Cetar Membahana: March 2013

Sunday, March 31, 2013

The one original transcendent Shakti, the Mother stands above all the worlds and bears in her eternal consciousness the Supreme Divine. Alone, she harbors the absolute Power and the ineffable Presence; containing or calling the Truths that have to be manifested, she brings them down from the Mystery in which they were hidden into the light of her infinite consciousness and gives them a form of force in her omnipotent power and her boundless life and a body in the universe.

- Sri Aurobindo

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Within the framework of the Buddhist Path, reflecting on suffering has tremendous importance because by realizing the nature of suffering, you will develop greater resolve to put an end to the causes of suffering and the unwholesome deeds which lead to suffering. And it will increase your enthusiasm for engaging in the wholesome actions and deeds which lead to happiness and joy.

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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People sometimes justify their obsession with cleanliness on religious grounds; but true religion is not concerned with outward purity.

- Razi, "Kitab al-Muluki"

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To be truly Christian means to see Christ everywhere, to know Him as all in all.

- Madeleine L'Engle, "Walking on Water"

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Any plan formulated in a hurry is foolish.

- Rashi, Commentary on Job

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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Religious Thought 186

Whatever he does is without purpose. His senses have been stilled. His eyes are empty. He is without desire or aversion. For him the waters of the world Have all dried up!

- Ashtavakra Gita 17:9

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Many people are afraid to empty their minds lest they may plunge into the Void. They do not know that their own Mind is the Void. The ignorant eschew phenomena but not thought; the wise eschew thought but not phenomena.

- Huang Po, Zen Teaching of Huang Po

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If you wish for light, be ready to receive light. Nourish your ego and be deprived of light. If you wish to find a way out of this prison, do not turn away; bow down in worship and draw near.

- Rumi

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Every perfect life is a parable invented by God.

- Simone Weil

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A half-truth is a whole lie.

- Yiddish proverb

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Religious Thought 185

"When a person is sleeping soundly, free from dreams, with a still mind, that is the Self, fearless and deathless. That is Brahman, the supreme."

- Chandogya Upanishad

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I believe there is an important distinction to be made between religion and spirituality. Religion I take to be concerned with belief in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another--an aspect of which is acceptance of some form of meta-physical or philosophical reality, including perhaps an idea of heaven or hell. Connected with this are religious teachings or dogma, ritual, prayers and so on. Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the human spirit--such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring happiness to both self and others.

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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There are two kinds of speeches and two kinds of silences. Speech is either truth or a falsification, and silence is either fruition or heedlessness. If one speaks the truth, his words are better than his silence, but he who invents falsifications, his silence is better than his speech.

- Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

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The reason why many fail in battle is because they wait until the hour of battle. The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came...Anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees before temptation comes, and you will always have victory.

- R.A. Torrey

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There is a definite connection between being funny and being Jewish. The toughest room I ever played was my mother's kitchen.

- Richard Belzer

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Religious Thought 184

Mind is consciousness which has put on limitations. You are originally unlimited and perfect. Later you take on limitations and become the mind.

- Sri Ramana Maharshi

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Winning gives birth to hostility. Losing, one lies down in pain. The calmed lie down with ease, having set winning & losing aside.

- Dhammapada, 15, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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Live in this world like a stranger, a wayfarer, and deem yourselves as dwellers of the graves.

- Hadith The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Ibn Umar

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Joy is the true gift of Christmas, not the expensive gifts that call for time and money....Let us pray that this presence of the liberating joy of God shines forth in our lives.

- Pope Benedict XVI

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Hanukkah has always been a celebration of Judaism in the midst of pressure to let go of Jewish uniqueness.

- Cantor Ari Priven

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