The New Creation in Christ

Bede Griffiths contributes another effort to try and bridge the gap between East and West. He also tries to extend the monastic ideal of meditation, towards the laity. This short but dense book scans through a variety of fundamental notions in the field of spirituality. It offers constructive definitions which instead of restricting these notions to their religion of origin, make them appear more universal and therefore more acceptable to members of other faiths. Two examples can illustrate this. The notion of sacrament taken from the Roman Catholic tradition, and the notion of mantra taken from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. A sacrament is said to be a manifestation of the presence of divine reality under spatial-temporal signs. I personally think that such an open definition offers a wide range of possible overlaps with religious practices in non-christian traditions. This leaves some leeway for inter-religious dialogue. A mantra is said to be the repetition of a word or verse, taken from sacred texts in view of centering and focusing all faculties of the individual, on the inner depth of his being, where he will eventually discover the indwelling presence of the divine. This fits very well with the Christian idea of meditation as a way to encounter Christ in the depth of one's heart. The book also issues a warning for everybody against the danger of drifting back from the divine to the signs which are meant to lead us to the divine. For instance, worshipping the sacrament or the mantra themselves becomes pure idolatry. This book is written in a peaceful language implicitly inviting the reader to practice some type of meditation. The aim being that even in cases of great suffering, one will have the opportunity to find peace deep within one self.