The story of Nicodemus put me in mind of the Buddhist tradition of Beginner’s Mind. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he needs newly-born eyes to see the Kingdom of God in action. Jesus tells him that he needs re-born understanding to be able to perceive spiritual/heavenly things. He needs fresh eyes, fresh understanding. If we want to see and the truth about Jesus and his reflection of the image of God, and the Kin-dom God is inviting us to participate in, we need re-born consciousness.
The concept of Beginner’s Mind is similar - to strive to keep the humble perspective of a beginning learner, to hang on to the fresh eyes of the uninitiated and unindoctrinated. So that we might see something other than what we’ve seen before. So that we can understand on a deeper level, with a higher consciousness. I believe this is what Jesus was referring to when he said in another text, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Unless we relinquish our old consciousness and understanding in favor of a better one, we won’t be able to see the kingdom of heaven right in front of us.
Last week’s litany explored the concept of Non-dualism, another overlapping concept among Wisdom Traditions. This week’s litany explores what Christianity has called “being born from above” and “childlike faith,” and the similarities I see between that and what Buddhist traditions have called “shoshin” or “beginner’s mind.”
God, as Christ has spoken, we know we must somehow be “born from above” (1),
We know we need fresh understanding,
Must learn to perceive with heaven’s consciousness,
Learn to set aside our preconceived ideas.
This new awareness
Is an endless beginning.