Now the New Year reviving old Desires,
The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires,
Where the White Hand of Moses on the Bough
Puts out, and Jesus from the Ground suspires.
-- from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, by Omar Khayyam / Translated by Edward FitzGerald
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger
This verse is a recognition of the turning of the wheel of life and what we choose to do with each renewal.
He starts off with, "Now the New Year reviving old Desires." Why does the New Year revive old desires? The new year is a rebirth of the seasons, signaling a new cycle in our lives. If we don't apply conscious willpower, however, we instinctively follow the patterns we set in the previous year. So, with the new year, we are reborn, but so too are our old habits and old desires.
But "The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires." We always have a choice: We can give in to those old, often limiting patterns, getting caught up in the frantic activity and mental ruts of satisfying those old desires; or we can choose to let go of those compulsions and impulses and, instead, turn inward in contemplation, in meditation, in prayer. We can step out of the hustle and bustle of the hungry mind and retire to peaceful solitude.
Solitude, here, is not necessarily isolation or separation from others. For the mystic, true solitude is oneness, unity, wholeness -- whether or not other people are around. In this solitude, we encounter the living presence of the Divine, which Omar Khayyam evokes with the sacred figures of Moses and Jesus.
The "Bough" mentioned is the Tree of Life, which we find growing within us. Here we discover the guiding "White Hand of Moses." Moses represents awareness of the Divine Law and, although we have turned inward, we are being freed from the captivity of the limited awareness and false identity that had been held in place by those old mental patterns. The journey inward is a journey outward, the true exodus.
The closing line "and Jesus from the Ground suspires" is especially powerful. This breath, this suspiring is significant. In Muslim mystical traditions Jesus is often associated with the breath, healing, life-giving breath. To Muslims, Jesus embodies the breath of life, the breath of God. So, even though Jesus is in the ground, buried in the tomb (or born in the cave), or simply buried within ourselves -- we discover that he breathes! After feeling dead, no matter how we have stumbled or struggled, we discover new life buried secretly within us, we discover the Divine is breathing life into us. And we are that breath!
Rumi and the New Year...
I have returned, like the new year, to break the
locks of the prison and smash the claws and teeth of these
man-eating spheres.
The seven waterless planets are devouring the
creatures of earth — I will throw water upon their fire and still
their winds.
I have flown from the beginningless King like a
falcon in order to kill the parrot-eating owls* of this ruined
monastery.
From the beginning I made a covenant to
sacrifice my spirit to the King. May my spirit’s back be broken
should I break my pledge and covenant!
Today I am Asaf, Solomon’s vizier, sword and
firman in hand — I will break the necks of any who are
arrogant before the King.
If you see the garden of the rebellious
flourishing for a day or two, grieve not! For I will cut their
roots from a hidden direction.
I will break nothing but injustice or the evil-
intentioned tyrant — should anything have a mote of savor, then
I am an unbeliever should I break it
Wherever there is a polo ball, it is taken away
by the mallet of Oneness — if a ball does not roll down the
field. I will smash it with the blow of my mallet.
I now reside in His banquet, for I saw that His
intention is Gentleness. I became the least servant of His way
in order to break Satan’s legs.
I was a single nugget, but when the Sultan’s
hand grasped hold of me, I became the mine — if you place me
in the balance, I will break the scales.
When you allow a ruined and drunken man like
myself into your house, do you not know at least this much: I
will break this and break that?
If the watchman shouts, “Hey!” I will pour a
cup of wine on his head; and if the doorman seizes hold of
me, I will break his arm.
If the spheres do not rotate round my heart, I
will pull them up by the roots; if the heavens act with
villainy, I will smash the turning heavens.
Thou hast spread the tablecloth of Generosity
and invited me to lunch — why doest Thou rebuke me when I
break the bread?
No, no — I sit at the head of Thy table, I am the
chief of Thy guests. I will pour a cup or two of wine upon the
guests and break their shame.
Oh Thou who inspirest my spirit with poetry
from within! Should I refuse and remain silent, I fear I would
break Thy command.
If Shams-i Tabrizi should send me wine and
make me drunk, I would be free of cares and break down the
pillars of the universe.
– Translation by William Chittick
“The Sufi Path of Love”
SUNY Press, Albany, 1984
locks of the prison and smash the claws and teeth of these
man-eating spheres.
The seven waterless planets are devouring the
creatures of earth — I will throw water upon their fire and still
their winds.
I have flown from the beginningless King like a
falcon in order to kill the parrot-eating owls* of this ruined
monastery.
From the beginning I made a covenant to
sacrifice my spirit to the King. May my spirit’s back be broken
should I break my pledge and covenant!
Today I am Asaf, Solomon’s vizier, sword and
firman in hand — I will break the necks of any who are
arrogant before the King.
If you see the garden of the rebellious
flourishing for a day or two, grieve not! For I will cut their
roots from a hidden direction.
I will break nothing but injustice or the evil-
intentioned tyrant — should anything have a mote of savor, then
I am an unbeliever should I break it
Wherever there is a polo ball, it is taken away
by the mallet of Oneness — if a ball does not roll down the
field. I will smash it with the blow of my mallet.
I now reside in His banquet, for I saw that His
intention is Gentleness. I became the least servant of His way
in order to break Satan’s legs.
I was a single nugget, but when the Sultan’s
hand grasped hold of me, I became the mine — if you place me
in the balance, I will break the scales.
When you allow a ruined and drunken man like
myself into your house, do you not know at least this much: I
will break this and break that?
If the watchman shouts, “Hey!” I will pour a
cup of wine on his head; and if the doorman seizes hold of
me, I will break his arm.
If the spheres do not rotate round my heart, I
will pull them up by the roots; if the heavens act with
villainy, I will smash the turning heavens.
Thou hast spread the tablecloth of Generosity
and invited me to lunch — why doest Thou rebuke me when I
break the bread?
No, no — I sit at the head of Thy table, I am the
chief of Thy guests. I will pour a cup or two of wine upon the
guests and break their shame.
Oh Thou who inspirest my spirit with poetry
from within! Should I refuse and remain silent, I fear I would
break Thy command.
If Shams-i Tabrizi should send me wine and
make me drunk, I would be free of cares and break down the
pillars of the universe.
– Translation by William Chittick
“The Sufi Path of Love”
SUNY Press, Albany, 1984
Ideas...
For if you are caught up in ideas, then you will be caught up in the
self. And even if you are caught up in ideas about nothingness, you
will still be caught up in the self. That's why we should not get
attached to the belief that things either exist or do not exist. This
is the hidden meaning when I say that my teachings are a raft to be
abandoned when you see true being.
Diamond Sutra
self. And even if you are caught up in ideas about nothingness, you
will still be caught up in the self. That's why we should not get
attached to the belief that things either exist or do not exist. This
is the hidden meaning when I say that my teachings are a raft to be
abandoned when you see true being.
Diamond Sutra
Only One...
"In Reality there is only One. In Illusion there are many. The reason why there
is so much confusion as to whether there is one God or many is because God is so
Infinitely One.
"Even to say, 'There is one God' is wrong. God is so infinitely One that He
cannot even be called One. One may only say, One is. The word 'God' is only an
attempt to give that One a name, for in actuality He has no name."
Meher Baba
The Everything and the Nothing, 55
Beacon Hill, Australia: Meher House Publications, 1963, p. 91
http://www.ambppct.org/meherbaba/online.php
is so much confusion as to whether there is one God or many is because God is so
Infinitely One.
"Even to say, 'There is one God' is wrong. God is so infinitely One that He
cannot even be called One. One may only say, One is. The word 'God' is only an
attempt to give that One a name, for in actuality He has no name."
Meher Baba
The Everything and the Nothing, 55
Beacon Hill, Australia: Meher House Publications, 1963, p. 91
http://www.ambppct.org/meherbaba/online.php
Pure Awareness...
Stand in your original state of wholeness,
the state before you were born when there
was no knowledge "I am" and therefore
no need or want of any kind. All suffering
will end as soon as you stand in pure
Awareness.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
the state before you were born when there
was no knowledge "I am" and therefore
no need or want of any kind. All suffering
will end as soon as you stand in pure
Awareness.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
Pure Awareness...
The interesting part of Pure Awareness is that It has no ego.. therefore, It is
not aware of Itself.. this sounds strange but this is the reason for creation of
Divine Consciousness.. to try to understand what It Is.. Contemplate the idea of
Pure Thought held together by the glue called Unconditional Love.. Unconditional
Love can contain no ego, as ego means separation and does not exist within Pure
Awareness... Divine Consciousness is the make-believe ego that Pure Awareness
created to try and understand what It Is, because It has no opposite called ego
as a mirror........... namaste, thomas
not aware of Itself.. this sounds strange but this is the reason for creation of
Divine Consciousness.. to try to understand what It Is.. Contemplate the idea of
Pure Thought held together by the glue called Unconditional Love.. Unconditional
Love can contain no ego, as ego means separation and does not exist within Pure
Awareness... Divine Consciousness is the make-believe ego that Pure Awareness
created to try and understand what It Is, because It has no opposite called ego
as a mirror........... namaste, thomas
Nothingness...
This No-thing-ness is called Pure Awareness and through Pure Awareness
created the Thought called Divine Consciousness as a means of creation of
illusion.. We are the thoughts of Divine Consciousness that create the illusions
that We call life.. We are Thoughts of separation, so that we can create dreams
of separation as a means of looking at Our Self.. Divine Consciousness is the
Mirror of Pure Awareness, as a means of learning what Pure Awareness
Is............ namaste, thomas
created the Thought called Divine Consciousness as a means of creation of
illusion.. We are the thoughts of Divine Consciousness that create the illusions
that We call life.. We are Thoughts of separation, so that we can create dreams
of separation as a means of looking at Our Self.. Divine Consciousness is the
Mirror of Pure Awareness, as a means of learning what Pure Awareness
Is............ namaste, thomas
Eternal Existence...
Most souls, have a desire for eternal existence.. this is actually a
desire of the ego.. who is existing?.. personality... you can choose any
personality.. If you wish to forever be the personality called God, then, You
will exist as Divine Consciousness, but, then, You will still not experience the
Freedom of Non-Desire called Nothingness............. namaste, thomas
desire of the ego.. who is existing?.. personality... you can choose any
personality.. If you wish to forever be the personality called God, then, You
will exist as Divine Consciousness, but, then, You will still not experience the
Freedom of Non-Desire called Nothingness............. namaste, thomas
Prashna Upanishad...
It is the Self who sees, hears, smells, touches,
And tastes, who thinks, acts, and is pure
consciousness.
The Self is Brahman, changeless and supreme.
Those who know the supreme Self as formless,
Without shadow, without impurity,
Know all, gentle friend, and live in all.
Those who know the Self, the seat of consciousness,
In whom the breath and all the senses live,
Know all, gentle friend, and live in all.
-Prashna Upanishad
Excerpted from The Upanishads, translated by Eknath Easwaran
And tastes, who thinks, acts, and is pure
consciousness.
The Self is Brahman, changeless and supreme.
Those who know the supreme Self as formless,
Without shadow, without impurity,
Know all, gentle friend, and live in all.
Those who know the Self, the seat of consciousness,
In whom the breath and all the senses live,
Know all, gentle friend, and live in all.
-Prashna Upanishad
Excerpted from The Upanishads, translated by Eknath Easwaran
"I AM"...
To add a little more personal knowledge to this experience of "I Am",... when, I have surrendered the desire of ego and awaken into the Light and Love of Divine Consciousness and find myself as Light and Love within Light and Love, I still have the identity of Consciousness and Divinity.. with all the abilities to create according to thoughts projected.. but, this is just the game of Pure Consciousness and is also the ultimate illusion.. many souls will stay within this Reality for eons because of the intense Love that is felt.. I even found myself thinking that I never want to leave this place.. but, then a Voice asked me if I want to stay or return to the body.. This is when I Realised that I was still separated from complete Freedom because I still had an identity that separated Me from that which spoke.. This is the place that We are at, Now.. We are watching a hologram called life while in this state of Divine Consciousness.. This is why We must surrender Everything, even our Divinity and Identity to finally find Freedom in Nothingness called Pure Awareness............ namaste, thomas
Where is the "I" ?...
There are actually two stages... The "I" that We are, is Divine Consciousness
and We actually exist as this now.. but, the deeper Knowledge is that We do not
exist.. this is called "Pure Awareness" and We as Divine Consciousness are
absorbed within this Final Reality when We surrender even the identification of
Divine Consciousness and become "Nothing"........... namaste, thomas
and We actually exist as this now.. but, the deeper Knowledge is that We do not
exist.. this is called "Pure Awareness" and We as Divine Consciousness are
absorbed within this Final Reality when We surrender even the identification of
Divine Consciousness and become "Nothing"........... namaste, thomas
Who am I ?...
After you have rejected
what was to be rejected
and accepted
what was to be accepted,
then
only acceptance
remains hollow.
At that end you'll say,
'What's this acceptance for, even?
I don't need it."
Then
you'll arrive at
'Who am I?'
- Swami Amar Jyoti
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"In Light of Wisdom"
Swami Amar Jyoti
Truth Consciousness, Boulder, Colorado, 1983
what was to be rejected
and accepted
what was to be accepted,
then
only acceptance
remains hollow.
At that end you'll say,
'What's this acceptance for, even?
I don't need it."
Then
you'll arrive at
'Who am I?'
- Swami Amar Jyoti
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"In Light of Wisdom"
Swami Amar Jyoti
Truth Consciousness, Boulder, Colorado, 1983
Sharing Joy...
True pleasure lies in the sharing of joy with another.
Bowl of Saki, December 28, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Man's selfishness shows itself in wanting to get the better of his fellow man.
If we developed humanity we should do differently. We should be satisfied with a
slice of bread if there were another in need, but as it is, it happens that even
when we are fed ourselves, we do not wish anyone else to share the food. The
human heart can only be really satisfied by knowing that the other person is
happy. True pleasure lies in the sharing of joy with another. From the day that
we realize this we begin to act as human beings.
A person who, alone, has seen something beautiful, who has heard something
harmonious, who has tasted something delicious, who has smelt something
fragrant, may have enjoyed it, but not completely. The complete joy is in
sharing one's joy with others. For the selfish one who enjoys himself and does
not care for others, whether he enjoys things of the earth or things of heaven,
his enjoyment is not complete.
Tawazu in Sufi terms means something more than hospitality. It is laying before
one's friend willingly what one has, in other words sharing with one's friend
all the good one has in life, and with it, enjoying life better. When this
tendency to tawazu is developed, things that give one joy and pleasure become
more enjoyable by sharing with another. This tendency comes from the aristocracy
of the heart. It is generosity and even more than generosity. For the limit of
generosity is to see another pleased in his pleasure, but to share one's own
pleasure with another is greater than generosity. It is a quality which is
foreign to a selfish person, and the one who shows this quality is on the path
of saintliness.
Bowl of Saki, December 28, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Man's selfishness shows itself in wanting to get the better of his fellow man.
If we developed humanity we should do differently. We should be satisfied with a
slice of bread if there were another in need, but as it is, it happens that even
when we are fed ourselves, we do not wish anyone else to share the food. The
human heart can only be really satisfied by knowing that the other person is
happy. True pleasure lies in the sharing of joy with another. From the day that
we realize this we begin to act as human beings.
A person who, alone, has seen something beautiful, who has heard something
harmonious, who has tasted something delicious, who has smelt something
fragrant, may have enjoyed it, but not completely. The complete joy is in
sharing one's joy with others. For the selfish one who enjoys himself and does
not care for others, whether he enjoys things of the earth or things of heaven,
his enjoyment is not complete.
Tawazu in Sufi terms means something more than hospitality. It is laying before
one's friend willingly what one has, in other words sharing with one's friend
all the good one has in life, and with it, enjoying life better. When this
tendency to tawazu is developed, things that give one joy and pleasure become
more enjoyable by sharing with another. This tendency comes from the aristocracy
of the heart. It is generosity and even more than generosity. For the limit of
generosity is to see another pleased in his pleasure, but to share one's own
pleasure with another is greater than generosity. It is a quality which is
foreign to a selfish person, and the one who shows this quality is on the path
of saintliness.
Reality...
"Reality is so concrete, so actual, so much more tangible than mind or matter, that compared to it, even diamond is soft like butter. This overwhelming actuality makes the world appear dream-like, misty, irrelevant."
