Hesychasm

[Francis Earl]

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips! Psalms 141:3

Keep quiet or try.

This is sorta flawed... it isn't about outward silence, that gives a wrong tone... it becomes too prone to escapism which is about as far from love as you can get.

It is about inner silence, you can still engage fully with the world and remain silent internally.

This is actually probably why hesychasm is perceived as only for the few... but you can engage directly for as little as 20-30 mins every morning and try to carry it into your day, leaving briefly to practice again when you feel its effects of peace and love wearing away... eventually not even this will be necessary.

It isn't a burden, and it isn't against life... it is really our true state beyond societal influences.

You just have to remember it.

It is quite like a child prior to being told they're wrong for being who they are.

A child isn't plotting for success, they're enjoying life.

Matthew 18:3

 

[ArmyMatt]

if you want a great modern example, look up St Joseph the hesychast.

 

[Justin-H.S.]

This is sorta flawed... it isn't about outward silence, that gives a wrong tone... it becomes too prone to escapism which is about as far from love as you can get.

It is about inner silence, you can still engage fully with the world and remain silent internally.

This is actually probably why hesychasm is perceived as only for the few... but you can engage directly for as little as 20-30 mins every morning and try to carry it into your day, leaving briefly to practice again when you feel its effects of peace and love wearing away... eventually not even this will be necessary.

It isn't a burden, and it isn't against life... it is really our true state beyond societal influences.

You just have to remember it.

It is quite like a child prior to being told they're wrong for being who they are.

A child isn't plotting for success, they're enjoying life.

Matthew 18:3

I agree with external and internal quietude.

 

[SalemOrthodox]

Francis, are you "mike" on another Orthodox forum? I don't know if stream-of consciousness against the sub-forum of Orthodox faith is allowed here.

This is a nice article from an Orthodox Christian, who grew up Roman Catholic, dived into meditation, Buddhism, the streets of India, drugs, divination, and came to Orthodoxy. This touches on the 'mantra' portion and whether they are 'similar.' They are not, at all.

I am not trying to sound rude, but this 'mystic' blending is dangerous.

http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/yoga-and-orthodoxy.pdf
But I studied and practiced Kundalini Yoga and shamanism, learning the presence of fear and coldness.3 I grew a reputation for reading the tarot, an occult method of divination.

I taught yoga and instructed groups through guided meditations and chanting in sage deserts. We experimented with astral projection – guided out-of-body experiences through the bardos described in the Tibetan books.

"Separated from God Who is the source of Life," writes Archimandrite Zacharias in his book Hidden Man of the Heart, "man can only withdraw into himself.... Gradually he is left desolate and dissolute."

Buddhism rejects the self, the soul, and the person. It folds its arms in silence against God. Suffering is never transfigured. There are crosses in Buddhism but there is never resurrection.

One could say that Buddhism finds the empty tomb and declares this emptiness the natural state of things, even the goal.

In Buddhism everything - heaven, hell, God, the self, the soul, the person - is an illusion waiting to be overcome, discarded, destroyed. This is the goal. Total obliteration. In this 9th-century axiom, the essence of Buddhism is summed: 'If you see the Buddha, kill him.'

Buddhism does not profess to - nor can it - heal soul and body. Both soul and body are to be overcome and discarded. In the Orthodox Church, however, the soul and body are meant to be healed. Buddhism teaches that nothing has intrinsic value. The Church teaches that everything God makes has intrinsic value.This includes the human body. We are complex beings. The actions of our body, mind and soul are linked. And these linked actions are directly related to our relationship with God and the spiritual realm.

 

[Hermit76]

In my opinion this thread has taken a dangerous turn. I sought out connections to Hesychasm and Buddhism some time back. What I found was that to approach anything sacred in the Name of Jesus with a conscious nod to the profane is to open oneself to deception and potential damnation. Christianity is not a reactionary life. It does not develop in response to the metaphysic explorations of mankind. It is given by the Creator God through His Church for the benefit of mankind. Equipped with this truth we are not to seek connections, similarities, or supposed paths. The most successful Orthodox Christians are those who approach the delivered faith as peasant believers. There is absolutely nothing for us to discover spiritually that is not given by The Church. All other paths are irrelevant, deceptive, and perilous for those who belong to The True Church... really for anyone.

 

[bèlla]

if you want a great modern example, look up St Joseph the hesychast.

Fr. Matt,

Thank you for the recommendation. I hope you're well.

Yours in His Service,

~bella

 

[bèlla]

For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? —2 Corinthians 6:14-16

Syncretic practices deny the truth and mislead their practitioners. You can't blend light and dark and emerge in God's camp. It's a path to destruction. Buddhism and Christianity are spiritually incompatible. The doctrine of demons will never lead to God. Its the road to hell.

Yours in His Service,

~bella

 

[Jude1:3Contendforthefaith]

I had a mystical experience in my early twenties. I didn't understand what was taking place. Some call it K-active or the spontaneous activation of the kundalini. I wasn't conversant in Hinduism or Buddhism or practicing anything. I was praying a lot and going deeper spiritually. Call it an awakening if you will.

