Spiritual Quotes

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If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. - Buddha

Being spiritual has nothing to do with what you believe and everything to do with your state of consciousness. - Eckhart Tolle

Be as simple as you can be; you will be astonished to see how uncomplicated and happy your life can become. - Paramahansa Yogananda

For true stability and naturalness of mind and essence to emerge, there must be a seamless, unimpeded flow of energy and spirit. - Unknown

If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? – Dogen

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Buddhism

Buddhism is simple and pragmatic. It is a universal teaching that can be understood by all people. Some have called the Teachings of the Buddha a philosophy of Life.

The following are excerpts from Buddhist text and publications.

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The Buddha teaches that no amount of factual knowledge will ultimately free man from the pain of existence. He must strive alone and diligently until he arrives at a true understanding of his own nature and of the changeable nature of the cosmos. To be truly free a man must seek to tame his mind, to destroy his craving for sensual pleasure.

Buddhism teaches us not to judge and believe a thing blindly (even though it was said by the book, by the teacher, by the monk or whoever) but to come, see and prove it yourself that the thing is good for yourself. Then even though it was said by your enemy, if you find it good and useful, you can practise it in your life.

Faith alone without wisdom is the blind faith of fanatics. Wisdom alone without faith is the cold knowledge of philosophers. Where wisdom points out the way to faith, and Faith proceeds along the way of wisdom, then there is the true practice of Buddhism.

Buddhism is not about religion. Buddhism is about wisdom of nature. The nature of mind.

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Meditation

Defining meditation has proven difficult due to its wide range of practices across different traditions. In popular usage, "meditation" is often used imprecisely to designate practices aimed at training attention, calmness, or compassion. There is no universally accepted definition. Theories and practices differ within traditions, with some emphasizing the inseparability of meditation from their cultural and religious contexts, while others focus on its role in achieving a relaxed or devout state. - Wikkipedia

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The real glory of meditation lies not in any method but in its continual living experience of presence, in its bliss, clarity, peace, and most important of all, complete absence of grasping. The diminishing of grasping in yourself is a sign that you are becoming freer of yourself. And the more you experience this freedom, the clearer the sign that the ego and the hopes and fears that keep it alive are dissolving, and the closer you will come to the infinitely generous "wisdom of egolessness." When you live in the wisdom home, you'll no longer find a barrier between "I" and "you," "this" and "that," "inside" and "outside;" you'll have come, finally, to your true home, the state of non-duality. - Sogyal Rinpoche

The very aim of meditation is firstly subjugation of the mind, so that it can no longer be an obstacle to a clear vision of the Supreme cliché. Secondly, it is the full silencing of that mind, so that consciousness becomes similar to the mirror-like surface of a quiet lake or pool. I can see the real Reflection of Truth in it then, but not otherwise. - Mouni Sadhu

As we work – in meditation – we find ourselves more at home in the universe, more at ease with ourselves, more able to work effectively at our tasks and toward our goal, closer to our fellow man, less anxious and less hostile. - Unknown

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Tao (道)

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Tao (道) – literally means the ‘Way’.

Everything comes from That which cannot be named nor described because it its beyond man’s comprehension; but for convenience it is called Tao. - Lao Tzu

Taoism teaches the attainment of immortality by merging with Tao. It teaches us we must all find a place for ourselves in the natural way of things that does not disrupt the function of the whole. When we accept our place in the world, we become more concerned for the consequences of our actions, since for every action there is a reaction, and everything we do has a consequence for others.

Taoism shows a way to return to Ultimate Reality. Morality is the first essential in the training for immortality. Then the trainee should meditate on the void. Once he is in mediation, he unites his mind with his breath, and eliminates all emotions and all cares, and just focuses on the void. The void means that which is before anything came into being; it is the primordial of the extreme. Returning to the void means returning to the primordial origin, returning to the primordial nature. - Wu Chong Xu

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Zen

What is Zen?