Nisargadatta's "I Am That" - chapter 94
Nisargadatta's "I Am That" - chapter 94
The Power of humility...
There is nothing more powerful than God (Divine Consciousness).. humility is
the state of non-ego.. non-ego is the Reality of Divine Consciousness
(God)........... namaste, thomas
the state of non-ego.. non-ego is the Reality of Divine Consciousness
(God)........... namaste, thomas
Satan...
Satan is just another name for your ego.. the ego is the mental attachment to memories and education.. the ego is just a series of thoughts and is not You.. the ego wishes to stay alive within the life form by constantly trying to convince You, that You are it... it does this by affirming your 'selfishness'(ego).. this is called temptation.. once you have conquered the desires of selfishness, You have conquered the ego and become Your Real Self... this is called the Awakening into Divine Consciousness............ namaste, thomas
" I Surrender"...
What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
And that of a saint?
The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God
And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move
That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, "I Surrender!"
Whereas, my dear, I am afraid you still think
You have a thousand serious moves.
- Hafiz
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
I Heard God Laughing
Renderings of Hafiz
by Daniel Ladinsky
Dhama Publishing Company, 1996
Between your experience of Existence
And that of a saint?
The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God
And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move
That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, "I Surrender!"
Whereas, my dear, I am afraid you still think
You have a thousand serious moves.
- Hafiz
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
I Heard God Laughing
Renderings of Hafiz
by Daniel Ladinsky
Dhama Publishing Company, 1996
Discrimination...
All that you are attached to, all that you Love,
all that you know, someday will be gone.
Knowing this, and that the world is your mind
which you create, play in, and suffer from,
is known as discrimination.
Discriminate between the real and the unreal.
The known is unreal and will come and go
so stay with the Unknown, the Unchanging Truth.
All which appears and disappears is not real,
and no nectar will come from it so don't cling to it,
and once you let go do not turn back to it.
Stay as Eternity in your own Being.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
all that you know, someday will be gone.
Knowing this, and that the world is your mind
which you create, play in, and suffer from,
is known as discrimination.
Discriminate between the real and the unreal.
The known is unreal and will come and go
so stay with the Unknown, the Unchanging Truth.
All which appears and disappears is not real,
and no nectar will come from it so don't cling to it,
and once you let go do not turn back to it.
Stay as Eternity in your own Being.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
Higher Existence...
Why is it that so many people are so unaware of their own higher existence? The answer is that their faculty of awareness itself is that spiritual existence. Whatever they know, people know through the consciousness within them. That in them which knows anything is their divine element. The power of knowing--whether it be a thought that is known, a complex of thoughts such as memories, a thing such as a landscape--is a divine power for it derives from the higher self which they possess.
________________________________
— Notebooks Category 21: Mentalism > Chapter 2: The World As Mental > # 136
...... Paul Brunton
________________________________
— Notebooks Category 21: Mentalism > Chapter 2: The World As Mental > # 136
...... Paul Brunton
Jesus the Christ and Gautama the Buddha...
In the sixth and fifth centuries B.C., Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, also known as "the Buddha" (i.e., the Enlightened One), in southern Nepal. The title "the Buddha" is applied to Siddhartha Gautama in the same way that the title "the Christ" is applied to Jesus. The basic teachings and lives of the Buddha and the Christ are so remarkably similar that it is hard to believe they are not the same entity. This web page will present the case that Buddha was indeed a previous reincarnation of Jesus.
Buddhism teaches that the practice of good religious and moral behavior can lead to Nirvana (i.e., the state of enlightenment, kingdom of God within). To attain Nirvana, a person must be subjected to the cycle of reincarnation to a lifetimes that are good or bad depending on one's actions (i.e., "karma", "eye for an eye"). The goal of Buddhism is to achieve liberation from this cycle of birth and rebirth. The Buddhist view of life in this world is summarized in what is called "the four noble truths." They are (1) This world is a world of suffering. (2) Desire and the belief in the importance of one's self causes suffering. (3) The attainment of Nirvana ends this suffering. (4) Nirvana is attained only by following the path of righteousness in action, thought, attitude, and meditation. As it was with Jesus, the Buddha had a community of disciples to carry on his teachings.
Identical Life Experiences
(1) Buddha was born of the virgin Mahamaya, who was considered the "Queen of Heaven." Dean Milman, in his "History of Christianity," stated that "Buddha, according to a tradition known in the West, was born of a virgin" (Vol. I, p. 99, note). Mary and Mahamaya all gave birth to their children among strangers. He was visited by wise men who recognized the divinity of the child. He was of royal descent and his birth was announced by a star.
(2) Werner's Encyclopedia, in its article on Buddha speaks of "the marvelous stories which gathered round the belief in his voluntary incarnation, the miracles at his birth, the prophecies of the aged saint at his formal presentation to his father, and how nature altered her course to keep a shadow over his cradle, whilst the sages from afar came and worshiped him."
(3) Both Jesus and Buddha were presented in the temple as infants for baptism. The hymns uttered at both annunciations resemble each other.
(4) Both in childhood discoursed before teachers.
(5) Jesus and Buddha were considered to be divine beings. Buddha is regarded by the Hindus as the ninth incarnation of the deity Vishnu, following Krishna. But Buddha started a new religion which did not emphasize "gods," but rather how people can become "awakened" or "enlightened" to liberate themselves from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth."
(6) The mission of both Buddha and Jesus was proclaimed by a voice from heaven.
(7) Both fasted in the wilderness and were tempted. Supernatural beings ministered to each of them.
(8) Both called their disciples with the command, "Follow me." Both sent out disciples to spread their teachings. Both performed miracles and wonders, healed the sick, fed five hundred men from a "small basket of cakes," and walked on the water.
(9) Buddha was "about 30 years old" when he began his ministry. He fasted "seven times seven nights and days." He had a "band of disciples" who accompanied him. He traveled from place to place and "preached to large multitudes." Bishop Bigandet calls his first sermon the "Sermon on the Mount." At his Renunciation "he forsook father and mother, wife and child." His mission was "to establish the kingdom of righteousness." "Buddha," says Max Mueller, "promised salvation to all; and he commanded his disciples to preach his doctrine in all places and to all men." "Self-conquest and universal charity" are the fundamental principles of his religion. He enjoined humanity, and commanded his followers to conceal their charities. "Return good for evil"; "overcome anger with love"; "love your enemies," were some of his precepts.
(10) Buddha formulated the following commandments. "Not to kill; not to steal; not to lie; not to commit adultery; not to use strong drink." This is a similar teaching attributed to Jesus: "Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother." (Luke 18:20) Christ ignored the literal interpretation of Moses and emphasized a spiritualized interpretation of the whole law taken as a whole which is to practice unconditional love. This is similar to what Buddha did with the current teachings of those days.
(11) Buddha preached on the "Holy Hill." Jesus delivered his sermon on the Mount. The phraseology of the sermons of Buddha and the sermon of Jesus is the same in many instances. Both Buddha and Jesus compared themselves to husbandmen sowing seed. The parable of the prodigal son is found in both Buddhist and Christian scriptures. So is the account of the man born blind. Both use the mustard seed as a simile for smallness. Buddha taught: "Perishable is the city built of sand." Jesus taught: "a foolish man builds his house upon the sand." Both speak of "the rain which falls on the just and on the unjust."
(12) A converted courtesan, Mary Magdalene, followed Jesus. A converted courtesan, Ambapali, followed Buddha.
(13) It is said that he crushed a serpent's head. This is also a Messianic prophecy described in Genesis in the Garden of Eden.
(14) He abolished idolatry, was a "sower of the word," and preached "the establishment of a kingdom of righteousness."
(15) He taught chastity, temperance, tolerance, compassion, love, and the equality of all.
(16) The story of the ruler, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night, has its parallel in the story of the rich man who came to Buddha by night.
(17) Both proclaimed kingdoms not of this world. The eternal life promised by Christ corresponds to the eternal peace, Nirvana, promised by Buddha.
(18) Both were transfigured on a mount.
(19) Both made triumphal entries, Christ into Jerusalem, and Buddha into Rajagriba.
(20) Buddha was considered the "good shepherd, the "carpenter, the "infinite and everlasting." Buddha was called the "savior of the world, "light of the world," Supreme Being, and the eternal one.
(21) There is a legend of a traitor connected with each.
(22) Buddha is to return to Earth again to restore the world to order and happiness.
(23) He is the judge of the dead.
(24) Buddha commanded his disciples to preach his gospel to all men. Christ commanded his disciples to do the same. In obedience to these commands the world was filled with missionaries, and largely as the result of this the adherents of these religious systems outnumber those of all others combined.
(25) Shortly after Buddha died, two sects of Buddhism were formed. After 400 years there were twenty different sects of Buddhism. Today there are many more. Over the millennia, the teachings of both Jesus and Buddha has spawned many different sects. Each is an attempt to keep the teachings alive under new circumstances. In 1947 in Egypt, early Christian documents were discovered which were hidden for thousands of years at the time when orders from the Church called for all heretical documents to be destroyed. One of those documents was the Gospel of Thomas which is considered by scholars to be the earliest gospel ever written and the most reliable. The Gospel of Thomas resonates with a type of Christianity that remarkably resembles Buddhism. It describes Jesus teaching the disciples how to become liberated from reincarnation. The writings of early Christianity discovered in 1947, show that early Christianity contained much more diversity of viewpoint and practice than later Christians acknowledged or even imagined. Because these teachings were smothered, many Christians today are adamant that the only path to God is via the personality of Jesus and this was considered the orthodox formula.
(26) Connected with the triumphs of these two religions there is a historical correlation worthy of mentioning. About three centuries after Buddha's death, Asoka the Great, emperor of India, converted to the Buddhist faith and made Buddhism the state religion of the empire of India at that time. This emperor did more than any other person to secure Buddhism's supremacy in the East. In the same way, about three centuries after the death of Jesus, Constantine the Great, emperor of Rome, became a convert to the Christian faith and made it the state religion of his empire. Because of this, Christianity reigned supreme in the West.
(27) Remuset says: "Buddhism has been called the Christianity of the East." It would be more appropriate to call Christianity the Buddhism of the West. Buddha, and not Christ, was "The Light of Asia." At this torch Christians lighted their taper and called it "The Light of the World."
(28) Catholic Bishop Bigandet, one of the leading Christian writers on Buddhism wrote: "In reading the particulars of the life of Buddha it is impossible not to feel reminded of many circumstances relating to our Savior's life as sketched by the evangelists. It may be said in favor of Buddhism that no philosophic-religious system has ever upheld to an equal degree the notions of a savior and deliverer, and the necessity of his mission for procuring the salvation of man."
(29) Bishop Jean Paul Hilaire wrote: "He [Buddha] requires humility, disregard of worldly wealth, patience and resignation in adversity, love to enemies ... non-resistance to evil, confession of sins and conversion."
(30) Paul Ambroise Bigandet, the Catholic Bishop of Ramatha, wrote: "There are many moral precepts equally commanded and enforced in common by both creeds. It will not be rash to assert that most of the moral truths prescribed in the gospel are to be met with in the Buddhistic scriptures."
(31) The rituals and religious structure of Catholicism resembles to a remarkable degree after those of Northern Buddhism (Lamaism) which the Encyclopedia Britannica states: "Lamaisnu with its shaven priests, its bells and rosaries, its images and holy water, its popes and bishops, its abbots and monks of many grades, its processions and feast days, its confessional and purgatory, and its worship of the double Virgin, so strongly resembles Romanism that the first Catholic missionaries thought it must be an imitation by the devil of the religion of Christ." The central object in every Buddhist temple is an image of Buddha The central object in every Catholic church is an image of Christ. Holy relics and the veneration of saints are prominent in both.
Identical Teachings
(1) "Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31)
"Consider others as yourself." (Dhammapada 10:1)
(2) "If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also." (Luke 6:29)
"If anyone should give you a blow with his hand, with a stick, or with a knife, you should abandon any desires and utter no evil words." (Majjhima Nikaya 21:6)
(3) "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. From anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them back." (Luke 6:27-30)
"Hatreds do not ever cease in this world by hating, but by love: this is an eternal truth. Overcome anger by love, overcome evil by good ... Overcome the miser by giving, overcome the liar by truth." (Dhammapada 1.5 & 17.3)
(4) "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." (Matt. 25:45)
"If you do not tend one another, then who is there to tend to you? Whoever would tend me, he should tend the sick." (Vinaya, Mahavagga 8:26:3)
(5) "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take the sword shall perish by the sword." (Matt. 26:52)
"Abandoning the taking of life, the ascetic Gautama dwells refraining from taking life, without stick or sword." (Digha Nikaya 1:1:8)
(6) "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friend." (John 15:12-13)
"Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, even so, cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings. Let your thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world." (Sutta Nipata 149-150)
(7) "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)
"The body of the Buddha is born of love, patience, gentleness and truth." (Vimalakirtinirdesha Sutra 2)
(8) "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." (Matt. 13:31-32)
"Do not underestimate good, thinking it will not affect you. Dripping water can fill a pitcher, drop by drop; one who is wise is filled with good, even if one accumulates it little by little." (Dhammapada 9:7)
(9) "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Friend, let me take the speck out of your eye," when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye." (Luke 6:41-42)
"The faults of others are easier to see than one's own; the faults of others are easily seen, for they are sifted like chaff, but one's own faults are hard to see. This is like the cheat who hides his dice and shows the dice of his opponent, calling attention to the other's shortcomings, continually thinking of accusing him." (Undanavarga 27:1)
(10) "They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" He said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:4-7)
"Do not look at the faults of others, or what others have done or not done; observe what you yourself have done and have not done." (Dhammapada 4:7)
(11) "Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore consider whether the light in you is full of darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays." (Luke 11: 34-36)
"As a man with eyes who carries a lamp sees all objects, so too with one who has heard the Moral Law. He will become perfectly wise." (Udanavarga 22:4)
(12) "Your father in heaven makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." (Matt. 5:45)
"That great cloud rains down on all whether their nature is superior or inferior. The light of the sun and the moon illuminates the whole world, both him who does well and him who does ill, both him who stands high and him who stands low." (Sadharmapundarika Sutra 5)
(13) "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:20)
"Let us live most happily, possessing nothing; let us feed on joy, like the radiant gods." (Dhammapada 15:4)
(14) "If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." (Matt.19:21)
"The avaricious do not go to heaven, the foolish do not extol charity. The wise one, however, rejoicing in charity, becomes thereby happy in the beyond." (Dhammapada 13:11)
(15) "He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4)
"Giving is the noble expression of the benevolence of the mighty. Even dust, given in childish innocence, is a good gift. No gift that is given in good faith to a worthy recipient can be called small; it effects us so great." (Jatakamala 3:23)
(16) "Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:26)
"Those who have sufficient faith in me, sufficient love for me, are all headed for heaven or beyond." (Majjhima Nikaya 22:47)
(17) "Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it." (Mark 8:35)
"With the relinquishing of all thought and egotism, the enlightened one is liberated through not clinging." (Majjhima Nikaya 72:15)
(18) "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." (Matt. 8:20)
"The thoughtful exert themselves; they do not delight in an abode. Like swans who have left their lake they leave their house and home." (Majjhima Nikaya)
(19) "When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time." (Luke 4:13)
"During the six years that the Bodhisattva practiced austerities, the demon followed behind him step by step, seeking an opportunity to harm him. But he found no opportunity whatsoever and went away discouraged and discontent." (Lalitavistara Sutra 18)
(20) "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matt. 5:8)
"Anyone who enters into meditation on compassion can see Brahma with his own eyes, talk to him face to face and consult with him." (Digha Nikaya 19:43)
(21) "Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them." (John 20:26)
"He goes unhindered through a wall." (Anugattara Nikaya 3:60)
(22) "And after six days Jesus takes with him Peter, and James, and John, and leads them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on Earth can white them." (Mark 9:2-3)
"Ananda, having arranged one set of golden robes on the body of the Lord, observed that against the Lord's body it appeared dulled. And he said, "It is wonderful, Lord, it is marvelous how clear and bright the Lord's skin appears! It looks even brighter than the golden robes in which it is clothed." (Digha Nikaya 16:4:37)
Near-Death Experience Revelations Concerning Buddha and Jesus
Mellen-Thomas Benedict is an artist who survived a near-death experience in 1982. He was dead for over an hour and a half after dying of cancer. At the time of his death, he rose up out of his body and went into the light. Curious about the universe, he was taken far into the remote depths of existence, and even beyond, into the energetic void of nothingness behind the Big Bang. During his experience, he was able to learn a great deal of information concerning reincarnation and the identity of the "Being of Light." His experience reveals an interesting connection between Buddha and Jesus. The following information is an excerpt from his near-death experience.
