기도하는 방법ㅣ김기석 목사ㅣ잘잘법 Ep.76

<기도하는 방법 김기석 목사>

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기도 - 하나님의 마음과 조율되는 것

불안 - 하나님으로 부터 멀어진 상태

<인간은 누구나 기도한다.>

기도하는 것은 내가 느끼는 결핍이 하나님에 의해서 채워지기를 바라는 태도

사람들은 누구나 다 기도를 한다.

예를 들면 간난아기가 우는 것도 기도이다.

내가 배가 고프다는 신호를 보내고 있는 것이다.

자연 재해를 만났을 때 농부들은 망연하게 하늘을 올려다 본다.

하늘을 바라보는 그 텅빈 시선도 기도이다.

예배당에서 천부여 의지 없어서 손들고 옵니다라고 드리는 기도도. 기도이다.

그러니까 모든 인간은 기도를 할 수 밖에 없다. 인간이기 때문에.

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<기독교적 기도>

기도는 영혼의 호흡과 같다. 들숨과 날숨이라는거죠.

숨을 쉬지 않으면 한 순간도 살 수 없다.

기도하지 않고는 거룩한 삶을 살 수 없다. 

는 말이 기도가 호흡에 담겨있다는 말이다.

기도의 핵심은 현실이라는 척박하기 이를데 없는 상황속에 살면서

내 영혼의 중심이신 분을 찾아가기 위해 하는 것이 기도이다.

많은 사람들은 인생의 어려움을 겪을 때 (새벽)기도를 시작합니다.

기도를 문제 해결의 방편처럼 받아드린다.

하나님은 내가 문제가 있을 때 부르면 와서 문제를 해결해주는 존재인 것처럼

나는 말한다. 하나님은 해결사가 아니다. 비서가 아니다.

해결해주지 않으면 원망하고 멀어진다.

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이런 이야기 들을 때 마다 떠오르는 것 - <김교신 이야기.>

1943년 말 - 감사의 기도.

하나님 지난 1년 동안 나를 보살펴주셔서 감사합니다.

이 부족한 것이 당신 앞에 바친 기도에 응답해주셔서 감사합니다.

그러나 더욱더 감사하옵기는 제 기도를 기각해주신 것입니다.

애사 절박한 가운데 바쳤던 기도를 하나님이 거절해주신 것이 더 고맙다고

무슨 말이지요?

만약에 내가 바라는 것이 다 이루어지면 세상이 아름다워질까요?

저마다의 욕망이 응답된다면 좋은 세상?

김교신 기각해준 것 때문에 겸허한 것을 배웠다. 다른이들과 함께 사는 삶을 사는 것을 배웠다.

<기각된 기도가 오히려 복일 수가 있다.>

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흐트러지는 마음을 하나님의 마음이라고 하는 중심에 연결하기 위해 드리는게 기도.

하나님의 마음과 내 마음을 연결한다.

나는 조율한다는 말을 더 좋아한다.

기타는 조율해가며 이용한다.

기도는 일상을 살면서 나라는 악기가 제 소리를 내지 못할 때

하나님의 선율을 연주할 수 없는 악기가 되어버리고 말았을 때

그럼으로 우리는 하나님의 마음이 무엇인지를 여쭙고

그 마음에 따라 나의 마음과 지향을 조율할 필요가 있다.

그렇게 조율되었을 대 우리에게 오는 행복감이 있다.

내 마음으로 살았을 때는 좁은 눈으로 세상을 바라본다.

그런데 <하나님의 마음과 내 마음을 연결하게되자,

나의 현실을 떨어저서 바라볼 수 있게 되었다.

나의 이웃들을 하나님의 눈으로 바라볼 수 있게 된다.

그러면 달라진다.>

우리가 시편을 통해서도 여지없게 보고있는 것이 

탄식 시를 보면 내 삶이 왜 이렇게 힘들어요?

그러다 문득 지난 날 하나님이 내게 베풀어주신 은혜가 얼마나 컸던지 에 대한 기억을 상기한다.

그렇게 되면, 오늘 내가 격고있는 고난이라는 것이 나를 무너뜨릴 수 없다는 사실을 알게된다.

그리고 그런 눈으로 현실을 바라보게 될 때, 현실이 나를 업압하고 있던 힘이 사라지는 것을 경험한다.

