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The following description is from Albert S. Rossi, of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, in "Saying the Jesus Prayer."
Sitting, saying the Jesus Prayer, or in wordless contemplation, is not Yoga or any far Eastern practice. The difference is the Christian encounter with the living God, Jesus.
The postures, techniques and outer form may be similar, but the content is unique in Christian prayer. The content of Christian prayer is Jesus.
Sometimes the difference is likened to a priceless painting. We might admire the exquisite frame of the painting, and rightly so. But the frame is not the masterpiece. The similarities of Eastern Yoga and Sufi practice in prayer are the frame, but Christ is the masterpiece, the insides, of the prayer of the Christian. And, that is all the difference in the world.
I read a book by a Christian on Zen Buddhist meditation for Christians. I asked myself, after finishing it, "With such a rich tradition of Christian meditation and contemplation in the Church, what is the rationale of teaching Buddhist meditation to Christians?" I am confidant a devoted Buddhist would not write a book on Christian meditation for Buddhists.
Through meditation and contemplation, the follower of Jesus Christ experiences the Mystery of Christ in the communion of the Triune God. I spent years studying and doing prayer and meditation practice in Eastern faith traditions. While the experience enriched me, it served to lead me back to a fuller embracing of the Christian Path. What I missed was conscious experience of the Triune Reality, revealed in Jesus Christ and the inward immediacy of the Holy Spirit.
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Scripture teaches us the Christocentric focus of the Christian experience of the Divine:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. (see Hebrews 12.1-2, NLT)
In our Prayer, as in all our life, we Christians are to be shaped by the Gospel of Christ and direct spiritual practices to honor the faith that Jesus Christ is the source of for all who follow His teaching and Way. This does not mean we discredit all other faith traditions, but we do affirm full honor for our Christian faith as rightly distinctive and trusts that in Jesus Christ we receive the Revelation of the Triune Truth. Christian Prayer is a specific committment to the Christ in Christianity.
*OneLife writings are offered by Brian K. Wilcox, a United Methodist pastor serving in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. He writes in the spirit of John Wesley's focus on the priority of inner experience of the Triune God; scriptural holiness; ongoing sanctification; the goal of Christian perfection (or, wholeness). Brian seeks to integrate the best of the contemplative teachings of Christianity East and West, from the patristic Church to the present. Brian lives a vowed contemplative life with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis, in North Florida. OneLife writings are for anyone seeking to live and share love, joy, and peace in the world and in devotion to God as she or he best understands God.
*Brian's book An Ache for Union, a book of poems on mystical union with God through love, can be ordered through major on-line booksellers or your local bookstore.
*Quote from Rossi is on the St. Vladimir's Seminary website; see http://www.svots.edu/ .
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