"There was this light shining. I turned toward the light. The light was very similar to what many other people have described in their near-death experiences. It was so magnificent. It is tangible; you can feel it. It is alluring; you want to go to it like you would want to go to your ideal mother's or father's arms.
"As I began to move toward the light, I knew intuitively that if I went to the light, I would be dead.
"So as I was moving toward the light I said, "Please wait a minute, just hold on a second here. I want to think about this; I would like to talk to you before I go."
"To my surprise, the entire experience halted at that point. You are indeed in control of your near-death experience. You are not on a roller coaster ride. So my request was honored and I had some conversations with the light. The light kept changing into different figures, like Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, mandalas, archetypal images and signs.
"I asked the light, "What is going on here? Please, light, clarify yourself for me. I really want to know the reality of the situation."
"I cannot really say the exact words, because it was sort of telepathy. The light responded. The information transferred to me was that your beliefs shape the kind of feedback you are getting before the light. If you were a Buddhist or Catholic or Fundamentalist, you get a feedback loop of your own stuff. You have a chance to look at it and examine it, but most people do not."
Comment: Mr. Benedict's near-death revelation suggests that not only are the Higher Selves of Jesus, Buddha and Krishna, one and the same, but all of humanity's Higher Selves are one and the same. Perhaps we are different aspects of the same Higher Spirit.
Edgar Cayce had many near-death experience and revealed information about ancient religions which have been affirmed to be true. The following are some of the revelations he received concerning the connection between Buddha and Jesus.
Christian Gnosticism is the highest form of Christianity according to the Cayce revelations. A close study of Christian Gnosticism shows that this early form of Christianity is more similar to Buddhism than it is to traditional Christianity. For example, both religions teach:
(a) reincarnation, (b) a philosophy of life on Earth as suffering for which we must be liberated, (c) the oneness of all things, (d) the divine light, (e) various afterlife realms to journey through, (f) the human goal of attaining Christhood is identical to the goal of attaining Buddhahood, (g) the distinction between Jesus (the human) to Christ (the spirit of human-divine unity) and the distinction between Buddha (the human) and Dharmakaya (the Clear Light of Ultimate Reality), (h) the concept of karma, (i) and the importance of good works. This is not a complete list.
Other revelations from Cayce are that someday in the future, China will become the "cradle of Civilization." Those who are not familiar with the Cayce revelations are certain that this revelation about China and Christianity has to be false. But, as we have just seen, Buddhism is closer to true Christianity as traditional Christianity itself. If Buddhism flourishes once again in China as it once did for thousands of years, I am sure that this revelation of China being "Christian" will become true.
Cayce revealed that the Christ spirit (the spirit of human-divine unity) constitutes the impelling force and core of truth behind all religions that teach that "God is One" and "all is one". This includes Confucianism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Judaism, Platonism, Christianity and Islam.
And finally, Buddha represents the "Way" to Enlightenment as Jesus represents the "Way" to the Father.
"By giving away food we get more strength. By bestowing clothing on others we gain more beauty. By donating abodes of purity and truth we acquire great treasures." Buddha
"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." - Jesus...........................from near-death.com
Buddhism teaches that the practice of good religious and moral behavior can lead to Nirvana (i.e., the state of enlightenment, kingdom of God within). To attain Nirvana, a person must be subjected to the cycle of reincarnation to a lifetimes that are good or bad depending on one's actions (i.e., "karma", "eye for an eye"). The goal of Buddhism is to achieve liberation from this cycle of birth and rebirth. The Buddhist view of life in this world is summarized in what is called "the four noble truths." They are (1) This world is a world of suffering. (2) Desire and the belief in the importance of one's self causes suffering. (3) The attainment of Nirvana ends this suffering. (4) Nirvana is attained only by following the path of righteousness in action, thought, attitude, and meditation. As it was with Jesus, the Buddha had a community of disciples to carry on his teachings.
Identical Life Experiences
(1) Buddha was born of the virgin Mahamaya, who was considered the "Queen of Heaven." Dean Milman, in his "History of Christianity," stated that "Buddha, according to a tradition known in the West, was born of a virgin" (Vol. I, p. 99, note). Mary and Mahamaya all gave birth to their children among strangers. He was visited by wise men who recognized the divinity of the child. He was of royal descent and his birth was announced by a star.
(2) Werner's Encyclopedia, in its article on Buddha speaks of "the marvelous stories which gathered round the belief in his voluntary incarnation, the miracles at his birth, the prophecies of the aged saint at his formal presentation to his father, and how nature altered her course to keep a shadow over his cradle, whilst the sages from afar came and worshiped him."
(3) Both Jesus and Buddha were presented in the temple as infants for baptism. The hymns uttered at both annunciations resemble each other.
(4) Both in childhood discoursed before teachers.
(5) Jesus and Buddha were considered to be divine beings. Buddha is regarded by the Hindus as the ninth incarnation of the deity Vishnu, following Krishna. But Buddha started a new religion which did not emphasize "gods," but rather how people can become "awakened" or "enlightened" to liberate themselves from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth."
(6) The mission of both Buddha and Jesus was proclaimed by a voice from heaven.
(7) Both fasted in the wilderness and were tempted. Supernatural beings ministered to each of them.
(8) Both called their disciples with the command, "Follow me." Both sent out disciples to spread their teachings. Both performed miracles and wonders, healed the sick, fed five hundred men from a "small basket of cakes," and walked on the water.
(9) Buddha was "about 30 years old" when he began his ministry. He fasted "seven times seven nights and days." He had a "band of disciples" who accompanied him. He traveled from place to place and "preached to large multitudes." Bishop Bigandet calls his first sermon the "Sermon on the Mount." At his Renunciation "he forsook father and mother, wife and child." His mission was "to establish the kingdom of righteousness." "Buddha," says Max Mueller, "promised salvation to all; and he commanded his disciples to preach his doctrine in all places and to all men." "Self-conquest and universal charity" are the fundamental principles of his religion. He enjoined humanity, and commanded his followers to conceal their charities. "Return good for evil"; "overcome anger with love"; "love your enemies," were some of his precepts.
(10) Buddha formulated the following commandments. "Not to kill; not to steal; not to lie; not to commit adultery; not to use strong drink." This is a similar teaching attributed to Jesus: "Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother." (Luke 18:20) Christ ignored the literal interpretation of Moses and emphasized a spiritualized interpretation of the whole law taken as a whole which is to practice unconditional love. This is similar to what Buddha did with the current teachings of those days.
(11) Buddha preached on the "Holy Hill." Jesus delivered his sermon on the Mount. The phraseology of the sermons of Buddha and the sermon of Jesus is the same in many instances. Both Buddha and Jesus compared themselves to husbandmen sowing seed. The parable of the prodigal son is found in both Buddhist and Christian scriptures. So is the account of the man born blind. Both use the mustard seed as a simile for smallness. Buddha taught: "Perishable is the city built of sand." Jesus taught: "a foolish man builds his house upon the sand." Both speak of "the rain which falls on the just and on the unjust."
(12) A converted courtesan, Mary Magdalene, followed Jesus. A converted courtesan, Ambapali, followed Buddha.
(13) It is said that he crushed a serpent's head. This is also a Messianic prophecy described in Genesis in the Garden of Eden.
(14) He abolished idolatry, was a "sower of the word," and preached "the establishment of a kingdom of righteousness."
(15) He taught chastity, temperance, tolerance, compassion, love, and the equality of all.
(16) The story of the ruler, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night, has its parallel in the story of the rich man who came to Buddha by night.
(17) Both proclaimed kingdoms not of this world. The eternal life promised by Christ corresponds to the eternal peace, Nirvana, promised by Buddha.
(18) Both were transfigured on a mount.
(19) Both made triumphal entries, Christ into Jerusalem, and Buddha into Rajagriba.
(20) Buddha was considered the "good shepherd, the "carpenter, the "infinite and everlasting." Buddha was called the "savior of the world, "light of the world," Supreme Being, and the eternal one.
(21) There is a legend of a traitor connected with each.
(22) Buddha is to return to Earth again to restore the world to order and happiness.
(23) He is the judge of the dead.
(24) Buddha commanded his disciples to preach his gospel to all men. Christ commanded his disciples to do the same. In obedience to these commands the world was filled with missionaries, and largely as the result of this the adherents of these religious systems outnumber those of all others combined.
(25) Shortly after Buddha died, two sects of Buddhism were formed. After 400 years there were twenty different sects of Buddhism. Today there are many more. Over the millennia, the teachings of both Jesus and Buddha has spawned many different sects. Each is an attempt to keep the teachings alive under new circumstances. In 1947 in Egypt, early Christian documents were discovered which were hidden for thousands of years at the time when orders from the Church called for all heretical documents to be destroyed. One of those documents was the Gospel of Thomas which is considered by scholars to be the earliest gospel ever written and the most reliable. The Gospel of Thomas resonates with a type of Christianity that remarkably resembles Buddhism. It describes Jesus teaching the disciples how to become liberated from reincarnation. The writings of early Christianity discovered in 1947, show that early Christianity contained much more diversity of viewpoint and practice than later Christians acknowledged or even imagined. Because these teachings were smothered, many Christians today are adamant that the only path to God is via the personality of Jesus and this was considered the orthodox formula.
(26) Connected with the triumphs of these two religions there is a historical correlation worthy of mentioning. About three centuries after Buddha's death, Asoka the Great, emperor of India, converted to the Buddhist faith and made Buddhism the state religion of the empire of India at that time. This emperor did more than any other person to secure Buddhism's supremacy in the East. In the same way, about three centuries after the death of Jesus, Constantine the Great, emperor of Rome, became a convert to the Christian faith and made it the state religion of his empire. Because of this, Christianity reigned supreme in the West.
(27) Remuset says: "Buddhism has been called the Christianity of the East." It would be more appropriate to call Christianity the Buddhism of the West. Buddha, and not Christ, was "The Light of Asia." At this torch Christians lighted their taper and called it "The Light of the World."
(28) Catholic Bishop Bigandet, one of the leading Christian writers on Buddhism wrote: "In reading the particulars of the life of Buddha it is impossible not to feel reminded of many circumstances relating to our Savior's life as sketched by the evangelists. It may be said in favor of Buddhism that no philosophic-religious system has ever upheld to an equal degree the notions of a savior and deliverer, and the necessity of his mission for procuring the salvation of man."
(29) Bishop Jean Paul Hilaire wrote: "He [Buddha] requires humility, disregard of worldly wealth, patience and resignation in adversity, love to enemies ... non-resistance to evil, confession of sins and conversion."
(30) Paul Ambroise Bigandet, the Catholic Bishop of Ramatha, wrote: "There are many moral precepts equally commanded and enforced in common by both creeds. It will not be rash to assert that most of the moral truths prescribed in the gospel are to be met with in the Buddhistic scriptures."
(31) The rituals and religious structure of Catholicism resembles to a remarkable degree after those of Northern Buddhism (Lamaism) which the Encyclopedia Britannica states: "Lamaisnu with its shaven priests, its bells and rosaries, its images and holy water, its popes and bishops, its abbots and monks of many grades, its processions and feast days, its confessional and purgatory, and its worship of the double Virgin, so strongly resembles Romanism that the first Catholic missionaries thought it must be an imitation by the devil of the religion of Christ." The central object in every Buddhist temple is an image of Buddha The central object in every Catholic church is an image of Christ. Holy relics and the veneration of saints are prominent in both.
Identical Teachings
(1) "Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31)
"Consider others as yourself." (Dhammapada 10:1)
(2) "If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also." (Luke 6:29)
"If anyone should give you a blow with his hand, with a stick, or with a knife, you should abandon any desires and utter no evil words." (Majjhima Nikaya 21:6)
(3) "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. From anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them back." (Luke 6:27-30)
"Hatreds do not ever cease in this world by hating, but by love: this is an eternal truth. Overcome anger by love, overcome evil by good ... Overcome the miser by giving, overcome the liar by truth." (Dhammapada 1.5 & 17.3)
(4) "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." (Matt. 25:45)
"If you do not tend one another, then who is there to tend to you? Whoever would tend me, he should tend the sick." (Vinaya, Mahavagga 8:26:3)
(5) "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take the sword shall perish by the sword." (Matt. 26:52)
"Abandoning the taking of life, the ascetic Gautama dwells refraining from taking life, without stick or sword." (Digha Nikaya 1:1:8)
(6) "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friend." (John 15:12-13)
"Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, even so, cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings. Let your thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world." (Sutta Nipata 149-150)
(7) "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)
"The body of the Buddha is born of love, patience, gentleness and truth." (Vimalakirtinirdesha Sutra 2)
(8) "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." (Matt. 13:31-32)
"Do not underestimate good, thinking it will not affect you. Dripping water can fill a pitcher, drop by drop; one who is wise is filled with good, even if one accumulates it little by little." (Dhammapada 9:7)
(9) "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Friend, let me take the speck out of your eye," when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye." (Luke 6:41-42)
"The faults of others are easier to see than one's own; the faults of others are easily seen, for they are sifted like chaff, but one's own faults are hard to see. This is like the cheat who hides his dice and shows the dice of his opponent, calling attention to the other's shortcomings, continually thinking of accusing him." (Undanavarga 27:1)
(10) "They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" He said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:4-7)
"Do not look at the faults of others, or what others have done or not done; observe what you yourself have done and have not done." (Dhammapada 4:7)
(11) "Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore consider whether the light in you is full of darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays." (Luke 11: 34-36)
"As a man with eyes who carries a lamp sees all objects, so too with one who has heard the Moral Law. He will become perfectly wise." (Udanavarga 22:4)
(12) "Your father in heaven makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." (Matt. 5:45)
"That great cloud rains down on all whether their nature is superior or inferior. The light of the sun and the moon illuminates the whole world, both him who does well and him who does ill, both him who stands high and him who stands low." (Sadharmapundarika Sutra 5)
(13) "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:20)
"Let us live most happily, possessing nothing; let us feed on joy, like the radiant gods." (Dhammapada 15:4)
(14) "If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." (Matt.19:21)
"The avaricious do not go to heaven, the foolish do not extol charity. The wise one, however, rejoicing in charity, becomes thereby happy in the beyond." (Dhammapada 13:11)
(15) "He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4)
"Giving is the noble expression of the benevolence of the mighty. Even dust, given in childish innocence, is a good gift. No gift that is given in good faith to a worthy recipient can be called small; it effects us so great." (Jatakamala 3:23)
(16) "Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:26)
"Those who have sufficient faith in me, sufficient love for me, are all headed for heaven or beyond." (Majjhima Nikaya 22:47)
(17) "Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it." (Mark 8:35)
"With the relinquishing of all thought and egotism, the enlightened one is liberated through not clinging." (Majjhima Nikaya 72:15)
(18) "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." (Matt. 8:20)
"The thoughtful exert themselves; they do not delight in an abode. Like swans who have left their lake they leave their house and home." (Majjhima Nikaya)
(19) "When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time." (Luke 4:13)
"During the six years that the Bodhisattva practiced austerities, the demon followed behind him step by step, seeking an opportunity to harm him. But he found no opportunity whatsoever and went away discouraged and discontent." (Lalitavistara Sutra 18)
(20) "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matt. 5:8)
"Anyone who enters into meditation on compassion can see Brahma with his own eyes, talk to him face to face and consult with him." (Digha Nikaya 19:43)
(21) "Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them." (John 20:26)
"He goes unhindered through a wall." (Anugattara Nikaya 3:60)
(22) "And after six days Jesus takes with him Peter, and James, and John, and leads them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on Earth can white them." (Mark 9:2-3)
"Ananda, having arranged one set of golden robes on the body of the Lord, observed that against the Lord's body it appeared dulled. And he said, "It is wonderful, Lord, it is marvelous how clear and bright the Lord's skin appears! It looks even brighter than the golden robes in which it is clothed." (Digha Nikaya 16:4:37)
Near-Death Experience Revelations Concerning Buddha and Jesus
Mellen-Thomas Benedict is an artist who survived a near-death experience in 1982. He was dead for over an hour and a half after dying of cancer. At the time of his death, he rose up out of his body and went into the light. Curious about the universe, he was taken far into the remote depths of existence, and even beyond, into the energetic void of nothingness behind the Big Bang. During his experience, he was able to learn a great deal of information concerning reincarnation and the identity of the "Being of Light." His experience reveals an interesting connection between Buddha and Jesus. The following information is an excerpt from his near-death experience.