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<결국은 탁식이 찬양으로 귀결된다.

현실을 보는 나의 시선과 입장이 달라젔다.

이것이 무엇보다 중요하다.>

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그러고 나면 내게 필요한 것을 하나님이 주신다라는 확신이 내게 들어온다.

성경말씀 요한복음 15장 7절

너희가 내 안에 머믈러 있고

내 말이 너희 안에 머믈러 있으면

너희가 무엇을 구하든지

다 그대로 이루어질 것이다.

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하나님 안에 머므는 것이 중요.
하나님과의 일치

이것이 전제가 되어야한다.

--

사는 모습은 제멋데로 살면서 하나님의 힘을 빌어가지고 내가 원하는 것을 이루어내려고 하면 좋은 믿음이라고 할 수 없다.

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<본하퍼>

다른 사람과의 교제나 우리의 생각에서 나타나는 무질서와 방종은

종종 아침 기도의 소홀함에서 비롯된다.

내 삶이 흐트러저있거나, 타자들과의 관계가 원만하지 못하거나

연약함 속에 있거나, 낙담 속에 있는 까닭은 

어쩌면 하나님의 마음과 내 마음을 연결하고 조율하고

또 하나님으로부터 오는 능력을 덧입지 않았기 때문이 아닌가

생각하기도 한다.

기각된 기도때문에 속상한 분들은 속상해 하기 보다는 먼저 하나님 안에 머믈려고 하는 것부터 시작하면 하나님이 은혜를 베프시리라 생각합니다.

--

<기도하는 방법>

자기 문제를 이야기 한다.

그리고 나서는 하나님의 말씀을 들으려고 해야한다.

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Einstein's God: A Way of Being Spiritual Without the Supernatural

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Einstein's God: A Way of Being Spiritual Without the Supernatural Kindle Edition

by Todd Macalister (Author)  Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 out of 5 stars    42 ratings

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The original "spiritual but not religious" guy...

Albert Einstein's genius included a spiritual sense that fits comfortably with science. With quotes that illustrate Einstein's views, and with a look at how spiritual feelings may be understood and valued by modern science, this book shows a way of being spiritual that does not include belief in the supernatural. This book examines parallels between some modern views and long-standing systems of belief. It looks at ways of gaining from both the old and the new. But, it also identifies a choice that must be made. So, if traditional beliefs don't fit with what you see—if you see yourself as "spiritual, but not religious," if you attend services, but only partially believe, or if you think you're not really spiritual at all—take a look. You may find something you can say you do believe.

Einstein's God: A Way of Being Spiritual Without the Supernatural

byTodd Macalister

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Ioannis C.

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2021

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It is a collection of quotes with no structure, no coherence , no logical flow to guide the reader.

The title is catchy and brings in some quotes (single lines ) from Einstein.

I understand and respect the effort but more could be done to make it look more professional in terms of literature collection, flow, coherence, presentation.

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Steven H Propp

TOP 100 REVIEWER

5.0 out of 5 stars AN EXCEPTIONAL SELECTION OF QUOTATIONS, WITH FRESH IDEAS

Reviewed in the United States on 19 October 2020

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Author Todd Macalister wrote in the Preface to this 2008 book,

 “After years of attending, I stepped away from the church. The stories seemed impossible---an all-knowing presence, invisible angels, and fiery pits of hell… I couldn’t believe it.

 And it didn’t make sense to just go along. I knew that SOMETHING lay behind the beauty and order in all we see. But, my sense of this needed to fit with what seems real. Millions, around the world, share this view. And, as we recognize forces greater than ourselves but reject the supernatural, many of us see ourselves, as Albert Einstein did, as ‘deeply religious nonbelievers.’ But, in rejecting the traditional, we are on our own. We have no bible to learn from, and no church or community. We need a new way of framing what we understand and feel. And we need words that can help us consider what we believe.”

He adds in the Introduction, 

“This book begins with quotes that give an overview of Einstein’s spiritual views. It shows how a world-view grounded in science can serve as a basis for reverence. And it shows how core elements in religions---hope and faith---can be gained with Einstein’s God. This book examines parallels between Einstein’s views and traditional systems of belief… it also identifies a choice that must be made. So, if traditional faiths don’t fit with what you see---if you see yourself as ‘spiritual, but not religious’… or if you think you’re not really spiritual at all---take a look. You may find something you can say you DO believe.”

