Attentiveness

For those who practice forms of meditation and contemplative prayer, there is always a question lurking in the background for those whose prayer is directed towards God and those whose practice is centred on the cultivation of mindfulness. The question is whether the theist and the non-theist are 'doing the same thing' when they meditate. Bonnie Thurston, in her excellent primer on prayer, 'For God Alone', describes prayer as 'the attentiveness to God's presence that restores God's original image in and intention for us'. It seems clear that Christian prayer is directed towards God. Indeed, it is nothing less than the complete reorientation of our lives towards God, the Giver of life. Prayer is not so much an activity as a disposition - a disposition of love towards the One who is love.

Many Christians value very highly the simple, human practices of mindfulness and meditation that derive, in part, from Buddhist practice. These practices are very similar to ancient Christian traditions such as the 'prayer of the heart' in Orthodox tradition and to the practices advocated in the Cloud of Unknowing. They are often described as preparatory to prayer or, if done with a 'naked intent reaching out towards God', can lead to Christian contemplation. For a long time in Christian mystical theology, there has been a distinction made between acquired and infused contemplation - the former being a 'natural' practice that we can undertake through a simple spiritual discipline, the latter being a gift from God of loving union. But I am not sure how helpful all of these distinctions are. We are, after all, talking about a deep mystery that has the character of a relationship rather than a programme. And for the one whose attentiveness is directed Godward, all is grace, all is gift.

I think a few things are relatively clear to me: Buddhist meditation is that undertaken by those who identify with Buddhist life and teaching, and who live in the spirit of Shakyamuni, the Buddha; Christian meditation is that undertaken by those who identify with Christian life and teaching, who live in the Spirit of Jesus. The understanding of what is going on for these two groups will differ to some extent, but the practice will look very similar. For example, the Buddhist meditator will often describe a deep sense of gratitude that comes from the practice of meditation, as will the Christian though the latter will describe that gratitude in terms of divine gift.

It would be disrespectful to say that the Buddhist is really praying to God without knowing it and it would be equally disrespectful to say that the non-religious pratitioner of meditation is doing the same. But Buddhist and Christian alike might say to the non-religious meditator that they might find their practice enriched if they were to locate it within the context of a particular religious tradition and community. At the same time, the non-religious meditator might offer some very reasonable challenges to the religious practitioner who has got hung up on finer points of doctrine at the expense of simply being human. All three groups have much to learn from each other and I suspect that this happens best when we recognise the differences in what we are doing as much as the common features of our practice and outlook. None of this, however, should prevent us from meditating together. Indeed, I would hope that this is a place where people of differing religious outlooks can do something together and share their experiences respectfully and creatively.