Monday, March 1st, 2010
The Assembly
One day many of the major philosophies and religions of humanity sent delegates to a meeting hall to prove which of them had realized the truth of the universe. They determined that each party should take turns to state the efforts they had put forth to obtain the highest truth and the sources which they had use to assure that it was as high, and as true, as that party professed it to be. Each party only had a brief time to explain themselves, because all knew the tendency of all present to wax eloquent about all things and to argue for hours over the most insignificant.
First to speak was the delegate from the tribal religions - the shamanistic, animistic, and similar traditions. Rising powerfully, and wearing a face of boldness, the speaker proclaimed, “We have followed the counsel of the spirits with all of our heart. We have given the best of our crops, the best of our animals, and the best of our time to them in order to appease them and to retain the joy of harmony with them. We do nothing to harm the natural world and never waste anything that the earth gives to us. We respect the wives, land, and property of all our neighbors, and do no unnecessary harm to anything. We have gotten our counsel from the spirits of our ancestors who have died and gone beyond as they have entered our priests, the counsel of the spirits as they have entered our priests, and from the whisperings of our mother - from earth - as she has revealed to us the way to live with in her.
As the tribal delegate became seated next to speak was the delegate from Hinduism. Standing fluidly , and wearing and expression of deep wisdom, they pronounced, “We have received, by the influence of the gods upon the minds of mortals the holy writings and have followed them to the letter, as well as revering the teachings of all gurus and priests. Through all these we have seen the innumerable gods and goddesses that rule in the world. Through these we have seen the one Uncaused Cause that exists behind them, within them, and within all things - including us. We have sacrificed our best horses, our bodies, and our time in order to go beyond the cycle of death of woe and have meditated for hours to realize the illusionary nature of the world and our inherent godness. We do nothing corruptive and regard deep thought as the most auspicious.”
Next to speak was the representative of Buddhist thought. Wearing a smile from ear to ear, they said, “Long ago Siddhartha Gautama set out to realize the truth of the world and won enlightenment for all sentient beings while seated under the bodi tree. We have followed the Buddha, walked the Dharma, and taken refuge in the community of believers. We too have meditated and realized the illusionary nature of the world but we have also realize the illusionary nature of our very selves. We have forsook all that is evil, neither hate nor despise anything, and know that every thing is no thing at all. Devoted to becoming a Buddha ourselves, we seek to never again enter the cycle of birth and death and to bring all that exist beyond the waters of life and death with us.”
Following the Buddhist representative came the Jewish Rabbi. Solidly comporting themselves and precisely dividing their words they said, “Long ago our father Abraham was called out of the paganism of his day and into the truth of one pure God. Later God came down upon Mount Sinai and gave to Moses on table of stone the highest moral law humanity has ever seen. At that time God also gave to Moses other books of law -wherein are contained the 613 rules of conduct that we never violate. God has since continued to speak with us first through the inspiration of prophets and then the wisdom of Rabbis. We attend to all those sayings with all our heart and, pray, fast, debate, and study daily those writings that are the basis of our contract with God.”
Once the Rabbi had retaken their seat the Islamic holy man rose, and almost singing declared, “There is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet. We have received our wisdom from the very voice of God as it moved through his messenger at the command of the angel Gabriel. We submit ourselves totally to the divine will. We pray numerous times daily while facing toward Mecca, we fast, and we study the Holy Koran to know the mind of Almighty God and to live up to God’s words even though oceans of ink and all this world’s trees turned to pens could never pen them all.”
When the Rabbi was finished the Christian Apostle, with smile and bounce, took to their feet and said, “Indeed there is only one God but we do not have to look only to the words of prophets to find them for God himself has came to earth and revealed to us the words of truth in the form of Jesus. We have all been put beyond the reach of God by the evil committed firstly by our fathers and then by us. God sent his Son to us to pay the price for our mistakes, the price of death, so that our slate can be clean. The good news does not stop there though for a pig once clean will only jump again into the pit, but Jesus sent the Holy Spirit - as the Father sent him- so that we can have the power within us to keep clean and to constantly be made more like Christ and the Father.
After the Apostle there stood a traditionally dressed Chinese man whose deportment made clear his Confucian roots. After taking a controlled, and respectful breath, said, “I profess no direct divine communication as the rest do but I do not reject the power, or the rule, of heaven. The duty falls to every person to educate themselves, to honor their ancestors, their teachers, and their parents. We are all born into this world to fulfill a task none other can accomplish and none can deny their fate or lot in life.”
Waiting patiently till the Confucian finished was a fine dressed, and well mannered, European who spoke with poise and presence of mind saying, “I am a pupil of logic and a child of science. I respect all those here but all here represent majorities that I do not respect because they do not think. I am born from the bold questions of Plato and Socrates, hardened by the relentless observations of empiricists, and flee the psychological weaknesses - and childlike needs- found in those who comfort themselves with foggy father and mother figures who live in the sky. I accept only objective, observable, and repeatable data because all other so called ‘truths’ are either relics of a more ancient ape like mind, or pillows to soften the hard reality.”
As the Materialist was returning to their seat, and before the Janis, Sikh, or Zoroastrian speakers could rise, there came a sudden and tremendous cackle from the rafters of the auditorium. All those present were aghast at the thought of one who could laugh at such an important gathering. The chairman of the assembly stood and demanded, “Who is this that speaks out of turn?” The one in the rafters replied, still chuckling, “I came hoping one of you might tell me.” This offended the chairman even more and he quipped, “What is your name?” The one in the ceiling replied, “Good sir, there is no name in all of heaven that is mine but people insist upon getting my attention with some silly sounds that I neither like or hate.”
The chairman was not at all amused and said, in a very authoritive tone, “Stop speaking in riddles and answer me.” The one in the ceiling at this point had climbed down out of the rafters and, standing a distance they knew the chair would find comfortable, said, “I speak in truths and because you do not understand they seem to be riddles. I have never once failed to answer you but so you can interact with me you can call me Tzu”. After saying this Tzu leaped onto the desk and, without a care, sat in the middle of it cross legged. The chairman said, “Will you not use a chair?” to which Tzu, still smiling , replied “Will you not use your mind?”.
Now Tzu had gone to far and the chairman said, “I am sure I speak for all here when I ask how it is you can be so jolly at such an important event as this?” Tzu replied, “Because I want to go through life living until I die not dying until I am dead”. The chairman, realizing now that Tzu was not rude just totally unconventional, said, “We all must die daily in order to realize the truth.” Chuckling Tzu replied, “If you die one day you will not realize anything on the day following. I am as disciplined as any here I am just beyond bounds and fears.” The chairman snorted, “Are you suggesting we are caged and afraid?” Tzu replied, “Yes and no — all things are so deep they are always yes and no — but so you understand I say that each of you are bound by the constructs and ideas that are designed to liberate you. Your’s is the worst cage of all — one that exists only in the mind and that is built because you reverently fear to see beyond your side.”
Seeking now to make dislike for Tzu arise, and to manipulate the existing divides, the chairman asked Tzu, “Which of us here represent the truth?” With a gleam in his eye Tzu replied, “I do not care if all here hate me or love me, such external validations are sought only by those who are half awake or selfish, but I think the answer might make you laugh and so I’ll tell you. All of you here represent the truth but none of you here are the truth. It is silly to compare things by ‘like’ or ‘unlike’ because everyone has a different measure that they go by. One says the black man is not like the white man because their skin is ‘different’ and I say they are the ‘same’ because both their blood is red. Another says apples are not like oranges but I say they are identical because they both grow on trees, have seeds, arise from dirt, drink the sun, and sip water. You see it is all based on what you want to go by as to how alike or unalike things are one with another. Being able to see all the similarities, differences, and perspectives is called, “Sitting on the Axis as the Wheel Spins” and it is what the wise strive for.
All here have began at different points but all here live and move upon the same circle. All here say ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ but ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are measurements the mind takes according to a rule, and since all have a set of rules that measure themselves as being the ‘right ones’ and others as being the ‘wrong ones’ what is Ultimately right and wrong are obscured. There is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ but these do not arise from the measurements of mortals, they arise from the construction and nature of things, and these are determined by Heaven. Thus Heaven is the ultimate ruler and the effect any action has on a thing will reveal to you if you are in harmony with Heavens Way or if you are just in Heavens way.”
