Apr 21, 2015
VOORJAAR
Apr 11, 2015
THUIS BLIJVEN - STAY HOME
Het mooie is dat de pracht van deze boom gedeeld kan worden met alle mensen die in de grote flat erachter wonen. ik kom ze tegen op straat en ze maken er opmerkingen over.
OK, OK, ik weet het de bloesems beginnen al te vallen. Toch blijf ik kijken naar de schoonheid.
Jun 24, 2012
Ik ontmoet veel mensen die vragen hebben rond religie in deze tijd.
Zelf hebben ze hun kinderen gegeven wat ze konden en zien nu dat de kerken bezocht worden slechts door oudere mensen. Hun kinderen zijn zoekend of hebben afgedaan met religie in de gold van de grote secularisatie. Dit is allemaal heel kort door de bocht, maar ik wil jullie eens meenemen op de tocht van de grote evangelische bewegingen.
Drie grote evangelische bewegingen kunnen we onderscheiden in de loop van het tweede millennium.De eerste grote beweging ging gepaard met een opleving van het gehele kerkelijk leven in West Europa, vooral gekenmerkt door de bouw van de vele kerken en abdijen, reeds beginnend in de tijd van Bernarduss.
De tweede golf ontstond in de 16de eeuw, toen men in verzet kwam tegen de kwalijke kerkelijke praktijken, waarbij het misbruik van de aflaten het opmerkelijkst was.
De derde beweging begon met John Weshley, die een bijzondere Gods ervaring had. Zijn verkondiging werd van toen af sterk emotioneel en zelfs mystiek en tegelijkertijd streed ij ook tegen alle vormen van onrecht. Deze evangelische beweging werd al gauw overgebracht naar Noord Amerika en verspreidde zich snel in de 20ste eeuw naar Latijns Amerika, waar men begon te spreken over de verspreiding van de sekten, die een fundamentalistische uitleg geven aan de Schriften.
De Charismatische bewegingen horen hier ook dikwijls bij, zelfs een katholieke charismatische beweging, omdat deze ook dikwijls een evangelische benadering gebruikt.
En hoe verder????
In De Stad Gods voorspelde Harvey Cox in 1984 dat in de volgende eeuw de evangelische bewegingen het christelijk geloof zullen bepalen.
Is dat zo?
Het bovenstaand citaat kunt u vinden in De Engelen van Jacobus, een voettocht van Enschede naar Santiago de Compostella. In dat boek heb ik een beschrijving gegeven van de tocht zelf, maar daaraan heb ik ook allerlei mijmeringen en gedachten toegevoegd over het sociale, religieuze en politieke leven van West Europa sinds 1225, het jaar waarin Bisschop Engelbert vermoord is.
1. Yinka's Droomtijd, het verhaal van een Aboriginal man die de leider van zijn volk wordt; 16.95, ook te bestellen bij: www.boekscout.nl
2. De Engelen van Jacobus, een tocht van Enschede naar Santiago de Compostella, uitgegeven door Aspect, nu verkrijgbaar bij mij voor slechts 10.00
3. De Tweede Henro Tocht, een pelgrimstocht in Japan langs 88 tempels, met Zen, Boeddha en Jezus teksten. 15.00
4. Schilderend langs de Weg, 77 afbeeldingen van dotpaintings met bijhorende teksten en uitleg, 18.00.
5. The Praying Student, prayers for everyday, gebeden voor Internationale studenten. 15.00
Al deze boeken kunnen bij mij besteld worden: benengelbertink@yahoo.com
Jun 23, 2012
EEN KEER IETS ANDERS
In mijn boekenlijst (zie beneden) staan de meeste titels in verband met reizen en trekken, met pelgrimeren, verhalen vertellen, schilderen. Het boek je The Praying Student valt dan eigenlijk een beetje uit de toon, maar je kunt ook zeggen dat het boek juist een toon zet.
Ik heb er bv. een gebed in staan van een Kikuyu, iemand uit Kenya. Het geeft me een zekere rust, een overgave, een gebed om rust in ons leven door een zekere overgave, zoals we dat ook bij het Boeddhisme aantreffen. Het is een gebed dat nogal verschillend is van een Europees gebed.
In mijn boekenlijst (zie beneden) staan de meeste titels in verband met reizen en trekken, met pelgrimeren, verhalen vertellen, schilderen. Het boek je The Praying Student valt dan eigenlijk een beetje uit de toon, maar je kunt ook zeggen dat het boek juist een toon zet.
Ik heb er bv. een gebed in staan van een Kikuyu, iemand uit Kenya. Het geeft me een zekere rust, een overgave, een gebed om rust in ons leven door een zekere overgave, zoals we dat ook bij het Boeddhisme aantreffen. Het is een gebed dat nogal verschillend is van een Europees gebed.