He summarizes, 

“Einstein’s religion combined a spiritual sense with a world-view grounded in science. He had … reverence and awe, when he considered the wonders of creation. But, he recognized we know nothing about the force that brought this all into being… He waw nature are an expression of the force that guides our world. And he felt that, as we begin to understand small parts of what is, we may get a glimpse… into the force that causes all things to be as they are. Einstein felt that the attempt to understand expresses a type of reverence. And he felt that the goal and method of science … could be a Way of spiritual practice and seeking… Einstein… could not accept, many concepts in traditional religion---a personal god, miracles, and life after death… He saw the world as wholly based in natural laws… As his best sense of what is---how things seem to be---it served as a type of belief.” (Pg. 13-14)

He observes, 

“Several approaches have evolved---to incorporate modern views in traditional faiths. In reform churches and temples, teachings from holy books may focus on symbolic truths, and downplay the supernatural and miracles… individuals may have their own non-literal ways of viewing Biblical stories, and the words they say when they join with others in prayer… By adapting ancient traditions to accommodate modern views, a body of ancient wisdom is retained. And, people also retain the community and the rituals and celebrations that, for many, are the main attraction in religion.” (Pg. 26-27)

He suggests, 

“Often, there is no thought that ‘anyone’ is listening as we beseech the powers that be. We simply have a wish and think these thoughts, and may say these words out loud. But some, more intentionally direct their thoughts out toward the unseen power… that causes things to be as they will be… Prayer can be a quiet time---to gather thoughts, and to give thanks or show respect or appreciation… Medical research has shown that prayer can offer an increased sense of well-being. It may also reduce anxiety, promote a more positive outlook, and offer a sense of calm. Meditation has similar benefits… It can bring a sense of calm, and focus the mind.” (Pg. 42-43)

He notes, 

“Much as Greek myths remain valuable, long after the religion they were based in declined, images and stories from a range of traditions can help us consider issues in our lives. We may be drawn to cathedrals, and moved by religious music and art. And, to gain the emotional power of marking life events as our ancestors have for centuries, we may get married in a church or under a chuppah, or observe traditional rites for funerals and births. We may celebrate traditional holidays… without needing to be active members of these religions. This has parallels with the past. When Christianity replaced pagan belief, many elements of older traditions were retained… many traditional views will remain when something new is formed.” (Pg. 53-54)

He continues, 

“As Einstein’s view becomes more widely understood, people may meet and talk… Books may be assembled… with images and insights that reflect a spiritual sense that does not include a personal God… Groups may be formed, and leaders may emerge… these views could form the core of a new religion. Or, these views may remain a more private affair… Whatever form it takes… Einstein’s God provides a foundation for a type of belief that fits with a modern understanding… it points to a Way---of being spiritual without the supernatural.” (Pg. 53-55)

One of the best aspects of this short book is how actual quotations from Einstein are liberally included. (And he actually gives the SOURCE of the quotations, in the ‘Notes’ section at the end of the book.) For example: he quotes Einstein from ‘New York Times Magazine’ for November 9, 1930, 

“The religious geniuses of all ages have been distinguished by this kind of religious feeling, which knows no dogma and no God conceived in man’s image; so that there can be no church whose central teachings are based on it. Hence it is precisely among the heretics of every age that we find men who were filled with the highest kind of religious feeling and were in many cases regarded by their contemporaries as atheists… How can cosmic religious feeling be communicated from one person to another, if it can give rise to no definite notion of a god and no theology? In my view, it is the most important function of art and science to awaken this feeling and keep it alive in those who are receptive to it.” (Pg. 58)

This is a marvelous book, that will be “must reading” for those studying Einstein’s religious views, and will be of great interest to those seeking more progressive and less dogmatic paths in religion and spirituality.

2 people found this helpful

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Veronica Avila

2.0 out of 5 stars Wikipedia Article is Far Superior

Reviewed in the United States on 30 November 2020

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Apparently, anybody can write a book. This is a tiny pamphlet of big font, big spaces, collection of quotes (and not even Einstein's most important quotes on this subject) and some random editorializing by some guy (with no credentials) who says he writes about how "drugs, meditation, and other activities may have on feelings."