"There was this light shining. I turned toward the light. The light was very similar to what many other people have described in their near-death experiences. It was so magnificent. It is tangible; you can feel it. It is alluring; you want to go to it like you would want to go to your ideal mother's or father's arms.
"As I began to move toward the light, I knew intuitively that if I went to the light, I would be dead.
"So as I was moving toward the light I said, "Please wait a minute, just hold on a second here. I want to think about this; I would like to talk to you before I go."
"To my surprise, the entire experience halted at that point. You are indeed in control of your near-death experience. You are not on a roller coaster ride. So my request was honored and I had some conversations with the light. The light kept changing into different figures, like Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, mandalas, archetypal images and signs.
"I asked the light, "What is going on here? Please, light, clarify yourself for me. I really want to know the reality of the situation."
"I cannot really say the exact words, because it was sort of telepathy. The light responded. The information transferred to me was that your beliefs shape the kind of feedback you are getting before the light. If you were a Buddhist or Catholic or Fundamentalist, you get a feedback loop of your own stuff. You have a chance to look at it and examine it, but most people do not."
Comment: Mr. Benedict's near-death revelation suggests that not only are the Higher Selves of Jesus, Buddha and Krishna, one and the same, but all of humanity's Higher Selves are one and the same. Perhaps we are different aspects of the same Higher Spirit.
Edgar Cayce had many near-death experience and revealed information about ancient religions which have been affirmed to be true. The following are some of the revelations he received concerning the connection between Buddha and Jesus.
Christian Gnosticism is the highest form of Christianity according to the Cayce revelations. A close study of Christian Gnosticism shows that this early form of Christianity is more similar to Buddhism than it is to traditional Christianity. For example, both religions teach:
(a) reincarnation, (b) a philosophy of life on Earth as suffering for which we must be liberated, (c) the oneness of all things, (d) the divine light, (e) various afterlife realms to journey through, (f) the human goal of attaining Christhood is identical to the goal of attaining Buddhahood, (g) the distinction between Jesus (the human) to Christ (the spirit of human-divine unity) and the distinction between Buddha (the human) and Dharmakaya (the Clear Light of Ultimate Reality), (h) the concept of karma, (i) and the importance of good works. This is not a complete list.
Other revelations from Cayce are that someday in the future, China will become the "cradle of Civilization." Those who are not familiar with the Cayce revelations are certain that this revelation about China and Christianity has to be false. But, as we have just seen, Buddhism is closer to true Christianity as traditional Christianity itself. If Buddhism flourishes once again in China as it once did for thousands of years, I am sure that this revelation of China being "Christian" will become true.
Cayce revealed that the Christ spirit (the spirit of human-divine unity) constitutes the impelling force and core of truth behind all religions that teach that "God is One" and "all is one". This includes Confucianism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Judaism, Platonism, Christianity and Islam.
And finally, Buddha represents the "Way" to Enlightenment as Jesus represents the "Way" to the Father.
"By giving away food we get more strength. By bestowing clothing on others we gain more beauty. By donating abodes of purity and truth we acquire great treasures." Buddha
"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." - Jesus...........................from near-death.com
Jesus and religion...
The fact is that Jesus was not a Christian, He remained a practicing Jew for His entire life.. He taught the principles of Buddhism.. He meditated in the manner of Hinduism and Buddhism.. Jesus practiced no separate religion exclusively.. The bottom line is that Jesus was murdered for being a Mystic and Mysticism has no religion, only the desire for Truth and Unity.............namaste, thomas
Paths to Truth...
"Actually, all paths lead away from the truth...how's that? All paths.
There's no such thing as a path to the truth.
The truth's already here, where are you going?"
- Adyashanti
There's no such thing as a path to the truth.
The truth's already here, where are you going?"
- Adyashanti
A thought...
Not only is the world an appearance-in-Consciousness, but so is the ego. It is in the end a thought, perhaps the strongest of all; and only the Consciousness-in-Itself is the Reality from which it draws sustenance, existence, life.
— Notebooks Category 21: Mentalism > Chapter 5: The Key To the Spiritual World > # 138
Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 21: Mentalism > Chapter 5: The Key To the Spiritual World > # 138
Paul Brunton
A swinging door...
What we call 'I' is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale
and when we exhale. It just moves; that is all ... there is nothing:
no 'I,' no world, no mind or body; just a swinging door.
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
and when we exhale. It just moves; that is all ... there is nothing:
no 'I,' no world, no mind or body; just a swinging door.
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
The Birth of Christ...
In reading the title, our minds envision the birth of Jesus (Yeshua ben Yosef) but, the Real Birth of Christ happens when we offer our selves as a sacrifice to God.. This is the True Christmas Gift.. The most valuable gift that we have ever given.. This gift cannot be found in stores or on the internet.. this gift is the gift that is also given back to Us.. We give our self and in return we receive Our Self.. This is Truly, the Miracle of Christmas.............namaste, thomas
ego...
Reality is simply loss of the ego.
Destroy the ego by seeking its identity.
Because the ego has no real existence, it will automatically vanish, and Reality will shine forth by itself in all its glory. This is the direct method.
All other methods retain the ego. In those paths so many doubts arise, and the eternal question remains to be tackled.
But in this method the final question is the only one and is raised from the very beginning.
No practices (sadhanas) are even necessary for this quest.
~ Ramana Maharshi
Destroy the ego by seeking its identity.
Because the ego has no real existence, it will automatically vanish, and Reality will shine forth by itself in all its glory. This is the direct method.
All other methods retain the ego. In those paths so many doubts arise, and the eternal question remains to be tackled.
But in this method the final question is the only one and is raised from the very beginning.
No practices (sadhanas) are even necessary for this quest.
~ Ramana Maharshi
Understanding Jesus, Buddha, and Other Mystics...
September 13th, 2006 by Steve Pavlina
I’ve been going back and re-reading mystical texts such as the Christian Gospels, and I’ve noticed that they make a lot more sense under the subjective model. Even some of Hindu and Buddhist teachings I used to regard as incomprehensible now seem perfectly logical. I suspect such teachers as Jesus and Buddha had a subjective belief system, since in my opinion they use the language of subjective reality liberally.
For example, consider Jesus’ teaching, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Under the objective model, the most obvious interpretation is that Jesus is telling us to treat other people as we ourselves would want to be treated. That’s an egoic perspective that’s fairly easy to understand but that’s hard to practice consistently. Our default objective behavior is to favor ourselves at least a little more than our neighbors, especially people we don’t know. However, I believe Jesus was really speaking subjectivese, so this would be a misinterpretation — that’s why it’s so hard to put into practice. Jesus wasn’t asking us to do the impossible. His real advice was actually much easier to follow, but we’d only know that if we spoke subjectivese.
Under the subjective reality model, the most obvious interpretation of “Love your neighbor as yourself” is that Jesus is telling us to recognize that all of us egoic human beings are projections of awareness, and your true identity is that awareness. Furthermore, unconditional love for everything is one way to regain that awareness. Unconditional love is essentially unconditional connectedness. So Jesus is suggesting a shift in your mindset rather than your behavior, which is a whole different sort of challenge. In fact, if you follow Jesus’ teaching from a subjective perspective, you’ll automatically follow it from an objective perspective as well, but in a way that’s much easier than if you tried to tackle the objective approach head on. Behavior changes are relatively easy once you’ve already made the mindset shift that gives rise to them. Jesus is asking you to notice something very subtle here, not to struggle against your default behavior.
When I interpret Jesus’, Buddha’s, or other enlightened teachings objectively, I usually assume they’re talking about behavior, and I often judge the material as being too incomprehensible, too vague, or too difficult to put into practice. They are the unattainable ideal. But when I realize they’re speaking subjectivese, I can clearly see they’re really talking about mindset, not behavior, and their ideas are so simple and elegant that I end up nodding in agreement and thinking, “These guys are speaking to me as an equal, not as an underling.” I also recognize that their advice is not that difficult to follow and that their state of being is ultimately attainable by anyone. Many of their teachings are little more than pointers for what to pay attention to. By taking their advice, we end up feeling so good that suffering diminishes and joy rises in its place.
I’ve been going back and re-reading mystical texts such as the Christian Gospels, and I’ve noticed that they make a lot more sense under the subjective model. Even some of Hindu and Buddhist teachings I used to regard as incomprehensible now seem perfectly logical. I suspect such teachers as Jesus and Buddha had a subjective belief system, since in my opinion they use the language of subjective reality liberally.
For example, consider Jesus’ teaching, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Under the objective model, the most obvious interpretation is that Jesus is telling us to treat other people as we ourselves would want to be treated. That’s an egoic perspective that’s fairly easy to understand but that’s hard to practice consistently. Our default objective behavior is to favor ourselves at least a little more than our neighbors, especially people we don’t know. However, I believe Jesus was really speaking subjectivese, so this would be a misinterpretation — that’s why it’s so hard to put into practice. Jesus wasn’t asking us to do the impossible. His real advice was actually much easier to follow, but we’d only know that if we spoke subjectivese.
Under the subjective reality model, the most obvious interpretation of “Love your neighbor as yourself” is that Jesus is telling us to recognize that all of us egoic human beings are projections of awareness, and your true identity is that awareness. Furthermore, unconditional love for everything is one way to regain that awareness. Unconditional love is essentially unconditional connectedness. So Jesus is suggesting a shift in your mindset rather than your behavior, which is a whole different sort of challenge. In fact, if you follow Jesus’ teaching from a subjective perspective, you’ll automatically follow it from an objective perspective as well, but in a way that’s much easier than if you tried to tackle the objective approach head on. Behavior changes are relatively easy once you’ve already made the mindset shift that gives rise to them. Jesus is asking you to notice something very subtle here, not to struggle against your default behavior.
When I interpret Jesus’, Buddha’s, or other enlightened teachings objectively, I usually assume they’re talking about behavior, and I often judge the material as being too incomprehensible, too vague, or too difficult to put into practice. They are the unattainable ideal. But when I realize they’re speaking subjectivese, I can clearly see they’re really talking about mindset, not behavior, and their ideas are so simple and elegant that I end up nodding in agreement and thinking, “These guys are speaking to me as an equal, not as an underling.” I also recognize that their advice is not that difficult to follow and that their state of being is ultimately attainable by anyone. Many of their teachings are little more than pointers for what to pay attention to. By taking their advice, we end up feeling so good that suffering diminishes and joy rises in its place.
The Bhagavad Gita...
"Arjuna said,
'Great-armed one, I wish to know the truth
of renunciation and of relinquishment, Hrishikesha,
individually, slayer of Keshin.
"The blessed Lord said,
'The renouncing of desired actions
the sages know as renunciation;
relinquishment of the fruit of all action
the clear-sighted say is relinquishment.
Some thinkers say that action is to be relinquished as wrong,
and others that action by sacrifice, charity, and austerity
is not to be thus relinquished.
"'Hear my conclusion in this matter of relinquishment,
best Bharata, for relinquishment, tiger spirit,
is described as threefold.
Action by sacrifice, charity, and austerity
is not to be relinquished;
that sacrifice, charity, and austerity
are the purifiers of the thinkers.
But these actions are to be done
relinquishing attachment and the fruits.
This, Partha, is definitely my final opinion,
for renunciation of required action is not proper;
the confused relinquishing of this is declared dark.
Whoever relinquishes action which is troublesome
out of fear of physical suffering,
doing emotional relinquishment
would not obtain the fruit of that relinquishment.
Action which is to be done is done in a disciplined way,
Arjuna, relinquishing attachment and the fruit;
this relinquishment is thought of as good.
"'Filled with goodness, intelligent, doubt eliminated,
the relinquisher, does not hate disagreeable action
nor is attached to the agreeable,
for embodied beings can not relinquish actions entirely.
But whoever is a relinquisher of the fruit of action,
this one is called thus a relinquisher.
Triple is the fruit of action for the dying relinquishers:
unwanted, wanted, and mixed;
but for the renouncers there is none whatever.
"'Great-armed one, learn from me these five factors
proclaimed in Sankhya doctrine for success in all actions:
the basis, also the actor,
and the instrument of various kinds,
and many separate movements,
and the divine as the fifth.
Whatever action a person undertakes
with body, speech, and mind,
whether right or wrong, these are its five factors.
"'But in this reality,
whoever sees the soul as the only actor
out of incomplete understanding, this fool does not see.
The one whose condition is not egoistic,
whose intuition is not affected,
even though killing these people,
this one does not kill and is not bound.
"'Knowledge, the known, and the knower
are the threefold action incentives;
the instrument, the action, and the actor
are the threefold constituents of action.
Knowledge, action, and the actor are said to be threefold,
determined by the qualities in the qualities-doctrine.
"'Hear about these also.
Learn that good knowledge by which one sees in all creatures
one imperishable essence undivided in the divided.
But the knowledge which regards as separate
the different beings of various kinds in all creatures
learn that knowledge is emotional.
But that which is attached
to one thing to be done as if it were all,
without reason, without true purpose, and insignificant,
is said to be dark.
"'Action which is controlled, free of attachment,
done without liking or disliking, wishing to obtain no fruit,
that is called good.
But action which is done wishing to obtain desire
with self-interest or again with much effort,
that is said to be emotional.
Action which is undertaken out of confusion
disregarding the consequence, loss, harm, and capability,
that is called dark.
"'Liberated from attachment, not egotistical,
accompanied by courage and resolution,
unperturbed in success or failure,
the actor is called good.
Passionate, wishing to obtain the fruit of action, greedy,
violent-natured, impure, accompanied by joy and sorrow,
the actor is proclaimed to be emotional.
Undisciplined, vulgar, stubborn, deceitful, dishonest,
lazy, depressed, and procrastinating,
the actor is called dark.
"'Hear the distinction of the intuition and the will
according to the threefold qualities
explained completely and distinctly, wealth winner.
"'Intuition which knows action and withdrawal,
what is to be done and what is not to be done,
what is to be feared and what is not to be feared,
bondage and liberation,
this, Partha, is good.
Intuition which distinguishes incorrectly right and wrong,
what is to be done and what is not to be done,
this, Partha, is emotional.
Intuition which thinks wrong is right,
covered by darkness, and perverted in every aim,
this, Partha, is dark.
"'The will by which one holds steady
the mind, breath, and sense functions with unbroken union,
this, Partha, is good.
But the will by which one holds to duty, desire, and wealth
with firmness, Arjuna, with attachment to desired fruits,
this, Partha, is emotional.
The will by which the stupid does not abandon
sleep, fear, sorrow, depression, and pride,
this, Partha, is dark.
"'But now hear from me, Bharata bull,
the threefold happiness one enjoys through practice
and in which one comes to the end of suffering.
That which in the beginning is like poison
but in maturity resembles nectar,
that happiness is declared good,
born from the clarity of soul intuition.
That which in the beginning
from contact between sense objects and sense resembles nectar
but in maturity is like poison,
this happiness is considered emotional.
And happiness which in the beginning and in consequence
is confusing for the soul,
arising from sleep, laziness, and negligence,
that is said to be dark.
"'There is nothing,
either on earth or even in heaven among the gods,
no being, which can be freed
by these three qualities born of nature.
"'The actions of the priests,
rulers, merchants, and servants,
foe scorcher, are distributed by the qualities
arising from their nature.
Calmness, control, austerity, purity, patience and sincerity,
knowledge, discernment, and piety
are priestly action born of their essence.
Valor, vigor, courage, skill in battle and also not fleeing,
charity, and leadership
are the action born of the ruler essence.
Cultivation, cow-herding, and trade
are the action born of the merchant essence.
Service-type action is born of the servant essence.
"'Satisfied in one's own repeated action
a person attains success.
How one content in one's own action
finds perfection, hear that.
By worshipping with one's own action
that from whom is the origin of all creatures,
by whom all this is pervaded,
a human finds perfection.
"'Better one's own duty of less quality
than another's duty well done;
performing action ordained by one's own essence
one does not incur guilt.
One should not relinquish inborn action,
Kaunteya, even though deficient,
for all undertakings are veiled with deficiency
like fire with smoke.
Unattached intuition everywhere, soul conquered,
longing disappeared, actionless perfection,
one goes by renunciation to the supreme.
"'Learn from me briefly, Kaunteya,
how having attained perfection
one also attains God,
which is the highest state of knowledge.
United with cleansed intuition,
controlling the self with will,
and relinquishing, starting with sound, sense objects,
and rejecting passion and hatred,
living isolated, eating lightly,
controlling speech, body, and mind,
constantly intent on union meditation,
relying on detachment,
releasing ego, force, pride, desire, anger, possessiveness;
unselfish, peaceful, one is fit for oneness with God.
"'Becoming God, soul serene,
one does not grieve nor desire,
the same among all creatures,
one attains supreme devotion to me.
By devotion to me one realizes who and what I am in truth;
then knowing me in truth one enters immediately.
Performing all actions always trusting in me,
one attains by my grace the imperishable eternal home.
Surrendering consciously all actions in me, intent on me,
constantly be conscious of me relying on intuitive union.
"'Conscious of me,
you will transcend all difficulties through my grace;
but if through egotism you will not listen, you will perish.
If, relying on egotism, you think, "I will not fight,"
vain is this resolve; your nature will compel you.
Bound by your own essential karma, Kaunteya,
what you do not wish to do out of confusion
you will perform that even against your will.
"'The Lord stands in the heart region
of all creatures, Arjuna,
causing to move all creatures mounted mechanically by magic.
Go to that shelter with your whole essence, Bharata.
From that grace you will attain supreme peace
and the eternal state.
Thus knowledge more secret than the secret
has been explained to you by me.
Reflecting on this completely, do whatever you wish.
"'Hear from me again the most secret supreme word.
You are surely loved by me;
therefore I shall speak for your benefit.
Become mentally me, devoted to me, sacrificing to me;
revere me, and you will come to me truly;
I promise you; you are my beloved.
Giving up all duties, take shelter in me alone.
I shall liberate you from all evils; do not grieve.
"'This is not to be told by you
to one who neglects austerity
nor to one who neglects devotion
nor to one who does not want to listen
nor to one who speaks ill of me.
"'Whoever shall explain
this supreme secret to my devotees,
performing the highest devotion to me,
will come to me without doubt.
And no one among humanity is pleasing me more than this one,
and no other is more beloved by me on earth.
And whoever shall study this sacred dialogue of us two,
by this one with this knowledge sacrifice I may be loved;
such is my thought.
"'Also whoever may hear with faith and not scoffing,
this person, also liberated,
should attain the happy worlds of pure actions.
Has this been heard by you, Partha,
with one-pointed thought?
Has it destroyed your ignorant delusion, wealth winner?'
"Arjuna said,
'Delusion is lost, recognition gained,
through your grace by me, unchanging one.
I stand with doubt dispelled.
I shall do your word.'"
Sanjaya said,
"Thus from Vasudeva and Partha, the great soul,
I heard this marvelous dialog,
causing my hair to stand on end.
Through the grace of Vyasa
I heard this secret supreme yoga
from the Lord of yoga, Krishna,
speaking himself before my eyes.
"O King, remembering again and again
this marvelous and holy dialog of Keshava and Arjuna,
I rejoice over and over.
And remembering again and again
that most marvelous form of Hari,
my amazement is great, King,
and I rejoice again and again.
My thought is that wherever is the Lord of yoga, Krishna,
and wherever is Partha, the archer,
there is splendor, victory, well-being, and eternal wisdom."
.......... by Sanderson Beck
'Great-armed one, I wish to know the truth
of renunciation and of relinquishment, Hrishikesha,
individually, slayer of Keshin.
"The blessed Lord said,
'The renouncing of desired actions
the sages know as renunciation;
relinquishment of the fruit of all action
the clear-sighted say is relinquishment.
Some thinkers say that action is to be relinquished as wrong,
and others that action by sacrifice, charity, and austerity
is not to be thus relinquished.
"'Hear my conclusion in this matter of relinquishment,
best Bharata, for relinquishment, tiger spirit,
is described as threefold.
Action by sacrifice, charity, and austerity
is not to be relinquished;
that sacrifice, charity, and austerity
are the purifiers of the thinkers.
But these actions are to be done
relinquishing attachment and the fruits.
This, Partha, is definitely my final opinion,
for renunciation of required action is not proper;
the confused relinquishing of this is declared dark.
Whoever relinquishes action which is troublesome
out of fear of physical suffering,
doing emotional relinquishment
would not obtain the fruit of that relinquishment.
Action which is to be done is done in a disciplined way,
Arjuna, relinquishing attachment and the fruit;
this relinquishment is thought of as good.
"'Filled with goodness, intelligent, doubt eliminated,
the relinquisher, does not hate disagreeable action
nor is attached to the agreeable,
for embodied beings can not relinquish actions entirely.
But whoever is a relinquisher of the fruit of action,
this one is called thus a relinquisher.
Triple is the fruit of action for the dying relinquishers:
unwanted, wanted, and mixed;
but for the renouncers there is none whatever.
"'Great-armed one, learn from me these five factors
proclaimed in Sankhya doctrine for success in all actions:
the basis, also the actor,
and the instrument of various kinds,
and many separate movements,
and the divine as the fifth.
Whatever action a person undertakes
with body, speech, and mind,
whether right or wrong, these are its five factors.
"'But in this reality,
whoever sees the soul as the only actor
out of incomplete understanding, this fool does not see.
The one whose condition is not egoistic,
whose intuition is not affected,
even though killing these people,
this one does not kill and is not bound.
"'Knowledge, the known, and the knower
are the threefold action incentives;
the instrument, the action, and the actor
are the threefold constituents of action.
Knowledge, action, and the actor are said to be threefold,
determined by the qualities in the qualities-doctrine.
"'Hear about these also.
Learn that good knowledge by which one sees in all creatures
one imperishable essence undivided in the divided.
But the knowledge which regards as separate
the different beings of various kinds in all creatures
learn that knowledge is emotional.
But that which is attached
to one thing to be done as if it were all,
without reason, without true purpose, and insignificant,
is said to be dark.
"'Action which is controlled, free of attachment,
done without liking or disliking, wishing to obtain no fruit,
that is called good.
But action which is done wishing to obtain desire
with self-interest or again with much effort,
that is said to be emotional.
Action which is undertaken out of confusion
disregarding the consequence, loss, harm, and capability,
that is called dark.
"'Liberated from attachment, not egotistical,
accompanied by courage and resolution,
unperturbed in success or failure,
the actor is called good.
Passionate, wishing to obtain the fruit of action, greedy,
violent-natured, impure, accompanied by joy and sorrow,
the actor is proclaimed to be emotional.
Undisciplined, vulgar, stubborn, deceitful, dishonest,
lazy, depressed, and procrastinating,
the actor is called dark.
"'Hear the distinction of the intuition and the will
according to the threefold qualities
explained completely and distinctly, wealth winner.
"'Intuition which knows action and withdrawal,
what is to be done and what is not to be done,
what is to be feared and what is not to be feared,
bondage and liberation,
this, Partha, is good.
Intuition which distinguishes incorrectly right and wrong,
what is to be done and what is not to be done,
this, Partha, is emotional.
Intuition which thinks wrong is right,
covered by darkness, and perverted in every aim,
this, Partha, is dark.
"'The will by which one holds steady
the mind, breath, and sense functions with unbroken union,
this, Partha, is good.
But the will by which one holds to duty, desire, and wealth
with firmness, Arjuna, with attachment to desired fruits,
this, Partha, is emotional.
The will by which the stupid does not abandon
sleep, fear, sorrow, depression, and pride,
this, Partha, is dark.
"'But now hear from me, Bharata bull,
the threefold happiness one enjoys through practice
and in which one comes to the end of suffering.
That which in the beginning is like poison
but in maturity resembles nectar,
that happiness is declared good,
born from the clarity of soul intuition.
That which in the beginning
from contact between sense objects and sense resembles nectar
but in maturity is like poison,
this happiness is considered emotional.
And happiness which in the beginning and in consequence
is confusing for the soul,
arising from sleep, laziness, and negligence,
that is said to be dark.
"'There is nothing,
either on earth or even in heaven among the gods,
no being, which can be freed
by these three qualities born of nature.
"'The actions of the priests,
rulers, merchants, and servants,
foe scorcher, are distributed by the qualities
arising from their nature.
Calmness, control, austerity, purity, patience and sincerity,
knowledge, discernment, and piety
are priestly action born of their essence.
Valor, vigor, courage, skill in battle and also not fleeing,
charity, and leadership
are the action born of the ruler essence.
Cultivation, cow-herding, and trade
are the action born of the merchant essence.
Service-type action is born of the servant essence.
"'Satisfied in one's own repeated action
a person attains success.
How one content in one's own action
finds perfection, hear that.
By worshipping with one's own action
that from whom is the origin of all creatures,
by whom all this is pervaded,
a human finds perfection.
"'Better one's own duty of less quality
than another's duty well done;
performing action ordained by one's own essence
one does not incur guilt.
One should not relinquish inborn action,
Kaunteya, even though deficient,
for all undertakings are veiled with deficiency
like fire with smoke.
Unattached intuition everywhere, soul conquered,
longing disappeared, actionless perfection,
one goes by renunciation to the supreme.
"'Learn from me briefly, Kaunteya,
how having attained perfection
one also attains God,
which is the highest state of knowledge.
United with cleansed intuition,
controlling the self with will,
and relinquishing, starting with sound, sense objects,
and rejecting passion and hatred,
living isolated, eating lightly,
controlling speech, body, and mind,
constantly intent on union meditation,
relying on detachment,
releasing ego, force, pride, desire, anger, possessiveness;
unselfish, peaceful, one is fit for oneness with God.
"'Becoming God, soul serene,
one does not grieve nor desire,
the same among all creatures,
one attains supreme devotion to me.
By devotion to me one realizes who and what I am in truth;
then knowing me in truth one enters immediately.
Performing all actions always trusting in me,
one attains by my grace the imperishable eternal home.
Surrendering consciously all actions in me, intent on me,
constantly be conscious of me relying on intuitive union.
"'Conscious of me,
you will transcend all difficulties through my grace;
but if through egotism you will not listen, you will perish.
If, relying on egotism, you think, "I will not fight,"
vain is this resolve; your nature will compel you.
Bound by your own essential karma, Kaunteya,
what you do not wish to do out of confusion
you will perform that even against your will.
"'The Lord stands in the heart region
of all creatures, Arjuna,
causing to move all creatures mounted mechanically by magic.
Go to that shelter with your whole essence, Bharata.
From that grace you will attain supreme peace
and the eternal state.
Thus knowledge more secret than the secret
has been explained to you by me.
Reflecting on this completely, do whatever you wish.
"'Hear from me again the most secret supreme word.
You are surely loved by me;
therefore I shall speak for your benefit.
Become mentally me, devoted to me, sacrificing to me;
revere me, and you will come to me truly;
I promise you; you are my beloved.
Giving up all duties, take shelter in me alone.
I shall liberate you from all evils; do not grieve.
"'This is not to be told by you
to one who neglects austerity
nor to one who neglects devotion
nor to one who does not want to listen
nor to one who speaks ill of me.
"'Whoever shall explain
this supreme secret to my devotees,
performing the highest devotion to me,
will come to me without doubt.
And no one among humanity is pleasing me more than this one,
and no other is more beloved by me on earth.
And whoever shall study this sacred dialogue of us two,
by this one with this knowledge sacrifice I may be loved;
such is my thought.
"'Also whoever may hear with faith and not scoffing,
this person, also liberated,
should attain the happy worlds of pure actions.
Has this been heard by you, Partha,
with one-pointed thought?
Has it destroyed your ignorant delusion, wealth winner?'
"Arjuna said,
'Delusion is lost, recognition gained,
through your grace by me, unchanging one.
I stand with doubt dispelled.
I shall do your word.'"
Sanjaya said,
"Thus from Vasudeva and Partha, the great soul,
I heard this marvelous dialog,
causing my hair to stand on end.
Through the grace of Vyasa
I heard this secret supreme yoga
from the Lord of yoga, Krishna,
speaking himself before my eyes.
"O King, remembering again and again
this marvelous and holy dialog of Keshava and Arjuna,
I rejoice over and over.
And remembering again and again
that most marvelous form of Hari,
my amazement is great, King,
and I rejoice again and again.
My thought is that wherever is the Lord of yoga, Krishna,
and wherever is Partha, the archer,
there is splendor, victory, well-being, and eternal wisdom."
.......... by Sanderson Beck
Christmas by Rumi...
There is a morning where presence
comes over you, and you sing
like a rooster in your earth-colored shape.
Your heart hears and, no longer frantic,
begins to dance. At that moment
soul reaches total emptiness.
Your heart becomes Mary, miraculously pregnant,
and body, like a two-day-old Jesus,
says wisdom words.
Now the heart turns to light,
and the body picks up the tempo.
Where Shams Tabriz walks, the footprints
are musical notes, and holes
you fall through into space.
comes over you, and you sing
like a rooster in your earth-colored shape.
Your heart hears and, no longer frantic,
begins to dance. At that moment
soul reaches total emptiness.
Your heart becomes Mary, miraculously pregnant,
and body, like a two-day-old Jesus,
says wisdom words.
Now the heart turns to light,
and the body picks up the tempo.
Where Shams Tabriz walks, the footprints
are musical notes, and holes
you fall through into space.
Sharing Love...
I agree that all the manifestation is a dream.. the problem of understanding Love
is to first Realise that Love is the state of having no separation called ego..
This is why, there is no Love needed to share within Reality because there is no
division to give to.. Do you share air with others, or do all use air to live?..
You exist as Love because it is Reality and only needs to be shared within a
dream of separation.. But, separation is an illusion, as is separation of Love
called sharing....... namaste, thomas
is to first Realise that Love is the state of having no separation called ego..
This is why, there is no Love needed to share within Reality because there is no
division to give to.. Do you share air with others, or do all use air to live?..
You exist as Love because it is Reality and only needs to be shared within a
dream of separation.. But, separation is an illusion, as is separation of Love
called sharing....... namaste, thomas
Christmas in new york...
warmth has been our friend, lo, these many days..
the winds of summer still flow across our faces..
perhaps, it is just the body and mind finally conceding their jurisdiction..
the pains of winter have not yet given their Christmas gift..
brown still reigns and white is yet to attack..
green has died but will be reincarnated again soon..
We are all of these colors and fahrenheits..
We flow as wind..
We drop as snow..
We cover the living creation..
We see the opposites that become the circle..
life and death are the circle within the dreams..
they are both false but give us the notion of time..
time and pain are the chalk upon the board..
the eraser is Reality................. namaste, thomas
the winds of summer still flow across our faces..
perhaps, it is just the body and mind finally conceding their jurisdiction..
the pains of winter have not yet given their Christmas gift..
brown still reigns and white is yet to attack..
green has died but will be reincarnated again soon..
We are all of these colors and fahrenheits..
We flow as wind..
We drop as snow..
We cover the living creation..
We see the opposites that become the circle..
life and death are the circle within the dreams..
they are both false but give us the notion of time..
time and pain are the chalk upon the board..
the eraser is Reality................. namaste, thomas
You are Christ's Hands...
By St. Teresa of Avila
(1515 - 1582)
Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which to look out
Christ's compassion to the world
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about
doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.
-- from The Essential Mystics: Selections from the World's Great Wisdom
Traditions, Edited by Andrew Harvey
(1515 - 1582)
Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which to look out
Christ's compassion to the world
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about
doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.
-- from The Essential Mystics: Selections from the World's Great Wisdom
Traditions, Edited by Andrew Harvey
Winter...
the equinox strikes like a slap across the face..
the wind howls a warning of the future..
rain becomes it's twin and gathers in inches..
standing near the stove brings memories of green..
Now, announces that you have walked away..
the pain of lament warns of the forgetfulness of duality..
the observer merely nods at the scene..
the body cries for warmth..
the mind gives birth to the pain of desire..
the observer nods once again..
the observer feels no pain in Consciousness,
only the mind suffers..
the wind howls a warning of the future..
rain becomes it's twin and gathers in inches..
standing near the stove brings memories of green..
