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From: rsp@PacBell.COM (Steve Price)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: Re: Taoism
Message-ID: <14730@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 21 Mar 90 14:31:45 GMT
References: <14593@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Sender: mukund@phoenix.Princeton.EDU
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In article <14593@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> bridean@kentvax.kent.edu (Brian Dean) writes:
>
>  I practiced zen buddhism (with a mixture of Jodo Shinshu) for
>about three years, but I quit out of dissatisfaction.  I am now
>in the process of becoming an orthodox catholic although I still
>have great respect for the eastern traditions.  I would still like
>to learn more about the spirituality of the religion that I left
>along with other eastern religions under the understanding that
>I can no longer practice such traditions.  
>  How do you people react to this?

I'd like to know more about your "dissatisfaction."

My reaction:

(First a bit of personal background as context...)

I have read a lot on Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism in texts on comparative 
religions and in books by Suzuki, Christmas Humphreys, Alan Watts, etc.
I was raised as a Seventh-day Adventist (a strict Protestant group) and
taught English at SDA high schools and colleges until I was 30.  Then I
became an Episcopalian.  That was almost 9 years ago.  Since then I find
myself more and more drawn to a blend of "orthodox catholic" spirituality
and Buddhist insights.  My priest encourages me in this path.  In fact,
during Lent this year my parish is sponsoring a 5 week series of meetings
on the topic of eastern religious insights.  2 weeks ago we were lead in
Hindu hymns by a local Hindu devotee who has dedicated her life to the
Bahki Path (sorry if I spell incorrectly -- I'm not much of a speller
in English, forget about Sanskrit!).  Next week we will hear from a
Buddhist on Zen Medition.

What all this has done for me is to build a great respect for the insights
and brilliance of Eastern systems, while at the same time showing me that
the catholic tradition also contains pointers to the same values.  I am 
more than ever convinced that inspite of the very real differences between
us and our religious forms, we are ONE human family.  

I find that the prayers, liturgies, myths, rituals, and hymns of catholic
Christianity speaking deeply to me of the same sense of wonder and mystery
of Being that Zen, Tao and Hindu masters point to.  I think that each
Path is very mixed up in the traditions and cultures of the people in 
which the Traditions arose, and for me, I am glad that my spiritual yearnings
can be met by a spiritual tradition from my own culture (since I don't
really want to learn Sanskrit, Japanese, Indian or Chinese - or even Latin,
for that matter.)

-- 
Steve Price 		UNIX: pacbell!pbhyf!rsp		PHONE: (415)823-1951

...argument does not teach children or the immature. 
   Only time and experience does that.			Doris Lessing