Tzu continued, “This reality cannot be named flawlessly because the namers are all flawed. This infinity cannot be named according to is total infinitude because the mind, and the tools used to express its contents, begin as small as a speck and grow until they die. If ones says, “I know”, then they have forever set themselves beyond learning. The Ultimate Heavenly Way is known only unto itself and all those way here represented, when measured by it, are right and wrong in varying degrees on all the varying topics. Forsake nary drop of truth but partake nary drop of pride. There is no better or worse only different, after all who is better the Queen or the subjects? The Queen rules with wisdom but without subjects the Queen herself would be subjected to the simplest of lives. Most are blinded by the concepts that are intended to make them see just like the man whose jaw was broken by the machine that was supposed to help him chew.”
“No part of a circle can represent the whole and no one thing can tell you the secrets of everything. I once heard of a Hebrew who said, “There is safety in a multitude of counselors”, and I think he was not far from the Way. All parts of the systems represented here, and all parts of the people who believe in them can exist in harmony one with another, all parts that is except two, the part that insists its superiority over others and the part that denies others the power to make themselves. Every guppy in the pond is a small fish and just as one cannot eat for another, speak for another, walk for another, or live for another they cannot think for another — do not violate the way of Heaven.”
“I walk the Ultimate Unnamable Way and it will take me to the Ultimate Unnamable End; when I get there do have tea waiting!”, and saying this Tzu rose from the table, and laughing casually, strolled out the door.”
Saturday, February 13th, 2010
Recently I was listening to a well studied, and kind, Christian speaker that was teaching people about truth who said, albeit politely, that Buddhist writings talk in circles and cannot be understood. This is very unfortunate because even though at times Buddhists write in a complex, and hard to understand, way their teachings are very deep and practical. The speaker quoted the following verse to prove his point:
“The realization that undifferentiated emptiness is the sole absolute truth.
Nirvana therefore is that mental state in which one realizes that all things are really non-existent.”
In order to see if his claims hold true, we are going to analyze this verse however we are going to do so by applying Buddhist understanding to the text and not a Christian understanding.
Before we begin to look at the statement we are first going to look at the foundations of Buddhism and some of the concepts it has about reality. After this we will try to look at the words through the eyes of the writer and give them the meaning closer to what writer intended, or at least in the same vein of thought. What we will not do is look at the words through our western philosophical and religious systems, judge it by our current understanding, or apply our personal definitions to them. Those who judge something without understanding it are not wise and doom themselves, as well as those they teach, to great misunderstanding and illusion.
One cannot understand this verse without first understanding Buddhism and the first step to doing that is to look at the story about the life of its founder. As with most all ancient religions there are many different stories and schools of thought that have blossomed from the ideas and life of the founder. This then is not an all encompassing treatise on the ultimate nature of Buddhism, it is the understanding of Buddhism that I have gleaned from the study of Buddhist I have been conducting from some time now. As always never accept one voice, or book, as the ultimate authority about everything or anything. One cannot study and eat apples and know the flavor of oranges, only oranges can reveal to you the flavor of oranges — not books or growers of oranges can do that. We each need to be always open and always seeking if we are ever going to have right understanding.
How Siddhartha Woke Up
Once long ago there was a son born to a powerful king. The child’s mother received a dream that told of his importance and a sage told of his of his two possible fates. The wiseman said to the king that his son would either become a mighty ruler or a great spiritual leader. The king, thinking only of himself, decided to hide the suffering in the world from the boy so that the prince would not consider human suffering and instead turn to state craft and bring his father’s kingdom great glory.
The boy, named Siddhartha, grew up and I heard that one day he was taken out into nature by the kings servants. After a while the servants lost their focus and the young Siddhartha’s attention become fixed upon a farmer plowing a nearby field.
As the child watched the farmer turn his soil he witnessed the plow unearth a sleeping grub. Almost immediately a bird noticed the misfortunate creature and, swooping from the sky, gobbled up the grub. Siddhartha saw all this and thought to himself, “Why is it fair for the worm to suffer like this? What did it do to deserve such a turn of events?”
Over time the child became a handsome youngman and even though he learned, and excelled at the arts and methods of statecraft and prince hood, he never found contentment in the pleasures that his father sought to intoxicate his mind with.
One day Siddhartha asked the king, “Can I go out and see the city?” Amazingly the king agreed and, together with his charioteer, he went out of the royal dwelling. As they went Siddhartha caught sight of a sick man, and asked his driver, “What is wrong with this man?”. The driver replied, “He has fallen ill and is suffering”. Siddhartha wondered if this could happen without to anyone, the driver said it could and the young prince, overwhelmed by his thoughts, returned to his home.
The next he and his driver went out again and came upon another thought provoking sight. Siddhartha had caught sight of an old man and wondering about his condition asked his driver, “What is wrong with this man, is he sick too?”. The driver replied, “No, this man has lived a long time and his body, decaying daily, has reached the state you see now”. Siddhartha asked if this was unavoidable and if it happened to everyone and his driver informed him that indeed every living thing ages and that nothing can stop it. Again the young prince was deeply moved and asked to return home.
The third day Siddhartha went out again and saw a motionless body being carried through the streets. He asked his driver, “Who is this that can sleep so soundly?”. The driver replied, “This man is not asleep he is dead, the functions, and conditions, that gave and sustained his life are no more.” Siddhartha asked if all that were born died in this way and after being told it was so by his driver again returned home.
Now Siddhartha wanted to leave and find the meaning to these puzzling realities, however he wanted to have the permission of the king to leave. Going to his father’s chamber, Siddhartha asked him, “Will you grant me any thing I ask for?” The king replied, “Even if it is my very throne”. The prince then asked, “Can you give me the power to always remain healthy, to never grow old, and to live forever?”. The king said, “I cannot do this”, to which Siddhartha replied, “Then I ask permission to go and seek out that which you cannot give”. The king granted his request and Siddhartha set out to obtain the truth of these things.
Siddhartha searched far and wide but never found any answers that were satisfactory. So strongly did he search that at one point he almost died due to his utter neglect of the material self. Eventually however he sat down under a tree and, intending not to rise until he had obtained ultimate insight, entered a meditative state. There, after sometime he eventually defeated Mara and all the tempters destructive devices. At that moment Siddhartha Gautama realized the highest state of awareness and became the Buddha, the enlightened one. The Buddha then set out to share with the world how all may attain unto this state so that all living beings can live in joy, peace, fearless wisdom, and unconditioned freedom. Those teachings, called the Four Noble Truths, form the soil in which the whole of Buddhism finds root and meaning.
The Four Noble Truths
Here I would like to share with the reader a summery explanation of the four foundational truths of Buddhism. In no way is what I am about to write an exhaustive presentation of these principles. In fact these simple ideas have sparked a fire in human minds which led them to produce one of the most extensive collections of sacred writings held by any religion. I think it would do one well to personally consider each of these on a deep, and scholarly, level.
First Noble Truth — The Truth of Suffering.
Any of us who have lived long enough to understand these words knows that all who live will suffer. In the reality in which we live pain is as dependable as change. No matter who, or what, you are on earth if you were born then you will die and if you do not die quickly you are bound to suffer.
The principle of suffering is tied up very closely with the sights that the Buddha saw, and the experiences he had, along the road to liberation. In the worm unearthed by the farmer, the sick one, the old one, the dead one, and in the accounts and images of the starving Buddha, the pain and misery of life are brought into focus so that each of us may admit what we have already experienced and know — to live is to suffer.
Buddhists often name three types of suffering which plague the human. The first kind is the suffering which comes about due to external events. Getting a cold from someone at work, getting hit in the head by an out of control baseball, or being punched in the face are all examples of suffering that arise from causes and conditions that effect us physically.
The second type of suffering is that which arises from internal events. Driving for miles only to find what you wanted is not there, finding that your dog ate your favorite CD, or catching your spouse in the act of cheating on you are all examples of suffering that arises from causes and conditions that take from us what we would rather have had or forces upon us what we do not like.
The third type of suffering is that which arises from the impermanent nature of all things in reality. When after eating we become hungry again, when we look in the mirror and see that we have become old, and when our faithful car changes into a rust pile — these are all examples of suffering that comes about due to the endless changing of everything in this reality.
Even though one can dissect suffering into three parts it is merely three sides of the same thing and usually the suffering we experience is built from varying combinations of the three.
