Taking Jesus Seriously: Buddhist Meditation for Christians

Taking Jesus Seriously: Buddhist Meditation for Christians
by John Cowan

Taking Jesus Seriously: Buddhist Meditation for Christians
List Price: $17.95
Our Price: $11.17
You Save: $6.78 (38%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.96 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: John Cowan
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2004-01
ISBN: 0814627587
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Liturgical Press

Book Reviews of Taking Jesus Seriously: Buddhist Meditation for Christians

Book Review: Introduction to the Kingdom of God
Summary: 5 Stars

In John Cowan's own words, "This book exists to introduce you to the kingdom of God. All else is meaningless in comparison." The book is written from the perspective of a parish priest who has also been formed by twenty-five years in corporate life, twelve years in a monastic environment, and the practice of daily meditation. Cowan draws on Christian teaching, although he cautions that he believes fewer doctrines and probably sees them differently than most. He liberally quotes from the Gospel of Jesus, an assembly of texts compiled by scholars of the Jesus seminar.

Cowan's premise is simple. During the early years of Christianity "when the ticket to the banquet was a willingness to be fed to the lions," there were a few who were attracted to the table as Jesus set it. When Christianity became a popular movement, however, people translated the message into something more palatable and lost the real message of the Master. Most Christians stopped taking Jesus seriously, and so they no longer experienced what he promised would happen to them. Cowan's message is that God's imperial rule is right here, in our presence, and it is through the practice of Buddhist meditation that we can experience the Divine Presence.

The book's style is poetic and cryptic, esoteric and practical, humorous and sobering, simple, yet challenging, written from the soul of a parish priest. The book was written for Cowan's Buddhist meditation classes and includes discussion of Christian and Buddhist beliefs, scattered scriptural references, and a practical guide to the discipline of Buddhist meditation. Each chapter ends with a series of questions and answers drawn from his classes held around the Twin Cities.

Unlike popular meditation that offers peace and escape, this meditation creates a heightened awareness of reality with all its inherent pain and suffering, for it is in pursuing the cause of our suffering that we can cease suffering. To do this we must replace our delusions with material reality, to become empty so that we might be filled with the Divine Presence. Becoming empty means letting go of all our delusions of who we are - delusions created by our ego, our peers, and our culture. It is in forfeiting our life as we know it, that we preserve it.

Cowan suggests several ways to do this. Become a balloon floating in space, accepting all that you see and loving everything as it is. Become a verb, always watching, ever loving, never clinging. Label your thoughts, acknowledging them as they float through your mind, but do not hold on to them for they distract you from realizing the Divine Presence. Cowan recounts that the Buddhist teacher waits for the moment of "no mind," when the noise ceases and she is simply "observing," with no delusions. He compares this with the scriptural passage where Jesus reminds us that we must become like children to enter the kingdom of heaven. Children are empty and since they have no memory of the past or expectation of the future they live in the present, experiencing the reality of now.

Cowan concludes that we have a choice, indeed, "all that stands between us and being Jesus clones is our willingness to be empty." We have a choice to join the great flow of life by sitting quietly with an awareness of our breath, our body, reality around us, and a loving consciousness without judgment, living with what God has given us. The kingdom of God is spread out before us and we do not see it. It is already here. We just have not been looking.

Review published in April issue of "Soundings"
The Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota

Summary of Taking Jesus Seriously: Buddhist Meditation for Christians

In Taking Jesus Seriously, the words of Jesus become clearer when matched with the practices and insights of Buddhist meditation. This book presents a Christian way to implement the words of Jesus by looking inside to see what stands between the reader and God's kingdom. It is designed to be read over twelve weeks while practicing 20-30 minutes of daily meditations.

General Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in General Books
The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace ImageThe Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace
by Jack Kornfield
Bantam; Published: 2008-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops: $15.00
Begin With Christ: First Place 4 Health Bible Study (First Place 4 Health) (First Place) ImageBegin With Christ: First Place 4 Health Bible Study (First Place 4 Health) (First Place)
by First Place 4 Health
Gospel Light Pubns; Published: 2008-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.48
Price in other shops: $19.99
The Yellow Leaves: A Miscellany ImageThe Yellow Leaves: A Miscellany
by Frederick Buechner
Westminster John Knox Press; Published: 2008-06-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.77
Price in other shops: $17.95
Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism ImageRome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism
by Scott Hahn, Kimberly Hahn
Ignatius Press; Published: 1993-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: $14.95
The Way to Love (Image Pocket Classics) ImageThe Way to Love (Image Pocket Classics)
by Anthony De Mello
Image Books, Doubleday; Published: 1995-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.73
Price in other shops: $6.95
Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day ImageSeven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day
by Macrina Wiederkehr
Ave Maria Press; Published: 2008-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.36
Price in other shops: $18.95
Getting in the Gap: Making Conscious Contact with God Through Meditation (Book with CD) ImageGetting in the Gap: Making Conscious Contact with God Through Meditation (Book with CD)
by Wayne W. Dyer
Hay House; Published: 2002-12-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.72
Price in other shops: $17.95
The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity ImageThe Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity
by Lee Strobel
Zondervan; Published: 2000-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.75
Price in other shops: $14.99
Open the Door: A Journey to the True Self ImageOpen the Door: A Journey to the True Self
by Joyce Rupp
Sorin Books; Published: 2008-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.30
Price in other shops: $17.95
The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming ImageThe Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming
by Henri J. M. Nouwen
Image Books / Doubleday Publishing Group; Published: 1994-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops: $16.00
Similar Books and other products
Christian Zen: A Way of Meditation ImageChristian Zen: A Way of Meditation
by William Johnston
Fordham University Press; Published: 1997-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.25
Price in other shops: $22.50
The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology ImageThe Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology
by Jack Kornfield
Bantam; Published: 2008-04-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.90
Price in other shops: $28.00
Zen and the Bible ImageZen and the Bible
by Kakichi Kadowaki
Orbis Books; Published: 2002-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.98
Price in other shops: $17.00
Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit: The Place of Zen in Christian Life ImageZen Spirit, Christian Spirit: The Place of Zen in Christian Life
by Robert E. Kennedy
Continuum International Publishing Group; Published: 1996-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.50
Price in other shops: $16.95
Living Zen, Loving God ImageLiving Zen, Loving God
by Ruben L.F. Habito
Wisdom Publications; Published: 2004-03-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.17
Price in other shops: $14.95
The Zen Teachings of Jesus ImageThe Zen Teachings of Jesus
by Kenneth S. Leong
Crossroad 8th Avenue; Published: 2001-01-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Noble Eightfold Path of Christ: Jesus Teaches the Dharma of Buddhism ImageThe Noble Eightfold Path of Christ: Jesus Teaches the Dharma of Buddhism
by Thomas Ragland
Trafford Publishing; Published: 2006-07-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops: $16.00
Christian Meditation : Experiencing the Presence of God ImageChristian Meditation : Experiencing the Presence of God
by James Finley
Published: 2004-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.45
Price in other shops: $19.95
Zen for Christians: A Beginner's Guide ImageZen for Christians: A Beginner's Guide
by Kim Boykin, Gerald G. May
Jossey-Bass; Published: 2003-04-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.20
Price in other shops: $16.95
Christian Insight Meditation: Following in the Footsteps of John of the Cross ImageChristian Insight Meditation: Following in the Footsteps of John of the Cross
Wisdom Publications; Published: 2007-08-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.33
Price in other shops: $16.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories