ChristianMA,
If you are coming from a conservitve tradition you may encounter people that question
your motives. Others might express concern for your spiritual wellbeing. I can think of three authors that might be of intrest to you, concidering your question. Anthony DeMello, An Indian, Jesuit priest and psycologist-"Awareness". Thomas Merton,a benedictine monk-"Mystics and Zen Masters" and Niotobe? "Bushido the Soul of Japan". Im not sure on the last author. He was Japanese Quaker from the early 20th century

Thanks for your perspective MrEd. Your point on JC is well put and a good perspective on my question.

Thanks for the leads Oldman. In recent searches, I did see something about the Benedictine monk and his practice of Zen. I'll check 'em out.

ChristianMA;

You really should check out a book by Dr. Wayne Dryer called "The Power of Intention".

The thought of reflecting (or in Eastern practices, meditating) and connecting to your spirit is very ok - this book will be of great help to you.

ChristianMA,

Best of luck on your search.

I confess i havent read the book whiteknight mentioned, but I would like to say that i feel meditating is more than just reflecting, although it can be just that.

Meditation can include a variety of things such as:

1) Internal breathing exercises designed at regulating energy flow in your body

2) Exercises, such as visualization, counting, breathing, and countless others to achieve a higher degree of concentration

2a) Applying the concentration skills from point 2 toward a specific goal.

3) Exercises to acheive a greater degree of relaxation within the body and mind

3a) Applying the relaxation from point 3 to become a passive observer of your own actions, so that you can evaluate what should/shouldn't be changed (self-improvement)

In my expereience the more relaxed one is, the less subject they are to their emotions. Simply put, the more inner peace, the more Christlike your attitude. But also, the more Buddhalike your attitude. If i understand properly, Buddha's teachings focused more on freeing oneself of desires and the emotions that accompany them in order to achieve this inner peace, whereas JC focused more on the feelings of love and compassion to achieve it.

I don't see any of these to be a conflict of interest.

~ed

yeah right. different way of saying it, but the same philosophy.

Anyone interested in connections between Christianity and Zen should check out some of the writings of Thomas Merton, particularly "Zen and the Birds of Appetite" and "Mystics and Zen Masters." Each book is a collection of Merton's essays, written in the 1950s and 1960s. Merton was a Catholic monk who spent a great deal of time studying Zen meditation. Rather than move him away from Christ, Merton found much in Zen that was similar to the ways monks and nuns have prayed and sought closer connections to God. As someone already said earlier in this topic, Zen is not itself a religion and nothing in Zen contradicts or negates Christian belief. Merton explains it all very well, I highly recommend his writings. Hope that helps.

Thanks NoOne (and everyone else). I've just put an Amazon order in for Merton's Zen and the Birds of Appetite. For any of the MA's that may have read them, I also ordered Wendy Williamson's Christian Martial Arts 101, and Michael Chen's Christianity and Martial Arts Power. If so, let me know your thoughts.

I have taken on a journey of discovery through practice of a meditation on violence through MA. If MA is tools for violence, and violence brings death (or a littlemeasure of it) for the sake of Christians, it must bring us to an awareness of our own mortality and foster humility.

Priest

www.atlantis.to

this book and site explain many thing I didn't know and brings together everything I knew before as one.

Hey I go to church and practice zen as well. I wouldn't think of anything wrong with the two. I also read in another topic that you are currently taking kobayashi shorin ryu. That is what i am currently taking, awsome.