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Zen is really extraordinarily simple as long as one doesn't try to be cute about it or beat around the bush! Zen is simply the sensation and the clear understanding… that there is behind the multiplicity of events and creatures in this universe simply one energy – and it appears as you, and everything is it. The practice of Zen is to understand that one energy so as to "feel it in your bones." - Alan Watts

Zen is to religion what a Japanese "rock garden" is to a garden. Zen knows no god, no afterlife, no good and no evil, as the rock-garden knows no flowers, herbs or shrubs. It has no doctrine or holy writ: its teaching is transmitted mainly in the form of parables as ambiguous as the pebbles in the rock-garden which symbolise now a mountain, now a fleeting tiger. When a disciple asks "What is Zen?", the master's traditional answer is "Three pounds of flax" or "A decaying noodle" or "A toilet stick" or a whack on the pupil's head. - Arthur Koestler

There are in Zen no sacred books or dogmatic tenets, nor are there any symbolic formulae through which an access might be gained into the signification of Zen. If I am asked, then, what Zen teaches, I would answer, Zen teaches nothing. Whatever teachings there are in Zen, they come out of one's own mind. We teach ourselves; Zen merely points the way. - Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki

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Spiritual Journey

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Paradoxical as it may seem, the purposeful life has no content, no point. It hurries on and on, and misses everything. Not hurrying, the purposeless life misses nothing, for it is only when there is no goal and no rush that the human senses are fully open to receive the world. - Alan W. Watts

Our usual understanding of life is dualistic: you and I, this and that, good and bad. But actually, these discriminations are themselves the awareness of the Universal existence. "You" means to be aware of the Universe in the form of you, and "I" means to be aware of it in the form of I. You and I are just swinging doors... - Shunryu Suzuki

Every man is where he is by the law of his being; the thoughts which he has built into his character have brought him there, and in the arrangement of his life there is no element of chance, but all result of a law which cannot err. - Unknown

By having a reverence for life, we enter into a spiritual relation with the world. By practicing reverence for life we become good, deep, and alive. - Albert Schweitzer

Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit, cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end preexists in the means, the fruit in the seed. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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God

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God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet evil exists. There seems to be some contradiction between these three propositions, so that if any two of them were true the third would be false. But at the same time all three are essential parts of most theological positions: the theologian it seems, at once must adhere and cannot consistently adhere to all three. - J. L. Mackie

If God’s work in creation is so Great, why does it need redemption? Why does God make such an imperfect creation that needs saving, and how can this be called ‘Great?’ The whole plot – God makes a rotten creation that needs saving, so he sends his only-begotten and much-beloved son to be viciously crucified – is grotesque. What kind of almighty creator chooses this as his Creation? - M. Murdock

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? - Epicurus

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Faith

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We may define "faith" as a firm belief in something for which there is no evidence. Where there is evidence, no one speaks of "faith". We do not speak of faith that two and two are four or that the earth is round. We only speak of faith when we wish to substitute emotion for evidence. The substitution of emotion for evidence is apt to lead to strife, since different groups substitute different emotions. - Bertrand Russell

You either have faith that a God exists, or you ‘know’. You can’t know and have faith, or have faith and know, you know? - Michael Sherlock

To follow by faith alone is to follow blindly. - Benjamin Franklin

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Churches

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Since the earliest days the church, as an organization, has thrown itself violently against every effort to liberate the body and mind of man. It has been, at all times and everywhere, the habitual and incorrigible defender of bad governments, bad laws, bad social theories, bad institutions. It was, for centuries, an apologist for slavery, as it was the apologist for the divine right of kings. - H. L. Mencken

Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches. - St. Thomas Aquinas

Why did men worship in churches, locking themselves away in the dark, when the world lay beyond its doors in all its real glory? - Charles de Lint

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Christianity

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Christianity, along with all other theistic belief systems, is the fraud of the age. It serves to detach the species from the natural world, and likewise, each other. It supports blind submission to authority. - Unknown

During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution. - James Madison

Of all the systems of religion that ever were invented, there is none more derogatory to the Almighty, more unedifying to man, more repugnant to reason, and more contradictory in itself, than this thing called Christianity... it produces only atheists and fanatics. - Thomas Paine

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The Bible

To be fair, I haven’t read the entire bible. I have read a few pages of it in my younger days. It was enough for me to believe it was all a sham.

How many people read the entire Bible? And can one seriously believe in the Bible after having read it thoroughly? I think anyone with a brain would, having read the bible, cast the book aside and never believe a word it said.

