If All Things Be Regarded With Love

You have heard it said*: "If all things be regarded with love, Heaven and Earth are one with me."

But I say unto you: "If all things be regarded with love, the Kingdom of Heaven and this Earth are one and the same."



*So-shi

Love Is Our True Destiny

You have heard it said*: "Love is our true destiny.  We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone -- we find it with another."

But I say unto you: "Love is our true destiny.  We cannot find the meaning of life by ourselves alone -- we can only find it with, and through, each other."


*Thomas Merton

Countless Paths

You have heard it said*: "Countless paths
                                          lead to the mountain's summit
                                          yet from it
                                          the same moon shines
                                          over the land."

And I say unto you that this is the truth as is what I now say unto you: "Countless paths
                                                                                                                   lead to a view of God
                                                                                                                   yet from them all
                                                                                                                   the same God blesses
                                                                                                                   the people and the land."


*Ikkyu

Love Stays

You have heard it said*: "Love doesn't want people to stay ignorant and frightened.  Love doesn't value obedience over all else.  Love doesn't judge and find some lives - or loves - more valuable than others.  Love doesn't use people and throw them away.  Love stays, and makes you stronger, even when the person you love is gone." But I say unto you: "Love does not want people to stay ignorant and frightened. Love wants people to be enlightened and unafraid. "Love does not value obedience over all else.  Love values compassion and justice over obedience. "Love does not judge and find some lives - or loves - more valuable than others.  Love finds the presence of God in all lives and all loves. "Love does not use people and then throw them away.  Love values people and cherishes the positive contributions that they make. "Love stays and makes you stronger, even when the person you love leaves or is gone." "Love, after all, is omnipresent and is eternal. "Love never ends. "Love is God." *Stacey Jay

We Must Discover Truth

You have heard it said*: "We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us."

And I say unto you: "We cannot simply receive truth.  We must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us nor spare us from making."


*Marcel Proust 

If You Need To Ask For Help

Here are my best answers today for the questions you posed yesterday:

Q.  If you need to ask for help and see that there is nothing that you could possibly offer, what do you do?

A.  You ask for help anyway.  The help you receive today may not benefit the one who helps you, but it does enable you to help others in the future, so please do ask for help.  Indeed, as your mother's life demonstrates, it is in asking for help that one actually may help the one who provides the help by allowing them to share a part of themselves with you.

Q.  If someone wants to see you but you do not want to see them what do you do?

A.  It depends upon the circumstances.  However, for most personal relationship situations, I have found that it is best not to see that person.  Seeing that person can only lead to "false hopes" and "prolonged pain".  Once a relationship is over, it is advisable to not encourage the other party.

Q.  If you want to see someone and they do not want to see you what do you do?

A.  Do not see them.  Seeing them will only give you "false hopes" and "prolonged pain".  A relationship that develops from such sentiments is likely to be abusive.  You deserve better than that.  Continue to search for someone who wants to "see" you.

Q.  If no one thinks it is possible should you think it is possible?

A.   In your heart you can feel it is possible, but your heart can mislead you.  Look at the reality of the relationship.  Was there a mutual level of attraction?  Was there a mutual desire to be together?  Was there an equality in the relationship?  If not, it may mean that one party is taking advantage of the other party.  That is an abusive relationship and it should not be condoned.

Q.   When should you suppress your feelings and when should you express them when dealing with matters of the heart?

A.   You should suppress your feelings when expressing them would injure someone, including one's self.  You should express them when there is a reasonable expectation of reciprocity.

Q.   Do nothing... wait...strive to improve yourself.

A.    "Do nothing."  Life is too short.  Be proactive in seeking out your happiness.  Do not "Do nothing."   "Wait."  At the end of every relationship, there should be a period of mourning.  The period may be as long as a year.  For some, it may be longer.   However, I advise not to wallow in the mourning for too long.  Life is short, get up... get out... enjoy life as fully as you can now.  "Strive to improve yourself."  Always.  Mentally, physically, and spiritually, always strive to improve yourself.   

