"When you think about the goings-on inside an average church, you might envision a sermon, a reading from the Bible or a song or two. Something that's less expected would be, for instance, a guided group meditation - and yet meditation has been showing up in a growing number of religious contexts where you might not expect it. That, at least, is one of the big takeaways from a recent Associated Press investigation by Luis Andres Henao and Deepa Bharath."
"As Henao and Bharath point out, "Christian, Jewish and other religious congregations across America" are making use of practices more commonly associated with "Buddhism and Hinduism" - including meditation. In some cases, the AP reports, this is done as part of an interfaith effort across religious lines; in others, it involves revisiting centuries-old (or older) traditions for a new generation."
"There's plenty of tradition for this. Within Christianity alone, works like The Cloud of Unknowing describe a sacred practice that sounds more similar to meditation than one might expect from a medieval Christian manuscript. The Catholic monk and writer Thomas Merton, meanwhile, sought to create a dialogue between his own faith and Buddhism. (There's a reason a collection of Merton's translations of the philosopher Chuang Tzu has an introduction by the Dalai Lama.)"
Meditation and practices commonly associated with Buddhism and Hinduism are appearing within Christian, Jewish, and other religious congregations across America. Some congregations adopt these practices through interfaith cooperation, while others revive long-standing contemplative traditions for newer generations. Medieval Christian contemplative practices bear resemblance to meditation, and some modern religious figures sought dialogue between Christianity and Buddhism. Guided group meditation now occurs alongside sermons and scripture readings in some services. Many participants and instructors describe meditation as tapping into a universal, deeper experience beyond doctrinal differences. The practice is also credited with benefits for mental well-being.
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