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by Carlos O. Santacruz (Author)
The Zen of Jesus Christ (from the Foreword): 'Jesus was the first Zen master of the west. His teachings as revealed through the writings of the Gospel of Thomas show ample evidence of this. The parallel elements and points of similarity be-tween Jesus' sayings in this context and those of zen Buddhism in general are more than notable, they are remarkable, almost incredible. Clearly they are using different terms, but when one realizes that, for example, the Kingdom of the father is formally equivalent to the way of the Tao, it is obvious that they are referring to the same thing. Of utmost interest and import is not only what Jesus says in these writings, but also what he is not saying. Throughout the 114 sayings, Jesus does not speak about faith. He does not talk about beliefs. Jesus makes no reference to eternal life, except in the present moment; he does not speak about salvation nor talk about the resurrection. Jesus does not present himself as an object of adoration. The emphasis of his sayings is, quite simply, how to open your eyes and see, how to recognize and accept the present moment, how to stand up on your own two feet and how to be. If these things seem too simple or subtle, it may be because doing these things properly is apparently amongst the most difficult things to achieve in the world. Maybe we here in the West have forgotten how to look within. Maybe we never learned how to do it correctly. Maybe we have forgotten, with our rat race lives, running ever faster to every destination for what we know not why, the obsession of the cell phone stuck to the ear and the sickness of consumerism, blindly obtaining more and more money or material things without end. If these things truly made us happy and fulfilled, we would not see so much sadness, depression, anxiety, drug abuse, desperation and violence as we do amongst the general population. It is a huge irony that despite living in the midst of the greatest resources, with all the material benefits, conveniences and riches afforded to us by our 'modern industrial civilization', many still find themselves feeling incomplete, restless, anxious, confused and not exactly happy in our lives. In this sphere, zen may be able to come to our aide, not only to better understand the sayings of Jesus but also to learn something of Buddhism as well, because what zen represents is something so urgently needed in our society today. Perhaps it is the cultivation of our mindfulness in order to better recognize the difference between quality and quantity, and to help us develop the power to increase the positive while diminishing the negative in our busy lives. Perhaps it is the real possibility of discovering Jesus' Kingdom of Heaven in the very center of the Tao, in the here and now.