Hope all of this helps.  Please feel free to ask more.

We Must Discover The Joy

You have heard it said*: "If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life?  It is other life; it is love, which gives your life meaning.  This is harmony.  We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth."

And I say unto you: "No greater truth can be spoken."


*Mitsugi Saotome

The Perfect Work of Art

You have heard it said*: "I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of the chaos.  The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead.  Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life.  That is the perfect work of art."

But I say unto you:  "There are an infinite number of things which make it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust because there are an infinite number of aspects of God and an infinite number of the manifestations of God.  Every time you see a beautiful painting, or hear melodious music, or read an inspirational piece of literature, then you are experiencing a manifestation of God.  And of all these manifestations, the greatest is experiencing a beautiful life.  That is the perfect work of art."



*W. Somerset Maugham

Make The Day Count

You have heard it said*:  "When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love - then make that day count!"

And I say unto you that no better advice can be given.



*Steve Maraboli

No Unused Thing

You have heard it said*: "Great trees have great uses; small trees have small uses.  Good and bad can all be used in their own way.  None are to be discarded.  Keep both good and bad friends.  You mustn't reject anything."

But I say unto you: "Good trees have great uses; bad trees have great uses.  Good and bad can all be used in their own way.  No unused thing ... and no person ... should be discarded.  Keep both good and bad friends.  You must not reject anything."



*Kyong Ho

Do Not Let Your Fire Go Out

You have heard it said*:  "Do not let your your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists... it is real... it is possible... it's yours."

But I say unto you: "Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all.  Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have not yet been able to reach  The world you desire can be won.  It exists ... it is real ... it is possible ... it can and will be yours."

*Ayn Rand

We Have Only This Moment

You have heard it said*: "Begin doing what you want to do now.  We are not living in eternity.  We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand -- and melting like a snow flake."

I say unto you that there is no greater truth.

*M. B. Ray

Imagination Transcends the Universe

You have heard it said*: "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

But I say unto you: "Imagination is more important than knowledge.  Knowledge is limited.  Imagination transcends the universe."


*Albert Einstein

We Are What We Repeatedly Do

You have heard it said*: "We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." But I say unto you: "We are what we repeatedly do.  Being good then, is not an act, but a habit." *Aristotle

Every Great Dream

You have heard it said*: "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."

But I say unto you, "Every great dream begins with a dreamer.  Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars.  And by reaching for the stars, you can sometimes change the world."

*Harriet Tubman

The Land of Bliss and Glory

You have heard it said*: "That land of Bliss and Glory exists above us, under us, around us, within us, without us, if we open our eyes to see."

But I say unto you: "The Kingdom of Heaven exists above us, under us, around us, within us -- everywhere -- if we only open our eyes to see."


*Kaiten Nukariya

The Rapture, Hirofumi, and Heaven

On May 22, 2011, a friend of mine (Rob) wrote to me regarding the unfulfilled Rapture that had been predicted for May 21, 2011.   He said:

I did get to wondering about 2 questions yesterday afternoon: 1) what was supposed to happen to us Jews? 2) Since I was flying home at the appointed hour, would the rapture-eligible people on plans ascend all that much sooner than the earthbound Blessed ones?

At our Commencement this morning, I posed these questions to my good friend and colleague Fr. Tom, who suggested that I should have checked to see if the pilot was Jewish….

On May 24, 2011, I responded with the following:

I do not quite know how the Rapture is supposed to work mid-flight.  However, as for the answer to your first question, I received a package this past weekend which brought this all into perspective for me.

