Teachings from the Masters (short form)

[TOvA~]

Teaching from Buddha [LoC 1000]

- On life's journey faith
is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day
and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure
life, nothing can destroy him.
- If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.
-
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter
if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own
common sense.
- Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.
- Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
-
Do not speak harshly to any one; those who are spoken to will answer
thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful: blows for blows will
touch thee.
- You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.
-
You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more
deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that
person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in
the entire universe deserve your love and affection.
- I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.
-
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then
the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by
demons, heaven or hell.
- Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
-
The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will
become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are
you freed.
- The secret of health for both mind and body is not to
mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate
troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.
- The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.
- A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering
- No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.
-
Pay no attention to the faults of others, things done or left undone by
others. Consider only what by oneself is done or left undone.
-
Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of
the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being
shared.
- Never in this world can hatred be stilled by hatred; it will be stilled by non-hatred - this is the law Eternal.
-
Once a man came unto me and denounced me on account of my observing the
Way and practicing great loving-kindness. But I kept silent and did not
answer him. The denunciation ceased. Then I asked him. 'If you bring a
present to your neighbour and he accepts it not; does the present come
back to you?' He replied, 'It will.' I said, 'You denounce me now, but
as I accept it not, you must take the wrong deed back on your own
person. It is like echo succeeding sound, it is like shadow following
object; you never escape the effect of your own evil deeds. Be therefore
mindful, and cease from doing evil.
- He who never thinks of anything as "mine" does not feel the lack of anything - he is never worried by a sense of loss.
-
All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes
and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in
relation to everything else.
- However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?
- Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.
- Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.
- It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.
- The greatest prayer is patience.
- There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.
-
Wherever there is light, there is shadow; wherever there is length,
there is shortness; wherever there is white, there is black. Just like
these, as the self-nature of things can not exist alone, they are called
non-substantial.
- When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.
- No one person can ever change the truth, but the truth, once learned, can and will change the person.
- What we think, we become.


Teachings from Mahavira [LoC 999]

- Conquer anger by forgiveness, pride by humility, deceit by straight-fowardness, and greed by contentment.
-
All living beings desire to live. They detest sorrow and death and
desire a long and happy life. Hence, one should not inflict pain on any
creature, nor have any feeling of antipathy or enmity.
- One should be friendly toward all creatures.
- Only the one who has transcended fear can experience equanimity.
-
Equanimity does not mean sitting around inactive while things are
happening, or escaping from the world, or suppressing one's feelings.
Equanimity is operating from the state of supreme watchfulness without
an iota of attachment or aversion. But fully imbued with unconditional
love and compassion.
- Just as you do not like misery, in the same
way others also do not like it. Knowing this, you should do unto them
what you want them to do unto you.
- To kill any living being amounts
to killing one self. Compassion to others is compassion to one's own
self. Therefore one should avoid violence like poison and thorn that
cause pain.
- Don't be proud if you gain. Nor be sorry if you lose.
- The greatest mistake of a soul is non-recognition of its real self and can only be corrected by recognizing itself.
- Silence and Self-control is non-violence.
- Everybody can attain God-hood by making supreme efforts in the right direction.
- Every soul is in itself absolutely omniscient and blissful. The bliss does not come from outside.
- Have compassion towards all living beings. Hatred leads destruction.
- Respect for all living beings is non-violence.
- All human beings are miserable due to their own faults, and they themselves can be happy by correcting these faults.
- Non-violence is the highest religion.
-
A man is seated on top of a tree in the midst of a burning forest. He
sees all living beings perish. But he doesn't realize that the same fate
is soon to overtake him also. That man is fool.
- Fight with yourself, why fight with external foes? He, who conquers himself through himself, will obtain happiness.
-
All breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be
slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven
away.
- Desistance from sin makes one entirely happy.
- Non-violence and kindness to living beings is kindness to oneself.
-
A living body is not merely an integration of limbs and flesh but it is
the abode of the soul which potentially has perfect perception, perfect
knowledge, perfect power, and perfect bliss.
- Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture, or kill any creature or living being.
- Where there is inner desire for material gain and possession of worldly objects of enjoyments, there is greed.
- Man should respect all agencies of nature and live in co-existence with them in a harmonious way.
-
Follow the path of righteousness and waste not a single moment. Life is
full of obstacles and so on should not postpone anything for tomorrow.
- The more you get, the more you want, desire increases with every gain.
-
Just as a turtle withdraw all its limbs into its own shell, in the same
manner a wise man widthdraws his senses from all evil by spiritual
exertion.


