Quaker and Other Religions: General; Buddhism

QUAKER ELEMENTS & OTHER RELIGIONS: GENERAL

150. Many Religions, One God: Toward a Deeper Dialogue (by Carol R. Murphy; 1966)
           About the Author—Carol Murphy has written 7 pamphlets for Pendle Hill, including this one; they serve to document her own spiritual progress. Beginning in 1948, she explored religious belief’s philosophical basis in The Faith of an Ex-Agnostic (#46). The Ministry of Counseling (#67) & Religion & Mental Illness (#82) testified to the religious nature of love's power at work in healing minds. Morality and religious living was explored in The Examined Life (#85). Reading Paul Tillich led to A Deeper Faith (#99) and Revelation and Experience (#137). This pamphlet tries to relate the Christian revelation to "that of God" in all the world's great religions. 

           Unto God shall ye return, and God will tell you that concerning which ye disagree.      KORAN
           Whatever man gives/ In true devotion:/ Fruit or water, A leaf, a flower:/ I will accept it.      BHAGAVAD GITA
           The Dwelling of Tathagata is the great compassionate heart within all living.      LOTUS OF WONDERFUL LAW                  Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me. MT. 25:40
           The Nature of Religious Assertions—What can there be in common between a crimson-robed Vatican Cardinal, a Burmese boy entering Buddhist monkhood, a Muslim pilgrim to Mecca, the Hindu worshiper of the Mother Kali, & the Jew reciting the Shema?      Is there a way of testing religion in living?      How does religion relate to the culture it grew out of?      Do religions mean different things when they use the same Words, or do they mean the same things in their different words?      Is there one best religion?
           For Paul Tillich, religion arises from man's ultimate concern. [According to] William A. Christian, there is something more important than anything or everything else in the universe [stated as religious concern]. Whatever is ultimate calls for a commitment that lays a transforming hand on the innermost self. The religious statement must isolate what is holy, & give it primacy over all else. It must be distinguished [but not completely isolated from secular things]. The Holy must have a superior claim, yet be related to lesser values in a way that does them justice. [The difficulty of stating this relationship] in religious assertions give rise to differences between religions. For the Jews and early Christians to debate the proposal that Jesus is the Messiah, "Messiah" needs to be defined before meeting the issue of whether Jesus is the Messiah. How shall we argue over such a fundamental category as the Holy? No one can argue another into seeing as holy what does not so appear to one.
           Revelation, Reason, & the Empirical/ Religion or Religions—The relation of reason to revelation is an important issue in Christian theology. The Ultimate's basic revelation in religion gives rise to a basic organizing vision in terms of which life is understood. [Reason is faith in search of understanding & a common language for faith]. Finally there is an empirical, visual element to religious practice, like Ignatian Exercises or Buddhism's 8-fold Path. Here is knowledge of human nature & the ways of changing its motivation, which can & should be tested. The Path's religious value depends on the vision of Nirvana. Nirvana's worth doesn't depend on this path.
           Is there such a thing as religion-in-general? One never meets just plain Man, only an individual. All we meet are unique individuals; all are recognizably human. We can usefully speak of Man & describe essentially human structures. Likewise in religion we can describe specific religions in terms of structures as have already been discerned. Often rationalists prefer to think of religion as primarily universal, particular faiths being local & partial. Those who think of religion as particular in nature hold 1 religion to be the truth, [and all others error].
           The universal element in the revelatory root of religion is the Ultimate that reveals itself. Eternity's white light is broken up into religions' rich spectrum. The likenesses, assuming they are more than verbal, may be a sign of like-mindedness, but not necessarily a sign of greater truth. A universal element provides a basis of dialogue; the particular element provides many gifts by which discussion can enrich the participants. Is religion so tied to culture that one can't be exported without the other? Paul Tillich says that culture is the form of religion & religion the substance of culture. Culture provides religion with myths & rituals; religion provides a vision of God & cosmos to culture. Christianity is often called intolerant because of its theological disputes; Hinduism is considered tolerant because it embraces different philosophies & approaches to God. There is also the prophetic aspect which reaches toward fuller truth about God by criticizing & transcending the cultural vision.
           Polarities in Religion: Form-Formless—[I will touch on some polarities among religious beliefs: form-formless; ought-is; history-eternity; non-dualism-relationship; immanence-transcendence]. In Form or Ritualism, religious life is ritualized in every detail, like a sacred dance. Ritualizing many daily actions of life hallows each daily detail, relating it to God's will. Confucianism, Hinduism, Catholic, & Eastern Orthodox Christianity, & Judaism have their ritual; Islam prescribes daily prayers facing Mecca.
           The dangers of formalism are well known. Formalism in worship can become empty and an obstacle to inspiration and creativity; the yoke of the law can become an intolerable burden, [or devolve into a joke]. Formless-ness, Spontaneity, the creative urge is seen as holy, divine inspiration, and the Spirit blows where it lists. Trivial observances are ignored. The non-sacramental Quakers aim at seeing all life as sacramental; they feel all rituals get in the way of this. Even Jewish prophetic tradition insisted that God despised their solemn assembly. Quakers find themselves at this pole with Taoists and Zen Buddhists, who have little respect for rules, rituals or images. Buddha was protesting Hindu formalism.
           The quality of holiness may drain out of a life when no specific reverence is practiced. ["No place is holier," becomes "no place is holy]." Non-ritualism may become a ritual in itself, and is not recognized as such. Non-ritualism may be misused by enthusiasts where forms are breaking down too far and too fast. Forms remain alive when neither flouted or idolized, but used in freedom. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
           Ought-Is—The "ought' or moral imperative usually takes some sort of form as a code or general prescription of what is desired, and often ends up entangled in cultural mores. Confucianism and Judaism are ethical, social-minded religions. Buddhism is not so social, but more mystical; in its origins and Hinayana or Theravada tradition, it emphasizes right thinking and action, a kind of ethical-spiritual therapy without theology or deity-communion. [It can become a heavy load without a sense of grounded-ness in the Ultimate that is].
           The "ought-to-be" near the Being pole is seen in the context of the nature of things which demands it of us. Primacy is given to contemplation & union with what is. Ethics [or right-thinking] may appear as inner purification rather than effort to make temporal order more just. This purification is considered to be not so much change in the self as the realization of what the self really is already. Here there is Islam's sense of the completely controlling power of Allah; but this is balanced by Islam's ethical demand to form a just Islamic brotherhood.
           History-Eternity—Our conduct takes place in the sphere of history and of human relationships. Hence the just claims of the ethical are involved in the Historical-Eternity and the Non-dualism-Relationship polarities. The religions that take history seriously include the belief that the Ultimate acts in history; human purpose & freedom are also involved. The result is meaningful history, goal-directed by Providence. It is possible to adore the onward march of history and forget ethical responsibility.
           In Hinduism and Buddhism, the "disasters" of history are of the nature of maya, a very powerful illusion. The peoples of the East have long been satisfied with the eternal, eventless, distinction-less bliss of Brahman or Nirvana, but have [exhibited] its inadequacy by their strong attraction to history-centered Marxism. Judeo-Christian tradition has never idolized history; the goal of history is beyond history. It is not a temporal Utopia determined by human planning. Eschatology, the "end" of history, not merely negates it, but gives it meaning.
           Non-dualism-Relationship—For Buddhism and Sankara Hinduism, the Ultimate and the souls of men have a metaphysical unity, or non-duality. The goal is Nirvana or liberation from pseudo-real individuality. "The Buddhist loves his neighbor because he is not other than himself." Subject and object do not confront each other over a gap; rather they are 2 ends of the same stick. Whatever one may suppose the metaphysical reality to be, we do seem to have to deal with personal purposes and relationships.
           To Jews, Christians & Muslims, distinctness of persons as individuals seems most real. Any unity with them must be achieved by real relationships. Confucianism envisages a social harmony in which cosmic order participates. The West's extreme individualism & personalism has a sense of loneliness & guilt. If a Buddhist loves ones neighbor for reasons stated above, Christ loves his neighbor because he is other than himself. We don't love because of some belief. Love has its own reasons, & provides clues to proper balance between Unity-Relationship extremes. Those who set out on the path of love are led into both respect for otherness & mystical union.
           Immanence-Transcendence—This polarity is needed to describe the differences between the relatively naturalistic and impersonal conceptions of the Ultimate in Taoism and Confucianism, and the personal & supernatural conception of God in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. If the Ultimate is thought of as a primal unity that includes nature and humankind, to go to God is to return to one's own nature. Without correction this extreme immanentism tends to lapse into a naturalism that leaves humans with no appeal from the brute force of nature. Santayana writes: "The human heart is lifted above misfortune and encouraged to pursue its inmost ideal when no compromise is any longer attempted with what is not moral and human ... At that moment religion ceases to be superstitious and becomes a rational discipline, an effort to perfect the spirit rather than intimidate it."
           The immanent God may be discovered, but the transcendent God must reveal God's self. If God is occasionally present, there is fear that God may often be absent. Religions of transcendence make statements correcting themselves with statements indicating God's closeness. Paul Tillich points out that Christianity needs both immanence & transcendence to correct each other. The Trinity includes transcendence as Father, the personal as the Son, & immanence as Spirit. The Hindu theist Umapati writes: "The soul is not merged in the Supreme, for if they become one, both disappear; if they remain 2 there is no fruition; therefore there is union and non-union."
           With these polarities, we see all religions engaged in a delicate balancing act, trying to be true to their vision of holiness, as they point to the Ultimate and show it to be over all. We see Christianity represented [at both ends of] every polarity, making it a more many-sided and versatile religion than most give it credit. Hindu-ism and Buddhism are weakest in the historical and social areas. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam can help them with eschatology and historically working out justice and brotherhood. Hinduism offers philosophies and yogas which can be matched to different religious temperaments and to different stages of life. The retired may seek God and strip themselves of egoism in preparation for the final adventure.
           The Deeper Dialogue—As we adventure deeper into the dialogue between religions, we will come to questions the value of religion itself in its aspect of cultural god-conceiving organism. The 1st step is to explore together the empirical Ways of the great religions. They have different conceptions of the goal, but in practice, the great disciplines lead in the direction of liberation, non-attachment [i.e.] transformation of man's egotistic claimful-ness into free giving. We are in greater hands than our own, and we can only learn to trust the process. Dom Aelred Graham [has studied Buddhism] and shares a respect for Buddha's fearless analysis of human suffering and the way of liberation. "To be reconciled, not blindly, but with a mind enlightened, to the inevitable" is the heart of Zen Buddhism and the message of Catholicism.
           What is it that holds Christians together if it isn't to be estrangement from other faiths? For Christian & Buddhist, the deeper unity of each faith lies in loyalty to a central symbolic figure (Christ & Buddha). Both are many-dimensional & have unsearchable riches of meaning. [The wide range of Christians & Buddhists have found in their respective figures attributes and images that "speak to their condition]." There is more light and truth yet to break forth from these central images, for it is here that God's revelation penetrates into man's view, where the universal pierces the particular.
           Christ is judge of all religions, including the Christian. This enables the Christian to see Christ wherever truth is. What seems apostasy to the "merely religious" man is to the man of faith an attempt to be truer to the God who is greater than the vision itself. [There is a difference between a humble openness toward God (belief), & the closed, self-sufficient dogmatism (belief disguised as "final, total belief)"]. A closed mind can't be healed.
           The Bible portrays God's revelatory knowledge in the Jews' ability to see past their parochialism, to see God as Judge & Champion, God of Jews & Gentiles. Religions aren't to be compared with each other but with the Center. Dom Aelred Graham writes: "Where final unity lies isn't in articles of belief, but in penetrating thru them to the Reality they inadequately represent." In the Light of this Reality, those of different religions must dare to worship together. True worship aims at the real God, not at the thought of him. It requires loyalty & openness combined, & the patience to work out ways of worship which don't demand doctrinal assents which would obscure or imperil the deeper unity. We enjoin those who would venture into a deeper dialogue between religions to explore ways to enlightenment, be loyal each to one's own religion's revelatory center, be open to that of faith in every religion, & to worship together in that which is eternal. Lord, we believe; help thou our unbelief.
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285. Letter to a Universalist (by John Punshon; 1989)
           About the Author—John Punshon was born in the east end of London in 1935. He was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he became a convinced Friend. Besides journalist, teacher & lawyer, he has been Quaker Studies Tutor at Woodbrooke, the Quaker center in Birmingham. He has been Preparative Meeting Clerk & Elder. This pamphlet arises out of John Punshon’s conviction that to establish mutual respect & tolerance among faiths based on what the faith is rather than an outside interpretation of it is to establish world peace. He also wrote Alternative Christianity (Pamphlet 245).
           Dear Friend/My Own Bias—I cannot minister as I feel called, because I know the words that come naturally to me are often unacceptable to you. You feel that true Quaker thought & experience leads to your position & not mine. I want to engage in an exploration of faith with you, because I have come to feel that our difference go beyond personal preferences and reflect a deep collective crisis of identity for unprogrammed Quakerism.
           My early experiences of Christianity were all positive, [from a little country church and a strict evangelical Anglican church; I went to a universalist church in my adolescence]. The Anglican vicar’s faith was on the surface, and he showed little sense of mystery, or awareness that religion operated at many different levels. The universalist minister, on the other hand, used Christian terms that said one thing but meant another. He side-stepped the surface meanings of Bible passages by explaining what its “deeper meaning” was. I was both dying of thirst on the surface of religion & drowning beneath it. Social gospel is more appealing that personal salvation.
           Objections to Christianity—My Christianity involves the Trinity, incarnation, resurrection and atonement of Christ, church membership, Sermon on the Mount, and parables of the Kingdom; covenant, salvation and redemption are metaphysical realities. We are the 1st people to have access to a greatly expanded understanding of the universe. Christian anthropomorphism as an explanation of the forces, powers and processes of the universe is naïve; it is too crude to be true. Christianity says we are all sinners; it offers a cure for a pathological condition which most people seem not to suffering from. The main reason against the credibility of my own faith is that we are changing the way and the substance of what we think about. If Universalism is true, Christ is not the Savior of the world. My faith is then false and the sooner I recognize that fact the better.
           An Approach to Universalism—The most noticeable thing about you universalists is that you use words that imply you have something new which at the same time has roots deep in the past. You have a deep sense of solidarity, or “unity with the creation.” Some look forward to a combination of the best & richest features of the great world faiths, others see mystical experience of religious consciousness as the great common ground among the faiths. Those things are not unique to you; many of us who follow Christ or Islam have the same sentiments.