Second Noble Truth — The Truth of Dependent Origination
Even though it sounds pretty complex this truth simply states that all things that exist are created by a series of causes and effects — in other words nothing happens without a cause and every cause came about due to another. This is a more spiritually enriched version of two truths observed by Isaac Newton:
1 — that anything at rest, or in motion, will remain at rest, or in motion, until it is acted upon by new force.
2 — that for every action there is an equal, and opposite, reaction.
Where Newton’s ideas deal with the physical world the second noble truth deals with the physical and spiritual. The principle of dependent origination teaches us many things and among those is a tremendous insight into the suffering of humanity. As Siddhartha thought on all the suffering that fills our world he was naturally led to ask the question, “Why do we suffer?”. This question has been asked, and answered, in many ways but no where do I find a more satisfying answer than the one the Buddha gave based on this second truth– we suffer because of our own actions and ideas.
When my body malfunctions due to misuse, when I am punished for crimes, or when I break my arm trying to do a stunt all of my pain is a direct consequence of my actions. When I am oppressively depressed, instantly angered, or racked with fear it is the result of my thoughts and the way in which I have cultivated them. When my body malfunctions and causes me harm and woe, it is not some external thing that is to blame it is the very make up of my body that has turned against me
Those times when humans are caused grief by another human the suffering still arises from the actions and ideas held by others of our own kind. We need to look no further than the ignorance and selfishness that dwell within our minds when we are looking for the cause of human misery. As long as we blame our pain on gods, goddesses, ghosts, or devils we will never look for the cause of our suffering, not looking we will never find it, and not finding it we will never understand it, thus we will suffer until we die. Even immersed in the pain caused by others when wisely instructed and, compassionately cared for, we can free our mind so that the pain and loss does not define us or our world — no matter what our peace, goodness, wisdom, and joy is our responsibility.
The Third Noble Truth — The Truth of Nirvana
If all things change into, maintain, and pass out of their form due to the causes and conditions around them, then one can control and manipulate the causes to create the conditions they would like to have. That being the case, when one looks at the suffering of humanity and realizes that it all has come about due to ignorant and selfish actions, they also realize that by wise and unselfish action suffering can be made to cease. This is the truth of Nirvana - that each of us can obtain unconditoned freedom from all the suffering, evil, and illusion that exists in each us, and once we all have destroyed these in ourselves they will no longer be a part of life on earth.
Nirvana is the state of being where one has extinguished the self and all of its desires for anything in the material world. In this state understanding is pure and one views all things as they are without any love or hate, like or dislike, desire or repulsion. The mind dwells in but rises out of the world just as a water lily grows from the water but in the end floats on top of it. Being in the world one understands its workings, and works in harmony with them, but does not fall into its illusions or become attached to its sense based pleasures. Freedom from all illusion, the cycle of life and death, and all external and internal influences is the reward of those who strive for, and obtain, Nirvana. This freedom, Nirvana, results in an experience of pure bliss because the mind has cast out all evil, illusion, and ignorance. The mind is light, joyful, and without anxiety while the life is free of all self inflicted complications because all unwise thoughts, words, and actions have ceased.
The Fourth Noble Truth — The Path to Nirvana
The fourth noble truth is the course of action those who want to achieve Nirvana must take. Nirvana is not some future good that we have to wait for, neither does it fall upon one day without action, it is something that we all can achieve if we take the right actions, or walk what Buddhists call the eightfold path.
You see Nirvana, or the enlightened nature, resides within all of us from the day we are born. It is not a state that we get to by striving or by adding to what we already are, rather it is obtained by stillness and by removing all the rubbish and filth that has covered it. The Buddha compared it to a fighter that always wore a beautiful headband that contained a priceless diamond. The diamond sat in the center of the forehead and one day, in a very violent fight, it become crushed into the flesh and covered with blood, dirt, and gore. The fighter was very frustrated at the loss of the diamond and suffered greatly trying to find it. Refusing even the mildest treatment the fighter searched without success for many days until finally collapsing from exhaustion. After collapsing they were taken to a doctor who, while washing away the dirt, blood, and gore, found the jewel imbedded in the flesh beneath.
This is the way each of us are. In the deepest part of our nature there is something radiant, a drop of divinity, that we have forgotten. Like the eagle who was raised around chickens all of its life we do not realize we are eagles so we scratch around in the dirt looking for some pitiful morsel of grain or the occasional worm. However by entering the hospital of wisdom, receiving the treatment of truth, and then walking the eightfold path we can remove the filth that corrupts our minds and realize that part of us which is to great for this world to contain, corrupt, or control.
That path is as follows:
Right View - seeing things as they are
Right Thought — thinking things that are pure and correct
Right Speech — saying the right thing, in the right way, to the right person, at the right time
Right Action — acting in ways that in perfect harmony with the principles of the Universe
Right Means — using the right methods and tools in order to obtain and accomplish our ends
Right Effort — having the right attitude while remaining focused and consistent from start to end
Right Remembering — considering, and relating to the past, accurately
Right Concentration — stilling the mind by meditation and applying mind rightly-n-calmly to all
Those who take the time to learn these things correctly and then apply them without fear or half-heartedness will, without failure, obtain Nirvana and escape the three fold world of illusion, form, and formlessness.
The Truth of Emptiness
We must also understand the Buddhist idea of Emptiness before we can understand the verse. This concept, though not mentioned directly in the second truth, flows out it. What do we mean when we say that a thing is ’empty’? We mean that it has nothing inside of it, it has no load, no substance which fills up its form. This is what the Buddhists say about everything in reality, and it is a very keen insight.
Due to our philosophical roots, and the way we educate our children, most everyone has come to mistake the names of things with the things themselves. When we say ‘tree’, we get a picture in our mind of a large plant that has roots and limbs and which provides us with a great deal of the materials we use to make our world work. However, the thing that we are calling a ‘tree’ is not really a ‘tree’.
Have you every walked over to a ’tree’ and looked for the label on it that tells us what it is? Try it someday and you will find, as you may already know, that there is no such label on the ’tree’. How then do we know its true name? We cannot because it does not have one, we humans have given it is name. Oh sure, it is an actual entity that exists in the external world, and we can watch it and learn how it works, what it is made up of, and how it effects the world around it, but what does it mean? We can know its place in reality, we can know its form, and we can know its function, but its meaning is not something we can know by any observation or measurement imaginable. Why? Because it has no inherent meaning.
The tree is like an empty jar that we have filled with our meanings. Just as the name ‘tree’ is completely superficial, something we have put on it from the outside, so too are the meanings superficial. As with the tree so with everything in all of reality. Not one ‘thing’ in all of reality has any inherent meaning. All the meanings that we think things have are creations of the human mind that exist only within the human mind. Thus, when we look out upon the external world we need to realize only what is there — its nature, its form, its place — and then understand it, define it, and relate to it according to its nature and not according to the empty names and meanings our varied societies have pasted onto it.
Not only is everything in the world of sense empty of meaning, it is also empty of any permanent identity; it lacks substance and is always in a state of change. At first this sound crazy, our western mind screams, “Of course it has substance because I can sense and interact with it!”. Even though there are some schools of Buddhism that teach the external reality does not exist anywhere except in our mind - a statement which in some ways is true and in other false - this is not what I think the Buddha intended to teach. There is indeed something outside of me which I can sense, it does have an exact atomic structure, and it is this atomic structure that determines its behavior and how it relates to all other things. However this very truth vindicates the Buddha’s teaching that the material realm is illusionary and lacks substance.
So that we can understand this we will go back to our example of the ‘tree‘. Walking through a field I spot the form of the thing we call a ‘tree’ standing in the middle of it. From a distance It seems to be one individual thing however as I get closer I realize that it is made from many parts working as one. The roots drink the earth and spring, the leaves drink light and rain, and the trunk, branches, and stems carry the nutrients throughout the organism. All these parts are really only one whole that cannot exist without them and the parts are portions of a whole that cannot exist without it.
Suddenly however my eyes are opened and now laid out before me is the cellular structure. Plant cells of differing kinds, themselves made of many individual parts, are all working together and it is this singular cooperation between them that allows the first set of things I saw to live, grow, and change. Again however, like the larger parts, these cells cannot exist without all of their parts, neither can the parts exist without the cells.
While I am still trying to fathom this level of sight my awareness is expanded yet again and now I can see all the molecules of the different chemical combinations that make up the individual parts of the cells. Just as the cells determine the actions of the tree so do the chemicals determine the actions, and construction, of the cells. All the molecules interacting according to the way they are built — each needing another to be what they are.
