The Tao of Christ
The Tao of Christ is a podcast which explores the mystical roots of Christianity, which Jesus called the Kingdom of God, which church historian Evelyn Underhill called the Unitive Life, which Richard Rohr calls the Universal Christ, and which I refer to as Christian nonduality, unitive awareness, or union with God. This is the Tao of Christ.
The Tao of Christ
The Eightfold Path of Jesus
I was reminded by a listener recently that Thich Nhat Hanh called Jesus the Buddha of the West. Buddha famously preached his first sermon in Deer Park which included his Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Jesus has an equally famous first teaching that is called the Sermon on the Mount. It begins with the Beatitudes, which are eight blessings, followed by what appears to be a ninth but is a really a continuation of the eighth.
Jesus had an eight-fold path. Like the Buddha’s, the Christ’s eightfold path is an expression of what is often called nonduality today. Jesus called it the Kingdom of God. Like the Buddha’s the Christ’s eightfold path is about suffering, but Jesus comes at it a bit differently. The Buddha’s approach is very logical. He sets forth a step-by-step analysis of the problem of suffering and presents a solution. Jesus just pronounces blessings - eight blessings.