Religious Thought 294

“This lover of love sings: "Mother! Mother! Mother! Who can fathom your mystery, Your eternal play of love with love? You are divine madness, O goddess, Your love the brilliant crown of madness. Please make this poor poet madly wealthy with the infinite treasure of your love."”

- Ramprasad

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“There is no evil like hatred. And no fortitude like patience.”

- Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"

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“When we are ignorant we live in His prison; when we become prudent we live in His palace; when we fall asleep we become intoxicated; when we are awakened we are in His hands. ”
- Rumi

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“The weakness in our Christian life is that we do not take time to believe that this Divine Love really does delight in us. Love will awaken your faith and strengthen it. Occupy yourself with that love; worship it; wait for it. ”

- Andrew Murray

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“Vision looks inward and becomes duty. Vision looks outward and becomes aspiration. Vision looks upward and becomes faith.”

- Rabbi Stephen S. Wise

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Religious Thought 293

“Love your true Self, Which is naturally happy And peaceful and bright! Awaken to your own nature, And all delusion melts like a dream. ”

- Ashtavakra Gita 18:1

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Gone to the beyond of becoming, you let go of in front, let go of behind, let go of between. With a heart everywhere let go, you don't come again to birth & aging.”

- Dhammapada, 24, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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“In order to think about God, you may compare him with other beings; but remember that he is incomparable. In this way you will live in the house of truth.”

- Ibn Arabi, "Fusus al-hikam

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“Make the habit to remember God, not only during your prayers, but at every hour and minute of the day, for He is everywhere present. ”

- St. Theophan the Recluse, "What Is the Spiritual Life"

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“Man never acts in a manner more resembling God than when he bestows benefits.”

- Philo, Special Laws

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Religious Thought 292

“The adorable one who is seated In the heart rules the breath of life. Unto him all the senses pay their homage. When the dweller in the body breaks out In the freedom from the bonds of flesh, what remains? For this Self is supreme!”

- Katha Upanishad

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“Although there are countless teachings that instruct how to obtain enlightenment in a future life, almost all of them are nothing more than expedients. As the ultimate instruction there is simply no teaching that is superior to the true practice of the awakening to one's own nature.”

- Hakuin, "Zen Master Hakuin"

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“The intelligent person sees with the heart the result from the beginning; the one lacking in knowledge only discovers it at the end. ”
- Rumi
- Mathnawi [V, 2570]

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“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ”

- John 15:18-19 (Revised Standard Version

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“God is of no importance unless he is of extreme importance.”

- Abraham Joshua Heschel, "Man's Quest for God"

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Religious Thought 291

“"The body does this, not I." "My nature is purity." With these thoughts, Whatever he does, He does nothing. But he pretends not to know. He finds freedom in this life, But he acts like an ordinary man. Yet he is not a fool. Happy and bright, He thrives in the world.”

- Ashtavakra Gita 18:25-26

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“The world is apprehended by way of the mind The world is acted upon by way of the mind And all good things and bad Exist in the world by way of the mind.”

- Samyutta Nikaya

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“By the mercy of God Paradise has eight doors one of those is the door of repentance, child. All the others are sometimes open, sometimes shut; but the door of repentance is never closed. Come seize the opportunity: the door is open; carry your baggage there at once.”
- Rumi
- Mathnawi [IV, 2506-2508

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“The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances.”

- Robert Flatt

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“Disaster comes only because of ignorance.”

- Judah HaNasi, Talmud: Baba Bathra

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Religious Thought 290

“Oh my heart! The Supreme Spirit, the Great Master, is near you. Wake up! Wake up! Run to the feet of your Beloved, for your Lord is here. You have slept for untold ages, this morning will you not awake?”

- Kabir

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“A monk with a manifold joy, with faith in the Awakened One's teaching, would attain the good state, the peaceful state: stilling-of-fabrications ease. A young monk who strives in the Awakened One's teaching, brightens the world like the moon set free from a cloud.”

- Dhammapada, 25, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

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“Silence is the sea, and speech is like the river. The sea is seeking you: don't seek the river. Don't turn your head away from the signs offered by the sea.”
- Rumi
- Mathnawi [IV, 2062-2063]

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“This is exactly where a liberal attitude to the Bible leads us: there is no final authority, no reliable words of Christ, no test by which we shall be judged, and nothing to obey.”

- Brian H. Edwards

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“The Holy One hates him who says one thing in his mouth, and another in his heart.”

- Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 113b

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Religious Thought 289

“The head which cannot bow before the Feet of the Possessor Of eight infinite powers is like the senses lacking the power to perceive. The boundless ocean of births can be crossed, But not without intimate union with Infinity's Holy Feet.”

