God rules none.
Each of us is but God
in his many disguises,
each of us, hiding, seeking,
in a game of hide and seek.
Only the awakened
understand this divine truth.
Everyone else will remain
asleep in their madness,
having forgotten the Godhead.
I know myself, and you yourself;
but who is God?
Indeed, you and I are
God who rules none.
Originally posted on April 24, 2005 at 2:04 AM
Showing posts with label Godhead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Godhead. Show all posts
20140805
20140128
Why I Turn Back to Reflect on God (satire)
My reason for reflecting on God was due to the early influence of a spiritual yearning sparked by a Mennonite youth fellowship group. I remember the reason for falling out with the Christians was due to the error a few young men have with self-will. This led me to make statements which led me astray. As well, there was influence from my parents to choose them over the youth group.
I am attracted to Christianity because that community is sometimes outside of the mainstream of society, due to group dynamics motivated by aversion to "worldliness".
Worldliness means knowing the ways of the world. In contrast, godliness is living a God-centered life. This is a life-long quest, yet few people know of it.
Of the people who know of it, only a few of them dare follow it, for it is a strait path i.e. each and everyone of them who enter heaven pass through a narrow door that represents the Christ.
Even though I am a human being, subject to error, my belief in God does not mean I am perfect or holy, only that my actions sometimes center around God and other times, around the world.
Thus this is a personal conviction which is based on a spiritual belief in God, tempered by my Buddhist upbringing. For the Buddhist concept of the Absolute closely resembles the Christian Heaven, which the closest the faithful gets to God that any person can imagine.
Although God has no physical form, my faith in a high power helps rationalize the Godhead thusly:
"I fear God out of respect for all sentient beings. Therefore I am fearless before the world."
Recently edited: January 28, 2014 0727H
Originally posted: January 12, 2011 0140H
I am attracted to Christianity because that community is sometimes outside of the mainstream of society, due to group dynamics motivated by aversion to "worldliness".
Worldliness means knowing the ways of the world. In contrast, godliness is living a God-centered life. This is a life-long quest, yet few people know of it.
Of the people who know of it, only a few of them dare follow it, for it is a strait path i.e. each and everyone of them who enter heaven pass through a narrow door that represents the Christ.
Even though I am a human being, subject to error, my belief in God does not mean I am perfect or holy, only that my actions sometimes center around God and other times, around the world.
Thus this is a personal conviction which is based on a spiritual belief in God, tempered by my Buddhist upbringing. For the Buddhist concept of the Absolute closely resembles the Christian Heaven, which the closest the faithful gets to God that any person can imagine.
Although God has no physical form, my faith in a high power helps rationalize the Godhead thusly:
"I fear God out of respect for all sentient beings. Therefore I am fearless before the world."
Recently edited: January 28, 2014 0727H
Originally posted: January 12, 2011 0140H
Everything is beautiful (satire)
No, that's not a statement a manic makes. For everything is beautiful in life unless we suck the life out of it.
Most likely, there shall be complaints galore about the ugliness in life, and the punchline may be dropped. "I have a secret plan to make my life beautiful!"
Yet there will not be any coherent elucidation of that plan.
Why not? Because it's "a secret."
A person who is more holistically connected with the world would admit that he does not know why everything is beautiful.
A manic would question beauty because of the secret hatred that he possesses like a piece of rock crystal.
All around him, the world is sparkly like a diamond, yet out of reach.
Almost everyone else is enjoying the view, and finding gems of wisdom in the silver lining of Heaven itself.
Only the pessimist would call Heaven "the clouds above."
Even so, it is true that everything is beautiful in its own way.
Originally posted: September 10, 2011 12:29 PM PDT
20110510
A Secret Treasure (Poem)
Because the wall has ears,
I will hide what I feel.
Because the world can see what I do,
I will act appropriately.
Because God knows my heart,
I am only honest with Him.
Yet I'm told I have to say aloud
what I share with God -
though my voice is soft,
and raising it is against my ways.
So I am hiding a secret treasure,
that no one sees or hears...
Compassion, humility, loving-kindness, mercy...
they are but reflections
of the mind of serenity
that quiet meditation brings to me,
this complex, imperfect person
who has opened his heart to God.
I will hide what I feel.
Because the world can see what I do,
I will act appropriately.
Because God knows my heart,
I am only honest with Him.
Yet I'm told I have to say aloud
what I share with God -
though my voice is soft,
and raising it is against my ways.
So I am hiding a secret treasure,
that no one sees or hears...