Just when I think that I have reached the deepest level of sight again my perception is improved and the entire atomic world is laid out before me. Now I see all the individual atoms, and the smaller energies which make them. As the sub-atomic energies react one with another they create the atoms, which create the elements, that create the chemicals, that create the molecules, that create the cells, the create the parts, that together form the tree. The most amazing thing however is not all the ‘things’ I see it is the emptiness I see within them. The atom, that from which all is built, is mostly just empty space and the substantiality that we sense arises from energetic interactions that occur inside this space. Thus what we know of the external world through our sense is not even a quarter of what is really happening — what we see it not what it is there.
So how does this relate to the lack of any inherent, and individual, identity? It tells us that nothing has an individual identity; all things we see are really made up of billions and billions of individual things, which are themselves the product of many other things. The thing we see is created due to an almost unimaginable amount of causes and conditions and is in constant change. The tree we see began as a seed, the seed affected, and was affected by, the environment around it and eventually grew into a tree, the tree will retain its form until causes and conditions make it impossible for it to continue to live and then it will be become a million other things as it decays and returns to the primary elements that made it. Thus it can be said that the tree is unsubstantial, it is not a permanent entity unto itself, it is impermanent and due to the changes it undergoes every moment, and if our sight was deep enough, we would never see the same tree twice just as the water in the river is the same stream but never the same water.
As it is with the ‘tree’ so it is with everything that we can sense including ourselves. Nothing exists alone and even what I call ‘I’ only exists as a phenomenon created by billions of things working in union and to reduce all those things to a single, unchanging, identity and call it ’self’ is very unwise. I, my consciousness, is a thing that is neither here nor there, real or illusionary, it straddles the worlds and defies any concrete definition, as well as those that do not address all of its qualities.
The Truth of the Middle Way
The final Buddhist teaching we will look at is the teaching of the middle path. The Buddha realized that any extreme is unhealthy and obscures correct understanding. The world is not only black and white, there are a billion shades of gray and the wise see these without trying to make them disappear. Meanwhile, the unwise polarize their world so they can make reality fit into their simple, and errant, explanations.
Those who say the tree does not exist at all are wrong because there is something that is there which we can sense and interact with. Likewise, those who say the tree is not illusionary, and lacking in substance, are wrong because everything from the name to the form they see is an illusion created by the limits of our sensory tools and the human mind. Thus the Buddhist say that the tree is neither a ‘tree’ or a ‘non-tree‘; it is something that is altogether more than words can ever express and too big to be held in any narrow, perspective based, concept.
Again, as it is with the tree do it is with all things in reality. Those who see only one side, who argue only one point divide where there is not division and so prevent themselves from ever understanding anything as it is because by dividing the truth they have only a partial truth remaining and so only understand parts of anything. I am sure that Buddha would agree with the Confucian saying that the middle way is always the best.
Expounding the Saying
In order to lose the formal sound, and make the explanation as brief as possible, I am going to take the tone of a Dharma Teacher and write the explanation in the manner of a conversation with a pupil, may it enrich and bless your life. Please note however that I am unsure as to weather or not the gentleman quoted the whole statement but it doesn’t matter because the passage is still quite rich.
P –Teacher, I heard that, “…the realization that undifferentiated emptiness is the sole absolute truth. Nirvana therefore is that mental state in which one realizes that all things are really non-existent.” Does this have meaning?
T — Of course it has meaning and that meaning flows from the mind who used the symbols that expressed it. The writer put into the words what meaning, or understanding, they wanted the reader to get out of them. Who would write meaningless words?
Things that humans have not created have place, nature, and form and so anything said about them should arise from these and not from the external meanings that humans have given them. The wise give their words meaning that have been defined by reality and do not define reality by the meanings of their words.
P — What is undifferentiated emptiness? Does it teach us anything?
T — ‘Undifferentiated emptiness’ means that in the material world all things have no inherent meaning or permanent substance. Thus one stops measuring things by their ‘meanings’ and current form, choosing rather to measure things according to their construction, role, and behavior.
Because all meanings are given to a thing, and all value arises from how much a thing means to us, then the value of any external object is determined not by the nature of the object but by how much the mind wants it — by what it means to the mind. When the mind is free of want, and sees things as they are, it realizes that all things, internal or external, are impermanent and illusionary so that mind no longer cares for, or clings to, things. Who spends their life trying to catch the smoke which rises from a flame? Who spends their life trying to build mansions of snow in the desert?
P — Is this emptiness the only absolute truth?
T –Emptiness is not the ’only’ absolute truth for there is much truth, and much of it is absolute, however in order understand the truth of anything you have to first forget all the things you were told it ‘means’ and look only at its nature, form, and relationship to other things. Thus the emptiness of all things in reality is the primary truth through which the mind can begin to fathom all the rest. One must always remember that any expression about reality is always only partial and so no one thing can ever reveal all of reality.
P — How can Nirvana, or the extinction of desire, attachment, and self, come through the realization that nothing exists?
T — Nothing ‘exists’, neither does anything ‘not exist’, all things have a nature somewhere in the middle of both of these and thus it is neither. When one realizes that all the external things are without meaning, and thus without value, they realize that there is nothing of worth in the material world. Realizing that there is nothing of worth in the material world they begin to look beyond it and into the ultimate nature of things, looking into the ultimate nature of things they come to understand all things deeply, understanding all things deeply they relate to all things correctly, relating to all things correctly they do not misuse anything, not misusing anything they have clear minds, with clear minds they can accurately see to the bottom of themselves, seeing to the bottom of themselves they realize that others are just like them, understanding the likeness of all living things to themselves the realize the reason why compassion is best, through compassion they realize why evil is evil, realizing the nature of evil they forsake it, forsaking evil they realize wisdom, and by wisdom they are liberated from all things, even life and death. It is thus that realizing that nothing exists empowers the mind to know the existence of all things as they are.
P — This is not nonsense I just did not understand due to the limited and one sided nature of words.
T– Think on this Koan, or riddle of Zen, when listening to the Buddha it is best to plug your ears friend.
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
Truth is and while we are here, those who care enough, seek to find it. Once found, it must be utilized every moment or your words and actions will be full of lies.
As touching upon the essence of “Truth” itself I would briefly like to share a few things I have gathered in my search for “Truth”.
1) Truth is not a single point.–this one seems to be a hard one for man to grasp. We want to make
the part of truth we have discovered the “only” truth for whatever reason and in so doing we miss out on seeing other facets of this lovely gem. Truth is not a circle (having only one point) rather truth is at least an ellipse (consisting of 2 or more points). It is when we forget this that we gain many evils.
2) Truth is particular— You say what is “truth”? and I will say the truth about what? When one turns “truth” into some ethereal, nebulous principle they by that fact skew it an make it unknowable. Every act, event, thing, statement, everything has it’s truths. There is the truth of jelly beans which say they are sweet and the truth of dogs which say they bark. The only overreaching and universal aspect of “Truth” is that it is not false where ever it is found.
3) Truth is both objective and subjective depending upon the particular truth being discussed–
I have set around and watched people argue endlessly over whether or not truth is “absolute” or “relative”, while the argument itself showed both parties not to have any idea about the subject they were considering. If they did they would know that truth has more than one point and there by realize that perhaps they both are right.
This universe is ran on principles which cannot be violated but at the expense and personal peace and often times health of body, mind, or both. Objective truth is a reality. For example the fact diet effects health (this example I choose due to the fact that moral examples would spark heat and not light). You may say it don’t and believe it with all your heart. However if you daily eat junk food since food is the foundation of body and mind eventually body and mind will become junk. Again, there are eternal “truths” which apply to every man, in every climate and corner of earth.
That being said there are also “realitive” truths. It took me awhile to accept this one due to the fact that this term is so freely waived over the naivety and misconduct of man that I was hard pressed to grant its existence. It was only after much thought that I was forced to accept that it too has a presence in this world. For example lets say that a leading vitamin company has crafted what every doctor, healer, and health review esteems to be the greatest chemical ever found. It heals a plethora of different diseases, boosts mind, improves reaction speed and suppresses stress. It has passed a million tests and every one raves about it. This wonder drug is then sold to the populous and they all echo what the tests and doctors have said. Then one day little Joan Joy takes it and dies due to a rare food allergy. Now it is clear that the title “greatest supplement ever” is relative for in the eyes of Joan’s family it is the viewed as the worst ever (and rightfully so).