For a highly superior article on this subject, go to wiki: Religious and philosophical views of Albert Einstein.

6 people found this helpful

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Kieran Fox

1.0 out of 5 stars Insultingly bad

Reviewed in the United States on 31 March 2021

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This "book" is little more than a collection of out-of-context quotations from Einstein and uninformed commentary by the author. It does not rise even to the level of a Wikipedia article (as another reviewer pointed out), and its only real virtue is its recognition that Einstein’s spirituality resembles Taoism. Sophomoric writing, disjointed punctuation, and careless formatting all combine to provide a perfect physical manifestation of what this book is in spirit: a hopeless mess.

I purchased this and read it cover to cover only because I am endeavoring to read everything on Einstein's spiritual side, but this is the worst, most lackluster effort in a field already plagued by mediocrity. It's shameful that such drivel is actually sold and promoted as a serious book on one of history's greatest minds.

Macalister deserves one star for being obviously well-intentioned, but take it from someone who has read almost every book, article, and essay on Einstein's religious and spiritual views in the past few months: this is a total waste of your time and money.

2 people found this helpful

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Frances

5.0 out of 5 stars Good snap shot of Einstien

Reviewed in the United States on 3 November 2019

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Enjoyed book. Have always enjoyed reading about Einstien.

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Esther Grace Frohwein

5.0 out of 5 stars ( For me ) It WAS....One of the most important Books to Read.

Reviewed in the United States on 5 September 2021

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Found out a lot of Einstein's Religious Views were exactly like mine. Wow I was Amazed.

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Marian E. Gilmore

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking

Reviewed in the United States on 29 December 2012

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Excellent book, would recommend it to anyone questioning the existence of "higher being". Exactly as I expected. Came at the time indicated.

4 people found this helpful

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Jeffrey C. Mendenhall

4.0 out of 5 stars Finding a God I Can Live With

Reviewed in the United States on 30 August 2010

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I purchased this book for a dear friend, a physician and medical writer, who has a strong connection to the spiritual world that surrounds us but who has struggled with belief in a God. I skimmed this wonderful book prior to presenting to him. It is both a comfort and a challenge -- as any such book should be.

11 people found this helpful

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De Omnibus Dubitandum.

1.0 out of 5 stars Very Little Einstein For The Price! Do NOT waste your money on this book!

Reviewed in the United States on 23 January 2010

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Friends:

You see the title and you think "WOW! Lets find out what the smartest man in the world thought about God, that I do not already know!" So what does this 'so called' book tell us that we did not already know ~ NOTHING!

Frankly, this IS NOT A BOOK. It may be a college term paper with a fancy cover but as we all know from "little Ralfie" in "A Christmas Story", a fancy cover does not promise a good grade. Everything in this book is easily found if you GOOGLE the subject. Nothing here is unknown to a well read and/or educated person. It is MUSTLY FLUFF and delivers nothing.

My Grade: "D".

I recommend you DO NOT BUY the BOOK.

I expected a lot more. I do not want you to also be disappointed.

57 people found this helpful

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Walking Toward the Common Ground of Faith | St. Anthony

Walking Toward the Common Ground of Faith | St. Anthony

Walking Toward the Common Ground of Faith

In 1945 Aldous Huxley penned THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY. He is best known as the author of BRAVE NEW WORLD.

The date of THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY is significant; World War II was over, and people sought new ways to escape the horrors that produced it.  In the book Huxley outlined a concept earlier philosophers and theologians said, but renewed through his writing.  The concept is simple: all religions are the developed expressions of insights into reality that are, at bottom, basically unified.  That’s not all there is to it, but it’s the kernel.  Huxley maintained, thus, that all religions stem from a set of insights that exhibit certainly commonalities.  Please note that this is not the same thing as saying “all religions are the same, so take your pick.”

Around the same time, the philosopher Karl Jaspers coined the term “the Axial Age” for the period of religious ferment between 800 and 200 BCE.  It was a time of new and deep insights, now considered the era of human intellectual flowering.  Jaspers asserted that in this Axial Age “the spiritual foundations of humanity were laid simultaneously and independently in China, India, Persia, Judea, and Greece. And these are the foundations upon which humanity still subsists today.”  The axial age is our intellectual past.

