Salvation in History

"I think, therefore I am."   -- Rene Descartes, French philosophe

Not the least of accomplishments, the late Pope John Paul II was an artist, an actor, an able statesman for his Polish homeland, exhibiting both bold love for the people, and courage against their Communist oppressors; as well, he was a highly articulate Pastor, tending his flock as priest, bishop and later as Pope, the spiritual leader of the world's Roman Catholic Christians.

Despite his high scholarship and extensive intellectual abilities, it is sometimes less known that John Paul possessed a formidable intellect for the humanities, the sciences, mathematics and philosophy of all kinds. He had a great interest in astronomy. In one of his many works of literature and philosophy, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, John Paul chooses as his subject, salvation in history. Why does the Christian story of Jesus seem so complicated? Is God really so loving? What about other faith groups who look to their traditions for wholeness, peace, for salvation, for unity? John Paul II (JP II) muses that the answers are long, yet he endeavors to make them simple in this essay for those who are not philosophers, to better carry the message of salvation, as he sees it.

"To be redeemed in salvation, is a profound question." Many faiths' practice for spiritual redemption; it is not limited to Christians. Jews and Buddhists are two other faiths that come to mind. In history, salvation in the west finds its modern roots in the teaching of the Enlightenment thinkers of Europe. John Paul writes, "I put Descartes at the forefront, because he marks the beginning of a new era of European thought, and because this philosopher, who certainly is the greatest France has given the world, inaugurated a great shift in philosophy: 'I think, therefore I am'...the motto of modern rationalism."

"The objective truth of this thought is not as important as the fact that something exists in human consciousness." Descartes inaugurates the modern development of the sciences, including those humanistic sciences, ushering in the new, modern age of western thought.

The French Enlightenment ushered in the "cult of the goddess of reason." To those minds shaped by a naturalistic consciousness of the world, God is decidedly outside of the world. "God working through man turned out to be useless...to modern science, to modern knowledge...which examines the workings of the conscious, the unconsciousness. The Enlightenment, thus, put God, the redeemer to one side."

Consequently, man, divorced from traditions of faith, of spirit, is now expected to live by reason alone. The collected wisdom of the ages, ever present in traditional society is cast aside in favor of reason alone. The presence of a divine Creator, a loving intellect that knows the heart of his creation, that so loved the world, does not need God's love.

The modern world is self sufficient; thus this world must be the world that makes man happy. Yet in the world today, man continues to suffer in body and mind, in poverty and neglect, in loneliness and greed, this world suffers alienation, aimlessness, anxiety, poverty, and suffers alone. Science has not been its help.

"This world,' says JP II, 'in which knowledge is developed by man, which appears as progress and civilization, as a modern system of communication, in a structure of democratic freedoms without limits, is today a world in which man suffers." The world is not capable, despite its reason, to make man happy, to free him from his sufferings, his pain, his death; it cannot save man from evil, illness or catastrophes. Still, now today, the world needs, wants to be saved, to be redeemed and renewed.

Immortality is not part of the world; that is why the Christ speaks in the Gospels of God's love which expresses itself in the offering of his son, so that man may not perish, but have life, eternal. He came that man might be free in love, to lift him and embrace in a redeeming love. For love is always greater than any force of evil."

"The Easter story is the culmination of the story of the "return," of redemption possible and available to all humankind. The history of salvation "not only addresses the question of human history, but also confronts the problem of the meaning of man's existence. It is both a confrontation of history and metaphysics; the encounters between man and God in the world, the divine mysteries of souls constitutes the modern Church." --paraphrased.

Electing a Pope, the Apostolic Succession

"Terms such as "primacy" and "jurisdiction" are best avoided when one describes the role of Peter in the New Testament." --UCCB document discussing the tradition and interfaith discussions of Apostolic Succession.

