Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART CCXLV
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
If you are awake in the presence of a master One moment will show you the way. The fool is his own enemy. The mischief is his undoing. How bitterly he suffers! Why do what you will regret? Why bring tears upon yourself? Do only what you do not regret, And fill yourself with joy. For a while the fool’s mischief Tastes sweet, sweet as honey. Bit in the end it turns bitter. And how bitterly he suffers! For months the fool may fast, Eating from the tip of a grass blade. Still he is not worth a penny Beside the master whose food is the way. Fresh milk takes time to sour. So a fool’s mischief Takes time to catch up with him. Like the embers of a fire It smolders within him. Whatever a fool learns, It only makes him duller. Knowledge cleaves his head. For then he wants recognition. A place before other people, A place over other people. “Let them know my work, Let everyone look to me for direction.” Such are his desires, Such is his swelling pride. One way leads to wealth and fame, The other to the end of the way. Look not for recognition But follow the awakened And set yourself free 5.
Yesterday’s post contained a lengthy excerpt from a compilation and sort of dramatization of the Buddha’s words as they were pieced together by a German convert who adopted the name Nyanatiloka and which comes from our English language book, Buddha, His Life and Teachings as noted in the bibliography below. This book is available online from booksellers although although it may have to be purchased in two parts, The Gospel of Buddha by Paul Carus and The Word of Buddha by Nyanatiloka; there are also online versions of these texts available. Our purpose in using this text is that it is written in a flowing way as like the gospels rather than just a list of the Buddha’s sayings with commentary and we hope that what we have published over the last few days has been helpful in fulfilling our primary objectives which were to include some of the Buddha’s sayings on the Life of the disciple and to show the close relationship to the teachings of the Master…..and, let us not forget the celebration of Wesak. Both teachings, that of the Christ and that of the Buddha can be considered ancient from our perspective as both are over 2000 years old with the Buddha having been among us about 500 years before Christ and, in their antiquity of expression and their very different targeted audiences we must ever realize the need to interpret them in our time and our place as these teachings, once we overcome their age and cultural idiosyncrasies, if we can use that word here, are universal and timeless. From our perspective of Life in this world as it relates to religion, the lack of understanding of the need to advance the teachings into the current day is a great hindrance to the right understanding of many as the mind set and the emotional response today is so vastly different than it was when these two Great Brothers and Sons of God were among us.
This last statement can be seen as a purpose for our writing these daily essays as our publishing of these ARE a way to see these Great Teachings in a more modern light and beyond the doctrines that were long ago established. Today we try to expound the words of the Master and the Buddha, as well as a variety of other religious works, away from established doctrine and away from the emotional response the the formulators of these doctrines used in their writing. There IS NO relationship between the man of today and the man that existed over 2000 years ago; today, man’s mental and emotional makeup is vastly different and this IS True regardless of where in the world one may look. We are in an age of mind and of logical response and while millions have an emotional bent in their lives yet today, it is nothing like it was in the time of Jesus Presence among us and nothing like that of the reformers of the sixteenth century from whom much doctrine comes. Man has evolved to the point at which he IS today and while there is are vast differences in the point of advancement around the world, ALL Life IS lived from a different mental and emotional perspective and approach than it was in those days. Looking at this and the rather backward nature of religion today, we can see some of the reason and the purpose for the dramatic move toward a secular society; as the world shrinks insofar as our ability to KNOW what is happening around the world, most ALL thinking people can find access to most ALL things regarding the world religions and their histories and many millions likely find nothing but frustration with the conflicting approaches and beliefs, the hatreds and the intolerance of others, and have come to their own perspective of the futility of it ALL. While this is a sad situation it is also an opportunity to change, to approach religion on a world scale, but for this to happen there must be a radical change in the yet emotional response to the idea of world religion as well as the intolerance of one toward another. And, as we KNOW this emotional response is found in the vanity that the Apostle Paul tells us of saying of the entirety of the race of men in ALL time that “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope“; it is in this reality of the illusion and the glamour in which we live in this world that we can find our True place as we come to understand the forces that play upon us through our thoughts and feelings. And, when we can come to realize that we are, that mankind IS, subjected to this illusion and this glamour, we can begin to make that necessary progress and contribute to that Great Day when “the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21) and the return of the Christ.