To return to Huxley, the way into his perennial philosophy is rigorous: only through consistent spiritual practice can we discern these common core insights.  This discernment does not come easy; it has a price, and not everyone can pay that price.  One of his sayings is, “knowledge is a function of being.”  That is, sages and saints are born, not developed.  If you can’t know it (because of incapacity), you won’t.  Some people get it and some don’t – and those who don’t are unable to get it experientially.  They understand through the reports of others, they grasp the truth of the encounter, but do not have direct experience.  They are, apparently, not wired for it, like the sages of the Axial Age Abraham, Moses, Socrates, or Buddha.

When you examine religious traditions you see that Huxley and Jaspers stand on firm ground.  Nobody “got it” like Jesus, and his disciples followed him precisely because he got it.  Even those who do not view him as the divine Son of God recognize his spiritual insights.  Across the pages of the gospels the disciples are constantly missing the point, often expressed in a cryptic epithet like “those that have ears to hear, let them hear.”  Jesus knew some people would “get it” and others would not.

The religions these founders inspired grew up in particular cultures at particular times.  Buddha’s idea of craving, so central to his understanding of human psychology, while similar to the Jewish concept of sin, is expressed in ways difficult to translate across the cultural divide.  This is true of many concepts like forgiveness or salvation.  We must listen acutely to others to comprehend how these ideas are similar enough to one another to reckon that they come from common ground.

Lastly, religious teachings harden over time, and thus some adherents will regard as opponents those with whom they would, on better thought, share common ground.  In our age, many people want to pierce the hardened surfaces of particular religions to find common ground.  Persons of different faiths are willing to explore the depths of faith their religions teach, and share them with others.  This does not at all mean you have to change religions, but it does offer a way to greater peace, stability, and concord among humans. We may yet come to appreciate the gift Huxley offered us in THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY.  (June 2013)

Aldous Huxley and Alternative Spirituality | Reading Religion

Aldous Huxley and Alternative Spirituality | Reading Religion

Link to Publisher's Website

Aldous Huxley and Alternative Spirituality

Texts and Studies in Western Esotericism

Jake Poller

Aries, Vol. 27

• Boston, MA: 
  Brill
  , August
   2019.
   366 pages.
   $203.00.
   E-Book.
  ISBN 

  9789004406902.
   For other formats: Link to Publisher's Website.

Review

Aldous Huxley is among the most important thinkers of the 20th century. He was a key figure among a network of intellectuals and writers interested in transcendence and transformation, and he enormously influenced the Human Potential Movement, the 1960s psychedelic counterculture, the New Age Movement, and deep ecology.

In Aldous Huxley and Alternative Spirituality, Jake Poller reviews Huxley’s investigations and experiments in sociology and mysticism in comparison to the differing perspectives on similar themes in his fiction, including Brave New World (Chatto & Windus, 1932) and Island (Chatto & Windus,1962). Poller skillfully shows the modern literary influence of H.G. Wells and D.H. Lawrence on Huxley’s early aesthetic and also defines a cultic milieu for the Perennial Philosophy, which is contrasted to historical antecedents and similar variations. The author draws heavily from the literary criticism of David Bradshaw and cites Wouter J. Hanegraaff and Jeffrey J. Kripal in positing a Western esoteric tradition. Finally, Poller situates Huxley in a sequence of mind-altering drug champions that include P.D. Ouspensky and Aliester Crowley as predecessors, scientific researchers Humphrey Osmond and Albert Hoffman, and popularizers such as Timothy Leary and Terence McKenna.

Huxley critiqued the aims of Gerald Heard’s Open Conspiracy Club, which envisioned a collective eschatology in Western psychology when an elite group of scientists and industrialists displace nationalist states with a rational, technocratic planetary government. During the first phase, the vague beginnings of organization sought to define the aims with proposals and propaganda, intimate contact with educational reformers, and actual development of the Earth’s resources in a global economy and world banking system. Huxley, who was a member of Heard’s Peace Pledge Union, worried about the dangers of machines intended to elevate humanity instead enslaving people, and he also warned about the possibility of exploitation when humans are trained (and drugged) to be obedient workers and predictable consumers. Huxley believed that peace is not possible without a religious philosophy agreeable to all nations. He rejected behavioralism in favor of Immanuel Kant’s transcendental idealism and proposed a Minimum Working Hypothesis and FourFundamental Tenets of the Perennial Philosophy, which is not universal (found in all religions at all times) but recurs in several traditions. Huxley was intrigued by examples of socially and spiritually mandated forms of sexual promiscuity, and his ideal politics would make the world safe for mystical experience.