Teachings from Plotinus [peak LoC 985]

- God is not external to anyone, but is present with all things, though they are ignorant that he is so.
-
Being is desirable because it is identical with Beauty, and Beauty is
loved because it is Being. We ourselves possess Beauty when we are true
to our own being; ugliness is in going over to another order; knowing
ourselves, we are beautiful; in self-ignorance, we are ugly.
-
Withdraw into yourself and look. And if you do not find yourself
beautiful yet, act as does the creator of a statue that is to be made
beautiful: he cuts away here, he smoothes there, he makes this line
lighter, this other purer, until a lovely face has grown his work. So do
you also: cut away all that is excessive, straighten all that is
crooked, bring light to all that is overcast, labor to make all one glow
or beauty and never cease chiseling your statue, until there shall
shine out on you from it the godlike splendor of virtue, until you see
the perfect goodness surely established in the stainless shrine.
-
The sensitive eye can never be able to survey, the orb of the sun,
unless strongly endued with solar fire, and participating largely of the
vivid ray. Everyone therefore must become divine, and of godlike
beauty, before he can gaze upon a god and the beautiful itself.
- All things are filled full of signs, and it is a wise man who can learn about one thing from another.
-
If we speak and write, it is but as guides to those who long to see: we
send them to the place itself, bidding them from words to the Vision:
the teaching is of the Path and the Plan, seeing is the work of each
Soul for itself.
- Let go... and let the Spirit flow into you.


Teachings from David R. Hawkins [LoC 981]

-
To understand the nature of God, it is necessary only to know the
nature of love itself. To truly know love is to know and understand God;
and to know God is to understand love.
- Survival is me, ego, the
animal is driven by hungryness, never enough, the core of the ego is
wantingness. It wants more of everything, is greedy, desiring,
insatiable, you cannot satisfy it. The average person is driven by this
instinct, this primitivism. This is the basic nature of the ego,
survival. Once you know that, you can have compassion for it [the ego]
and treat it like a pet.
- The true destiny of man is to realize the
truth of the divinity of one’s source and creator which is ever present
within that which has been created and is the creator ? the Self.
-
We change the world not by what we say or do but as a consequence of
what we have become. Thus, every spiritual aspirant serves the world.
-
Spiritual progress is based on acceptance as a matter of free will and
choice and thus everyone experiences only the world of their own
choosing. The universe is totally free of victims and all eventualities
are the unfolding of inner choice and decision.
- Spiritual truth,
then, is universally true and without variation through time or place.
It always brings peace, harmony, accord, love, compassion, and mercy.
Truth can be identified by these qualities. All else is the invention of
the ego.
- Out of an unrestricted love for God arises the
willingness to surrender all motives except to serve God completely. To
be a servant of God becomes one's goal rather than enlightenment. To be a
perfect channel for God's love is to surrender completely and to
eliminate the goal seeking of the spiritual ego. Joy itself becomes the
initiator of further spiritual work. From joy and humility, the rest of
the process is certain.
- Presume that the world's actual 'purpose'
is perfect and fully known only to God. See it as neutral overall but
with the benefit that it provides optimal opportunity for spiritual
growth and the evolution of consciousness. It is a school for the
enlightenment and the revelation of Divinity whereby
consciousness/awareness reawakens to is Source. Thus, to pursue
enlightenment in and of itself serves the world and God.
- Therefore, to benefit the world, it is necessary to change not the world but oneself.
- Be with the world without resisting.
- Trying to change the world is presuming you know better than God how the world should be.
-
Don't try to heal the planet. That is the province of Divinity. Try to
become the most loving creature you can become. Become the most perfect
human being you can be.
- One's spiritual evolution is of greater
value to society than any form of doingness. The level of compassion
radiates out and contributes silently to mankind's wisdom.
- To endeavor to evolve spiritually is the greatest gift one can give.
-
Ask for direction and divine assistance and surrender all personal will
through devotion. Dedicate one’s life to the service of God. Commit to
the goal of unconditional love and compassion for all life in all its
expression and surrender all judgment to God.
- Choose to be
easygoing, benign, forgiving, compassionate and unconditionally loving
towards all life in all its expressions without exception, including
oneself. Focus on unselfish service and the giving of love,
consideration, and respect to all creatures.

Teachings from Huangbo Xiyun [LoC 960]

- There’s only the One Mind.
- Enlightenment is not gradual, but sudden. It is the life’s highest purpose.
- Dhyana practice should concentrate on eliminating all thoughts.
- Conceptual thinking and its results are totally false.
-
Life dedicated to gathering merits is a waste of time; and as far as
the individual karma is concerned, it’s got time-limited benefits.
- You are not the body, you are not the mind.
- All sense-based knowledge is unreal.
- No seeking! You are already THAT!


