You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Dhamma; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. If I tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death and an eon of many more lives shall you know. But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall be closer still to Nibbana.
Adaption Ezekiel 33-7-9
7 September 2014
3 September 2014
Crappy Christian, Crappy Buddhist
I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not of the flesh, and walking according to the manner of man?
... neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:1-9)
God's building is feeling a bit rundown. Wages are frittered away. While faith takes place in the mind, as a co-worker tilling the land of phenomena, I'm distracted. Jesus said that to love God and love one's neighbours is perfection, I ask myself "What then is love? Especially, who is this co-worker who is asked to choose love if he is to perfect life?"
The Buddha taught that there is a way leading to the end of suffering. As 'fleshy people' he taught ethical discipline and effort and meditation as a means of liberation: an 8-fold path. Practical stuff. By knowing the mind and controlling its tyranny of fears, infatuations, lusts and ignorance, one can grow to choose as a spiritual man, with wisdom and compassion, and not remain wallowing in a fleshy suffering.
Jesus shows us this, too, again and again and again, as he does, so shall I. This is his promise. This is the light of hope. This is the peace found in his Father's grace. This is the trust in the deathless. Heady stuff for a simple co-worker.
And when this co-worker's field I'd turned and furrowed and seeded and watered, there can be growth... Nay, there shall be growth! As the sun also rises (thanks EH), so shall I, first on my own two feet. Then standing, with the same discipline and effort that a baby finally walks, I can know the truth of Love. Not in any lesser fleshy sense, but in the True sense, namely, loving God, loving brother, loving the spiritual man I AM.
... neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:1-9)
God's building is feeling a bit rundown. Wages are frittered away. While faith takes place in the mind, as a co-worker tilling the land of phenomena, I'm distracted. Jesus said that to love God and love one's neighbours is perfection, I ask myself "What then is love? Especially, who is this co-worker who is asked to choose love if he is to perfect life?"
The Buddha taught that there is a way leading to the end of suffering. As 'fleshy people' he taught ethical discipline and effort and meditation as a means of liberation: an 8-fold path. Practical stuff. By knowing the mind and controlling its tyranny of fears, infatuations, lusts and ignorance, one can grow to choose as a spiritual man, with wisdom and compassion, and not remain wallowing in a fleshy suffering.
Jesus shows us this, too, again and again and again, as he does, so shall I. This is his promise. This is the light of hope. This is the peace found in his Father's grace. This is the trust in the deathless. Heady stuff for a simple co-worker.
And when this co-worker's field I'd turned and furrowed and seeded and watered, there can be growth... Nay, there shall be growth! As the sun also rises (thanks EH), so shall I, first on my own two feet. Then standing, with the same discipline and effort that a baby finally walks, I can know the truth of Love. Not in any lesser fleshy sense, but in the True sense, namely, loving God, loving brother, loving the spiritual man I AM.
23 August 2014
True Humility
True humility is not feeling bad about yourself, or having a low opinion of yourself, or thinking of yourself as inferior to all others. True humility frees us from preoccupation with ourselves, whereas a low self-opinion tends to focus our attention on ourselves. Humility is truth in self-understanding and truth in action.
A humble person makes a realistic assessment of oneself without illusion or pretense to be something one is not. A truly humble person regards oneself neither smaller nor larger than one truly is. True humility frees us to be ourselves as God regards us and to avoid falling into despair and pride. A humble person does not want to wear a mask or put on a facade in order to look good to others. Such a person is not swayed by accidentals, such as fame, reputation, success, or failure.
Humility is the queen or foundation of all the other virtues because it enables us to see and judge correctly, the way God sees. Humility helps us to be teachable so we can acquire true knowledge, wisdom, and an honest view of reality. It directs our energy, zeal, and will to give ourselves to something greater than ourselves. Humility frees us to love and serve others willingly and selflessly, for their own sake, rather than for our own. Paul the Apostle gives us the greatest example and model of humility in the person of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and... who humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8). Do you want to be a servant as Jesus loved and served others? The Lord Jesus gives us his heart - the heart of a servant who seeks the good of others and puts their interests first in his care and concern for them.
Partial citation from: The following reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2014, whose website is located at DailyScripture.net
A humble person makes a realistic assessment of oneself without illusion or pretense to be something one is not. A truly humble person regards oneself neither smaller nor larger than one truly is. True humility frees us to be ourselves as God regards us and to avoid falling into despair and pride. A humble person does not want to wear a mask or put on a facade in order to look good to others. Such a person is not swayed by accidentals, such as fame, reputation, success, or failure.
Humility is the queen or foundation of all the other virtues because it enables us to see and judge correctly, the way God sees. Humility helps us to be teachable so we can acquire true knowledge, wisdom, and an honest view of reality. It directs our energy, zeal, and will to give ourselves to something greater than ourselves. Humility frees us to love and serve others willingly and selflessly, for their own sake, rather than for our own. Paul the Apostle gives us the greatest example and model of humility in the person of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and... who humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8). Do you want to be a servant as Jesus loved and served others? The Lord Jesus gives us his heart - the heart of a servant who seeks the good of others and puts their interests first in his care and concern for them.
Partial citation from: The following reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2014, whose website is located at DailyScripture.net
20 August 2014
Escaping Kharma or On the Beach with Dr. Krishna
The good doctor sifts the soft yellow sand through his fingers, scooping a handful up and letting it drain away. The boy sitting next to him seems hyponised by this, yet het has been listening, hanging on the older man's words, hanging on the imparted wisdom.
"No amount of goodness done in this life can erase all that has been done in wickedness, my friend," continues Doctor Krishna, "But every act of goodness done now, today, as if suddenly awakening from an eternal sleep, every act of goodness is as important as each grain of this sand. Once a mountain, once a star, once a human skull, once food in a bird's belly, each and every grain of sand tells a tale if we are interested enough to listen."
The boy sits a few moments in silence, then asks "And if i choose not to act in goodness?"
"This my fellow is like murder in the first degree: there is knowledge, there is motivation, there is then a choice to ignore the good and choose wickedness."
"And if i live a life in ignorance?"
With the sand still running through his fingers, calmy, methodically, with grace and ease, Krishna answers him with a chuckle, "Sadly, my dear fellow, i have now enlightened you with a grand Truth and your attentive listening has cast you forever out of darkness into the light."
The boy thinks on this for a while. The noises of the forest behind them mingle with the river before them and in the distance the brash urban cacophany is pleasantly ambient. In the stream, a blue salamander with an unusually large penis briefly watches them, but neither of them notice it; Shiva blesses them and swims on.
"Fret not, my boy," Dr. Krishna offers, clearing his throat majestically while standing to depart, "With each act of kindness, the next gets easier. The resistance you feel is actually unnatural. Goodness is a part of you like the sands supporting this river, under our feet with each and every step of our lives. And so growing in light, growing in peace, freedom, compassion and wisdom, you will be truly alive, serving goodness and thus, serving the Truth that is beyond khamma, higher than the gods, deathless, perfection. Know this embrace, " he offers, brushing down his pants and heading back to town, "And don't forget to have fun while you're at it."
"No amount of goodness done in this life can erase all that has been done in wickedness, my friend," continues Doctor Krishna, "But every act of goodness done now, today, as if suddenly awakening from an eternal sleep, every act of goodness is as important as each grain of this sand. Once a mountain, once a star, once a human skull, once food in a bird's belly, each and every grain of sand tells a tale if we are interested enough to listen."
The boy sits a few moments in silence, then asks "And if i choose not to act in goodness?"
"This my fellow is like murder in the first degree: there is knowledge, there is motivation, there is then a choice to ignore the good and choose wickedness."
"And if i live a life in ignorance?"
With the sand still running through his fingers, calmy, methodically, with grace and ease, Krishna answers him with a chuckle, "Sadly, my dear fellow, i have now enlightened you with a grand Truth and your attentive listening has cast you forever out of darkness into the light."
The boy thinks on this for a while. The noises of the forest behind them mingle with the river before them and in the distance the brash urban cacophany is pleasantly ambient. In the stream, a blue salamander with an unusually large penis briefly watches them, but neither of them notice it; Shiva blesses them and swims on.