There are cosmic “principles” that govern the mind and soul of man. To cross these is to invite decay into every sphere of human existence (mental, physical and spiritual) and there are things which are true for your soul and not mind. Let us be careful not to confuse these or misname these for any reason.
Truth IS— that is the last thing I have found. There is an ultimate reality that exists in this universe. It was here before we came and will be here after we leave. It is not effected by our beliefs and sits awaiting mans ascent unto its level. Let us all strive to raise our souls to this bar and not drop the bar to our souls, and in so doing let us not spew fact alone in the face of those we speak to of this beauty. For if your facts be right and the tone or presentation be wrong it is not “Truth” it is just accurate. Truth can only be said in love.
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
If I was to die when I punctuated the final sentence of this writing what would I want the
World I left behind to know?
There are those who judge the material world only by what is beyond the realm of sense, then there are those who judge all they sense only by what is in the realm of sense — both of them are not wise. The seen and the unseen are always interacting, and the eternal exists, and contains, all that is changeable as is moves unceasingly forward.
One must not force the truth into their limited personal perspective. The truth is like the universe and what we know is according to what we have seen, heard, felt, tasted, smelled, thought, and decided — we are measuring a seemingly corner less universe with eyes that cannot see around corners. To measure the infinite by the finite is unwise; if one does not put forth continual and consistent measurements they will never gain understanding, thus acting out of misunderstanding they will always suffer and cause suffering.
Those who do not love truth, understanding, knowledge, compassion, justice, and freedom for all cannot love anything, including themselves, as they should. The right way is the best because it is the wisest course of action to take at any given moment. Those who walk in the Way respect all living things according to their own unique natures and as such do not make the mistake of measuring one thing by another. Each thing is beautiful in its on way and must be understood according to how the internal and external causes and conditions shaped, and continue to shape, the elements from which it is made.
In those things that have consciousness mind plays a massive part in the shaping of reality. The ability of a life form to shape reality is determined by the level of understanding its mind has about what it is, where it is, and the nature of the things around it. The more a mind understands, the greater is its role in, and responsibility to, the whole. All things effect all other things and those who live on earth have their lives bound to the life of the earth. If we kill the earth we kill life. Life, no matter if you think it comes from a divine or mundane source, is precious. In all the known universe life has yet to be found anywhere besides earth. Of all that lives humans have the greatest of powers, we have the power to determine the destiny not only of ourselves but of every other thing on earth, indeed the fate of the world itself. We should then, both individually and as a whole, remember the value of life and learn the lessons of freedom, unity, and action that are taught by the natural world.
Like creates like, what we do is truly what we get, and our minds imagine the reality our hands will create the moment after. Peace is more important than revenge and forgiveness better than swift and just retribution, however there are times for immediate and decisive action. All things are always changing, and each moment is unique unto itself, thus unchanging rules cannot be made, even though principles and patterns can be recognized and that information used to do good or evil.
Would you kill a world just like earth, filled with people just like earth, in order to save our world? Who can say which worlds life is better? Naturally all that live want to live well but what right does any have to take the life of another in order to keeps themselves alive? It is one thing to protect ones family against an attacker, it is another thing to pray for the victory of ‘our side’, because no matter who wins all of our race loses - war is a consuming pit that eats life, beauty, and resource.
It seems in this world that all things are consuming things while they are being consumed by things other than themselves; life cannot exist without the molecular breakdown, and digestion of, another form of life. All things take from life and give to life, if we humans only take and never give they will first destroy the systems that allow us to live and then we too will die.
If one is blinded by desire, fear, shame, or any other emotion - so that the emotion becomes the reason for ones actions and not what is best for all, the illusion more important than the truth - they will never understand the world correctly and so they will forever suffer and cause suffering. The bottom of the water can never be known until its depths are still and illumined.
Understanding all things as they are is the key to bliss and fulfillment. We are harmed and suffer because of unreal perspectives, a shortage of unbiased and unmotivated information, and the misuse of body-n-mind. When one’s mouth is empty of all lies, there mind empty of attachments, and their every action contributes only goodness to all around them, they have peace with themselves and peace with the world around them.
We have let personal attachment to traditions, past doings, and illusionary futures, corrupt our reality and conduct. In reality all we have is this moment. What matters much more than where we came from is where we choose to take our future.
Will we kill each other because of superficial differences or will we realize the unity of mankind as one people, one kind, on one planet, filled with many other kinds of life each representing a beauty that we cannot create or replace should we, by evil or ignorance, destroy it. The freedom and joy of millions of others who feel, dream, love, hope, remember, and experience just like we do depends on our choices. Life is the reason for morality, while peace and the perpetuation of good and truth the reason and root of ethics.
Life’s value arises from its place as the crown jewel on an infinite reality filled with treasures. It is the needless waste of life, the complete refusal of our race to see its unity with this world and the creatures we share it with, that is causing all the problems.
If we would all apply our wills, deepen our compassion, broaden our understanding, forget the attachments we have to our distinctness, rid ourselves of the illusion that our way is the best, and respect the ideas, actions, and beliefs of those who differ from us, as long as they did not infringe upon the rights of another, our world would be the heaven we all dream about.
If all humanity made the choice to put down prejudice, to allow for diversity, and to learn how and why others are who they are, then we could make this reality a beautiful place where the only suffering would arise out of the natural world. We would still die, but it would not be at the hands of an angry mind, or beneath the foot of another’s ignorance. No needless waste, no concern for gain, only a world where all can live and think as they want with the assurance of equality, the care of wisdom, the protection of justice, and the joys of liberty.
We do not achieve this utopic state only because all of us are not willing to do what it takes at the same time. People consider their own needs over the needs of the people and world around them, thus they push down their neighbor, and exploit their environment. They do this not realizing that by so doing they are like the branch who chopped down the trunk to which it is attached because it wanted to sleep on the ground.
All religions, sciences, philosophies, and people have valuable contributions to make to ones realization of truth, just as all have the need to correct and deeper their conceptions of truth. Growth continues until we die and who knows if death ends it?
I believe in some form of divine mind but I do not know where the divine ends and the human begins. If I did not act I would die and yet I did not create myself, life, or the material realm. It is hard to know the nature, and at times even the existence of the divine, and the way one obtains true knowledge itself makes knowing the ultimate origin of everything all but impossible. Because of this one should seek to know the nature of reality as it is in a personal way. Using all available resources we should strive to know all things as they are no matter what they are said by others to be. Once one has done this, or have chosen not to, we should allow them to be what they are even if we think them to be in mortal peril. We cannot dictate another’s actions in this reality by appealing to a set of rules and principles that do not exist, and whose truth cannot be objectively and empirically demonstrated, in this reality. We cannot measure the rightness of someone’s belief by our own beliefs, neither can they measure all by theirs, all we believe must be measured by what is, and where there is a conflict between reality and belief, or fact and faith, the real and factual trumps any form of faith or belief. At the same time however we cannot allow what is only called fact to manipulate us when in reality it is only a strongly asserted opinion, a commonly held belief, or a possible interpretation of the data.
Our ideas should be challenged and our reasons scrutinized, by others and ourselves, to make sure they are devoid of evil and ignorance. We should strive to mirror the unity in diversity that we demonstrated time and again in the world around us. If one wishes to retain their views, they should be allowed to do so even if the result is their death. It is better to lose life than freedom but one should never let a life just slide into the pit of circumstantial, or self inflicted, destruction without wise, continued, and compassionate efforts to prevent them from doing so. We should not however carry the capable because it will eventually rob them of their ability to walk and it will take away from us strength and focus we could have invested in ourselves of others who really needed it.
Actions should be based not on reward, punishment, guilt, fear, hope, or principle, but because the doer of good has personally realized the great good a single life can do and the part it plays in the lives of others.
Good motives lead to good ends, if ones motive is crooked or corrupt how can the ends be anything else?
Make the mind pure and good and all that flows out of it will be pure and good. Wise actions lead to wise realities and foolishness leads only to decay. Truth is and always will be but in order for the truth to live it must reside in the minds, and be expressed in the actions, of the living otherwise it only a lifeless corpse that cannot better anything.
The Way is to deep to describe and the divine hidden behind a cloud of unknowing, we each must think deeply about our lives, the lives of others, and seek the truth for ourselves because no other can ever give us the truth, speak to us wisdom, or reveal to us the divine, we must all strive for these on our own and only by personal effect and study can they be obtained. The truth is not found, it is earned and the way must be seen by ones own eyes and walked with their own legs; none can make my destiny or move me closer to its accomplishment but myself.