It is from our perspective, this perspective, that we write and in the hope that we can come to terms with the reality of religion and look to the rightly discerned words of the Master for True guidance rather that the ramblings of the many doctrines that purport to tell us what it is that we must do to be saved. While there may have once been a mystery in this regard, there is none today; there is only the rather blind insistence that what we have learned from doctrine must be True and this regardless of the fact that the great variety of doctrines ALL believe the same, that THEY ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO IS RIGHT. This IS glamour and this IS illusion and it is this vanity that MUST be overcome and, we should understand that in overcoming this we can make a great move forward and toward being able to say with the Master that “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Here also is our purpose in presenting the Truths of other religions and trying to break down the uninformed opinions that one religion may have toward another; opinions that are also grounded for the most part in the antiquated writings and the opinions of those formulators of the doctrines of the many True world religions. If instead of criticizing others for their differences we could celebrate our similarities, we could make great progress; if we could look at Life as the Life of the True man, the Soul, the Christ Within, we could better understand our own tolerance for the waste of human Life that we encounter nearly every day, a waste that we bemoan but accept until it comes closer to our own. The Light of Truth IS in the words of the Master and these words are amplified and clarified by the apostles and much of this IS clear as day and, as we have ofttimes discussed, it is the natural defense of men that so configures doctrine and beliefs as to not inhibit their way of Life in the world and could we but see the temporal nature of this Life in form and the required endless pursuit for our own redemption, we could better understand ourselves and our brothers and at the same time see Life as the True eternal journey that it IS. And, we could see that MOST IMPORTANT POINT, that we ARE ALL THE SAME….Souls expressing Life and consciousness through form according to the Law and the Plan of God and that the objective of ALL is the same which is the EVENTUAL EXPRESSION of the Love and the Power of the Soul in this world. Here of course we must accept the reality of reincarnation, the Truth of the endless nature of Life and the requirement of being reborn again and again until we can say that we ARE Truly born again as the Master paints this for us in the gospels.
In the saying at the top of our essay there is basic instruction to discipleship from the perspective of the Buddha which is given from the negative perspective, what NOT to do. His analysis is of the man in the world who, while he may desire discipleship and Nirvana or the Kingdom of God, he DOES NOT desire it enough to put in the required time and attention. This is of course a basic problem in ALL the world and for the Christian the problem is exasperated because there IS NO True discipleship training in the doctrines of the churches. The basic premise of the Buddha’s words is our reality of focus although He gives it to us in a dynamic way which seems to transcend time. If we look at this however as a timeless statement that does not show how long it may take to get to being awake in the presence of a master for that One moment that will show you the way, we can get a greater understanding of His message. This concept of being awakened IS an end result of being focused upon the Soul, the master, and, as we say in previous essays, this should be likened to the idea of realization that we often use. So again we have awakening resulting in being awakened as we have recognition resulting in realization.
We should remember here that words are lacking in the translation of the spiritual terms of the Buddha into English words and the idea of fool here should be seen as the man who IS NOT focused upon the Soul and the things of God but who is focused upon the world and we can equate this word to the Master’s use of the word translated as sinner as they both have the same effect. The Buddha is calling out here the reality of what one who is focused on the world encounters although we should understand that in the illusion and the glamour in which we live, this fool is unlikely to recognize any of this save his eventual understanding of the futility of it ALL. Much like the Master’s instruction regarding the ideas of treasure, of what is important to a man, we have the Buddha’s ideas that specifically point out the failings of the man; failings from a spiritual perspective which in the reality and the Truth of Life is the only sustainable perspective. Both tell us clearly that whatever one may accomplish or accumulate in this temporal Life in this world is for naught and the only things that survive the Life of the man are those things that may be of benefit to the race and those things that can be added into one’s spiritual collateral. Money, houses, cars and fame are temporal and meaningless once this Earth excursion is over and, while we may bequeath them, they are of no value whatsoever to the True man, the Soul, the master, and we can see in this the Master’s point in the Parable of the Rich Fool where at the impending death of the rich man we read that “God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:20). This is the essential idea in the use of this word fool by both the Buddha and the Master and we should read in this that the idea of bequeathing counts for naught as ALL comes out of the control of the man.