Moving from the natural to the spiritual was easy after the first occurrence. That hasn't changed. I have the gift of discerning of spirits and that's more involved. My experiences in contemplation, meditation and Lectio Divina weren't through an instructor. The Holy Spirit taught me. I didn't realize what I was doing until I attended a monastic weekend and they explained things.



Exposure to different traditions ignited supernatural and psychic experiences. I was having visions on occasion. I didn't realize what I'd gotten myself into. There came a point when the Lord intervened to prevent me from going further.

Yours in His Service,

~bella

Check out this book bella if you get a chance :

My God Parents recommended it to me. It might help you :

.

 

[bèlla]

Check out this book bella if you get a chance :

My God Parents recommended it to me. It might help you:

Jude,

Thank you for the suggestion. I appreciate it.

Yours in His Service,

~bella

 

[Jude1:3Contendforthefaith]

Jude,

Thank you for the suggestion. I appreciate it.

Yours in His Service,

~bella

You're welcome.


.

 

[Francis Earl]

For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? —2 Corinthians 6:14-16

Syncretic practices deny the truth and mislead their practitioners. You can't blend light and dark and emerge in God's camp. It's a path to destruction. Buddhism and Christianity are spiritually incompatible. The doctrine of demons will never lead to God. Its the road to hell.

Yours in His Service,

~bella

Romans 2:13-15

 

[F.E.A.R.]

@Francis Earl Hesychasm has nothing to do with meditation or eastern religions.

 

[bèlla]

Romans 2:13-15

You are making a concerted effort to compare Buddhist and Christian practices. What is driving your fervor?

Yours in His Service,

~bella

 

[ArmyMatt]

Fr. Matt,

Thank you for the recommendation. I hope you're well.

Yours in His Service,

~bella

thanks, you too!

 

[ArmyMatt]

In my opinion this thread has taken a dangerous turn. I sought out connections to Hesychasm and Buddhism some time back. What I found was that to approach anything sacred in the Name of Jesus with a conscious nod to the profane is to open oneself to deception and potential damnation. Christianity is not a reactionary life. It does not develop in response to the metaphysic explorations of mankind. It is given by the Creator God through His Church for the benefit of mankind. Equipped with this truth we are not to seek connections, similarities, or supposed paths. The most successful Orthodox Christians are those who approach the delivered faith as peasant believers. There is absolutely nothing for us to discover spiritually that is not given by The Church. All other paths are irrelevant, deceptive, and perilous for those who belong to The True Church... really for anyone.

amen, folks should read the life of Fr Seraphim Rose to get a picture of Eastern religions and their errors.

 

[ArmyMatt]

double post

 

[Justin-H.S.]

 

[Francis Earl]

You are making a concerted effort to compare Buddhist and Christian practices. What is driving your fervor?

Yours in His Service,

~bella

I know them to be saying the same thing, I think it is impossible to have peace in our world while insisting something untrue...

Every mystic of every tradition comes to the same reality. It is not just Buddhism and Christianity, it is Hinduism, Sufism, Sikhism, Taoism... I have not found one that contradicts entirely, although each have branches that don't uphold oneness.

The thing is, what actually relates each is their version of hesychasm... it is obviously unlikely to have a different outcome if you're practicing essentially the same technique... and this is what you see.

I honestly thought, based on other posts on these forums from you, that you'd be more open minded. I wouldn't have brought it up at all if I knew you'd be as dogmatic and closed as most Christians.

Again, I have studied each for a long time, dedicated my life to this and gone through many experiences based on these techniques... at this point I cannot tell the difference except on things that don't matter.

For instance, cultural things like morality, there is a huge difference, but I don't think any modern person actually takes their morality from scripture anyway. Indeed, it is illegal in most of the world to comply with either Deuteronomy and Leviticus or Manusmirti... so for me it is more important to learn what is being pointed to rather than figuring out all the ways we ought to be killing each other.

 

[Francis Earl]

@Francis Earl Hesychasm has nothing to do with meditation or eastern religions.

The cutting off of the senses and going into the heart is 100% meditative.

I think people are disputing based on ignorance of other traditions and this isn't useful.

 

[Francis Earl]

I want to tell people that it is 100% sure no religion existed in a vacuum...

We see this clearly in the OT... prior to the Babylonian exile we see assertions like Isaiah 45:7 where God is responsible for everything. Yet, in the Zoroastrian religion, they have Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu... which became the paradigm in Abrahamic traditions of God vs Satan. We also see end times predictions as a significant feature after where there is nothing prior... so it is clear religion shifts.

Of course, Logos comes wholly from the Stoics and is impossible to understand without their use of the term. The wine miracle also harkens to Dionysus and there are many other cues the original Bible readers would have understood as linking to other mysteries... we even see Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:22 seem to affirm this, while a lot of the teachings like the Kingdom is within of Luke 17:21 etc comes directly from the Egyptian.