- Tirukkural 1:9-10

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“For whom, in name & form in every way, there's no sense of mine, & who doesn't grieve for what's not: he's deservedly called a monk.”

- Dhammapada, 25, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

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“As God has made the Qibla manifest, abandon your search. Hark, turn away from all futile search, now that the House has come to view. If you forget this Qibla for one moment, you will be overcome by the qibla of desires.”
- Rumi

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“God's mystery is the rich spectrum of color that is gathered together in the purity of the sun's white light. ”

- Eberhard Arnold

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“Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders and they will instruct you.”

- Deuteronomy 32:7

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Religious Thought 288

“Without love in the heart, Life is like a sapless tree in a barren desert. What good is a body perfect in outer ways, If inwardly it is impaired by lack of love? With love enshrined in the heart, one lives. Without it, the body is but bone encased in skin.”

- Tirukkural 8:78-80

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“If you cling to an idea as the inalterable truth, then when the truth does come in person and knock at your door, you will not be able to open the door and accept it.”

- Udana Sutta

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“Do not treat people with contempt, nor walk insolently on the earth. Allah does not love the arrogant or the self-conceited boaster. Be modest in your bearing and subdue your voice, for the most unpleasant of voices is the braying of the ass.”

- Luqman 31:18-1

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When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.

- Billy Graham

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“Each penitent thought is a voice of God.”

- Baal Shem Tov

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Religious Thought 287

Men who conduct themselves virtuously Are incapable of voicing harmful words, even forgetfully.

- Tirukkural 14:139

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Here, O Sariputra, form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form; emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness; whatever is form, that is emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form, the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness.

- Heart Sutra

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This world is full of remedies. But you have no remedy until God opens a window for you. You may not be aware of that remedy just now. In the hour of need it will be made clear to you. The Prophet said God made a remedy for every pain.

- Rumi

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“There is only one person God cannot forgive. The person who refuses to come to Him for forgiveness.”

- Unknown?

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While praying, listen to the words very carefully. When your heart is attentive, your entire being enters your prayer without your having to force it.

- Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

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Religious Thought 286

Someone who practices only bhakti yoga is like a blind man who cannot see where to go, and in his enthusiasm wanders off in the wrong direction. Someone who practices only gnana yoga, on the other hand, is like a lame man who can see the distant destination but, because his knowledge remains only theoretical, makes no progress towards it. However, if the love and energy of the bhakta is combined with the wisdom and discrimination of the gnani, seekers are sure to reach their destination.

- Hindu teaching story

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From what's loved is born grief, from what's loved is born fear. For one freed from whats loved there's no grief —so how fear?

- Dhammapada, 213, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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“A Sufi was once engaged in prayer, when his cell caught fire. He did not stop praying for one moment. Afterwards, people asked him about this. He replied: The divine fire held my attention, so I could not attend to the fire in my cell.”

- Qushayri, "Risalah

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“Why is the Atheists main target always Jesus of Nazareth, and never Buddha, Confucius, or Mohammed? Why is the aspiring athletes target always the true champion and never the also-rans?”

- Unknown

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“God is of no importance unless he is of extreme importance.”

- Abraham Joshua Heschel, "Man's Quest for God

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Religious Thought 285

What you do may seem insignificant, but it's important that you do it.

- Gandhi

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Neither nakedness nor matted hair nor mud nor the refusal of food nor sleeping on the bare ground nor dust & dirt nor squatting austerities cleanses the mortal who's not gone beyond doubt. If, though adorned, one lives in tune with the chaste life --calmed, tamed & assured-- having put down the rod toward all beings, he's a contemplative a brahmin a monk.

- Dhammapada, 10, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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The Prophet once drew a line and said, "This is the path of faith." Then he drew several lines on either side and said, "On these lines you may encounter the devil. But this path of mine is the straight path. So follow it."

- Hadith Reported by Abd'Allah bin Mas'ud

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“Spiritual joy arises from purity of the heart and perseverance in prayer. ”

- St. Francis of Assisi

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Man is a little world and the world is a large man.

- Philo, "Who Is the Heir of Divine Things"

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Religious Thought 284

“I have worshipped woman as the living embodiment of the spirit of service and sacrifice.”

- Mahatma Gandhi, 1933

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A mother, even at the risk of her own life, protects her child, her only child. In the same way should you cultivate love without measure toward all beings. You should cultivate toward the whole world--above, below, around--a heart of love unstinted, unmixed with any sense of differing or opposing interests. You should maintain this mindfulness all the time you are awake. Such a state of heart is the best in the world.”