           Universalists say that it is possible to have a wider range of experiences and relationship with ultimate reality than the Christian tradition could ever permit. They see that no religion has a monopoly of truth and there is truth to be found in all religions. For Christians, religion is the working out in life the belief that in Jesus Christ there is the definitive self-disclosure or revelation of God. For you, religious commitment is based on the unfettered search for religious truth; the substance of religion is in the spiritual process rather than the content. Traditional believers are irritated with your answers to faith questions because they do not realize that your faith is not a defective variant of theirs; it is a different kind of religion.
           A Different Issue—The conception of religion as personal process is at variance with the way the world seems to me to be. Fundamentalism flourishes where [religious minorities try to maintain their integrity amidst] a different dominant faith. [My route to] mutual toleration and harmony, is by taking other faiths at their own estimation of themselves, not by our interpretation of them]. It is the differences and the challenges they present that we stand the best chance of widening our own understanding and also where we find the opportunity of over-coming destructive narrow-mindedness. [Dialogues and solutions about how a minority’s beliefs can be implemented in the culture of the majority faith have little to do with universalism.] The battle of tolerance takes place within orthodoxy, which stands between liberalism and fundamentalism. That is where the action is.
           A Critique of Universalism—As part of its working definition Universalism denies exclusive claims to truth in every religion, because while all religions can be partially true, none can be wholly true; [that includes Universalism]. One cannot simply assert that there is truth in all religions as if that were all. Without a working definition of what truth is, one can hardly know what aspect of a religion is true. Many Quakers opt for a common mystical experience which is seen to lie beneath the surface diversity of the great world religious systems.
           [Many contemporary Friends, following the “Quakerism is Universalism” line of reasoning say] “Christian faith is really too restrictive a basis for membership of the Society of Friends, so we must accept all who share our values regardless of our beliefs and traditions.” A unilateral universalist reconstruction of Quakerism can only take place by ignoring the position of the non-universalist majority in the Society of Friends. I am not ready to make this kind of break. [More and more], the substance of Quaker belief is summarized in a series of saws and maxims. They work like trump cards, [ending all chance of further arguments].
           Some Saws and Maxims—The seeker is the ace of trumps. “Quakerism began among the 17th century Seekers” who rejected doctrines in favor of experience. That is not how Quakerism began. The notions card says that since Quakers refused to discuss things like sin, salvation and atonement, i.e. notions, we have no need of theology or Bible. The early Quakers had a precise theology and knew the Bible backwards. The new Light card is from 1931 London Yearly Meeting (“Be open to new light from whatever quarter it may come).” The personal testimony is all card, [from George Fox’s] “But what canst thou say?” is used to minimize corporate commitment and elevate sincerity of a conviction over its truth.
           The utterances of the Quakers of old had a context, they were part of a terminology, they were derived from a coherent and consistent theological framework. Compared with this rich dialogue growing out of experience, I find one-line summaries of a profound faith trivial and depressing. Anyone seeking to say that Christianity is a part of our testimony may now be told that they might be happier elsewhere. [In my own meeting] I am highly inhibited in saying anything specifically religious at all in case I tread on somebody’s toes. The one thing out of the question [in 1st-Day School] is explicit Christian teaching.
           The following points would likely be raised in any discussion of this issue. 1st, there is “that of God in every one.” Unless you know what is meant by “that” and “God” it is not much help. 2nd, there are values; Friends share many common values. I don’t know about you, but I go to meeting to worship God, not to have values. [It is too broad of a characteristic and includes too many to define Quakerism].
           Then, there is the individualist move. It is customary to say in some quarters that the Society of Friends has never made any unalterable statements of belief. Many deduce from this that no gathering or body may make any authoritative statement about what Quakerism is. Universalists sometimes argue from these principles that the Society cannot deny membership to non-Christians. This is a set of assumption about the nature of the Society of Friends which is open to question. It is highly arguable whether doctrine will support those who reckon that it is continuing revelation that is leading Quakerism toward Universalism.
           [The conditions for continuing revelation] rested on conversion to a faith in the triune God of the Christian revelation. Continuous revelation is cumulative, not selective. It teaches us to believe more deeply, not more narrowly. You ought to either accept the tradition or face the fact that it may be human preference and not divine guidance that causes Quakers to change their collective minds.
           The Problem Stated—The majority Programmed Quakers ask: Why is it so hard to talk about Christ? The absence of an institutional requirement for novelty to prove itself over time has led the unprogrammed tradition to open itself to outside influences without being clear about what effect they would have on it. I have seen the rapid growth of the opinion that it is this syncretism above all other things which is the defining characteristic of Quakerism. If you worship the Spirit that was in Jesus, but not Jesus, & that you follow him only as a great moral teacher, I don’t see how your position can be the foundation for a community. Your position seems incompatible with the Quaker tradition & what it says about Christ. The argument against Universalism being an essential feature of Quakerism, is that it ignores the fact that most Quakers are Evangelicals, not Universalists.
           [Your interpretation of] George Fox’s assertion about Christ [is that] Fox was describing an experience of God, but it was not an experience of the pre-existent, incarnate, risen Lord. Fox’s letter to the Governor of Barbados is doctrine and very similar to the Apostles’ Creed; it cannot be denied, [so it is ignored in the Disciplines]. [From your standpoint] Fox was either using theological notions [to describe his experience] or he meant some-thing quite different that he lacked the means to express.
           The Influence of Cultural Relavitism—Cultural relativism asserts that truth is defined not by reference to facts but to what a given culture understands; truth is culture-specific. We can judge the past by the present; we cannot use the past to judge the present. Not only is Fox’s claim not authoritative, but it cannot be now. Any assertion that we share a common faith with Fox and Penn is a philosophical impossibility. Cultural relativism raises as many questions as it solves. Universalism and pantheism were real options for Fox in the 17th century, and he turned them down. He was not as culture-bound as you might think.
           Scientific Method and Quaker Faith/Conclusion—Some Friends use the thought of Teilhard de Chardin to show ways in which the symbolic system of Christianity might be utilized to take faith (& Quakerism) beyond Christian exclusivism. Teilhard’s ideas can be combined with Jungian explanations of human personality. Science provides us with models of reality & not immutable truths. Some Friends find it difficult to sustain traditional understanding of God in the face of these things. I find a willingness among Friends to adopt contemporary philosophy of science as a basis for religion. Christianity must be abandoned because it relies on revelation, for which this world view has no place. [Is current secular orthodoxy preferable to traditional religious orthodoxy?] I do not think [this method] can support a theology in the way Universalists variously claim.
           1st, I don’t think philosophical & scientific knowledge dovetail into one another the way Teilhard thought they did. 2nd, there is a tendency among Friends to adopt new, interesting scientific ideas, & then use them as if they were authoritative & immutable. I don’t think the philosophy of science will provide an adequate foundation for religion if Christianity is to be abandoned because it is considered to be outdated. 3rd, I don’t see the logical connection between adopting such ideas & a preference for Universalism against Christianity. These arguments give no reason for preferring one against the other; they challenge both. Unless we believe in other sources of truth than the human understanding, we shall find ourselves treading what history shows to be a very dangerous path. There is no reason why we should be apprehensive [about discussing our differences openly], provided we don’t let our emotions stand in the way of our judgment, or put our own desires in the place of our quest for truth.
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309. Universalism and Spirituality (by Ralph Hetherington; 1993)
           About the Author—Ralph Hetherington, a psychologist, has been a member of the Society of Friends for 50 years. He has contributed regularly to Friends' publications, mainly in the UK. He joined the Quaker Universalist Group (QUG). He discussed the psychology of peak experiences at the Swarthmore Lectures (UK; 1975).
           This essay sets out to discuss the nature of spirituality and its relevance to universalism. A commitment to a particular religious tradition might be helpful, it is not essential. The ideas "universalism" enshrines have developed within Quaker thinking and experience. Some suggest that universalism poses a danger to Quakerism, because it is not rooted in a historic living faith, that any Friend can believe anything and the Society stands for nothing. But perhaps it is in Quakerism as mysticism that universalism might develop and flourish.
           [Introduction]—Modern use of universalist and universalism began with John Linton in 1977. In 1893 at the World's Fair in Chicago, there were sessions of the World's Parliament of Religions. William Loftus Hare said: "There was a persistent effort to sustain a universalist feeling." The Unitarian Universalists have now adopted views which are similar to those of Quaker Universalists. John Ferguson tells us that the term universalism refers to a strong stream of mysticism which holds that all human beings are one in and with God. God does not coerce, but in forgiving love never finally abandons anyone.
           The QUG statement: Spiritual awareness is accessible to men and women of any religion or none ... no one faith can claim to be a final revelation or have a monopoly of truth.
           The US Quaker Universalist Fellowship (QUF) statement: "The QUF is an informal gathering of persons who cherish universality's spirit; it has always been intrinsic to the Quaker faith. We acknowledge & respect the diverse spiritual experience of those within our meetings as well as the human family worldwide; we are enriched by dialogue [with them]." The universalist position is universal, so that it includes any sincerely held view, whether or not such views are christocentric; universalism is opposed to religious fundamentalism.
           The Development of Universalist Ideas in Quakerism—In The Christian Quaker, William Penn expounded universalist ideas, which he called Gentile Divinity. The Light of Christ, present in all men & women everywhere, is likely equivalent to the Buddha Nature, Brahman of Hinduism, or the Tao. A universalist theology is based on a doctrine of personal revelation which has always been available to all.
           Isaac Penington said: "Learn of the Lord to make a right use of the Scriptures, by esteeming them in their right place, & prizing that [Light] above them which is above them." George Fox said: "I saw in that Light & Spirit which was before Scripture was given forth ... that all must come to that Spirit, if they would know God or Christ or the Scriptures aright, which they that gave them forth were led & taught by." Robert Barclay said: "The Scriptures are only a declaration of the fountain & not the fountain itself, therefore they aren't to be esteemed the principal ground of all truth & knowledge ... they are & may be esteemed a secondary rule, subordinate to the Spirit, from which they have all their excellency and certainty ... according to Scriptures the Spirit is the first and principal Leader." Revelations received were not invalid if they were not confirmed by scripture; the inward Light and scripture are not fully equivalent. Scripture could not be used to validate the inward Light.
           Friends during the 18th century's quietist period, stopped short of asserting that any "openings" not confirmed by scripture must be false. During this period, the assumption that inward light was the principal leader of truth was emphasized while the assumption that there was an indissoluble link between the inward Light & the Jesus of history was underplayed; pre-occupation with the scriptures & even thinking was to be avoided.
           In 1806, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) made it a matter of disownment to deny the divinity of Christ, the immediate revelation of the Holy Spirit, or the scripture's authority. The [opposition to & movement] toward the absolute authority of scripture came to a head in 1827 when Elias Hicks led a sizeable body of Friends to a separation from the main body. London Yearly Meeting (LYM) managed to avoid [major separation] and the extremism of either side of the argument. The underlying trend throughout most of the 19th century was away from Quietism and the primacy of the inward Light and towards Fundamentalism and the primacy of scripture.
           A LYM epistle in 1827 read: "Vital Christianity consisteth not in words but in power, & however important ... a right apprehension of the gospel doctrine [is], this availeth not, unless we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit." An 1836 LYM epistle read: "The declarations contained in the Scriptures rest on God's authority & there can be no appeal to any other authority ... Whatsoever any man says or does which is contrary to Scriptures, though under profession of the Spirit's immediate guidance, must be reckoned and accounted a mere delusion."
           Darwin's Origin of Species and [the call for] intelligent, informed, and scholarly criticism of biblical texts [exerted a different pressure]. An anonymous document called A Reasonable Faith offered a lucid, forward-loo-king alternative to biblical reference that is subject to intelligent and informed historical and textual criticism.
           Things came to a head at a conference in Richmond, IN in 1887. It was a laudable attempt to reassert Quaker principles. It also opposed the Hicksite meetings, whose representatives were not invited. The Richmond Declaration of Faith stated that Quaker belief had to be scriptural and personal revelation in the shape of the inward Light had to be subordinate to scripture. LYM found the Declaration too nearly a creedal statement, with too little room for the primacy of the inward Light of Christ.
           Development of Universalist Ideas in Quakerism: The Manchester Conference and After—The great Manchester Conference in 1895 led to liberal revival & a rational & informed criticism of biblical texts. Most yearly meetings (YM) worldwide accept the Richmond Declaration, the major exceptions being Hicksite & Wilburite YMs, LYM, & most European YMs. Friends remain divided over the primacy of the Inward Light over scripture. Since many Friends worldwide now accept the validity of biblical criticism, the Jesus of history has become a more problematical figure. The gospel speaks to our condition, some parts inspiring, others less so.
           The Mystical Basis of Quakerism/ Universalism and Liberal Theology—The Quakers belief in an immediate call was abhorrent to the Commonwealth and their biblical faith. Rufus Jones and Aldous Huxley together supplied good evidence that Fox continued the continental mystical tradition of the Catholic mystics and spiritual reformers of the 14th-17th centuries. Fox was well-versed in the classics and the religious literature of his day; he had Boehme and Franck in his own library. There is no dichotomy between the prophetic and the mystical since "prophetic power springs from and is motivated by mystical experience."
           John Punshon sees liberal theology as an answer to the evangelical Quakerism expressed in the Richmond Declaration & asserts: "[This liberal movement] has collapsed under the weight of its contradictions; [such as] it is impossible to give people total freedom & at the same time ... keep certain central principles sacrosanct. [LYM claims a Christian connection], but when you want a little precision ... you find that there is no corporate answer except an anthology of writings capable of an infinite number of interpretations ... The QUG provides a rationale for diversity that the liberal period sought & practiced, but couldn't accommodate its thinking to."
           Spirituality and Religion—It appears that a new spirituality which integrates the material, humane, and translucent—nature, humans and God—is beginning to emerge in the conditions of our time. Early Friends were convinced that spirituality was universal, in all people and periods, from primitive to modern times. Most would accept that "spirituality" and "religious" are not synonymous. Religions are organized and institutionalized, with an emphasis on the beliefs held by a particular church. Spirituality seems to refer to something inherent in the individual rather than the institution, first-hand experience rather than from [passed on] beliefs. Religious experience means spiritual experience in a religious context. Peak experience is similar, but may or may not be religious. George Fox asserted that the Inward Light was [meant] to bring people into unity. The integrity of the Society will be preserved through a common spirituality, without having religious statements of belief.