Compassion, humility, loving-kindness, mercy...
they are but reflections
of the mind of serenity
that quiet meditation brings to me,
this complex, imperfect person
who has opened his heart to God.
20110103
The Trinity
After Judas left, Jesus said to the remaining 11: "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." — Matthew 28:18-20
I'm going with the three-in-one oil analogy on this one.
Three-in-one oil was invented in 1894 by the inventor George W. Cole of New Jersey.
Its name is derived from the oil's ability to clean, lubricate and protect. Originally, the oil was used for bicycles.
How is the Trinity like three-in-one oil? Faith in God frees us from sin's hold on us. As a result, we become spiritual cleansed of sin. This arises from the belief that Jesus died for our sins.
What part of the Trinity is like lubrication? The Holy Spirit moves the godly to act, speak and think in a way which respects God, holds other people in high respect and moves one to behave, speak and think in a loving and kind manner.
Indeed, in the Bible, oil represents the Holy Spirit:
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on me;
because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the humble.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to those who are bound..." — Isaiah 61:1
At the root of this is God's love for us because He is our protector. However, all of this refers to the spiritual realm, the deeper meaning of God in the believer's life.
For God is great in that He is Jesus, He is the Holy Spirit and He is the Father; yet He is all-loving but harms none.
References:
3-in-1 oil: http://www.3inone.com/about/history/
Oil as a symbol in the Bible represents the Holy Spirit: http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/1107/Oil-as-Symbol.htm
Trinity: God in three persons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity#God_in_three_persons
Hypostatis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypostasis_(religion)
I'm going with the three-in-one oil analogy on this one.
Three-in-one oil was invented in 1894 by the inventor George W. Cole of New Jersey.
Its name is derived from the oil's ability to clean, lubricate and protect. Originally, the oil was used for bicycles.
How is the Trinity like three-in-one oil? Faith in God frees us from sin's hold on us. As a result, we become spiritual cleansed of sin. This arises from the belief that Jesus died for our sins.
What part of the Trinity is like lubrication? The Holy Spirit moves the godly to act, speak and think in a way which respects God, holds other people in high respect and moves one to behave, speak and think in a loving and kind manner.
Indeed, in the Bible, oil represents the Holy Spirit:
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on me;
because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the humble.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to those who are bound..." — Isaiah 61:1
At the root of this is God's love for us because He is our protector. However, all of this refers to the spiritual realm, the deeper meaning of God in the believer's life.
For God is great in that He is Jesus, He is the Holy Spirit and He is the Father; yet He is all-loving but harms none.
References:
3-in-1 oil: http://www.3inone.com/about/history/
Oil as a symbol in the Bible represents the Holy Spirit: http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/1107/Oil-as-Symbol.htm
Trinity: God in three persons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity#God_in_three_persons
Hypostatis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypostasis_(religion)
20101221
Water
If in thirst you drink water from a cup, you see God in it. Those who are not in love with God will see only their own faces in it. — Rumi
Water comes down as rain to fill reservoirs. From these reservoirs that was comes to our homes to slake our thirst.
We can also use water to coffee, tea, and other beverages. It is also used to irrigate crops.
Yet we often forget water's source, as many drops of it fall as rain which trickles into lakes from creeks, and flow in streams together into a mighty river to the sea.
Yet the fact of how rain is created is science. Rain is water.
Spiritually, water's significance has greater meaning for Rumi. He lived in a semi-arid city near an oasis. Sometimes it would not rain for days. So for him, water meant so much that he saw God in the cup.
From a religious perspective, this is no delusion. This is of the many deeply spiritual insights that Rumi wrote about.
When I read what Rumi wrote, I feel closer to God.
Water comes down as rain to fill reservoirs. From these reservoirs that was comes to our homes to slake our thirst.
We can also use water to coffee, tea, and other beverages. It is also used to irrigate crops.
Yet we often forget water's source, as many drops of it fall as rain which trickles into lakes from creeks, and flow in streams together into a mighty river to the sea.
Yet the fact of how rain is created is science. Rain is water.
Spiritually, water's significance has greater meaning for Rumi. He lived in a semi-arid city near an oasis. Sometimes it would not rain for days. So for him, water meant so much that he saw God in the cup.
From a religious perspective, this is no delusion. This is of the many deeply spiritual insights that Rumi wrote about.
When I read what Rumi wrote, I feel closer to God.
20101107
Suspension of Disbelief (poem)
A suspension of disbelief
allows the once-born Buddhist
to expand his faith in
a Higher Power and be
reborn as a Christian.
