Adyashanti and Francis Bennett – "The Embrace of Jesus and Buddha" - BatGap Interview

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Adyashanti and Francis Bennett in a public dialog about the parallels and differences between Jesus and the Buddha, as two complimentary yet very different models of awakening. Where the Buddha emphasized inner peace and the transcendence of samsara, Christ emphasized embodying divine humanity in the midst of samsara, embracing the human condition in order to serve those who are lost in ignorance.

Adya came to a deeper appreciation of Jesus by way of his study of Zen, while Francis ─ a former Trappist monk turned non-dual teacher ─ came to Buddhism by way of immersion in mystical Christianity.

“The Christ comes to disturb, to stir up the pot, to descend to the chaotic earthly realm, and to get people to move out of their limited comfort zones and indifference toward others and life in general: to help us transform and transmute the personal and social dimension of what it means to be a human being in a human society. The Buddha comes to bring inner peace by awakening us up and out of our over-identification with the personal, and help us to realize who we are in transcendence, who we are as “trans-personal” persons. You need both approaches. They are opposite sides of the one “coin” of awakening.” — Francis Bennett

Adyashanti, is an American-born spiritual teacher and author devoted to serving the awakening of all beings. His teachings are an open invitation to stop, inquire, and recognize what is true and liberating at the core of all existence. Asked to teach in 1996 by his Zen teacher of 14 years, Adyashanti offers teachings that are free of any tradition or ideology. “The Truth I point to is not confined within any religious point of view, belief system, or doctrine, but is open to all and found within all.” He teaches throughout North America and Europe, offering satsangs, weekend intensives, silent retreats, and a live internet radio broadcast.

Website: http://adyashanti.org

Francis Bennett entered the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemane in 1981 and in the 90’s subsequently lived at a “daughter house” of Gethsemane in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. Until recently, he was living in a small urban monastery in Montreal Quebec. He has been a “spiritual seeker” during all those years, practicing in the Christian mystical/contemplative Tradition and working deeply with teachers in both the Vipassana and Zen Traditions as well. In 2010 he experienced a profound perceptual “shift” in which he realized the ever-present presence of pure Awareness, which some would call, the Presence of God.

You may contact Francis by email, Skype (francisdale3), his Facebook page, or through his website, http://findinggraceatthecenter.com. Francis’ book: “I Am That I Am: Discovering the Love, Peace, Joy and Stability of the True Self“.

Recorded 10/26/2016 at the Santa Cruz Open Circle.

Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction of the Speakers
00:03:33 - Homage to the Enlightened One
00:07:38 - The Full Circle of Awakening
00:11:30 - Embracing the Sorrows of the World
00:14:59 - The Journey of Truth and Unfolding
00:18:23 - The Myth of Suffering and Liberation
00:21:45 - The Meaning of Realization and Freedom
00:25:00 - Finding Truth in Suffering
00:27:58 - Embracing Pain and Sorrow
00:31:43 - Similarities and Differences in Religious Teachings
00:36:01 - Embracing Different Spiritual Perspectives
00:39:47 - The Balancing Act of Masculine and Feminine Energies
00:43:55 - Sheila-ism and the danger of creating your own religion
00:47:40 - The Importance of Earnestness in the Hero's Journey
00:51:14 - Autonomous Freedom and Authenticity
00:55:15 - The Buddha's Silence on God
00:59:50 - The Nature of Truth in Buddhism and Christianity
01:02:52 - Importance of Miracles and Siddhis
01:06:59 - Awakening and the Side Effects
01:11:23 - The Importance of Facing Life
01:16:17 - Intimacy with a Dead Saint
01:20:32 - The Role of Guilt in Christianity and Spirituality
01:24:29 - The Role of Guilt and Conscience
01:29:06 - The Illusion of Remaining the Sole Repository of Truth
01:33:37 - Choosing to End Suffering
01:38:02 - Approaching Discomfort with Curiosity
01:42:17 - The Fluctuating Experience of Grace and Selflessness
01:46:11 - The Highlighted Elements of Reality
01:50:58 - A Loss of Personal Relationship with God
01:55:26 - The Evolutionary Nature of God and Denying an End Point
01:59:36 - Vita Dulce Do Et Spes Nostra Salve