Why I'm Introducing Greek and Syrian Devotional Traditions

Thus saith the LORD, Stand on the road and see, and seek the ancient way, and walk in it which is the good way. (Jer 6:16)

1. Introduction to Greek and Syrian devotional traditions

 The purpose of this account is to introduce the Greek and Syrian spiritual traditions in the Eastern Church. The so-called Eastern Church is relative to the Latin-speaking Roman Catholic (Catholic) and Protestant (Protestant) in the West, mainly referring to the Eastern and Eastern local churches after the division of the Roman Empire, including the Orthodox Church (mainly referring to Greek-speaking churches and Later, the Slavic Church) and other foreign churches separated by the Council of Chalcedon were divided by language into the Syrian (Syriac) Church, the Coptic (Coptic) Church, and the Armenian (Armenian) Church. [1] Since my interests and learning background are mainly focused on the Greek and Syrian traditions, I would like to start from these two traditions and introduce their spirituality. Therefore, although the spiritual practice discussed here will be similar to the traditional Chinese "spiritual" training methods, such as knowing the mind and seeing the nature, cultivating both life and life, respecting and directing oneself, cultivating a mighty qi, prudent independence, and refining the mind, but they must not be the same. language (there will be a column dedicated to it later).

I think the foothold of this official account is to translate, study, and introduce the Greek and Syrian godfathers and their spiritual scriptures from the perspective of academic discussions, in order to use the past for the present and bless the present generation.

2. The "use" and significance of this spiritual tradition in the present generation

Three major misconceptions about spirituality today

• Thinking that spiritual practice is useless and worthless

 In this materialistic, scientific, practical, and economical generation, it is not news that spiritual practice is worthless. A friend of science and engineering once chatted with me, and he thought that theology and spirituality seemed to have no practical use. This kind of misunderstanding of spiritual practice is not an isolated case. The social trend is also the same. People think that if a person is physically ill, they should seek a doctor, if they are mentally ill, they should seek a psychiatrist, if there is a problem with their child, they should seek relevant experts. Relevant people came out to solve it. It seems that all problems can be solved with money. The result of this trend is that there is no room for spirituality to enter people's lives. However, this generation has overlooked one point, that is, no matter how advanced science is, no matter how rich materials are, and no matter how powerful experts are, they cannot solve the most fundamental problem of human beings, that is: the greed and evil thoughts of the human heart. Scientists can't solve this problem, psychologists can't solve it, economists can't solve it, no experts can solve it, and no amount of fame, fortune, and glory can solve it. According to catholic tradition, only the Lord Jesus Christ can solve it, because only He overcomes human sin and sets an example for us, because only when this problem is solved can people be one with the Lord. The spiritual practice is to solve the greed and evil thoughts of the human heart, and to be one with the Lord. Therefore, the value of spiritual practice is extremely high, and all the glory in this world is incomparable. People can have all the glory in the world, fame and fortune, but compared to spiritual practice, these are still rubbish. For the glory of this world, fame and fortune are like the flowers on the grass, the grass will wither, and the flowers will wither, but those who follow the way of the Lord will live forever. For this reason, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to teach that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)[2] For "if a man gains the whole world, For what profit is it that I lose my life?" (Matt 16:26) Indeed, spirituality is the only way to gain Christ and become one with the Lord, as Paul said: "I have given up all things for him, and I regard it as dung, that we may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8) 

• Thinking that devotion is easy to learn, or simply that devotion is reading the Bible and praying

 Spiritual cultivation is not something that can be solved by participating in one or two retreat meetings and spiritual training meetings. We have attended many such meetings, but in the end, we are still prone to anger at people, judge people, and often commit crimes. Of course, this is not to say that it is useless to participate in these, but to say that spiritual practice is not a one-time homework, but a lifetime homework, not a one-time practice, but a constant practice. It is just before our anger will be released. time, when our evil thoughts should be dealt with or not dealt with. Furthermore, devotion cannot be "reduced" to reading and praying, which is of course an important discipline, but not the whole of it. Because spiritual practice changes our lives, it involves both internal and external cultivation. Internally, we must be vigilant and pray, overcome evil thoughts, and have a pure heart before God; externally, we must love others as ourselves, change bad habits, and develop good habits. Therefore, spiritual practice is difficult, it can be said to be the most difficult study. According to the monks, spiritual practice is the pinnacle of science and the pinnacle of art. As Father St. Hesco said in Section 121 of "On Awakening": "The top of science, the best of art is to overcome evil thoughts."[3] Since people learn to be doctors, lawyers or experts in a certain field will spend more than ten years Years, or even a lifetime of effort, let alone spiritual practice? Wouldn't it be better to spend a lifetime practicing it all the time? One can have all the scientific knowledge and artistic talents, but these are only elementary school compared to the art of spiritual prayer.

• that spirituality is mysticism

 Spirituality is certainly not mysterious. We say it's mysterious because we don't understand it, and once we understand it, it's no longer mysterious. The Trinity God is of course mysterious, and spirituality has ineffable parts, but it is not mysterious in itself, because God is not far from us, He is in our mouths, in our hearts, in our daily life, in the Lord Jesus Christ. two commandments: love God and love others. 

Ways to find spirituality, visit ancient trails, discover Greek and Syrian spiritual traditions

Although spiritual practice is high, it is not arrogant, and has nothing to do with our daily life. On the contrary, spiritual practice is closely related to our thoughts, words and deeds. Although spiritual practice is difficult, it is not that there is no way to go. This road is not the result of a single person's brainstorming, nor is it the result of a single person's spiritual practice, but in the history of the church, through God's grace and guidance, Thousands of Christians have developed a spiritual tradition through the practice of Christ's commandment to love God and love others. The purpose of this number is to introduce, translate, study Greek and Syrian spiritual scriptures, search for ancient paths, find the right path of spiritual practice, and live a life pleasing to the Lord. [4]

Since this spiritual tradition comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, it should not be limited to certain geographical areas or certain groups, but should be shared with the Chinese cultural circle at least from the perspective of academic discussion, in order to bless us 's nation. I am happy to share these spiritual traditions, because it should not be put on the shelf, left to decay and be forgotten somewhere, on the contrary, it should resound through the sky and become the common sense of this generation.

[1] For an overview of Eastern Churches, see: "Eastern Churches." In New Catholic Encyclopedia , 2nd ed., 17-21. Vol. 5. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2003. New Catholic Encyclopedia Complete (accessed May 29 , 2020). https://link-gale-com.proxy.bc.edu/apps/doc/CX3407703502/GVRL.ncec?u=mlin_m_bostcoll&sid=GVRL.ncec&xid=5b2ccdc1.

[2] All Bibles are quoted according to the Combined Version. If there is a discrepancy between the original text and the Combined Version, the Sigao Version will be referred to as appropriate, and the translation will be quoted according to the original text. The names of people and places in the Bible are quoted in the Combined Version.

[3]尼哥底母（Nicodemos）编,慕善集（ Philokalia ）. Ed. by St. Nicodemos of The Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth, Φιλοκαλία τῶν ἱερῶν νηπτικῶν: ἐνερανισθεῖσα παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ θεοφόρων πατέρων , 3rd ed., vols.1 (Athens: Aster-Papademetriou, 1957), p. 159. All references in English are in Chicago format.

[4] Of course, in the West, there are also spiritual resources of the Latin godfathers, but due to the limited ability of the author, I have not been able to cover them.