For he finds inspiration
both from the Buddha
and from Jesus Christ with love
the guiding power
yet serves one master alone:
God as he knows him...
allows the once-born Buddhist
to expand his faith in
a Higher Power and be
reborn as a Christian.
For he finds inspiration
both from the Buddha
and from Jesus Christ with love
the guiding power
yet serves one master alone:
God as he knows him...
20101024
Buddhism with a Radical New Attitude
In America, Pure Land Buddhism is incorporating meditation so as to win new converts.
Indeed, each of the sutras have a new meaning, once the Buddhist Church of America priests adapt contemporary changes to meet the changing demographics of their members.
For me, I am adapting my view of the Buddha to widen my open-minded view of God. This is why panentheism appeals to me.
IMHO seeing the multiverse as divine implies that God is great because He created such diversity from the microscopic to the macroscopic level, from quanta to galaxies and every thing.
Although God is beyond oneself, and beyond being itself, in transcending every concept of what I think God is, He too imparts a divine spark to all life.
In my heart-mind, my view of God thus inspired by nature to be more than just the embodiment of the universe.
For God is both the Creator and created as one yet His essence is reflected in each and every creature under the sun. Though He is one, His works are many.
Yet, to be honest, the Godhead is the unknowable, and each of us knows only a small portion of knowledge.
Returning to Pure Land Buddhism, Amida Buddha is not a god but is an anthropomorphical representation of the boundless light of wisdom and the boundless life of compassion.
For it is both wisdom derived from experience which aids us in sharing our lives in a warm and loving way that promotes compassion. Likewise, compassion inspires us to share our spiritual experiences with others so that they too may be inspired to live a fuller life.
Thus I place my faith in Amida.
Indeed, each of the sutras have a new meaning, once the Buddhist Church of America priests adapt contemporary changes to meet the changing demographics of their members.
For me, I am adapting my view of the Buddha to widen my open-minded view of God. This is why panentheism appeals to me.
IMHO seeing the multiverse as divine implies that God is great because He created such diversity from the microscopic to the macroscopic level, from quanta to galaxies and every thing.
Although God is beyond oneself, and beyond being itself, in transcending every concept of what I think God is, He too imparts a divine spark to all life.
In my heart-mind, my view of God thus inspired by nature to be more than just the embodiment of the universe.
For God is both the Creator and created as one yet His essence is reflected in each and every creature under the sun. Though He is one, His works are many.
Yet, to be honest, the Godhead is the unknowable, and each of us knows only a small portion of knowledge.
Returning to Pure Land Buddhism, Amida Buddha is not a god but is an anthropomorphical representation of the boundless light of wisdom and the boundless life of compassion.
For it is both wisdom derived from experience which aids us in sharing our lives in a warm and loving way that promotes compassion. Likewise, compassion inspires us to share our spiritual experiences with others so that they too may be inspired to live a fuller life.
Thus I place my faith in Amida.
20051116
All is one
All is in One – One is in All.
All things are present in Oneness,
Oneness is present in all things.
My ego-ness is present in the Absolute,
The Absolute is present in my ego-ness.
All beings are present in the Buddha,
The Buddha is present in all beings.
Nirvana is present in samsara,
Samsara is present in Nirvana.
The cosmos is present in each separate thing,
Each separate thing is present in the cosmos.
Commentary:
All things in this universe are a dynamic part of the Absolute (Godhead).
All is one means Buddha Nature is in all things.
As an individual it means that I am not separate from the people I know, have known and will come to know, be it my parents, my brother and sister, my friends, and even complete strangers.
I owe my birth to my parents, how I conduct myself with others to them and my siblings, as well as my friends.
Thus we are all part of the Absolute. Indeed the Oneness is all, even for you and I.
All things are present in Oneness,
Oneness is present in all things.
My ego-ness is present in the Absolute,
The Absolute is present in my ego-ness.
All beings are present in the Buddha,
The Buddha is present in all beings.
Nirvana is present in samsara,
Samsara is present in Nirvana.
The cosmos is present in each separate thing,
Each separate thing is present in the cosmos.
Commentary:
All things in this universe are a dynamic part of the Absolute (Godhead).
All is one means Buddha Nature is in all things.
As an individual it means that I am not separate from the people I know, have known and will come to know, be it my parents, my brother and sister, my friends, and even complete strangers.
I owe my birth to my parents, how I conduct myself with others to them and my siblings, as well as my friends.
Thus we are all part of the Absolute. Indeed the Oneness is all, even for you and I.
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