1-27-08
I am, O my God,but a tiny seed which you have sownin the soil of Your love,and caused to spring forth by the hand of Your bounty.This seed craves, therefore,in its inmost being,for the waters of Your mercyand the living fountain of Your grace.Send down upon it,from the heaven of Your loving-kindness,that which will enable it to flourish beneath Your shadowand within the borders of Your court.Thou art That Who waters the hearts of all from Your plenteous streamand the fountain of Your living waters.Praised be to God,the Lord of the worlds.
baha'i prayers - bahá'u'lláh
Martin Luther King
Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, on 17 November 1957.
How do you go about loving your enemies? I think the first thing is this: In order to love your enemies, you must begin by analyzing self.
…
And this is what Jesus means when he said: "How is it that you see the splinter in your brother’s eye and fail to see the plank in your own eye?" And this is one of the tragedies of human nature. So we begin to love our enemies and love those persons that hate us whether in collective life or individual life by looking at ourselves.
A second thing that an individual must do in seeking to love his enemy is to discover the element of good in his enemy, and every time you begin to hate that person and think of hating that person, realize that there is some good there and look at those good points which will over-balance the bad points.
I’ve said to you on many occasions that each of us is something of a schizophrenic personality. We’re split up and divided against ourselves. And there is something of a civil war going on within all of our lives. There is a recalcitrant South of our soul revolting against the North of our soul. And there is this continual struggle within the very structure of every individual life. There is something within all of us that causes us to cry out with Ovid, the Latin poet, and the Apostle Paul, "I see and approve the better things of life, but the evil things I do."
There is something within all of us that causes us to cry out with Plato that the human personality is like a charioteer with two headstrong horses, each wanting to go in different directions. There is something within each of us that causes us to cry out with Goethe, "There is enough stuff in me to make both a gentleman and a rogue."
That within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. When we come to see this, we take a different attitude toward individuals. The person who hates you most has some good in him; even the nation that hates you most has some good in it; even the race that hates you most has some good in it. And when you come to the point that you look in the face of every man and see deep down within him what religion calls "the image of God," you begin to love him in spite of what he does, you see God’s image there. Discover the element of good in your enemy. And as you seek to hate him, find the center of goodness and place your attention there and you will take a new attitude.
Another way that you love your enemy is this: When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time, which you must not do it. There will come a time when the person who has misused you most, the person who has gossiped about you most, the person who has spread false rumors about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat that person. It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job; it might be in terms of helping that person to make some move in life. That’s the time you must do it. That is the meaning of love. In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It’s not merely an emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system.
And this is what Jesus means, I think, in this very passage when he says, "Love your enemy." And it’s significant that he does not say, "Like your enemy." Like is a sentimental something, an affectionate something. There are a lot of people that I find it difficult to like. I don’t like what they do to me. I don’t like what they say about me and other people. I don’t like their attitudes. I don’t like some of the things they’re doing. I don’t like them. But Jesus says love them. And love is greater than like. Love is understanding, redemptive goodwill for all men, so that you love everybody, because God loves them. You refuse to do anything that will defeat an individual, because you have agape in your soul. And here you come to the point that you love the individual who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does. This is what Jesus means when he says, "Love your enemy." This is the way to do it. When the opportunity presents itself when you can defeat your enemy, you must not do it.
[And now] to go down into the question of why we should love our enemies. I think the first reason that we should love our enemies, and I think this was at the very center of Jesus’ thinking, is this: that hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe. If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back and you hit me back and go on, you see, that goes on ad infinitum. It just never ends. Somewhere somebody must have a little sense, and that’s the strong person. The strong person is the person who can cut off the chain of hate, the chain of evil.
… Somewhere somebody must have some sense. We must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction for all and everybody. Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe and inject within the very structure of the universe, that strong and powerful element of love.
There’s another reason why you should love your enemies, and that is because hate distorts the personality of the hater. We usually think of what hate does for the individual hated or the groups hated. But it is even more tragic, it is even more ruinous and injurious to the individual who hates. You just begin hating somebody, and you will begin to do irrational things. You can’t see straight when you hate. You can’t walk straight when you hate. You can’t stand upright. Your vision is distorted. There is nothing more tragic than to see an individual whose heart is filled with hate. He comes to the point that he becomes a pathological case. … For the person who hates, the beautiful becomes ugly and the ugly becomes beautiful. For the person who hates, the good becomes bad and the bad becomes good. For the person who hates, the true becomes false and the false becomes true. That’s what hate does. You can’t see right. The symbol of objectivity is lost. Hate destroys the very structure of the personality of the hater.