           Alister Hardy believed that spirituality evolved because it fits us for the world & therefore has survival value. Danah Zohar's The Quantam Self discusses the physiology of brain function at the sub-atomic level in quantum terms & various aspects of spirituality. The Gospel of Thomas teaches that "the Kingdom of Heaven" is not a place elsewhere which we may or may not attain; it is in us & it is here & now. The first Christian theologian to advance universal spirituality was probably Irenaeus in the second century. He asserted "God became human so that humans might become God." 200 years after Irenaeus, Augustine of Hippo [found] no divine spark in men and women and laid out the doctrine of original sin, which the Roman Catholic and most Protestant churches have followed ever since. Irenaeus' ideas were kept alive by men and women like: Hildegard of Bingen, Francis of Assisi, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila, Teilhard de Chardin, and George Fox.
           Mystical experience doesn't always occur in a religious settings & have therefore been given a number of names. Abraham Maslow's popular term is peak experiences. They share one or more of the following characteristics: indescribable in words; great significance & meaning; short duration; passive experiencer; oneness with everything; timelessness; loss of ego; sense of presence. Other indicators in combination with the above are remarkable coincidences & fortunate sequences of happenings. When these & other remarkable experiences are accompanied by one or more of the characteristics listed above, they can be regarded as indication of spirituality.
           There are in addition to these a whole series of less intense and more frequent experiences, ranging [downward] from peak experiences to Thomas Kelly's "mild moments of lift and faint glimpses of glory." The latter might be called off-peak experiences which most people have at one time or another. The Alister Hardy Research Center's collection of 5,000 reported religious experiences [were a descriptive answer] to the question Have you ever been aware of or influenced by, a presence or power, whether you call it God or not, which is different from your everyday self?
           Can God be Known?—The conceptions of God held by men and women the world over not only vary widely between the adherents of various religions; it varies within any given religion. The Cloud of Unknowing says: "By love may God be gotten and holden, but by thought never." Most of us need some serviceable image of God to think about and pray to. What name shall we use? For Quakers, the divine source's name is the Inward Light. It is accessible to everyone, everywhere, and always has been, with no barriers of time, space, or creed. This is an important ingredient of Universalist Quaker theology.
           In our images of God, we invest the attributes we most admire: love, compassion, mercy, omnipotence, and omniscience. The wide range of personal God images is a consequence of variations in historical and cultural patterns. God may also may also be thought of in impersonal terms as a process rather than an entity, a creative process rather than a person. The image of God as creative energy leads to a continually changing and developing universe, an integrated singular whole of a universe. There is now a modern concept of Gaia, the integrity of creation and the need to achieve wholeness as part of creation.
           Spirituality & Religion: Panentheism—The Gospel of Thomas' "Cleave the wood & I am in it, lift the stone & there am I," must be one of the earliest expressions of panentheism, the belief that God is in everything & everything is in God. God is more than & not exhausted by the universe. The panentheistic view suggests that God suffers with those who suffer & shares their pain & grief. Modern physics is beginning to suggest that there was no beginning; there may never have been a moment of creation. This would imply that even the Creative Process has always had to conform to the universe's natural laws. Panentheism removes the iron curtain between God & ourselves. We can now envisage an interpenetration of the stuff of humanity with the stuff of divinity. Poets & mystics have known this all along. That our conceptions about God should vary so widely makes it difficult to communicate some of our deepest spiritual experiences, & causes some quarrels.
           Pam Lunn writes: "[As we] continue to grapple with those language problems ... Maybe we are in a unique position to speak to those who have no language with which to speak of spirituality." Conventional religious language seems inadequate, inappropriate, or meaningless. Finding a servicable language may mean giving up our cherished religious images. [Belief specific] statements would need considerable explanation before it could be understood by those outside the belief. Perhaps we need to speak at a more basic level about what we actually experience, and share the sense of presence, love and unity, and compassion for suffering. Or as Robert Barclay said: "I felt the evil weaken in me and the good raised up."
           In William James' [Varieties of Religious Experience] & the collections of his successors, specialized images or theological terms are hardly ever used. We shall have to learn how to describe spiritual experiences simply & how to listen to & understand other people [as they too, struggle with inadequate language. If we do, we may discover more seekers with their proper share of spirituality but without the language with which to describe it.
           Green & Creation-centered Spirituality—Important insights & discoveries about the environment have become generally realized recently; they have been known by scientists for much longer. They indicate the appalling damage we have been inflicting on the ecosphere. There is good biblical support for homo sapiens' exploitation of creation & even the population explosion. There is also the notion that we are visitors to the physical planet & not really part of it, only temporarily in a physical body, longing for release. Wherever civilization appears the rest of creation has suffered. Homo sapiens can't be the end-product of evolution. There must be a lot of evolutionary development ahead of us. There is no call to write off Homo sapiens as a complete disaster. We now have the task of learning to develop in harmony with, & not at the expense of, the rest of creation.
           In Matthew Fox's Original Blessing, Fox assumes all people are capable of spirituality without Jesus of Nazareth's [popularly assumed] "sacrifice". Matthew Fox places [universal] compassion [as opposed to just people compassion] at center of creation-spirituality. Every species is special & has unique qualities. The fact that Homo sapiens have a greater effect on the ecosphere than others gives us greater responsibilities. Our spiritual experience of oneness with Cosmos informs & shapes attitudes & intentions & in the end, how we respond.
           Conclusions—The recent World Conference of Friends held in the Netherlands, Honduras, & Kenya has revealed that there isn't one but several Societies of Friends. There was personal friendliness & goodwill between members of the Conference, [even as] their differences caused anger, resentment, pain & distress. Many hoped, & still do, that if Friends could travel past the [theological gulfs], the words & dogmas, they might yet be able to reach a place where these differences no longer mattered. Unless Friends can learn to understand each other, there is little chance that they will understand anyone else. The differences encompass religious humanism at one end of the spectrum and biblically-based theology at the other. Even "that of God in everyone" seems not to be held by all Quakers. Are there any defining mark which might be applicable to all YM's worldwide?
           The 1st defining mark is experiencing Inward Light, unmediated communication between humans & creative source. 2nd defining mark is that leadings of Inward Light have primacy over scripture. 3rd defining mark is there being "that of God" in everyone. Universalist Quakers have adopted Irenaeus' views rather than Augustine, believing there is no unbridgeable gap between God & humans. They use creation-centered theology in universalism.
           John Linton developed his universalist ideas from silent worship with people of many different religions. Early Quaker ideas of "Gentile Divinity" were essentially universalist. The Manchester Conference of 1895 made biblical criticism respectable. Rufus Jones research revealed the mystical roots of Quakerism. Its universalism seems particularly well fitted to provide a theology & discipline which are able to meet the present time's needs.
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175. Mutual irradiation: a Quaker view of ecumenism (by Douglas V. Steere; 1971)
           About the Author—Douglas Steere is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Haverford College and Chairman of the Friends World Committee for Consultation. He has traveled to many part of the world on missions for the American Friends Service Committee and other Quaker organizations.
           Foreword—Douglas Steere has had a concern for what he calls “mutual irradiation” [he prefers it to “dialogue”] for almost 2 decades, [in particular with Zen Buddhism and Hinduism]. In 1967 he carried on two resident conferences [as Secretary of the Friends World Committee on Consultation (FWCC)]; one in Japan with Zen Buddhists; one in India with Hindu scholars, both meeting with an ecumenical group of Christian scholars.
           This pamphlet is from the English preparation of a German lecture. It reaches into the rationale of the ecumenical movement, & treats of those hesitations & roadblocks that Friends find surfacing as they develop intimate relationships, both within the Christian communion & beyond it; it looks for Quaker opportunities to serve.

           O my God, how does it happen in this poor old world that thou art so great & yet nobody finds thee, that thou callest so loudly & yet nobody hears thee, that thou art so near & yet nobody feels thee, that thou givest thyself to everybody & yet nobody knows thy name. Men flee from thee & say they can't find thee; they turn their backs & say they can't see thee; they stop their ears and say they cannot hear thee      (Hans Denck, 16th century)
           How few there are who are still enough to hear God speak      (François Fenelon, 17th century) 

           [Introduction/Ecumenism/ 4 Postures/ “There but for…—I do not believe that problems that Hans Denck and François Fenelon point to [in the beginning quotes] can begin to exhaust the barriers that keep us from hearing what God has to say to us. A message of importance for us is to be found in the ecumenical surge that has taken place among the Protestants, the Orthodox, and the Roman Catholics.
           New relations are emerging between Christians and Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. For those of us who suffer from hardening of the categories, the message to found in this vast ecumenical movement will cause much pain. Arnold Toynbee said that what will most interest historians 1,000 years from now will be what happened when Buddhism & Christianity 1st interpenetrated each other; he could have said as much for Hinduism & Islam.
           Ecumenism simply means “world-embracing.” It means overcoming several barriers & finding what embraces them all. [It means “moving fences outward”] to embrace but not erase the unique & very special spiritual witness of the different religious groups. Christianity has 4 [ways of relating to world religions]: destroy; merge; co-exist; & mutual irradiation. This 4th approach would try to provide the most congenial setting possible for releasing the deepest witness that the Buddhist or Hindu or Muslim might make to his Christian companion, & that the Christian might share back. [We will start with the 4 approaches within Christianity].
           [While we may tell jokes about our relationship with the “religious opposition”], we have come to realize that what happens to one segment of a people’s religion happens to all. [The author has seen evidence that the relationship between France & Germany has become ecumenical from a political, European standpoint]. In ecumenism, each religious group feels concern for its fellow religionists’ situation. [Co-existence is becoming more of a possibility], but co-existence is at best only a transitional state. [What can Quakers bring to ecumenism]?
           Quakers: Hesitations/ 3rd Stream/ Revolution/ Functional Ecumenism—Quakers have approached Protestant ecumenical negotiations with pronounced hesitation, even though American Quaker membership is well-represented in the World Council of Churches. At our best, Friends have touched a spring of life that reaches beyond forms. The Ecumenical Movement touched on issues of creed & church government, which were foreign to the Quaker experience. British Friends were blunt and refused outright to submit to the creedal formula that was required for World Council membership. Many Continental & Scandinavian Friends feel themselves part of a 3rd force, part of a mystical stream that might one day draw all back into its current.
           [For me there has always been] a conflict in Quaker minds about involvement in the Protestant coalition. They want to be a part of anything that would heal the Christian world’s divided body. On the other hand, many Friends were hesitant to become identified [too strongly] with the Protestant segment while the Protestant-Catholic breach still existed. And there is a revolutionary element in Quakers, a movement rather than a church, that distrust church structures of all sorts. To enter the ecumenical association as just another small and insignificant church body would rob them of their revolutionary status [and what makes them unique.]
           [Pope John XXIII’s vision] accenting the radical universality of God’s love is radical enough to challenge any revolutionary. The Catholic novelist Georges Bernanos writes: “The holy invisible church which we know includes pagans, heretics, schismatics and non-believers whom God alone knows . . . the communion of Saints . . . which of us is sure of belonging to it?” John XXIII is calling us to witness to the operative presence, here and now, of this fathomless love and concern that is at the heart of things: a presence which is at work in the unconscious life of every part of creation. It would be hard to find a more moving appeal to our own intimate experience of this [timeless] supporting mystical stream that has been flowing always through the unconscious life of all people everywhere, but broke out in the life of Jesus Christ.
           My notion of this vision is a functional ecumenism that begins with us encouraging each other to practice our own religious tradition and to share our experience with each other [without fear of being assimilated]. We should be prepared to join with other confessions in all kinds of common explorations and common tasks. A truly functional ecumenism wants to witness to the world how much God cares. A functional ecumenism will open us up to [treating the world as one global community without regard to the particular belief held by those we help, and to the witness of our fellows of whatever religion].
           Zen Buddhist/Quakers/ Mutual Irradiation—In 1967, the Quakers invited a small group of Zen Buddhists representing both the Rinzai and Soto persuasions to meet with Christians. A small Quaker team which included a Japanese and an American woman served as hosts. The morning discussions centered in turn upon one of the 2 stated topics: “The Inward Journey” and “Social Responsibility for the Ordering of Our World.”
           Each participant had opportunity to give an opening talk & there was ample time for continuing the issues raised. Afternoons were left free for resting or walking or visiting; evenings were mostly given to sharing music. The Japanese Christians discovered that they have a layer of traditional Buddhism in their unconscious. They were able to reassess their Buddhist past and decide what part of it might be accepted and utilized. The Zen Buddhists had nearly all encountered Jesus Christ at some stage of their pilgrimage. Zen Buddhists were chosen for this small, elite group because they are a living and articulate organ of the inward Japanese life, and because they were a natural group for Quakers to turn to. As anti-liturgical and unconventional witnesses to the spirit rather than the law, they have a lot in common with Quakers. [Stories were told to illustrate Zen philosophy].
           [With so much in common, it was challenging to find the unyielding priority which the Zen gave to [first] “going into the mountains” [i.e.] turning inward in mediation and searching to find the inward Buddhahood or the new angle of vision. Quakers have experienced that [meeting another’s need first outside the mountain] may open the way to the inward “mountains.” The consciousness of what our Zen Buddhists friends would say to this and many other issues [still comes to mind when I am trying to decide an issue]. [The insistence on this priority] searched not only the Quakers but all the Christians present. It illustrates true ecumenism and mutual irradiation. The Zen humor about themselves and their professions and the openness of Christians admitting to their efforts and failures [exerted an influence over the entire group].
           [In approaching ecumenism], Dr. Jacques Cuttat lays down as a requirement that each must give to the other’s faith the amplitude of love, postpone value judgment, and “suspend for a time our adherence to our own communion in order to understand the non-Christian brother as he understands himself.” When both share their experiences “we have what can be called a truly ‘inter-religious space.” [Having different aspects of Christianity and Zen Buddhism present] gave a deeper cast to the witness. Professor Hisamatsu wrote: To reverse the split in subjectivity and to realize a stable post-modern original subjectivity is a universal and vital task.”
           Hindu-Christian Colloquium/Vicarious Participation—In April 1967, FWCC hosted a meeting of Hindu & Christian scholars (Roman Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Mar Thoma, Protestant, & Quaker); we met in a season of acute spiritual need. Father Klostermaier, said, “We must help each other to preserve this precious tradition in India. Hindus & Christians here in India may influence the whole world.” Bede Griffiths says, “The West stands in danger of neglecting the life of contemplation. It is important for it to have contact with the revitalized life of contemplation in Hinduism. These men and women who participated in mutual irradiation were welded together by their acute need, confirming the promise that “not in your skill but in your need will you be blessed.”
