Recently I have been talking to a friend about some of his Zen Buddhist beliefs and in an effort to understand a bit more also began to search the internet for more on Zen Buddhism. In my search, I came across an interesting little concept: “Zen mind is not Zen mind”
After discussing this with my friend I was able to get a handle on what this phrase actually means. Let me explain…
The idea is that if you are trying hard to achieve Zen mind, with that as your goal, then you have missed the entire point of Zen mind, which is to live entirely in the present with no goals or expectations.
As I began to understand this concept, it occurred to me that there are parallels in Christianity that can be drawn. There is a big difference between being a true follower of Christ and getting caught up in Christianity as a religion.
Even Christians who are committed to following Christ deep in there hearts can find themselves getting caught up in Christianity: dressing for church as they think they are expected to, or acting as they feel they are expected to, or doing all the right things.
Perhaps there is something that we can learn from our Zen Buddhist friends. :)
Peace & God Bless!
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