Let us pray to the God of our ancestors,through Jesus Christ his Son,
in the power of the holy Spirit.
May the leaders of the churches have wisdom
and speak with one voice.
May the leaders of our countries
rule with maturity and justice.
May our countries have trnaquility,
and may the people be blessed.
may the people and the flocks and the hers
prosper and be free from illness.
May the fields bear much fruit
and the land be fertile.
May the face of our enemies
be turned towards peace.
May the path of the world
be swept of all danger.
1. Yinka's Droomtijd, het verhaal van een Aboriginal man die de leider van
zijn volk wordt; 16.95, ook te bestellen bij: www.boekscout.nl
2. De Engelen van Jacobus, een tocht van Enschede naar Santiago de
Compostella, uitgegeven door Aspect, nu verkrijgbaar bij mij voor slechts 10.00
3. De Tweede Henro Tocht, een pelgrimstocht in Japan langs 88 tempels, met
Zen, Boeddha en Jezus teksten. 15.00
4. Schilderend langs de Weg, 77 afbeeldingen van dotpaintings met bijhorende
teksten en uitleg, 18.00.
5. The Praying Student, prayers for everyday, gebeden voor Internationale
studenten. 15.00
Al deze boeken kunnen bij mij besteld worden: benengelbertink@yahoo.com
May 25, 2012
BOEKENLIJST (updated)
Hieronder kun je mijn boekenlijst raadplegen over mijn pelgrimstochten, mijn gedachten langs de weg (een soort dagboek) en verhalen over de plaatsen waar ik bijzondere ervaringen heb opgedaan.
Boeken kunnen bij mij worden besteld door overmaking van het bedrag en vermelding van post-adres.
schrijf naar: benengelbertink@yahoo.com
MIJN NIEUWE BOEKENLIJST
1. The Praying Student, a collection of
prayers used in Delft during Sunday services with International Students, Asbreuk
Enschede, Mei 2012, 204 pgs. Euro 15.00
2.
Schilderend
langs de Weg, 77 dotpaintings en
teksten uit Wiluna, Delft en Enschede,
Asbreuk
Enschede, Maart 2012, 230 pgs. Euro 18.00.
3.
Gedachten
langs de Weg, boek 1, Serawak
1968-1978, Asbreuk Enschede, Februari 2011, 198 pgs. Euro 14.00.
4.
Gedachten
langs de Weg, boek 2, Roosendaal
1978-1990, Asbreuk Enschede, Februari 2012, 269 pgs. Euro 15.00.
5.
Gedachten
langs de Weg, boek
3, Australië 1990-1994, Asbreuk Enschede, Februari
2012. Euro 14.00.
6. Gedachten
langs de Weg, boek 4, Zuid en
West Nederland 1994-2007, Asbreuk Enschede, Februari 2012, 330 pgs. Euro 15.00.
7.
De Tweede Henro
Tocht, een pelgrimstocht naar de
88 tempels in Shikoku, Japan van 20 mei tot 6 juli 2011. Asbreuk Enschede,
October 2011, 206 pgs. Euro 15.00.
8.
Yinka’s Droomtijd, het verhaal van een Aboriginal man die de leider van
zijn volk wordt. Boekscout Soest, 2010; 211 pgs. Vaste prijs: Euro 16.95
9.
Een
Pelgrimstocht, 88 tempels op het
eiland Shikoku, Japan 2de uitgave; Asbreuk Enschede, Nov. 2011, 130
pgs. Uitverkocht.
10. De Engelen van Jacobus, een voettocht van Enschede naar Santiago de
Compostella, uitgeverij Aspect, 2005, 307 pgs. Kortingsprijs 10,00.
11. Wiluna, short annotations
of daily life in Mardogoo Ngurra, 1992-1994. Ingkadah katapuli, including
genealogies, 1996. 112 pgs. Uitverkocht.
Sep 16, 2009
pilgrim
A pilgrimage in Japan.
At first sight it looks a little bit odd when we speak about a pilgrimage in Japan, because we do not know of any holy place over there, except perhaps the shrine of the 26 martyrs of Japan in Nagasaki. However, we may know of course that all religions have their holy places and all religions know pilgrimages. The most famous one for a non-Christian religion is of course the pilgrimage to Mecca by Muslims.
For a long time, ever since watching the film “The Seven Samurai”, a classical Japanese film of the 1960’s, I have been interested in Japan. It has been a strong desire of mine to see the rural life, where the farmers cultivate their rice-fields and have their celebrations of rice-festivals. I also started to read the Japanese theology, especially the books of Susaku Endo about Christianity entering into the soul of the Japanese people, ever since the Franciscans and Jesuits entered Japan towards the end of the 16th century, when Japan opened its doors to Western trade.