On the day that the Rapture was to occur I received a package from Toshiko Kawamura.  Toshiko Kawamura is the wife of my longtime friend Hirofumi Kawamura.  Hirofumi and I first met in August 1975 on a Greyhound bus in Provo, Utah.  As you may recall, I came from very modest financial circumstances so part of my Amherst College experience was taking the bus seven times across the country, to and from my home state of California to Massachusetts.  On my last cross country bus trip, I was accompanied by my high school sweetheart until we reached Salt Lake City, Utah.  At that point, she continued on to San Francisco while I disembarked and took a bus headed for Los Angeles, intending to get off in my hometown of Victorville.

The first stop that the bus made on its way from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles was Provo, Utah.   In Provo, a middle aged Japanese gentleman boarded the bus.  I happened to have an empty seat next to me (oddly, I often had an empty seat next to me in those days).  Anyway, I offered the empty seat to the Japanese gentleman and, lo and behold, he accepted.  Encouraged by this act of acceptance, I attempted to engage the gentleman in some conversation with him.  He introduced himself as Hirofumi Kawamura, a citizen of Kitakyushu, Japan.  He had been in Provo, Utah, at some language center (I think at Brigham Young University) brushing up on his English language skills in preparation for his sabbatical year in California.  As serendipity would have it, he was a legal scholar who was spending his sabbatical year at the University of California at Berkeley law school but was on the bus going to Los Angeles because he wanted to see Disneyland before going to Berkeley.  Surprised I told him I was going to be going to the University of California at Berkeley law school in the Fall as well but that I was on the bus to Los Angeles because I lived in the desert community of Victorville which was on the way.

Well, as best we could, Hirofumi and I became travel companions for the remainder of our trip.  We parted in Victorville, but when I finally made it to Berkeley, I looked him up at the International House and had lunch with him.  He went back to Japan in 1976, but our friendship did not end there.  Our friendship developed over the next 33 years as we corresponded with each other and exchanged occasional gifts.  He was real proud when he wrote his book on Japanese corporate law, just as I was real proud when I wrote my first book on African and African American history.  We exchanged books.  However, I think he got more out of mine than I got out of his since I know that he can read English but I have no clue what the Japanese script that his book is printed in says.

We also exchanged notes on family matters and ultimately on religious beliefs.  Hirofumi was Buddhist, while I journeyed from an initial fundamental Christianity to my more Unitarian notions of today.  For thirty-three years, Hirofumi and I corresponded with each other but this last year I did not receive my usual reply.

On May 21, the day that, for some, the Rapture was supposed to occur, I received the package from Toshiko telling me that my friend, Hirofumi, had died.  Hirofumi was in his mid-70s so his death was not wholly unexpected, but it did catch me by surprise.  Thus, on that day, I found myself thinking a great deal about Hirofumi and what may come hereafter. 

One of the regrets I have in this life is that I was never able to visit my friend.  I would have liked to have had another long visit with him to talk with him and get to know him better.  Indeed, for me, at that particular moment, the notion of what Heaven might be like would be the ability to have the opportunity to do just that...the ability to have at least one more chat with a dear old friend.

So Rob, in my theology, that is what Heaven is for me.  Heaven is where I can once again be with those I love and with those whom I can share some special times and memories and discussions.  And in my theology,... in my Heaven, I do expect to see Hirofumi, my Buddhist friend, again, ... and, many, many, many years from now, I would like to introduce you to him. 

Take care, my friend.

Reflections on the Rapture

(This was first written on May 20, 2011)

Folks,

Here, in California, there are a number of billboards posted proclaiming tomorrow to be the Day of Judgment, the Day of the Rapture, or the Day that Jesus Returns.  If tomorrow is the Day of the Rapture, and if Jesus chooses to take me to Heaven, then I will do my best to put in a good word for all of you to be taken up with us.

If Jesus comes tomorrow and decides that I should stay and that you should go, then I would ask that you put in a good word for me upstairs and that the powers that be be asked to reconsider their decision for all of us who are left behind.

