Why Lam Rim?

Why would Christians want to use the Lam Rim as a path of spiritual development? From my own experience I can give 3 reasons:

1. It is specifically oriented toward a process of spiritual growth, rather than mere memorization of texts or inculcation and recital of beliefs.
2. It is systematic, providing a comprehensive framework for organizing religious precepts (at least, in my experience, those of Christianity and Buddhism).
3. It is cumulative: Each step provides a base of knowledge, practice and motivation upon which the next step can be built.

"Four especially great facets" of the Lam Rim are listed by the Third Dalai Lama in his work Essence of Refined Gold (a highly recommended exposition of this work is the Dalai Lama's The Path to Enlightenment). In their original form, these facets apply just to the Buddhist path, but they can also be generalized as suitable goals for Christian spiritual development.

1. "It reveals how all the various doctrines of the Buddha are non-contradictory." If we consider Jesus to be an enlightened being, then we should be able to discover many ways in which the teachings of Jesus and Buddha are also non-contradictory.
2. "All the various teachings will be taken as personal advice." We should take it to heart when Jesus says "I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you."
3. "The thought of Buddha will be easily found." The Apostle Paul says "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:5). It would be of great help to us to be able to discern what that mind was and is.
4. "The great mistake of abandoning a lineage of Dharma will spontaneously be arrested." A "lineage of Dharma" refers to a particular tradition of spiritual teachings. Christians also surely need that kind of help, as evidenced in the old hymn "Come, thou Fount of every blessing":

Oh, to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to Thee:
prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it;
seal it for Thy courts above.

Why Bother? (2) What The Bible Says

Why follow any path of spiritual development? Again and again in the Bible we find the equivalent of the Buddha's Four Assurances: in the wisdom sayings of the Hebrew Bible, in the sayings of Jesus, and in the letters of the Apostles:

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

-- Psalm 1

If you abide in me,
and my words abide in you,
ask for whatever you wish,
and it will be done for you.
My Father is glorified by this,
that you bear much fruit
and become my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you;
abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments,
you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and abide in his love.
I have said these things to you
so that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be complete.

-- John 15:7-11

Finally, beloved,
whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is just,
whatever is pure,
whatever is pleasing,
whatever is commendable,
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
Keep on doing the things that you have learned
and received and heard and seen in me,
and the God of peace will be with you.

-- Philippians 4:8-9

NEXT: Why Lam Rim?

Why Bother? (1) What Buddha Said

The Buddha's warning label in the previous post seems a very difficult prescription: we are to learn and "know for ourselves" which "qualities" are to be abandoned and which are to be "adopted and carried out" by "entering and remaining in them". Learning and applying all this looks like a long, hard slog. Fortunately, the lam rim breaks this up into small steps, and each step builds on what you have learned in previous steps. But why bother? The Buddha gives us the Four Assurances:

"...one who is a disciple of the noble ones — with a mind thus free from hostility, free from ill will, undefiled, and pure — acquires four assurances in the here and now:

"'If there is a world after death, if there is the fruit of actions rightly & wrongly done, then this is the basis by which, with the break-up of the body, after death, I will reappear in a good destination, the heavenly world.' This is the first assurance.

"'But if there is no world after death, if there is no fruit of actions rightly & wrongly done, then here in the present life I look after myself with ease — free from hostility, free from ill will, free from trouble.' This is the second assurance.

"'If evil is done through acting, still I have willed no evil for anyone. Having done no evil action, from where will suffering touch me?' This is the third assurance.

"'But if no evil is done through acting, then I can assume myself pure in both respects.' This is the fourth assurance."

"Kalama Sutta: To the Kalamas" (AN 3.65).
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Access to Insight, 30 November 2013

NEXT: Why Bother? (2) What The Bible Says