The eschatology of the present moment

 

Said by another:-

I do not see the earth as an eternal place, just as a place where we bring the love and learn our lessons, before moving on. 

My response:-

Well, nothing is eternal except eternity itself. Things are always moving on. The problems seem to begin when we want them to stop, to hold onto the moment

William Blake:-

He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sun rise.

There is a fine dialogue between "east" and "west" (to use the terms loosely) in "Wisdom in Emptiness", the second section of Thomas Merton's book of essays "Zen and the Birds of Appetite".

It is between Merton himself, the Catholic Trappist monk, and the "zen man" D.T. Suzuki. 

They agree on many things (it is actually a dialogue concerning the "Fall" and of how we can regain Paradise) but part ways on the subject of eschatology.

Suzuki speaks of the "eschatology of the present moment", the eternal NOW, while Merton speaks of some sort of "beyond", of some final consumation in God's Kingdom when all things are handed over to the Son. One never knows with Merton (the anti-monk) as to whether or not he is paying lip service to the Catholic censors. I've stopped trying to guess. Anyone who dallies with young nurses must become suspect......

But whatever, in the past I have tended to side with Suzuki. But the 13th century zen master Dogen seems to offer some sort of reconciliation to the parting of the ways of Suzuki and Merton.

Dogen agrees that the present moment is the "only" moment, yet there is movement toward Buddha. 

But as I see it, this must in a sense be a movement of no-calculation (Japanese "hakarai") Our definitions and conclusions, our beliefs, can forestall the movement, and hold us in the past.

As is said in St Marks gospel, in one of the Parables of the Kingdom:-

The earth brings forth fruits of herself

We can set the sails but then we must wait for the wind to blow.

Who is in control? The spirit blows where it will. 

I rest in Faith rather than belief. Faith "lets go" in pure trust, Grace. Belief clings. Faith unites. Beliefs divide us. 

We need to let go and trust the river of change, or as one joker once said:- "Stand upon the firm ground of emptiness". Or, again, as per the Christian mystic St John of the Cross:-

If we wish to be sure of the road we walk on then we must close our eyes and walk in the dark

Whatever, I still look to Dogen at the moment. He had his own questions, his own Life Koan. In concise form:-

“If all sentient beings possess the buddha-nature and Tathagata exists without change - as enunciated in the Nirvana Sutra - then why must people develop the aspiration for awakening and vigorously engage in austerities in order to realize this truth?”

Later on in life he wrote himself:-

Fundamentally, the basis of the Way is thoroughly pervasive, so how could it be contingent on practice and realization? The vehicle of the ancestors is naturally unrestricted, then why should we expend sustained effort? Surely whole being is far beyond defilement, so who could believe in a method to cultivate it? Never is the Way apart from this very place, so what is the use of a journey to practice it? Yet, if there is a hair’s breadth of distinction between existence and training, this gap becomes as great as that between heaven and earth. Once the slightest sense of liking or disliking something arises, confusion reigns and one’s mind is hopelessly lost in delusion

If I were a Christian I would be a Universalist. Which would change a few words, of Dogen's Life Koan. i.e. If all are saved, what must we do to be saved? 

Well, I have waffled enough. I find myself in MacDonald's with a coffee and just start tapping on my Kindle. I find it therapeutic. And as others have observed, I'm fundamentally harmless.