. . . You want to be integrated with yourself, and the way to be integrated with yourself is be sure that you meet every situation of life with an abounding love… [Jesus] looked at men and said: "Love your enemies; don’t hate anybody." It’s not enough for us just not to hate your friends because—because when you start hating anybody, it destroys the very center of your creative response to life and the universe; so love everybody. Hate at any point is a cancer that gnaws away at the very vital center of your life and your existence. It is like eroding acid that eats away the best and the objective center of your life. So Jesus says love, because hate destroys the hater as well as the hated.
Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. That’s why Jesus says, "Love your enemies." Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. You just keep loving people and keep loving them, even though they’re mistreating you. Here’s the person who is a neighbor, and this person is doing something wrong to you and all of that. Just keep being friendly to that person. Keep loving them. Don’t do anything to embarrass them. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with bitterness because they’re mad because you love them like that. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.
STORY of PRAHLAD
STORY of OMAR OSAMA BIN LADEN
Please call me by my true names
Call Me by My True Names
Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow because even today I still arrive.
Look deeply: I arrive in every second to be a bud on a spring branch, to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile, learning to sing in my new nest, to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower, to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, in order to fear and to hope. The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death of all that are alive.
I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,and I am the bird which,
when spring comes, arrives in time to eat the mayfly.
I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond, and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,
feeds itself on the frog.
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks, and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to Uganda.
I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea pirate,and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving.
I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my hands,and I am the man who has to pay his "debt of blood" to, my people,dying slowly in a forced labor camp.
My joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom in all walks of life.My pain if like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names, so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once, so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names, so I can wake up, and so the door of my heart can be left open, the door of compassion.
Thich Nhat Hanh
image of Godborn of God's breathvessel of divine Love after his likeness dwelling of Godcapacity for the infinite eternally known chosen of God home of the Infinite Majesty abiding in the Son called from eternity life in the Lord temple of the Holy Spirit branch of Christ receptacle of the Most High wellspring of Living Water heir of the kingdom the glory of Godabode of the Trinity.God sings this litany eternally in his Word. This is who you are.
a litany of the person –
anonymous trappist monk
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Ahimsa, January 20, 2008
Opening Prayer 1-20-07
Send Thy peace O Lord, which isperfect and everlasting,that our souls may radiate peace.Send Thy peace O Lord, that we may think, act and speak harmoniously.Send Thy peace O Lord, that we may be contented and thankful forThy bountiful gifts.Send Thy peace O Lord, that amidstour worldly strife, we may enjoy Thy bliss.Send Thy peace O Lord, that we may endure all, tolerate all, in the thought of Thy grace and mercy.Send Thy peace O Lord, that our lives may become a Divine vision and in Thy light,all darkness may vanish.Send Thy peace O Lord, our Father and Mother,that we Thy children on Earth may allunite in one family.
prayer for peace -
pir-o-murshid inayat khan - 1921
Violence at its worst may be non-physical. A violent act is a desperate act. It is the demand of a person to force another to honor his desire and his need to be cared for, to be understood above the other’s need. It is a plea. A begging or a demand to have one’s need to belong fulfilled.
Howard Thurman
Non violence arises from a deep inner unity and an expression of divine oneness – an endless sea of mercy.
Non violence of the Divine calls us to an act of transformation, to recognize that power and to never believe that negativity is a final condition.
No one can prevent us from loving.
Beverly Lanzetta
If everything is connected, we cannot disconnect.To disconnect is not a real choice.This is why we are always spiritual no matter what we do.Every alcoholic is spiritual. All our brothers and sisters are spiritual.We may not be behaving correctly, but nevertheless, we arespiritual. Our choice is to live out of harmony with spiritual ways orin harmony with spiritual ways. Everything is spiritual.Great Spirit, give me the knowledgeto be in harmony with the spirit today.
It's all spirit and it's all connected."--
Grandfather William Commanda, ALGONQUIN
What is this self inside us, this silent observer,Severe and speechless critic, who can terrorize us,And urge us on to futile activity,And in the end, judge us still more severely,For the errors into which his own reproaches drove us?--
T. S. Eliot
Self-acceptance is my refusal to be in an adversarial relationship tomyself.-- Nathaniel Branden
Everytime we heal ourselves we participate in non-violence.