The rumors now are flying about unabated about the impending election, or apostolic succession of the Pope of the Roman Catholic church. Who cares, anyway?
Well, about 1.3 billion persons world-wide identify themselves as Roman Catholic Christians; they, with the world-wide Orthodox Christian churches, form the single largest group of Christians on the planet.
So like it or not, this is a big story, made bigger by the nearly unheard of retirement of the most previous Roman Catholic Pope, Benedict XVI.
Note: the Orthodox churches, by and large, each have their own prelate, or spiritual leader. Most retain friendly relations with the Vatican; some rest under the larger umbrella of the Vatican herself.
This sudden need to choose a successor of Peter, as the Pope is sometimes called, requires the election of a person believed capable to lead and inspire God's people on earth.
No small job here, the election process is partly driven by tradition, and as much, by a spirit filled, democratic process whereby each person, called an (Elector) Cardinal comes to the Vatican to represent their church members from each part of the world.

Currently the world is divided up into approximately 115 regions with a Cardinal-Elector to represent the people from each region. As has been mentioned before here at Simple Mind Zen, despite the highly developed infrastructure of the Roman church, its governance is both top-down and bottom-up. This means to say that the people of the Church are both spoken to, instructed from the Vatican as much as they speak and give instructions to the Vatican from each of their respective regions via their Bishops and finally, their Electoral Cardinals, in the case of a Papal (Apostolic) Succession.

This is the process we see now underway. The Elector-Cardinals have, during the past seven to ten days, hurried from around the world to the Vatican so as to be available to represent their regions in the Church as she deliberates the next Pope.

Why does this take so long? Shouldn't they have picked some one by now?
 The process is both democratic and representative; it is also mindful of the promptings of the Holy Spirit. For example, the much loved Pope, John Paul II, wrote that at the start of the process which ultimately elected him, he did not expect to become Pope. And when it occurred that he indeed was elected, he considered the promptings of both the Electors and the whisperings of the Holy Spirit before he accepted the post. A man may refuse this great task, if he feels he is not physically or mentally able to fulfill its mission. The Pontiff must be chosen from among the Elector Cardinals within a conclave per Church rules.

Yet before arriving at this end stage of the process, an important part is that the Elector-Cardinals gather to express on behalf of their respective peoples, the needs and concerns of each representative region. As the world is great and large, the needs of the world-wide Church vary equally so.
It is through these very crucial discussions held at the Vatican that a consensus of priorities emerges; from that the characteristics of the future leader may then be drawn.
At this stage a perspective leader may become more clear in the minds of the Elector-Cardinals; so one or more candidates then appear from among that same group of Elector-Cardinals.

What takes some of the Elector-Cardinals so long to arrive at the Vatican? 
 They are holding up the process and missing some discussions. A good observation!
This is true that their late arrival curtails their full involvement in the agenda setting discussions; however, since the Church is world-wide, she functions under various regional political constraints. In some regions, it is with a dictator; in others the Church functions under communism and in others, there is an absence of the free practice of religion. In these places, it may be more difficult for an Elector-Cardinal to obtain permission of his government to travel to the Vatican, as the Church requires he do.

For example, in the case of the Peoples Republic of China, and in some other districts, the Communist Party requires both a "official" government selected Church which functions side by side with the Vatican recognized Roman Church. The Vatican led Church is largely suppressed there.

Thus it's an act of diplomacy for those persons recognized by the Vatican, rather than solely by Chinese government to be permitted to travel to the Vatican so as to fulfill their role as representatives of the local peoples. Despite on-going negotiations with that government, China still acts freely to install their own persons in key Church roles, disregarding the lack of recognition for those same persons by the Vatican!

Who from these regions will then attend? The Vatican insists upon its own personnel, their Elector-Cardinals. Ideally the chosen person is acceptable to both the government and to the Vatican. However, said person may or may not be permitted to leave his country to attend the Vatican meetings.
It is now reported that in the Communist nation of Vietnam, that Elector-Cardinal there has just won permission to attend the proceedings at the Vatican. Once he arrives, it is presumed that process of Apostolic Succession will commence in earnest.