           A whole new literature [written by Western authors] is now giving religious insights of these great world religions [of Buddhism and Hinduism]. The universal invitation to a vast introversion which may loosen man’s greed and acquisitive clutching at the world of nature and of his fellows, and the loosening of egocentric pretension may permit new awareness. Hinduism too, is marked by this same inward-turning accent and [awareness of connection] with the soul of the infinite Godhead. Dr. Cuttat says: “The great ‘lesson’ of the spiritual East is not universality; it is spiritual concentration.” And he says, “Eastern spirituality insists that aspirations to the Divine are inherent in the human vocation, and not a “spiritual luxury.” The common people of India look for God disguised in any stranger that may appear. Hinduism’s stages of life has taught its people that the most holy ones of every generation are not to be found in great religious organizations but hidden in unexpected places.
           Islam witnesses to what it means to live in God’s Providence. To take what comes as if from the hands of Allah, and to discover what message for me is written in this event is “self-abandonment to Divine Providence.” The 5 spoken prayers and Ramadan are reminders of the [presence and care of Allah]. What is the Holy Spirit saying to me as a Christian, as a Quaker, in [witnessing the practices] of this other religion?
           Every Gift…/ Intellectual Task—I believe that Quakers do have a small but a peculiarly important role to play as catalysts in the ecumenical hospitality that has been suggested here. At their best, I think that Friends are naturally oriented to begin from within & to draw the whole ecumenical process in this direction. Marius Grout said, “If contemplation which introduces us to the very heart of creation does not inflame us with . . . a love that gives us . . . the understanding of the infinite misery of the world, it is a vain contemplation . . . of a false God.” [Our involvement in the ecumenical process prompts the following questions from other religions]: How do you find it possible to counter the dispersive forces of life and to keep attentive in the inward center with only one hour a week devoted to it? When is the time that you take for the healing of the soul? These questions are gifts, for there is no alternative to being brought back into the seat of yielding and of tendering.
           On the intellectual side it is doubtful if Friends are likely to make decisive contributions to deeper ecumenism. Our only reply might be that while we may not ourselves at this point be able to formulate a view of the universal Christ, we can be among those who are most open to it. Any truth that we have found in these great world religions has only sharpened the urgency of Christ’s inward call upon us and has given us a new sense of how little we yet know of him, and of how much we have yet to learn. [What happens] when the prophetic type of religion [with its personal responsibility meets] the profound Buddhist and Hindu concentration upon consciousness and awareness and “myself” is transcended? Ecumenical encounters may bring a realization that the stream of God’s mercy can flow down through more than one shape of institutional riverbed.
           There should be no minimizing of need for a sincere, seeking climate. For the ecumenical encounter to be creative, there is required the tender effort to understand, & an equally frank and open climate that acknowledges and shares genuine differences in all their starkness. Something may happen in understanding another’s truth that irradiates one’s own tradition and may even hint at a hidden convergence, a truth that embraces both.
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93. Quakerism and Other Religions (by Howard H. Brinton; 1957)
           [About the Author]—Howard & Anna Brinton arrived at Pendle Hill in the summer of 1936 with solid academic achievement at the colleges of Mills & Earlham, & became co-directors of a new sort of education enterprise, a Quaker fusion of school and community. They retired in the 1950s & lived on campus as Directors Emeriti. Anna died in 1969; Howard continued to serve by lecturing, writing, and simply being; he died in 1973.
           Quakerism and Christianity—Three types of relationship can be thought of as existing between Christianity in general and the non-Christian religions: [Christian monopoly; equality of great world religions; Christianity as truest religion (but no monopoly on truth). All three of these positions have been held by some members of the Society of Friends; the majority have adhered to the third position. “Quakerism” means those beliefs and practices accepted during the first two centuries of Quaker history (1650-1870). Two-thirds of the American Friends adopted Protestant characteristics in the third century.
           Theological [and practical] differences helped to cause separation in American Quakerism in the 1800s; spiritual life was too low to achieve unity in diversity. Early Quakerism [resisted the prevailing Protestant, Calvinistic definition of Christianity]. The [still-active] Spirit which produced the Scripture took precedence over the Scripture. The Christ Within, whom men knew by experience, was more significant in overcoming evil in themselves than the Christ they knew through the book. In silent worship they found the Christ Within, the saving power which regenerates, if man permits it to operate.
           The gospel of John permits both a mystical religion and a historical religion; one can choose both or either. Because he is the Way [not the goal] we cannot expect the whole truth at once. Because he is the Truth he will reveal deeper insights into the Truth. Because he is the Life he can be known through life and not wholly apprehended through concepts or words.
            Worship, a Meeting Point—The sense of Divine Presence felt in the silence of a waiting worship is beyond expression in words, but it may result in the feeling that some act is required of the worshiper such as speaking in the meeting for worship itself or carrying out some duty or concern elsewhere. Spiritual exercise, carried on in silence, is more characteristic of the non-Christian religions than of most forms of Christianity.
           Silent worship provides a basis of unity. There is a philosophical basis for this concept which appears in every religion. In Quaker thought it is the same Light shining in all; in Hindu Vedanta it is the universal Self; in Mahayana Buddhism it is the same Buddha nature in all living beings. Christian theology, so far as it follows the Hellenic tradition, endangers individuality, for in union the human is merged into the Divine.
           Selfishness builds a wall between man and the world. Man thinks this wall protects him but actually it imprisons him. He can overcome this estrangement [and distance] through worship or meditation in which he consciously seeks union with the Divine through the upward pull of the Divine Life.
           The Universality of the Inward Light—God and not a person in a Trinity, has shone in every man of every race and religion from the beginning, though it has generally been obscured by sin, ignorance, and weakness; the light is never wholly obscured. The more learned Friends not only quote Scripture, but also the Church Fathers to support their belief that there is in all men a Light which is sufficient for their salvation. The doctrine that the Light shone into men before the coming of Christ in the flesh was called Gentile Divinity, which is also the title of a book by the Quaker, John Bockett. For William Penn “Christ was before the law, under the law, with the prophets, but never so revealed as in that holy manhood.” Quakers discovered that the divine and the human were not so unrelated as to be incapable of some degree of union with each other.
           The attitude of Friends toward Non-Christians—The condition of the world at the present time requires a more humble attitude on the part of the “exclusive” religions. The so-called “heathen world” was made up of [Islam] in the East & American Indians in the West. [Islam was more accepting of Quaker practices and character than of other forms of Christianity]. Relations with the American Indians were also based on the principle of the universality of the Light. [Quakers found and noted the agreement in practice and philosophy with the American Indians of the colonies and further west]. In such attitudes as these toward non-Christians, Friends followed the example of Paul when he said to the Athenians “Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him I declare unto you.” George Fox [said]: “Get the Turks’ and Moors’ language that you might be the more enabled to direct them to the Grace and Spirit of God in them which they have from God, in their hearts.”
           Similarities Between Quakerism & The Non-Christian Religions (Mysticism & Affinity with Science)—No general statement regarding the religion of over 100,000,000 human beings is completely true even with exceptions noted. In Hinduism & Buddhism there are no definite standards of orthodoxy or generally accepted articles of faith. The great religions’ mystical sects show more similarities to Quakerism than do other sects. The Society of Friends’ vocal ministry is based on prophetism (God using a human as God’s instrument in communicating Truth). The term “mysticism” can be applied to that religion which seeks, in silent worship to attain direct contact with the Divine. [Rather than “worship,” Friends] preferred the expression “to wait upon the Lord.” “Meditation” may include prayer, worship, contemplation, and adoration when these are done in silence.
           The Sufis [Islam] seek mystical knowledge of God & union with him. The Taoist mystic seeks union with the Tao (Way of the Universe). The Hindu Bhagavad Gita describes 3 roads to mystic union: jnana yoga; bhakti yoga; karma yoga. Jnana yoga begins with elaborate physical & moral exercises & ends with mental concentration exercises; the guidance of a guru is essential. By the 2nd road, bhakti yoga, the mystic seeks through prayer and devotion a union of love and will with the human being whom he reverences as an incarnation of God. The ultimate goal is complete identity with Divine Reality; all sense of self is lost. The Christian may be said to follow a path like bhakti yoga. Karma yoga is the way of works without attachment to results. If good works are closely tied to results, they bind the devotee to this world of pain and trouble, instead of freeing him.
           Buddhism is closer to Quakerism than is Hinduism because it isn't as dependent on ascetic denial of the world. In northern Buddhism, the saint or Bodhisattva can be appealed to for help. The Japanese Shinshu sect of Buddhism is based on the salvation doctrine through faith in Amida Buddha (Buddha of Infinite Light). Zen Buddhism is the most similar to Quakerism. In the Zen meeting, one may retire to a teacher who sits in his study nearby. Like Quakerism, Zen seeks to quiet the surface or mind’s intellectual process so that the meditator can go beyond these to an experience which can't be described in concepts. Unlike Quakerism Zen provides forms & images for those who need them; Zen seek not God or Christ but “knowledge of one’s true nature.” Zen Buddhism endeavors to place the pupil in a state of mind and body where they will discover the truth for themselves.
           In Hindu, Buddhist, or Taoist temples & in Shinto shrines the worshiper bows his head in silent prayer. The immediate experience of the Divine or Absolute or True as distinguished from the relative world of sense & appearance is described similarly in all religions. True religion is more than mysticism. In every religion, traditional, historical, & rational elements are essential. For the true mystic of any religion the ultimate & the provisional, the infinite & the finite, the end & the means are never separate, though distinguished in thought. The truly enlightened person, sees the infinite in the finite, the divine in the human, the absolute whole in the fragment.
           Quakerism has a close similarity in its truth-standard with that of science. Both science & Quakerism lay primary emphasis on direct experience rather than on authority; neither ignores the importance of the past experience of those who have made great discoveries as a necessary guide & check on present experience. A religion which neither is dependent nor ignores tradition & insight can be welcomed by the scientifically minded.
           Detachment from Result—When Quakers argue upon political questions, they reason upon principles, not consequences. The true Christian is “in the world but not of it” [i.e.] he isn't concerned with conventional success standards. In Hindu religion, Krishna says: “Let the work itself be thy charge, but never the fruit . . . yet be not inclined to inaction.” In Chinese Taoism, in its doctrine of Wei Wu Wei, [there is] action with effortless spontaneity without concern for results or for conformity to some convention of behavior. The Buddhist seeks to live in the present and eternity rather than in the past and future. Quaker Journal writers often succeed in following what he believes to be the spirit’s immediate guidance, regardless of present obstacles, past events or results.
           Quietism, the openness to immediate impressions from the Spirit, enabled men and women to undertake tasks which reason and prudence would have declared impossible. Taoist or Buddhist quietism does not result in as vigorous an effort to reform existing abuses as does Quaker quietism. Worship of God, the highest act of which man is capable, is not dependent for its value on results.
           Pacifism—All the texts of pacifism can be found in the sacred literature of the religions of Asia, including Christianity. All great religions go further and condemn anger, hatred, and all the causes of violence. Christians who hold that the words of Christ should be their practical guide to behavior can find in the non-Christian religions many adherents with whom they can fellowship in pacifist belief and practice.
           Perfectionism—A doctrine which Quakerism shares with Hinduism & Buddhism is sometimes called “perfectionism,” [i.e. thinking] that man can obtain through religion a sense of absence of guilt & a resulting peace & serenity, [depending on the] willingness to accept & obey inwardly revealed Divine requirements. Perfection in this sense doesn't mean the end of spiritual growth; it requires further attainment. The Oriental religions hold that man can in his human life, reach a state of enlightenment or perfection. The search for enlightenment’s final stage in Hinduism & Buddhism is carried out by specialists who withdraw from the world in order to devote their life to obtaining the goal; Quakers distrust all forms of professionalism & specialization in religion. Those who fall short of the Hindu/Buddhist goal in this life will have opportunities in subsequent incarnations.
           Some differences between Quakerism & other religions—Unlike the Oriental religions, which are not based on history, Christianity derives from a crucial historical event. The Light within is identified by Quakerism with the Divine Spirit incarnated in the historic Jesus. We mean not only the historic Jesus, but the Eternal Christ, enlightening all. In accepting Jesus as the “Word made flesh” the Society of Friends didn't, for the most part, adopt a Trinitarian or Unitarian dogma. Christ revealed not only the nature of God, but also human nature.
           In the Bhagavad Gita (Hindu), the Saddharma-pundarika (Lotus Scripture of Buddhism), & the Gospel of John, the Divine Life or Truth or Light becomes embodied in a man; the Gita has Krishna, the Lotus Scripture has Gotama Sakyamuni, & the Gospel has Jesus, the Christ. They were all too humble to have made these claims themselves. Quakers recognize that many people receive God's light through other-shaped windows & recognize it as the same light and the same God. But we can’t afford to dissociate ourselves from Christ in any way.
           Non-Christian religions do not have the concept of a God-indwelt society united into an organic whole by a divine spirit within as the soul unites a body. Quakerism holds to the ideal of the Church as the Kingdom of God on earth, functioning as a divine-human society, a doctrine which is social as well as religious and which has a powerful, ethical drive. Albert Schweitzer says that the dualism of Christianity deprives it of a consistent philosophical or theological system but gives it moral power. Kaka Kalelkar makes an interesting suggestion. Each of the scriptures of the great living religions could be considered in a sense an Old Testament to which might be added specific Christian doctrine. Christianity could build on the truths of other religions.
           By the Quaker view of fixing attention on the good rather than on the evil, the evil may be weakened and the good raised up. The higher forms of Oriental religion arose out of contemplation of a universe which is ethically neutral, while Christianity arose out of contemplation of a person whose will is to do good. The Christian social dynamic is an important contribution which Christianity can give and has given to other religions. The techniques of meditation so carefully worked out in Hinduism and Buddhism contain suggestions for those who are able to use them. For either East or West it is usually better to graft a new insight onto the inherited religion than to uproot their own tradition and plant an alien seed.
           The Area of Cooperation—The religions of the world, by concentrating on what they have in common, could work together without compromising the peculiar tenets which distinguish them from one another. The common enemy of all religion today is materialism (the belief that man is essentially a biological mechanism, that he exists for the satisfaction of desires arising out of bodily wants) with its resulting secularism.
           Our age's spirit, with its dependence on science, is primarily concerned with means rather than meaning, with methods rather than goals. The East is now seeking to adopt Western science and industry in order to enjoy the same material comforts as the West. When not supplemented by religion, scientific method is apt to give rise to scientific materialism. [The denial of spiritual life is not a product of science, but of scientific materialism].
