Putting aside what you think you know about Christianity and Christ's teachings, and reading the gospels again as if for the first time, Jesus emerges as a profound wisdom teacher, whose teachings had a lot in common with those of Buddha. This book explores Christ's teachings on non-duality and his guidance on how to reach unity, oneness with God through what he called metanoia (going beyond, meta, thought, noia) through kenoisis (self-emptying). What emerges is a strong connection between Christ's teachings and Buddhism that reveals Jesus was clearly familiar with Buddhist teachings. By viewing Christ's teachings through the lens of Zen, common themes emerge that enable the author to recreate what Christ called "The Way." Christ's Way is reconstructed as a practical guide to waking up to your true self, to your Christ Nature, just as the mystics and Zen masters have described. The author reviews what we know about Buddhism in the middle east at the time of Christ, the influence of Greek philosophy on Christ's teachings and the long history of Greek Buddhists that pre-dates Christ. He also considers The Gospel of Thomas as being a rich source of Christ's teachings, the earliest version of which may pre-date the gospels or the writings of Paul. This book explores the deep truths of Christ teachings, hidden in plain sight, showing how when misconceptions about his teachings are removed what emerges is a whole new view of Christianity for the 21st Century: Christ as wisdom teacher, Christ as a teacher of non-dual awareness, and as a guide to living fully in the present moment.

A new view of Jesus as a Buddha-like wisdom teacher who taught the transformation of consciousness—with traditional contemplative practices you can do yourself If you put aside what you think you know about Jesus and approach the Gospels as though for the first time, something remarkable happens: Jesus emerges as a teacher of the transformation of consciousness. The Wisdom Jesus provides a new perspective on Christ and an expansive interpretation of His message. Cynthia Bourgeault creates a masterful guide to Jesus's vision and the traditional contemplative practices you can use to experience the heart of his teachings for yourself.

Zen and the Gospel of Thomas illuminates sacred, mysterious wisdom from two traditions, revealing how these profound teachings apply to our everyday life and spiritual practice. Imagine that the Buddha asked Jesus to write a text for a Zen audience that would explain his take on the mysteries of his Kingdom. Imagine also that Jesus chose to present it in a set of short koanlike sayings similar to the classic koan collections of the Zen tradition. This is, in essence, the gnostic Gospel of Thomas. A Zen reading of Thomas allows us to access the living Jesus through Buddhist eyes so we can add to and refine our own practice with his wisdom. Likewise, Thomas can be a gateway for Christians to make use of Zen. Like the Buddha, this Jesus of Thomas wishes us to realize, individually and personally, the truth of the eternal. He offers teachings for the whole of our lives, dealing with such topics as: the proper use of money; how to foster wisdom and insight; the nature of awakening and non-attachment; love and judgment; how to rest in the essential; and the nature of what it means to be an enlightened person. Like koans, the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas ask each of us to discover the same secrets of mystery that Jesus himself discovered and to live out that knowledge in our own unique way.

What is Zen? What can Christians learn from Zen Buddhism? In Way of Zen, Way of Christ an Anglican priest shares some fruits of his 30 year journey with Zen and the practice of sitting meditation, in particular a conviction that the Zen “koans” and stories can help us hear the teachings of Jesus in a new way.

This groundbreaking book successfully fuses the two overlapping traditions of Zen Buddhism and Christianity. Very few Christians who are interested in Zen Buddhism understand the fundamentals of the religion itself. Most of the books which are available on Zen are superficial and fraught with caricatures and erroneous generalizations - concentrating more on meditation than on the real essence of Zen. Now the Christian who has been waiting for a clear and thorough explanation of Zen in terms he can understand has been provided with Zen Way--Jesus Way--a unique inside look at Christianity and Zen Buddhism by Dr. Tucker N. Callaway, a committed Christian missionary who for twenty years has practiced zazen in Japanese temples in an effort to reach the heart of the faith. Calloway has a knack for making philosophical concepts clear to the general reader and begins Zen Way--Jesus Way by presenting the fundamental presuppositions of Zen and several of the concepts which are logically deduced from them. Next he relates some of his experiences in Buddhist temples, while explaining the practical applications of Zen philosophy. Finally he interprets the Jesus Way in a manner that makes possible a genuine comparison with the Zen way.

"[Thich Nhat Hanh] shows us the connection between personal, inner peace and peace on earth." --His Holiness The Dalai Lama Nominated by Martin Luther King, Jr. for a Nobel Peace Prize, Thich Nhat Hanh is one of today’s leading sources of wisdom, peace, compassion and comfort. Exiled from Vietnam over thirty years ago, Thich Nhat Hanh has become known as a healer of the heart, a monk who shows us how the everyday world can both enrich and endanger our spiritual lives. In this book, Jesus and Buddha share a conversation about prayer and ritual and renewal, and about where such concepts as resurrection and the practice of mindfulness converge. In this unique way, Thich Nhat Hanh shows the brotherhood between Jesus and Buddha-- and in the process shows how we can take their wisdom into the world with us, to "practice in such a way that Buddha is born every moment of our daily life, that Jesus Christ is born every moment of our daily life."

This edited collection explores the work of highly awarded and twice American Poet Laureate W. S. Merwin. Spanning Merwin’s early career, his mid-career success, his Hawaiian epic, his eco-poetry, his lesser-known later poetry and the influence of Buddhism on his work, the volume offers new perspectives on Merwin as a major poet. Exploring his works across the twentieth and twenty-first century, this collection presents Merwin as a necessary and contemporary poet. It emphasizes contemporary readings of Merwin as an environmental advocate, showing how his poetry seeks to help each reader re-establish an intimate relationship with the natural world. It also highlights how Merwin’s work presents our place in history as a pivotal moment of transition into a new era of international cooperation. This volume both celebrates his life and writing and takes scholarship on his work forward into the new century.