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You are, of course, free to interpret the Bible differently – though isn't it amazing that you have succeeded in discerning the true teachings of Christianity, while the most influential thinkers in the history of your faith failed? - Sam Harris

It is from the Bible that man has learned cruelty, rapine, and murder; for the belief of a cruel God makes a cruel man. - Thomas Paine

No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: He is always convinced that it says what he means. - George Bernard Shaw

Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived. - Isaac Asimov

The inspiration of the Bible depends upon the ignorance of the gentleman who reads it. - Robert Ingersoll

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Spirituality

The Spiritual journey is a personal thing. Teachers may open doors, or point the way, but you have to go on the journey on your own. If you are lucky, you may find fellow travellers along the way. But, ultimately, you are on your own.

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Life is not a prison and spirituality need not be an attempt to escape from life. - Unknown

Being spiritual has nothing to do with what you believe and everything to do with your state of consciousness. - Eckhart Tolle

Awakening is not to know what this reality is. Awakening is to know what reality is not. It is to cease identifying oneself with any object of knowledge whatsoever. - Alan Watts

Your work is not to drag the world kicking and screaming into a new awareness. Your job is to simply do your work… sacredly, secretly, and silently... and those with ‘eyes to see and ears to hear’, will respond. - The Ardurians

As a progressive and evolving being, man is where he is that he may learn that he may grow; and as he learns the spiritual lesson which any circumstance contains for him, it passes away and gives place to other circumstances. - James Allen

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Beliefs

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There can be no merit in believing something which you can neither explain nor understand. - John Lubbock

A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition. - Jose Bergamin

Whatever you do, you must remain nimble in your thinking. Do not become so attached to any one belief that you cannot see past it to another possibility. - Christopher Paolini

False beliefs can be every bit as consoling as true ones, right up until the moment of disillusionment. - Richard Dawkins

Everyone believes very easily whatever they fear or desire. - Jean de La Bruyere

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Atheism

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Although atheism might have been logically tenable before Darwin, Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist. - Richard Dawkins

An Atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An atheist believes that deed must be done instead of prayer said. An atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanished, war eliminated. - Madalyn Murray O’Hair

For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can’t readily accept the God formula, the big answers don’t remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command nor faith a dictum. I am my own god. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us. - Charles Bukowski

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Spirituality

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Fortunately, some are born with spiritual immune systems that sooner or later give rejection to the illusory worldview grafted upon them from birth through social conditioning. They begin sensing that something is amiss, and start looking for answers. Inner knowledge and anomalous outer experiences show them a side of reality others are oblivious to, and so begins their journey of awakening. Each step of the journey is made by following the heart instead of following the crowd and by choosing knowledge over the veils of ignorance. - Henri Bergson

Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement,(to)get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes noting for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed. - Abraham Joshua Heschel

Free yourself from anger and desire. This is the means by which you come to know the soul, and thereby attain the highest spiritual state. - The Bhagavad Gita

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Zen

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Learning Zen is a phenomenon of gold and dung. Before you understand it, it's like gold; after you understand it, it's like dung. - Zen Saying

Do not think of what has not happened yet, or to be overly concerned about what has already passed; instead to be like a mirror which just sees things everything as is, with no "then what' or "what if?" This is Zen. - Unknown

If Zen is approached with the usual mental attitude, it will seem quite incomprehensible. Our average Western intellectuality would consider its paradoxical language simply as a play upon words. Its full significance is revealed only when we approach it in a different manner, making our minds available to the new processes of inner perception which it suggests. - Robert Linssen

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Universe

What is the universe? What does it make up of? How did it all come about? So many unknown, and so many questions! But until we know better, we can only assume that what we have learned about the universe is all there is. However, everyday, we learn something new. Maybe what we learn tomorrow might change our views of what the Universe is.

