Emptiness II

Don: We’ve talked about community in the context of Matthew 18, and of M. Scott Peck’s analysis of the phases of community, and of the Book of Acts. In the first part of the latter, the church is pretty much of one mind, and was quite functional until “other sheep not of this fold” started to join. Then there arose dissension and chaos in the community.

If a community is unable to get through its chaos, then it is a pseudo community, not a true community, by (Peck’s) definition. At a conference in Jerusalem to discuss these issues (Acts 15, Galatians) the tipping point in getting through the chaos came when the people listening to Paul and Barnabas slog it out fell silent (Acts 15:12.) The ability to keep silent, to listen, in the midst of chaos may be a key to getting through to true community.

If any group shows signs of chaos, could we initiate a process of emptiness intentionally, by design? One element of emptiness is silence/listening. It’s not a matter of taking sides—not at all. A condition for entry to true community is not the elimination of different ideas, but a recognition by the group of the existence of some underlying principle (e.g., that we are all saved by the love of Jesus) that overrides differences, makes them irrelevant. There is great fear in churches that new ideas or new people can undermine the group’s solidarity, unity, thinking, and sense of rightness. The group thinks it has a moral obligation to protect these things.

If I am in such a group, is it possible through technique, through intentional intervention, to drive the group into emptiness out of which potentially could come true community?

Harry: The original apostles were not a part of the Pauline church. So Christianity is Pauline rather than apostolic. The first schism, or chaos, had to do with abandoning the laws of Moses. Peter had the vision [in which he was told to eat from a bag full of un-kosher meat, I think Harry means] but he couldn’t get past his discomfort. In essence, the apostles were disfellowshipped, disenfranchised, from the church.

Don: Is emptiness achievable by design, or is it a mystical, divinely inspired thing? Or is there no such things as emptiness, and no such thing as true community? Chaos that comes from a natural disaster seems to drive people naturally to community, to do good things. But a chaos of ideas, beliefs, invokes opposite responses in us. Is it possible that true community is just not in the cards in the here and now, in this world?

Jason: The definition of true community involves acceptance, love, and grace. It does not involve like-mindedness. In a natural disaster, we almost have no choice but to do good. Similarly in families: We seem to have no choice but to love our children.

Peck says the natural response to chaos is to organize. Organizing prevents us from reaching emptiness, because emptiness requires inaction. What does emptiness require us to establish? Trust. We need trust before we can accept acceptance, love, and grace.

Emma: Jesus’s whole life was all about love. A church without love as its central doctrine is a cult.

Harry: I said not long ago that I thought true community was achievable only with one’s near neighbors. I’ve since changed my mind. To tell the truth, I don’t want to be part of a community that is not of like mind to mine. When my neighbor’s house burns down, sure, I will be very good to them for a couple of days. But if I have to put them up in my basement for six months, my attitude and behavior towards them will probably change. So I don’t think there can be true community.

Robin: Natural chaos presents us with the lowest common denominator in community, which as Emma says is love, or perhaps pity. But it forces us to realize we are all human beings; that there but by the grace of god go I. We can put ourselves in their position, we can relate to them. But after a while things start to recover and we revert to our old ways, our old divisions. Maybe in our imperfect human state we simply cannot, and should not expect to, achieve perfect community.

Don: In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus emptied himself of his own will. His will struggled against the true community [the kingdom of heaven] he was being called into, but eventually he succumbed and subjugated his will to God’s. So this is another aspect of emptiness. We’ve seen silence/listening as one aspect, now we see emptiness associated with relinquishing the will. We’ve also seen the “Kingdom principles” (turning the other check, loving your enemies, etc.) as an aspect of emptiness. But it seems that the greatest impediment to it is fear, to vulnerability, to fear of being disadvantaged, to losing one’s personhood.

David: To get back to your original question—Can we design emptiness? Several ancient beliefs (Daoism and Buddhism, for example) promote meditation, which is nothing more than emptying the mind. “The mind” includes the will.

If we all meditated, as individuals (we can meditate in groups, but ultimately I think meditation has to be intensely personal, individualistic in a sense), would we emerge as a true community? Many Buddhist communities exist that generally seem to have achieved higher levels of tolerance and non-violence than the norm (though there are sad counter examples, such as the Burmese Buddhists’ treatment of the Rohingya.)

Don: We see Jesus repeatedly going into prayer, into retreat, sometimes alone or with a few disciples who promptly fall asleep.  But my interest is whether a group can enter this phase, and re-emerge as a transformed group, one no longer at odds, no longer with differing viewpoints.

Most transformations in science—say, from a liquid to a gas—take place in the presence of additional energy. Where does spiritual energy come from to drive a spiritual transformation? Can it be done as a group? After all, our country, our church, our world clearly need such transformation.

Harry: Jesus subjugated his will to God’s and lost his life as a result. He didn’t fight in any way. What effect did this have on those who followed him, as well as on those who crucified him? Not what you’d expect! Yet Judaism lost out in a very real way, while Christianity gained greatly.

Emma: Communism caused great chaos by emptying Russia of religion, though its  seeds remained underground. I visited a large Russian émigré colony in Mexico once. These people gave off an aura of fear. But after communism fell, the church rapidly re-grew.

Robin: What do we need to empty ourselves of? Our self-importance, our prejudices, our sense of what is right. When we empty ourselves of those, we make room for the attributes of love and grace to come rushing in to fill the vacuum.

Francine: Isn’t that why the Lord gave us the Sabbath? To refresh, to meditate? It’s a family day. And it doesn’t have to be Saturday!

Don ended the meeting by asking David to present, at our next meeting, thoughts about how science might help inform our discussion of this issue.

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