So, finally when all the Elector-Cardinals are present, as Church rules dictate that they must be, the election may proceed. Remember, this process is lengthy precisely because of the requirement to represent all the peoples of the world-wide church; so the election of a Pope is largely a bottom up process.

Why is it closed to the media and other non-Electors? It is for the purpose of discussion--of the truest needs and yearnings of the Church herself that the process is closed so as to reduce outside influence. Just as in a corporate personnel meeting or a political caucus, the initial conversations are held privately. Finally, the candidates are considered and the vote occurs; then peoples and regions of the world will have representation and a new spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic church arises with the traditional puff of smoke.

The Secret of God's Heart

"You are the secret of God's heart."

The most valuable thing you can offer is your possible or potential spirit. This is what you have always available to offer, what you need to live your own love story. Like the seed watered, your love is without beginning and without end. Watering the seeds of your love, is a practice that makes you grow-- but it is only a practice, not an end. For, if your focus becomes the notion of "growing," then the end becomes just that--a pursuit and the way is obscured by what you pursue.

As Deepak Chopra relates in his book, The Path to Love,"... [it] is something that you consciously choose to follow, and everyone who has fallen in love has taken that first step." Pope John Paul II in his first public gathering, exhorted the crowd with the Bible verse, "Do not be afraid, for I am with you always."
Deepak continues, "In India, the spiritual path is called Sadhana, and as I've mentioned though a tiny majority of people give up normal life to wander the world as seekers of enlightenment, these monks, Sadhus, everyone, from those in the most ancient civilization of Vedic India until today, considers their life to be a Sadhana, a path to the Self. Although the Self seems separate from us, it is actually intertwined in everything a person thinks, feels, or does... 

As long as the Self has yet to be found, sadhana exists. The "goal" is to change your awareness from separation to unity." And while the inner work takes place, it must have something exterior to sustain it.
"In India, a person's nature leads him to the style of path appropriate to reaching fulfillment. Some people are naturally intellectual, and therefore are suited to the path of knowledge or Gyana. Some are more devotional and are suited to the path of worship, Bhakti. Some are more outwardly motivated and are suited to the path of action, or Karma. The three are not mutually exclusive; rather they may form a wholly integrated path.

"Ideally there are periods of study, worship and reflection, and service in a person's day." It is possible to be so taken by a particular practice that ones' whole existence centers upon that practice. Perhaps it is reading the Scriptures, contemplation or scholarly debate, living the life of Gyana; perhaps spending time meditating, chanting and participating in Temple rituals as the life of a Bhakti. Or you may focus yourself doing social work, teaching, serving, applying yourself to mental and physical purification doing God's bidding in daily life, the work of Karma.


"A path is just a way to open yourself to spirit, to God, to love. These are aims we may cherish, but our culture has given us no established way to reach them. Indeed, never in history has a seeker been confronted with such a disorganized and chaotic spiritual scene." Today what we are left with is the desire to love and be loved, a force and a power in the world too great to be extinguished; thus the path to love is not simply a pretty metaphor, it is a reality. And you are the greatest secret of god's heart. In India, the most ancient version of this is bhakti or devotion, from Vedic India in which all love is in the search for God. The Sufis of Islam, and the great teacher and poet, Rumi, testify to this.

Christ initiated another version of the Way in his teaching "Love your neighbor as yourself." He did not simply say like, rather he passionately intoned the word love as his great commandment. The Christian idea of the Way is about the relationship between a parent, a creator,  for his beloved child. God is seen as the great mother/father. In the Hebrew scriptures, there is the great love of God for his creation in the Song of Solomon.
However "since the advent of Freud, psychologists have assured us that falling in love is illusory; the sense of ecstasy that is part of falling in love isn't realistic. We must learn to accept the temporary nature of romance and disregard the "projected fantasy" that we might be as immortal and invulnerable as lovers often feel."
On the other hand, Chopra among others insists, the sense of uniqueness, blessing and delight felt by lovers has its own reality, but it must be found within; the world wishes no such part. The mystery that is love, joins us to a reality that we yearn for, and despite the "differences of a Sufi master, a yogi, a Christian saint, and a Chinese martial artist, all perceive spirit as clearly as seeing the earth and sky."

