Nothing Special: Promises Not Kept

"He who does not expect, has all things"

Charlotte Joko Beck writes, "Our human trouble arises from desire. Not all desires generate problems, however. There are two kinds of desires: demands, I have to have it, and preferences. Preferences are harmless, "they are what we would want to like to have,' Beck writes.

"Desire that demands to be satisfied is the problem. It's as if we feel that we're constantly thirsty, and to quench our thirst we try to attach a hose to a faucet in the wall of life. We keep thinking that from this or that faucet we will get the water we demand... We demand countless things of ourselves and the world; almost anything can be seen as desirable, a socket we can attach ourselves to, so that we can finally get the drink we believe we need... self-assured [or not], underneath it all we feel that there is something lacking.

We feel we have to fix our life, quench our thirst. We've got to get that connection, to hook up our hose to that faucet... The problem is that nothing actually works. 
We begin to discover that the promise we hold out to ourselves... is never kept... If we've been trying for years... to attach our hose... there comes a moment of profound discouragement... and it dawns on us that nothing can really fulfill our demands... 
That moment of despair is in fact a blessing, the real beginning... A strange thing [then] begins to happen when we let go of our expectations... 
Practice has to be a process of endless disappointment... [In] good sitting we must notice the promise that we wish to extract from other people and abandon the dream that they can quench our thirst."

Christianity refers to this experience as the dark night of the soul, the moment when one enters into union with that which is greater, and infinite love, though the gate may be narrow, the joys are great:

"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate which is wide and the road broad, lead to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.

'How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few."
--The Bible, Matthew chapter 7, verses 12-14

Melchizedek, a Jew and other Torah Figures

Melchizedek-- Heb. meaning, "the god Zedek is king."


The Hebrew name Melchizedek appears in many current documents as if something new to humankind is being uncovered. In fact the name means in English, the god Zedek is King. It is also the name of the ‘mysterious’  (Greek word meaning ‘the initiate(d)’) personage mentioned in Genesis 14:18-20.

He is also mysterious because little is actually known of this person whom the Bible records as being a priest and king. In the book of Hebrews 7, he is presented as one who presages the appearance of the Christ come into the world. Here the name Melchizedek, owing back to its original Hebrew, takes the additional connotation of ‘the king of justice.’

There are three main points of resemblance between Melchizedek and the Christ who it may be said later fulfills his oracle. Both men were both priest and king; both offer bread and wine as sacrifice to G-d; both derive their priestly state directly from the ancient Hebrew tribe of Aaron, because neither man is from the tribe of Levi, another branch which served a different priestly function.

Who and why are the tribes of Israel important to the story of Melchizedek? First of all, the bible records for history that the ancient tribes of Israel performed several distinct functions in their society and that this ordering reflected well upon their religion which in time comes to us as Judaism. While the Torah records many tribes from far and wide, the tribes most important to the story of Melchizedek are the Levites, those men who were the hereditary priests, or sacred ministers with duty to offer sacrifices at the altar of the holocausts (Leviticus 1:3-4); they also entered the place of worship morning and evening to offer incense at the golden altar. See Psalms 99 and 110:4, also Hebrews 7:1-17.  The significance of the “order of Melchizedek” is that his authority arose by means different than the traditional hereditary one of other priests. They were made priests on the mandate of G-d, the Creator. Nothing more is made of their priestly state.

Aaron was a member of the tribe of Levi (Exodus 4:14-16 and 7:28-30) and the brother of Moses; he was the designated tribal spokesman before the Egyptian Pharaoh. The Levite priests were also charged with several other duties, including the care and cure of Lepers in their communities. Luke 1 and 5. They officiated at the temple, and all the Tribe of Levi along with those of Aaron ministered together during the great festivals. Their dress was a long, light linen tunic worn with a decorated sash and turban. Compare this with the modern, Orthodox Christian practice owing its tradition back to the Hebrews, in all ways of the priests. So it is the priest of modern day who presides as Melechizedek's descendant, anointed with Holy Chrism.

The Holy Spirit Continues in You

"Resting in God is a term I like."
--Thich Nhat Hanh


Buddhist monk and teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, writes in his book, Living Buddha, Living Christ, that real love never ends. He says, "In Judaism, we are encouraged to enjoy the world as long as we know that it is God himself." Jewish belief is the forbear of Christianity; its patrimony is unmistakeable, joyful, loving, creative. "The Ten Commandments... of the Judeo-Christian hertitage help us know what to do, and what not to do in order to cherish God throughout our daily life."

"All precepts, commandments are about love and understanding." Jesus gave this commandment first to the Apostles, his disciples, to 'love God with all your mind, with all your strength, and most importantly, to love your neighbor as yourself.' In the bible chapter, First Corinthians (Corinthians 1), it declares the principle message of the bible and its eastern, Jewish roots:

Love is patient, love is kind, love is not arrogant, envious or rude. Love does not rejoice in the wrong, it is not irritable or resentful. Love does not insist on its own way. Love rejoices in the truth.
These are very close to the teachings of Buddhism, Thich Nhat Hanh continues. He comments that, "Love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. Love is born and reborn... To take good care of yourself and the environment is the best way to love God. This love is possible when you understand that you are not separate from other beings, or the environment. This understanding cannot be merely intellectual. It must be experiential, insight gained from deep touching and deep looking in a daily life of contemplation, prayer and meditation."
Real love never ends. It can be born and reborn within you, again and again.

When you pray with your heart, your love, the Holy (whole, unified) Spirit is within you. Nothing more is necessary. The Spirit is a force, a power within you, and in the world. Spirit comes, lighting the Way in the darkness. The force of Bodhichitta is alive. You can see things deeply, understand deeply, love deeply. Hanh writes, "if you practice this way, the Lord's Prayer comes alive in you. It brings real change: thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven... This is like the water that touches the wave, which is its own nature.

This touching removes fear, anxiety, anger, craving... give us our daily bread, and forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us... lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, every evil...have mercy upon us, and protect us from anxiety..." Deeply looking, meditating on this prayer shows the light of the Spirit, the loving God, is loving the living beings that "we see and touch in our daily life.
If we can love them, we can love God."

Thus the Holy Spirit continues on in you. You are one, both the wave and the water, the raft and the shore. Your mindfulness will bring this about, sharing with others.
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