           Christian mysticism may have fallen behind that of the other great religion because Christianity has become absorbed in the activist and extrovert tendencies of Western culture. After a century of enthusiastic expansion the Society of Friends was forced by the activist and non-mystical spirit of the time to retreat behind the walls of a rigid discipline. As a form of Christianity which contains so many elements common to all the great religions, Quakerism may play a vital role in helping men to be more aware of their true nature and destiny.
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QUAKER & OTHER RELIGIONS: BUDDHISM

407. Living from the Center: Mindfulness Meditation and Center for Friends (by Valerie Brown; 2010)
           About Author—Valerie Brown is member of Solebury MM & a PH workshop leader. She was ordained as a Zen lay member in 2003 by Thich Nhat Hanh. [She helped found] Old Path Sangha, a Buddhist community in New Hope, PA. She has studied Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. She is a certified Kundalini yoga teacher. She also wrote The Mindful Quaker: A Brief Introduction to Buddhist Wisdom for Friends (PHP #386).

           The unaware life is a mechanical life/ It’s not human, it’s programmed,/ conditioned. We might as well/ be a stone, a block of wood … Spirituality means waking up.      Fr. Anthony DeMello
           Attention [to the present] moment generates energy, clear-headedness and joy.      Christopher Germer
           Introduction—This essay explores the Quaker spiritual centering practice of “waiting upon the Spirit” during meeting for worship. Buddhist mindfulness complements centering and our spiritual experience of meeting; it is both similar to and different from mindfulness practice. The heart of Quaker spirituality is the conviction that God is available to every person; God’s presence is felt directly in our lives.
           In Quaker worship, we seek to experience the love and truth of God and the Light of Christ. “To remain ‘fixed in that Light,’ to maintain such intentionality, requires a focusing and refocusing of attention of the heart.” The repeated inner choice to come back to God and the Eternal Christ, the practice of returning to the Center, can form a habit of the heart that we can carry outside of worship. The start of meeting for worship is a particularly critical time to touch God’s abiding love. How do we make the transition from our busy secular lives, our wandering thoughts, to the sacred work of God?      How do we embody the Living Silence, centered in body and mind?      How can mindfulness meditation help?
           My Quaker and Buddhist faiths complement rather than conflict with each other. I took the stillness and silence of worship as an opportunity to practice meditation; this proved to be frustrating and disappointing. The effort to remove all thoughts, to manipulate this live encounter with the Holy Spirit, left me with no satisfaction in either meditation or meeting for worship. One difference in the basic purpose of each practice [is worship’s waiting vs. meditation’s developing]. In worship we wait in “holy expectancy for what the Spirit is bringing forth from us as a body. In meditation, we seek to develop nonjudgmental awareness and clarity of mind and heart. Awareness is the ability to see things as they are unclouded by our anxieties and expectations.
           Centering: Quaker Approach/ Buddhist Approach— Centering is the internal act of quieting body & mind to seek & experience God’s loving presence within & around us. Reaching a place of spiritual attentiveness, receptivity & responsiveness is a heart posture that comes as a gift of God’s grace. The active aspect of [centering] encourages us to gather up random thoughts & calm [our selves]. The passive aspect of centering invites us to let go of effort & need, to suspend our expectations or preconceptions. Centering is a matter of intention, attention, & direction. Intention involves the will & desire to move toward God. Attention involves awareness [all that is going on around us & within us]. Direction involves harnessing our awareness to one thing: God.
           Buddhist mindfulness meditation is paying attention in a nonjudgmental way, moment to moment. Centering begins with stopping, putting aside constant business. Getting things done is part of modern life; it can rob us of balance & intimacy with Self, surroundings & others. [I was moving through my day with feeling obligated, joyless & half-hearted. [Even in worship preparation] I found myself rushing from one must-do activity to the next. [Focusing on “just this breath],” took me out of my head & into my heart, out of doing & into being.
           [The Japanese stop and] stand over the threshold to remove shoes worn outside in the street, separating the outer public from the inner private world. In the monastic practice of station, monks and nuns take a moment to [stop], stand and wait, to let go of the prior activity. Stopping is a radical spiritual act and the 1st step into leading a spiritual life; it is about waking up to the fullness of this human life. Jon Kabat-Zinn writes: “As a society or culture, we have yet to come to grips with the profound and irreversible implications of technological changes and their effects on the pace of life … [the amount] of information [we] have to ‘process’ … All this technology, although potentially enhancing of connectivity and communication is also alienating, intrusive and isolating.”
           We are unskilled in quieting ourselves. The tug toward simplicity, toward clearing the clutter, is the very heart of centering. In accepting, opening, & yielding to the Buddhist perspective of impermanence, we recognize that to be alive is itself a miracle, a basis for deep gratitude & humility. In Buddhist practice, [we open our selves to perceive & receive what is]. In Quaker centering, we still and quiet the body & mind to listen deeply to God’s promptings & leadings in our lives; the results of both Quaker & Buddhist practice incline toward compassion. When I find myself completely removed from any thought of God, I try to recognize this & remember why I came to meeting for worship in the 1st place. The effort of recalling myself back to God is in itself healing.
           Centering and Awareness—Centering is about waking up, whether in meeting for worship or in daily life. [In centering], we are poised to receive God’s expression in our life. Centering is about developing self-intimacy & awareness of God’s presence in our lives. It is an invitation to become more one’s self & become the ultimate expression of God-consciousness, of love. Being centered promotes being peaceful, which promotes acts of peace.
           Centering isn’t about outcome or technique. It is aided by preparation before we enter the meetinghouse. Relaxing body & mind, sitting comfortably upright with eyes closed, & taking a few deep breaths, can aid the quieting process. Some call what happens next “listening to God’s quiet voice,” or “waiting for a touch of something beyond their everyday selves.” Focused awareness comes through effort; reaching attunement with God unfolds organically during meeting for worship. Our task in meeting for worship is to be drawn closer to God.
           There is no single, right way to “center down.” I often feel heavier, settling into my seat; sometimes it is effortless, sometimes it is real work. I try to avoid mentally reviewing the week just past, [in effect judging it]. I notice how I am breathing, how I am sitting, the parts of my body. Centering is not about having an empty mind, void of thoughts. It is cultivating an open and receptive mind focused on God. The open mind expresses radical willingness to accept and unfold to the movement and mystery of God.
           Centering & Mindfulness—Centering is getting quiet enough to listen, tuning out internal mind chatter & turning to the soft, permeable aliveness of our own being. Stanford Searl writes: “This seeking to become still & centered offered Quakers a way to lose part of ego, to become unified, connected to one another, as well as to the Spirit.” Friends feel the need for effort, yet they feel they cannot achieve stillness without divine assistance.
           In contrast, Buddhist mindfulness meditation requires our own effort, not relying on God's special assistance. Mindfulness isn't egotistical self-absorption about how one feels, what one thinks, or how one sees the world. It is about being real. It “carries with it elements of open-hearted friendly presence, an affectionate, compassionate quality within the attending.” Habitual patterns of eating, seeing, tasting, hearing, and others tend to alienate us from being present, without judgment, to what is happening now. Waking up to the full spectrum of life is more than just a technique or method. Mindfulness is the work of a lifetime, and of the present moment.
           The foundation of mindfulness is personal practice. Its radical essence is deep humility & an intimate engagement with life’s struggles and joys. Bringing the wandering mind back to awareness of the present moment over and over again supports stability, solidarity, clarity, and peace of mind. Elias Hicks writes: “I felt nothing when I came into this meeting, nor had I a desire after anything but to center down into abasement and nothingness … to call for nothing & to desire to do nothing.” Howard Brinton adds: “To wait, free from the heat of passion & desire, expectantly, silently in the Light is the normal [worship] experience …only worship can restore that sense of inner unity which makes organic social order possible”; the inner life joins with the outer life.
           The Christian Tradition of Centering Prayer—Prayer is a way of openly giving ourselves over to God. Centering prayer is a useful practice to foster this openness. Centering prayer is any prayer that “grounds us in God as we move into other prayers. There is a specific Christian practice called centering prayer rooted in the 14th century The Cloud of Unknowing. As Thomas Keating describes it, this centering prayer prepares us for contemplation, which Keating describes as: “resting in God. In the resting or stillness the minds and heart are not actively seeking Him but are beginning to experience what they have been seeking … [There is] mingling of a few acts of will to sustain one’s attention to God with the loving experience of God’s presence.” Contemplation is about the “opening of mind and heart, body and emotions to God.” [Thomas Merton inspired the name “centering prayer.” He “stressed that the simplest way to come into contact with the living God is to go one’s center and from there pass into God.” Keating describes centering prayer as the “1st rung on the ladder of contemplative prayer, which rises step by step to union with God.”
           Centering Prayer: The Practice—To begin centering prayer, get comfortable in a quiet place. [Have a word to focus on, &] when you see that your awareness has wandered, recall word. Centering prayer seeks awareness of the Divine presence; mindfulness emphasizes awareness of immediate experience. Keating writes: “When we become aware of [fearful, desiring thoughts, if we stay with] … them, we leave our prayer & become involved in tension … If we return to our prayer word … the thought [& its] … tension will be released & flow out of our lives.” Pennington, Keating, & Clarke say that in centering prayer, “We truly die to our selves, our superficial selves, our thoughts, images & feelings, in order to live to Christ, to enter into our Christ-being.”
           Both centering prayer and “centering down” allow us to experience God’s presence, to seek a relationship with God that surrenders the ego self. Centering prayer is opening to God as an invitation to give a person or problem over to the care of God. In centering prayer and in Quaker worship, we seek to enter into personal communion with the Living Christ, to surrender our will to Divine Will, into the formlessness of faith and intuition. Centering prayer seeks to shift our very beings. We learn a new way to see, which is waiting to be discovered at each moment. Such prayer is a way of filling ourselves with Light.
           Centering & Mindfulness: Personal Discoveries—[When] I began to study yoga & Buddhist meditation, I listened to my body with interest & intention; the desire stirred in me to feel differently. I moved from external goals to feeling [present] sensations. Mindfulness shifted my goal-oriented focus to a focus on [just] being. This awareness began extend into all my hours. [I began to see, & taste, & [experience] things in a new way. Mindfulness sharpens the sense, [deepens the powers of observation], & connects me with others even in silence.
           [At first, I found that constant motion of my body & thoughts pulled me out of worship]. Gradually, while these body motions continued, [they did so] without disturbing stillness of my mind. When I was able to stabilize awareness & concentration, my capacity to open to Light within was enlivened & deepened. Through Buddhist meditation & the ability to hold divergent feelings and sensations in awareness clarifies my discernment.
           Buddhist meditation has been described as a set of methods for waking up to life. I [may] react to what I see & experience it as memory, [or] attention may be active, vivid, & clear, not bound by old patterns of reacting. In Buddhist practice of starting over, again & again, I learn compassion for myself. As I become aware of my breath, I get a baseline reading of my emotional state of mind. I notice the tension or relaxation to be found in my body. At times I become aware that I am still in the goal-oriented, comparing, judging mind. [In those moments, both Buddhist & Christian teachers redirect our attention], the Buddhists back to the breath, Christians back to God. Often when mindfulness permeates my centering for worship, I find that I grow increasingly aware of the deepening quality of the shared silence. This is the experience of the “gathered” or covered meeting. Inward examination is often self-revealing and allows for a kind of spiritual maturity and collective deepening.
           [At the pottery wheel in my pottery class, there is centering]. There is a kind of dialogue between hands and clay—a way of speaking and listening with the whole body. The wheel is “center-oriented,” and the clay takes its position by necessity and with support. The process of keeping the clay on the wheel, of molding and shaping it into a vessel, is similar to centering for meeting for worship. We keep the pot on the wheel, center the clay with steadiness. Similarly, in centering for worship, we steady the wandering mind.
           Rufus Jones writes: “There is a unification of interior life, in which the rational & emotional powers, together with the energies of will & purpose, are fused into a waiting, expectant attitude. The world needs those who practice this art of communion, those who have ears to hear what the Spirit saith. Friends have still much to learn in this field.” In meeting for worship, we are engaged in the inquiry into God’s presence within & around us. Centering & mindfulness share many connections that allow us as Friends to touch Inward Light within ourselves & others. Mindfulness develops a habit of silence, reflection, attention, awareness, & unity with the gathered community. Centering enhances our coming to worship with heart & mind prepared for individual reflection & for the shared experience of worship. We learn to listen to the Indwelling Christ in the community of shared silence.
           APPENDIX: Mindful Body Awareness & Centering Exercise for Friends—[After weekly], relentless din of information, we show up on Sunday morning to meet for worship, seeking a few precious moments, an hour, to allow the mind to rest, to become centered, to give ourselves over to fullness of God’s Living Presence. This mindfulness meditation exercise on awareness is a way to regain a sense of quiet in body and mind:
           Come into a comfortable posture. Close your eyes. Begin to bring your awareness to the top of your head, [and then to all of the rest of your face]. Be aware of your breath’s effect on your nose. Become aware of the breath [and sensations] in the chest and the back of the body and spine. Feel the breath radiating from the chest and diaphragm throughout the body to the extremities, the fingertips and toes.
           Become aware of the beat of the heart and the pulse at the navel center. Be aware of the full length of the in-breath and the out-breath. Turn your awareness to what can be received by the ears. Release the impulse to fix or adjust anything. Just be. Become aware of the breath in the upper and lower legs, and finally in the toes and feet. Let the breath draw you deeper and deeper into awareness. [Sense every aspect of the breath], and feel the life and soul within you. Just breathe.
           Queries: How do you center in meeting for worship?      What role can desire for communion with God play in centering in meeting for worship?      [How will you accept the bittersweet taste of self-doubt as you center for worship]?      How might centering prayer & mindfulness be useful for centering in meeting for worship?      What other activities of the hands or body have helped you learn about centering?
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386. The Mindful Quaker (by Valerie Brown; 2006)
           About the Author—Valerie Brown is a member of Solebury Monthly Meeting (PA), and an ordained layperson of the Tiep Hien Order established by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. She is certified in holistic spirituality, Kundalini yoga and meditation teacher. She leads retreats, including a Pendle Hill New Year’s retreat.

           The lamps are different but the light is the same; it comes from Beyond.”      Jalauddin Rumi
        Religious Pluralism the Light of World Faiths
           This essay focuses on Quakerism and Buddhism. As a member of [both], I understand the harmony and tension between these faith traditions. My decision to become a Quaker and a Buddhist is the natural result of coming into close contact as a witness and dialogue partner with various cultural traditions. My goal was mutual understanding and the recognition of shared values. Traveling challenged me to look deeply at myself, at my patterns of behavior, and prejudices. [I looked] at the universal truth of all people.
