1. All the phenomena of existence have mind as their precursor, mind as their supreme leader, and of mind are they made. If with an impure mind one speaks or acts, suffering follows him in the same way as the wheel follows the foot of the drawer (of the chariot).
2. All the phenomena of existence have mind as their precursor, mind as their supreme leader, and of mind are they made. If with a pure mind one speaks or acts, happiness follows him like his shadow that never leaves him.
3. The hatred of those who harbor such ill feelings as, "He reviled me, assaulted me, vanquished me and robbed me," is never appeased.
4. The hatred of those who do not harbor such ill feelings as, "He reviled me, assaulted me, vanquished me and robbed me," is easily pacified.
5. Through hatred, hatreds are never appeased; through non-hatred are hatreds always appeased — and this is a law eternal.
The passage about how our lives are the result of how and what we think reminds me of Christs teaching here:
17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. Matthew 15:17-20
The passage about hate reminds me of Dr.Martin Luther King saying "Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that." And that rings true and strikes me as very Christ-like.
There is the theory, however far fetched, that Jesus came in contact with Buddhist monks while traveling with His uncle Joseph of Arimathaea out of Israel in the Far East and also in England.
Jesus was questioned about whether or not He had to pay the tax and if He were traveling then He would not have owed the tax. It even being a question raises the possibility that Jesus was traveling with His uncle Joseph who was a tradesman.
Joseph Smith said this about truth; “Mormonism is Truth… One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may. (Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 199)
Later, Joseph bolstered this sentiment with this statement, “We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 316). But maybe the real reason there are parallel teachings, and the are many, is because no one owns the truth, we can only discover and possibly articulate it. As opposed to inventing it. Maybe it's just a case of wise teachings born in different eras and places but truth is to be found all around us.For me studying Lao Tzu, Krishna in the Bagadvad Gita, and the teachings of Buddha in the Dammapada and the Sufi mystic Rumi have allowed me to find many parallel teachings and more truth than I usually find in church.As Rumi said "I looked in Temples, Churches and Mosques but I found the Divine within my own heart."He also once wrote "I have lived on the lip of insanity, wanting to know reasons,knocking on a door. It opens.I've been knocking from the inside."
Reminds me that we are taught by Christ that if we knock it will be opened to us.Do you recognize truth when you hear it? Does it ring through in a way that most chatter does not?Discernment is considered a spiritual gift and we can pray to recieve and utilize it. In the quest for truth it is imperative.
posted on 30 October at 21:22
First you speak about truth, than you cop out. Jesus admitted his teachings were not his own: John 7:16 Jesus responded to them, "What I teach doesn't come from me but from the one who sent me.
8:26 but he who sent me is true and what he has said to me I say to the world.
PS the passage about the purity of our heart makes food pure comes from the Buddhist Amagandha Sutta.