Now, announces that you have walked away..
the pain of lament warns of the forgetfulness of duality..
the observer merely nods at the scene..
the body cries for warmth..
the mind gives birth to the pain of desire..
the observer nods once again..
the observer feels no pain in Consciousness,
only the mind suffers..
Being Aware...
Being aware is like empty space. It is boundless, not itself occupying space -
has no preferences for what appears in it or through it as time and space and
sensed objects.
The persons who appear as sensory objects to be apprehended, may be judged as
highly aware or as ignorant - by a mind process which apprehends these persons.
Yet, that mind which apprehends persons and makes judgments, is itself a sensed
object, along with its judgments about what is or isn't enlightened behavior.
As a person is a sensed object, and therefore is appearing through *it*, and is
recognized by *it*, is not itself the source of recognition and being.
At the same time, whatever is appearing as a sensed object, is never separately
existing from that to which it appears.
Attachment to sensed objects, is itself a sensed object.
Once this is clear, the "I" the "attachment" the "object of the attachment" is
seen as the same process (of objectifying that which is not itself an object).
Therefore, even "attachment" as it arises, is nonseparate from being aware.
There is now no obstacle to undivided awareness, which is like empty space,
unbounded and unlocated.
- Dan
has no preferences for what appears in it or through it as time and space and
sensed objects.
The persons who appear as sensory objects to be apprehended, may be judged as
highly aware or as ignorant - by a mind process which apprehends these persons.
Yet, that mind which apprehends persons and makes judgments, is itself a sensed
object, along with its judgments about what is or isn't enlightened behavior.
As a person is a sensed object, and therefore is appearing through *it*, and is
recognized by *it*, is not itself the source of recognition and being.
At the same time, whatever is appearing as a sensed object, is never separately
existing from that to which it appears.
Attachment to sensed objects, is itself a sensed object.
Once this is clear, the "I" the "attachment" the "object of the attachment" is
seen as the same process (of objectifying that which is not itself an object).
Therefore, even "attachment" as it arises, is nonseparate from being aware.
There is now no obstacle to undivided awareness, which is like empty space,
unbounded and unlocated.
- Dan
The Altar of This Moment...
Place everything you can perceive -
Everything you can
See,
Hear,
Smell,
Taste,
Or touch,
Upon the altar of this moment
And give thanks.
It is over so soon -
This expression,
This single moment of your precious life,
This one heart
pounding itself open
with fear or wild joy,
This one breath rising
in the cold winter air
smoothly and gently
or coughing and sputtering,
Bow, while you can, before
This one taste
Of afternoon tea
Warming its way to your belly,
Or the fragrant orange
exploding its sweet juice
in your grateful mouth.
You have to love
The antics of your mind,
Imagining life should only be sweet.
The bitter makes the sweet; and life is both.
It is whole, like you,
Before you think yourself to pieces.
Place this moment's pain and confusion on the altar, too,
And give special thanks for such grace
That wakes you up from sleeping through your life.
Pain is greatly under-rated as a pointer to Unknowing,
yet greatly over-rated when taken as identity.
In this one moment,
Your eyes meet mine and there is
a single looking.
What is peering from behind our masks?
Can it touch itself across the room?
Place your palms together;
Touch your holy skin.
In another moment it will shed itself.
What will you be then?
What were you before you had two hands?
What are you now?
You cannot capture That
and place It on the altar of this moment.
It is the altar,
And this moment's infinite expressions,
And the Seeing,
And its own devotion to itself.
You are That.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
....... Dorothy Hunt
Everything you can
See,
Hear,
Smell,
Taste,
Or touch,
Upon the altar of this moment
And give thanks.
It is over so soon -
This expression,
This single moment of your precious life,
This one heart
pounding itself open
with fear or wild joy,
This one breath rising
in the cold winter air
smoothly and gently
or coughing and sputtering,
Bow, while you can, before
This one taste
Of afternoon tea
Warming its way to your belly,
Or the fragrant orange
exploding its sweet juice
in your grateful mouth.
You have to love
The antics of your mind,
Imagining life should only be sweet.
The bitter makes the sweet; and life is both.
It is whole, like you,
Before you think yourself to pieces.
Place this moment's pain and confusion on the altar, too,
And give special thanks for such grace
That wakes you up from sleeping through your life.
Pain is greatly under-rated as a pointer to Unknowing,
yet greatly over-rated when taken as identity.
In this one moment,
Your eyes meet mine and there is
a single looking.
What is peering from behind our masks?
Can it touch itself across the room?
Place your palms together;
Touch your holy skin.
In another moment it will shed itself.
What will you be then?
What were you before you had two hands?
What are you now?
You cannot capture That
and place It on the altar of this moment.
It is the altar,
And this moment's infinite expressions,
And the Seeing,
And its own devotion to itself.
You are That.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
....... Dorothy Hunt
Adyashanti...
From The Shape of Love
All things seen depend
upon the Unseen.
All sounds depend upon Silence.
All things felt depend
upon what is not felt.
*********
So Cheap
I am all hollowed out now
Like a reed.
I gave everything for this.
And still I laughingly wonder:
How could it have been so cheap?
*********
The Calling
I heard You call,
answered and became the calling...
I thought I wanted love
but instead became the loving...
How was I to know
that desire awakens and
becomes the desired?
*********
Total stillness of being comes when
all resistance to movement is absent.
When all resistance is absent,
there is complete stillness, an alive stillness,
a vital stillness which is pure movement
without resistance.
*********
Everything is a spark of that eternal radiance.
Why flee from the world in order to find it,
when you yourself are already on fire?
*********
There's a great space
in which this moment takes place.
There's a great silence
that is listening to the thoughts.
*********
The true I is I-less
While remaining as I.
*********
Never define yourself,
and you will see that everything everywhere
is an extension of yourself.
*********
All things seen depend
upon the Unseen.
All sounds depend upon Silence.
All things felt depend
upon what is not felt.
*********
So Cheap
I am all hollowed out now
Like a reed.
I gave everything for this.
And still I laughingly wonder:
How could it have been so cheap?
*********
The Calling
I heard You call,
answered and became the calling...
I thought I wanted love
but instead became the loving...
How was I to know
that desire awakens and
becomes the desired?
*********
Total stillness of being comes when
all resistance to movement is absent.
When all resistance is absent,
there is complete stillness, an alive stillness,
a vital stillness which is pure movement
without resistance.
*********
Everything is a spark of that eternal radiance.
Why flee from the world in order to find it,
when you yourself are already on fire?
*********
There's a great space
in which this moment takes place.
There's a great silence
that is listening to the thoughts.
*********
The true I is I-less
While remaining as I.
*********
Never define yourself,
and you will see that everything everywhere
is an extension of yourself.
*********
The Observer...
The observer is Consciousness.. We are Consciousness.. The world and ego are what We observe.. When we fall asleep within the illusion of matter and ego, we believe that We become the illusion.. This is why it is so important to stay Awake.. When we finally Realise that We are Consciousness then We can move to the next and last Reality.. and that is that We do not exist!.. This Reality is called Pure Awareness and contains no individual Consciousness, only Awareness without an Identity........... namaste, thomas
Awake...
There is the real present but there is also the illusory present. To live in the past is to die, to live in the future is to dream, but to live in the real present is to be awake, enlightened.
________________________________
— Notebooks Category 19: The Reign of Relativity > Chapter 4: Time, Space, Causality > # 142 ...Paul Brunton
________________________________
— Notebooks Category 19: The Reign of Relativity > Chapter 4: Time, Space, Causality > # 142 ...Paul Brunton
To give All...
A Jewish author explains that Jews are not proselytizers.
Rabbis are required to make three separate efforts to
discourage prospective converts!
Spirituality is for the elite. It will not compromise to become
acceptable, so it will not consort with the masses who
want syrup, not medicine. Once, when large crowds were
following Jesus, this is what he said to them:
"Which of you would think of building a tower without
first sitting down and estimating the cost to see if he can
afford to finish it? Or what king will march to battle against
another king without first sitting down to consider if with ten
thousand soldiers he will be able to do battle with an enemy
who comes to meet him with twenty thousand? If he cannot,
then, long before the enemy is near, he sends emissaries and
asks for terms. So also, none of you can be a disciple of mine
without the readiness to renounce all possessions.-"
============-=========-=========-=========-=======
People do not want truth. They want reassurance.
Anthony de Mello, S.J.
Rabbis are required to make three separate efforts to
discourage prospective converts!
Spirituality is for the elite. It will not compromise to become
acceptable, so it will not consort with the masses who
want syrup, not medicine. Once, when large crowds were
following Jesus, this is what he said to them:
"Which of you would think of building a tower without
first sitting down and estimating the cost to see if he can
afford to finish it? Or what king will march to battle against
another king without first sitting down to consider if with ten
thousand soldiers he will be able to do battle with an enemy
who comes to meet him with twenty thousand? If he cannot,
then, long before the enemy is near, he sends emissaries and
asks for terms. So also, none of you can be a disciple of mine
without the readiness to renounce all possessions.-"
============-=========-=========-=========-=======
People do not want truth. They want reassurance.
Anthony de Mello, S.J.
All of This for Nothing ...
Was I always so
luscious? Did I gleam and
ripple, without adornment, like
the sparkling sea?
Every cell in my body
dancing! Shining
from the inside with
a light that comes from
nowhere.
Pinned to the moment
like a butterfly, no longer anywhere
else to go. Candle flickering inside
my heart, breath of my child
breathing me. Heart
thickly laden with invisible fruit, joy
beaming from my eyes.
Something broke inside, something laid down,
exhausted from the struggle, and
died. Whatever I gave
myself to then has flowered
inside and
taken over, turning
my home into night sky.
I cannot tell
you, where I have gone,
where I am going. As the darkness
took me, the road disappeared
behind, and ahead,
nothing.
Only walking through now and always
now. All of this
for nothing! With the entire universe
lovemaking
inside me, I have stopped
asking anyone
for anything.
.......
Jeannie Zandi
luscious? Did I gleam and
ripple, without adornment, like
the sparkling sea?
Every cell in my body
dancing! Shining
from the inside with
a light that comes from
nowhere.
Pinned to the moment
like a butterfly, no longer anywhere
else to go. Candle flickering inside
my heart, breath of my child
breathing me. Heart
thickly laden with invisible fruit, joy
beaming from my eyes.
Something broke inside, something laid down,
exhausted from the struggle, and
died. Whatever I gave
myself to then has flowered
inside and
taken over, turning
my home into night sky.
I cannot tell
you, where I have gone,
where I am going. As the darkness
took me, the road disappeared
behind, and ahead,
nothing.
Only walking through now and always
now. All of this
for nothing! With the entire universe
lovemaking
inside me, I have stopped
asking anyone
for anything.
.......
Jeannie Zandi
Lighten-up...
You hear a slogan like 'Always maintain only a joyful mind' and for the whole next two weeks you're just hitting yourself over the head for never being joyful. That kind of witness is a bit heavy. So lighten up. Don't make such a big deal. The key to feeling at home with your body, mind and emotions, to feeling worthy to live on this planet, comes from being able to lighten up.
When your aspiration is to lighten up, you begin to have a sense of humor. Things just keep popping your serious state of mind. In addition to a sense of humor, a basic support for a joyful mind is curiosity, paying attention, taking an interest in the world around you. You don't actually have to be happy But being curious without a heavy judgmental attitude helps. If you ARE judgmental, you can even be curious about that.
Notice everything. Appreciate everything, including the ordinary. That's how to click in with joyfulness or cheerfulness. Curiosity encourages cheering up. So does simply remembering to do something different. We are so locked into this sense of burden - Big Deal Joy and Big Deal Unhappiness - that it's sometimes helpful just to change the pattern. Anything out of the ordinary will help, and tonglen is definitely something different. This practice is about repatterning ourselves, changing the basic pattern and unpatterning ourselves altogether. You can also just go to the window and look out at the sky. You can splash cold water on your face, you can sing in the shower, you can go jogging - anything that's against your usual pattern. That's how things start to lighten up.
Sooner or later you will find yourself in a situation where you can't change the outer circumstances at all, and you realize it all comes down to how you relate to things - whether you continue to struggle against everything that's coming at you or you begin to work with things.
From Start Where You Are : A Guide to Compassionate Living by Pema Chodron, Copyright 1994, Shambhala Publications
When your aspiration is to lighten up, you begin to have a sense of humor. Things just keep popping your serious state of mind. In addition to a sense of humor, a basic support for a joyful mind is curiosity, paying attention, taking an interest in the world around you. You don't actually have to be happy But being curious without a heavy judgmental attitude helps. If you ARE judgmental, you can even be curious about that.
Notice everything. Appreciate everything, including the ordinary. That's how to click in with joyfulness or cheerfulness. Curiosity encourages cheering up. So does simply remembering to do something different. We are so locked into this sense of burden - Big Deal Joy and Big Deal Unhappiness - that it's sometimes helpful just to change the pattern. Anything out of the ordinary will help, and tonglen is definitely something different. This practice is about repatterning ourselves, changing the basic pattern and unpatterning ourselves altogether. You can also just go to the window and look out at the sky. You can splash cold water on your face, you can sing in the shower, you can go jogging - anything that's against your usual pattern. That's how things start to lighten up.
Sooner or later you will find yourself in a situation where you can't change the outer circumstances at all, and you realize it all comes down to how you relate to things - whether you continue to struggle against everything that's coming at you or you begin to work with things.
From Start Where You Are : A Guide to Compassionate Living by Pema Chodron, Copyright 1994, Shambhala Publications
Swami Vivekananda...
Direct Quotations from Swami Vivekananda;
"Religion is not in books, nor in theories, nor in dogmas, nor in talking, not even in reasoning. It is being and becoming."
"Infinite power and existence and blessedness are ours, and we have not to acquire them; they are our own, and we have only to manifest them."
"Be an atheist if you want, but do not believe in anything unquestioningly."
"I do not believe in a God or religion which cannot wipe the widow's tears or bring a piece of bread to the orphan's mouth."
"In judging others we always judge them by our own ideals. That is not as it should be. Everyone must be judged according to his own ideal, and not by that of anyone else."
"He who has no faith in himself can never have faith in God."
"The first sign that you are becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful. When a man is gloomy, that may be dyspepsia, but it is not religion."
"The living God is within you."
"Manifest the divinity within you and everything will be harmoniously arranged around it."
"He alone is worshiping God who serves all beings."
"Religion is not in books, nor in theories, nor in dogmas, nor in talking, not even in reasoning. It is being and becoming."
"Infinite power and existence and blessedness are ours, and we have not to acquire them; they are our own, and we have only to manifest them."
"Be an atheist if you want, but do not believe in anything unquestioningly."
"I do not believe in a God or religion which cannot wipe the widow's tears or bring a piece of bread to the orphan's mouth."
"In judging others we always judge them by our own ideals. That is not as it should be. Everyone must be judged according to his own ideal, and not by that of anyone else."
"He who has no faith in himself can never have faith in God."
"The first sign that you are becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful. When a man is gloomy, that may be dyspepsia, but it is not religion."
"The living God is within you."
"Manifest the divinity within you and everything will be harmoniously arranged around it."
"He alone is worshiping God who serves all beings."
The Long Path...
The limitation of the Long Path is that it is concerned only with thinning down, weakening, and reducing the ego's strength. It is not concerned with totally deflating the ego. Since this can be done only by studying the ego's nature metaphysically, seeing its falsity, and recognizing its illusoriness, which is not even done by the Short Path, then all the endeavours of the Short Path to practise self-identification with the Overself are merely using imagination and suggestion to create a new mental state that, while imitating the Overself's state, does not actually transcend the ego-mind but exists within it still. So a third phase becomes necessary, the phase of getting rid of the ego altogether; this can be done only by the final dissolving operation of Grace, which the man has to request and to which he has to give his consent. To summarize the entire process, the Long Path leads to the Short Path, and the Short Path leads to the Grace of an unbroken egoless consciousness.
........ Paul Brunton
........ Paul Brunton
Too many names...
Pablo Neruda (1904 - 1973):
Mondays are meshed with Tuesdays
and the week with the whole year.
Time cannot be cut
with your weary scissors,
and all the names of the day
are washed out by the waters of night.
No one can claim the name of Pedro,
nobody is Rosa or Maria,
all of us are dust or sand,
all of us are rain under rain.
