More than ever, Christians today have access to the teachings and practices from other world religions which have helped countless millions through the ages grow in holiness. Meditative practices, in particular, have made inroads into Christian spiritual practice to the extent that it’s become quite common to find Christian retreat centers offering workshops on yoga, zen, vipassana, and other Eastern practices. Some have argued that this might not be such a good thing for a number of reasons, while others have stated that Eastern forms of meditation have been a help to them. From my own experience, I can see the validity of both sides.

While I’m quite certain that one can use a practice from another religion without losing the perspective of Christian faith, I do think it’s worthwhile to note that most of the Eastern forms of meditation which have found their way into Christianty are concentrative methods. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, only I have noticed through my own practice and in working with others that the more time one spends doing concentrative practices, the less energy and movement there seems to be in the will and emotions. If you are a Buddhist intent on diminishing the experience of desire, which is considered the root cause of our misery, then this is a good thing, obviously. It could also be a good thing for Christians if our desires and emotions are giving us a bumpy ride.

Even so, I will state here my personal reservation about recommending any concentrative method as the mainstay for one’s Christian meditation practice. This includes John Main’s method Christian Meditation, which is basically a mantra akin to Transcendental Meditation, only using the word “maranatha” instead of a Sanskrit word. My reason for this, as stated above, is because there seems to be an inverse relationship between concentrative methods and relational spirituality. I say this based on my own experience of using concentrative methods like Zazen, Vipassana, and Christian Meditation, and from extensive discussions with others who do so. It’s also pretty obvious that these practices in other world religions have evolved in the context of non-relational spiritualities, and I think they actually reinforce that stance--perhaps even account for it.

It’s not so much that the fruits of concentrative methods are bad; except for this diminishment of a sense of affectivity and volitionality, they aren’t. They do help calm the mind, increase one’s energy and sense of peace, and expand one’s awareness. Ultimately, I think they lead to a kind of impersonal mystical experience known in the East as “cosmic consciousness” or “enlightenment.” This is a good experience, and one can even accept it while affirming all the truths taught by Christianity. There is nothing about enlightenment per se which negates Christian faith. Only . . . again . . . from my own experiences, here, I’m not so sure that enlightenment is the goal to which Christian faith tends.

It seems to me that there’s something about relational spirituality--even in its apophatic manifestations--which calls forth a different kind of development of our humanity before God than concentrative methods do. There is a sense of self which develops from “being-in-relationship” that is quite different from the sense of self (if any) which ensues from concentrative methods. In the latter case, the deep self is ultimately known as the subject of awareness, through which one is deeply connected with everything arising from the Ground of Awareness, namely God. In receptive methods, something of this can be known as well since a transformation of consciousness does occur through time. But what predominates is a sense of being connected with God in love through the volitional dimension of our being. Paradoxically, because of this union we also come to a deeper sense of self and individuality, knowing ourselves to be both a subject and object of love. We affirm the reality of our existence as an individual creation of God, and the reality of God as an “Other” who calls forth our love and growth.

In exploring methods of prayer and evaluating their influence in our lives, I think it is of vital importance that we keep in mind the truth about God and human destiny which come to us in Christianity. What is God really trying to give us in Christ? Eastern enlightenment? Nirvana? An experience of impersonal cosmic consciousness? I don’t think so. The invitation, rather, seems to be to a complete loving union in which our humanity is transformed by grace into a likeness of Christ, wherein the individual self God created us to be is also affirmed and developed. It can be no other way in a true loving relationship, and love is the heart of Christian mysticism. Love unites while differentiating those united. You can’t have love without at least two, and part of love’s joy is to appreciate and enhance the beauty of the one who is loved. When you truly love someone, you love them *because* they are “other,” because they possess a reality and beauty that you see and feel drawn to. And if the other loves you, they see the same and respond accordingly. When we know we are loved by another, we come into deeper possession of our own being, realizing something of the beauty which the other sees.

So there you have my “biases” about this topic. Perhaps a few words by Wayne Teasedale from his wonderful book, The Mystic Heart, can also help us to understand something of the implications of concentrative and receptive practices:

If transformation is only a matter of consciousness, then there is always the risk that the change may never touch the deeply hidden intentions of the heart. If the will is not involved in the radical change the spiritual process initiates, then the resultant “enlightenment is only partial. It leaves intact the will’s autonomous decisions, free from the influence of the knowledge acquired in the enlightenment experience

This partial transformation is especially apparent in the world of organized religion. A few partially enlightened gurus, roshis and rinpoches given in to sexually abusing or manipulating their disciples, thus bringing shame on their traditions, their lineages, and themselves. . . Achieving an ultimate awareness of the way things are is simply not enough!

With these cautions and provisos in mind, then, I think any Christian who is mature in his or her faith-understanding can benefit from some of the concentrative/Eastern methods of meditation. Taken in small doses, and in concert with Lectio Divina and receptive methods of apophatic meditation, they can help to clear the awareness and reduce the level of distractions in prayer. A few links to web pages describing some of these methods are provided below, along with a few other relevant materials.

Further Reading

Zazen Instruction. Very basic and easy to understand.
Vipassana meditation. Also basic instruction on this practice of awareness.
Meditation links (mostly on Eastern practices) From holisticonline.com, a great web site for holistic health resources.
Mantra meditation. A few examples of how to use a mantra, with a discussion of the “relaxation response” and its many benefits.
Transcendental Meditation. It swept through the world a couple of decades ago and is still around.
East - West Contemplative Dialogue. Links to a number of discussions relevant to this topic by Jim Arraj.
Contemplative Prayer. 7 minute Real Audio message by Philip St. Romain

Reflection and Discussion

1. What are some of your thoughts and comments on this topic?

2. If you have practiced Eastern forms of meditation, have you found them helpful? Please consider sharing your experiences with other forum members.