"Fret not, my boy," Dr. Krishna offers, clearing his throat majestically while standing to depart, "With each act of kindness, the next gets easier. The resistance you feel is actually unnatural. Goodness is a part of you like the sands supporting this river, under our feet with each and every step of our lives. And so growing in light, growing in peace, freedom, compassion and wisdom, you will be truly alive, serving goodness and thus, serving the Truth that is beyond khamma, higher than the gods, deathless, perfection. Know this embrace, " he offers, brushing down his pants and heading back to town, "And don't forget to have fun while you're at it."
19 August 2014
Not A God
In a dream,
the wind stirs across my skin, whispering in my ears and the servant is asked
to share the Dhamma: Because you are haughty of heart, you say, “A god am I! I
occupy a godly throne in the heart of the sea!”— And yet you are a man, and not
a god, however you may think yourself like a god. Oh yes, you are wiser than so
many prophets, so many saints, and there is no secret that is beyond you. By
your wisdom and your intelligence you have made riches for yourself; You have
put gold and silver into your treasuries. By your great wisdom applied to your
trading you have heaped up your riches; your heart has grown haughty from your
riches– you cling, you fear, you exclude
the poor, the sick, your every brother.
In a dream,
the wind is cool in the fierce sun and I hear its call for me to speak the Dhamma:
Because you think yourself to have the mind of a god, this and in an eon
of lifetimes you will come against foreigners,
the most barbarous of nations. They shall draw their swords against your
beauteous wisdom, they shall run them through your splendid apparel. They shall
thrust you down to the pit, there to die a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the
sea. Will you then say, “I am a god!” when you face your murderers? No, you are
man, not a god, handed over to those who will slay you. You shall die the death
of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners.
Know that you have cast your
own destiny with each selfish act, again and again and again until with
a contrite heart the sins which entwine you are unraveled and the Truth be
revealed in the fullest light of freedom, joy, grace and loving-kindness, then my son, you shall know I AM.
Adapted
from Ezekiel 28:2-10
18 August 2014
On Giving Things Up
The Dhamma touchs on the one thing that the rich man is not ready to give up – his money and all that it brought. But, if we are honest, we will admit that we all have some things we would be very slow to let go of. Things we would not like to give up, things we cling to, things we seek in our effort to escape the adverse.
It might be a good exercise today for us to ask ourselves what would be the most difficult thing for us to give up on Buddha's path to peace, wisdom, equanimity, compassion, freedom and enlightenment. It might be some thing we own like our house, or it might be a relationship, or our job, or our health. Whatever it is, it could be coming between us and our total following of the Dhamma. Do the things we own really own us?
Why not resolve to be ready, if called on, to give it up? Only then do we know that we are truly free and truly followers of the Way.
Adaption from the site 'Living Space' 18.08.14, Jesuits of Ireland
It might be a good exercise today for us to ask ourselves what would be the most difficult thing for us to give up on Buddha's path to peace, wisdom, equanimity, compassion, freedom and enlightenment. It might be some thing we own like our house, or it might be a relationship, or our job, or our health. Whatever it is, it could be coming between us and our total following of the Dhamma. Do the things we own really own us?
Why not resolve to be ready, if called on, to give it up? Only then do we know that we are truly free and truly followers of the Way.
Adaption from the site 'Living Space' 18.08.14, Jesuits of Ireland
11 August 2014
Solomon’s Respect for Wisdom
Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called upon the Dhamma, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her. Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem, because all gold is but a little sand in her sight, and silver will be accounted as clay before her. I loved her more than health and beauty,
and I chose to have her rather than light, because her radiance never ceases.
and I chose to have her rather than light, because her radiance never ceases.
All good things came to me along with her, and in her hands uncounted wealth. I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom leads them; but I did not know that she was their mother. I learned without guile and I impart without grudging; I do not hide her wealth, for it is an unfailing treasure for men; those who get it obtain friendship with the Dhamma, commended for the gifts that come from instruction.
Adapted from Wisdom 7:7-14
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