Beverly Lanzetta
Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
Howard Thurman
Contributor: Rachel
Location: Bloomington, IL
Country: United States of America
Series: Contemporary
This I Believe
Growing up, the name Douglas Wright was a source of fear: a dread that the man who murdered my maternal grandparents would somehow be able to hurt me too. He was my boogeyman, my nighttime terror; as a child, I had a vague impression that he existed somewhere, but it was not until I realized the true meaning of my grandparents' murder that the man became a source of bitter anger.I stayed angry from the time I was eleven till the summer I turned thirteen. My mother and I returned to California, an odyssey which was as essential as it was heartbreaking. With every turn down the streets of Fairfield, I saw my grandparents' ghosts: I wondered as we passed every street, every park, "Where they here? Did they laugh as they watched their children play? What would it have been like to have met them, seen them, spent time with them?"One morning, my mother took me to the Fairfield Public Library; I was allowed, for the first time, to view the legal details surrounding my grandparents' murder, Douglas Wright's trial, and his subsequent conviction.What struck me most was a quote from his mother: she told the media, the entire state of California, that she loved her son and planned to stand by him. Reading that quote became one of the most important moments of my life: Douglas Wright was a son he was no longer a vague impression of a night terror. He was someone's son, and she loved him more than life.Before that moment, I had never realized that Douglas Wright is not solely a murderer but is also a son, a living, breathing person. There must have been, at some point in his life, moments during which he felt love for others. All people, even murderers, are human beings they are capable of feeling love and being loved. I cannot hate Douglas Wright; I have not hated him since the summer I turned thirteen. His mother loved him, and I cannot hate him. I can only remember the love I have been given, and use that love to forgive
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
St Francis
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
St Francis
Send Thy peace O Lord, which isperfect and everlasting,that our souls may radiate peace.Send Thy peace O Lord, that we may think, act and speak harmoniously.Send Thy peace O Lord, that we may be contented and thankful forThy bountiful gifts.Send Thy peace O Lord, that amidstour worldly strife, we may enjoy Thy bliss.Send Thy peace O Lord, that we may endure all, tolerate all, in the thought of Thy grace and mercy.Send Thy peace O Lord, that our lives may become a Divine vision and in Thy light,all darkness may vanish.Send Thy peace O Lord, our Father and Mother,that we Thy children on Earth may allunite in one family.
prayer for peace -
pir-o-murshid inayat khan - 1921
Violence at its worst may be non-physical. A violent act is a desperate act. It is the demand of a person to force another to honor his desire and his need to be cared for, to be understood above the other’s need. It is a plea. A begging or a demand to have one’s need to belong fulfilled.
Howard Thurman
Non violence arises from a deep inner unity and an expression of divine oneness – an endless sea of mercy.
Non violence of the Divine calls us to an act of transformation, to recognize that power and to never believe that negativity is a final condition.
No one can prevent us from loving.
Beverly Lanzetta
If everything is connected, we cannot disconnect.To disconnect is not a real choice.This is why we are always spiritual no matter what we do.Every alcoholic is spiritual. All our brothers and sisters are spiritual.We may not be behaving correctly, but nevertheless, we arespiritual. Our choice is to live out of harmony with spiritual ways orin harmony with spiritual ways. Everything is spiritual.Great Spirit, give me the knowledgeto be in harmony with the spirit today.
It's all spirit and it's all connected."--
Grandfather William Commanda, ALGONQUIN
What is this self inside us, this silent observer,Severe and speechless critic, who can terrorize us,And urge us on to futile activity,And in the end, judge us still more severely,For the errors into which his own reproaches drove us?--
T. S. Eliot
Self-acceptance is my refusal to be in an adversarial relationship tomyself.-- Nathaniel Branden
Everytime we heal ourselves we participate in non-violence.
