Spacious, Clear & Unimpeded.

3 month Autumn Retreat with Tarchin Hearn, by Phil Dyer,2003 Wangapeka Educational Trust, New Zealand.

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SUMMARY:

"There is a light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond us all, beyond the heavens, beyond the highest,

the very highest heavens. This is the Light that shines in our heart."

For seventy-six days I left the familiar form and language of Christianity to attend the Autumn Retreats led by the Canadian teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, Tarchin Hearn. I found stepping into the world of Buddhist meditation practice and Tantrayana not only a life-enriching experience, but one that revealed many parallels to the writings of Christian mystics. Using Teresa of Avila’s The Interior Castle, I explore similarities in these guides to "the Light that shines in our heart", and identify some of the reasons why Buddhism attracts so many westerners who have become disillusioned with traditional Christian answers.

 OBJECTIVES:

1. To share in a three month inter-faith experience as a way of comparing the relative strengths of each faith tradition, and to reflect upon my experience using St Teresa of Avila’s "The Interior Castle" as a basis for discussion

2. To review my present knowledge of meditation and learn possible strategies for teaching meditation practice

3. Following the Retreat to engage in a theological review with my course supervisor to identify ways this knowledge and experience can be used to meet contemporary interest in meditation by those in and outside the church.

 INSTITUTION:

The Wangapeka Study and Retreat Centre is located 80km south west of Nelson in the foothills of the Southern Alps overlooking the Wangapeka river. The centre is owned and operated by the Wangapeka Educational Trust, a registered NZ charity. It has its roots in the Buddhist tradition but aspires to be free from sectarianism and encourages the development of meaningful ecumenical faith expressions for people from all walks and persuasions of life. In 1980 Tarchin Hearn was invited to begin a teaching programme and now Wangapeka is his New Zealand base.

 

Tarchin Hearn was born in England and raised in Canada. He has more than 30 years of experience in Theravadin and Mahayana schools of Buddhism and was ordained as a monk for 12 years in the Tibetan tradition. In his early years he studied with such illuminating teachers as Namgyal Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, H.H. the XVIth Karmapa, and Ven. Sayadaw U Thila Wunta, as well as receiving teachings and transmissions from H.H. The Dalai Lama, H.H. Sakya Trizin, Chobgye Rinpoche, Ling Rinpoche, Trichang Rinpoche, Kanjur Rinpoche, Karma Thinley Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Thich Nhat Hanh.

Since 1977 he has taught in many countries and helped establish a number of centres for study and practice. Author of several books, he has been a guiding teacher for The Wangapeka Study and Retreat Centre. Writer, artist, poet, traveller and inspiring teacher, Tarchin sometimes describes himself as a yogi of the natural world. He has a great interest in blending the insights and understandings of science and ecology with the teachings of Buddha Dharma. Though well trained in Buddhism, Tarchin's way of teaching is thoroughly non-sectarian and universal in nature. Bringing together a wonderful balance of humour and seriousness, eclectic experimentation and classical tradition, Tarchin's teachings have inspired a vast range of people, from those who are new to the spiritual life, all the way through to people who are themselves already competent teachers of various different traditions.

 

LECTURE & SEMINARY EXPERIENCE:

A) General Comments:

From March the 14^th until May 30^th, 2003, I joined 16 other people from six different countries to attend three segments of a three month Retreat presented by Tarchin Hearn at the Wangapeka Study and Retreat Centre. Seven of the original group stayed for the full three months, with others joining or leaving at the beginning of each new segment. The programme was a ‘Retreat’ rather than an academic course. The purpose of the daily classes, which usually began with time for questions and observations, was to help us to engage in our meditation work for the day. For many the day began around 4am and ended around 9.00pm, and the time was amply filled with exercises provided in class, with breaks for meals, chores, and an hour’s manual work. At regular intervals during the programme there was opportunity to meet with Tarchin personally.

My sample day was as follows:

4am Rise

4.30am Sitting Meditation

6am Puja – A series of reflections that honour the mystery of life and refreshes an intention to live in a sane, healthy and compassionate manner

6.45am Breakfast

8am Class – followed by time I used to type up and research material presented in class

11am Dana to the land – opportunity to help with work around the centre

12.30pm Lunch

1.45pm Sitting Meditation

2.30pm Walking Meditation

3.00pm Sitting Meditation

4.15pm Kum Nye Class

6.00pm Dinner

7.00pm Sitting Meditation

7.45pm Walking Meditation

8.15pm Sitting Meditation

9pm Bed

 B) Course Summary:

The programme was divided into three blocks, followed by May 30^th – June 15^th being set aside for personal study on Teresa of Avila’s "Interior Castle".

Segment 1: March 14-30. Complete Embodiment.

A meditation retreat based around mindfulness of breathing and Kum Nye (a Tibetan form of body awareness work). Anapanasati, or breathing meditation, is one of the most fundamental tools of Awakening. It is a complete path in its own right and is the foundation practice for many other Buddhist disciplines. The retreat was suitable for meditators of all levels of experience and from any background or tradition. (March 30-April 3 was for deepening individual practice.)

 

This segment offered the most useful teaching material for introducing meditation practice into a parish setting. Using the Anapanasati Sutra as our guide, we were led step by step to establish a basic meditation practice using our breath as an initial point of focus. Meditation based on mindfulness of breathing is laid out in 16 steps, divided into four sections called Tetrads, and lead a person from the first steps of meditation practice through to the most advanced training they are capable of experiencing. Topics covered in this segment were: Basic meditation practice; Six realms of human experience; Four Foundations of Mindfulness; Working with difficult states of Mind; The nature of Mind; The five factors of absorption which lead into increasing effortless well being; Hindrances to meditation practice; Struggle; Patience; The Four Efforts; Impermanence and Freedom.

Segment 2: April 4 - 20 The Union of Wisdom and Compassion

The path of liberation through the meditation on Chenrezi, The Bodhisattva of Compassion. This was a deep and involved practice, combining all the 7 classical types of meditation (breathing, chakra, visualisation, mantra, movement, devotion and insight). In this retreat Tarchin gave extensive teaching on arising yoga from a Mahmudra/Dzog-chen perspective, and how it relates to mindfulness practice. Through following an ancient format, the retreat sought to strengthen one’s ability to bring deep seeing and warm hearted understanding to the moment by moment arisings of daily life. (April 20-24 – deepening days for individual practice).

The second and third segments of the retreat explored two major spiritual practices central to Tibetan Tantrayana. The methodology of many of the practices could be adapted for use within a Christian setting. Both explored the meditation practiced called ‘Arising Yoga’ using two Tibetan iconographical figures: Chenrezi and Vajrasattva. The second segment covered the following topics: Arising Yoga; 7 Types of meditation; The nature of Essence and Form; Sadhana Practices; Tibetan Iconographical Symbols; working with the Six Sense Doors ; The interplay between Wisdom and Compassion.

Segment 3:April 25 – May 29 Ngondro

The Preliminary Practices of Vajrayana Buddhism according to the Nyingma and Kargyu traditions of Tibet. This month concentrated on the first half of the Ngondro; Refuge and Vajrasattva. Ngondro or Foundation practices are often seen by westerners as preliminary work to be done before entering the more profound paths. According to the vehicles of Mahamudra/Dzog-chen this is by no means the case. When accompanied by a vast view of awakening, these practices open up into a most profound discovery; that our moment by moment life is wondrous, vitally engaging and profoundly meaningful, an unshakeable expression of wisdom and compassion. (May 23-29, deepening individual practice and gradually coming out of retreat).

This segment continued to explore, at much greater depth, the Vajrayana School of Buddhism begun in the second segment. It was divided into four parts:

 

1. Foundation Work: It began by exploring the ‘Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind’ (The rare privilege of a human birth; The impermanence of life; The reality of Cause and Effect; The reality of suffering). This led to extensive reflection on the questions "What is the foundation of our being?" and "Where do we find refuge?"

2. Activating the Awakened Mind: We briefly explored methods for engaging the attitude of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic-joy and equanimity. As well as the need to bring ever-fresh attentiveness into the tasks of everyday life. "Our work is to bring forth the heart-mind of love and brilliant attentiveness whether it be as we wash the dishes, or do dana to the land, or Satipatthana, or the Sadhana or whatever activity we are engaged in. For all things are expressions of Body, Speech and Mind. Our work is to come to an ever deeper appreciation of loving-kindness and bright ever-fresh attentiveness, and the desire to nourish this for ourselves and for others."

