ON LOVE; PART CMXIX
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
We would be remiss in NOT having our annual discussion regarding the Wesak Festival, the Festival of the Buddha, at the Taurus Full Moon which IS today. In the greater reality of Life, the Master and the Buddha ARE close spiritual allies and while the view of the doctrinal religions that claim their names may NOT see this, this IS the greater Truth. In the spiritual realms of Life, the realm of the Soul, the realm of the Spirit where the True men, the spiritual essence if you will, exist there IS naught by Unity and harmony within that yet greater reality that we humbly call God. It IS Souls as the one who came among us as Jesus and the one who came among us as the Buddha that have achieved their freedom from this world of form and this freedom, this deliverance, IS found in Jesus’ most simple words saying that “I have overcome the world“.
We should note here that in the Life of Jesus this overcoming was from His birth according to the words of the Apostle Paul who tells us that “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). It IS in this idea and in the very special stories of His birth that we have come to understand that the Master DID come among us in this fullness while in the Life of the Buddha we read about the great awakening of Siddhārtha Gautama as His realization of the greater Truth of His own identity and place in the scheme of things. That Siddhārtha Gautama was born to His destiny as the Buddha should NOT be in doubt and perhaps this IS the ONLY separation between the Truth of the Buddha and the Christ: that Jesus was born into this world as the Christ, as the “the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14) while the Buddha and ALL great Avatars of Truth who came before Him developed their own fullness of the realization of such Truth during their time here in this Earth.
The whole idea that Jesus IS “the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” IS become the leading edge in the ongoing religious confrontations between Christians and other religions as the Christian believes that in these words he has possession of the ONLY Truth. However, when we can see this idea of the “only begotten” in the True Light of His birth in this fullness of Truth and grace, we can then see that His IS a part of the great panoply of Life from which ALL Avatars come as Souls whose choice it IS to help their brothers find the Path to the Truth….the same Path that they themselves had journeyed. And while we consider that the Master, the Christ who came to us as Jesus, IS the bearer of the greatest of Truths to this world of men and that His unique position makes Him the Head of ALL spiritual reality, we should NOT discount the roles of ALL others as they have graced this planet in an effort to show men the better way and the Way out of this world of illusion and glamour.
It IS said in esoteric circles that the Christ who came among us as Jesus IS the teacher of angels and men and in this assessment we should try to see the unique role that the Master plays in the very evolution of Life here in this Earth. This IS NOT physical evolution and this IS NOT emotional and mental evolution although some modicum of this likely must be achieved by ALL in preparation for the Spiritual Evolution that the Master began 2000 years ago. This Spiritual Evolution has been bearing the burden of cultural and religious differences and has been bearing the weight of the doctrinal dilution of His words but, in the end, He will prevail as this IS the very Plan of God of which we read in Paul’s words to the Romans and to ALL of the world saying:
“the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in expectation hope that Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:20-23).
In these words we find the journey of men from the depths of vanity, the depths of illusion and glamour, to the “glorious liberty of the children of God” which IS the same deliverance that the Master and the Buddha have found in their own journey through Life. And Paul speaks as a man of much spiritual accomplishment, speaking to other men who have some measure of this grace and Truth, as he shows us that he and they ARE “waiting for the adoption“; it IS in this sense of waiting that we should see the work that must be done in order to receive “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body“. Such waiting IS an active endeavor which IS portrayed for us in the Apostle James’ words saying “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain” (James 5:7). Here we should see the idea that “the husbandman waiteth” IS the reality of time spent in cultivating and nurturing the “precious fruit of the earth” and it IS in this cultivating and nurturing that we should see Paul’s sense of “waiting for the adoption“.