When I was on my way to Santiago de Compostella, the famous pilgrimage place of St. James, I met a Japanese person, a Buddhist, who told me about a pilgrimage in Japan, called the Henro pilgrimage on the island of Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is a journey, by foot or bus or car, to 88 temples which mainly have been founded by a holy man, Kobo Daishi, towards the end of the 8th century. The number 88 designates the three important years in the life of a Japanese person. The 60th birthday is one of them and so you find many people of 6o years of age who undertake this pilgrimage in order to obtain good health and luck in their remaining years. The journey by foot is only about 1250 kms.
I tried to study some Japanese but did not get very far. Just a few words to ask for the way, to book a night in a hotel, to order some food and things like that. The people of Shikoku do not speak much English either but we could manage somehow, talking with hands and feet, but mainly with the heart and with my little translator, a language computer.
They are kind, these people of Shikoku, quite different from the rest of Japan. This kindness and hospitality has been brought about by the teachings of Kobo Daishi.
The people are very open for dialogue with the Christians because we all try to obtain the same virtues. It was a pity that we did not encounter any Muslim people nor any Hindus.
The conversations at the evening meal were mainly centred round this topic: interfaith dialogue. It made me decide to dedicate more and more of my time to this dialogue in the neighbourhood where I live now, in Enschede.
The pilgrimage was also a great blessing to my self. There are four provinces in Shikoku. Each province has its own theme for this pilgrimage. First of all you start thinking about your own spirituality. You try to discover how your life has been so far, what you have been doing with yourself in relation to others. In the second province you try to live an ascetic life, not in a negative way, but positively speaking you try to obtain a virtuous life by doing good to others, also for example by not complaining when the going is hard, when the mountains are steep, when the rain is pelting down. These things may turn out to be blessings. In the third province you come to enlightenment by accepting what has happened to you in these weeks. I must say: it worked! I felt enlightened. One night I got a very realistic dream in which I saw bishops and people all round one table, together discussing the problems in the Dutch church and they all listened to each other!!!!
I myself left my set ways of life and tried to open up myself more and more to the people around me. When I lost my way in the mountains in a very bad way, I took it with a smile and enjoyed the extra kilometres. And then finally, there is the time which you spend thinking about Nirwana; we can call it heaven after our life on earth but we also may think about heaven on earth in the here and now.
I walked this pilgrimage not as a Buddhist but as a Christian. I prayed in the temples my own prayers and thanked Kobo Daishi for his great example in the same way as I thank so many people around me who are a blessing to me.
It was a hard pilgrimage, both for physical endurance as well as for spiritual enlightenment. I have seen the beauty of Zen-meditation and felt very good with it. There is so much beauty in the Japanese gardens, in the architecture of the houses and temples, in the quiet way of life of openness to each other, of having time for the pilgrim, showing him the way, even when it meant walking half an hour with him to set him on the right path.
I met my Santiago-friend because he saw a program on TV in which I talked with the champion badminton player of Japan. She was being interviewed on this pilgrimage and I happened to come into the picture too. So she interviewed me and it was broadcasted. My friend managed to trace me by making phonecalls to all hotels and temples in that area.
Towards the end of my time in Japan I still got the chance to see Nagasaki; to see the result of the atom bomb and to see the church of the Japanese martyrs and to hear about the life of the “hidden Christians”. This story I also like to share with you, my dear friends in Schiedam.
When the Shogun, who was kind to the Christians in 1600, had died, he was succeeded by somebody who turned against the West and did not want any trade nor any religion from the western countries. He killed many Christians and crucified 26 of them. The missionaries were killed or expelled. Only the Dutch could trade on an artificial island near the coast of Nagasaki. The Christians fled into the mountains or lived on the islands and kept in hiding for 300 years. All that time there were no priests. Instead of the Eucharist they had their own celebrations in secret and gave each other a small piece of paper with a text from the bible instead of the host.
Since about 1900 they are free again to practice their religion. I went to their church in Nagasaki. Every morning there are about 100 people attending Mass and saying the prayers of the church. Everywhere I saw concrete posts in temples and churches with the words: that peace may prevail.
I said special prayers for all of you when I was in a temple which somehow reminded me of the your community in Schiedam. I lit a candle, burned some incense and thanked God for your good efforts to educate your children in the way of Jesus Christ. You have been a great blessing to me. Thank you.
Fr. Ben Engelbertink
O-henro-san
At first sight it looks a little bit odd when we speak about a pilgrimage in Japan, because we do not know of any holy place over there, except perhaps the shrine of the 26 martyrs of Japan in Nagasaki. However, we may know of course that all religions have their holy places and all religions know pilgrimages. The most famous one for a non-Christian religion is of course the pilgrimage to Mecca by Muslims.