False Generalizations

Recognize that a concept is just a concept, and not reality. --Joko Charlotte Beck

Generalizations. Assumptions. We all make them. And they cause all of us grief. The world as it is. Reality is not an assumption. It's not the way we want things to be, or the way we think about things to be. "Each moment, life as it is--the only Teacher. Being just this moment--compassion's way."
Joko Beck writes in her book, Nothing Special, Living Zen, about the Sufi sage and fool, Nasrudin who was once said to have been in his flower garden sprinkling bread crumbs over everything. His neighbor saw what he was doing and asked him why. To which Nasrudin replied, "to keep the tigers away!" The neighbor, laughing, said, "but there aren't tigers within a thousand miles!"
"Effective, isn't it?" said Nasrudin. Beck writes, "we laugh because we're sure that the two things--bread crumbs and tigers-- have nothing to do with each other. Yet as with Nasrudin, our practice and our lives are based upon false generalizations that have nothing to do with reality."

If we base our lives, most often unconsciously, upon generalizations or assumptions, and we do not ask ourselves or others about what is happening in our lives in this moment, in this day, like Nasrudin we build our understanding upon false notion, upon false generalizations. "Such generalities obscure the specific, concrete reality of our lives." In fact says Beck, "life is not general, it is specific." Sitting practice, or zazen cuts through the unconsciousness, the grey lights that obscure the more specific observations that we might otherwise make about ourselves and others, views which lead to the questions of how, why, what is this about, or what is necessary?

For example, "instead of I can't stand myself when I do such and such, we [then come to] see more clearly what's going on. We're not covering events with a broad brush" of assumptions, generalizations, powerful emotions--energies that take our focus elsewhere, away from our experience, our situations. Often, in conversations, we exchange notions and we are like two ships at sea, continuing on, lost in a grey murk of conceptual material, of analytic, virtual thought. Avoiding experience, no contact takes place. It may be a form of Zen combat, or it may be without of an experience precisely for that reason-- experience is what we fear to know about.

"In Zen practice, we tend to toss around many fancy concepts: Everything is in perfect being as it is, we're all doing the best we can, things are all one, I [you, we are] one with him. We call this Zen bullshit, though other religions have their own versions." And it's not that the statements are false; they have a universal truth. But, says Beck, "if we stop there, we have turned our practice into an exercise of concepts, and we've lost awareness of what's going on with us right this second. Good practice [zazen] always entails moving through our concepts... recognize that a concept is just a concept, and not reality."

When we "notice our thoughts... then we have to experience the pain that accompanies the thought." Why? Simply because it is our thought, and our pain. We have made them both; they are our very own. "When we can stay with the pain as a pure physical sensation, then at some point it will dissolve, and we can move into the truth... But we have to move from experience which is painful, into truth and not plaster thoughts over our experience. Intellectual people are particularly prone to this error." The rational world of concepts is a mere description of the real world. In contrast, when we allow this pure experience of our own, we come into zazen.

As Bassui says, "clearly seeing into one's nature is called practice. And the seat that puts an end to analytic thoughts is called Zazen."
And only when we "move through [to] the experiential level does life have meaning. This is what Christians and Jews mean by 'being with God.' Experiencing is out of time: it is not the past, not the future, not even the present in the usual sense." Unable to say in words what it is, we can only learn to be it. Some call it 'an-other world,' or 'living in the spirit.'

Catholic Christian writer, theologian, mystic and Pope, John Paul II, exhorted the practice, saying that "it is not enough to have, we must instead be." He emphasized that we must not only, for example, be in love, to have love, but we ourselves must be that experience--we must be love itself. We must not only have pain or grief, but we must, moreover, be that pain and grief.