3. Refuge: Its source (Inspirational, Genetic, and Ecological) and hindrances.

4. The Arising Yoga of Vajrasattva as a vehicle for encouraging an experience of inter-being, clarity, an unshakeable sense of personal worth, giftedness and identity.

As in the earlier segment this one sought to help us develop the use of mantra, visualisation, devotion, insight and liturgy and ritual as means for personal change and growth.

OBJECTIVE 1:

To share in a three month inter-faith experience as a way of comparing the relative strengths of each faith tradition, and to reflect upon my experience using St Teresa of Avila’s "The Interior Castle" as a basis for discussion.

1. "Why Buddhism?"

Being a silent retreat there was little opportunity to discover much about the backgrounds of other retreatants, whose ages ranged from mid 20’s to 70+. There were approximately twice as many women as men, and except for the last retreat, New Zealanders were out numbered by those from other ‘western’ countries who had come because of Tarchin’s reputation as a teacher. As far as I was aware none were second generation Buddhists, although some had regarded themselves as Buddhists for a significant period of time. However, where comments were made, inevitably they revealed the person came from some form of Christian background which they no longer saw offering relevance to their life. Peter Spink, while working as Chaplain to the British Embassy Church in Vienna, noted a similar phenomena as he met many young people going east for enlightenment, and lamented that the method they sought was already part of our Christian heritage.

In one of the books I read prior to going on study leave, Vickie Mackenzie notes that drawn by her own need for meaning, she first turned to her Christian religious roots and found the Church:

"no more than a replica of the social service agencies bent on ‘going out there and doing good’. Where was the mystery, the spirituality, a vehicle that could explain the reality that lay behind the outer show of things? When my friend told me she was going to Nepal to meditate with the lamas, I leapt at the chance to go with her."

Her experience was a familiar thread in the fifteen life stories she recounts in Why Buddhism – Westerners in search of wisdom. Among the stories, gathered from a wide range of backgrounds, we hear of the human quest to find answers to questions of ultimate concern. Buddhism appealed for many reasons: ‘it was a living embodied spirituality’, ‘backed by scholarship, philosophy, ethics and compassion’, ‘that was clear, logical, straightforward and seemed relatively mumbo-jumbo-free’; ‘it gave them hope, without strictures and dogmas’; ‘it taught you the art of friendship first towards oneself and then to all of life’; ‘stresses the individual was responsible for the individual’s world’; and ‘offered a practical alternative to the materialism of western culture’.

While Christians may claim that these qualities are not lacking in the Church, Kevin Ward speaks of five social trends that seem to have significant impact on the decline of the place of the church in NZ society: Individualism, Privateism, Pluralism, Relativism, Anti-institutionalism. Elements of his analysis sound familiar in Mackenzie’s book and in the brief comments from those on retreat.

Some of the obvious and ‘attractive’ qualities I noted of Buddhism were:

• It was personal. The emphasis is very much on the individual. ‘I have an opportunity to awaken in this lifetime.’ ‘ There is a practical way to find happiness, fulfilment, and purpose.’ ‘ Here is someone who can give me the guidelines and to whom I can refer my questions, but ultimately it is up to me to do the work.’

• It was non-institutional. Wangapeka is an Educational Trust, not a monastery nor a "Buddhist Centre" per se. It was a place that supported people in their spiritual quest drawing mainly on the wisdom found in the Buddhist tradition. Tarchin taught from a particular historical perspective (The Tibetan Mahamudra/Dzogchen), and belonged to a particular ‘lineage’ flowing from Namgyal Rinpoche. In Buddhism you link yourself to a body of teaching, rather than an institutional structure.

• It is Teacher Centred. You can, however, link yourself to a particular teacher. During the retreat several people ‘took’ Refuge and the Bodhisattva Vow, (a ceremony which commemorates the formal acceptance of the Buddhist path and the vow to work to bring all beings to Enlightenment) which appeared the nearest you could come to our Christian sacraments of initiation/church membership. But commitment is to the lama and to a way of life, rather than to an institution.

• It was practical: It offered clear, reasonable, common sense guidelines for living, that were logical and goal orientated, and grappled with the questions of ultimate concern. The focus was on personal growth and happiness for all beings.

• It was creation centred. A strong stress was placed on developing an awareness of our place within the larger ecology of life. Exploration in the wonder and mystery of creation was encouraged. It’s form of inquiry appeared compatible with that of modern science with examples being drawn from, for example, discoveries in quantum physics.

• It provided a balance between ritual and silence. Individual silent practices of sitting and walking meditation were enriched with Empowerments and Tantra practices that provided moving liturgy and life-empowering ritual.

• It emphasised Compassion. The focus was continuously turned outward in simple ways to uplift and support others in their suffering and pain.

• It is different. It doesn’t carry the negative connotations of enforced childhood religion, or disappointments of ‘failed’ adult religion. By being ‘different’ it allows the person a fresh approach to the human quest for happiness, meaning and purpose.

1. A Discussion on Course Content and St Teresa of Avila’s "The Interior Castle" as a way to explore Christian/Buddhist Concepts.

(1) Introductory Comments on The Interior Castle

Teresa of Avila’s, The Interior Castle, is considered her "best synthesis", and provides with a "map of the inner journey". Written in 1577, Teresa lays down a reflective progression through seven stages of discovery that guide the reader to "enter within" to find God, in "the little heaven of our souls". Unfortunately for the modern reader the high aspiration of her intention lacks the clarity one would hope for. Nor is the progression through the mansions connected to the stages of prayer found elsewhere in her writings. Further, the emphasis on personal prayer lacks overt mention of any communal prayer, and in largest section of her work, the sixth mansion, she focuses extensively on what for most people would be extra-ordinary spiritual phenomena.

 

A counter argument is that Teresa was not intending to offer a definitive guide to the inner journey, but rather to give testimony to her own direct experience in the hope it would be of help to others within her community, whose presence is referred to on numerous occasions. Also, for Teresa, prayer is a way of life rather than a subject for academic dissertation, and in The Interior Castle she is concerned primarily with what we "are" before God: "Progress with love of God goes hand in hand with the progressive discovery of God-within-us." Such a personal journey, where "Mental prayer is an intimate sharing between friends", or where our souls and minds can be "so scattered that they are like wild horses no one can stop", or "I am not asking you to think of Him, or form numerous conceptions of Him, or make long and subtle meditations with the understanding. I am asking you only to look at Him", never abide to set human rules or progress. Despite these criticisms there is a sort of orderly progression, via numerous digressions and metaphors, through seven of the many mansions she perceives exist within the human psyche, which take the reader from a first awareness of the spiritual journey to final union within the heart.

 

(2) Teresa and Buddhism

In attempting a comparison between Teresa’s work and my retreat experience I am taking her into uncharted waters. Teresa, presumably had no knowledge of Buddhist Sutras or Tibetan Tantrayana. She lived and wrote under the shadow of the Inquisition. It was while her earlier work, Life, was being held for examination, her confessor Fr Gratian instructed her that "since we cannot have it, recall what you can and other things and write another book, but put down the doctrine in a general way without naming the one to whom the things you mentioned there happened." In such fearful times it is hard to conceive of her deliberately drawing on the influence of Buddha-dharma. Yet cross cultural influence does occur, as seen in the fourteenth century work Cloud of Unknowing, which reveals influence that may have come from the Hesychast tradition of the Orthodox Eastern Church. Closer to home is the legend of St Josaphat recorded by John of Damascus which appears to be a Christianised version of the life of Gautama the Buddha. However, what I am advocating is that there is often found within the writings of mystics from differing religious traditions a similarity of imagery and methodology that can give the impression, to use a Teresian metaphor, of drawing from the same inspirational well. The western Buddhist author, John Blofeld, refers to the wider context of this phenomenon:

 

"There are moments during life when a startling but marvellous experience leaps into mind as thought coming from another world… The experience is not a passing fancy but an intimation of something profoundly significant is recognised. "Mystery" is not a satisfactory term, but what else can be said of it? It has a hundred names, all of them inapt. It has been called the Good, the True, the Beautiful and all of these together. Philosophers term it the Absolute or Ultimate Reality. To the Christian mystics it is known as the Godhead and to the Christians in general as God. It is Brahma and Para-Atma of the Hindus, the Beloved of the Sufis, the Tao or Way of the Taoists. Buddhist names for it vary with the context: Nirvana, the Womb of Dharmas, Suchness, the Void, the Clear Light, the One Mind … Clear and profound intuitions of the mystery are not limited to any period, region, kind of person or religious faith."

