The idea of God in the Judaic-Christian sense can easily relate to shunyata . The Judaic-Christian religious tradition has portrayed God as omnipresent and all encompassing. The idea of the source of creation or the space in which phenomena arise could substitute for the creator God, the idea that "He" was terrifying and unapproachable for humans in general is also appropriate. With the advent of Christianity, the idea that Jesus or the Christ principle, the heart of loving-kindness, could mediate with God, and allow one to dwell in the grace of the Holy Spirit, bares a strong resemblance to the concept of achieving Magga through Metta meditation.

The symbol of the Cross is obviously prevalent in the west due to the great influence of Christianity. In the area in which I live, the signs of centuries of Catholicism are evident in the crosses ubiquitous to every French Catholic village or town. In the Catholic Encyclopaedia, in the section concerning grace, it says that "it appears to one not in it, that one suffused with grace, is one dwelling in the light ineffable." I like that, but would postulate it is neither being nor not being in a state of grace, but realization of the grace already existent.

If you take the cross to be a horizontal and vertical line, you might think of Grace being the vertical part. The descent of the Divine Spirit or grace, realisation of the essential freedom that permeates phenomena. This speaks to the realization of emptiness or Bodhicitta as the great healer or Grace and the permeation of the holy spirit, that which is beyond doing or becoming, yet provides the spaciousness and freedom-ground for doing and becoming. The horizontal part represents the interplay of becoming, the things you meet, the interfacing between phenomena, the dance of existence. The cross becomes the symbol for the realisation of emptiness, ultimate Bodhicitta or grace, and the meeting with the Compassionate interplay between phenomena.

Interestingly this nexus meets in the heart region, long considered the gateway for both the realisation of Bodhicitta or Grace and the interplay of Compassion.

Glossary

shunyata - "voidness;" the lack of self-nature or substantial identity in all phenomena

Magga - literally, "path;" in this context, a realization of path, ie., a spiritual breakthrough.

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