Looking at the fullness of the Master’s words which tell us “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21), we should be able to see the same reality that the Buddha is giving using His terms and for His culture. Buddha gives us the added reality which is found in the perspective of the man in the world whose treasure IS of the Earth; He reveals for us the pleasure and the comfort of the things of the world as they are seen through the clouds and mists of mind and emotion. This reality that For a while the fool’s mischief Tastes sweet, sweet as honey. Bit in the end it turns bitter. And how bitterly he suffers! is not seen however by the man who IS so focused on the self, he can not foresee his suffering which we MUST understand from the spiritual perspective and in the Truth that the passions and desires ARE NEVER satisfied; there is ever the quest for more which consumes the Life of the man. The man who is so focused on himself and the things of and for the self IS the picture of the rich fool and this regardless of riches as most any of man’s passions and desires can be accommodated by the Master’s story; what IS important in this parable is the machinations of a man throughout his life and this regardless of his place in society. Of course this should not be seen as a universal model but for the many in the world who are so focused, there can much insight through the rearrangement of the Master’s ideas in this parable which goes thus:
“And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21).
We should understand two things here; first is that the ending part IS NOT intended to mean that one should give a part of what treasure he may have to the church or other philanthropy and the testimony to this is in the ideas that precede and follow these verses. Second is that the man today and yesterday DOES NOT see himself in this parable nor does he see himself as the fool or the sinner and this is especially True of those who are in the church and who at the same time are not focused on the things of God and these are ALL most difficult to convince.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect of God |
Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In Relation to the Great Invocation |
In relation to the Christ |
|
GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
|
Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
|
Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
Mind of God |
Way |
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
This Quote of the Day is from the Dhammapada, the sayings of the Buddha, and the section titled The World and exemplifies from His perspective the same basic message that we have been seeing from the Christ. Follow the way of the Soul, focus upon the Real and not on the illusion and thereby attain the Kingdom. If we read and reread this we should be able to see the thread of reality in forsaking ALL for the Kingdom.
Do not live in the world, In distraction and false dreams. Outside the dharma. Arise and watch. Follow the way joyfully through this world and beyond. Follow the way of virtue. Follow the way joyfully Through this world and on beyond! For consider the world – A bubble, a mirage. See the world as it is, And death shall overlook you. Come, consider the world, A painted chariot for kings, A trap for fools. But he who sees goes free. As the moon slips from behind a cloud And shines, So the master comes out from behind his ignorance And shines. The world is in darkness. How few have eyes to see! How few the birds who escape the net and fly to heaven! 5
Our saying today is the Buddha’s view of our understanding of illusion and glamour as they beset the world of men and His admonition that to live with one’s focus upon the world is, from the perspective of one’s spiritual Life, folly. His message is largely the same as we highlight in our daily messages, that to see the world as the reality of Life is to realize first hand that the world IS A painted chariot for kings, A trap for fools, and it is in this reality that those whose focus IS upon the self live. We should ever understand the dynamics of this IS such that when a man is trapped in this folly, when he IS living in the world, In distraction and false dreams, he DOES NOT see the reality…he does not follow the Way and regardless of what he may make himself to believe IS true, it IS NOT. In our previous look at these words from the Buddha we have focused on the end and here we say again that this right seeing IS, as the Master and the Buddha both tell us, a difficult accomplishment and this right seeing IS the first step in one’s journey out of the clutches of Life in form and and the illusion and the glamour, the vanity, of the Life of one whose focus is on the self and the things of and for the self.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 5 The Dhammapada Translated by Thomas Byrom
- * Buddha: His Life and Teachings; Peter Pauper Press, Mount Vernon, New York 1 1 r v
