Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;where there is injury, healing;
where there is resentment, forgiveness;
where there is discord, unity. Where there is doubt let me bring faith;
Where there is error, truth;
where there is despair, let me bring joy;
where there is darkness, light. Oh Master, grant that I may not seek
to be consoled so much as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive,
in forgiving that we are pardoned,
and in dying that we are born to eternal life. *** May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May he shine his face on you and be merciful to you,
May he smile at you and give you peace. -Francis of Assisi
Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and all round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I saw the sacred hoop of my people was one of the many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy...
But anywhere is the center of the world.
--Black Elk, Oglala Sioux spiritual leader, 1863-1950.
Like a mother who protects her child, her only child, with her own life,
one should cultivate a heart of unlimited love and compassion towards all
living beings.
--the Buddha
Grant me the ability to be alone;May it be my custom to go outdoors each day
among the trees and grasses,
among all growing things
and there may I be alone,
and enter into prayer
to talk with the one
that I belong to. --Rabbi Nachman of Bratizlava
Happy is the moment when we sit together...
The flowers bloom forever,The birds sing their eternal song,
The moment we enter the garden,
You and I. The stars of heaven come out to watch us,
We will show them
the light of a full moon--
You and I. No more thoughts of "You" or "I" then,
Just the bliss of union--
Joyous, alive, free of care, You and I. All the bright-winged birds of heaven
Will swoop down to drink of our sweet water--
The tears of our laughter, You and I... What a miracle of fate, us sitting here.
Even at opposite ends of the earth
We would still be together, You and I. We have one form in this world,
another in the next.
To us belongs an eternal heaven,
the endless delight of You and I. --Jalal al-Din Rumi, 13th c. mystical Muslim/Sufi spiritual leader & poet
Do you have the patience to waittill your mud settled and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself? --Lao Tzu
Should any one contend that true and enduring unity can in no wise by realized in this world, inasmuch as its people widely differ in their manners and habits, their tastes, their temperament and character, their thoughts and their views, to this we make reply that differences are of two kinds: the one is the cause of destruction, as exemplified by the spirit of contention and strife which animates mutually conflicting and antagonistic peoples and nations; whilst the other is the sign of diversity, the symbol and the secret of perfection, and the revealer of the bounties of the All-glorious.
Consider the flowers of the garden: though differing in kind, color, form and shape, yet, inasmuch as they are refreshed by the waters of one spring, revived by the breath of one wind, invigorated by the rays of one sun, this diversity increaseth their charm and addeth unto their beauty. How unpleasing to the eye if all the flowers and plants, the leaves and blossoms, the fruit, the branches, and the trees of the garden were all of the same shape and color! Diversity of color, form and shape enricheth and adorneth the garden, and heighteneth the effect thereof.
In like manner, when diverse shades of thought, temperament and character, are brought together under the power and influence of one central agency, the beauty and glory of human perfection will be revealed and made manifest. Naught but the celestial potency of the Word of God, which ruleth and transcendeth the realities of all things, is capable of harmonizing the divergent thoughts, sentiments, ideas and convictions of the children of men.
--Abdu'l-Baha
I bow to the One who has no color,I bow to the One who has no beginning.
I bow to the One who is without fault,
I bow to the One who is incomprehensible. I bow to the One who shares everything,
I bow to the One who is eternal.
I bow to the ever Bountiful.
I bow to the Unlimited. --from a the sacred songs of the Sikhs
What cannot be spoken with words, but that whereby words are spoken:
Know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit;
and not what people here adore. What cannot be thought with the mind,
but that whereby the mind can think:
Know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit;
and not what people here adore. What cannot be seen with they eye,
but that whereby they eye can see:
Know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit;
and not what people here adore. What cannot be heard with the ear,
but that whereby the ear can hear:
Know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit;
and not what people here adore. What cannot be indrawn with the breath,
but that whereby breath is indrawn:
Know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit;
and not what people here adore. --from the Kena Upanishad
Lord, my mind is not noisy with desires,and my heart has satisfied its longing.
I do not care about religion
or anything that is not you.
I have soothed and quieted my soul,
like a child at its mother's breast.
My soul is as peaceful as a child
sleeping in its mother's arms. --Psalm 131, as translated by Stephen Mitchell. [ WRQ INDEX ] [ PREV ] [ NEXT ]