The Watchful Gate

From a Usenet Posting that keeps making the rounds:

From: John Simmons <...@strannik.com>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.christian.east-orthodox
Subject: Re: Buddhist Converts
Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2001 11:23:13 -0700
Organization: The ISP formerly known as Best


I am one of at least 8 people that I know that have become Orthodox
Christians after having been Tibetan (usually Nyingmapa) or Zen
Buddhists.  There is a good possibility that there will soon be a book
with the stories of such people, and how their conversion took place.  I
can offer you a few sample perceptions that I have developed on the way as
to why Orthodox Christianity makes sense to Buddhists:

* Buddhism has always been primarily monastic and ascetic in nature, with
  an emphasis on spiritual practice and development more than just mental
  assent to a list of truths.  There is an organic unity between
  understanding of precepts and the quality of practice in Buddhism that
  serves well when learning about Orthodoxy.
* Buddhism has always had some form of "Iconography".
* Buddhists venerate the lives of ascetics, relics and "saints".
* Buddhists (at least the Tibetans) have highly complex and developed
  forms of liturgical practice, including chanting, incense, etc.
  (e.g. they aren't intimidated by the typicon :-))
* Buddhists understand that it is wise not to live for the present life,
  but to struggle for the future one.
* Buddhists understand the value of dispassion and mental stillness.
* Americans who become Buddhists usually are fervent spiritual seekers,
  who get used to struggling with foreign languages and cultures, and
  pushing themselves outside of their "comfort zone" in order to imbibe a
  deeper spiritual life.
* Buddhists are already used to the idea that fervently seeking spiritual
  growth will cause pain in the legs :-) :-).

Now as to why someone moves from Buddhism to Orthodoxy - everyone's story
is different - some are miraculous - some are frightening - some are
fairly ordinary.  But a common denominator seems to be that; if a person
has even the smallest history of knowledge of Christ before becoming a
Buddhist, then even the smallest of such impressions, even from early
childhood, will cause a Buddhist to reach a point beyond which they cannot
grow as a Buddhist.  There are Buddhist practices which serve to "open the
heart".  Such a practice will often not work for one whose heart has been
visited even briefly by Christ - their heart will open only for Him.  More
than one Buddhist has caught himself chanting a mantra that he or she had
previously chanted over 100,000 times, that somehow, one day turns into
"Lord have mercy".  And He does have mercy!

Fr. Seraphim Rose, also a convert from Buddhism to Orthodox Christianity,
said of Buddhism, "It's fine as far as it goes, but it does not go far
enough".

In Christ,

John