. I see no Christian relation.

[Guest]

I see they both own a Buddhist center. I see no Christian relation.

Not that is matters im just interested in what two zen buddhists with over 20 years education and experience know about Christianity (maybe alot or very little?).

I typed onto google relation between Christianity and Buddhism and there didn't seem to be much except websites saying they are incompatible who knows those websites could be wrong. I guess i will buy the book and find out! Thanks.

[zendancer]

Guest: Sorry to be a disappointment in this respect, but my formal involvement with Zen ended in 1999 (a few days after my spiritual search came to an end). The links you posted date from the time period prior to 1999. The Very Center, a church that I started, has nothing to do with Buddhism. It was formed as an ecumenical spiritual center centered upon the practice of meditation. Most of the people who attend TVC would probably describe themselves as ecumenical or non-denominational in orientation.

What I am is beyond imagination, categorization, or belief, so for anyone to imagine that I am Buddhist, or Christian, or anything else, is, from my perspective, hysterically funny. When I was a teenager, I thought I was a Christian and a Southern Baptist. Later, I imagined that I was an agnostic, an intellectual, an existentialist, a Zen Buddhist, a man, a son, a father, a husband, a scientist, an artist, a poet, a writer, a builder, a teacher, a preacher, and at least a hundred other things. It turns out that all of these ideas were just ideas, and the truth was something far more interesting. LOL.

For people who consider themselves exclusively Christian and are interested in where the deep water lies in Christianity, I recommend they read my book "A Path To Christ Consciousness, Non-Conceptual Awareness Practice as a Doorway to the Infinite." It was written specifically for Christians. For people who are more open-minded and/or interested in Zen, Advaita, or nonduality, I recommend my book "Pouring Concrete, A Zen Path to the Kingdom of God," a somewhat humorous autobiography that describes the strange path this particular body/mind followed in pursuit of the truth. Cheers.

[Portto]

I read "Pouring Concrete, A Zen Path to the Kingdom of God," and it's very good.
It's not about any religious affiliation, it's about the search for identity and truth.
Zendancer started out as a Christian, but the same path can be followed by anyone who can't live within the constraints of a particular theology.

What I like about the book (and Zen in general) is that it's based on what you can experience. You don't have to imagine angels, fairies, multiple dimensions, and so on. Or travel through complicated labyrinths.

[zendancer]

Jun 8, 2010 13:46:24 GMT -5 @Guest said:

I see they both own a Buddhist center. I see no Christian relation.

Not that is matters im just interested in what two zen buddhists with over 20 years education and experience know about Christianity (maybe alot or very little?).

I typed onto google relation between Christianity and Buddhism and there didn't seem to be much except websites saying they are incompatible who knows those websites could be wrong. I guess i will buy the book and find out! Thanks.

Guest: This post of yours brought up a lot of great memories, so I thought I'd share some stories that pertain to the subject of Buddhist-Christian dialogue.

When my daughter was a teenager, we made a trip together to see the Dalai Lama. He had a brother who was a professor at a university (in Indiana, I think). We went there to hear an address the DL delivered to the student body. More than 5000 students showed up, and we had to watch it on a TV outside the main hall. The DL began by saying, "I apologize that I have nothing to give you today......." He paused, and a ripple of laughter slowly moved through the audience as more and more people saw the existential humor in his statement. His talk was very inclusive of all religions and he focused on what all spirituality points to. He talked a lot about the Tibetan practice of loving kindness and how that practice can create more tolerance among people.

The following day we went to the dedication of a new Tibetan facilty that was located a few miles from campus. There were at least a thousand people there including Stephen Segal, who looked like he was about seven feet tall and four feet wide (the guy is much bigger than he looks in his movies). The DL's brother started reading a dedication speech and broke down into uncontrollable sobbing, which continued for about ten minutes during the entire speech. It was somewhat surreal, but apparently his brother had not seen his famous relative for many years and was simply overcome with emotion. The DL gave another interesting talk, but seemed totally unconcerned about his brother's breakdown.

We then drove to Chicago where the DL was scheduled to address the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies the following day. My daughter and I were probably the only people who had signed up for the conference who were not monks, professors, or theologians. The first meeting was held in a downtown theatre and it was filled with saffron-robed monks from Thailand, purple-robed Tibetan lamas, black-robed Zen monks, brown robed Korean monks, and about two hundred Christian theologians and writers. When the DL came onto the stage, it felt like a wave of love swept through the audience that was almost tangible--one of the strangest things I've ever experienced, and it happened almost every time the DL joined the group. His presence seemed to make everyone in the theatre break out into a huge grin and become filled with love. Lots of famous folks were there and it was the most loving group of Buddhists and Christians I've ever experienced in person.

The following day we went to the Loyola campus where the DL was the main feature. The only thing I remember from that morning session was the question/answer period. A young jesuit theologian asked the DL a long and very angry question. He basically asked, "What are we going to do about the inhuman corporations that run the world, the despotic governments that mistreat their citizens, the churches that support corrupt governments, etc. etc.?? His question lasted for what seemed like five minutes and was full of righteous indignation and anger. The question had to be translated for the DL, who kept nodding his head and looking as if he were lost in deep thought. When the question finally came to an end, everyone in the room--about 500 people--was a bit on edge and somewhat embarrassed at the guy's tirade, but the DL nodded his head in understanding one last time, looked at the fellow in great seriousness, and said, "I don't know." With those words the entire room erupted in a howl of laughter that lasted several minutes. It was too funny. The guy had essentially asked, "How are we going to solve all of the problems in the world?" and the Dalai Lama's simple, sincere, and humble answer cut through all the anger and resistance with only three words. He was saying, in effect, "I'm no magician; I'm just a human being doing the best I can."

After that large meeting, my daughter I went to several smaller meetings, and met preachers, professors, and theologians from all over the world--all of whom had come because of their interest in expanding a Christian Buddhist dialogue. We met Episcopal ministers from Germany who practiced Zen and lots of Catholic theologians who had gone on retreats with Tibetan monks and Zen Masters. Certainly the liberal wing of Christian theology was well represented, but I confess that we didn't meet any Southern Baptists there. LOL. There were many other fascinating things that happened on that trip, but hopefully this will provide the general flavor of the goodwill that we experienced during that ecumenical gathering of Christians and Buddhists.

[cabinintheforest]

Bob Harwood has practiced Zen for almost 20 years and enjoys writing about mysticism in all spiritual traditions

The truth comes out, i knew zendancer was some kind of spiritual master maybe not a zen monk but very close.

[cabinintheforest]

Regarding the relation of Buddhism and Christianity i found Christianity mixed with Hinduism?

It mixes vedanta with the bible?? Bede Griffiths

Here is the link en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_Christianity

[zendancer]

Cabin: Yes, Bede Griffiths was one of many Christian contemplatives in India who realized that Hinduism and Christianity were both pointing to something deeper than the belief systems that carry those names. His book, "Return to the Center," is essentially about nonduality. He was a very interesting fellow.