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A spiritually optimistic point of view holds that the universe is woven out of a fabric of love. Everything that is happening is ultimately for the good if we’re willing to face it head-on and use our adversities for soul growth. - Joan Borysenko

All persons are contained within a single individual, just as all time is in a moment, and the entire universe is in a grain of sand. - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

All things are connected with all things throughout the universe, from the insect to the archangel; from the sand-grain to the mountain and the globe; from the dew-drop to the ocean; from the rain-drop to the rainbow; from the pebble on the shore to 'the sun that blazes in the firmament; from the zephyr that sings among the flowers of the field to the ocean that pours its wild bass in the great anthem of nature. Not only are all things connected with all things, but there is a concatenation of events, so that the character and effects of no one event can terminate in itself. As each event owes some portion of its nature to that which preceded it, so it imparts some of its nature to that which succeeds it, and thus perpetuates the blended good or evil of itself and its predecessors. The single event may thus live on in its influence along the line of all the ages, assuming new shapes, or if clothing itself in the drapery of new events, ever marching onward and upward in the continually growing affairs of time. - John Lanahan

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Religion

I am not a fan of religion. Religion is divisive. We are all human beings. Yet, we kill each other over a belief, a religion. To me, this shows how corrupted religion is.

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I'd be more willing to accept religion, even if I didn't believe it, if I thought it made people nicer to each other but I don't think it does. - Andy Rooney

Change is always one generation away … so if we can plant the seeds of DOUBT in our children, religion will go away in a generation, or at least largely go away. And that’s what I think we have an obligation to do. - Lawrence Krauss

The problem is that – religion – because it has been sheltered from criticism as it has been – allows people – perfectly sane, perfectly intelligent people – to believe en masse, what only idiots or lunatics could believe in isolation. - Sam Harris

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Spirituality

Spirituality is a very personal thing. You are on your own pursuit. Friends and loved ones may not understand. It can be lonely on the journey. If you are lucky, you might meet like-minded fellow travellers. But they can accompany you for a brief period of time only. You see, all our journeys are different. They must go on their journey and you must go on yours alone. 

Image from the internet All spiritual practice is the art of shifting perspectives. - Teal

Spirituality is not religion. It is a path for us to generate happiness, understanding, and love, so we can live deeply each moment of our life. Having a spiritual dimension in our lives does not mean escaping life or dwelling in a place of bliss outside this world but discovering ways to handle life’s difficulties and generate peace, joy, and happiness right where we are, on this beautiful planet. - Thich Nhat Hanh

Being spiritual does not mean being dead serious. - Sadhguru

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Mysticism

In the contemporary usage "mysticism" has become an umbrella term, conflated with spirituality and esotericism.

Practices associated with mysticism include meditation and comtemplative prayer. Mysticism can be distinguished from ordinary religious belief by its emphasis on the direct personal experience of unique states of consciousness, particularly those of a transcendentally blissful character.

In the widest sense, mysticism is every guidance to the immediate awareness of what is not reached by either perception or conception, or generally by any knowledge. The mystic is opposed to the philosopher by the fact that he begins from within, whereas the philosopher begins from without. The mystic starts from his inner, positive, individual experience, in which he finds himself as the eternal and only being, and so on. But nothing of this is communicable except the assertions that we have to accept on his word; consequently he is unable to convince.

- Wikipedia

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Mysticism . . .is a path of incarnation, not of escape. - Unknown

For problems that arise when one steps into the shadow, the obvious cure is to step back into the sunlight. - Unknown

Once we have seriously embarked upon the mystical path, we begin to look upon the conditions in the world from the higher point of view. - Unknown

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Meditation

Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.

Meditation is practiced in numerous religious traditions. Asian meditative techniques have spread to other cultures where they have found application in non-spiritual contexts, such as business and health.

Defining meditation has proven difficult due to its wide range of practices across different traditions. In popular usage, "meditation" is often used imprecisely to designate practices aimed at training attention, calmness, or compassion. There is no universally accepted definition. Theories and practices differ within traditions, with some emphasizing the inseparability of meditation from their cultural and religious contexts, while others focus on its role in achieving a relaxed or devout state.

Meditation may significantly reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, and enhance peace, peace, self-concept, and well-being. Research is ongoing to better understand the effects of meditaion on health (psychological, neurological, and cardiovascular) and other areas.

- Wikipedia

What does meditation involve? Simply put, you just sit silently and witness your mind-process, while keeping your attention on the breath.