Beverly Lanzetta
Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
Howard Thurman
Contributor: Rachel
Location: Bloomington, IL
Country: United States of America
Series: Contemporary
This I Believe
Growing up, the name Douglas Wright was a source of fear: a dread that the man who murdered my maternal grandparents would somehow be able to hurt me too. He was my boogeyman, my nighttime terror; as a child, I had a vague impression that he existed somewhere, but it was not until I realized the true meaning of my grandparents' murder that the man became a source of bitter anger.I stayed angry from the time I was eleven till the summer I turned thirteen. My mother and I returned to California, an odyssey which was as essential as it was heartbreaking. With every turn down the streets of Fairfield, I saw my grandparents' ghosts: I wondered as we passed every street, every park, "Where they here? Did they laugh as they watched their children play? What would it have been like to have met them, seen them, spent time with them?"One morning, my mother took me to the Fairfield Public Library; I was allowed, for the first time, to view the legal details surrounding my grandparents' murder, Douglas Wright's trial, and his subsequent conviction.What struck me most was a quote from his mother: she told the media, the entire state of California, that she loved her son and planned to stand by him. Reading that quote became one of the most important moments of my life: Douglas Wright was a son he was no longer a vague impression of a night terror. He was someone's son, and she loved him more than life.Before that moment, I had never realized that Douglas Wright is not solely a murderer but is also a son, a living, breathing person. There must have been, at some point in his life, moments during which he felt love for others. All people, even murderers, are human beings they are capable of feeling love and being loved. I cannot hate Douglas Wright; I have not hated him since the summer I turned thirteen. His mother loved him, and I cannot hate him. I can only remember the love I have been given, and use that love to forgive
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
St Francis
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
St Francis
Ahimsa, January 13, 2008
1-13-08
Practice of Ahimsa (non-harm) develops love. Ahimsa is another name for truth or love. Ahimsa is universal love. It is pure love. It is divine Love. Where there is love, there you will find Ahimsa. Where there is Ahimsa, there you will find love and selfless service. They all go together.
There is one religion - the religion of love, of peace. There is one message, the message of Ahimsa. Ahimsa is a great spiritual force.
Sri Swami Sivananda
Donald Weeks
Donald Weeks, Sanskrit name Janak began studying Kripalu Yoga in 1991, in that same year he met his teacher yogi Amrit Desai, which started the process of transformation.He has lived and worked at the Amrit Yoga Institute for the past 3 1/2 years as music director and audio technician. He shares his joy for chanting and transformation with you today from his heart and his love.
You are the peace of all things calmYou are the place to hide from harmYou are the light that shines in darkYou are the heart's eternal sparkYou are the door that's open wideYou are the guest who waits insideYou are the stranger at the doorYou are the calling of the poorYou are my Lord and with me stillYou are my love, keep me from illYou are the light, the truth, the wayYou are my Saviour this very day.
you are god –
AMEN
Celtic oral tradition - 1st millennium
Beloved, to Thee I raise my whole being,a vessel emptied of self. Accept, O Lord,this my emptiness, and so fill me withThy Self --- Thy Light, Thy Love, ThyLife --- that these Thy precious Giftsmay radiate through me and over-flow the chalice of my heart intothe hearts of all with whom Icome in contact this day,revealing unto themthe beauty ofThy joyandWholenessandtheserenityof Thy Peacewhich nothing can destroy.
prayer of the chalice –
francis nuttall
Practice of Ahimsa (non-harm) develops love. Ahimsa is another name for truth or love. Ahimsa is universal love. It is pure love. It is divine Love. Where there is love, there you will find Ahimsa. Where there is Ahimsa, there you will find love and selfless service. They all go together.
There is one religion - the religion of love, of peace. There is one message, the message of Ahimsa. Ahimsa is a great spiritual force.
Sri Swami Sivananda
Donald Weeks
Donald Weeks, Sanskrit name Janak began studying Kripalu Yoga in 1991, in that same year he met his teacher yogi Amrit Desai, which started the process of transformation.He has lived and worked at the Amrit Yoga Institute for the past 3 1/2 years as music director and audio technician. He shares his joy for chanting and transformation with you today from his heart and his love.
You are the peace of all things calmYou are the place to hide from harmYou are the light that shines in darkYou are the heart's eternal sparkYou are the door that's open wideYou are the guest who waits insideYou are the stranger at the doorYou are the calling of the poorYou are my Lord and with me stillYou are my love, keep me from illYou are the light, the truth, the wayYou are my Saviour this very day.
you are god –
AMEN
Celtic oral tradition - 1st millennium
Beloved, to Thee I raise my whole being,a vessel emptied of self. Accept, O Lord,this my emptiness, and so fill me withThy Self --- Thy Light, Thy Love, ThyLife --- that these Thy precious Giftsmay radiate through me and over-flow the chalice of my heart intothe hearts of all with whom Icome in contact this day,revealing unto themthe beauty ofThy joyandWholenessandtheserenityof Thy Peacewhich nothing can destroy.
prayer of the chalice –
francis nuttall
Ahimsa, January 6, 2008
Jan 6, 2008
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.
