Zen Gnosticism -- An Introduction

Daoism is What

Buddhism is How

Gnosticism is Why

 

Starting about five years ago I returned to the spiritual quests of my youth, focusing primarily on Transcendental Meditation.  I learned TM in 1973 and have practiced sporadically ever since, but got serious about it after I moved to the mountains in western Maryland.  TM led me to study paths not included in my solid Episcopal upbringing.

 

I read the Gnostic Gospels and compared their message to that of Lao Tzu, Cheung Tze and Buddha.  I learned more about being a true Christian from these Asian masters than I had ever garnered from the standard Biblical texts.   In musing on the value of ancient knowledge I had to acknowledge that we have no guarantee that any ancient text is valid.  All have been translated, edited, re-translated, compiled, re-translated over the past 2500 years.  The Bible may be most untrustworthy of all the ancient texts, mostly because the texts have been declared sacred and not to be questioned -- ever.

 

But not so sacred that the texts can not again be translated, edited, re-translated, compiled, 

re-translated and published yet again.  

 

That is when I realized that I simply no longer accepted anything of European-based  Christianity after the Council of Nicea (325 CE).   While I believe there are some ancient clues in the Bible, I find that there is similar knowledge in all the other ancient works, from Gilgamesh to the Bhagavad Gita.  No single human civilization or culture has a monopoly on Truth.  I believe every form of faith serves a purpose and is part of the greater whole.

 

Just as everyone has their own view of god so does each person have their own spiritual path.  In the hedge maze each must find their own way.  Of course, they can follow the crowd, but each choice at each turning is made by the individual alone.  Be careful whose guidance you accept on your journey.   

            

 

This is an evolving belief system, subject to change as with everything in this transitory life.   I invite anyone who finds this idea interesting to text me.