 

 

(3) The Interior Castle and the Anapanasati Sutra

Both The Interior Castle and the Anapanasati Sutra, begin with a similar goal in mind. Both seek to lead the reader on a very practical path to awakening. Neither are ‘philosophical texts’, rather they like a set of directions to lead one through a strange countryside, and so require the reader to engage in the process to make much sense of them.

 

The Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta 118, from the Sutta-Pitika begins with Buddha residing in the town of Savatthi with many well-known elder disciples during the rainy season while they were on retreat, when he began to teach: "Bhikkhus, when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, it is of great fruit and great benefit", for it would lead to "true knowledge and deliverance". The brevity of the sixteen instructions, divided into four Tetrads, should not fool the reader into thinking they are easily achieved. They are a list of increasingly subtle statements that summarise the path of liberation from the beginning through to the absolute expanse of possible human experience. They define a lifetime’s engagement, and like The Interior Castle, it is a journey into the awareness of the Self.

 

The First Mansion of The Interior Castle:

Let us begin by comparing the opening statements of the two texts:

"Let us enter the castle. But how can we enter it, since we ourselves are the castle? We must remember that there are many ways of ‘being’ in a place. We enter within ourselves…The door of the castle is prayer and meditation."

"A bhikkhus gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty hut sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, sets his body erect, and establishes mindfulness in front of him, ever mindful he breathes in…"

 

All that is required to begin the journey is the willingness to start. However, it is not long before a major hurdle is encountered, the mind is easily distracted:

 

"During the period of a month they will sometimes pray, but their minds are filled with business matters that ordinarily occupy them. They are so attached to these things that where their treasure lies their hearts go also. Sometimes they do put all these things aside, and self-knowledge and awareness come."

 

One of the greatest challenges for meditation practice is mental ‘verbalisation’. One practical way of dealing with this it is to reduce contact with new information. On retreat this meant, except for the classes, the three months were in silence; all contact with the outside world was broken. That included no telephone, TV, radio, newspapers, mail or visitors. Any emergencies were directed through the Retreat Staff. Further, while the centre had a small library, it was recommended that we didn’t read either. Our sole focus was to work with what was given to us in class. Even with such ‘ascetic’ restrictions I think most of us found while it may have lessened mental distraction, it did not remove them completely. The India Guru Ramakrishna compared the verbalising tendency of the mind to a "tree full of monkeys, all chattering away". Teresa describes this difficulty:

 

"As we enter the castle, we are liable to bring with us a whole host of other creatures – these are the self-regarding habits and preoccupations that normally keep us from any kind of self awareness; and even when we have embarked on self-discovery, they still crowd around us."

Focusing on the nature of the breath is the first tool offered by the Anapanasati Sutra to calm the mind, making space for "self-knowledge and awareness (to) come". In both texts the quality of such self-knowledge is more than self-centred interest:

 

"We are inclined to think of self knowledge as the accumulation of ever more detail about our exteriority. The modern reader will instinctively think of this in terms of the analytic and therapeutic processes we are so used to. But Teresa is, in effect, saying that the mistake is to confuse self knowledge with being interested in yourself. She wants a self knowledge that is far more like the habitual and tacit knowing involved in knowing how to ride a bicycle or bake a loaf of bread, that is a practised familiarity with certain constraining facts so that we unreflectively adjust our behaviour in accordance with them."

 

The Second Mansion:

Moving into the second mansion, where as the novelty of the journey has already begun to fade, the pilgrim discovers that the enthusiasm to begin the inner quest, is not sufficient to sustain the journey. The peace they long for is tantalisingly illusive:

 

"Do not be disconsolate if you do not respond immediately to God’s call; he is prepared to wait for many days even many years, especially when he sees you are persevering and have good desires."

 

A similar perseverance is required if the tasks set out in the First Tetrad are to be mastered. They have to be "developed and cultivated". The phrase: "Thus he trains himself" occurs twenty eight times in the sixteen instructions. But even in the early stages the practitioner will be encouraged by small rewards:

 

"(1)increasing calm (2) increasing clarity of mind (3) decreasing verbalisation (4) increasing absorption, (less sense of separation between the meditator and the breathing, the object of meditation) (5) the rate of breathing will gradually slow down and settle".

 

 

The Third Mansion:

Inspiration to begin and perseverance to continue pave the way, not only to a sense of increasing calm, but to the willingness to learn detachment from that which is considered to be one’s own, whether it be material, affective, or conceptual. This hard lesson is introduced next by both Teresa and the Tetrads. It is a necessary requirement if one is to advance very far into stillness:

 

""There is great need for detachment and freedom of spirit; such things as being immersed in buying and selling of property, concerned at loss of reputation, worrying on account of one’s imperfections… Those who have given up everything for God will be well able to test the spirit of detachment by the attitude in such situations as these; trifling incidents arise at times which reveal all too clearly a want of detachment."

 

Part of the mystery of the inner journey is to discover first hand, that simply to have lived with oneself does not equate with knowing oneself. It is in times of hardship, struggle, suffering, or loss - all qualities of experience Teresa mentions in the Second Mansion - which cause the familiar ground of life to shift, that one is confronted by hitherto hidden aspects of their lives that may surprise or disturb them. For Teresa, the qualities that are normally used as measures of success: viz. possessions, health, friends, reputation or wealth, become hindrances rather than sources of security in the paradoxical nature of the inner way. The lesson of the Third Mansion is that "real security means moving on and avoiding complacency".

A corresponding lesson is taught in the First Tetrad, with the awareness of the transient nature of the breath, which for centuries has been used as the sign of life, from the baby’s first cry to the mist-free mirror held over the mouth of the dying. All things are transient. Hope based in that which is transient is ill-founded. To live in the awareness of this truth is be able to rest in the "idea of spacious openness where things are rising and passing." Having presented this insight based on the breath, the Tetrad brings the truth into the heart of human life. Even the physical breathing body, despite its wonder-full nature, will also pass away. Nothing exists in reality outside the present moment. The past and future are illusions. To cling to the past or grasp after what has not yet come can give neither peace nor security.

"The Human Body, at peace with itself, is more precious than the rarest gem. Cherish your body, it is yours this one time only. The human form is won with difficulty, it is easy to lose. All worldly things are brief, like lightening in the sky; this Life you must know as the tiny splash of a raindrop; a thing of beauty that disappears even as it comes into being. Therefore set your goal, make use of every day and night to achieve it."

In the Third Segment of the Retreat, we explored the "Four Thoughts That Turn The Mind". The first Thought is called "The Precious Human Birth":

"Considering the vastness of space and time, and the unimaginable variety of sentient beings, a human being with all its freedoms and opportunities, is rare and precious. Blessed with reasonable health and the opportunity to study and practice the dharma, if we don’t use this time to cultivate clear seeing and deep understanding for the benefit of all beings then our lives will have been frittered away, perpetuating blindness."

 

The Fourth Mansion:

Having recognised the rare, precious and transient nature of life, the Second Tetrad now turns to examine the nature of mind. ‘Mind’ is not thoughts, rather they are only the content of the mind. The Sanskrit word for mind can also be translated as ‘heart’, or ‘that which is very central and important’. "To come to know what is central to the story of your life requires first establishing a deep tranquillity of calm abiding". Teresa could well have written those words I noted down during the class of Day 6.

As the purpose of the First Tetrad was to establish a place of "deep tranquillity of calm abiding" which provides a basis for close self-examination of the nature of mind, likewise in the Fourth Mansion the pilgrim is forced in self-examination, to discover ‘what one may imagine to be’, is quite different to an understanding based on examined reflection:

"I have sometimes been terribly oppressed by this turmoil of thoughts going on in the mind but I have come to understand that thought, or to put it more clearly, the imagination, is not the same as the understanding."

 

The significance of separating imagination from understanding is "Teresa’s recognition that what is before the conscious mind in this stage of growth may tell us relatively little of what is going on in the depths of the self." Teresa recognises this confusion can lead people to abandon prayer altogether. They end up concentrating on "what is happening in the imagination, and its endless flights of fancy" whereas an understanding of the nature of mind would lead them to perceive that they are nothing but surface distractions, while underneath "the powers of the soul might well be wholly united to God with the imagination acting independently".

On retreat our task on Day 6 was to begin to note our states of mind, the tones textures of knowing (thinking, planing etc) and to use the phrase "mental formation" to deal with these distractions. For to experience the mental and body formations is also to gain some understanding of them. In calming our thoughts we are able to look deeply into their source and see their roots. This understanding changes the way we see things.

