When the tangible challenges the intangible - part II

A mystical encounter between Christianity and Buddhism in 2024 contexts...

Find here the first half: When the tangible challenges the intangible - part I

And then, in a burst of light that outshone all stars, their essences intertwined, the energies of their beliefs mingling in a dance as old as time itself.

As the dialogue between Aruna and The Emissary unfolded, the grand hall of the temple bore witness to more than an exchange of words. It became a theater for the manifestation of their inner truths, a visual symphony of the evolution of spirit and belief.

At the onset, The Emissary towered over Aruna, a colossal figure robed in the authority of his celestial mandate. He looked down upon the diminutive Aruna, whose steadfast gaze was lifted skyward. The disparity in their statures was stark, as if to underline the vast chasm between their understandings of the divine.

As the words left Aruna's lips, little by little, a subtle shift began to take place. The temple's ethereal light gently pulsed, resonating with his conviction. The Emissary's imposing figure started to diminish, imperceptibly at first, like a distant star shrinking into the dawn.

With each passing moment and each assertion of Aruna's heartfelt beliefs, the balance visibly shifted. The monk's form began to grow, not in arrogance or aggression, but as a reflection of the strength of his inner light. His stature, once dwarfed by The Emissary, now rose in tandem with his words.

When the luminous forms of Aruna and The Emissary hovered within the sanctum of the ancient temple, Aruna felt the surge of centuries coursing through him, the ebb and flow of countless souls seeking the divine in myriad forms.

"The world has journeyed beyond the bounds of ancient scriptures, Emissary," Aruna's voice was a gentle but firm assertion, a reflection of the world's ever-evolving spirit. "The essence of Christianity, as with all paths to the divine, has transformed. It has grown with the hearts of those who follow it, adapting to the whispers of change that time brings."

The Emissary's radiance flickered like a star questioning its place in the firmament. "The Almighty is unchanging, immutable," he insisted, but his voice betrayed a tremor of uncertainty.

“Look at the spirits of your own faith. Jesus was willing to be crucified, tortured, and killed to save the world. Numerous saints and prophets, they too cultivated themselves, reached for the divine through acts of love, compassion, and humility. They became vessels of the sacred, as can any soul," Aruna asserted, his gaze compassionate, and his form expanding with the depth of his insight. His next words carried the hint of enlightenment. "If the Almighty is unchanging, then He is the love that knows no bounds, not the power that controls our fates. He is not a ruler commanding us from on high, but a presence that nurtures and cherishes all of creation. In this love, there is no room for omnipotence, for true love empowers rather than overpowers."

A profound silence followed, as if the very stones of the temple were contemplating Aruna's words. The Emissary's figure seemed to soften, the harsh lines of his conviction blurring into something more tender, more open to the vast human experience.

"A flower has its own world. Every soul is a spark of the divine," Aruna continued, "and every faith, a path to understanding that spark. We are not here to argue which path holds dominion over others, but to recognize that all paths can lead to the sacred heart of love."

The Emissary, whose form was once rigid with the certitude of God, now appeared to waver, touched by Aruna’s vision of a God who was not an omnipotent overlord but a loving essence that pervaded all things.

"Perhaps," The Emissary finally spoke, his voice as soft as a whisper of divine wind, "the true measure of the Almighty's love is found not in the might of His will, but in the grace of His embrace. And the magnitude of the Almighty's creation lies not in grandeur and dominion, but in the potential for growth in every being, the capacity for every soul to rise."

At this moment, The Emissary's once overwhelming presence had receded, his form now closer in size to Aruna's. His celestial glow dimmed, not extinguished, but equalized, as if acknowledging the merit in Aruna's perspective.

The temple became a crucible of transformation. With each acknowledgment from The Emissary, the figures adjusted, until at last, Aruna and The Emissary stood eye to eye, their forms bathed in the same celestial light, equal and equilibrized. It was as though the very cosmos had reconfigured itself around the truth they had unearthed together.

"In the eyes of the sacred, all are equal," Aruna spoke, now as an equal to The Emissary. "Our paths may differ, but our destination is the same. It is not above or below us—it is within us."

The Emissary, now gazing directly into Aruna's eyes, nodded. "And in recognizing the divinity within each other, we honor the myriad ways the Almighty speaks to us. We are different reflections of the same truth, facets of the same unending love. The sacred spirits welcomed all who sought them with a sincere heart.

The temple, silent now, seemed to approve. The light that filled the hall was no longer a battleground of contrasting beliefs, but a harmonious glow that celebrated the unity of their revelations. Aruna and The Emissary, once adversaries in faith, now stood as two pilgrims who had journeyed through the landscape of the spirit to arrive at a shared vista.

They turned to look at the temple around them, no longer as representatives of differing dogmas, but as two humans who had traversed the path of self-cultivation to touch the sacred spirits. The temple’s ancient carvings, depicting myriad deities and saints, seemed to come alive, approving of this new understanding. Aruna and The Emissary, realizing their journey was not solitary, were accompanied by the silent approval of ages past. Everything that needed to be said was understood in the silent language of shared divinity.

***

"Francesco, has Pope Francis' Sunday Mass schedule been out on our website and all the social media? Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and what’s that new one? Threads! You're here to be the intern of communication, not to play video games!"

"Father Gabriele, you got to check this out! It’s bussin! Much cooler and way more useful than those dull boomer sites and socials! If you want to reach us the new gens…"

***

“Master, Master, Huineng¹ has fallen asleep again. He was secretly playing mobile games until dawn last night," the young novice monk's tattling voice rang out.

Monk Hongren², untroubled, responded with a gentle smile, "Playing games is likewise a form of self-cultivation. All beings in this life are merely partaking in a vast game, a fleeting dream. If you cannot be part of all beings, how can you universalize all beings?"

Just awakened, Huineng looked up blankly, still with the echo of The Emissary’s voice from the game in his mind: "You've passed, and I've advanced as well. See you at next round."

The screen displayed in big font:

---

VR New Genesis

GPT-V42000

1. Huineng: Dajian Huineng, also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan, is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhism.

2. Hongren: Daman Hongren, the master of Dajian Huineng, also commonly known as the fifth Patriarch of Chinese Chan Buddhism.