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Buddha was asked, “What have you gained from meditation?” He replied, “Nothing! However, let me tell you what I have lost: anger, anxiety, depression, insecurity, fear of old age and death.” - Unknown

All too often people come to meditation in the hope of extraordinary results, like visions, lights, or some supernatural miracle. When no such thing occurs, they feel extremely disappointed. But the real miracle of meditation is more ordinary and much more useful. - Sogyal Rinpoche

{While meditating} I sit quietly and rest in the nature of mind; I don't question or doubt whether I am in the "correct" state or not. There is no effort, only rich understanding, wakefulness, and unshakable certainty. When I am in the nature of mind, the ordinary mind is no longer there. There is no need to sustain or confirm a sense of being: I simply am. - Sogyal Rinpoche

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God

Can there be a Creator, a God? People believe in so many Gods. Which one is the correct, true God? If God created man, who created God? So many questions and no answers. So, one either believes blindly that there is a God, or that the idea of a God is ridiculous.

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Are you a God-fearing man? That is such a strange phrase. I’ve always thought of God as a teacher; a bringer of light, wisdom, and understanding. - Magneto

Because let’s be honest, the idea of a god sending himself to sacrifice himself to save us from himself is a little bit much for any sane, logical person to accept. - Unknown

Do not be too quick to condemn the man who no longer believes in God: for it is perhaps your own coldness and avarice and mediocrity and materialism and selfishness that have chilled his faith. - Thomas Merton

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'Vital' Energy (Chi)

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'Vital' energy is always there. It runs through all of life. It connects our bodies with our minds and souls. It links us with other people, with our homes and nature, with the universe and with the highest spiritual power.

When our vital energy is sluggish or unawakened, life seems dull or difficult. We seem to move thorough life as if through treacle. Relationships seem difficult; we feel constantly under par in our bodies; work is a chore; our homes never feel quite right. On the other hand, if our energy is running out of control, life is a roller-coaster: we feel constantly stressed and strained, our nerves jangle, we seem to exist in a melee of arguments and irritability.

However, once we start to recognize vital energy and begin to work with it, everything can change. Our lives can take on fresh meaning and purpose. When our own vital energy is moving smoothly and serenely through us, we can enjoy radiant good health, abundant vitality and a sense of ease in our bodies. Our relationships become honest, exciting and supportive. Our homes become places of serenity and joy, filled with a warm, embracing atmosphere. We start to feel a link of kinship with the whole of creation – from urban cityscape to the wild elements of nature. Work and play become intermingled – fulfilling, exciting and creative. Best of all, we no longer feel alone in a large, often frightening universe: we become linked to spirit, joined to the source of all energy.

I can't remember where I got the above from.

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Wishing you a pleasant experience on your spiritual journey.

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Christianity

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Christianity is most admirably adapted to the training of slaves, to the perpetuation of a slave society; in short, to the very conditions confronting us to-day.... The rulers of the earth have realized long ago what potent poison inheres in the Christian religion. That is the reason they foster it; that is why they leave nothing undone to instil it into the blood of the people. They know only too well that the subtleness of the Christian teachings is a more powerful protection against rebellion and discontent than the club or the gun. - Emma Goldman

For many centuries after the establishment of Christianity, mankind became more barbarous, ignorant, and miserable than before, instead of assisting the human mind in its progress to improvement, that system completely retarded it; a gloomy superstition, which sprung out of these gospels, cramped its energies, and fettered its exertions; instead of guiding society to freedom, peace, and happiness, there was founded on the authority of these writings a system of the most horrible and debasing oppression. - Ethan Allen

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The Noble Eightfold Path

What I like about Buddhism is that it is philosophical, factual, practical and easy to understand. No dramas, no confusing big words. Most importantly, it doesn’t demand blind faith. You are invited to explore, to test the theories, the Teachings. Only when you are satisfied and find them to be true, then you believe them. You are free to reject them if you are not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt.

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The Noblefold Eight Fold Path is one of the principal summaries of the Buddhist teachings.

The following is taken from Facebook Page 👉 Tao & Zen

How to Explain Buddha's 8 Fold Path to a Child?

Imagine you're on a journey to become a really kind and happy person. The Buddha, who was a wise teacher, gave us eight important steps to follow on this journey.