Poller traces the varieties of perennialism starting with definitions: “spiritual” is neither secular nor is it institutional religion; “alternative” is not mainstream culture. Mysticism (as defined by William James and Rudolf Otto) is not esotericism (a Renaissance synthesis and polemic Other to Enlightenment discourse) which is not occultism (like Theosophy and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn).

Moreover, Huxley’s Perennial Philosophy is historically distinct from both De Perennis Philosophia (the Vatican librarian’s response to Luther’s protest) and also Marsilia Ficino’s Prisca Theologia (a Platonic worldview derived from the wisdom mythologized in legends of Moses, Hermes Trismegistus, Zoroaster, Orpheus, etc). The late 19th-century and early 20th-century cultic milieu was strongly determined by three inspirations: The Secret Doctrine by Madame Helena P. Blavatsky (Theosophical Publishing Society, 1875), which proposed hidden masters attempting to reconcile all sects and nations under a common system of ethics (later interpretations by Annie Besant and Alice Bailey expanded this concept into administrative offices of a planetary government); Traditionalism (represented by Rene Guenon, Julius Evola, Ananda Coomaraswamy, and Frithjof Schuon) which claimed to transmit a superior but partially corrupted and incomplete ancient knowledge which is inaccessible except through initiation rites similar to the Sufis and Freemasons; and, Neo-Vedanta which emerged from the cross-pollination of Unitarian Christianity and American Transcendentalism and produced a “New Dispensation” that claimed right guidance and practice will enable correct perception of the truth which has been concealed or distorted.

Huxley drafted the prospectus for Heard’s Trabuco College of Prayer, an intentional community imitating the charity and compassion of religious orders. It was imagined as an undogmatic, nonhierarchical, nondenominational club for mystics and rest center for social workers. It was open to maladjusted youth seeking to regain control of themselves and return to an integrated life in the world. Heard was interested in the regeneration of the individual (168), but he also believed the only hope for our derelict civilization is in the emergence of Neo-Brahmins who have attained the next stage of evolution and assumed leadership of humanity (158). Heard practiced an idiosyncratic discipline seeking a telepathic connection to an impersonal psychic field which had no resemblance to Patanjali’s yoga or Swami Vivekananda’s program (151). Huxley visited six times, once with Jiddu Krishnamurti who was disturbed and declined to return. Heard judged his attempt to be a failure and donated the compound to Swami Prabhavananda. Huxley’s interest pivoted toward tantra, which Poller compares to descriptions by Heinrich Zimmer, John Woodroofe, and Hugh Urban.

Huxley believed human progress results not from an evolutionary leap or paranormal training, but through cultivating existing potential aided by pharmacology. Heard also promoted LSD as an educational tool to right-wing Libertarian groups and introduced the drug to the engineers at the Sequoia Seminars who were in pursuit of a man-machine symbiosis through computer-augmented and artificial intelligence. Huxley regarded LSD as “moksha-medicine” (liberation) and the cure-all for modern problems. He took psilocybin at MIT with Leary, who dosed members of the Vedanta Center in Boston using Ganges water in a chalice. Huxley advised Leary to “turn on the elites” and advocated appropriate set-and-setting, but Allen Ginsburg persuaded Leary to reach out to the public instead. The movement that emerged was chaotic and dangerous. 

There was a time when perennialism flourished in the counterculture (through Alan Watts) and in the academy (through Mircea Eliade). However, this important branch of intellectual history and associated figures (including Carl J. Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Huston Smith as exemplars in their respective fields) was stigmatized and rejected in the postmodernist demolition project. Poller rescues Huxley from the disdain heaped on his “synthetic Yoga-Buddhic-Christian religion” and shows the connection between Huxley’s experiments in lived ideology as reflected in his creative literary achievements. Poller’s compelling book enhances appreciation and deepens respect for Huxley’s fiction and visionary mysticism.

