There is no Them

After I quoted the entire Serenity Prayer recently, a commenter observed that the overtly Christian language in the latter part of the prayer would be off-putting to “nonbelievers.” I felt sad when I read this because the sentiment behind the prayer is lovely, at least to me, and has value beyond the limiting vocabulary of a particular faith.

Recently a minister in Florida burned a Koran as a statement of judgment against Islam. That, in turn, sparked retaliatory protests and killings in Afghanistan. All because we separate ourselves with different labels, different names for what we hold sacred. This is just my opinion, of course, but I don’t think the universal essence, for obvious lack of better words, is so easily described, explained, or contained.

I read in Wayne Dyer’s book Inspiration about an ancient Hindu saying that “the name of God is truth.” Truth, I think, is beyond labels. The Tao Te Ching says, “The way that can be told is not the eternal Way. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things.” Perhaps the labels are the mother of ten thousand beliefs, each of which distinguishes us from them.

It’s like speaking different languages. We can say the same thing in English, Arabic, and Chinese, but in each language, the meaning might be different because of different cultures, vocabulary, and syntax. As long as we need words to communicate, communication will be limited by those words. Communication with words will always be imperfect. We have the choice to see this imperfection as creating barriers, or we can see this imperfection as an invitation to look beyond the differences and transcend the barriers.

When this same Florida minister threatened to burn the Koran last year, my church bought 100 Korans and placed them in a local bookstore to give away free to anyone who wanted one. We thought that reading the Koran might lead to better understanding and communication than burning it. I’m just sayin’....

For myself, my spiritual life is enriched and deepened by embracing truth as I find it, wherever I find it. When asked one time to identify three people who influenced my faith, I named three people who, I believe, were true people of God. One was the minister of my church. One was a Buddhist monk I met in Thailand. The third was the Muslim guard who watched over my home in West Africa.

My faith community is Christian, and I have worshiped in Thai temples. I am an ordained Stephen Minister, and I am training as a Shambhala warrior. I follow Jesus, and the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism. I have lit incense at a Hindu shrine, and I smiled as my young son bowed to Allah alongside the Muslim guard he loved.

I pray to God, Kuan Yin, Mary (when I need to talk mom to mom), the creek by my cabin (which sometimes talks back), and occasionally my dog Sam who died years ago. When my mother died, I prayed Jewish prayers of mourning. I believe that my prayers all go to the same destination no matter how they are addressed.

My point is not to shock or alienate anyone, and I’m sorry if I have. My point is that I hope we don’t close our minds to beauty because of a label. I hope we don’t let language hold us back when we try to communicate about our deepest selves. If we speak our truth to one another with an open heart, and if we hold the words we hear with sacred respect, then we will surely meet in that place where there is no them, there is only us.

Namaste.