My Prayers Led Me To A Zen Buddhist

Someone recently asked me how I was introduced to the practice of meditation.

It was 35 years ago that I was introduced to the practice of quieting my mind through meditation. I was living in Pittsburgh at the time, and my desire to occasionally go inside an empty church to pray was a common practice of mine.  It still is today.  One day, I had a strong urge to pray, and I decided to visit Sacred Heart Church on Shady Avenue.  It is one of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen and prayed in.  As I entered Sacred Heart Church, I immediately knelt in front of the Mother Mary statue and began talking to God.  “God, I don’t know you.”  “I want to get to know you more,” was what I said at that moment. I had a hunger for God; to feel and understand God at a deeper level was the state I was in.  I left Sacred Heart Church that day, not knowing how my prayers would be answered.

A week later, I met my friend Simon at the Frick Fine Arts Building after attending a lecture on Asian Art History.  It was our discussion on East Asian art and culture that led to him sharing with me his practice of Zen Buddhism.  I became easily intrigued by Zen Buddhism and the practice of sitting.  He offered to teach me how to sit quietly, and I instantly accepted his invitation. 

 He explained to me how I was connected to the chair that I was sitting on, including the tree outside the window.  I remember thinking at that point, “hmm” “I’m connected to that tree outside the window.”  It was the very first time the notion of Oneness had entered my mind.  Although I was not grasping the idea of our whole connectedness, I was in awe with the concept of Oneness.

My friend Simon had an extraordinary spiritual experience in 1976, which led him to his meditation practice and eventually to becoming a Zen Buddhist.  This is how he described it to me.

‘One cool, bright October night in 1976, I took a walk. At the end of my walk, I stopped by a low stone wall and sat down.  After a few moments, unexpectedly, my sense of separateness suddenly disappeared for some time.  When I returned to “myself” I still had the sense that I was both Simon, Not Simon, everything and no thing at all.  I had no intellectual context for this.  Over the following weeks, I read psychology books and books of various philosophies and religions.  None were analogous as far as I could see. My brother Gregory was taking a Religions of the World course.  He handed me “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones,” and said, “This will make you laugh.”  It did.  And more.  I recognized some of what was said, and knew I did not recognize other things it said.  Some people start Zen practice in desperation or mere curiosity. I pursued finding out with great joy.”  

I began my meditation practice out of desperation and sheer curiosity.  I was extremely hungry to find God, to discover myself.  Does meditation get me closer to God? Yes, for me it does. The state of solitude allows me to be in that space I call Divine. The knowing of God is unique for each of us. The journey to God is personal and ought not to be judged. Being silent has been my way.

When did your meditation practice begin?  Do you remember how you were introduced to it?  Did you begin your practice in desperation or mere curiosity? Or did you have another experience?