A challenge indeed for those on the Way. We all have our favorite notions, our concepts of ourselves and others. They can become 'frozen in time.' We are caught by the thinking that emphasizes permanence. Yet the world, ourselves, and others are not permanent. At any moment, any cloud, any storm may take us far away to other shores in other places. Remember that practice is just what is; it is not unusual or exotic. It is not only open to the few; all beings have experiences. Learning to live fully those experiences is what in traditional Buddhist terms, is being buddha-nature itself.
"Compassion grows from such roots," emphasizes Joko Beck.

Traveling the Path, on the Way

"You are the secret of God's heart."


The most valuable thing you can offer is your possible or potential spirit. This is what you have always available to offer, what you need to live your own love story. Like the seed watered, your love is without beginning and without end. Watering the seeds of your love, is a practice that makes you grow-- but it is only a practice, not an end. For, if your focus becomes the notion of "growing," then the end becomes just that--a pursuit and the way is obscured by what you pursue.

As Deepak Chopra relates in his book, The Path to Love,
"...[it] is something that you consiously choose to follow, and everyone who has fallen in love has taken that first step." Pope John Paul II in his first public gathering, exhorted the crowd with the Bible verse, "Do not be afraid, for I am with you always."

Deepak continues, "In India, the spiritual path is called Sadhana, and as I've mentioned though a tiny majority of people give up normal life to wander the world as seekers of enlightenment, these monks, Sadhus, everyone, from those in the most ancient civilization of Vedic India until today, considers their life to be a Sadhana, a path to the Self. Although the Self seems separate from us, it is actually intertwined in everything a person thinks, feels, or does...
As long as the Self has yet to be found, sadhana exists. The "goal" is to change your awareness from separation to unity."

And while the inner work takes place, it must have something exterior to sustain it.
"In India, a person's nature leads him to the style of path appropriate to reaching fulfillment. Some people are naturally intellectual, and therefore are suited to the path of knowledge or Gyana. Some are more devotional and are suited to the path of worship, Bhakti. Some are more outwardly motivated and are suited to the path of action, or Karma. The three are not mutually exclusive; rather they may form a wholly integrated path.

"Ideally there are periods of study, worship and reflection, and service in a person's day." It is possible to be so taken by a particular practice that ones' whole existence centers upon that practice. Perhaps it is reading the Scriptures, contemplation or scholarly debate, living the life of Gyana; perhaps spending time meditating, chanting and participating in Temple rituals as the life of a Bhakti. Or you may focus yourself doing social work, teaching, serving, applying yourself to mental and physical purification doing God's bidding in daily life, the work of Karma.

"A path is just a way to open yourself to spirit, to God, to love. These are aims we may cherish, but our culture has given us no established way to reach them. Indeed, never in history has a seeker been confronted with such a disorganized and chaotic spiritual scene."

Today what we are left with is the desire to love and be loved, a force and a power in the world too great to be extinguished; thus the path to love is not simply a pretty metaphor, it is a reality. In India, the most ancient version of this is bhakti or devotion, from Vedic India in which all love is in the search for God. The Sufis of Islam, and the great teacher and poet, Rumi, testify to this.

Christ initiated another version of the Way in his teaching "Love you neighbor as yourself." He did not simply say like, rather he passionately intoned the word love as his great commandment. The Christian idea of the Way is about the relationship between a parent for his beloved child. God is seen as the great mother/father. In the Hebrew scriptures, there is the great love of God for his creation in the Song of Solomon.

However "since the advent of Freud, psychologists have assured us that falling in love is illusory; the sense of ecstacy that is part of falling in love isn't realistic. We must learn to accept the temporary nature of romance and disregard the "projected fantasy" that we might be as immortal and invulnerable as lovers often feel." Chopra among others insists, the sense of uniqueness, blessing and delight felt by lovers has its own reality, but it must be found within, the world wishes no such part. The mystery that is love, joins us to a reality that we yearn for, and despite the "differences of a Sufi master, a yogi, a Christian saint, and a Chinese martial artist, all perceive spirit as clearly as seeing the earth and sky."

