This story comes to us via the famous Buddhist monk and author Thich Nhat Hanh. Finding Our True Home is a translation of the Amitabha Sutra, as well as an accessible commentary and introduction to the Pure Land school of Buddhism.
"Within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, there are also many different schools each with their own teaching & practice. And within these schools there are various forms of practice. When we learn about the three levels of practice in regard to the Pure Land school of Buddhism we can naturally apply this way of looking to other faiths.
In our community perhaps there are those who hold the belief that the Kingdom of God is only available after we have passed away. If we practice sincerely and do good deeds in this life, then we will reap the benefits sometime in the future after we have died. This is similar to the lowest level of practice in Pure Land Buddhism. Others offer devotional prayers and do good deeds to cultivate their wholesomeness; they are going in the direction of realizing paradise here on earth. This is the middle level of practice. Other members of our congregation realize that the Kingdom of God is a living reality to be experienced right here and now. In fact, they are aware of living every moment firmly established in the Kingdom of God. This is the highest level of practice....
Yet even if we feel we are in the highest level of practice we should not be so sure of ourselves. We should not be caught in the ideas of a higher or a lower path of practice.... Making offerings, chanting the name of the Buddha and holy beings, prayer and meditation are all forms of devotion which help us to cultivate our humility and our constant awareness of dwelling in the Pure Land, of living in the presence of God."
Joe,
With regard to the comparison to the Abrahamic faiths:
Other members of our congregation realize that the Kingdom of God is a living reality to be experienced right here and now.
Consider though this famous caution: Don’t immanentize the eschaton.
Discuss.
>>Other members of our congregation realize that the Kingdom of God is a living reality to be experienced right here and now.
This is in many ways a definitional statement. God is defined to be "the creator of the Universe" and the Universe is defined to be "all that exists." Hence the Kingdom of God, if it exists, must be part (or all) of the Universe.
>>In sum, to immanentize the eschaton is to assume wrongly that ultimate reality, of which God is the final measure, is instead some form of this-world reality, of which man is presumed to be the final measure.
Does "ultimate reality" exist? If so, it is part of the Universe. Attempts to separate the Universe into a "physical" and "spiritual" Universe don't make sense. Either the spiritual and the physical are connected, in which case there's just one Universe, or they aren't connected, in which case talking about one from the standpoint of the other is ridiculous.
The notion that man is the final measure of physical reality is quite humorous, as any astronomer worth his salt understands. Empiricism is quite humbling, especially once one understands that the totality of human experience comprises exactly zero percent of the physical Universe.
Lewy,
Ah, but that is not what Thich Nhat Hanh is referring to here. Or the Buddhists, Sufis, and Jewish Kabbalists/Hasidim who speak in very similar terms (can't speak to any Christian sects like this, though there may be some).
What the Sufis and Hasidim mean when they use similar language is that it is possible to have a direct experience of the divine in this life, leading to a form of union, and that a diligent program of prayer, exercises and a sincere soul can get some people there. Remember Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj and his famous declaration? Or Rumi?
These people do not necessarily assume that G-d is bounded by this world, still less do they have a utopian (which mst ultimately translate as "murderous") political program of the type Buckley cautioned against. Note that even at the Second Level of Practice, "going in the direction of bringing Paradise on Earth" is not the same thing as "seeking to create Paradise in Earth," a common and very dangerous form of confusion.
Rather, these disparate sects simply believe that whatever the nature of ultimate reality and/or the Divine Source may be, it can be apprehended in a direct and spiritual way by human beings who are of the world but not trapped in it. Sufis speak of the annihilation of the self, Buddhists of the collapse of subject/object distinctions and the world of "One Taste." Etc.
Note, also, that achieving this state does not create a claim of personal divinity, just as closing a circuit and turning on a light bulb doesn't make the bulb a producer of electricity.
(from Lewy's link:)
"It is to assume wrongly that human aspiration and destiny are coterminous with the natural world. It is to assume wrongly that metaphysical questions, which are life’s core questions, either do not exist at all, or can be rationally investigated only through the methods of physics, which in practice tends to be another way of defining such questions as unanswerable and therefore irrelevant. In sum, to immanentize the eschaton is to assume wrongly that ultimate reality, of which God is the final measure, is instead some form of this-world reality, of which man is presumed to be the final measure."
Joe,
Perfect. Thanks.
What set me off was the sentence I first highligted ("Other members of our congregation realize that the Kingdom of God is a living reality to be experienced right here and now."). While there are enough words surrounding this sentence to put it in proper context, it doesn't stand alone too well. Perhaps I'm overly sensitized to texts which can be misread.
Perhaps also the phrase "immanentize the eschaton" is imprecise in that it doesn't adequately comprehend mystical and non-dualistic faiths and practices. My own formulation is this:
To reason from eschatological certainty is to fall into hell.
I think that works across the board. Here's what I mean in a concrete, illustrative dialog:
I aspire to experience ultimate truth.
Excellent.
I've experienced ultimate truth!
Awsome! Right on.
Therefore...
[roar of hellfire, stench of brimstone, The End].
what about atoms?
how come buddhists never talk about atoms?
i mean thats what makes up everything...