Teachings from Thea Alexander [LoC 915]

-
All that is One, All that is is perfect for its time and space, All
that exists within your life is put there by you for your own evolution.
- "From a purely micro view, karma doesn't exist because it is not perceived as existing."
"From
a mid-point of evolution karma is acknowledged as the logical
explanation for one's fortunes and misfortunes. It is believed to be
real and is, therefore, real as a cause-and-effect element within a
continuous time perspective.
"From a more Macro view, however, time
is simultaneous, and karma is understood to be a valid element of a
limited perspective regarding time. Fortunes and misfortunes are seen,
from the broader perspective, not as cause and effect, but as learning
opportunities specifically and carefully chosen by each soul for its own
development."
- All pain, misery, and disease are the results of
resisting that which is inevitable-that which we ourselves have chosen
to grow on.
- The measure of a mind's evolution is its acceptance of
the unacceptable. What may be unacceptable at the micro level is always
acceptable at the Macro level.
- Micro man is not worried by
successes, only by failures. Since he is not aware of the cumulative
effect, he doesn't realize that every failure is a necessary and
successful step toward complete insight. In other words, each failure is
a small insight success bringing one that much closer to total insight
success.


Others Source:

- We cannot offer
shortcuts to enlightenment. Enlightenment is, of the moment, an opening
to intelligent infinity. It can only be accomplished by the self, for
the self. Another self cannot teach/learn enlightenment, but only
teach/learn information, inspiration, or a sharing of love, of mystery,
of the unknown that makes the other-self reach out and begin the seeking
process that ends in a moment, but who can know when an entity will
open the gate to the present?
- Why be concerned with the grass that
blooms, withers and dies in its season only to grow once again due to
the infinite love and light of the one Creator? This is the message we
bring. Each entity is only superficially that which blooms and dies. In
the deeper sense there is no end to being-ness.
- The quickest way to
learn is to deal with other-selves. This is a much greater catalyst
than dealing with the self. Dealing with the self without otherselves is
akin to living without mirrors. Then the self cannot see the fruits of
its beingness.
- Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.
- Nothing external to you has any power over you.
- Every wall is a door.
- Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
- What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.
- God enters by a private door into every individual.
- Happy is the hearing man; unhappy the speaking man.
- Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.
- Use what language you will, you can never say anything but what you are.
- The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but deliverance from fear.
- And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.
-
In truth there is no right or wrong. There is no polarity for all will
be, as you would say, reconciled at some point in your dance through the
mind/body/spirit complex which you amuse yourself by distorting in
various ways at this time. This distortion is not in any case necessary.
It is chosen by each of you as an alternative to understanding the
complete unity of thought which binds all things. You are not speaking
of similar or somewhat like entities or things. You are every thing,
every being, every emotion, every event, every situation. You are unity.
You are infinity. You are love/light, light/love. You are. This is the
Law of One.


Unconditionnal love, Unselfishly Loving - Caring, Kindness, Compassion, Giving, and Harmlessness.

Those who know Not that they are One,
Act not as One.
Those who act not as One,
Create not Love, but suffering and disharmony.
What you create, you receive.
The Fruits of Your acts will follow your days.

"Above All, Love.”

God is not Loving
God is not Unloving
God is Love
Give Love and You Give God
Give Love and You Get God

The Universal One is Love

Find Oneness at All Cost.
In finding Oneness, you find God.
In finding Oneness, you find yourself.
In finding Oneness, you find Real Love.
Living as One, is to Unselfishly Love All
Living as One, is to Unselfishly Love yourself.
To find Oneness, Unselfishly Love others,
Before yourself.

True Love is Unselfish.
True Love is Givingness.
True Love flows out like the waters,
Nurturing all who would drink from it.
True Love does as the Stars.
True Love does as the Sun - it shines
on the evil as well as the righteous.
True Love seeks nothing in return.

True Love is Untainted by Wants.
True Love desires only furtherance of True Love
True Love is Strong in the Right.
True Love is Indignant in the face of Deceit.
True Love is Kind.
True Love is Compassionate.
True Love is Caring.
True Love is Creation.

To become Truly Loving,
Find someone who Truly Loves.
Empty Yourself, and let their Love fill you.
Then keep not the Love you have found
to yourself.
For only in giving it away,
Will you always have it.

Unselfish Love is the Way of Daily Balance.