On the other hand, if Jesus does not come back tomorrow, or in our lifetime, or ever, or if Jesus was merely a man and not the Son of God, then I hope to be with you again tomorrow (or Monday) and I pray that I will still be working towards bringing about the Kingdom of Heaven  -- to the best of my ability helping to make our Heaven here on Earth.

Peace, and one way or another, I look forward to seeing you again after tomorrow.

It Is No Small Thing

You have heard it said*:

Is it no small a thing

To have enjoyed the sun,

To have lived light in the spring,

To have loved, to have thought,

to have done?

 

But I say unto you:

It is no small thing

To have enjoyed the sun,

To have lived light in the spring,

To have loved, to have thought,

   to have done.

It is no small thing,

It is everything.

* Matthew Arnold

Adding Love to Truth

You have heard it said*: "Everything you add to the truth subtracts from the truth."

But I say unto you: "Adding love to the telling of truth makes the truth divine."



*Alexander Solzhenitsyn

A Product of Our Imagination

You have heard it said*: “All know that the drop merges into the ocean, but few know that the ocean merges into the drop.” 

But I say unto you, "All know that we are a product of the universe, but few know that the universe is a product of our imagination."



*Kabir

The Child of God

You have heard it said*: "The Buddhist does not make it the purpose of his life to rise from the dead, gain the immortality of a mythical being known as self, to lay up treasure for the future, to expect some reward in Heaven ... he endeavors to actualize the glory of God in the world while he is alive -- the glory which he had before the world was -- and which is made manifest only by following the way of God, by practicing in thought as well as in person the doctrine of non-ego, the precept of lovingkindness."

But I say unto you: "The Child of God does not make it the purpose of her or his life to rise from the dead, to gain a form of immortality for a being known as the self.  The Child of God does not seek to lay up treasure for the future nor to expect some reward in a future Heaven.  Rather, the Child of God endeavors to actualize the Glory of God in the world while she or he is alive.  The Child of God recognizes that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and that the Glory of God -- the Glory which God had before the World was -- is made manifest only by following the Way of God today in the Now, by practicing in thought as well as in person the doctrine of non-ego, the precept of lovingkindness."

*Soen Shaku

Love Always

You have heard it said*,  "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."

But I say unto you, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever; and love always."




*Mohandas Gandhi

I Dream Of A Divine World

You have heard it said*: "Some men see things as they are and say why - I dream things that never were and say why not."

But I say unto you: "Some people see the world as it is and say why - I dream of a divine world that never was and say why not."




*George Bernard Shaw (and often quoted by Robert F. Kennedy)

Our True Home

You have heard it said*:

Our true home is in the present moment.

To live in the present moment is a miracle.

The miracle is not to walk on water.

The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment.,

to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.

Peace is all around us --

in the world and in nature  --

and within us --

in our bodies and our spirits.

Once we learn to touch this peace,

we will be healed and transformed.

It is not a matter of faith, 

it is a matter of practice.

I say unto you, these words are eternally divine.

                                          

*Thich Nhat Hanh

The Way Is Near

You have heard it said,* "The way is near at hand, but people always go far away looking for it."

But I say unto you, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, but people always look for it to come."



*Zen saying

Positive Thoughts

You have heard it said*:

"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."

But I say unto you:

"Keep your thoughts positive because positive thoughts lead to positive words.  Positive words lead to positive actions.  Positive actions lead to positive habits.  Positive habits lead to a positive character.  And a positive character leads to a positive destiny."




*Lao Tzu

I Am Only One

You have heard it said*:

I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.


But I say unto you:

I am only one
But I am one
I cannot do everything
But I can do something
What I can do
I ought to do
And by the Grace of God
I shall do



*Edward Everett Hale

To Attain To God

You have heard it said*, "To turn one's back on delusion is to attain to the ultimate; to attain to the ultimate is to attain to the origin."

I say unto you, "To turn one's back on delusion is to attain to the truth.  To attain to the truth is to attain to God."




*Tao-ch'ien