And it IS this sense of waiting, of actively cultivating and nurturing our own measure of Truth, that the Master teaches us and that the Buddha brought to the world centuries before. That the message seems markedly different IS ONLY True when the ideas of the Buddha and of the Christ are measured in carnal terms and in accordance with the ideas of men. When however the reality of both messages IS seen in a more spiritual Light, they ARE both the same in essence….their differences ARE mostly cultural as they direct their words to the people to whom they were sent. While the Buddha’s words teach us Love through Wisdom, the Master’s teaches us Love as the more central point and shows us how that ALL spiritual accomplishment stems from the expression of Love and, here again, we should KNOW that this Love IS NOT that emotional and mental attraction and attachment to others or to the things of this world; this Love IS the expression of GoodWill to ALL men and IS DONE without any “respect to persons” as we read in James’ words which places men’s contrary ideas of Love into the ways of the world; we read: “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors“. (James 2:9).
When we can understand the reality of sin, that this IS the focus of a man upon the things of the self and the self in the world, we can then better understand the message of the Buddha who makes sharp distinction between one’s desires for the worldly and temporal and the lack of such desire which IS in itself desire for the Good, the Beautiful and the True….the things of God. The Master teaches us like things as He speaks about seeking “treasures upon earth” as these ARE opposed to “treasures in heaven” and as He shows us the reality of God and mammon (Matthew 6:19, 20)….as that these ARE keen opposites. It IS in the minds of men, in their illusion and glamour, that doctrines portray this mammon and this “treasures upon earth” as that they ARE riches and possessions ONLY rather that the deeper reality that they ARE the thoughts and the attitudes of the man in this world. And we should remember here how that even in the view that the meaning IS riches and possessions, that these ideas ARE covered by doctrinal words of comfort that allow even the religious man to accumulate them.
The Buddha came among us with a teaching on Life and while His words ARE NOT considered as commandments, they ARE as the Master’s words; they ARE words that show a man the Way to the Kingdom of God. To Truly follow the Buddha IS to Truly follow His teachings and this IS the same reality that should come to men in regard to the Christ: that Jesus words ARE the guiding Light that shows men the Way to the Kingdom of God. It IS ONLY in keeping His words as the followers of the Buddha must keep His words that the Path IS found and one’s journey to spiritual reality becomes His way of Life. It IS in this reality of DOING what the Master shows us that we can achieve the adoption and along the way that growing sense of realization of the Kingdom, the Presences of God and the deeper realities of discipleship. These three ARE for us the trifecta of spiritual accomplishment that comes to the man who keeps His words.
In Jesus teaching this idea IS a spoken reality and one that IS virtually ignored by most men, even those who see themselves as religious men. It IS offered to us in the clarity of His words such as those we repeat again below and while the Buddha may not have need in the culture to which He came to express the need to keep His words so literally, the reality of one’s need to DO so runs through His message in much the same way as should be readily understood by the Master’s most straightforward rhetorical question that asks: “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). In the Buddha’s words the resultant spiritual achievement IS dependent upon following in the Way of the teachings and there ARE many instructions in His words to achieve this end. Neither leaves us wondering if we look at their words with a heart that Truly seeks God as it IS ONLY in this view that one can understand the depths of the teachings and see the reality of the reciprocal action that comes to the Life of the man in the world. This IS clearly depicted for us by Jesus who shows us that our realization of the Presence of God comes in keeping His words; we read again:
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
Both the Buddha and the Christ teach this sense of the realization of the Truths of Life, a realization that IS beyond the carnal ideas of Life. It IS this realization that the Buddha teaches us in the Four Noble Truths that show the Way and the Eightfold Path that IS the Path to the Kingdom of God, the Path to Enlightenment. While the Buddha teaches us these things in a different tone, the deeper reality of His message IS essentially the same as the deeper Truths of the Master’s words; it IS ONLY in the human perspective of the man who DOES NOT yet see that they appear to be different. There IS One God, there IS One World and there IS One Humanity and in this sense of Oneness there can ONLY be One Truth that IS embraced by ALL who come to teach men the better way. Like the Master’s words, the words of the Buddha ARE subject to the errors of translation and interpretation and in the view that these translations ARE ALL that we have to begin with, we repeat the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths:
- The truth of suffering (dukkha)
- The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
- The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
- The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)
While these are simple statements of Truth, the interpretation of their meaning has created much doctrinal confusion as it DOES in regard to the words of the Christ; entire volumes ARE written on these ideas. According to the Buddist Tradition these Four Nobel Truths ARE the Buddha’s first teaching and ARE worded thus by some translations:
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving which leads to re-becoming, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there; that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for becoming, craving for disbecoming.
