Letter to the editor
When I read the article “The I don’t know mind” in the May 17th Advance paper, I couldn’t help but see the directly opposing religious thought patterns between Zen Buddhism and Christianity. If not knowing is the mind of an ‘enlightened’ one, count me out. How can not knowing be most intimate as the author claims? Intimacy, according to the dictionary, requires one to have a familiar knowledge of a matter or person, that is, having thorough knowledge, well-acquainted. An empty mind is not a thinking mind.
In Christianity, one has to think about the things that God, through Jesus and His apostles, teaches us. He fills our mind with understanding when we meditate on His teachings. (Meditating does not mean emptying your mind as some religions teach, it means to engage in continuous and contemplative thought.)
Jesus promised to reveal Himself to those that would follow His teachings. That is when real intimacy happens. When one obeys His teaching He comes to live in us as Spirit. The joy of knowing Him personally is the greatest experience a human will ever have. An intimate, knowing relationship with God is real enlightenment. The Zen Buddhist is always searching for answers, but the Christian who has met Jesus in person has the proof of the statement Jesus made: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus also stated that none of us should be called master or teacher, He said that He alone is the teacher. Anyone, from the simplest man to the most educated, can access the mind of God through Jesus.
Sincerely,
Jim Chapman, Creston