1. Right View: This means understanding what is right and what is wrong. For example, if you see someone being bullied at school, you should understand that it's wrong and try to help them. Also, it means that we try to understand why things happen. Why is the bully being unkind, what is happening in their life to cause this?

2. Right Intention: This is about having good thoughts and kind intentions. Like when you decide to share your desert with a friend because you want them to be happy too. Or when you see a wounded bird and want to help them.

3. Right Speech: It's important to speak kindly and truthfully. For instance, if you accidentally break something, you should be honest and tell the truth about it. Also, when angry, we should be careful about what we say to others. Cruel words can hurt people. Kind words will help them.

4. Right Action: This means doing good things and not hurting others. So, for example, you should help your parents at home and help friends when they have a problem. Kind actions are right actions. Anything we do that helps others and does not hurt them is right action.

5. Right Livelihood: This is about earning a living in a way that doesn't harm others. Like when grown-ups have jobs that help people, animals or the environment. If our job is hurting others, we should change what we do.

6. Right Effort: It's important to always try our best and not give up easily. Just like when you learned to ride a bike, you kept trying even if you fell down. In life, you will have the chance to develop many skills. Mistakes are natural, and help us learn. By making an effort, we grow and help others.

7. Right Concentration: This is like focusing your mind to do something well, like when you're practicing piano, reading a book, drawing a picture or playing a sport. When we concentrate well, our skills improve. If we don't concentrate well, we will have trouble growing and learning.

8. Right Mindfulness: This means being aware of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Also, to be aware of where you are and what you are doing right now. For instance, when you're eating, pay attention to how the food tastes and how it makes you feel. Also, being aware of how beautiful nature is, and experiencing a deep connection with your heart. And being aware of other people in trouble, who need help.

These eight steps help us become better people, solve problems and find happiness in our lives.

Tao & Zen, 2024

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Wishing you a pleasant experience on your spiritual journey.

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The Bible

How many people read the entire Bible? And can one seriously believe in the Bible after having read it thoroughly? I think anyone with a brain having read the bible would cast the book aside and never believe a word it said.

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The Bible begins with two accounts of Genesis that conflict with each other, and it ends with four accounts of Jesus that conflict with each other. This book has been compiled and changed by numerous hands. The Bible is utterly inconsistent and nonsensical in innumerable places. The author must have a truly warped view of reality to see that as “fitting perfectly into place.” And, if God’s work in creation is so Great, why does it need redemption? Why does God make such an imperfect creation that needs saving, and how can this be called ‘Great?’ The whole plot – God makes a rotten creation that needs saving, so he sends his only-begotten and much-beloved son to be viciously crucified – is grotesque. What kind of almighty creator chooses this as his Creation? - M. Murdock

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Beliefs

I am all for people believing what they want. But when people try to convince me that their belief is right and want me to follow them in their belief, that is when I get annoyed – very annoyed. Talking about beliefs with me will not end well.

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No amount of belief makes something a fact. - James Randi

A believer is a bird in a cage, a free-thinker is an eagle parting the clouds with tireless wings. - Robert Ingersoll

The less you know the more you believe. - U2

Men in general are quick to believe that which they wish to be true. - Julius Caesar

For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don’t believe, no proof is possible. - Stuart Chase

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Wishing you a pleasant experience on your spiritual journey.

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Spiritual Journey

The spirtual journey is a very personal thing. There will sometimes be long periods when you feel you are not getting anywhere. And there will be times when you have a moment of ‘enlightenment’. Like doing a zigsaw puzzle, you found a piece of the puzzle that fits. When that happens, you will feel blissful.

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A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire. - Thomas Merton

In order to experience everyday spirituality, we need to remember that we are spiritual beings spending some time in a human body. - Barbara De Angelis

Even when we truly understand these matters, the journey of spiritual growth is still so lonely and difficult that we often become discouraged. - M. Scott Peck

Being on a spiritual path does not prevent you from facing times of darkness. But it teaches you how to use the darkness as a tool to grow. - Unknown

Do not ask me where I am going, as I travel in this limitless world, where every step I take is my home. - Dogen

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Food For Thought

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The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest quality is seeking to serve others. The greatest generosity is non-attachment. The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind. The greatest patience is humility. The greatest effort is not concerned with results. The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go. - Atisha

All that you need is just to be silent and listen to existence. There is no need of any religion, there is no need of any God, there is no need of any priesthood, there is no need of any organization. All those things can be removed. Now all that is left to you is a state of meditation which simply means a state of utter silence. Even the word meditation makes it look heavier. It is better to just call it a simple, innocent silence. - Osho

A human being is part of the whole, called by us ‘universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self. - Albert Einstein

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Wishing you a pleasant experience on your spiritual journey.