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, non-reliance on it.
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is this noble eightfold path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. **
We should note here that the Eightfold Path IS an integral part of the the Four Noble Truths and IS the way to achieving the Enlightenment that IS the Truth of Nirvana, the Truth of the Kingdom of God. This IS for us the same Truth that runs through our idea of the trifecta as it IS in the fullness of the Presence of God in one’s Life that a man IS Truly Enlightened. According to the Dhammapada, the sayings of the Buddha, the Buddha gives us this Truth as part of the assembly of His sayings on the Way. In this we should see the way of teaching by ALL Avatars of Truth and we should see as well the way of teaching of the Master as it IS in seeing His words in the Light of day and with an open eye that one comes to be the KNOWER.
The way is eightfold.
There are four truths.
All virtue lies in detachment.
The master has an open eye.
This is the only way,
The only way to the opening of the eye.
Follow it.
Outwit desire.
Follow it to the end of sorrow.
When I pulled out sorrow’s shaft
I showed you the way.
It is you who must make the effort.
The masters only point the way.5
When we can relate this sense of detachment, this sense of outwitting desire, to the Master’s words on treasure, on mammon and on the ultimate Truth behind His words “take no thought for your life” (Matthew 6:25), we can then better understand the sameness of these teachings and while the Master may begin His teaching of the Way with the expression of Love, this expression becomes the Way of the man who follows the words of the Buddha and who sees the Four Truths as the Path to “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. In previous years we have spoken other words about the Buddha at the time of Wesak and these ideas can be found in our blog by searching the word Wesak. We point to one essay which depicts a story of what happens at this Festival year after year and while it may not be graphically True, there IS Great Truth in the joint effort expended by both of these Avatars of Love and Wisdom as they try to show us the Way of Truth; please read this in In the Words of Jesus part 654.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect |
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.
Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate.
Live in joy, in health, even among the afflicted.
Live in joy, in peace, even among the troubled.
Live in joy, without possessions.
Like the shining ones.
The winner sows hatred because the loser suffers.
Let go of winning and losing and find joy.
There is no fire like passion, no crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation, no sickness like hunger,
And no joy like the joy of freedom.
Today’s Quote of the Day is from the Dhammapada (on JOY)5; a collection of the sayings of the Buddha. These words and ideas ARE much the same as those we discuss in our In the Words of Jesus essays. And what is this freedom but the release of our hearts and minds from loving this life in this world and attaining the Presence of God. This word Joy has many meanings as DOES the idea of Love, but in the context that it IS used here we should see the idea that Joy IS Love, Joy IS health, Joy IS peace and that Joy IS without the burdens placed on a man by the illusion and the glamour of the ways of the world. We should try to see that it IS the antithesis of these ideas in hate, in affliction and in troubles that ARE among the possessions of the carnal man, that ARE among the “evil treasure of his heart” (Luke 6:45) according to the Master.
And it IS in the second stanza above that we see the basic psychic ideas that can eliminate the harm caused by such “evil treasure” as a man looks past himself and at the welfare of others which IS the greater reality of Love as the Master teaches us. It IS in losing such possessions, losing such carnal thoughts and attitudes, that one can truly find the “joy of freedom“….this IS the Truth of deliverance.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 5 The Dhammapada Translated by Thomas Byrom
- Four Noble Truths. (2015, May 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:44, May 3, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Four_Noble_Truths&oldid=660313760