Thought makes the human reality but what made the ultimate reality? How can you know?
Since one has been taught the meaning of everything it is hard to find the truth about anything.
Gain personal understanding and no second hand foolery can move you.
Do not become attached to hope or joy, and do not care if you are full or hungry. All things come and go and those who have many preferences and hopes will have to endue many disappoints and shake off much despair. Care only for what is true and seek it. Just as the rock sits in the stream without being moved internally or externally by the current so those who are wise sit in the waters of life = calming considering all that is, the reasons for it, and its pure nature. Do not let the form you see blind you to what is really there. The appearance of things is never the reality of things.
One should obtain and study Lao Tzu, Leih Tzu, and Chuang Tzu until they grasp fully the principles they are discussing for they type of wisdom found in Taoist thought shows one the limits of reason, the scale of things and the importance of individual nature, as well as the unity of all things and the inability of any human expression to encapsulate the infinite depth of any given thing.
Strive to obtain and always improve the quality of these necessary mental attitudes:
Indomitable will
Humble mind
Courageous curiosity
Compassionate wisdom
Impartial justice
Unwavering goodness
Incorruptible purity
Attentive, and correct, care of body
The allowing of all to freely follow their joy wherever it may lead them.
Contentment is the beginning of decay and the bucket of truth has no lid or bottom; only death finalizes our views and who knows if it finalizes our being as well?
Realize your mind, become aware of all things, awake from the dream society has crafted for you and gaze upon reality as it is and no longer as you have been told it is.
There is a type of knowledge that cannot be obtained by any means besides intuition and spontaneity,
There is also types of understanding that cannot be obtained by any means other than deep analysis and constant consideration.
Paradoxes arise only from the shallowness of ones mind or because the mind has created them.
All things have their place and contribute to the place of all else.
Be diligent, pure understanding of all things first requires a pure and unbiased mind, and a pure and unbiased mind takes great effort to obtain and to keep. Do not tire in the pursuit of understanding and purity because ignorance and mental slavery are much harder to bear and in the end those who are loyal to them die in pool of corruption and unaccomplishment.
Do not become drawn into the silly and wasteful occupations which fill our world or you will never realize truth and thus will you be doomed to unhappiness.
Humble obedience is not worthless but a lucid and bold understanding is priceless.
Wisdom and truth are without end - the limits lie only in our minds.
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
The Shadows will Eat us!
Category: Religion and Philosophy
When I was a child I would go outside and the motions of the night caused me horror. “The darkness is moving and it is coming for me!”, I thought. Now I go out into the same type of darkness, in the same place, and the night gives me peace. “The darkness is moving and it is so beautiful!”, is my thought now.
When I was a younger spiritual creature I thought, “Satan is out to get me! The World is out to get me! To sever my life from God!” All day I battled to prevent such from happening and every night I would pray to win the ‘battle’ the next day.
Now I do not think that there is a devil out to get only my ignorance and inner demons try to storm my mind. Nor do I think the world is out to get me, it is a place of pervading wonder and all that is amiss in it is within humans. I no longer believe in a personal campaign of evil to end my connection to God and would you believe that the war is suddenly no longer there?
Always remember that our beliefs make up more than half of our personal experience and determine how we interpret all the happenings of reality; change thought change reality.
Until we realize that all the evil we spend our lives fighting comes from within ourselves we can never be successful, brave, or peaceful in our battles.
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
A student asked his sage one day, “Can you tell me about the Way?”
Teacher replied with empty eyes, eyes that held all meanings, “it is in you but lies outside, it is simple but more complex than all of life, it is a puddle in which we can play and an ocean where we can drown.
To divide it is to destroy it but when you look at it you can sense endless parts.
Because of it all things rise and because of it all things fall. It is all and nothing, black and white, left and right, full and devoid of any, yet it contains not one paradox.
To name it is to taint it and pit it against itself. To know it is to touch it and to touch it is to begin to digest endlessness.
Age does not apply to it and neither does youth; time is a child it predates and its predating has no end.
It is not God but then it also is, it is not man but it also is, it is ‘what is not’ and it is ‘what is’.
Fools cry, “foolish nonsense!” when they hear it, ordinary men tune in and out of its melody, and the wisest of men spend the rest of life lose amid all of its immaculate fineries.
Like unto nothing and yet understood by beholding anything, it is the creator of logic and the destroyer of reason, the Father of understanding and the Mother of misunderstanding. Understand?”
The pupil replies, “I am lost”
Teacher replies, “That is a good start”.
Sunday, November 16th, 2008
I have included below the writing a copy of the Bible verses referenced so that those desirous of it can check my references. All quotes are taken from the KJV.
It is no small point of frustration for me that so many of those who read the Bible have no idea who the Bible says that Jesus is. Most everyone I know have covered Jesus with the cultural beliefs and social filters they have been taught by whatever version of Christianity they have been taught from the time that they were kids.
Because of this miss understanding of Jesus’ true identity a very narrow and harsh view of God has been accepted by the people who profess to understand Divinity better than all religions that have come before or after them. This would be a horrible event if it was limited only to them however no belief I have about anything effects only me; it effects all I come into contact with because as I believe God is so will I behave and so will I teach others to believe Divinity to be.
Today many Christians have an elitist attitude toward their fellow man. They think that those who do not think or believe exactly like they do are for sure going to hell. They see themselves as having the brightest light on the face of the earth and damn the rest who do not have it, or expect them to forsake all they have been taught of God and the universe by their cultures sages and gurus. They themselves [the Christians] however have to change nothing, they know it all and have nothing to learn from anyone else.
This is not the first time this has happened. Once long ago there was a group of people who was very blessed with a great deal of wisdom and insight into the ways of Divinity. They saw themselves as the elite and had not any need to learn from anyone else. One day a young teacher appeared who rocked their entire nation and challenged all that they had come to teach and believed. Enraged that such a young one should be so presumptuous as to teach them anything and that he would over turn the traditions of the fathers they took him out to a hill and crucified him. They people were the Jews and the ‘radical’ teacher was Jesus.
It is written, “Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.” Ecclesiastes 4:13 We cannot have the idea that we know it all or that we alone hold the light of God, and become prideful thereby. Rather than pride those who have a most sure understanding of life and the Universe will also have a deep humility for they will see their own lack. If one possess pride and the idea that they know it all it is clear they know less than nothing.
The religion of Jesus, and Jesus himself has been horrible misrepresented. The God of the Bible is not a God of exacting rules and pointless obligations who demands we ask not questions of him lest we die. The way of God in the Bible is simple; to act justly, to love mercy, to visit and heal the suffering, to be humble always, and to remain in a constant state of spiritual and moral purity (Micah 6:8; James 1:27).
This is not the view most of those who believe in the God of Abraham have given to the world or have even allowed from themselves. They have lost God amid the rules, the reasons amid fear, and the deep things of God in the shallow bogs of external appearance and esteem of others.
They would force the will by power and fear rather than persuade the soul by wisdom and beauty. Why would they do this? Because they are devoid of wisdom and have never seen beauty. They succumb to peer pressures, spiritual hijacking, and fear techniques and they expect others to do the same. They label those who ask questions they cannot as threats and expel them as heretics and thus make the whole of religion seem incompatible with wisdom and mental freedom.
What would Jesus think of this? One day Jesus decided to go to a city to teach but the inhabitants rejected him. Enraged his disciples asked if they should call fire down from God upon them to consume them in their ignorance and blindness. Jesus immediately corrected them saying they were motivated not by the spirit and wisdom of God but of evil, and that his job was a job of healing and salvation, not death and condemnation. (Matthew 9:10-13,Luke 9:51-56, John 3:16-17)
I think Christians have altogether miss out on the point of Jesus’ ministry. They view all who are different than they as evil and ignorant sinners and yet these are the ones who Jesus ate and drank with. He sat among them and taught not those who where in the temple, for they thought they knew it all, but those who knew their need and had a heart that hungered for God. Matthew 9:10-13
We have reverted back to the spiritual blindness and pride that griped the Jews shortly before the killed Jesus. We are so sure that we know everything that we have no room in us to learn, we are so full of ourselves there is no more room for wisdom. I think that what Jesus said of the Pharisees of old could be said of most today, that even though they are sure they are going to heaven they will never enter there and by their horrible example are turning others away from the glorious reunion of the Human and Divine (Matthew 23:13).