About the Reviewer(s): 

Patrick Horn is a Public Scholar and the Membership Committee Chairman for the Religion Communicators Council Board of Governors.

Date of Review: 

July 30, 2020

About the Author(s)/Editor(s)/Translator(s): 

Jake Poller, Ph.D. (2010), Queen Mary University of London, is the editor of Altered Consciousness in the Twentieth Century (Routledge, 2019). 

Categories: 

• comparative religions
 
• literature
 
• 20th century
 
• mysticism
 
• Europe
 
• new religious movements

Keywords: 

• Aldous Huxley, alternative spirituality, mysticism, neo-Vedanta, Taoism, Mahayana, Zen-Buddhism, Western esotericism, mesmerism, spiritualism, paranormal, fiction, Tantric, New Age

김경일 “사람이 왜 이 세상에 태어나는가?”- 1]성불, 2]창생을 구원

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本願에 대하여

언제부터인가 제 오랜 화두가운데 하나는 “사람이 왜 이 세상에 태어나는가?”에 대한 질문입니다.

“사람은 왜 태어나나? 우리는 살면서 꼭 해야만 하는 어떤 일이 있다면 그게 도대체 무엇일까?”

만물이 다 존재 이유가 있듯 사람이 이 세상에 태어나는 것은 어떤 까닭이나 목적이 있을 것 같았습니다.

그러나 그게 확연하지 않았습니다. 늘 생각이 왔다 갔다 하면서 명료하지 않았습니다.

돈을 벌고 지식을 쌓고 명예를 얻고 배우자를 만나 가족을 이루는 등 이런 것 말고 더 근원적인 이유가 있지 않을까?

저는 그것이 本願이라고 생각했습니다. 생각해보니 本來誓願이란 말의 줄임말 같은 생각이 들었습니다.

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본원 위키백과, 대승의 보살들은 자신의 오도(悟道)는 뒤로 돌리고 우선 남을 구제한다는 자미득도선도타(自未得度先度他)의 사상과 실천을 이상으로 하였고, 이러한 중생구제의 염원과 깨달음을 찾아 불도에 들어올(발심 · 發心) 때부터 그 맹세가 요구되었다.[1] 이러한 소원을 마음으로 맹세하는 것, 즉 서원을 일반적으로 본원(本願)이라고 하였다.[1] 예를 들어 아미타불의 사십팔원(四十八願)이나 약사불의 십이원(十二願) 등이 본원에 해당한다.[1] 그러나 정토교에서는, 아미타불이 법장보살이었을 때 중생제도를 기원하여 세운 사십팔원 중 특히 제18원을 본원 중의 본원으로 삼는다는 뜻으로 왕본원(王本願) 혹은 단순히 본원이라 하여 존중하였다.[1] 제18원이란 아미타불이 "생명을 받은 일체의 것이 지심(至心)으로 신락(信樂: 信心歡喜)하고 나의 정토에 태어나기를 원하면, 겨우 십성(十聲)의 염불만을 외었다 할지라도 이를 구제하지 못하면 부처가 될 수 없다"고 말한 서원(誓願)이다.[1] 이 서원은 아미타불 편에서 보면 염불하는 자를 구하기를 맹세한 것이고, 중생편에서 보면 염불을 하면 정토에 다시 태어날 수 있다는 신앙이다.[1]

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그런대 보통 우리는 서원이라고 하면 특별한 사람이 내는 특별한 소원이라고 생각합니다.

그러나 제가 생각하는 본원은 사람이면 누구나 다 근본적으로 태생적으로 있을 것 같았습니다. 아니 사람만이 아니라 모든 유정물이 다 동일한 불성을 가졌다고 말하는 것처럼 모든 유정물은 본원이 있을 것 같다는 생각이 들었습니다.

그 것이 뭘까?

어느날 대종경을 읽다가 대종사께서 이동진화 선진을 만나 "사람이 세상에 태어나 해야 할 가장 근원적이고 크고 중한일은 첫째가 스승을 만나 성불하는 일이고 두번째가 대도를 얻은 뒤에 창생을 구원하는 일"이라고 하신 말씀에서

" 아! 그렇구나! 이것이 우리의 본원이구나" 하는 감각이 들었습니다. 답은 가까이 있었습니다. 온 몸이 전율이 왔습니다. 큰 고비 하나를 넘은 듯 가슴이 시원하고 머리가 개운했습니다.

