10-7-07 HUMILITY

Holy Mystery
As we join together this morning in the light of your presence,
we are reminded that we are all one in the divine heart.
May this longing for oneness transform our world.
May our hearts be opened, in the very depths where we find you, God,
May our hearts be open to the glorious expression of your love found in all our religions and spiritual traditions.
You speak to us, Holy Mystery, in this diversity, and we are enriched and humbled by the breadth and depth of your Words.
May our gathering together this morning signify our hopes for the harmony of our planet, the alleviation of suffering, food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and respect for the poor. May this flame be a testimony of our willingness to struggle together toward the peace of inclusiveness, loving all and embracing all in the family of creation.
Amen.



Life is a lesson in humility.
James Mathew Barrie

We often confuse humility with timidity. Humility is not clothing ourselves in an attitude of self-abasement or self-denigration. Humility is all about maintaining our pride about who we are, about our achievements, about our worth – but without arrogance – it is the antithesis of hubris, that excessive, arrogant pride which often leads to the derailment of [many] as it does with the downfall of the tragic hero in Greek drama. It’s about a quiet confidence without the need for a meretricious selling of our wares. It’s about being content to let others discover the layers of our talents without having to boast about them. It’s a lack of arrogance, not a lack of [assertiveness] in pursuit of achievement.
Bruna Martinuzzi



The Toddler’s Creed
If I want it, it’s mine.
If I give it to you, then change my mind, it’s mine.
If I can take it away from you by force, it’s mine.
If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
If we are playing with something together, then all the pieces are mine.
If it looks just like the one I used to have at home, it’s mine.
A sign in a nursery school


Walking a spiritual path . . . means that we are trying to be a little less toddler-like. Lama Surya Das



Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to anunderstanding of ourselves.-- C.G. Jung


An epoch will come when people will disclaim kinship with us as we disclaim kinship with the monkey. Kahil Gibran



Humility cannot be an observance by itself, For it does not lend itself to being deliberately practiced. It is, however, an indispensable test of ahimsa, non-harm. In one who has ahimsa in him it becomes a part of his very nature. … To cultivate humility is tantamount to cultivating hypocrisy ….
Gandhi

The King's Humility
One day a sage came to a King for an interview. The sage had to wait for a long time because the King was very busy. Finally, the King said he could come in.
When the sage entered the hall, the first thing he did was to take off his hat and bow to the King. Immediately the King took off his crown and bowed to the sage. The ministers and others who were around the King asked, "What are you doing? He took off his hat because he is an ordinary man. But you are the King. Why should you have to take off your crown?"
The King said to his ministers, "You fools, do you think I wish to remain inferior to an ordinary man? He is humble and modest. His humility is a peerless virtue'. He showed his respect to me. If I did not take off my crown, then I would be showing less humility than an ordinary man, and I would be defeated by him. I f I am the King, I should be better than everybody in everything. That is why I took off my crown and bowed to him!”
Hindu story


Directly if we imagine ourselves to be something, there is egotism. If a man who keeps observances is proud of keeping them, they will lose much, if not, all of their value. And a man who is proud of his virtue, then becomes a curse to society. … Our existence as embodied beings is purely momentary. What are 100 years in eternity? But if we shatter the chains of egotism and melt into the ocean of humanity, we shall share its dignity. . .
How is it possible to cultivate humility? It develops of itself if we understand the spirit of our observances. Can anyone who aspires to follow truth ever be a proud man?
Gandhi


In humility is the greatest freedom.
As long as you have to defend the imaginary self that you think is important, you lose your peace of heart. As soon as you compare that shadow with the shadows of other people, you lose all joy, because you have begun to trade in unrealities and there is no joy in things that do not exist.
thomas merton



In his acclamation, “You are humility," Francis establishes the theological foundation of minority. Francis chose humility as the chief characteristic of his brotherhood because humility characterizes the self-revelation of God: Though he [Christ Jesus] was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness (Phil 2:6-7).


A liberated soul knows that he is not the doer. He knows and feels that he is a mere instrument for the higher power. It is this awareness that enables him to be a channel for divine light. A liberated soul does not deal with his own individual will and individual freedom; he seeks only to be a channel for the Divine Will.
"Because I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of the one who sent me." - Jesus Christ [1]
This humility is only possible when a person has subdued his ego. When our ego is predominant we feel that we are the doer. But, if we transcend the dominance of the ego, we learn true humility. This state of consciousness gives does not give us a sense of superiority, but oneness with others. Because of his sense of identification with others a liberated soul will never feel better than others.
"A real spiritual Master will never think that he is superior to anybody. He will feel that it is his bounden duty to be of service to the divinity, to the Supreme in humanity."
Sri Chinmoy


At birth a person is soft and yielding,
at death stiff and hard.
All beings, the grass, the trees:
alive, soft and yielding
dead, stiff and hard.

Therefore the hard and inflexible
are friends of death.
The soft and yielding
are friends of life.

An unyielding army is destroyed.
An unbending tree breaks.
The hard must humble itself
or be otherwise humbled.
The soft will ultimately ascend.

The Tao te Ching, Lao Tzu


The greatest achievement is selflessness.The greatest worth is self-mastery.The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.The greatest precept is continual awareness.The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.The greatest generosity is non-attachment.The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.The greatest patience is humility.The greatest effort is not concerned with results.The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.
Atisha





Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (KJV, Matthew 5:5-9)