They have spoken to me of Venezuelas,
of Chiles and of Paraguays;
I have no idea what they are saying.
I know only the skin of the earth
and I know it is without a name.
When I lived amongst the roots
they pleased me more than flowers did,
and when I spoke to a stone
it rang like a bell.
It is so long, the spring
which goes on all winter.
Time lost its shoes.
A year is four centuries.
When I sleep every night,
what am I called or not called?
And when I wake, who am I
if I was not while I slept?
This means to say that scarcely
have we landed into life
than we come as if new-born;
let us not fill our mouths
with so many faltering names,
with so many sad formallities,
with so many pompous letters,
with so much of yours and mine,
with so much of signing of papers.
I have a mind to confuse things,
unite them, bring them to birth,
mix them up, undress them,
until the light of the world
has the oneness of the ocean,
a generous, vast wholeness,
a crepitant fragrance.
Mondays are meshed with Tuesdays
and the week with the whole year.
Time cannot be cut
with your weary scissors,
and all the names of the day
are washed out by the waters of night.
No one can claim the name of Pedro,
nobody is Rosa or Maria,
all of us are dust or sand,
all of us are rain under rain.
They have spoken to me of Venezuelas,
of Chiles and of Paraguays;
I have no idea what they are saying.
I know only the skin of the earth
and I know it is without a name.
When I lived amongst the roots
they pleased me more than flowers did,
and when I spoke to a stone
it rang like a bell.
It is so long, the spring
which goes on all winter.
Time lost its shoes.
A year is four centuries.
When I sleep every night,
what am I called or not called?
And when I wake, who am I
if I was not while I slept?
This means to say that scarcely
have we landed into life
than we come as if new-born;
let us not fill our mouths
with so many faltering names,
with so many sad formallities,
with so many pompous letters,
with so much of yours and mine,
with so much of signing of papers.
I have a mind to confuse things,
unite them, bring them to birth,
mix them up, undress them,
until the light of the world
has the oneness of the ocean,
a generous, vast wholeness,
a crepitant fragrance.
Speaking...
I must utter what comes to my lips.
Speaking the truth creates chaos.
Telling a lie saves one scarce.
I am afraid of both these.
Afraid I am both here and there.
I must utter what comes to my lips.
He who has this secret known.
He must peep into his own
Lives He in the shrine of peace
Where there are no ups and downs
I must utter what comes to my lips.
It is indeed a slippery park.
I take precautions in the dark
be inside and see for yourself
Why this wild search afar?
I must utter what comes to my lips.
It is a matter of good form
A norm to which we all conform
It’s God in every soul you see
If he is in me why not in you?
I must utter what comes to my lips.
(Says Bulleh) the master is not far from me
Without him there none could be
That explains the suffering and pain
But mine is not the eye to see
I must say what comes to my lips.
Arieb Azhar
.....from wordpress.com
Speaking the truth creates chaos.
Telling a lie saves one scarce.
I am afraid of both these.
Afraid I am both here and there.
I must utter what comes to my lips.
He who has this secret known.
He must peep into his own
Lives He in the shrine of peace
Where there are no ups and downs
I must utter what comes to my lips.
It is indeed a slippery park.
I take precautions in the dark
be inside and see for yourself
Why this wild search afar?
I must utter what comes to my lips.
It is a matter of good form
A norm to which we all conform
It’s God in every soul you see
If he is in me why not in you?
I must utter what comes to my lips.
(Says Bulleh) the master is not far from me
Without him there none could be
That explains the suffering and pain
But mine is not the eye to see
I must say what comes to my lips.
Arieb Azhar
.....from wordpress.com
Success...
“To laugh often and love much:
To win respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children;
To earn the approbation of honest critics
And endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give one’s self;
To leave the world a little better,
Whether by a healthy child,
A garden patch,
Or redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm
And sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier
Because you have lived…
This is to have succeeded.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
To win respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children;
To earn the approbation of honest critics
And endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give one’s self;
To leave the world a little better,
Whether by a healthy child,
A garden patch,
Or redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm
And sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier
Because you have lived…
This is to have succeeded.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Non-attachment...
The knowledge of Truth comes about when
dispassion arises in a man after he has
learned from personal experience that
whatever life provides is truly hollow. The
man of the world becomes the man of
wisdom through recognizing that non-
attachment is liberation whereas the
passion for sensory objects and experience
is bondage.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
dispassion arises in a man after he has
learned from personal experience that
whatever life provides is truly hollow. The
man of the world becomes the man of
wisdom through recognizing that non-
attachment is liberation whereas the
passion for sensory objects and experience
is bondage.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
Pure Goodwill...
You see people suffer and you seek the
best way of helping them. The answer is
obvious -first put yourself beyond the
need of help. Be sure your attitude is of
pure goodwill, free of expectation of any
kind.
Those who seek mere happiness may end
up in sublime indifference, while love
will never rest.
As to method, there is only love - you
must come to know yourself - both what
you appear to be and what you are. Clarity
and charity go together - each needs and
strengthens the other.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
best way of helping them. The answer is
obvious -first put yourself beyond the
need of help. Be sure your attitude is of
pure goodwill, free of expectation of any
kind.
Those who seek mere happiness may end
up in sublime indifference, while love
will never rest.
As to method, there is only love - you
must come to know yourself - both what
you appear to be and what you are. Clarity
and charity go together - each needs and
strengthens the other.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
Self...
All creeds are but preliminaries for the masses, leading up to the real truth of the Self. The religions are not necessarily the highest expression or the highest wisdom of their founders, who had to consider the times in which they lived and the mental capacities of the people. The highest wisdom is too subtle for most minds, and so a whole scheme of worlds, gods, bodies, evolution etc. had to be given out because people seem to find it easier to believe all these things rather than believe the simple Truth of the one reality--Self. Thus, reincarnation, astral planes, survival after death, etc. are true but only from a lower standpoint. It is all a matter of standpoint. From the highest, that of the real Self, all else disappears as illusory and only the Reality remains. It is true that subtle astral bodies exist, because in order to function in the dream-world a body is necessary for that world; but it too is real only on its own plane whereas the One Self is always real, always and eternally existent, whether we are aware of it or not. Hence it is better to seek that, because the other self-bodies are only conditionally real.
from Conscious Immortality, talks with Ramana edited by Paul Brunton
from Conscious Immortality, talks with Ramana edited by Paul Brunton
Disidentification with ego...
There seem to two kinds of searchers: those who seek to make their ego something
other than it is, i.e. holy, happy, unselfish (as though you could make a fish unfish),
and those who understand that all such attempts are just gesticulation and
play-acting, that there is only one thing that can be done, which is to disidentify
themselves with the ego, by realising its unreality, and by becoming aware of their
eternal identity with pure being.
~Wei Wu Wei
other than it is, i.e. holy, happy, unselfish (as though you could make a fish unfish),
and those who understand that all such attempts are just gesticulation and
play-acting, that there is only one thing that can be done, which is to disidentify
themselves with the ego, by realising its unreality, and by becoming aware of their
eternal identity with pure being.
~Wei Wu Wei
Saint Teresa of Avila...
Collection of Quotes from Saint Teresa of Avila, mystic and doctor of the Roman Catholic Church. Quotes on humility, courage, pain, trials, prayer, knowing ourselves, God's Will and other topics. St. Teresa of Avila is one of the most universally beloved teachers of the spiritual life, acclaimed by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians alike for the assistance her writings and example provide in growing in intimacy with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
"All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted. "
"Be gentle to all and stern with yourself."
"God gave us faculties for our use; each of them will receive its proper reward. Then do not let us try to charm them to sleep, but permit them to do their work until divinely called to something higher."
"Pain is never permanent."
"God has been very good to me, for I never dwell upon anything wrong which a person has done, so as to remember it afterwards. If I do remember it, I always see some other virtue in that person."
"I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him."
"Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee; All thing pass; God never changes Patience attains All that it strives for. He who has God finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices."
"To have courage for whatever comes in life - everything lies in that."
"To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience."
"We can only learn to know ourselves and do what we can - namely, surrender our will and fulfill God's will in us."
"We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know God; for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness; His purity shows us our foulness; and by meditating upon His humility we find how very far we are from being humble."
"There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers."
"It is here, my daughters, that love is to be found - not hidden away in corners but in the midst of occasions of sin. And believe me, although we may more often fail and commit small lapses, our gain will be incomparably the greater."
"The tree that is beside the running water is fresher and gives more fruit."
"O my God, what must a soul be like when it is in this state! It longs to be all one tongue with which to praise the Lord. It utters a thousand pious follies, in a continuous endeavor to please Him who thus possesses it."
"Our body has this defect that, the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds. "
"The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too."
"Praised be the Lord, who has redeemed me from myself."
........ from crossroadsinitiative.com
"All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted. "
"Be gentle to all and stern with yourself."
"God gave us faculties for our use; each of them will receive its proper reward. Then do not let us try to charm them to sleep, but permit them to do their work until divinely called to something higher."
"Pain is never permanent."
"God has been very good to me, for I never dwell upon anything wrong which a person has done, so as to remember it afterwards. If I do remember it, I always see some other virtue in that person."
"I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him."
"Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee; All thing pass; God never changes Patience attains All that it strives for. He who has God finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices."
"To have courage for whatever comes in life - everything lies in that."
"To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience."
"We can only learn to know ourselves and do what we can - namely, surrender our will and fulfill God's will in us."
"We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know God; for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness; His purity shows us our foulness; and by meditating upon His humility we find how very far we are from being humble."
"There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers."
"It is here, my daughters, that love is to be found - not hidden away in corners but in the midst of occasions of sin. And believe me, although we may more often fail and commit small lapses, our gain will be incomparably the greater."
"The tree that is beside the running water is fresher and gives more fruit."
"O my God, what must a soul be like when it is in this state! It longs to be all one tongue with which to praise the Lord. It utters a thousand pious follies, in a continuous endeavor to please Him who thus possesses it."
"Our body has this defect that, the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds. "
"The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too."
"Praised be the Lord, who has redeemed me from myself."
........ from crossroadsinitiative.com
A dream...
Evolution, liberation, nirvana, are terms for the novice that is not yet
Enlightened to the Truth that what we are seeking is already Ourselves.. why run
towards the Truth when You are already the Truth.. this is a game of the ego, to
keep you running in circles.. so that you never find Truth.. Just sit in silence
and let go of the desires of the ego.. When You enter Enlightenment, You will
Realize that all of this is just a dream that You woke up from.............
namaste, thomas
Enlightened to the Truth that what we are seeking is already Ourselves.. why run
towards the Truth when You are already the Truth.. this is a game of the ego, to
keep you running in circles.. so that you never find Truth.. Just sit in silence
and let go of the desires of the ego.. When You enter Enlightenment, You will
Realize that all of this is just a dream that You woke up from.............
namaste, thomas
Egoic consciousness...
The truth is that a whole new state of consciousness already exists, that
every part of your experience that’s unfolding right now is already
enclosed within absolute stillness, absolute ease. And so there really isn’t
anywhere to go or anything for which to search. Struggle only gets us
deeper into the very thing we’re trying to escape. This is a very important
thing to know about egoic consciousness: The harder we try to get out,
the deeper we dig ourselves in.
~ Adyashanti
every part of your experience that’s unfolding right now is already
enclosed within absolute stillness, absolute ease. And so there really isn’t
anywhere to go or anything for which to search. Struggle only gets us
deeper into the very thing we’re trying to escape. This is a very important
thing to know about egoic consciousness: The harder we try to get out,
the deeper we dig ourselves in.
~ Adyashanti
Sheikh Ansari Jabir ibn...
Sheikh Ansari Jabir ibn 'Abdullah al-Ansari (1006-1088 ce) He was called Sheikh al-Islam and he was also given the title Zayn al- 'Ulama (Ornament of the Scholars) and Nasir al-Sunnah (Supporter of the Prophetic Tradition). Later on in Persian texts he was called Pir-e Herat (the Sheikh of Herat).
Some of Ansari works include Kashf al-Asrar "Unveiling of the Secrets" (Commentary of the Qur'an), Tabaquat al-Sufiyya (The Generations of the Sufis), "Munajat" (Intimate Invocations) which is incorporated into the Kashf al-Asrar and in the Tabaqat.
'The Friend Beside Me'
O God
You know why I am happy:
It is because I seek Your company,
not through my own (efforts).
O God,
You decided and I did not.
I found the Friend beside me
when I woke up!
Sheikh Ansari - Kashf al_Asrar, Vol. 5, p. 407 - 'Munajat - The Intimate Invocations' - A.G. Farhadi
~~
'Where Are You?'
O God,
You are the aim of the call of the sincere,
You enlighten the souls of the friends, (and)
You are the comfort of the hearts of the travellers---
because You are present in the very soul.
I call out, from emotion:
"Where are you?"
You are the life of the soul,
You are the rule (ayin) of speech, (and)
You are Your own interpreter (tarjaman).
For the sake of Your obligation to Yourself,
do not enter us into the shade of deception, (but)
make us reach union (wisal) with You.
Sheikh Ansari - Kashf al_Asrar, Vol. 5, p. 598 - 'Munajat - The Intimate Invocations' - A.G. Farhadi
~~
'Pursuit of the Friend'
The heart left,
and the Friend is (also) gone.
I don't know whether I should go after the Friend
or after the heart!
A voice spoke to me:
"Go in pursuit of the Friend,
because the lover needs a heart
in order to find union with the Friend.
If there was no Friend,
what would (the lover) do with (his) heart?"
Sheikh Ansari - Kashf al_Asrar, Vol. 1, p. 628 - 'Maqulat-o Andarz-ha - Sayings and Advice' - A.G. Farhadi
~~
'The Beauty of Oneness'
Any eye filled with the vision of this world
cannot see the attributes of the Hereafter,
Any eye filled with the attributes of the Hereafter
would be deprived of the Beauty (Jamal) of (Divine) Oneness.
Sheikh Ansari - Kashf al_Asrar, Vol. 7, p. 511 - 'Maqulat-o Andarz-ha - Sayings and Advice' - A.G. Farhadi
~~
'In Each Breath'
O you who have departed from your own self,
and who have not yet reached the Friend:
do not be sad, (for)
He is accompanying you in each of (your) breaths.
Sheikh Ansari - Kashf al_Asrar, Vol. 7, p. 268 - 'Maqulat-o Andarz-ha - Sayings and Advice' - A.G. Farhadi
Some of Ansari works include Kashf al-Asrar "Unveiling of the Secrets" (Commentary of the Qur'an), Tabaquat al-Sufiyya (The Generations of the Sufis), "Munajat" (Intimate Invocations) which is incorporated into the Kashf al-Asrar and in the Tabaqat.
'The Friend Beside Me'
O God
You know why I am happy:
It is because I seek Your company,
not through my own (efforts).
O God,
You decided and I did not.
I found the Friend beside me
when I woke up!
Sheikh Ansari - Kashf al_Asrar, Vol. 5, p. 407 - 'Munajat - The Intimate Invocations' - A.G. Farhadi
~~
'Where Are You?'
O God,
You are the aim of the call of the sincere,
You enlighten the souls of the friends, (and)
You are the comfort of the hearts of the travellers---
because You are present in the very soul.
I call out, from emotion:
"Where are you?"
You are the life of the soul,
You are the rule (ayin) of speech, (and)
You are Your own interpreter (tarjaman).
For the sake of Your obligation to Yourself,
do not enter us into the shade of deception, (but)
make us reach union (wisal) with You.
Sheikh Ansari - Kashf al_Asrar, Vol. 5, p. 598 - 'Munajat - The Intimate Invocations' - A.G. Farhadi
~~
'Pursuit of the Friend'
The heart left,
and the Friend is (also) gone.
I don't know whether I should go after the Friend
or after the heart!
A voice spoke to me:
"Go in pursuit of the Friend,
because the lover needs a heart
in order to find union with the Friend.
If there was no Friend,
what would (the lover) do with (his) heart?"
Sheikh Ansari - Kashf al_Asrar, Vol. 1, p. 628 - 'Maqulat-o Andarz-ha - Sayings and Advice' - A.G. Farhadi
~~
'The Beauty of Oneness'
Any eye filled with the vision of this world
cannot see the attributes of the Hereafter,
Any eye filled with the attributes of the Hereafter
would be deprived of the Beauty (Jamal) of (Divine) Oneness.
