spirituality – Page 2 – freethinking.me

9 February 2009

Be a Mirror

The preacher said, “The best thing that we can do is to leave everything in God’s hands. Realize that only he knows what is best for us. Don’t insist on your way but let God decide your path.”

Replied the master, “If I followed your advice, I would wake up everyday and do nothing. What you are seemingly advocating as courageous faith is really a cowardly act of avoiding responsibility. What your God would probably want you to do is to have some spine and own up to the decisions you make. Realize that whatever happens to you is no one’s fault but your own (yes, it’s not even God’s fault even though you’re too afraid to admit that you blame him). Realize too, that nothing is ever good or bad. It is only within a particular situation or frame of reference that they are good or bad for you.”

“This is the key to wisdom: Be a mirror. A mirror reflects but never judges whether what is reflected is beautiful or ugly. It simply shows reality as it is. Be a mirror. Be silent. Judge not.”

28 November 2008

The Inn

The master came storming into the palace. So serious was his mien that none of the guards dared stop him. He came upon the throne room and faced the king.

“What is it you want?” said the king.

“I need a place to sleep in this inn,” replied the master.

“This is no inn,” replied the king. “This is my palace.”

“Who owned this palace before you?” asked the master.

“Why, my father, of course, who was king before I was,” replied the king.

“And before that?” asked the master again.

“Well, that would be my grandfather, my father’s father.” replied the king.

“I see,” said the master. “And this place where people stay for a while and then move on, did I hear you say it was not an inn?”

27 November 200827 November 2008

Robbing God of His Glory

The master and his disciples walked past a small gathering. A preacher was in the middle of the crowd and he declared, “We should be dismayed that God is robbed of his glory in this sinful world where people slander him and worship all sorts of idols.”

Later, the master remarked to his disciples, “If this God is indeed so great and powerful, I don’t understand how he can be robbed of his glory. Saying that God is robbed of his glory is like saying that you contaminate the entire ocean by pissing on the beach.”

30 September 20083 October 2008

Surrender

The seeker approached the master and said, “I am ready to give up everything in order to find out the truth about God. I will give up my job, my money, my family, everything. Tell me, what must I do?”

“That is all well and good but there is one more thing you must give up for you to continue you quest,” said the master.

“And what is that?” said the seeker.

“You must give up your beliefs about God,” said the master.

“But why? I am trying to find God and you tell me to give up my belief?” said the seeker. He was shocked at the idea.

The master replied, “Your belief, your concept about God is the very thing that is hindering you from seeing him. Every time you say or hear the word ‘God’, it conforms to what you believe God to be. But a God who is contained in your definition about him is not the real God. A God who can reside in the finite space of your mind cannot be the infinite God.”

“Drop all your concepts of God. See reality as it is, unfiltered by the colored lenses of your beliefs. That is the only time true seeking can begin.” concluded the master.

28 September 200830 September 2008

What Is More Sacred?

The master got caught in a heavy rain one night and was soaking wet when he saw a Buddhist monastery nearby. He knocked hard on the gates until a monk came and opened the gate.

“What do you want?” the monk asked, thinking that the drenched figure was a beggar.

“I just need a place to stay out of the rain,” said the master. “May I stay here for the night?”

“No, I’m sorry but this isn’t an inn,” said the monk.

“Please, let me just stay in the temple hall. I can sleep on the floor and be gone early in the morning,” said the master.

The monk considered this for a moment, and in a stern voice said, “Okay, but you better be out of here before the other monks come for their morning prayers.”

“Of course,” answered the master.

A few hours later, that same monk woke up earlier than usual to check and make sure that the unwanted guest would indeed leave early.

When he entered the temple area, he saw the master huddled on the floor with the dying embers of a small campfire by his side. The monk wondered where the man got wood for a fire when he suddenly saw an empty space where a wooden Buddha statue had once been. Horrified, the monk shook the master.

“Hey, you there! Wake up! What have you done? You burned the Buddha! You burned the Buddha!” cried the monk.

The master woke up and hearing the accusations of the angry monk, picked up his walking stick and sifted through the embers of the dying fire.

“Now what are you doing? Didn’t you hear me? You did a terrible thing! You burned the Buddha!” said the monk.

“What are you talking about?” said the master. “I don’t see the bones of this Buddha among the ashes. You must be a very bad monk, because you regard a lifeless statue as more sacred than a live person.”