On Saturday, October 19, 2024, the USCCA Book Circle gathered to discuss Thomas Merton’s essay “A Christian Looks at Zen,” written as the Introduction to John C. H. Wu’s book The Golden Age of Zen. New and familiar faces from different locations around the world found fertile ground for discussion of comparisons between Zen Buddhism and the Catholic Christianity espoused by Wu and Merton.
Much of our discussion followed from Wu’s and Merton’s observations on the complementary nature of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions:
The supernatural kerygma and the metaphysical intuition of the ground of being are far from being incompatible. One may be said to prepare the way for the other. They can well complement each other, and for this reason Zen is perfectly compatible with Christian mysticism. (p. 12)
Here, Merton challenges the notion of Zen as a “rival system of thought,” or as a “competing ideology” (p. 3).
Indeed, as participants discussed Merton’s essay, some shared the ways in which their own understanding of the Catholic faith has been enhanced by Zen Buddhism’s high valuation of personal experience; whereas Western Christianity sometimes emphasizes words and thoughts to the detriment of spiritual experience, Zen can help us appreciate mystical experiences associated with the Eucharist, or experiences such as those recounted by Thérèse of Lisieux.
Participants also drew compelling connections between today’s reading and other sources of spiritual wisdom. One participant, for example, observed how Zen can make sense of the flow state necessary to make beautiful art, such as the landscape paintings discussed in last week’s Book Circle reading. Other participants noted connections with topics ranging from the day’s liturgy (Paul’s letter to the Ephesians—“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”) to the spiritual insights of Barbara Holmes, John Vervaeke’s discussions on the meaning crisis, and a recent Word on Fire article about John C. H. Wu.
In a world where screens and devices are constant sources of potential distraction, Zen Buddhism challenges us to “pay attention, to become aware, to be mindful, in other words to develop a certain kind of consciousness that is above and beyond deception by verbal formulas” (p. 5). Perhaps, when we do so, we will learn something of the wisdom of the Buddhist patriarchs, deepening our relationship with Catholicism in the same breath.
The next Book Circle discussion will be held on November 16, 2024, at 7 am PT / 8 am MT / 9 am CT / 10 am ET / 11 pm China Standard Time. Please sign up for updates if you are interested in participating in the USCCA Book Circle.
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