He beat me, he defeated me!

There’s no shortage of examples of fanatical, violent response from a certain segment of the Islamic community whenever they feel slighted in some sense. My concern is that well meaning people misplace the cause for these people’s violence and expressions of hatred, and that this only silences legitimate voices of dissent while appeasing the very violence we abhor.

The cause of hatred truly is not external, but internal. Listen to the sublime wisdom of the Buddha in the first section of the Dhammapada:

‘He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,’–in those who harbour such thoughts hatred will never cease.’

He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,’–in those who do not harbour such thoughts hatred will cease.

Amen. May we all work to remove the causes of suffering within ourselves and so help all fellow beings.

Please note that in posting this I am not pitting one tradition against another. It is my deep feeling that we MUST learn from each other and so help each other to become better, more loving and more compassionate, beings. As such there is much to be gained from internalizing the wisdom above. Just as there would be much gain in internalizing the teachings of Jesus where he says to “Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who persecute you.” Also to “Resist not those who oppose you. And whoever strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other.” (I’m paraphrasing)

I reject completely the idea that one religious tradition will dominate all others on this planet, and I say this as a Christian. It is a ridiculous idea. I firmly believe that Knowledge of the Truth can and must become dominant if we are to survive together in peace. However, knowledge of the truth is not synonomous with this or that set of religious beliefs.

Questions and Answers

“For the believer there are no questions, for the non-believer there are no answers.”  – Hebrew saying

Force

One who uses religion as an excuse for agression towards his neighbor
does not understand True Religion.  One who uses religion as an excuse
to not restrain the agressor also does not understand.

Who art in Heaven

To hallow begins with acknowledgment and moves to veneration. We must acknowledge Our Uncreated Father’s Divine Presence in his abode of Heaven which is, as we have said, everywhere. Acknowledge Him burning in the stars, roaring through rivers, singing joyfully through the birds.

Let this acknowledgment turn to wonder and amazement at the beauty of it all, and realize that you are an inseparable part of it! You are as beautiful and necessary as the sunrise and sunset. You are just as much a function of this whole universe as the falls of Niagara.

Acknowledge and venerate the Presence of the Holy Eternal One that dwells within you with just as much Power there as there is at any point in the Universe. It is THAT which lives within you and without you. Its power pumps your heart, energizes your brain, sees through your eyes, hears through your ears, and opens your mouth to speak.

This is hallowing the Name of God, not putting on airs of solemnity and false piousness devoid of all natural goodness and joy, which is simply putting on a show of spirituality in order to deceive others and exalt ones sense of personal superiority.

Our Father…

I’m writing a commentary on the Lord’s prayer and will post it in installments here. Here is the first such:

“Our Father, who art in Heaven”

As is the case in all Scripture, every word is of importance, so here let us consider the first word of this prayer from the lips of Our Master: “Our.” This first word serves to remind us that Our Father is Father of All. It should broaden our awareness as we begin this invocation. In saying, “Our Father,” we should bring into our awareness the people passing by on the street, the construction workers laboring nearby, enemies near and far, and those family members closest to us. ALL are children of Our Father and, truly, we draw near to the Divine more for their benefit than for ours, in order that we might be vessels of His Infinite Light, aimed and directed into this finite work of creation.

As to the second word, Father, what is the point of using the male assignation? Is this mere patriarchal chauvinism? Do we truly believe in some mythical grandfather figure sitting in a golden throne far off in space with long white flowing hair and flaming eyes? Certainly not. Then is there any reason to say “Father” here and not “Mother?”

Simply, yes. When we speak of the Father here, we are speaking of the husband and director of Nature. He is unchanging and un-manifest, She is the reflection of His will projected into the realm of the manifest which undergoes ceaseless modifications. The two are, of course, One in essence but different in activity. He, as Father, is unchanging and constant, the Source of All that is, Giver of all Good Gifts, the Mover of the waters of creation, and it is for this reason that it is He we invoke and not His servant, Nature. She can only give what He wills.

Now we come to the abode of Our Father, the uncreated Source of ALL: Heaven. All too often this word is glanced over and misunderstood by newcomers to the Path who push Heaven out as some future reality, too distant or disconnected with current circumstances to be of much present use. However, if we recall Jesus’ admonition to repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, or is here now, then perhaps we can re-examine the idea of heaven more closely.

The Greek word for heaven here is Ouranos, or Uranus, the Greek God of the sky, husband of Gaia, the earth. Esoterically, Uranus is connected with Superconsciousness, boundlessness and timelessness, the numeral Zero, and the first letter in the Hebrew Aleph-Bet, Aleph (א). Also connected with this idea is the ancient statement that God can be likened to a circle with its center everywhere, and circumference nowhere, a simple yet effective definition of Omnipresence.

What this means for us in this prayer and in our lives is to serve as a powerful reminder that “we do not serve a God far off, for in Him we live, move, and have our being.” Our Father in Heaven indwells this entire creation and supports it with the Eternal Flame of His love and attention. So when we say “Heaven” in this prayer, let us turn our attention inward into the core of our being, for He is just as much there in all His power as he ever is, was, or will be at any point in space or time.

Tat Tvam Asi

This recent photo of a double-helix shaped nebula turned up on BoingBoing and immediately caught my eye. Here’s a quote from the article:

“We see two intertwining strands wrapped around each other as in a DNA molecule,” said Mark Morris, a UCLA professor of physics and astronomy, and lead author. “Nobody has ever seen anything like that before in the cosmic realm. Most nebulae are either spiral galaxies full of stars or formless amorphous conglomerations of dust and gas — space weather. What we see indicates a high degree of order.”

Just for comparison, here’s a model image of the DNA molecule:

Look at these two pictures and consider these words spoken by Alan Watts:

“Underneath the superficial self, which pays attention to this and that, there is another self more really us than I. And the more you become aware of the unknown self — if you become aware of it — the more you realize that it is inseparably connected with everything else that is. You are a function of this total galaxy, bounded by the Milky Way, and this galaxy is a function of all other galaxies. You are that vast thing that you see far, far off with great telescopes. You look and look, and one day you are going to wake up and say, “Why, that’s me!” And in knowing that, you know that you never die. You are the eternal thing that comes and goes, that appears — now as John Jones, now as Mary Smith, now as Betty Brown — and so it goes, forever and ever and ever.”

Amen.