Literally speaking, ahimsa means non-violence.
But to me it has much higher, infinitely higher meaning.
It means that you may not offend anybody; you may not harbor uncharitable thought, even in connection with those who you consider your enemies.
To one who follows this doctrine, there are no enemies.
A man who believes in the efficacy of this doctrine finds in the ultimate stage, when he is about to reach the goal,
the whole world at his feet.
If you express your love- Ahimsa-in such a manner that it impresses itself indelibly upon your so called enemy,
he must return that love.
Gandhi
The human capacity for peace – ahimsa – is a capacity affecting every domain of our lives. And so it must be in all of these domains that we explore the dimensions of ahimsa, and hear the voices, which are voices of ahimsa.
http://www.ahimsaberkeley.org/index.php?page=voices-of-ahimsa
There is within us, in even the brightest, most lighthearted among us, a fundamental ‘dis-ease’ that acts like an unquenchable fire that renders the vast majority of us incapable of, in this life, of ever coming to full peace. This desire lies in the marrow of our bones, the deep regions of our soul. All great literature, poetry, art, philosophy, psychology, and religion tries to name and analyze this longing. We are seldom in direct touch with it. And, indeed, the modern world seems set on preventing us from getting in touch with it by covering it with an unending phantasmagoria of entertainment, obsessions, and distractions of every sort. But the longing is there, built into us like a jack in the box that presses for release. That is the hidden hunger that is within all of us. The San people of the Kalahari Desert refer to it as the “Deep Hunger” which is even deeper than the physical hunger of the stomach.
Huston Smith
St. Thomas Aquinas
I have a cause
We need those don’t we?
Otherwise the darkness and the cold get in
and everything starts
to ache.
My soul has a purpose, it is
to love;
if I
do not fulfill
my heart’s vocation
I suffer.
Louder than yelling ...
BY LOOLWA KHAZZOOMSpecial to The ExaminerAFTER THE DOUBLE suicide bombing in Tel Aviv twoweeks ago, all I wanted to do was hide out in my apartment and keep a lowprofile.I was wondering once again if all the heartacheand terror were worth living in Israel. But then a close friend, EliyahuMcLean, a fellow Lowell High School alum and peace activist, e-mailed meabout an Arab-Jewish peace walk after the attack.When he told me that a bus full of Arab teenagerswas coming from the North to join this walk, I felt deeply touched. In myexperience, Arab-Jewish peace events were attended almostexclusively by Jews. I felt inspired that the youths were risking their ownsafety to come to Tel Aviv right after an attack against Israel, to stand sideby side with Jews and condemn the violence. If they could do it, so could I.As I arrived, I noticed an old man with a longwhite kafia to the right, two women with veils to the left, and a large groupof youths in between, speaking Arabic. I wanted to cry from the sense ofsolidarity.A meditation gong rang out to bring all the participants to silence. It rang out again, and we began a four-hour walk fromYaffo through Tel Aviv.Friday afternoons are full of pre-Sabbath hustleand bustle. The contrast between our single-file quiet line and thenoise around us was startling, causing an external and internal impact.Everywhere we went, people asked, "What's thisabout?" We handed them fliers with a full text explaining the walk's mission-- to unite Arabs and Jews as human beings, promoting tolerance andnonviolence. Some people just stood and watched, clearly touched. Others droppedwhat they were doing and joined our walk.Inside, I felt a growing sense of calm. I felt connected to and strengthened by the silent walkers before and after me. I felt that our love for each other as human beings was stronger than all the hatred in the region.Others seemed to share my feeling. "A lot of times in the past," an Arab youth later told me, "when I came to Tel Aviv, people made unpleasant remarks at me as an Arab. I got very upset about that. But now, the people on these walks are always with me in my heart. So I don't pay attention to other people's comments anymore."Against the backdrop of extreme levels of daily violence, the silent expression of human love may be the loudest, most powerful force around
Eternal wellspring of Peace –
May we be drenched with the longing for peace
That we may give ourselves over to peace
Until the earth overflows with peace
As living waters overflow with the seas.
Marcia Falk
Psalm 131 translated by Stephen Mitchell
Lord, my mind is not noisy with desires,
and my heart has satisfied its longing,
I do not care about religion
or anything that is not you.
I have soothed and quieted my soul,
like a child at its mother’s breast.
My soul is as peaceful as a child
sleeping in its mother’s arms.
