Chapter 35 - Following Two Paths

The Buddha's first sermon after his Enlightenment

centered on the Four Noble Truths. These Noble Truths, the foundation of Buddhism, are:
1. The truth of suffering (dukkha)
2. The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
3. The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)

Janet, a ten year old girl, asked her Sunday school teacher: “Why do we call the Friday before Easter Good Friday?” Considering what happened that day, it doesn't seem "very good".

Her teacher answered: Look at the crucifix. What do you

see? How does it make you feel? When you look at the cross, you see Jesus, loving you, like no other person ever has. It’s a love that surpasses any that we are able to give ourselves. It’s a love that humbles our heart, and gives us strength to bare all that comes our way. It’s a love that saves us, and brings us into relationship with God which leads us to eternal life. That’s why it is called Good Friday.

One of the principal differences between Christianity and the Eastern religions is found in the cross. Christians believe they have been saved through God’s intervention into their lives through Christ. To be a disciple of Christ, one has to pick up

their cross and follow Him. The action of being “saved” has nothing to do with oneself, but only with Grace that comes through faith, and the actions of Christ. God reaches down to fallen humanity, and through Grace, provides the means by which one is saved, which means; “to be made whole”. Through Grace, self-centeredness is transcended. Through the taking up of one’s cross in response to Grace, ego consciousness is transformed into Christ’s consciousness.

“Going a little farther, Jesus fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

In the Christian faith, God reaches down to fallen humanity. In the Eastern religions, disciplines and practices are used to discover that which already exists but is hidden from view; the Divine within. The main obstacle to seeing this "Divine

Presence" is the illusion of the self-constructed ego which gives the appearance of something existing which in fact does not exist, or at least, not in the way it is interpreted by the mind. The Eastern Religions acknowledge that the cross exists, but the path that frees one from the cross is different.

The truth of suffering (dukkha)
The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga) 

Where the Christian looks to Christ for the Grace of healing

 and forbearance, to surrender and accept all of life’s circumstances, the Buddhist follows the discipline of the path that leads to enlightenment, beyond ignorance and illusion, to

the truth that sets one free. Yoga, its discipline and practice, is referred to as the Royal Road to Freedom.

It’s not much wonder that the Kundalini experience is very confusing to Christian teaching, and to the Christian who has not experienced it. And for the Christian who has experienced Kundalini Rising, this phenomena can only be understood and integrated into ones life by referring to the rich traditions and teaching of the Eastern Religions.

The Christian, in order to remain faithful to Christ’s teachings, cannot abandon the rich symbol of the cross and what it

represents. Christian meditation, which is similar to the meditation connected with Yoga and Buddhism, is still a prayer of surrender to the Christ who dwells within, and a surrender to Grace which sustains and transforms. This is part of the long-standing tradition of the Christian Church as evidenced by John Cassian and the early fathers and mothers Christian monastic communities.

Yet the Christian who has experienced Kundalini must admit that within the human person there is an energy lying at the base of the spine that, when mobilized, has the ability to

renovate and restore the subtle body to bring about a spiritual transformation that will dismantle the ego and its illusions, and place one in the presence of the Divine. And there are practices that enhance the movement of this energy enabling it to accelerate its transforming activity of raising consciousness to higher levels towards Divine Union and experiences of monism. 

The Christian experience of surrendering to Christ by Grace through the power of the Holy Spirit has similarities in results, but certainly not in approach. Unlike Kundalini, Christianity also discourages one from moving into the monistic worldview which it views as heretical.

“Where Christian dualistic philosophy distinguishes

between body and soul, matter and spirit, object and subject, matter and force, the system which denies such a distinction, reduces one term of the antithesis to the other, or merges both in a higher unity, is called Monism. This is not acceptable to Christian Thinking and Teaching.” 

I remain a Christian with the Kundalini rising experience benefiting greatly from two paths which seem to lead to the same summit.