Having acquired some accomplishment in this task we move into the Second Tetrad, which identifies two qualities of mind experienced in meditation. In Sanskrit they are "piti" and "sukha". Piti can be translated as "bliss" that arises from a body "alive and making peace with itself and with all that is taking place". Whereas in Sukha the pleasure becomes more refined and is likened to "profound satisfaction, a serene bliss, profound fulfilment" that arises from somewhere much deeper. These have a striking similarity to those identified by Teresa in the Fourth Mansion where she notes that the journey is not "all difficult" for with time one is rewarded by affective experiences. These she identifies as "sweetness in prayer" and "spiritual consolations". The former are more surface feelings whereas the latter come out of that which is called ‘God’ and are marked by "the greatest peace and quietness and sweetness within ourselves…it is something made of the purest gold of divine wisdom".

Tarchin warned us not to make ends out of these pleasurable experiences, rather to take their energy and move on. Advice Teresa would approve, as she believed that God would not freely grant them unless the person had "true humility and detachment".

The Fifth Mansion:

The Fourth Mansion was transitional, moving from what is classically described as ‘Active Prayer’ to ‘Passive Prayer’, where the "imagination, memory and understanding are no longer obstacles", and in Teresian delineation, marks the beginning of the Prayer of Union, which is sub-divided into: Union with God and Union with our Neighbour.

In exploring Union with God, she draws on two images. The first is digging for hidden treasure that lies buried within us. The second is the image of a silkworm, and its development is traced from egg to butterfly. In the process it hatches, grows, drawing on good food and then spins a cocoon in which to ‘die’. The first image requires the use of effort; but in the second, effort becomes useless. In the ‘death’ of the cocoon all effort is replaced by waiting in hidden silence.

There comes a time in the spiritual life when words cease to covey meaning, they may cause more confusion than they solve, or it may be one ceases to know what to say. Any effort in prayer has become counter-productive. It is in this "dumb objectless stillness which characterise our prayer at this point we are in fact spinning a cocoon around ourselves."

To contemplate deeply on the nature of mind involves a ‘dying’ also. The meditator recognises (re-cognises) that the mind s/he associated as being ‘theirs’ has no substance. It is rather like the open sky in which thoughts like clouds arise and pass. For "the essence of mind is spacious openness ( cf negative emptiness), the nature of mind is clarity, clear cognisance, and the experience of mind is uninterruptedness."

This inner ‘dying’ is counterbalanced by the second union, Union with Neighbour, lest one fall into a pervasive quietistic culdersac. The focus moves out from one’s inner self into loving action for others. This "love of neighbour" is dealt with in a typically direct and down to earth Teresian manner:

"The Lord really asks two things: love of God and love for our neighbour. If we have those two virtues, we are doing his will and are united to him. God can give us the grace to deserve this if we wish. The surest sign that we are keeping these two commandments is that we are loving our neighbour; we can never be sure of loving God, but this we know quite well. And be quite certain that the farther advanced you are in this, the greater will be that love you have for God. But perfect love for our neighbour must have its roots in God, and in the love of God."

The dual roles of Wisdom and Compassion are central to Buddhist thought. Their interplay is demonstrated in this Bodhisattva (lit. One who is awakened) Vow which is encouraged as a daily affirmation. It also carries the ring of Teresian familiarity:

 

However innumerable beings are, I vow to meet them with kindness and interest.

However inexhaustible the states of suffering are, I vow to touch them with patience and love.

However immeasurable the Dharmas are, I vow to explore them deeply.

However incomparable the mystery of interbeing, I vow to surrender to it freely.

From this day forth, with Wisdom and Compassion as my lamp and staff,

I dedicate all my life energies to the welfare of all beings.

The Sixth Mansion:

The Sixth Mansion has eleven chapters, and is by far the longest section in The Interior Castle. Here Teresa gives advice on the extra-ordinary experiences of the spiritual life (locutions, visions, illusions, flights of the spirit – which are also subjects covered by Blofeld, in a chapter on "Advanced Tantric Practices ). For the pilgrim, to experience these ‘advanced practices’, the soul first needs to be ‘Awakened’. Teresa says that such awakening comes through a variety of ways: "as by a thunderclap"; or a wounding which is recognised as being delectable and from which the soul "not wishing to be healed is grief-stricken "; or it is as if a fire has caught alight within and "diffused itself powerfully through all the senses"; or by locutions usually from within; or by intellectual visions. Other graces may be given to encourage the soul to continue. But the enduring quality of spirit required amid all these experiences is that of courage, which significantly to her treatise is also the quality that ‘enlarges the heart’:

 

"Courage is necessary if we are to travel by this road: if you asked the Lord for these things, be ready to answer the question, " Can you drink the chalice"? We should reply, " We can"; for the Lord gives the strength to those who have need of it, and defends them if they are persecuted and spoken ill of."

 

With the need for courage, the second quality required is one of decisive surrender. The more the ego is surrendered, the greater the degree of focus and inner stillness that will be achieved:

 

"The more we are caught up into God’s love, the more it will be enough for the intellect to dwell or gaze on a single image, a single event or saying, with no detailed discursive activity at all."

In summarising the stages of the Tetrads so far covered Tarchin made the following comment to the class:

"The first two Tetrads direct our mind to experience deep awareness of what we are doing and how to move on from there. It is the need to move on from small mindedness to open spaciousness, and we won’t be able to do that until we are prepared to let go of the "me". Likewise, our attitudes and bodily formations have been shaped by history. We carry in us patterning that is both functional and non-functional. Meditation becomes the laboratory in which we discover our uniqueness, habits and patterns of behaving, freeing them up and discovering something of the potential of being human. Furthermore: be willing to use any pain you find to give you energy to work and find the clarity that goes with the idea of a path."

 

A great breakthrough in meditation practice comes when the practitioner finally discovers that there is nothing to do, except be present to the experience of the mind knowing itself. In this state there is a calm serenity called "ekaggata". This is the quality of detached abiding mentioned above. Once such an experience of the mind has been established the Third Tetrad moves on to energise this detached state of awareness with the instruction to "Gladdening the Mind", or suffusing the experience of deep effortless abiding with the energy of "loving kindness and compassion". The mind, sharpened and awake is then "Con-centrated", which is about finding its centre, the centre of being.

 

All the preparatory work so far is to learn to activate, clarify and focus the mind. This clarity and focus allows perception of where the centre of knowing resides: the paradox is that it resides resting within itself. In this knowledge the twelfth instruction is one of Liberation: this is the free, open, centred, non-clinging mind. In the earlier stages of this Tetrad there was still a sense of ‘doing something’, of ‘experiencing’, ‘gladdening’, ‘concentrating’. Actions captured in the phrase: "Polishing the mirror bright, so no dust can alight." In Liberating the mind a new freedom is experienced. This comes when we are able to recognise that the mind actually abides nowhere and so drop the perceived boundaries we place around our illusion of ‘self": "Where there is no mirror bright, where can the dust alight?" It is simply abiding where there is no abiding. This quality leads us both into the Fourth Tetrad and into the last mansion where Teresa says there is "the emptying of ourselves of all that is creature and letting go for the love of God".

The Seventh Mansion:

In this state of being the deepest union is now free to occur between the soul and God. Teresa again uses two images of union. The first is the idealised image of marriage:

"Before consummating the spiritual marriage our Lord brings the soul which He has now taken spiritually as His bride, into this Mansion of His…it becomes a second heaven." Such union is marked by the "deepest silence and tranquillity. The understanding does not stir, or seek any thing. Not that the faculties the lost; they do not work, but seemed to be dazed. The astonishing thing is that there are no more raptures in this state, save very rarely."

This state of extreme contemplation is paralleled in the Fourth Tetrad, which begins with the Contemplation of impermanence, and is the second "Thought That Turns The Mind".

"All compounded existence is impermanent; flashing like lightening, fleeting as a soap bubble. All that is conceivable is subject to destruction; the universe as environment and sentient beings within it. Death is inescapable. Moment by moment all seemingly solid things are manifestations of constant fluid change. With a mind grasping at permanence we chase fleeting illusions, continually entangling ourselves and others in situations of suffering."