Sheikh Ansari - Kashf al_Asrar, Vol. 7, p. 511 - 'Maqulat-o Andarz-ha - Sayings and Advice' - A.G. Farhadi
~~
'In Each Breath'
O you who have departed from your own self,
and who have not yet reached the Friend:
do not be sad, (for)
He is accompanying you in each of (your) breaths.
Sheikh Ansari - Kashf al_Asrar, Vol. 7, p. 268 - 'Maqulat-o Andarz-ha - Sayings and Advice' - A.G. Farhadi
Reincarnation...
The interesting part of Truth is that it is seen in everything even
in that which seems to conflict.. The past and future are just thoughts that
flow through our minds.. If you had lost your memory in such a problem as
alzheimers, would you still have a past?.. What you are remembering are the
stories of dreams and we call these dreams, past lives.. We are Consciousness..
We exist within all the stories and dreams.. We are not separate, as in the form
of ego or body.. We exist within All.. Once, You Truly know that You are
Consciousness, You will Know that You have no past or future and You have never
had a past or future, You have always existed as the "Seer"..............
namaste, thomas
in that which seems to conflict.. The past and future are just thoughts that
flow through our minds.. If you had lost your memory in such a problem as
alzheimers, would you still have a past?.. What you are remembering are the
stories of dreams and we call these dreams, past lives.. We are Consciousness..
We exist within all the stories and dreams.. We are not separate, as in the form
of ego or body.. We exist within All.. Once, You Truly know that You are
Consciousness, You will Know that You have no past or future and You have never
had a past or future, You have always existed as the "Seer"..............
namaste, thomas
God as Love...
So really what it comes down to, it's God. Wherever you look, it's God
appearing as this, that, and what you really love and appreciate in each form
is the divine formless out of which each form comes. But to be able to sense
that you have to sense it in yourself first. And that is seeing the beauty in
everything, that's really what it means.
~Eckhart Tolle
appearing as this, that, and what you really love and appreciate in each form
is the divine formless out of which each form comes. But to be able to sense
that you have to sense it in yourself first. And that is seeing the beauty in
everything, that's really what it means.
~Eckhart Tolle
Chandogya Upanishad...
In the beginning was only Being,
One without a second.
Out of himself he brought forth the cosmos
And entered into everything in it.
There is nothing that does not come from him.
Of everything he is the innermost Self.
He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.
You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that.
Merge in the sea and become one with it,
Forgetting they were ever separate streams,
So do all creatures lose their separateness
When they merge at last into pure Being.
There is nothing that does not come from him.
Of everything he is the innermost Self.
He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.
You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that!
One without a second.
Out of himself he brought forth the cosmos
And entered into everything in it.
There is nothing that does not come from him.
Of everything he is the innermost Self.
He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.
You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that.
Merge in the sea and become one with it,
Forgetting they were ever separate streams,
So do all creatures lose their separateness
When they merge at last into pure Being.
There is nothing that does not come from him.
Of everything he is the innermost Self.
He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.
You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that!
Eternal Life and Enlightenment...
"How shall I attain Eternal Life?"
"Eternal Life is now. Come into the present."
"But I am in the present now, am I not?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you haven't dropped your past."
"Why should I drop my past? Not all of it is bad."
"The past is to be dropped not because it is bad
but because it is dead."
~ Anthony de Mello, SJ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Where shall I look for Enlightenment?"
" Here."
" When will it happen?"
"It is happening right now."
"Then why don't I experience it?"
"Because you do not look."
"What should I look for?"
"Nothing, just look."
"At what?"
"Anything your eyes alight upon."
"Must I look in a special kind of way?"
"No. The ordinary way will do."
"But don't I always look the ordinary way?"
" No."
"Why ever not?"
"Because to look you must be here. You're mostly somewhere else."
Anthony de Mello, S.J.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
363
"How long does the present last? A minute? A second?"
"Much less and much more," said the Master. "Less, because
the moment you focus on it, it's gone.
"More, because if you ever get into it, you will stumble upon
the timeless and will know what eternity is."
~ Anthony de Mello, S.J.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may be capable of great things,
But life consists of small things.
Big things seldom come along. One should know the small as
well as the big. We may all yearn to make lasting achievements
and to be heroes, but life seldom affords us the opportunities to
do so. Most of our days consist of small things the uneventful
meditations, the ordinary cooking of meals, the banal trips to
work, the quiet scratching in the garden and it is from these small
things that the larger events of life are composed.
We rarely have the occasion to make grand gestures. The champion gymnast's greatest moment is but an hour out of an entire
lifetime. The works of great artists are viewed for very short times.
The master musician's best composition is but one work in a sea
of musical tones. If we want to be successful, it is the small things
that we should pay attention to.
We must not fall into the trap of waiting so long for the big things
that we let numerous small chances slip right by us. People who
do this are always waiting for life to be perfect. They complain that
fate is against them, that the world does not recognize their greatness. If they would lower their sights, they would see all the beautiful opportunities swirling at their feet. if they would humble themselves enough to bend down, they could scoop untold treasures up into their hands.
~ Deng Ming-Dao
"Eternal Life is now. Come into the present."
"But I am in the present now, am I not?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you haven't dropped your past."
"Why should I drop my past? Not all of it is bad."
"The past is to be dropped not because it is bad
but because it is dead."
~ Anthony de Mello, SJ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Where shall I look for Enlightenment?"
" Here."
" When will it happen?"
"It is happening right now."
"Then why don't I experience it?"
"Because you do not look."
"What should I look for?"
"Nothing, just look."
"At what?"
"Anything your eyes alight upon."
"Must I look in a special kind of way?"
"No. The ordinary way will do."
"But don't I always look the ordinary way?"
" No."
"Why ever not?"
"Because to look you must be here. You're mostly somewhere else."
Anthony de Mello, S.J.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
363
"How long does the present last? A minute? A second?"
"Much less and much more," said the Master. "Less, because
the moment you focus on it, it's gone.
"More, because if you ever get into it, you will stumble upon
the timeless and will know what eternity is."
~ Anthony de Mello, S.J.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may be capable of great things,
But life consists of small things.
Big things seldom come along. One should know the small as
well as the big. We may all yearn to make lasting achievements
and to be heroes, but life seldom affords us the opportunities to
do so. Most of our days consist of small things the uneventful
meditations, the ordinary cooking of meals, the banal trips to
work, the quiet scratching in the garden and it is from these small
things that the larger events of life are composed.
We rarely have the occasion to make grand gestures. The champion gymnast's greatest moment is but an hour out of an entire
lifetime. The works of great artists are viewed for very short times.
The master musician's best composition is but one work in a sea
of musical tones. If we want to be successful, it is the small things
that we should pay attention to.
We must not fall into the trap of waiting so long for the big things
that we let numerous small chances slip right by us. People who
do this are always waiting for life to be perfect. They complain that
fate is against them, that the world does not recognize their greatness. If they would lower their sights, they would see all the beautiful opportunities swirling at their feet. if they would humble themselves enough to bend down, they could scoop untold treasures up into their hands.
~ Deng Ming-Dao
Purgatory...
Purgatory means "to purge".. and what are you to purge?.. Identity!.. can you even imagine purging the identity of Divine Consciousness.. This is Who We Are, Divine Consciousness!.. This state of Being is far beyond the heavens spoken about within books.. This is the place of Light and Love.. Why would We wish to leave such a blissful state?.. because, It is not the Final Freedom... The Final Freedom is Complete Unity with God.. This means that You cannot exist even as Divine Consciousness.. You must surrender even this designation of separation called Identity.. You must die to be born.. Are We strong enough to give everything?.. But, all this is moot because We are still on the lower state of Consciousness that actually believes that We are the body, mind, and thoughts and completely unaware that We Are Divine Consciousness............ namaste, thomas
Attar of Nishapur ...
Attar of Nishapur (1145 - 1221 ce) saint and mystic, one of the most voluminous authors in Persian literature on religious topics. His best-known work, Conference of the Birds, is an elaborate allegory of the soul's quest for reunion with God
So long as we do not die to ourselves,
and so long as we identify with someone or something,
we shall never be free.
The spiritual way is not for those wrapped up in exterior life.
Farid ud Din Attar
~~
Strive to discover the mystery before life is taken from you.
If while living you fail to find yourself, to know yourself,
how will you be able to understand
the secret of your existence when you die?
Farid ud Din Attar
~~
Intoxicated by the Wine of Love.
From each a mystic silence Love demands.
What do all seek so earnestly? 'Tis Love.
What do they whisper to each other? Love.
Love is the subject of their inmost thoughts.
In Love no longer 'thou' and 'I' exist,
For Self has passed away in the Beloved.
Now will I draw aside the veil from Love,
And in the temple of mine inmost soul,
Behold the Friend; Incomparable Love.
He who would know the secret of both worlds,
Will find the secret of them both, is Love.
Farid ud Din Attar - translation Margaret Smith -The Jawhar Al-Dhat
~~
In the dead of night, a Sufi began to weep.
He said, "This world is like a closed coffin, in which
We are shut and in which, through our ignorance,
We spend our lives in folly and desolation.
When Death comes to open the lid of the coffin,
Each one who has wings will fly off to Eternity,
But those without will remain locked in the coffin.
So, my friends, before the lid of this coffin is taken off,
Do all you can to become a bird of the Way to God;
Do all you can to develop your wings and your feathers."
Farid ud Din Attar, translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut - 'Perfume of the Desert'
~~
The whole world is a marketplace for Love,
For naught that is, from Love remains remote.
The Eternal Wisdom made all things in Love.
On Love they all depend, to Love all turn.
The earth, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars
The center of their orbit find in Love.
By Love are all bewildered, stupefied,
Intoxicated by the Wine of Love.
From each, Love demands a mystic silence.
What do all seek so earnestly? "Tis Love.
Love is the subject of their inmost thoughts,
In Love no longer "Thou" and "I" exist,
For self has passed away in the Beloved.
Now will I draw aside the veil from Love,
And in the temple of mine inmost soul
Behold the Friend, Incomparable Love.
He who would know the secret of both worlds
Will find that the secret of them both is Love.
Farid ud Din Attar, in Essential Sufism, James Fadiman and Robert Frager
~~... from wahiduddin.com
So long as we do not die to ourselves,
and so long as we identify with someone or something,
we shall never be free.
The spiritual way is not for those wrapped up in exterior life.
Farid ud Din Attar
~~
Strive to discover the mystery before life is taken from you.
If while living you fail to find yourself, to know yourself,
how will you be able to understand
the secret of your existence when you die?
Farid ud Din Attar
~~
Intoxicated by the Wine of Love.
From each a mystic silence Love demands.
What do all seek so earnestly? 'Tis Love.
What do they whisper to each other? Love.
Love is the subject of their inmost thoughts.
In Love no longer 'thou' and 'I' exist,
For Self has passed away in the Beloved.
Now will I draw aside the veil from Love,
And in the temple of mine inmost soul,
Behold the Friend; Incomparable Love.
He who would know the secret of both worlds,
Will find the secret of them both, is Love.
Farid ud Din Attar - translation Margaret Smith -The Jawhar Al-Dhat
~~
In the dead of night, a Sufi began to weep.
He said, "This world is like a closed coffin, in which
We are shut and in which, through our ignorance,
We spend our lives in folly and desolation.
When Death comes to open the lid of the coffin,
Each one who has wings will fly off to Eternity,
But those without will remain locked in the coffin.
So, my friends, before the lid of this coffin is taken off,
Do all you can to become a bird of the Way to God;
Do all you can to develop your wings and your feathers."
Farid ud Din Attar, translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut - 'Perfume of the Desert'
~~
The whole world is a marketplace for Love,
For naught that is, from Love remains remote.
The Eternal Wisdom made all things in Love.
On Love they all depend, to Love all turn.
The earth, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars
The center of their orbit find in Love.
By Love are all bewildered, stupefied,
Intoxicated by the Wine of Love.
From each, Love demands a mystic silence.
What do all seek so earnestly? "Tis Love.
Love is the subject of their inmost thoughts,
In Love no longer "Thou" and "I" exist,
For self has passed away in the Beloved.
Now will I draw aside the veil from Love,
And in the temple of mine inmost soul
Behold the Friend, Incomparable Love.
He who would know the secret of both worlds
Will find that the secret of them both is Love.
Farid ud Din Attar, in Essential Sufism, James Fadiman and Robert Frager
~~... from wahiduddin.com
Lifted into poetry...
Occasionally, while within Consciousness, the mind reaches for words that contain Spirit.. this is called True communication.. needing no rymes or reason, the words flow easily to the reader with recognition.. Awareness is the real lesson of poetry.. a few chosen words that open the door of the soul.. a few words that bring Freedom.. a few seconds absent from the ego.. the feeling of Reality is strong and pleasant.. Love enters through a crack in the door of illusion.. and after all, Love is no illusion and is always ready for company........... namaste, thomas
Liberation...
"Distracted as we are by various thoughts, if we will continually contemplate
the Self, which is itself God, this single thought will in due course eliminate
all distraction and will itself ultimately vanish. The pure consciousness
which alone finally remains is God. This is Liberation.
To stay constantly centered on one's own pure Self is the acme of yoga, wisdom,
and all other forms of spiritual practice.
Even though the mind wanders restlessly, involved in external matters, and so is
forgetful of its own Self, one should remain alert and remember;
the body is not 'I.'
Who am I? Inquire in this way turning the mind backward to its primal state. The
inquiry 'who am I?' is the only method of putting an end to all misery and
ushering in Supreme Beatitude.
Whatever may be said and however phrased, this is the whole truth
in a nutshell."
--Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi--
the Self, which is itself God, this single thought will in due course eliminate
all distraction and will itself ultimately vanish. The pure consciousness
which alone finally remains is God. This is Liberation.
To stay constantly centered on one's own pure Self is the acme of yoga, wisdom,
and all other forms of spiritual practice.
Even though the mind wanders restlessly, involved in external matters, and so is
forgetful of its own Self, one should remain alert and remember;
the body is not 'I.'
Who am I? Inquire in this way turning the mind backward to its primal state. The
inquiry 'who am I?' is the only method of putting an end to all misery and
ushering in Supreme Beatitude.
Whatever may be said and however phrased, this is the whole truth
in a nutshell."
--Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi--
The Method for Liberating all Suffering and Afflictive States...
It's not that afflictive emotions are an impossibility to experience in the state of Awareness but rather they release upon the arising, like air bubbles that arise from deep under water and pop upon reaching the surface. Likewise many mental energy traces can arise from the subconscious depths of mind but "pop" or release when entering surface consciousness. This occurs because there is no longer a central "I" thought that would congeal and reify the arisings. The "I" thought has lost it's center place in consciousness and has been replaced by naked presence of Awareness, which relegates the "I" thought to the periphery position of being just another bubble-like thought arising amongst the all others. The shift from the centrality of the "I" thought in consciousness to Awareness being recognized as our center, is the result of the "direct introduction to Awareness" or "pointing out" being perfectly executed. Of course this could occur in one's own investigations, but is difficult because the "I" is itself the blind spot in consciousness that maintains the experience of I-ness or ego. When the "I" moves to the periphery of mental experience, who is left to be afflicted? The arisings of karmic mental energies continue to arise and release until fully exhausted. That's the final or fourth level in Dzogchen called " the exhaustion of all phenomena". At that point the physical body dissolves and disappears, revealing the Body of Light, as it's karmic causes for appearing are released or "exhausted". The method is to simply, nakedly observe the arisings without judgment, including the sense of there being an "observer", without engagement in the mental arisings. Notice how all the arisings eventually release upon their appearance in consciousness. All the arisings are themselves impermanent flashes of consciousness appearing as thoughts,emotions, feelings, identities, and perceptions that then dissolve back into consciousness. When not so intimately observed, the flashes coalesce into "stories". The rapidity and intensity of the flashes of mental events determine the degree of trance-like absorption into the stories. It is the "me" thought that gets energized and absorbed into the stories as a role play of subjectivity, not Awareness. So observe this sense of "me" with naked awareness, and it will release. Regardless of the intensity of the appearances, just nakedly observe. Non-dual Awareness or Being will naturally and organically be revealed to be the true center and nature of your consciousness as this naked, non-judgmental "observingness" practice matures. ...... by Jackson Peterson on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 6:02am
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