           David Steindl-Rast writes: “The heart of religion is the religion of the heart.” “Heart” represents the central kernel of our being, the meeting place where we are one. I have savored this oneness around the world. The experience of meeting Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, & Buddhist has expanded my consciousness & appreciation for my own chosen beliefs, & made my decision to stay in my faith a true, conscious, & informed choice. Denise Lardner Carmody & John Tully Carmody note: “Those who sit in yoga or sacrifice a kola nut or experience the sweat lodge pass over a border & no longer feel complete outsiders.” My childhood God of has given way to my womanhood God, a God of many names. This is the God who is present in the tiniest acorn & the vastest ocean.
        

           Living in our heads we become estranged from body, thinking of them as material things that exist for our use and enjoyment. Our minds try to control the world … This modern mind of ours does not like to be quiet and still. When emptiness threatens it seeks to protect itself with images, words and sounds.      Rex Ambler

        Quakers Discover Buddhism
          This essay addresses the search among many Quakers to enhance their direct, unmediated relationships with the Light through Buddhist practices. Buddhism stresses self-exploration’s value & testing these teachings’ parameters by one’s own life experience. [For Quakers the] mind tends to get in the way of coming closer to the Light with ourselves & others. Buddhism meditation & the practice of mindfulness increases focused concentration & awareness to ordinary everyday activities; it develops moment-to-moment awareness, & being rather than doing. In Buddhist meditation we are continually balancing our energies on a deep level. Holding divergent feelings and sensations in awareness clarifies our discernment process.
           Some Quakers have been greatly influenced by Buddhist books & magazines. Others may join a sangha (Buddhist community). This essay is an exploration in finding the Light of God in each of us, the Divine, the Buddha-nature, & how Quakers can learn from Buddhist traditions. At 1st glance, it may appear that Buddhism & Quakerism have little in common. [However], the Buddhist practice of metta or loving-kindness meditation touches very closely on ideas of Christian prayer, in which we cultivate receptivity and capacity for forgiveness and [compassion]. [Quaker-Buddhist cooperation] blossomed into an ongoing relationship between activist Friends and Buddhist monks and nuns. Quaker-Buddhist meditation courses are periodically offered at Friends events.
           The practice of meditation harmonizes too with Quaker silent meeting for worship. The Quaker peace testimony, grounded partly in the conviction that there is that of God in each person, roughly equates with the Buddha’s teaching on love. Living this principle daily in the face of everyday choices and challenges invites us to become a living witness to peace in our relationships with others. Buddhists and Quakers share a familiarity with the depths of silence and stillness. Buddhist meditation stills the body and mind, and centers it in the present. Accepting impermanence of all things helps us to see the deep benefit of change.
           [Central to Buddhism] are 4 Noble Truths [suffering, craving & desire, cessation of craving & desire, 8-fold Path] which form the basis of Buddhist wisdom, morality, & mental discipline. The Noble 8-fold Path consists of: Wisdom (with its Right View & Right Thoughts; Morality (with its Right Speech, Right Action, & Right Livelihood); Mental Discipline (with its Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Meditation/Concentration). “Right” [is used to meant] “appropriate.” Quakers can learn from the Buddhist practice of Right Speech in discovering the call to vocal ministry at meeting for worship. The foundation of Right Speech is listening deeply to others, striving to be fully present without solving or judgment. The quality of listening, openness, and presence is central to the basic tenets of Buddhist teaching on Right Speech and to the Quaker tradition of vocal ministry.
           Meditation and Mindfulness: The Inner Light of Spiritual Practice—In meeting for worship we are focused on God or open and listening for God’s presence. In meditation, we train the mind to aim and sustain focus and attention on the breath to develop awareness. [We may start with good intentions], but the forward momentum of our daily, fast-paced lives soon overtakes our best intentions. We may wish to begin with 5 or 10 minutes; the amount of time is less important than the intention and motivation.
           Transforming these habits takes practice. [In a] beginner’s mindset of receptivity, we can accept the full range of sensations, emotions, and thoughts without becoming entangled by them. We begin by sitting with a relaxed and comfortably straight spine. Eyes closed, especially for beginners, may be preferable to build concentration; meditation can be done while walking. With each step, we notice breath thought and sensation. In eating meditation, we focus on the full range of the sensation of eating: smells, tastes, and textures. We see the interconnection between ourselves, the food we eat and the entire universe.
           Breath & Concentration—We bring our awareness to [each part of] the body. [After several breaths] we notice our mind has wandered. As we begin, the common experience is that our minds are scattered, divided in attention. The goal of meditation is not to stop thinking, to tame the mind, but to build awareness & concentration. We notice thoughts & distractions without becoming entangled in them. We create a spacious, inquiring mind, and an ability to observe with a quality of acceptance and natural curiosity. We objectify thoughts or emotions without getting trapped by them. This noticing of the breath or of the emotion applies a seeker’s inquiring mind to ascertain the “truth.” [In concentrating] on the breath, we develop focus and awareness.
           Intention and motivation are key; intention directs energy; [the right] motivation [of love] is essential. Meditation is a tool for testing whether we are balanced. The potential for change and disappointment is always present. Buddhism brings insight to what can be an unconscious cycle and struggle of loss and gain. [Even-tually] our thoughts and perceptions are tested from a place of reflection, not reaction and impulse, allowing us to make choices from a foundation of clarity and wisdom.
           The Nature of Thoughts/ Mindfulness—The Inner Light within us is often covered by a veil of mental activity. Removing this veil is the practice of meditation. The mind runs [again and again]. We bring it back [again and again]. Meditation moves us toward equanimity or balance. We are alert, aware, engaged, yet we are calm and peaceful; [we are present]. The fruit of meditation practice is greater concentration, leading to integration and wholeness. In the face of pleasure and pain, gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disrepute, we are balanced, knowing that change is the nature of life. Meditation teaches the way to live an awakened life.
           Mindfulness is careful attention to ordinary life activity. We move beyond thinking to knowing & feeling. Mindfulness is patience. With acceptance of what is, we free ourselves from conditioned habits of heart & mind that rob us of intimacy with ourselves, others & surroundings. According to Buddhist teachings, we're always giving our attention to something or someone. Mindlessness is preoccupation with plans or memories, rushing through daily activities, breaking things, forgetting. Mindfulness is intentional. It is continuity of mindfulness that is rare.
           The 1st establishment of mindfulness is awareness of body. We recognize each body part. [We see all relationships of all natural elements with our body]. In addition to being aware of our body, we may also be aware of feelings—pleasant, unpleasant, & neutral. Our mental posture is open & spacious. Bringing mindfulness to our everyday lives takes practice. I like to practice mindfulness particularly when making and drinking tea.
           Chado, Way of Tea, & Mindfulness—The practice of drinking powdered green tea was brought to Japan by monks returning from 12th century China. Chado, the tea way flowed from the principle that act of making tea could be meditative. Sen Rikyu (1522-91) formed the basis of Chado. Its 4 principles are harmony, respect, purity, & tranquility. As Quakers, we can take spiritual comfort learning important lessons from each tea preparation stage. For me, Chado is a way of focusing the mind through the art of tea-making; Chado’s 4 principles are shared by Quakers. We seek to live in harmony with others, to respect the earth, [to seek] a pure & tranquil heart.
           Tea preparation is an invitation to spacious awareness. [In the] tea room, a tone is set to receive profound serenity & peace in the central craft of making green tea. Attending to every detail with slow attentive movements, we open the door of the mundane & step into the sacred. [As in worship where we wait for the call of God’s touch], in tea preparation, we await the presence of our guests with openhearted joy. We can take comfort in holding a cup of green tea between our 2 hands & knowing that in it the whole universe is present. The essence of the tea ceremony is simplicity; it is acknowledging all that has made the tea gathering possible. The heart of the tea ceremony is silence & spaciousness, much like that of a Quaker meeting. Paying exquisite attention to each detail speaks of caring, nurturing, reverence, & integrity. It is a path to inner peace & humility.

          Our task is to listen to the news that is always arriving, out of silence      Rainer Maria Rilke

        Shared Practices: Silence/ Stillness/ Meditation and Transformation
           Meditation comes alive in silence. In silence, we turn inward, allowing the silence to be healing and purifying. Silence encourages us to establish a relationship with ourselves 1st. Words and thoughts often block the doorway to the soul. When we sit in meditation, our experience flows from attention to inattention, from remembrance to forgetfulness. In both Quaker silent worship and in meditation, we can benefit by preparation. As we prepare to enter silence, we gather our broken pieces of concentration. We may focus on breathing, a heart of deep gratitude, or take a walk or inspiring passage in before worship. Leonard S. Kenworthy says: “Meeting for Worship is the culmination of the past few days as well as the introduction to the days ahead.” The simplicity of Quaker meeting houses and worship can stand in sharp contrast to the clutter in our minds.
           John Punshon writes: “Silence is defined from outside, stillness from within.” With stillness we faithfully wait in community, and in patience, directing ourselves to God. Simply being, reflecting on the place of God in our lives, is a discipline. Quakers can learn from Buddhist meditation that encourages stillness of both the body and mind. Ultimately, stillness, like much else in life, requires practice and patience. Sustained practice can support our Quaker silent worship, bringing the flow of awareness to this sacred time.
           In Buddhism, silent meditation is prerequisite to true knowledge and understanding. In a place of honest introspection, we see the true state of the human condition. The dharma, as taught by the Buddha is a path that leads to the cessation of suffering through our efforts to understand the truth about the human condition; we are released from clinging and attachment, suffering and disappointment.
           Remaining open to stumbling blocks, contradictions, imperfections, longings, disappointments, and unfi-nished business is the heart of mindfulness meditation and of the Buddha’s teachings. [With focused concen-tration], we liberate the mind and ourselves from the karmic weight that keeps us trapped in a reactive, impulsive cycle. Mindfulness and meditations teach us how to listen—with our entire selves—in an open, expectant, non-judgmental, receptive way. In this tender openness, we are poised to listen to what really matters, to put aside the petty chatter moment in a discipline of reflection.

           Prayer is the mortar that holds our house together.      Teresa of Avila
        Prayer and Dharma Contemplation
           For Friends, prayer is about opening ourselves to God, to the Inner Light within each of us. In the silence of meeting for worship, our prayer deepens through the gift of communal worship. Through common experience, we strengthen the bonds we share as Friends and our bonds of sharing in the human condition. Prayer is dynamic, responsive, inclusive, and portable; prayer links us to a self that is transformed. Our prayerful heart grows out of the completeness of the moment, honoring the ordinary for its shadow and light. When we stop, slow down, and allow ourselves to be touched by the everyday miracles of life, we become prayerful, and closer to God. Ultimately, our hearts directs us to what we need, which leads to faith and trust in ourselves and our capacity for transformation. Susan West Kurtz writes: Becoming whole is learning to embrace those parts of us that have been rejected or denied and bringing them back into a state of love, compassion, and acceptance.”
           Dharma contemplation is a new Buddhist practice akin to the Christian form of contemplation and prayer, lectio divina. In dharma contemplation we focus intently on a word phrase, or narrative. The practice begins with a short period of silent meditation, preparing ourselves to receive the wisdom of these teachings and to calm the body and the mind. We share a single word or phrase from the text and then listen deeply as others follow, noticing what we may have overlooked. Then we practice contemplation. We notice emotions that have that have been aroused and our body’s reactions, focusing on the direct experience of feelings and sensations. We share our observations on a personal, not theoretical, level. In silent meditation, we rest directly with the experience, recalling words or moments, then releasing and letting them be.
           Buddhist practices can transform and enliven Quaker spirituality. These teachings point the way from suffering to liberation. Buddhist teachings can help Quakers discover the richness of our own faith tradition. As Quakers [practicing Buddhism], we recognize that we are never far from our Buddha nature, our enlightened self. We need not practice perfectly or wait for the “right” moment. Begin where you are, knowing that you are perfect just as you are. Welcome your Buddha-hood. Be in the Light.
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370. Quaker in the Zendo (by Steve Smith; 2004)
           About the Author—Steve Smith was born in 1939 in a farm house near What Cheer, Iowa, (Iowa YM (Conservative)). He attended Scattergood Friends School, Earlham College, and Harvard; he received an M.A. and a Ph.D in philosophy. He taught Philosophy and Religious Studies at Claremont McKenna College for 35 years. He has edited 3 books [dealing with the practice of Zen]. He has been active in Southern California [Friends Organizations], and on the Executive Committee of Friends World Committee for Consultation.
           Be still a while from thy own thoughts, searching, seeking, desires, and imaginations, and be stayed in the principle of God in thee ... and thou wilt find strength [and help] from God.      George Fox
           No doubt the great similarity between Quaker and Zen meditation (there are great differences too) was instrumental in prompting ecumenical interest.      William Johnston
           In Hawaii on a study sabbatical, I found that my temporary home was a 5 minute walk from a Zendo. I sat bolt upright, facing the wall, noting my breath, returning my attention over & over to the present moment. My venture into Zen practice was dead serious, motivated by desperate yearning to heal from my troubled & broken past. [I steadily ascended] through college & graduate school into [a career in teaching] & marriage. The peace of mind & self-acceptance I craved couldn't be earned by excelling in the learning games I had chosen to pursue.
           I doubted my doubts, for I remembered hints of awe and wonder as a child about the Old Testament and teachings of Jesus. [Childlike] longings were aimless or else diverted into the elaborate byways of analytical philosophy. My head was stranger to my heart. [My outward success in career and marriage was accompanied by a deteriorating private life]. As pressures mounted in my new career and family, my use of alcohol increasingly obeyed an insidious master beyond my control. I had a strong compulsion for release and oblivion. In 1974 I stopped drinking and began recovery. I returned to clandestine use of marijuana to explore alternative modes of consciousness. It drew me downward into deepening depression rather than upward toward the light. I weaned myself of this dependence and cigarette-smoking as well.
           [Introduction to Eastern Thought]—The philosophy that was featured in my graduate training, being technical, precise, obsessed with language, distrustful of value and meaning questions, proved to be an agent of my decline. My philosophical exploration led me to stoicism, Epicureanism, scripture and mysticism, and the extraordinary philosophical and religious traditions of the East. 10 years of formal training in philosophy had not introduced me to Asian thought, [clearly a deficiency]. For a few years I was content to read hungrily from the more accessible materials from India and East Asia, and to write my ruminations in a journal.
