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Religious (anti-)clinging
skullchin
Veteran
Hi, quite awhile ago I "got saved" (which was an awesome experience BTW) and fell in w/ a crowd of very conservative, evangelical christians. I am no longer a conservative evangelical but somewhere between contemplative christianity (Thomas Merton, Cloud of Unknowing) and Western Buddhism (Thich Nhat Hanh, Jack Kornfield).
My problem is that I now inwardly despise evangelical Christianity. Isn't this just another form of clinging (being repulsed by something)? How can I embrace these people with compassion?
My problem is that I now inwardly despise evangelical Christianity. Isn't this just another form of clinging (being repulsed by something)? How can I embrace these people with compassion?
0
Comments
Yup. "Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."
Firstly, why do you despise evangelical Christianity? Do you despise what the Bible teaches, what other people say it teaches, the way you saw these people act? I would narrow it down and identify the real issue, and not let it spread to hating "evangelical Christianity as a whole and everything associated with it."
In my opinion the best way to turn disgust and anger into compassion is to look at the thing/situation/person you feel those things for as a reflection of yourself.
Then, start by turning the hatred/disgust of that aspect of you into into understanding, forgiveness, compassion and love for yourself.
Easier said than done.
Fivebells, what?? :-/
You might start off by asking your self, “What you I blaming the Christians for? For instance, is it your disappointment that what they claimed to be giving you, didn’t pan out?
With such strong feelings, I bet there is a treasure house of your own emotions to study. This is what wisdom is all about, passing through the fire of suffering, and learning from it.
When we deflect blame on another, it may turn out that there is something in our self that we cannot accept, and that we cannot forgive.
Just a thought,
S9
You despise these people, and have trouble feeling warm towards them. Fully experiencing the spite will release it. Opening to the spite and feeling warm towards it will go a long way to that end.
These people have embraced Jesus as their saviour.
As such, leave them alone because there is no need for you to exercise compassion.
They do not need your embrace and you do not need their embrace.
It sounds like you have gone from one evangelical religion to another.
:buck:
First, examine yourself and question how you yourself ever cherished such a doctrine?
Second, examine why you are repulsed? Is it because often these people are willing to condemn another's religion and even destroy another's religion? Is it because often these people are willing to intrude & impinge on the mind of others, in a very aggressive & covetous manner?
If so, reflect on it deeply, know it thoroughly & then forget it. The Buddha said: Be careful of embracing. Not everyone wants your love. Buddha Mind is luminous & complete in itself. It does not require the embrace of others. Jesus said: My recommendation is to avoid such sentiment, even if you hear it in Buddhism.
:smilec:
One of the ways in which I let go of my resentment towards my early exposure to evangelical Christianity was to cultivate a grateful mind. I ma now profoundly grateful that our Rector, John Stott, got me to read and re-read Scripture so that it became second nature to me. It taught me a method of study of sacred texts, and to develop my own.
Every thing has its season. At the time, when you became a Christian, the shoe fit. Then for one reason or another, you outgrew your need for it. These things that we do (take part in) along the way, may in hindsight seem like they are mistakes. But are they? Aren’t they rightly seen, merely stepping stones over which we must tread in order to get where we are going?
There was an Enlightened Master who said, “Sometimes, what appears to be a mistake is actually our quickest way home."
Think about it this way, if you can. You joined a group, and you got what they had to offer, and after that you were able to move on. This is a gift that has been given to you, (this ability to comprehend quickly, and also to move on), and those you have left behind were not so fortunate as yourself.
Q: "Try not you hate people for your gifts.”
Can you see what this quote is saying? I believe that ist is asking, "Should we slap people around, just because they are not as fortunate as we are?"
Seeing their plight with clarity, IS compassion, because your acts will flow from this clarity.
Peace,
S9