 

It is only as we live fully in the present moment that we find true liberation. There is no doing in the Fourth Tetrad, it is being in the ‘now’; it is a state marked by a profound sense of knowing the multi-layered impermanence of being. This is followed by "Contemplating fading away" where old habit patterns are identified and released; where they are drawn as if upon the surface of a basin of water and seen to pass even as the strokes are made. Where our reactions are free from the roots of all unwholesomeness: greed, hatred and delusion are seen for what they are without any connotation, any desire or fear. This is followed by the "Contemplation Cessation" which is the absence of enslavement to patterns of being, cessation of unproductive arisings, just being willing to experience knowing ‘knowing’. And finally, "Contemplating relinquishment", a total surrender, in freedom in the awareness that one is free, totally. Free from objects and projections. A complete letting go like water to the ocean and a drop to the sea. St John of the Cross writes of a similar such experience in the Ascent of Mount Carmel:

To reach satisfaction in all, desire its possession in nothing.

To come to possess all, desire the possession of nothing.

To arrive at being all, desire to be nothing.

To come to the knowledge of all, desire the knowledge of nothing.

When you turn toward something, you cease to cast yourself upon the all.

For to go from all to the all, you must deny yourself of all in all

And when you come to the possession of the all, you must possess it without wanting anything.

Because if you desire to have something in all, your treasure in God is not purely your all.

In this nakedness the spirit finds its quietude and rest

For in coveting nothing, nothing raises it up and nothing weighs it down,

because it is in the centre of its humility.

The second image used to describe this deepest union is in that of Mary and Martha, the symbol of non-duality, which is "established as the guiding principle of the highest stage in spiritual growth." The whole purpose of the journey to the castle’s centre is not one of escapism, but "to acquire strength which fits us for service".

Similarly, the purpose of the Tetrads has been to achieve freedom for compassionate activity for compassion is the hand of wisdom.

Recognising that the experience of awakening is not something read about in books or learned from others but something realised and manifested in each moment of my life; for the rest of this day, I will cultivate the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Awareness of body, awareness of feelings, awareness of states of mind, and awareness of all other phenomena. Frequently I will pause to breathe mindfully and recontact a mode of being which embodies simplicity, openness, clarity, connectedness and caring. I will endeavour to bring a continuum of compassionate awareness into all my life’s activities.

(4) Reflection on the Comparison between The Interior Castle and The Four Tetrads:

Two obvious criticisms of the above comparison are, first, I have ‘proof-texted’ my way through the Seven Mansions, and second, while there may be apparent similarity in progression between The Interior Castle, and the Four Tetrads, the object of the purpose of the progression is diametrically opposed, viz. the experience of emptiness, and the total possession of the soul by God, or Christ.

My defence for the first criticism is to agree. I have picked my way through Teresa’s work. The scattered nature of her writing invites such handling. Venard, in his modern translation openly acknowledges he deliberately omitted those passages "not directly connected with her teaching on prayer" with the intention her work might be more accessible, so "that Teresa’s thought will come through clearly". Likewise, Campbell in her translation, not only more heavily edits The Interior Castle to make it more approachable and "render a map of the inner journey for today’s reader," she also replaces the seven divisions with four of her own: Path 1: Entering In, Listening, Discovering; Path 2: Expansion; Path 3: Transforming Energy; Path 4: Union, Ecstasy, Compassion.

As to the second criticism, Buddha did not seek to comment on the existence of God, he chose to keep a "noble silence". This is not to say that Buddhism is agnostic. Rather he chose not to speak of God because he was more concerned about assisting people deal with the reality of suffering, as a psychologist might focus on the practicalities of relieving a patient’s mental distress rather than discuss theological theories. So it is not surprising that in the form of Tibetan Buddhism I encountered, while not naming God, space was left in which I could place such an ultimate reality if I so chose.

 

For example, in the concept of Dharmakaya: (Dharma = truth, kaya = body. "Dharmakaya can be thought of as the body of truth but this truth is not nail-down-able with words." )

"The essence central essence or "factor of existence" (that) is the self-centred immanent as well as transcendent truth or reality of all beings and appearances: it is the indestructible, timeless Absolute, the one essence in and behind all that was, is, and will be".

Or the concept of ‘Ground of Being’:

"What I say to you is, wherever you are is the Triple Ground. It is with you. The siddhi or power is in you. When you realise that there is nothing more to do for you have realised Buddhahood."

Or in the concept of ‘The Void’:

"Divine reality is viewed as having two aspects, void and non-void. Being subtle, free from distinguishing characteristics, one and indivisible, it is void. Containing in potential form everything which ever has existed or could exist, it is non-void."

To these can be added, ‘Causeless Cause of all Causes’, ‘an Ultimate Reality’, ‘a Boundless Light’, ‘an Eternal Noumenon behind phenomena’.

Buddhists, of course, don’t have the Christian ‘need’ for the idea of God, and any concept that may appear to approximate what a Christian may wish to identify with ‘God’ needs also to take cognisance of other key Buddhist concepts of: ‘non-duality’, ‘the impersonal nature of ultimate reality and the fundamental nature of the universe’, and that ‘all forms of physical "reality" are inter-being’. All this is not to say that the process of Anapanasati Sutra would not usefully lead a Christian to deepen their faith in God, as is Teresa’s intention.

Thomas Merton emersed himself quite deeply in the Buddhist tradition without compromising his Christian identity. He still saw points of difference, for example, the Buddhist has a transcendent ontological awareness, while the Christian has a transcendent awareness of a personal God, or the personal "is a value which seems to be totally missing from Buddhist thought". However, King goes on to say that Merton believed that the

"method of Buddhism should be the method of the Christian – even though the Christian would come to a theistic conclusion that the Buddhist would not. So Merton found Buddhism ‘very germane and close to our own approaches to inner truth in Christ.’"

This particularly applied to the Buddhist approach to dealing with the problem of ‘the Self". On the night before his death in Bangkok, Merton is said to have told a friend, "Zen and Christianity are the future."

Catholic authors Fernando and Swindler go even further and say that Buddhism, Christianity (and Judaism) are all bound together by "a strong inner affinity":

"There is not the least doubt that, judged exteriorly Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity are very different from each other. The ‘what’ of each of them is almost irreconcilably different. But deep beneath their what is a ‘why’ that to a great extent is identical. Anybody who digs deeply enough to discover the ‘why’ of the three religious traditions will come to the place where s/he will see the three traditions bound together by a strong ‘inner’ affinity."

This inner affinity they trace back to the teachings of Gutama and Jesus, which, they suggest, raises the possibility that a person "could be at one and the same time fully a Buddhist and fully a Christian."

 

(5) Tibetan Vajrayana and the Sadhana

In the second and third segments of the retreat programme we moved from the more Zen-like structure of ‘Mindfulness of Breathing’ to engage in the richness of Tibetan Vajrayana. Vajrayana uses all the meditation methods discussed so far: thought-control, achieving single-pointedness of mind and cultivating awareness. To this is added other classical types of meditation: chakra, visualisation, mantra, mudras (sacred gestures), and devotion. The practice is called ‘Arising Yoga’ and central to their practice is the Sadhana. A Sadhana is a short liturgy-like devotion whose aim is:

"to transcend duality by achieving vividly conscious experience of the non-dual state… and include invoking deities who correspond to components of the adept’s own being. By their performance, the adept gradually releases themselves from delusions, and are assisted on the path to awakening."

Because of the scope for misunderstanding, careful explanation, instruction and initiation normally precede their use. While on Retreat we were introduced to several Sadhanas. I found their use powerfully evocative and transforming.

To explain the formate, I will take the structure of the Chenrezi Sadhana as a basis for a possible Christian Sadhana. This version of Sadhana has four main phases: Preliminaries; Creation & Visualisations; Completion; and Sharing the Merit. Some sadhanas have more phases, some less.

1. Preliminaries:

1. Posture: You take up a posture that is relaxed and alert.

2. Refuge: Next comes a statement on where we find refuge. Using the Buddhist traditional form as a guide, a Christian could say they take refuge in Christ/God, in the Gospels (or the lived and written tradition), and in the koinonia,(Church, Community etc). To be effective this should be more than a simple recitation, but involves deep contemplation on the reality of our daily life experience. "What is the foundation of my life?" "What gives me meaning and purpose?" If using the more traditional form of ‘Christ, Gospel, Koinonia’ structure further questions could explore how, or what aspects of these things give a sense of belonging/direction/refuge?

   A Buddhist "Refuge in Universal Form" is :

   "I take refuge in Wisdom, I take refuge in Compassion, I take refuge in Non-clinging Awareness. May I develop the six perfections (generosity, wholesome relationship, patience, concentration, serenity and wisdom), and awaken speedily for the sake of all living beings."

3. Vow: A short affirmation of life philosophy and belief follows. It also evokes reflection on "What do I believe?" "How do I live out this belief?" "What investigation do I need to engage in to explore, strengthen, extend my attitudes, beliefs and values?" The Buddhist Bodhisattva Vow was included under the Fifth Mansion.