It is my souls deepest desire to have mankind forsake the traditions, personal opinions and cultural biases and share all the wonders of wisdom and beauty that God has ever blessed anyone with. There is no group who is more fearful of doing this than my sweet Christian brothers.
When I speak of moving beyond cultural ideas of God and into a direct and undivided experience with Divinity they fear for my soul; and when they find I critically and mercilessly dissect the tenets of every faith, even the Christian one I was brought up with, they keep me at length lest I somehow
contaminate them. This does not bother me for as humans we should not need the approval, or fear the rejection of the entire world; what bothers me however is the narrow and hatful mindsets they have toward those of other faiths, even other branches of their own faith.
I always walk away astonished at how those who read a book that says, ‘Judge not lest you be judged’ can pass judgment upon entire nations of people, not one of whom they have met. They condemn men who have changed the earth and bettered the world like Buddha, Gandhi, men who were more than likely twice the spiritual creatures they are. Their eyes are so full of self that they cannot see their own deficits.
It is common to see Christians casting about wrath and eternal suffering like they are handing out kit-kats. They do this apparently unaware of what they Bible says about judgment. The Bible says that only those who come to know any truth can be judged by that truth (James 4:17), it is not until light comes into the human heart and reveals an evil or misunderstanding about life that the human is responsible or held accountable for this evil (John 9:41). Thus only those who have the chance to know a thing and reject it are held accountable for it; when in ignorance God winks at that fault and does not condemn the life (Acts 17:30).
When you add this to the fact that God will judge ever man based upon all the personal, social, and religious influences they have encountered (Psalms 87:6). Thus a Buddhist monk that has never known God will be judged only by the truths of the universe that they understood. The Native American whose grand parents and great grandparents were slaughtered by “Christians” and never seen one who truly reflected the love of God, they will be judged accordingly and mercifully; how can one be killed for saying a thing is crooked when all they have seen is crooked things? People will all be judged according to what they know and by what they have done, and there is no way any of us can know either of these, the judgment of Humanity is in the hands of Divinity not faulty prejudiced mortals.
I think that it is this narrow and small view of God that pains me more than anything else; especially when it is not what the Bible teaches about God. Yes Jesus said the way was narrow but Jesus never said how high, and this statement must also be compared with what the psalmist said, “He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.” Did you catch that, God brought him into a spacious area, a roomy garden and God did so out of compassion.
When I say that humanity should forsake all religious systems, talk cross table to all faiths, sciences, and philosophies, and make Truth the only spiritual system again I am met with a great fear hesitancy from Christians (in fact people from many faiths). I do not understand, if ones really believes that what system they are following is true why should they fear to follow truth alone?
When I ask the above question I always get answers like, “You will be decived!” and my obvious reply is , “how do you know you are not already?”. It is not until that one steps outside of all religious system and philosophical dogma of any kind that they can make a true estimation of what is real and what is false. Besides what is more powerful truth or lies, light or dark, Divinity or the “Devil”? If you are truly loving truth alone and truly seeking truth how could you find a lie; especially when the Bible itself says, ” Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” Matthew 7:7.
When I talk about having one system of truth many get all nervous and cry, “One world religion!” and mark me as a antichrist or something. I ask if all of the earth was suddenly enraptured by a great spiritual experience (second coming, universal enlightenment, etc) and all suddenly knew personally the highest level of wisdom and followed it; would that not be one spiritual system? Would that then be dangerous? Of course it would not be. What it boils down to is that most humans are addicted to being completely and totally right about everything and refuse to expose themselves to anything that might prove themselves to be wrong.
As I have studied I have come to hold the Belief that there is only Divine force that rules all things. The commonality of the basic tenets and the universal powers of Good and Evil and how they behave in all cultures seen to show a single way. This is not a ethnocentric, or a culturally prejudice dogma, this is an objective way that is the same no matter where you go on earth. Compassion, peace, beauty, truth, kindness, hope, respect of body, mercy, justice, virtue, these are all basic energies in every religion and I believe these energies are all manifestations of one way; the way Divinity behaves in the human sphere.
I am not the first to think this, Chinese, Hindu, Taoist, and other sages from many cultures have came up with the same idea. To most Christians however this sounds repugnant, like it is heresy. They say, “Jesus is the only way to God!” or “Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6. They try to make Jesus, and by consequence the God of the Bible, out to be some small things that hid in the middle east while the rest of the world fell off into eternal desolation! To me this idea is sickening, as it is to any who think rationally, but most who have grew up in a Christian culture have been so dogmatized that they do not see the horror of this concept.
A God that hid in the desert and saves only those who say, I AM or Jesus, is in fact the farthest thing from what the Bible teaches. The fact that so many believe that the God of the Bible is some exclusive club owner only show how ignorant they are of what the Bible says about God and Jesus.
To begin with who does the Bible say that Jesus was? Most want to keep him locked away in the pages of the Bible as a lone Messiah sent to the Jews but that is not what the Bible says. John 1:1-4 says that Jesus was the “Logos”, which means the intelligent principle that controls and guides all things in the universe. There it is said that he is not just some small mortal or angel, Jesus is Highest God whose spiritual substance was placed inside a real mortal man. The writer of John says that Jesus is God in the highest sense, the creative force without which nothing was ever made. Would that not mean that Jesus himself was never made and is a part of the Eternal mind?
This idea is echoed also all throughout the writings of Paul and in the letter to the Hebrews (which is also attributed to Paul). Paul says that Jesus is the exact image of the hidden eternal God, the force by which Divinity brought all things into existence, and the writer of Hebrews even has the Father calling Jesus God! (Colossians 1:14-19; Hebrews 1:1-14). While the writer of Revelation says that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the start and the finish of all creation (Revelation 1:8-17).
The idea that the Messiah is the eternal God is found not only in the new testament it is found also in the Old Testament. The prophet Micah said that the child born in Bethlehem would be a being whose goings have been from eternity past, on in other words a being without a beginning (Matthew 2:6; applies this to Jesus).
The prophet Isaiah also says that the child born of a Virgin would be called, “God with Us” and this is applied to Jesus by the writer of Matthew (Matthew 1:23). Isaiah even goes a step farther and applies the titles “Almighty God”, and the “Everlasting Father” to the Messiah, things which Christian people usually only think of as applying to the ‘Father’.
Thus the Bible paints of picture of Jesus that is transcendent; Jesus is not just a being that people must blindly surrender their will to, nor is his name some life saving incantation that all must speak in order to reconnect to the Eternal Mind. Biblically Jesus is the Eternal God, the source of all wisdom truth and peace; it is not with clarity one can see why he says of himself that he is the only way to God, it is not some dogmatic statement, it is because he sees himself as the Eternal Wisdom which has called to all humanity through out all of time, trying to bring them back into the relationship that humanity severed.
When you grasp this it makes the religion of Christ much more logical because the claims Jesus makes about being the exclusive path to God is not some arbitrary creed, it is only because he is the author of all wisdom, beauty, peace, and hope that wisdom has ever had; He is God, He the Path that leads unto Himself.
Thus if “God is Love”, as 1 John 4:8 says, then every where you see true compassion and selflessness pouring through the human, there is a human that has touched God. Wherever you see a deep, pure, and true soul there is a soul that has touched “Jesus”, has touched God. Where you see a spiritual wisdom that is a Divine Ray pouring from the one source to the multitude of finite, mortal moons. (James 1:17; Psalms 145;15-16; Galatians 5:16-23 – wherever you see a soul producing this fruit, there is a branch who has connected again to the trunk).
The Bible says that there is one God over all flesh, one Divine mind who has made all humanity from the same miry clay, and whom all humanity moves through and finds their being in (Ephesians 4:6, Malachi 2:10; Acts 17:24-29). This means that we all come from One Source, that we all have One father, and that we all are just one family that has lost its way and is trying to get home.
Paul affirms this again in Romans where he talks about those outside of the Jewish system realizing God in the world without them, realizing God by the divine image they still had inside. He teaches that the God of the Hebrews is not an exclusive God but the God of all Humanity that has appeared to each and every member of humanity and given them a chance to know him in a way that was personal and understandable to them (Romans 1:19-21; 2:13-15; 3:29 and Titus 2:11-12).