- Majjhima Nikaya

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“Liberate yourself from the fetters of the ego and surrender yourself before God. Let the Lord be your shepherd, allow Him to attend to all your cares, and do not allow temptations to entice you. Aspirations of this world are the cause of all concern. Aspire to God and obtain freedom.”

- Sheikh Abdul Qadier Jillani, "Futhul Ghaib

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“Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that is has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark.” - C.S. Lewis

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“One may do something advantageous for a person in his absence.”

- Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 11a

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Religious Thought 283

“No worldly delight is comparable to the delight that will fill your heart when you completely abandon all hopes and desires.”

- Maharamayana

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“Those who argue and discuss without understanding the truth are lost amid all the forms of relative knowledge, running about here and there and trying to justify their view of the substance of ego. If you realize the self in your inmost consciousness, it will appear in its purity. This is the womb of wonder, which is not the realm of those who live only by reason. Pure in its own nature and free from the categories of finite and infinite, Universal Mind is the undefiled wonder, which is wrongly apprehended by many.”

- Lankavatara Sutra

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“God does not require his servants to be perfectly clean; indeed, he never requires his servants to do anything that is impossible.”

- Razi, "Kitab al-Muluki"

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“Ultimate perfection does not include any action or good conduct, but only knowledge.”

- Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed

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“It is impossible for a person not to be puffed up by his good works unless he has first been deflated and destroyed by suffering and evil to the point that he knows that he is worthless and that his works are not his but Gods.”

- Martin Luther

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Religious Thought 282

“Giving simply because it is right to give, without thought of return, at a proper time, in proper circumstances, and to a worthy person, is sattvic giving. Giving with regrets or in the expectation of receiving some favor or of getting something in return is rajasic. Giving at an inappropriate time, in inappropriate circumstances, and to an unworthy person, without affection or respect, is tamasic.”

- Bhagavad Gita 17:20-22

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“Your own self is your own mainstay, for who else could your mainstay be? With you yourself well-trained you obtain the mainstay hard to obtain.”

- Dhammapada, 12, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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“The truest and highest stage of worship is to see God face to face, and to receive his guidance from his own mouth. Those who attain this highest stage, choose for themselves whatever God chooses for them. Their entire characters are transformed by God. They are God's friends; so they no longer discriminate between people, but regard all people as friends. Wherever they go, they go from God; wherever they arrive, they arrive at God. Whatever they do, they do for God; whatever service they perform, they perform it in God. The self has been truly annihilated.”

- Junayd, Tawhid

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“I arise today through the power of God: God's might to comfort me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak for me... ”

- The Lorica of St. Patrick

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“One may do something advantageous for a person in his absence.”

- Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 11a

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Religious Thought 281

Blame does not disturb him, Nor does praise delight him. He neither rejoices in life, Nor fears death. His mind is calm. Never seeking the solitude of the forest, Nor running from the crowd. Always and everywhere, He is one and the same.

- Ashtavakra Gita 18:99-100

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[I]ndulge in lust a little, and like the child it grows apace. The wise man hates it therefore; who would take poison for food? Every sorrow is increased and cherished by the offices of lust. If there is no lustful desire, the risings of sorrow are not produced, the wise man seeing the bitterness of sorrow, stamps out and destroys the risings of desire;...

- Fo-Sho-Hing-Tsan-King

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“When you worship, you are aware of your separateness from God; you are the subject and he is the object. The more you worship, the more you acquire this sense of separateness from God. Union with God comes when this sense of your separateness from God is stripped away.”

- Qushayri, "Risalah"

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“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. ”

- C.S. Lewis

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“The love of people is at the same time a love for God. For when we love one, we necessarily love one's handiwork.”

- Judah Low

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Religious Thought 280

There are men who allay today's trials and avert tomorrow's troubles. Befriend and look after them. To cherish and befriend men of greatness Is the rarest of all rare things.

- Tirukkural 45: 442-443

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In religion there are no national boundaries. A religion can and should be used by any people or person who finds it beneficial.

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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“Wisdom and power follow endurance and patience.”
- Hadith The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Abu Sayeed al-Khodri

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“Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose only [upon] the Beloved who will never pass away.”

- C.S. Lewis

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“All my days I have been raised among the Sages, and I found nothing better for oneself than silence; not study, but practice is the main thing; and one who talks excessively brings on sin.”

- Shimon ben Rabban Gamliel, Ethics of the Fathers 1:17

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Religious Thought 279

“Water is sufficient to cleanse the body, But only truthfulness will purify the mind. Not all lamps are effective lamps. The lamp of nonlying is the wise man's lamp. Among all great truths which we have ever beheld, Not one can equal the goodness of veracity.”