1. Creation Phase:

1. Inter-being: This begins with a reflection on our interconnectedness with the rest of the universe:

   "Now, contemplate the essential interbeing of everything. Recognise how each aspect of your existence: body, speech and mind, inner and outer, micro and macro is inter-weaving with everything else in the universe. Nothing stands independently on its own. Everything is created, sustained and supported by everything else. All arisings are mutually shaping. With this understanding, where is this "me" that so often seems apart from the rest of the universe?"

2. Mantra: This reflection closes with a short affirmation. It could be in the form of a suitable chorus, poem or Taize Chant, something that affirms our place within the wider context of life.

3. Silence: Space is provided for silent meditation.

4. The First Visualisation: Offering

This involves several stages of a guided meditation, with pauses for reflection:

1. "Visualise a symbol of personal growth – a flower, lake etc, something which captures the sense of what is budding/blossoming/flowering/ filling etc in your life." This may lead into a reflection on what growth is happening, what needs to happen, etc.

2. "Resting on that symbol visualise a second symbol that reflects your current aspirations." Again time can be given for personal exploration into ones aspirations, hopes, yearnings etc.

3. "In the centre of these symbols rest the letters Alpha & Omega – the sum total of all you have been, are and hope to be."

4. "A light radiates out from this offering of your life, this totality of who you are – to Jesus/heaven/God, etc."

5. "And a light returns full of blessing, liberation, strength etc. and dissolves into the symbols of your life."

6. "Again a light radiates out from your symbol, this time bathing the whole universe with light, healing and blessing; sharing the entire blessing you have just received. You and the whole of creation (or it may be restricted to certain people, situations of concern) are freed and rest in wholeness and well being."

e) The Second Visualisation: Adoration

1. "The letters ‘Alpha & Omega’ dissolve and are transformed in the person of Christ, seated, his right hand held up, his fingers forming the Greek letters Chi-Rho, his other hand holding a scroll." Further description could be given of this traditional icon of the Glorified Christ – or some other chosen image could be used.

2. This visualisation is followed by a prayer of adoration, that may include time for spontaneous prayer, and followed by

3. A suitable Taize Chant, repetition of the "Jesus Prayer", "Hail Mary" etc.

f) The Third Visualisation: Purification/Empowering

1. This begins by a visualised rite of purification, or empowerment. It could be visualising Christ pouring the waters of baptism/aspurges over you, that flood your body, your speech, you heart and mind with his cleansing.

2. Or it could be a visualisation of his anointing with the Holy Spirit

3. Or for those familiar with the Divine Mercy Image of Jesus, could imagine the red and blue light streaming from his heart into your body, speech, and mind-heart, etc. The outcome of this purification/empowerment is that you ‘become’ Christ.

g) The Fourth Visualisation: Intercession

1. "One imagines in one’s heart the symbol used earlier for your aspirations, resting on the centre of the symbol of growth." (A flower and moon disc are the Tibetan symbols used)

2. "As you receive this infilling you now reach out and visualise specific people, situations, etc and as you breathe in you take in their suffering, where it is transformed by the power you are receiving and as you exhale the power of transformation goes back out nurturing and supporting them." While this is done the Chant/Jesus Prayer etc also continues. (The Rosary of the Jesus Prayer has 100 beads and each intercession could last for the duration of one rosary.)

3. When the period of intercession ends, so does the chanting/Jesus Prayer etc.

1. The Completion Stage:

1. "The figure of Christ dissolves, simultaneously from the head down and the feet up, and now rests in the image in your heart."

2. "This image in turn dissolves and one rests without visualisation, simply remaining alert without distraction, resting in the experience of prayer."

3. "At this stage if your attention needs to be fixed on something, focus on your breathing and let go of everything else. One meditates in this manner as long as one wishes."

4. "After having rested for some time in this state Christ reappears in the form of yourself, just as you are."

5. The "Christ be with me" stanza of St Patrick’s Breastplate could be used here.

6. "Carry this way of perceiving into all the activities of your life."

1. Sharing the Merit:

The Sadhana concludes with some suitable prayer and affirmation that any spiritual grace received during this devotion may be given away to some situation or person in particular need.

 

(6) The Sadhana and The Interior Castle

In The Interior Castle Teresa uses many of the tools incorporated in the above Sadhana, particularly visualisation to bring about insight and devotion. Her work is rich in visual imagery. Not only is there the dominant image of the castle in first mansion - which we will return to - she also uses the image of a cripple (neglected prayer life) and honeybee (self-knowledge). In the second mansion that of a good neighbour (God’s attention towards us). In the third mansion we find the wealthy ruler (attachment to honour and possessions). The fourth mansion she develops the image of the fountain (consolations), and makes mention of a crucible (compassion) and shepherd’s whistle (gaining the soul’s attention). The fifth includes a wine cellar (where God stores us), hidden treasure (truth), and introduces the silk worm (the soul) which she develops through the rest of the book. In the sixth mansion we find the straw and embers (self-abandonment), a giant (God), a ship in a storm (surrender), the three jewels (knowledge of God, self and letting go), and a precious stone hidden within a golden vessel (healing and awakening). And in the seventh mansion she uses two images of union, that of marriage and the merging to two wax candles. The images carry the development of her theme as outline earlier.

Of particular comparative interest is the image of the castle. She mentions in her opening chapter how the image came to her in prayer. One of her earlier biographers, Fr Diego de Yepes, mentions that "God showed her in a flash the whole book". What is of interest in this context is that a similar image appears in Buddhist writings:

"There is an allegorical story that Buddha couldn’t reveal to ignorant mankind the content of enlightenment, of Tathagata, (notice that it wasn’t the Path but the content) his message was not lost; it was heard by the mythical disciple Vajrasattva, who enclosed it in a stupa of iron until the right moment should come for it to be revealed. Vajrasattva (creature of diamond, which by its hardness symbolises wisdom) is an image of humanity, and the stupa of iron represents the human heart. Nagarjuna opened the stupa of iron and found himself face to face with Vajrasattva, who gave him The Great Sutta of the Two Principles. (The human heart is the two-in-one truth. It took many centuries to decipher the mysteries of the human heart, to understand the difference between veins and arteries. That area of your body must be mastered before the diamond light is to be realised.)"

The Heart is significant in Buddhist thought because the Heart or Dharma Centre, is the "gateway to total realisation of law and mastery of phenomena." In the language of Tibetan mysticism, when comparing the human body to a five-story temple, the Heart Centre contains the sacrificial altar, the sacred flame "which transforms and purifies, melts and integrates the elements of our personality." The Heart Centre is centre of the intuitive mind, of spiritualised feeling (of all-embracing compassion). Its seed syllable used in mantras is ‘HUM’, which signals the completion of the work, or ‘that which leads us home’, and that home is found in the "depths of the human heart". ‘HUM’ is often counter balanced by the opening seed syllable ‘OM’ whose qualities parallel many of those a Christian would associate with the One whom we call ‘God’.

Bearing this in mind, if we were to replace the words ‘OM’ with ‘God’ and ‘HUM’ with ‘the heart’ we again have something which sounds very Teresian:

"OM is like the sun, but HUM is like the soil, into which the sun’s rays must descend in order to awaken the dormant life…We, therefore must have passed through the experience of OM in order to have reached and to have understood the still deeper experience of HUM... In OM we open ourselves, in HUM we give ourselves. OM is the door of knowledge, HUM is the door to the realisation of this knowledge in life. HUM is the sacrificial sound, and OM is the one symbol of a divine universe, the symbol of infinite power, boundless space, infinite being and eternal life."

 

(7) Difference and Divergence

Having argued this point of similarity, we must now part company. Williams points out in the concluding chapter of his book on Teresa, that while we can identify many similarities between religious traditions, which he calls a ‘phenomenological core’; Teresa’s theology is thoroughly Christocentric. She organises her ‘mystical’ episodes and proposes that they be evaluated "not by a set of general criteria about what a true encounter with God must be (experimentally) like, but according to how these episodes fit into the whole movement of a soul towards Christlikeness."

The insight she intends is first, an awareness of the human condition, second, the salvific work of Christ, and third, union with God where "God and the soul have fruition of each other". Devotion, for Teresa, is then expressed within this particular theological framework, both inwardly in adoration to God through Christ, and outwardly through emulating Christ’s compassionate activity. It is at this central point Christianity and Buddhism divide.

