Rowan
Williams: how Buddhism helps me pray
By John Bingham, Religious Affairs
Editor 7:49PM BST 02 Jul 2014
He also spends time
pacing slowly and repeatedly prostrating himself as part of an
intense early morning ritual of silent meditation and
prayer.
The normally private
former Archbishop has given a glimpse of his personal devotions in
an article for the New Statesman explaining the power of religious
ritual in an increasingly secular world.
Lord Williams has
spoken in the past about how in his youth he contemplated becoming
a monk as well as joining the Orthodox church.
He explained that he
draws daily inspiration from the practice, common to both the Greek
and Russian orthodox churches, of meditating while repeatedly
reciting the “Jesus Prayer”, which says: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of
God, have mercy upon me, a sinner”.
“Over the years
increasing exposure to and engagement with the Buddhist world in
particular has made me aware of practices not unlike the ‘Jesus
Prayer’ and introduced me to disciplines that further enforce the
stillness and physical focus that the prayer entails,” he
explained
“Walking meditation,
pacing very slowly and coordinating each step with an out-breath,
is something I have found increasingly important as a preparation
for a longer time of silence.
“So: the regular
ritual to begin the day when I’m in the house is a matter of an
early rise and a brief walking meditation or sometimes a few slow
prostrations, before squatting for 30 or 40 minutes (a low stool to
support the thighs and reduce the weight on the lower legs) with
the 'Jesus Prayer': repeating (usually silently) the words as I
breathe out, leaving a moment between repetitions to notice the
beating of the heart, which will slow down steadily over the
period.”
Far from it being
like a “magical invocation”, he explained that the routine helps
him detach himself from “distracted, wandering images and
thoughts”, picturing the human body as like a 'cave' through which
breath passes.
“If you want to
speak theologically about it, it’s a time when you are aware of
your body as simply a place where life happens and where,
therefore, God ‘happens’: a life lived in you,” he
added.
He went on to
explain that those who perform such rituals regularly could reach
"advanced states" and become aware of an "unbroken inner
light".