Larry Jordan

Do we consider the other side of the story? Sometimes, we feel pretty strongly about our political and religious beliefs if we do not consider the legitimacy of other beliefs.

“Don’t believe everything you think.” Do we have good reasons for our beliefs? Sometimes, people make pretty strong statements without having objective evidence or subjective experience.

Everyone has beliefs, and beliefs are not inherently good or bad, in and of themselves. Beliefs can be problematic when we confuse our beliefs with facts or when we impose our beliefs on others.

In The Way, I suggest that we should hold our political and religious beliefs more loosely. 

I appeared on the Liminal Living podcast with Tom Rundel, a contemplative pastor and podcaster.

Recall that there are 45,000 Christian denominations, who almost never agree. Imagine that all 2.4 billion Christians agree that we should follow Jesus. What does it mean to follow Jesus?

Ramana Maharshi, a Hindu mystic, had the following exchange with a student:  “Q: How are we to treat others?  A: There are no others.”

What is the future of Christianity? Can Christianity be more experiential, more nuanced, and more respectful of science?

The benefits of exploring other traditions are numerous. So, it is helpful to understand both the similarities and the differences in religious beliefs and practices.

Zen is not concerned with prescription or speculation. Buddhism is mostly concerned with practice, not belief.

Dogen Zenji encourages us to remove the barrier between self and other.

Buddhism does not believe in a permanent, unchanging self. Of course, each of us has forms, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and awareness. 

Buddhism embraces a different worldview than most Western religions. Zen is experiential, not intellectual. 

Recently, I was a guest on three related podcasts hosted by my friend, Brian Allain.

 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way that we live and work. Increasingly, AI presents challenging questions about the nature of humanity and about the nature of the Universe itself.

Are visions hallucinations or transcendent experiences? Biologist J.B.S. Haldane said, “The Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.”

Do we honor Ultimate Reality in other traditions?

There are more than 45,000 forms of Christianity worldwide, and they disagree on the fundamentals. What beliefs are fundamental to Christianity?

Creation myths can illustrate the intersection of mythology, religion, and science. Do we interpret ancient religious texts as history or mythology?

The journey is the destination. Zen is more of a philosophy than a religion. It is more experiential than intellectual.