To acknowledge our differences, however, does not mean that we cannot draw from each other’s ‘well of inspiration’. In The Good-Hearted Jesus – A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus, (a collection of eight Bible studies on the Gospels by the Dalai Lama at a Buddhist-Christian inter-faith conference) the Dalai Lama freely acknowledges the philosophical differences, and made no attempt to synchronise the two religious systems. He did, however, see a common ground between the two religions: that of meditation not philosophy.

John Latham, in his 2002 study leave report "A Swaying Torch In The Half Light", identified three terms to refer to the range of attitudes we can take to other faiths: Exclusivists, who believe their faith is the only true explanation of the world and the transcendent, and the only way of salvation. Inclusivists, who believe their faith to be true but understand that other faiths also have aspects of the truth, and Plurists, who believe that all major faiths are equally likely to be true explanations and valid paths to salvation. They point out there is no evidence that any one faith gives a superior explanation of the world or produces superior "fruit" of salvation.

While the last attitude may feel to be the modern politically correct view to hold, supported by the many similarities I have identified above, Thomas Merton, with all his appreciation of Zen didn’t agree with the option that all religions ‘meet at the top’. It is the second attitude, that of inclusivity, of difference and divergence, which can enrich our appreciation of our own and another’s religious tradition and source of inspiration, that I finally reach in conclusion, comfortable that this is also the official position of the Anglican Church as expressed in "The Mystery of Faith".

 

OBJECTIVE 2:

To review my present knowledge and practice of Christian meditation and learn possible strategies for teaching meditation practice.

In presenting the material in my book Encountering the Still Point – An Introduction to Christian Meditation, I felt reasonably familiar with the Christian stream of meditation practice that can be traced back through the history of the Church, to its source within the teaching and of Jesus and the Jewish traditions that influenced his spirituality. Of particular note in this unfolding teaching and practice is the Desert Tradition, Benedict and the rise of Christian Monasticism, the Hesychast Tradition of the Eastern Church, the writings of various western Christian mystics, including the Cloud of Unknowing. The post second world war resurgence of interest in ‘Christian’ meditation has been lead by people like John Main, Anthony de Mello, Thomas Merton, David Stendal-Rass, Basil Pennington, Lawrence Freeman, to name just a few.

 

Despite having a working awareness of this tradition and following a regular practice of meditation, I rapidly discovered my knowledge and experience was negligible when compared with a religious tradition, which for 2,500 years has developed meditation practice as a central tool for Awakening. The Four Tetrads of the Anapanasati Sutra are mere headings for an enormous wealth of insight and practice, which left me feeling I was just barely a beginner.

 

The material presented in the first segment provided useful material for future meditation groups and retreats. However, meditation practice is a little like learning to drive a car or sail a boat. There is some theory that is useful, but much of the learning must be achieved in the doing. To talk about meditation can quickly become counter-productive. It can fool us into thinking we know about meditation because we have read the manual. A learner driver or sailer soon discover that sort of knowledge it is quite different to being put behind the wheel, or given the tiller. Intellectual awareness can facilitate lived experience, but not replace it.

 

Having said that, I have learnt a lot both intellectually and experientially. The following list mentions a few such things:

1. A deeper awareness of the various schools of Buddhism, with particular emphasis on Tibetan Buddhism. This includes knowledge of some of the basic concepts and key words and practices.

2. An increased awareness of the natural world in which I live and an increased appreciation of our place within the universe.

3. An increased awareness and appreciation of who I am, of my body, speech and mind, of the inspirational, genetic and ecological forces that have formed me and which I in turn pass on to others.

4. A gathering together of some specific tools in:

1. Meditation Practice: in particular ‘Mindfulness of Breathing’ and Kum Nye Exercises.

2. Creative Visualisation suggestions for use in group and spiritual direction settings.

3. Notes and ideas that can be a personal resource for talks, retreats, sermons etc.

4. Experiencing the role of questioning as a tool for personal growth. One example of this would be Thich Nhat Hahn’s recommendation to his retreatants they keep a note book and jot down all the various questions that come to mind in the course of their practice, but not to be quick in asking for answers, because the best answers usually come without every having to ask the question out loud. Tarchin began his morning Class by asking for questions or observations that had arisen out of our practice. It was fascinating, watching, and occasionally experiencing, the process of how he first dialogued with the person, explored the question, then often wove the question, with skill and clarity, into the morning’s presentation, and referred to it again in his closing comments.

1. Being part of a residential community for three months that stressed individual responsibility, and experiencing the strengths and frustrations of such communal living.

2. Learning from a competent skilled teacher who embodied what he taught. I found Tarchin’s teaching style multi-stranded but easy to follow. He could combine a question centred approach with simple sequential guidelines; humour with penetrating observation. His classes were inspiring, practical, and reflective, involving us in many profoundly simple hands on learning activities. I could understand why people would spend thousands of dollars to fly from Germany, Poland, England, USA, Canada and Australia to spend several weeks in New Zealand on one of his retreats.

3. Part of the experience of the retreat was Wangapeka. Living in the simple ruggedness of the foothills of the Southern Alps has left many memories:

Watching the dawn being born and the morning mist gathering in the valley

Awed by the glory of the sun’s first rays

Following the unfolding colours of autumn from first tinges to fallen leaves

Sheltering under a tree full of bell birds, and feeding ‘wild’ rabbits by hand

Making bush walks with dancing fantails and dodging a gaggle of quail launching into space

Resting by a stream of rock pools and waterfalls

Sitting in stillness and learning focused awareness from an adventurous mouse

Cooking for twenty people using recipes I’ve never tasted

Experiencing evening mist rise from the river in full flow

Walking in moonlight with the sounds of deer, pig, and morepork

Marvelling at the unexpected lights of glow worms on a sheltered cliff

Going to sleep not knowing either the day nor the date, and that neither mattered

And meeting new friends and companions on the inner Way.

 

CONCLUSION:

"Have you become a Buddhist?" is one question I anticipate being asked when people hear that I have just spent three months on a ‘Buddhist’ Retreat. It is a good question. For three months I have been part of a group of people who gathered to form a ‘Sangha’, a community of practice, that carried within itself the ‘Buddha’ and the ‘Dharma’. Each morning we would affirm our desire to seek the qualities of "Wisdom, Compassion and Non-Clinging Awareness".

All communities create life, meaning, and purpose. In this created community I was part of that process with people whose language and ideology I increasingly came to share and appreciate. However, being ‘Buddhist’ is not just about language and ideology. I have been drawing on that source of inspiration for many years. Thich Nhat Hahn, Ram Dass, the Dali Lama, Tarchin Hearn, Namgyal Rinpoche, Vicki Mackenzie, are just a few of the Buddhist authors whose books gather on my shelves: their concepts woven into the fabric of my life and ministry. We have become, to use a Teresian metaphor, ‘very good neighbours’ who dwell in close proximity: we are no longer simply friends with whom I may visit from time to time, but nor are we members of the same family.

This sense of inspirational and neighbourly companionship is expressed by others who contributed to the book: Buddhists Talk About Jesus: Christian Talk About Buddha. Bonnie Thurston from Pittsburg Theological Seminary, made a number of interesting comments about her own study and experience of Buddhism. She says:

"In essence, Buddhism and the Buddha have been for me the means of establishing a personal, internal religious clarity about what I do believe passionately. In a deeply Buddhist sense, the Buddha has been my raft. But he has not been my Saviour." Then she goes on to quote Jacques-Albert Cuttat, "The more a person explores religious connections other than his own, the more he deepens his understanding of his own religion."

She identifies meditation and detachment as two particular appreciations she has received from her exploration. The first giving her an important discipline and practice, the second a means of living in the present moment, the place where she encounters the ‘I AM’.

As I reflect on the retreat experience several insights stand out:

1. In the Whare (meeting hall), there are two alcoves, one set aside for Christian prayer, decorated with a cross, icons and Bible, the other similarly arranged with Buddhist items, and while I didn’t make use of the ‘Christian’ space, it was strangely comforting seeing "my" religious tradition acknowledged so openly. Similarly, during the classes Tarchin made many references to aspects of Christianity, and during Holy Week a diptych icon of Mary and Jesus stood on the small table beside him.

2. It was a little over half way through the retreat I became very aware of the ‘hollow emptiness’ of the ‘Void’. Tarchin explained the balance that is required for a Buddhist between the experience of the ‘Void’ and that of ‘Compassion’ (Void/Compassion). It was in that experience I understood a little of what Thurston was referring to when she identified what she saw as the significant difference between Buddhism and Christianity:

   "The Buddha teaches me to remain fully in the realm of human experience, but Christ offers me a hope outside of myself… Jesus Christ has not only ‘put skin on’ and thereby redeemed and ennobled my flesh, but he invites me to profound identification with him, even participation in his very life."

