Syncretic Religion II: There's Zen, and Then There's Zen

Ann Holmes Redding is -- well, was -- an ordained Episcopal priest who announced two years ago that she also is a Muslim. This week the Rev. Redding was informed by Bishop Geralyn Wolf that she was defrocked. The couple of news stories I've seen about Redding draw parallels with the situation of Kevin Thew Forrester, the bishop-elect who does Zen meditation. But is it really?

Most denominations of Christianity define themselves by doctrine. I believe contemporary Episcopalianism defines itself in large part by the doctrines expressed in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, for example, which provide a specific view of the nature of Jesus as a "person" of the Trinitarian God. I understand that someone who has a role in leading and teaching the faith would be required to accept and teach that view. Islam has a different understanding of Jesus, so one could see there's a conflict

On the other hand, Zen practiced at a "gedo" level is unconnected to doctrine, Buddhist or otherwise. Zazen is not a meditation on text or doctrine, which is a point I think many of the Rev. Forrester's critics don't understand.

The critics persist in calling Forrester the "Buddhist bishop," and while the views expressed in his writing may or may not reflect orthodox Anglicanism -- not my call -- they aren't Buddhist, either, except at about the level of Buddhism one might pick up from watching "Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth" five or six times.

His [Forrester's] own spirituality is drawn largely from the contemplative tradition of the Cappadocian Fathers as in the writings of Ekhart and Julian of Norwich. 'They all have this deep ability to sit silent in the presence of God who sustains our existence with the breadth of His love. The contemplative tradition is rich in Christianity.'

That says a lot to me. I suspect Forrester is more influenced by the medieval mystics than by Buddhism. But it appears the Rev. Forrester did receive jukai, Zen lay ordination, which normally suggests a commitment to Zen above a "gedo" level and on a genuinely Buddhist level. I want to address this in more detail in a future post.