When one understands this the Bible and all the information it contains is no longer the exclusive property of one sect, system, or culture; even though it is set in a very specific cultural tone (Jewish). It is the spiritual property of all minds, people, and times and should be portrayed in that way. It is no longer a book that is crying out at every other religion on the earth and casting them as being in total error rather it says, “You have heard much of my voice already; let me further your understanding”. If only those who claimed to know it really did then the world could lighten with new compassion. If we all could see that each of us have parts of the Infinite truth that others do not and share how much better our world would be.
The Bible says that no human should call another human common or unclean (Acts 10:28) yet this is what those who claim to know the Bible do. What does this mean? It means that as always humans are blind to their own evils and guilty of the crimes that they accuse every one else of. Those Christian who point at a peaceful Buddhist, a deep and wise Hindu priest, or a devout and truth Muslim and say, “You know not God and are damned to hell”, they are in fact the ones who are devoid of understanding and know not the Love of which the founder of their faith said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35
People find it hard to understand me because the cannot grasp the way I believe; they see it as being confusing and complex, a hodge podge of different faiths and differing opinions. Nothing in fact could be further from the truth; my religion is Truth. I care not for the boxes or the limits imposed by culture or tradition. I care not for illogical dogmas founded upon unstudied ideas which disagree with the books from which they are supposed to come. My way is not complex it is ultimately simple.
I have no name because I cannot define myself in a way you could understand. To say I am ‘this’ would instantly cause me not to be ‘that’, I am as the system I follow and the God I believe in, beyond all one sided and cultural terms, unable to be totally expressed, and completely in love with Truth alone. And is this not what Jesus said God desired? Jesus said that the system of the Jews does lead to salvation but it is not the will of God to turn all into Jews, he wants people who follow Divinity alone and who worship in Spirit and Truth (John 4:19-24).
Do I think the Bible is a revelation of God? Without question. Do I think that is contains all that God has revealed or all useful truth? Absolutely not. Truth is as big as God and I want to find every drop that has ever touch any human mind everywhere. I know that others think this is unsafe and dangerous but I am not in this life to gain your approval, nor do I care for it. I must follow where the Truth leads.
You may live your life in an effort to avoid lies, protect what you have been taught, accept all that your culture teaches at face value if you wish; that is your right. However it is my right to live in an effort to find truth, to discover what should be taught, and to critically examine all information that comes to me. After all which do you think that Divinity would prefer, thoughtless, inherited, and fear service, or service which is full of thought, personally sought out, and which flows from a mind which has seen the Total Beauty of Divinity and bows out of complete freedom and deep awareness?
Let us let God and Truth out of our boxes and seek the beauty that lies beyond the walls; a beauty which all eyes can see.
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He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:27
And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. Luke 9:51-56
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16-17
And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matthew 9:10-13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Matthew 23:13
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. Matthew 7:1-5
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17
Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. John 9:41
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Acts 17:30
The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah. Psalm 87:6
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. John 1:1-4
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last Revelation 1:8-17
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; Colossians 1:14-19
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Hebrews 1:1-3
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Matthew 2:6
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14
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Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:6-7
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17
The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. Psalm 145:15-16
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:16-23
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:6
Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? Malachi 2:10
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. Acts 17:24-29
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Romans 1:19-21
For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another, Romans 2:13-15
Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also… Romans 3:29
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world Titus 2:11-12
And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Acts 10:28
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:19-24
Saturday, October 11th, 2008
They who search for truth must know first that the road is long. Second they must know that the experience of the journey slides between two ends of a spectrum; rapture at one end and a longing for death at the other. Thirdly, that focus is needed at every moment lest some transient joy steal away from your goal. Finally, they must know that the road never ends; the light only gets brighter.
Fantasy and Illusion may lead to pleasure but they will never lead you pure grasp of reality. Reality is found by digging in reality just as gold is found by digging in a gold mine; it is possible to find gold in a coal mine but how much effort have you put forth in carrying what is not gold in order to produce, by accident no less, the bit of gold you have?
Infinite, beautiful, inspiring, hidden, manifest, now = reality
Tigers pounce when goats would faint. Bats move fluidly where hawks would lose there way. Water gives life while hydrochloric acid consumes all and dissipates.
What are we in essence? Children of Divinity.
Who is Divinity? More than anyone has ever known.
Why are so many so certain? Because they ask so little.
What is the best way through life? Compassion and selflessness.
What is visible is obvious to all and a morality and a power so vast that we must call it Divinity is as a nose upon the face.
Balance, union of unlikes to form a harmonious whole, transience, cause and effect, dependent and independent existence of each and every thing; these too are obvious.
Easier is the path of one who refuses to look at alternate maps, clearer is the steps of those who do, and blessed are those who do not forsake the walking of the Way.
I can see the stream should that be enough? Perhaps but I so long to see where the river of living began and what indeed is its ultimate destination.
It is so important for us to know the truth of Divinity and I do not think that the Divine does not comes to each of us personally to tell us this, I think that we have forgotten how to look and have piled a mountain of lusts and illusions upon our ears.
Grant me a tune so I can swoon through out celestial ages,
to the hymn of the maker, the song of the Raker, who has planted the seed of Existence.
Come now, come quick, I feel soul sick for none around me can grasp but thee,
the root and the cause, the fount of of me that prompts what is able to be seen.
Be bold and be brave, not a sheep or a slave, but a child of the OmniDivine.
Flame upon flame is the Purest of names that has never come out of a mortal fount, but I do not care I long to dive in there and burn away my dear impurities.
For who retains infectious remains when they might have celestial remedies.
I cannot tell you the meaning of what I see but I can share with you words in hopes that you might glimpse as a ghost, a drop of what I have tasted.
Books are good, and forms must be but it is experience and substance that matter.
Ink on a page are known to the sage as maps but to the fool as a Divine letter.
The symbols are meaningless they are but ladders and if our souls would but heed and climb, they would eat of feast of holy light and peace which expressions cannot define.
Broken and bleedings are from me exceeding, flooding the moment inside but courage and realizations let me now that like all things they will subside and like a spring time bloom after a winterous doom, I shall root deep and climb to the bluest sky.
All of my life for one unhazy glimpse of the actual Substance and Mind of Divine;
I a small flower upon the endless vine, if I will choose to lose the gnarled brairs of wickedness and selfish dining.
Friday, October 3rd, 2008
There is a rash of emergency spiritual salvation programs floating around due to the unkind motions of our economy and the actions of our government.
The world may end and the world may not. To the soul who is ready it no longer matters. A pure heart, a clean conscience, and right action makes for a sweet end, whatever that end may be.
Reunion of the human to the Divine is the ultimate achievement a human can make. This union should not be based upon an apocalyptic end nor upon a desire to save ones self. The reason one should seek to reunite to the Divine is because they have realized their personal lack and disunity from the endlessness, as well as how their actions destroy themselves and all about them.
Fear is strong reason to do things but what motive remains when the perceived danger goes away? Further more what are the results of fear, are they not hate, unthinking, haste, and chaos? These are not the way.
The only motive with enough power to awaken a soul and keep that soul empowered for the entirely of their lives is deep compassion for all people, things, and themselves.
To truly see the infinite is to know, as we know how food tastes, our smallness.
To glimpse the Way is to come face to face with our erratic and unharmonious behaviors, Like foul notes in the voice of a singer we hear our hearts shrieks scratch against the flawless chords of life.
To experience Divinity is to fall madly in love with the Deos*. If you do not have a heart full of romance when you think of God then you do not yet understand and if your eyes are blinded by hate you have never seen.
Now is the reason to seek the Endless. Now is all we have, as mortals we cannot bet upon tomorrow. Future is always uncertain though it can many cases be predicted, in the end it always surprises. The end of the world is a possible outcome but the end of my life will definitely happen no matter what else may occur.
The need to reunite with Divinity so I can live the best for self and others and pass with peace to a hopeful beyond, this is the reason we must have for our religions whatever name and whatever amount of truth it may carry.
What we need now is not a chaotic grasping for God but a clam and careful reflection upon life and ourselves so that we might have a spiritual connection that will carry us through any event and moment that could ever possibly happen to us as human beings.
Haste, fear, and forcing of will are all acts of ignorance. May none of us be fools.
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
Plants are always giving oxygen and by that action they ensure all they need to exist will return to them. The life that lives only for itself is out of harmony with the motions of the Universe and all it contains. That which lives only to take is called a parasite. Did you know virus and parasite mean the same thing? Selfishness is a disease and unconditional selfless compassion is the cure.