Amen
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.
Literally speaking, ahimsa means non-violence.
But to me it has much higher, infinitely higher meaning.
It means that you may not offend anybody; you may not harbor uncharitable thought, even in connection with those who you consider your enemies.
To one who follows this doctrine, there are no enemies.
A man who believes in the efficacy of this doctrine finds in the ultimate stage, when he is about to reach the goal,
the whole world at his feet.
If you express your love- Ahimsa-in such a manner that it impresses itself indelibly upon your so called enemy,
he must return that love.
Gandhi
The human capacity for peace – ahimsa – is a capacity affecting every domain of our lives. And so it must be in all of these domains that we explore the dimensions of ahimsa, and hear the voices, which are voices of ahimsa.
http://www.ahimsaberkeley.org/index.php?page=voices-of-ahimsa
There is within us, in even the brightest, most lighthearted among us, a fundamental ‘dis-ease’ that acts like an unquenchable fire that renders the vast majority of us incapable of, in this life, of ever coming to full peace. This desire lies in the marrow of our bones, the deep regions of our soul. All great literature, poetry, art, philosophy, psychology, and religion tries to name and analyze this longing. We are seldom in direct touch with it. And, indeed, the modern world seems set on preventing us from getting in touch with it by covering it with an unending phantasmagoria of entertainment, obsessions, and distractions of every sort. But the longing is there, built into us like a jack in the box that presses for release. That is the hidden hunger that is within all of us. The San people of the Kalahari Desert refer to it as the “Deep Hunger” which is even deeper than the physical hunger of the stomach.
Huston Smith
St. Thomas Aquinas
I have a cause
We need those don’t we?
Otherwise the darkness and the cold get in
and everything starts
to ache.
My soul has a purpose, it is
to love;
if I
do not fulfill
my heart’s vocation
I suffer.
Louder than yelling ...
BY LOOLWA KHAZZOOMSpecial to The ExaminerAFTER THE DOUBLE suicide bombing in Tel Aviv twoweeks ago, all I wanted to do was hide out in my apartment and keep a lowprofile.I was wondering once again if all the heartacheand terror were worth living in Israel. But then a close friend, EliyahuMcLean, a fellow Lowell High School alum and peace activist, e-mailed meabout an Arab-Jewish peace walk after the attack.When he told me that a bus full of Arab teenagerswas coming from the North to join this walk, I felt deeply touched. In myexperience, Arab-Jewish peace events were attended almostexclusively by Jews. I felt inspired that the youths were risking their ownsafety to come to Tel Aviv right after an attack against Israel, to stand sideby side with Jews and condemn the violence. If they could do it, so could I.As I arrived, I noticed an old man with a longwhite kafia to the right, two women with veils to the left, and a large groupof youths in between, speaking Arabic. I wanted to cry from the sense ofsolidarity.A meditation gong rang out to bring all the participants to silence. It rang out again, and we began a four-hour walk fromYaffo through Tel Aviv.Friday afternoons are full of pre-Sabbath hustleand bustle. The contrast between our single-file quiet line and thenoise around us was startling, causing an external and internal impact.Everywhere we went, people asked, "What's thisabout?" We handed them fliers with a full text explaining the walk's mission-- to unite Arabs and Jews as human beings, promoting tolerance andnonviolence. Some people just stood and watched, clearly touched. Others droppedwhat they were doing and joined our walk.Inside, I felt a growing sense of calm. I felt connected to and strengthened by the silent walkers before and after me. I felt that our love for each other as human beings was stronger than all the hatred in the region.Others seemed to share my feeling. "A lot of times in the past," an Arab youth later told me, "when I came to Tel Aviv, people made unpleasant remarks at me as an Arab. I got very upset about that. But now, the people on these walks are always with me in my heart. So I don't pay attention to other people's comments anymore."Against the backdrop of extreme levels of daily violence, the silent expression of human love may be the loudest, most powerful force around
Eternal wellspring of Peace –
May we be drenched with the longing for peace
That we may give ourselves over to peace
Until the earth overflows with peace
As living waters overflow with the seas.
Marcia Falk
Psalm 131 translated by Stephen Mitchell
Lord, my mind is not noisy with desires,
and my heart has satisfied its longing,
I do not care about religion
or anything that is not you.
I have soothed and quieted my soul,
like a child at its mother’s breast.
My soul is as peaceful as a child
sleeping in its mother’s arms.
Amen
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