In many cases, the technical language used by different religions to describe insights, doctrines or principles can be a major obstacle to clear understanding. Words that may appear to mean the same thing in different traditions can, in fact, mislead us - faux amis. One example of this is the Buddhist concept of 'nothingness' which can sound rather like an expression of existential absurdity to the Western hearer but actually denotes something of much more complex subtlety to do with the nature of what we observe. There are, however, some more simple metaphors that do travel well across religious traditions and I think parables are one such category of metaphor.
I say this partly because I recently came across one very simple example. In the three year lectionary, the last two Sundays have given us parables of the Kingdom which have seeds as the main metaphor. In fact, there are even more Matthean parables with seeds than the lectionary has given us but the compilers have exercised a bit of restraint. The two we have had in the last couple of weeks are the parable of the sower and the parable of the weeds. They are unique in being accompanied by allegorical interpretations, which many scholars take to be later additions to Jesus' original teaching. Whether or not this is so, the cluster of meanings around these stories is concerned with the unevenness of growth in the spiritual life, the problem of discerning good seed from bad and the promise of an abundant yeild from good seed sowed on fertile soil. It doesn't take much imagination to use these images as a springboard for reflecting on the nature of our inner growth and spiritual discernment: what is the nature of this seed? how does it become implanted in me? what must we do to nurture it? how do we live with the mixture of good and bad seed within us? what are the barriers to growth? when is the harvest realised? These simple stories are surprisingly powerful religious tools. They are literally inexhaustible and that is why we continue to read them and learn from them through meditative reading, communal discernment, an understanding of their interpretive history and a commitment to engaged, contemporary application.
Other religious traditions also use this form of teaching and, in some cases, even the metaphors are held in common. In Buddhism, there are many metaphors and similes in the teaching of the monk Nagasena in the Milindapanha which have parallels in the gospels - reaping grain, the invisible wind, armies sent to war - and the intended meanings of these images are not that far from those in the gospels. Another, more direct analogy is in the use of the image of seeds as a way of understanding the first step of the noble eightfold path- right view. Thich Nhat Hanh, in his practical and accessible introduction to Buddhist thought, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, talks about the 'seeds' of wholesome or unwholesome behaviour that are already within us. Through mindfulness, we can observe the way we find ourselves reacting to certain situations and, as our awareness grows, we can know which seeds to nurture and which ones to avoid. This is based on a particular view of the structure of consciousness in one major strand of Buddhist thinking (Yogacara) but I think there is an insight here that seems right intuitively. To develop the parable of the wheat and the weeds a bit, this teaching suggests that we should not be too concerned about the origins of the mixed seed within us, but that we can learn to nurture the good seed by the steady, regular practice of mindful awareness or, to use a traditional Christian term which means much the same, examination of conscience. All we must do is see clearly - or, as Jesus might say, if we have ears to hear, let us listen.
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