- Tirukkural, 30: 298-300

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“"Where, for instance, is the identity of myself? There's a special quality that makes me different from everything else and also from all other selves. And I want that identity, my own self, to continue. So where does that identity dwell?" "Where indeed?" asked the Buddha. "That self to which you cling is in constant change. Years ago you were a baby, then a youth, and now a man. Which is your true selfthat of yesterday, that of today, or that of tomorrow which you so long to preserve?" "I see I have misunderstood things," replied Kutadanta slowly, "and although I find it hard to endure the light, the truth now dawns on me that there is no separate and enduring self. I will take my refuge in your teaching and find that which is continuing and everlasting in the truth."”

- Majjhima Nikaya

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“A man went back to transgressing after he had sincerely asked forgiveness of God and swore never to sin again. "How will God forgive me this time?" he asked in despair. A heavenly voice responded, "You obeyed Me and I made amends for you, then you abandoned Me and I indulged you, and now that you returned to Me I shall receive you."”

- Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub

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“Let nothing upset you, Let nothing frighten you. Everything is changing; God alone is changeless. Patience attains the goal. Who has God lacks nothing; God alone fills all their needs.”

- Theresa of Avila

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“Days are scrolls: write on them what you want to be remembered.”

- Bahya ibn Pakuda, "Hovot HaLevavot"

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Religious Thought 278

“Said Uddalaka to Shvetaketu: "As bees suck nectar from many a flower And make their honey one, so that no drop Can say, 'I am from this flower or that,' All creatures, though one, know not they are that One. There is nothing that does not come from him. Of everything he is the inmost Self. He is the truth; he is the Self supreme. You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that."”

- Chandogya Upanishad

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“At a time when people are so conscious of maintaining their physical health by controlling their diets, exercising and so forth, it makes sense to try to cultivate the corresponding positive mental attitudes too.”

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 1963

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“To show compassion to the wicked is to oppress the righteous; to pardon oppressors is to tyrannize the oppressed.”

- Sadi, Gulistan

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“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”

- St. Francis of Assisi

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“Ultimate perfection does not include any action or good conduct, but only knowledge.”

- Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed

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Religious Thought 277

Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence. When the mind has settled, we are established in our essential nature, which is unbounded Consciousness. Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind.

- Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1: 2-4

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Gains: don't treat your own with scorn, don't go coveting those of others. A monk who covets those of others attains no concentration. Even if he gets next to nothing, he doesn't treat his gains with scorn. Living purely, untiring: he's the one that the devas praise.

- Dhammapada, 15, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

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The Prophet once drew a line and said, "This is the path of faith." Then he drew several lines on either side and said, "On these lines you may encounter the devil. But this path of mine is the straight path. So follow it."

- Hadith Reported by Abd'Allah bin Mas'ud

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“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. ”

- John 14:6 (Revised Standard Version)

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People's good deeds are used by the Eternal as seeds for planting trees in the Garden of Eden: thus, each of us creates our own Paradise.

- Rabbi Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezeritz

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Religious Thought 276

Liberation, Bondage, What are they to me? What do I care for freedom? For I have known God, The infinite Self, The witness of all things. Without, a fool. Within, free of thought. I do as I please, And only those like me Understand my ways.

- Ashtavakra Gita 14:3-4

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Ordinary life and Buddhahood have no distinction. Great knowledge is not different from ignorance. Why should one seek outwardly for a treasure, when the field of the body has its own bright jewel?

- Pao-chih, "The Nonduality of Buddhahood and Ordinary Life"

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“People differ greatly in the amount of anxiety and worry they can stand: some can endure a great deal without being adversely affected, while others soon show signs of strain. You should observe yourself closely, so that you understand your own powers of endurance. By this means you will learn to divest yourself before any harm is done. ”

- Razi, "Kitab al-Muluki"

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“Christ came to heal the sick, not the well or self-sufficient.”

- Professor Paul Krishna

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“To confess one's sins is to honor the Holy One.”

- Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, Talmud: Sanhedrin, 43b

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Religious Thought 275

I adore myself. How wonderful I am! I can never die. The whole world may perish, From Brahma to a blade of grass, But I am still here.

- Ashtavakra Gita 2:11

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Like a merchant with a small But well-laden caravan --a dangerous road, like a person who loves life --a poison, one should avoid --evil deeds.

- Dhammapada, 9, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

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“The falcon made the king's hand his joy, and became indifferent to the search for carrion. All animals from the gnat to the elephant are of the family of God and depend on Him for sustenance. What a sustainer is God!”
- Rumi

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“I'm thankful, Lord, that all the darkness in the world has never put out Thy light.”

- Unknown?

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“Once a man has committed a sin once and then a second time...it [appears to him that it] is permitted.”

- Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 86b

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