           Eventually, this piecemeal remedial study was not enough. I spent a sabbatical leave with my family at the University of Hawaii; [and from that, my appearance at] the Zendo on Kaloa Way. I quickly found Buddhist meditation helpful in clarifying, steadying, softening the edges of my life. [Nearer to home], I participated in an intensive 7-day meditation retreat or sessbin at Zen Center of Los Angeles. Since 1981, I have maintained a daily sitting practice, with occasional meditation retreats. Daily zazen helped keep me sane through a devastating se-paration and divorce, and has become a mainstay of my spiritual practice. Knowing myself better, I forget my self more easily and release into the flow of life. I wrote: "Something is happening to my body and brain, bit by bit, that feels right and healthy ... I increasingly sense an underpinning of joy ... in 'Blessed Awareness' ..."
           I still remain detached from outward forms of Buddhist ritual. The more thoroughly I give myself to zazen, the more authentically Quaker I become. Father Robert Kennedy writes: "Zen need not be looked on as a religion at all, but as a way of seeing life that can enhance any religious faith." By a curious cross-cultural alchemy, Zen has reawakened me to the spiritual riches of Quakerism and Christianity. In his Varieties of Religious Experience, William James describes the twice-born believer, who doubt themselves and their received values, struggle against the insufficiency of their lives, and finally break through to reconciliation and healing joy.
           In rediscovering through Buddhism the power of my own religious origins, I find I'm not alone. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi writes: "It's almost as if the scales fell off the eyes because we went next door." If I hadn't traveled, I might never have discovered treasures I already possessed. I came upon unexpected treasures in early Quaker literature, contemporary Quaker scholars, & elsewhere. I find the gift of my own heart, floating in the mind of God. The treasures that I have uncovered required all of me, even as they give me the world.
           An Annihilating Path—Be no more than God made thee. Give over thine own willing ... and sink down to that seed which God sows in thy heart ... and thou shalt find ... that the Lord knows that [seed], and loves and owns that, and will lead it to the inheritance of life which is his portion.      Isaac Penington
           Straining to be elsewhere, running from the truth, I began to destroy myself. I must sink fully into this moment, to suffer my pain, & "bear my cross," without fleeing or flailing. Seeing the darkness I had wandered into brought crushing humiliation & shame. [Both my father & Fox had moments of strict self-honesty & surrender]. Fox heard a voice that said: "There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition." & when he heard it his "heart did leap for joy." Doug Gwyn writes: "Quaker preachers offered not sublime mystical transport but a traumatic passage through death to a realm where God's will is known 1st-hand & power to obey is received ... Desolation of self must take place on the inner landscape before one comes to know Christ returned." How can I have the extraordinary commitment, faith & willingness to risk all [in order to enter a rich spiritual life]?
           Discipline—I want my faith to be a soothing sideline to occupy some of my leisure time ... when I am so inclined. I busy myself with Quaker activities, but I shrink from changing my life. The life that I actually led was scarcely changed by my Asian interest. There are those who view and admire spiritual paths, remaining spectators, and those who risk the plunge into practice, surrender and transformation. Missing from my simplistic understanding of Quaker faith and practice was recognition of the strenuous effort, commitment and risk required to live truly in the Light. Lay religious practice and most monastic practice typically drifts far from the ideal of a wholly God-inspired life. Early Friends knew the devastation and fierce joy of seeking to do God's will in one's life and in the world, as one empties of self and grows into what one most truly is.
           Now, "discipline" rings of merely of punishment for wrongdoing, with no sense of self-transcendence through submission to an exacting regimen. I favored an easier, more comfortable route, sitting in meeting for worship each week and hoping that without any risk or commitment, lightning would strike. I wouldn't have needed strict Buddhist meditation to realize [my spiritual laziness], had I faced squarely the demands of my original faith. Friends need only pick and read up a copy of Faith and Practice, and then open themselves to the searching Light that calls for faithfulness to the many guidelines there. Though sometimes moved by the power and presence of my fellow worshipers [as a child], I had no clue as to how to find my own way to such depth. My Zen journey led me more deeply into my own nature, and I began to recover childhood visions of wholeness and joy. I had succumbed to a widespread human compulsion to shrink from direct experience of Divine power.
           A Quaker Spiritual Practice/ Being Still—In the early Friends movement, inner surrender to the Light was expressed in bodily outbursts of religious passion and in extraordinary energies for public testimony and activism. Fox above all sought to direct listeners and readers to immediate awareness of their own inner teacher, the Christ within. Rex Ambler wrote: "[Fox] was telling people to do something, because what they needed to make them free and fulfilled as human beings, 'perfect', was in them, [without need of an outside source] ... It in effect challenged everyone to find their own inner truth ... trust it and live by it ... There was in fact, for both individual and group, a distinct process to be undergone." Doug Gwyn writes : "There was ... guidance that helped refocus spiritual energies from ego-centered striving to true surrender."
           Stand still in that which is pure ... & then mercy comes in ... When temptations & troubles appear, sink down in that [Light] which is pure, & all will be hushed & fly away. Your strength is to stand still.      George Fox
           The practice of "waiting upon the Lord" in silence is a discipline that halts our nervous compulsions and forces us to "stew in our own juices, uncomfortable as that may be. 
Doug Gwyn reports: "It frightened neighbors to see as many as 200 or 300 men, women, and children standing in silence out in a field, in meetings that might go on for hours." The discipline of stillness is painful and humbling but also cleansing, as I open to layers of experience from which I have been distracting myself with [all manner of bodily adjustments in meeting for worship]. Caroline Jones writes: "Fidgeting is a way of avoiding something. When we sit still we come closer to who we are and are more able to observe the shifting sands of the mind that we label I, me, mine ... Silence is disturbing ... Physical stillness is a training ground where we can learn to be less neurotic, more wise, [and corporately a more unified group]. Physical stillness promotes mental calm ... Thoughts quiet down and it is easier to discern which ones to act on ... Stillness takes us into the depths where we learn to 'be no more than God made."
           Being Present/ Knowing Myself—The 1st efforts at stillness begin to show a person his inadequacy, emptiness of purpose, or well-buried guilt.      Hugh Barbour
           Using worship as a time for uplifting reverie, cultivating inspirational thoughts and pleasant soothing reflections is surely not what Fox and other early Quakers intended. I must drop the strivings of my small self if I am to surrender to Christ's presence within. Rather than obsessing about past and future, rehearsing this and that scenario [on the hand], or drifting with "the lazy, dreaming mind" on the other, committed silent worship calls me back from my fantasies to the immediacy of the present moment, to "Stand still in the Light and submit to it."
           17th century Quakerism's central spiritual insight was that Christ has come to teach his people himself. 1st, as Samuel Bownas [puts it]: "It is ... highly needful for us to learn to know ourselves, and to keep in it daily, and not to forget and lose the sense of the imperfections and defects in the natural constitution of our own minds." Fox tells us to "take heed of being hurried with many thoughts but live in that which is over them ... don't look at temptations, confusions, distractions, but at the light that makes them manifest ... [and] you will see over them. That will give victory." The Light is not a glowing object of inner attention, but rather that which enables me to see my troubles while freeing me from immersion in them. "Live in the life of God, and feel it" [Fox].
           The Moment of Truth/ The Challenge of Integrity—Worship is a form of cleansing, as I lay myself open to God without reservation. John Punshon writes: "I must be willing to open my heart completely, give everything I have and hold nothing back in my secret places." When I sense that every action I perform, every thought I entertain, is seen through and through by a Divine eye, I have no recourse but to release my clinging, to surrender fully, and to risk all in holy obedience. Worship is a shared endeavor, in which many wills simultaneously yield up their separateness so that all may "come to know the hidden unity in the Eternal Being" [Fox]. Francis Howgill: "As we waited upon him in pure silence, our minds out of all things, his heavenly presence appeared in our assemblies, when there was no language, tongue or speech from any creature." The moment of Truth is also a moment of conviction, being thoroughly seen for who one is, utterly humbled and transformed by the Light so that an old self dies and a new one is born again.
       Surrendering to Truth means living the insight I received, which is lifetime work; nothing else suffices but to become what I know. [To paraphrase William Penn]: Which do you choose to do in worship: gather only bodily & walk in the "Light of your own fire, & in the sparks you have kindled"; or sit down in True Silence, resting from your own Will and Workings, and waiting upon the Lord, until Christ has enlightened you, and the Lord breathes life into you? Quaker integrity requires surrender and implies restraint. Caught up in the enthusiasm of new insight, I may "profess more than I possess," so I need to "profess no more than I am."
           A God at Hand/ Looking Backward, Looking Forward—[Deuteronomy 30:11-14 quoted] The shadow of anxiety surrounding my mind, distracting me, sapping my energy, & purpose—all is acknowledged & eased by inward opening to the Light. Momentarily I no longer exist; there is only the experience of being known. Generous insights come unbidden. This aura of beatitude is God's love. Such moments fade, I shrink back into my small self. But my memory lingers, lending conviction & reassurance to my faith, & releasing energy for constructive engagement with the world.
           My Zen journey has helped me to appreciate, from "the outside," features of Quaker spiritual practice that I overlooked. Radically understood & faithfully followed, the Society of Friends needs no bolstering by alien traditions. It is a fully sufficient path of transforming spiritual power & grace. Any deficiency in vision or inspiration stems from forgetting the way to the Source from which early Friends drew strength. I must guard against leaving [the treasure of past Quaker practice] once again in the ashes. Always will I see the Society of Friends from within & without. I am glad to be both citizen & alien, native & newcomer—a Quaker in the Zendo.
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302. A Zen Buddhist Encounters Quakerism (By Teruyasu Tamura; 1992)
           About the Author—Teruyasu Tamura is a professor of American literature at Chukyo University in Japan. He went to Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and received a Master’s from International Christian University. His family belonged to a Soto Zen temple near Izumozaki. It wasn't until he visited the University of PA as a scholar that he began sitting in zasen. He received guidance from Eido Shimano Roshi and Koun Yamada Roshi. This essay is a written version of what he shared at the forum of Swarthmore Friends Meeting in 1990.
           [I]—I attended Sunday worship at Swarthmore Friends Meeting and Pendle Hill, and a weekly meeting for Zen sitting held at Pendle Hill. The present article tries to compare Quakerism with Zen Buddhism; it is a personal attempt to understand some features of Quakerism that I have happened to notice as a Zen follower. Zen is a sect of Buddhism. Zen is awakening to one’s original nature or true self through the practice of zasen (sitting meditation in a cross-legged posture) and becoming free from all delusions and sufferings.
           Soto Zen does not seek enlightenment, and does not use kōans (enigmatic questions). It insists on shikantaza (just sitting). Soto and Rinzai Zen are remarkably different in approach, but the final goal of these 2 schools is to transcend the ego and realize the Original Face, the true nature, or the True Self. To study Zen is to: forget self; be enlightened by myriad things; drop off the body and mind of self or others. [In comparing Zen with Quakerism, Takashi Takemoto states]: “If you can be free from dualistic rumination, you can see the Absolute. There is nothing mystifying about Zen. Zen is clarity itself.” I would say that all mystical experiences, whether Buddhist or Christian, are fundamentally the same, as long as they are genuine.
           [II]—William James gave “4 marks” of what may justly be called mystical: it defies adequate expression; it gives deep insight; it soon passes away; passivity, not will power [is essential]. All mystical experiences [can] be reduced to what might be called “the direct, personal experience of the Being of beings.” I was amazed at the similarity of the methods and teachings of The Cloud of Unknowing to Zen’s way of attaining enlightenment. For example, The Cloud of Unknowing teaches the monk to stop thinking or using imagination in any way; a simple reaching out directly toward God is sufficient. The final aim of this exercise is to let go of everything and makes one’s mind completely silent, to stop the working of intellect and imagination, to let go of ego.
           Compare Zen master Yengo’s talk on enlightenment with George Fox’s Journal. 1st, Yengo: “Let body and mind be turned … inanimate … a stone or a piece of wood. When a state of perfect motionlessness and unaware-ness is obtained all signs of life will depart and every trace of limitation will vanish; you have become open, light transparent. You gain an illuminating insight into the very nature of things, which appear as fairylike flowers having no graspable realities. Here is the original face of your being. This is when you surrender all.
George Fox: “I saw into what was without end, can’t be uttered, & of greatness & infinitude of God's love, which can’t be expressed by words. [All things] were new; all creation gave unto me another smell than before, beyond what words can utter]. I had been brought through the ocean of darkness & death …which chained down & shut up all in death.” If we construe Fox’s “ocean of darkness & death” as worldly desires or discursive ideas, we will find that these statements coincide underneath. [What Yengo said] reminds me of “the Inner Light.”
           [III]—Jung’s “unconscious” theory will be very helpful. It casts a lot of light upon various psychic phenomena & religious experiences. It gives us clues as to what methods are more effective. The conscious forms the top [point] of the psyche. Immediately below spreads a large area of memory, called the pre- or subconscious, where we accumulate knowledge or memories. Deeper down lies personal unconscious & below that collective unconscious. It is held in common by a group of people, [beginning with] a family or social group. The deeper we go down, the wider group the layers of the unconscious represent. It is a storehouse of Jung’s “archtypes.”
           Jung stops there, but we may trace the past back to the time when heaven and earth were yet undivided, & assume a still deeper, limitless layer of the collective unconscious, the “universal unconscious.” The problem of religious practice is how we can reach this deepest layer of the Unconscious. Silence is the place where God lives, and silence is the way to reach there. Quakerism and Zen put much stress on silence in their daily worship.
           To reach a deeper layer of the psyche we must first quiet the overlying strata. We must suspend mental activity in the conscious and subconscious by not stirring up the 5 senses. Almost every method or device is nothing but a means to keep us complete silence. The deeper our inner silence is, the deeper we can sink into our unconscious. Coventry Patmore says: “What the world calls ‘mysticism’ is the science of ultimates, the science of self-evident Reality.” Both Quakerism and Zen have mysticism and are religions of experience, and ways of living.
            [IV]—The words “worship and “vocal ministry” clearly show that there is a distinctive difference between Quakerism and Zen. We never consider Zen services as worship [of something beyond ourselves]. In Zen, Buddha is none other than human beings, animals, plants, mountains, and rivers. God in Quakerism seems to stand at once within a human being and beyond the person. Quakers and Buddha will come to the same monism when they attain union with God in their mystical experience.