그러나 잠시 뒤 " 왜 그럼 본원을 아는 사람이 드물까?" 반문이 들었습니다.

그렇지만 그 의문은 오래 가지 않았습니다.

그래! 중생들은 이 세상에 태어나는 순간 숙업에 가려 본원이 어두워질 뿐이지....본원은 영원불멸합니다.

세상에 나오는 순간 현상계의 오욕에 눈멀어 본원은 알지 못하고 재색명리를 구하는 것으로 소원성취를 삼고 살다가 또 세상을 마치고 다시 왔다가 다시 가고....윤회를 거듭하는구나.

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우리는 본디 불성을 가진 존재입니다. 불성만 가진 존재가 아니라 성불제중의 본원을 가진 존재입니다.

성불제중은 특별한 사람만이 갖는 서원이 아닙니다. 너 나 할 것 없이 우리 모든 유정물은 다 이 본원을 가지고 있습니다.

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다만 업력에 밀리고 무명에 가려 알지 못할 뿐입니다. 우리는 사실 성불제중의 서원을 내가 의지로 세우는 것이 아니라 이미 내게 완벽하게 갖추어진 서원을 본래 가지고 있으며 우리는 다만 이를 각성하기만 하면 되는 것입니다.

세상의 조건은 우리 본원을 수행하는데 어떤 조건도 방해가 되지 않습니다.

내가 지금 남자든 여자든, 나이가 많든 적든, 내가 농사를 짓든 교수를 하든, 내가 돈이 많든 적든, 내가 건강하든 건강하지 않든,...몸이 아프면 아픈 몸경계를 가지고 공부하면 됩니다.

지식이 많든 적든, 내가 지금 가지고 있는 환경이나 조건이 좋든 나쁘든 성불하고 제중하는데 전혀 방해받지 않습니다. 아니 방해가 안 되는 정도가 아니라 지금 나에게 주어진 운명과 조건들은 내게 최적화된 나에게만 주어지는 유일한 비로자나 법신불, 진리부처님의 선물, 퍼펙트한 선물입니다.

내게 주어진 이 최고의 선물을 외면하고 따로 공부하기 좋은 조건이 다시없음을 빨리 알아차려야 합니다. 지금 이 자리에서 이 본원을 각성하는 순간 비로소 우리는 대도정법의 신앙과 수행의 여정에 오릅니다. 나는 불성의 존재일 뿐 아니라 본원을 갖춘 존재임을 받아들일 때 불보살과 함께 파수공행합니다.

이 길은 신앙과 수행이 완벽하게 갖추어진 공부길입니다. 온전하게 믿고 그대로 나아가면 됩니다. 이 공부가 일승의 법이며 최상승의 법입니다.

본원을 자각하고 받아들이면 문득 삶의 차원이 달라집니다. 새로운 세상이 열립니다. 개벽이 시작됩니다.

• 내가 늘 원수라고만 여겼던 남편이 내 공부의 최고 자원이고 본원의 동업자이며
• 늘 짐으로만 여겨졌던 자식들이 다 나를 성불의 길로 인도하는 천사들이고 보살들임을 알게 됩니다.
• 피할 수만 있다면 피하고 싶었던 시집식구들이 내게 서원을 이루는 훌륭한 도우미라는 것을 비로소 알게 됩니다.

현상계의 내 삶을 우리가 다 예측할 수는 없습니다. 다만 우리는 이 진리와 법으로 본원을 향해서 공부해 갈 수는 있습니다.

지체하지 마십시오.

두려워 하지 마십시오.

• 본원을 자각하는 순간 동서남북상하의 모든 부처님들이 나를 지켜 주시고 이끌어 주실 것입니다.

넘어져도 아무 문제가 없습니다. 그냥 일어나서 가면 됩니다. 세상의 헛 것에 속지 말고 본원을 향해 나아가면 천지 만물 허공법계는 물론 미물 곤충까지라도 다 나를 지지하고 격려할 것입니다.

(1051010감각)