For a long time, ever since watching the film “The Seven Samurai”, a classical Japanese film of the 1960’s, I have been interested in Japan. It has been a strong desire of mine to see the rural life, where the farmers cultivate their rice-fields and have their celebrations of rice-festivals. I also started to read the Japanese theology, especially the books of Susaku Endo about Christianity entering into the soul of the Japanese people, ever since the Franciscans and Jesuits entered Japan towards the end of the 16th century, when Japan opened its doors to Western trade.
When I was on my way to Santiago de Compostella, the famous pilgrimage place of St. James, I met a Japanese person, a Buddhist, who told me about a pilgrimage in Japan, called the Henro pilgrimage on the island of Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is a journey, by foot or bus or car, to 88 temples which mainly have been founded by a holy man, Kobo Daishi, towards the end of the 8th century. The number 88 designates the three important years in the life of a Japanese person. The 60th birthday is one of them and so you find many people of 6o years of age who undertake this pilgrimage in order to obtain good health and luck in their remaining years. The journey by foot is only about 1250 kms.
I tried to study some Japanese but did not get very far. Just a few words to ask for the way, to book a night in a hotel, to order some food and things like that. The people of Shikoku do not speak much English either but we could manage somehow, talking with hands and feet, but mainly with the heart and with my little translator, a language computer.
They are kind, these people of Shikoku, quite different from the rest of Japan. This kindness and hospitality has been brought about by the teachings of Kobo Daishi.
The people are very open for dialogue with the Christians because we all try to obtain the same virtues. It was a pity that we did not encounter any Muslim people nor any Hindus.
The conversations at the evening meal were mainly centred round this topic: interfaith dialogue. It made me decide to dedicate more and more of my time to this dialogue in the neighbourhood where I live now, in Enschede.
The pilgrimage was also a great blessing to my self. There are four provinces in Shikoku. Each province has its own theme for this pilgrimage. First of all you start thinking about your own spirituality. You try to discover how your life has been so far, what you have been doing with yourself in relation to others. In the second province you try to live an ascetic life, not in a negative way, but positively speaking you try to obtain a virtuous life by doing good to others, also for example by not complaining when the going is hard, when the mountains are steep, when the rain is pelting down. These things may turn out to be blessings. In the third province you come to enlightenment by accepting what has happened to you in these weeks. I must say: it worked! I felt enlightened. One night I got a very realistic dream in which I saw bishops and people all round one table, together discussing the problems in the Dutch church and they all listened to each other!!!!
I myself left my set ways of life and tried to open up myself more and more to the people around me. When I lost my way in the mountains in a very bad way, I took it with a smile and enjoyed the extra kilometres. And then finally, there is the time which you spend thinking about Nirwana; we can call it heaven after our life on earth but we also may think about heaven on earth in the here and now.
I walked this pilgrimage not as a Buddhist but as a Christian. I prayed in the temples my own prayers and thanked Kobo Daishi for his great example in the same way as I thank so many people around me who are a blessing to me.
It was a hard pilgrimage, both for physical endurance as well as for spiritual enlightenment. I have seen the beauty of Zen-meditation and felt very good with it. There is so much beauty in the Japanese gardens, in the architecture of the houses and temples, in the quiet way of life of openness to each other, of having time for the pilgrim, showing him the way, even when it meant walking half an hour with him to set him on the right path.
I met my Santiago-friend because he saw a program on TV in which I talked with the champion badminton player of Japan. She was being interviewed on this pilgrimage and I happened to come into the picture too. So she interviewed me and it was broadcasted. My friend managed to trace me by making phonecalls to all hotels and temples in that area.
Towards the end of my time in Japan I still got the chance to see Nagasaki; to see the result of the atom bomb and to see the church of the Japanese martyrs and to hear about the life of the “hidden Christians”. This story I also like to share with you, my dear friends in Schiedam.
When the Shogun, who was kind to the Christians in 1600, had died, he was succeeded by somebody who turned against the West and did not want any trade nor any religion from the western countries. He killed many Christians and crucified 26 of them. The missionaries were killed or expelled. Only the Dutch could trade on an artificial island near the coast of Nagasaki. The Christians fled into the mountains or lived on the islands and kept in hiding for 300 years. All that time there were no priests. Instead of the Eucharist they had their own celebrations in secret and gave each other a small piece of paper with a text from the bible instead of the host.
Since about 1900 they are free again to practice their religion. I went to their church in Nagasaki. Every morning there are about 100 people attending Mass and saying the prayers of the church. Everywhere I saw concrete posts in temples and churches with the words: that peace may prevail.
I said special prayers for all of you when I was in a temple which somehow reminded me of the your community in Schiedam. I lit a candle, burned some incense and thanked God for your good efforts to educate your children in the way of Jesus Christ. You have been a great blessing to me. Thank you.
Fr. Ben Engelbertink
O-henro-san
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