           A greater, more serious difference consists in “vocal ministry.” It is a difference from Zen and a confusion and frustration to Quakers themselves. In Zen we talk of “mayko,” which means “state or universe of the devils.” It is the many internal phenomena that happen to [distract and] prevent us from attaining enlightenment. However wonderful mayko may be, we must let go of them. As they come at very deep layers of the psyche, they show that we are not very far from enlightenment. In Quaker meeting for worship, [even the best of vocal ministry is] mayko, and some] of them did not seem to be even mayko. Vocal ministry does not seem to be advisable from a Zen point of view. William James said: “Quakerism is a religion of veracity rooted in spiritual inward-ness.” All Quakers want to know God directly, but vocal ministry seems to be preventing it. Elizabeth Gray Vining asks: Does the church exist to provide spiritual inspiration or to change the social system?
           The problem of vocal ministry seems to have been felt even in the early 18th century. Voltaire attended a meeting for worship that had [“bad”] vocal ministry with a friend. When asked why they suffered such nonsense, the Friend replied, “We are obliged to suffer them because we can’t tell whether any one who rises is moved by the spirit or by folly.” “Vocal ministry” out of deep silence has a marked and different quality from products of reasoning. Deep silence must continue for at least a ½ hour before this can happen. Some of my Quaker Friends share my doubt and prefer completely silent worship.
           [V]—The 2nd stage of Quaker history is usually referred to as Quietism, the doctrine that every self-centered trait must be suppressed or quieted in order that the divine may find unopposed entrance to the soul. Many modern Quaker writers don’t seem to like Quietism. They believe that vocal ministry is the driving force in Quakerism. This distinctively Quaker element helps turn their religious conviction of universal brotherhood & sisterhood into concrete philanthropic activities and behaviors. Zen enriched the lives of the upper and middle classes, and taught the lower classes quiet submission to karma. A Bodhisattva is supposed to try to save others before saving themselves. But Zen has done very little to save the poor and suffering.
           One aim of Quaker worship is to know God; another is to hear the voice of God, and follow its leadings to act. Psychologically, these 2 aims are completely different activities that are carried out on different levels of the psyche and require different spiritual exercises. When it comes to knowing God experientially, one must ignore even valuable images or thoughts, and come down into the universal unconscious. Vocal ministry, on the other hand, seems to derive from the tradition of Biblical prophets.
           Howard Brinton writes: “Quakerism might be said to combine 2 concepts without any attempt to work out a consistent system … The silent waiting … and the cultivation of contemplation and sensitivity to inward leading is more Greek than Hebrew. The ministry in Quaker meetings stems from Hebrew prophetism rather than Greek mysticism. Quakers are now known more for their work than for the depth of spiritual life; more for doing than being.” Vocal ministry is the vital force in Quakerism; it is essential to Quaker life and practice, though not ideal for deep contemplation. Weekly corporate worship could be done with the expectation of leadings to share with the congregation. Daily devotions should keep regular practice of complete inner silence.
           [VI]—William Penn says: “The Christian convent & monastery are within, where soul is encloistered from sin … True godliness doesn’t turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it … [I admire solitude ... retreats for the afflicted, the tempted, the solitary & devout, where they might undisturbedly wait upon God ... & being thereby strengthened may with more power over their own spirits, enter into the world's business again] … When necessary, shut the doors and windows of the soul against everything that would interrupt waiting upon God no matter how pleasant … or needful at another time. Then the power of the Almighty will break in.”
           If we ignore the trifling differences, we may say there are 2 types of approaches to contemplative worship. One is to try not to think; the other is to concentrate one’s whole mind on one formless thing [like “love” or “God”] to prevent one’s mind from thinking, feeling, or imagining. Pure Land Buddhism was started by Priest Shinran; [one] only calls on the name of Amida Buddha. It spread rapidly among ordinary people, mostly uneducated people and workmen. There are a few truly enlightened people among them. For modern intellectuals who are immersed in floods of information and are thinking every moment, it is almost impossible to practice it.
           One of the most important discoveries of Oriental religions is that body and mind are so closely related with each other that we can control our mind by controlling our body and breathing. Yamada Roshi said: “To think rightly as well as to keep inner silence, you had better sit in a right posture [with a straight back].” Quakers are not much aware of the importance of the right sitting posture as Zen Buddhists.
           [VII]—As Quakers talk of the historical Christ, so the Mahayana Buddhists talk of 3 bodies of Buddha: historical, earthly body (Nirmānakāya); true spirit of Buddha’s teaching (Sambogakāya); transcendent, cosmic body or ultimate reality (Dharmakāya). When one attains enlightenment, one will know the true spirit of Buddha and the highest wisdom directly. They will not stick to the Buddha’s teachings in sutras. When the teachings differ from or conflict with their experiential knowledge, they are ready to throw them away or kill the Buddha.
           Quakerism is a religion of God and Zen is a religion of self. They are both based upon mystical experience. They both make much of silence and simple life; they both put more stress upon faith and life experience than upon idle words. Quakers could learn from Zen’s way of sitting, and Zen must learn from Quaker’s peace efforts and selfless devotion to social services.
           More & more people are becoming aware that all the nations on the earth are one family sharing the same destiny. [While] no longer obsessed with nuclear war, the environmental pollution caused by scientific & technological progress has become so grave it might possibly be humankind's ruin. Too much computerization may make us little better than robots. What is needed is religion that goes beyond world of opposites, into deep reality of existence, a religion that knows humankind shares one & the same life with the rest of nature, a religion that knows & [acts]. I hope such a religion will emerge out of close communion between Quakerism & Zen.
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163. The Hardest Journey (by Douglas V. Steere; 1969)
           About the Author—Douglas Steere is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Haverford College and Chairman of the Friends World Committee for Consultation. He has traveled to many part of the world on missions for the American Friends Service Committee and other Quaker organizations. The Hardest Journey was delivered as a lecture in March 1968 at Whittier College in California. It is hoped that the description of the cost of spiritual renewal may also speak to seekers beyond the ranks of Friends.
           [Introduction]/Proclamation/Dialogue—The Secretary of London Yearly Meeting (Arthur White) told me of the moving requests which had come to British Friends from Protestants and Roman Catholics for insights into our inward experience of silent worship and the tradition of following concerns that might come from it. [This expectation] was humbling when we know all too well our poverty and mediocrity in this area; similar openings have been coming from the USA. How much are we called to pray that we may be made ready so as not to fail those who have been moved to ask for our witness.
           In the spring of 1967, 10 Zen Buddhist personalities met 10 Christ scholars, with 5 Quakers as host. These were men who by experience & study could speak to each other authentically & with openness to each other that was almost breathtaking. I think Friends were given a glimpse of the new dimension of communication between Christians and men of other world religions that will mark the generation ahead. Professor Doi speaks of transition from Proclamation to Dialogue. It becomes clear that the Spirit has things to say to us through Zen and things for us to share with Zen; each of us will ignore [the other] only at our peril. Zen Professor Hisamatsu of Kyoto said in a message: “All we human beings are now threatened by the crisis of the split of subjectivity. The universal task is to create a truthful and blessed world and to realize a stable, post-modern original subjectivity.” Friends ask: Do we know at first hand how true subjectivity, awareness, attention, compassion, unlimited liability for our fellows and a return to the infinite ground of our being can take place?
           [Holy Spirit Epoch]/Hidden Life—At Vatican Council II Cardinal Suenens pressed for changes in the Church’s Original Schema which would indicate the Church’s openness to charisms [such as those Quakers seek]. There was to be no abandonment of the law or the Church, but a new kindling epoch of the Holy Spirit. It will pour through the lives of lay men and women and through its power will release them for hallowed service in the fabric of their world. The Holy Spirit is the revealer of injustice and the dissolver of men’s reservations as to the costly correction of those wrongs. It has been experienced here and now by millions of apostles. Quakers believe in the continual operation of this Pentecostal Spirit. What a tragedy it would be if at a time when the way has open as at few times in history to our witness that we not be ready to make our contribution.
           In the field of depth psychology, there is a climate of deep congeniality to the Quaker witness. Carl Jung wrote: “We have built a monumental world about us. The divine Mediator stands outside as an image, while man remains fragmentary; the unconscious & undeveloped psyche [remains] as pagan & archaic as ever. The great events of the world don't breathe the spirit of Christianity but rather of unadorned paganism. The inner person’s soul is out of key with his external beliefs; in the soul the Christian hasn't kept pace with external developments.” Quakers know that when they yield to this “root” to which all men are grafted, it opens them to others across all barriers. Our Quaker witness can be deepened and enriched by interchange with depth psychology.
           Scientific Revolution/Sheer Activism—Islam is trying to see how it can accommodate itself to the Western technological revolution whose fruits the governments of its territories are determined to appropriate for their own people. Hinduism, likewise, feels threatened by the triumph of “materialism” which it sees coming in the wake of this technological invasion. [They welcome help with] the vast physical needs of their people, but they see it undermining their spiritual worldview. The Quakers have felt this conflict of science and religion less than most Christian bodies.

           Quakers too have had members who feared advances in geology, evolution, and biblical criticism. There always seemed to be a leaven [who were above panicking at having] to confront the new face of the physical world. Robert Frost said: “We’ve been led to expect more of science than it can perform. There’s a whole half of our lives that can’t be made a science of.” The Quaker view is that people in our time may have falsely exalted the omniscience of physical sciences and neglected to attend to the other dimensions of one’s response to reality. There needs to be an openness to that which is creative in science and to a call to the inward life under the Spirit that may alone save our world from destruction.
           Have Quakers found that they have been able to keep their own share in social change disinfected from the inevitable egotism of good works?      Have we got a word for young people in the early stages of revulsion to killing tightly focused on the Viet Nam War?      Are we matched to the [issues] of our time?      How may we better prepare to respond to them?
           The Hardest Journey is the Longest Journey/Jean LeClerq—Dag Hammarskjold uses the phrase “The longest journey is the journey inwards.” He also said: “At one moment I did answer yes to Someone or Something—and from that hour I was certain my existence had meaning.” Dr. Sullivan asked: “Have you ever had a moment of awe and glory that has cloven your life asunder and put it back together again forever different than it was before?” John Woolman wrote: “My heart was often tender and contrite and universal love for my fellow creatures increased in me.” How well do we understand and sympathize with Jesus’ disciples who fell asleep again and again in the night of his passion in Gethsemane?
           The Benedictine Jean Le Clerq’s object is to encourage monks in small houses not to stop with their initial commitment to God. [He seeks] for them a wonderful historical precedent and urges them to take the steps they long for, [in order that these monks might enjoy God]. [A peasant who can say] “I just look up at Him and He looks down at me,” is going on in, in terms that perfectly fit Jean Le Clerq’s invitation to enjoy God and let the rest of the matter look after itself.
           [Simple May not be Easy/Still Enough…/[Busy-ness]—The hardest journey must include getting us out of our own self-absorption, self-imprisonment, and self-willed determination to run our own lives in our own well-worn grooves. Nietzsche said that in an authentic friend one will always find a true enemy; an enemy to that which is low in ourselves. Kierkegaard may explain with brutal frankness why God may appear to us at moments as the enemy. Fenelon says, “How few there are who are still enough to hear God speak.”
           The man or woman with an eye on achievement at work is almost sure to plead that there is simply no time for semi-rustic withdrawal, & indicate how many nights a week they spend in good works. Some of us might wonder at times about the book of life & what's being written about our inward journey. Could it be that the pain that shatters many of us in our “midnight hours” is a moment of being “still enough to hear God speak.”
           “Still Enough” [for] Decisions/Changes/[Consequences]—Many of us may be trying desperately to keep from making decisions [stemming from being “Still enough” for our Friend-Enemy to direct our path]. Is it conceivable that “still enough to hear God speak” may require lasting, instant decisions, if one dares to enjoy the company of the Friend-Enemy? Dare we go on beating about the burning bush?
           A veteran of prayer says that the conditions of the stillness, of the enjoyment of God that we have been speaking about means willingness to change, and to let go of [some of my accustomed things]. John of the Cross says, “Learn that the flame of everlasting love doth burn ere it transforms.” Rhodesian Bishop William Gaul suggests that it was sweeter to God to have someone willing to walk the same mile 1,000 times than to take the more glamorous 1,000 mile journey.
           Does the “stillness to hear God speak” reach to a willingness to take the consequences of our actions and very possibly to be used in [some way that we never thought] we would be willing to accept?      Is “stillness then an almost frightening intimation that the inward journey may ultimately sweep away our reservations and may make us both tender and malleable, and that the prospect both terrifies and lures us on? Distracting thoughts do not really screen us from enjoying God if we do not try to fight against them. [Once I’ve] acknowledged them, they are no longer the focus of my attention, for I am here to enjoy God.
           Growth in Tenderness/Unused Life—[Perhaps in stillness there is another dimension, namely a willingness to have a heart made full and tender]. If one is to love God back there is also the need for one to understand the love of God poured out in Jesus Christ and poured out inwardly upon us each hour of our lives. “Still enough . . .” may be still enough to feel what such love costs God.
           We carry within us [things unwritten, friendships not made or worked on], relationships not healed, family tenderness not shared]. What is the sin against the Holy Ghost other than this unlived life, the unused light that may die within us? Anyone who makes use of one’s soul no matter how clumsily, participates in the life of the universe. The greatest danger [on the hardest journey] isn't in stopping but in not setting out again.
           [Inward to Outward Bridge/ “If Thou Knowest…—Seeds of concerns appear when we are still enough to hear God speak. These concerns are the bridge over which inward journey often moves outward. We may often make fools of ourselves, often fail, & often are humiliated. I suspect that this matters little to God if we have responded to nudges. I think our Zen brethren have done much to teach us that you may enter on the inward journey by 1,000 different gates. [The conventional social ministry may] lead me to God & inward journey. It also could become a routine, loveless, over-active kind of obsession that had no more obvious Godliness than plumbing or truck driving, or banking—each of which might become illumined vocations [with the right attitude].
           An apocryphal story has Jesus saying to a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath, “O man, if thou knowest what thou doest, blessed art thou; but if thou knowest not, thou art curst.” When there comes from within that radical disinfection of the egotism of good works, when one “is joined to all the living, there is hope”; then the situation is altered. Charles Peguy writes, “We must be saved together, we must come to God together. Together we must be presented before God. Together we must return to the Father’s house.” The only real tragedy in it all would be that looking over the hardness of the journey, and the cost of the self-spending, we should as [individuals and as a worship community] put back into our pockets the coin of destiny that has been given to us and turn aside. “Not in your skill but in your need."
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