   Central to Christian faith is the experience of incarnation. God made flesh. A personal God who

   encounters us personally, in Jesus Christ and in each other.

3. It was in this awareness that I felt acutely uncomfortable of how central to Buddhist thought is the role of human compassion, while in Christianity the important tenant of ‘love of neighbour’ can easily lose its edge in the busyness of worship, personal piety and parish-centred programmes.

4. In regard to this I was also aware of how easily ‘self-centred’ our ‘personal’ Christian belief can become, particularly in the traditional Christian hope of eternal life, when stood alongside the altruistic, and often expressed Buddhist vow, of deferring entering any concept of eternal rest, desiring instead to return to this world to continue the work of awakening, until all beings can share in that state together.

5. Likewise I was aware that my four years spent in a Franciscan-based Monastery felt like a ‘holiday camp’ compared to the rigours of this retreat programme. It has been one of the most intensive and demanding experiences of my life. To seek awakening in one lifetime requires enormous personal sacrifice and total focused commitment – it demands more that I felt I could easily give. In contrast the free gift of ‘redemption’ in Christ sounds so easy, and so runs the risk of being taken for granted.

Shunryu Suzuki, in Zen Mind, says that,

"When you study Buddhism, you should have a general house cleaning of your mind. You must take everything out of your room and clean it thoroughly. If it is necessary, you may bring everything back in again. You may want many other things, so one by one you can bring them back. But if they are not necessary, there is no need to keep them."

This three month experience has been such a ‘house cleaning’. I am not sure how much I will want to take back in, nor the full implications of that task, but I do thank the Bishop, the Study Leave Committee, St John’s College Trust Board, and not least, members of the Oxford-Cust parish, for allowing me the opportunity to engage in this thought-provoking and life-enriching experience.

So why does Buddhism appeal to former ‘Christians’? To the suggestions mentioned earlier I add one more. Perhaps Christians have been too good at ‘hiding their treasure in golden vessels’, to borrow a Teresian metaphor. Usually, when I mention to people in Buddhist groups that there is a tradition of Christian meditation, it is greeted with surprise. One memorable comment I received from one woman on the retreat, is that my being there, "restored her confidence in the Church." Perhaps if more Christians engaged in such inter-faith encounters, not only would confidence be restored, but we would receive and share treasures that were hitherto hidden.

 

May I become at all times both now and forever:

A Protector for those without protection,

A Guide for those who have lost their way,

A Ship for those with oceans to cross,

A Bridge for those who have rivers to cross,

A Sanctuary for those in danger,

A Lamp for those without light,

A Place of Refuge for those who lack shelter,

And a Servant to all in need.

APPENDIX 

 

Four Tetrads from the Anapanasati Sutta

 First Tetrad:

1. Breathing in long, he knows, I breathe in long; or breathing out long he knows, I breathe out long.

2. Breathing in short, he knows, I breathe in short; or breathing out short he knows, I breathe out short.

3. Experiencing the whole body (of breath) I shall breath in, thus he trains himself; experiencing the whole body I shall breath out, thus he trains himself;

4. Calming the bodily-formation, I shall breathe in, thus he trains himself; calming the bodily-formation, I shall breathe out, thus he trains himself.

    

   Second Tetrad:

5. Experiencing rapture I shall breath in, thus he trains himself; experiencing rapture I shall breathe out, thus he trains himself.

6. Experiencing bliss I shall breath in, thus he trains himself; experiencing bliss I shall breathe out, thus he trains himself.

7. Experiencing the mental formation I shall breathe in, thus he trains himself; experiencing the mental formation I shall breathe out, thus he trains himself.

8. Calming the mental formation, I shall breathe in, thus he trains himself; calming the mental formation I shall breathe out, thus he trains himself.

    

   Third Tetrad:

9. Experiencing the mind, I shall breathe in thus he trains himself; experiencing the mind I shall breath out, thus he trains himself.

10. Gladdening the mind, I shall breathe in thus he trains himself; gladdening the mind I shall breath out, thus he trains himself.

11. Concentrating the mind, I shall breathe in thus he trains himself; concentrating the mind I shall breath out, thus he trains himself.

12. Liberating the mind, I shall breathe in thus he trains himself; liberating the mind I shall breath out, thus he trains himself.

     

    Fourth Tetrad:

13. Contemplating impermanence, I shall breath in, thus he trains himself; Contemplating impermanence, I shall breath out, thus he trains himself.

14. Contemplating fading away (viraga), I shall breath in, thus he trains himself; Contemplating fading away, I shall breath out, thus he trains himself

15. Contemplating cessation I shall breath in, thus he trains himself; Contemplating cessation I shall breath out, thus he trains himself.

16. Contemplating relinquishment, I shall breath in, thus he trains himself; Contemplating relinquishment, I shall breath out, thus he trains himself.

 References & Reading:

 Buddhism:

Blofeld, John, The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet – A practical guide to the theory, purpose, and techniques of Tantric

meditation, New York: Dutton & Co, 1970

Fernando, A, and Swindler, L, Buddhism Made Plain – An Introduction for Christians and Jews, NY: Orbis, 1998

Govinda, Lama Angagrika, Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, London: Rider & Co, 1960

Guenthers, H.G, Buddhist Philosphy, England: Pelican, 1971

Hearn, T, A Daily Puja, Wangapeka Books,

Hearn, T, Breathing – The Natural Way to Meditate, Wangapeka Books, 1991

Hearn, T, Satipatthana. Foundations of Mindfulness, A Manual for Meditators, Wangapeka Books, 2000

Humphreys, Christmas, Buddhism, England: Pelican, 1951

Kwiat, Cecile, The Four Contemplations which turn the mind to Religion, Ottawa: Crystal Word, 1995

Lingpa, Jig-me, The Dzogchen –Inner Essence Preliminary Practice, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1982

MacKenzie, V, Why Buddhism: Westerners in Search of Wisdom, Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2001

Nanamoli, Bhikkhu, and Bodhi, Bhikkhu (Trans), The Middlelength Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation

of the Majjhima Nikaya, Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995

Namgyal Rinpoche, Body, Speech & Mind- a manual for human development as heard by Cecilie Kwiat, Ontario:

Crystal Staff Publications, 1983

Namgyal Rinpoche, The Breath of Awakening – A Guide To Liberation Through Anapanasati Mindfulness of

Breathing, Ontario: Bodhi Publishing, 1992

Namgyal Rinpoche, The Womb of Form – Pith Instructions in the Six Yogas of Naropa, Ottawa: Crystal Word

Publications, 1981.

Norby, T,F, and Turnbull, C.M., Tibet, Bombay: Allied Publishers, 1968

sGam.po.pa (Trans by H.V. Guenther). "The Jewelled Ornament of Liberation", Colorado: Shambhala Pub., 1959

Schumann, Hans Wolfgang, Buddhism – An outline of its teaching and schools, London: Ryer & Co,1973

Suzuki, Shunryn, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, NY: Weatherhill, 1976

Teresa of Avila:

Campbell, C, Meditations with Teresa of Avila, Santa Fe:Bear & Company, 1985

Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O (Trans), The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Washington: ICS Publication, 1976

Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O (Trans), The Collected Works of St John of the Cross, Washington: ICS Publications, 1963

Van de Weyer, R, (Trans) The Interior Castle – St Teresa of Avila, London: Fount, 1995

Venard, J, The Interior Castle – Saint Teresa of Avila, E.J.Dwyer, Australia, 1989

Williams, R, Teresa of Avila, Continuum, London, 1991

Other:

Dalai Lama, The, The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus, Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1996

Donovan, P, Religions of New Zealand, Palmerston North: Dunmore Press, 1996 ( 2^nd Ed).

Grey, A, Sacred Mirrors: The Visionary Art of Alex Grey, Vermont: Inner Traditions Int, 1990

Gross, R.M, and Muck, T.C, Buddhists Talk About Jesus- Christians Talk About Buddha, NY: Continuum, 1999

King, T.M, Merton Mystic at the Centre of America, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, 1992

Merton, T, Thomas Merton: A Spiritual Masters, NY: Paulist, 1992

Pittle, D.M, The Christian Experience of Zen, & Why Zen? Published Articles, www. sophia. org/teisho3.htm, 1998

Ward, K, The Impact of Postmodernity. Believing without belonging: church in the aftermath of the sixties, Paper presented at 2002 Chch Diocesan Conference.