The Person and Love

There is much thought given to "love." Much is written about it both in secular and spiritual works. Some will say that love may be described in a variety of forms such as spiritual, amity, familial, romantic, altruistic and more. And perhaps surprisingly, not all religious traditions give primary emphasis on it, partly due to the prevailing cultural practices of that place. For example, in places where marriage is clearly seen as a contract and a promise between not only the proposed couple, but their families as well, love may be desirable, but it is not necessary. The agreements and contracts of the parties take precedent at least initially.
In an increasingly interconnected world through technology, more and more cultures are coming into contact with other values, ideas and norms. Thus today much pondering occurs over love as a result of the most widely distributed religion worldwide, that of Christianity.

Christ exhorted his disciples to "love one another; the highest commandment is that you love one another. The rest is all commentary." However as in previous discussion, there is, we will see, one love, one world all contained within. In our efforts to describe and learn about this experience, we may become caught by these truths as merely notions or ideas. T.N. Hanh, a Buddhist monk and writer has declared that the "Buddha and Jesus are brothers." Moreover, Christian philosopher and theologian, Karol Wojtyla, writes, "the richness of the reality denoted by the word love, is a complex reality with many aspects."

"Take as our starting point, the fact that love is always a mutual relationship between persons. This relationship in turn is based on particular attitudes to the good, adopted by each of them individually and by both jointly... These elements are found in any love: there is in every love attraction and goodwill, desire, sympathy and friendship."

"The love of a man and a woman is a mutual relationship between persons, and possesses a personal character." This love begins in attraction, their liking for one another. To attract means to be more than less regarded as 'a good.' Attraction is the result of the view of one to another as a good; its result is the natural force of human nature, raised to the personal level."

Liking a person is very closely connected with knowledge. The base of attraction is an impression, a disposition to regard the other as a value; it is the developed commitment to think of that person as a certain good. Such commitment can only be enacted by the will. 'I want,' is implicit in 'I like.' Thus the will is committed by attraction, and attraction commits the will. This may be difficult to grasp intellectually; however through interpenetration or interbeing, there permits this to be so.

"Every person is indescribably complex, and so to speak, an uneven good," writes Wojtyla. "Man and woman alike are by nature bodily and spiritual beings; they are such a being, seen by one another; in this way, each attracts the other. All the potential goods or values that a given person may respond to derive from the object of the attraction. Each, then, attracts the other. For example, in y's attraction to x the value most strongly in evidence is one which y finds in x, and to which y reacts most strongly."

Also the fact that y is particularly sensitive to it, particularly quick to perceive and respond to it. The mind, the thinking process, plays a part in attraction, combined together with the emotions, a potent guide emerges in the mix as an important feature, strikingly evident in attraction. "But this fact creates a certain internal difficulty in the sexual lives of persons. This difficulty is inherent in the relationship of experience to truth." Feelings often arise spontaneously. Where feelings are functioning naturally, they are unconcerned about truth. This is lust. Truth for a man is a task of both his experience and his reason. This is why in any attraction, especially one of a sexual nature, the question of the truth about the person towards whom attraction is felt for, is so important.

Often people "generally believe that love can largely be reduced to a question of genuineness of feelings; although this is impossible to completely deny, we must still insist, if we are concerned about the quality of the attraction and the love of which it is part, that the truth about the person who is its object, must play a part at least as important as the truth of the sentiment.'

"These two truths, properly integrated, give to an attraction [wholeness], the elements of a genuinely good, and genuinely cultivated love. Thus the object of attraction is seen whole, as a good, as a thing of beauty. A human being is beautiful and may be revealed as beautiful to another human being." Love is a commitment to the good of each other.