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Spirituality

I started out on my spiritual journey in my mid-twenties when common sense and logic told me that the God people believe in couldn’t exist. I believe there is a higher ‘Order’ in the scheme of things. This order is ‘Dependent Origination’. It is this ‘Order’ that things come into being and non-being. This ‘Order’ is responsible for maintaining the equilibrium, keeping the universe together, keeping it going with its own laws.

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Just as in learning to swim or in learning a language, often toiling on with no apparent result, there comes a day when suddenly we realize we can do it, - how we know we know not; so it is in spiritual matters. - Forbes Robinson

When we pay attention, whatever we are doing… is transformed and becomes a part of our spiritual path. We begin to notice details and textures that we never noticed before’ everyday life becomes clearer, sharper, and at the same time more spacious. - Rick Fields

There simply is nothing to which we can attach ourselves, no matter how hard we try. In time, things will change and the conditions that produced our current desires will be gone. Why then cling to them now? - Master Hsing Yun

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Tao (道) - The Way of Nature

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Tao or Dao: 道 is a Chinese word meaning 'way', 'path', 'route'... In Japanese pronounced "Do" - the symbol associated with traditional arts practices like judo, kendo, kyudo, aikido, chado (the way of tea)...

Tao signifies the fundamental true nature of the Universe (and ourselves). Tao is not a 'name' for a 'thing' but the underlying natural harmony and cosmic order... It is thus "eternally nameless” and to be distinguished from the countless 'named' things (visible forms and structures) which are considered to be its manifestations.

The Tao is the natural balance and wisdom of our universe, the eternal "way" or cycle that guides the return of all beings and created things to peace, stillness and emptiness.

By aligning with the Tao, egoistic thoughts naturally dissolve and melt away, and we move once again in synch with Nature, the Cosmos, All That Is.

Nothing is to be attained with the Tao. Rather, we connect with our true nature by cultivating inner serenity and letting go.

- Information from Tao and Zen Facebook page.

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"Returning is the motion of the Tao. Each separate being returns to the common Source. Returning to the Source is serenity." - Lao Tsu

"Yield and overcome. Empty and be full. Have little and gain. Have much and be confused." - Lao Tsu,

“The Tao is near and people seek it far away.” - Mencius

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Wishing you a pleasant experience on your spiritual journey.

Namaste 🙏

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The Mind

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We are so at the mercy of our minds that even when we find that the spiritual teachings strike a chord inside us, and move us more than anything we have ever experienced, still we hold back, because of some deep-seated and inexplicable suspicion.
Somewhere along the line, though we have to stop mistrusting. We have to let go of the suspicion and doubt, which are supposed to protect us but never work, and only end up hurting us even more than what they are supposed to defend us from. - Sogyal Rinpoche

A quiet mind is all you need. All else will happen rightly, once your mind is quiet. As the sun on rising makes the world active, so does Self-awareness affect changes in the mind. In the light of calm and steady Self-awareness, inner energies wake up and work miracles without any effort on your part. - Unknown

A mind at peace, a mind centred and not focused on harming others, is stronger than any physical force in the universe. - Wayne Dyer

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Wishing you a pleasant experience on your spiritual journey.

Namaste 🙏

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Zen

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Zen, like life, defies exact definition, but its essence is the experience, moment by moment, of our own existence – a natural, spontaneous encounter, unclouded by the suppositions and expectations that come between us and reality. It is, if you like, a paring down of life until we see it as it really is, free from our illusions; it is merely a divestment of ourselves until we recognize our own true nature. - David Fontana

If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are. - Zen Proverb

Most writers agree on the fact that Zen is not to be understood but to be lived; and far from being incompatible with the requirements of everyday life, Zen confers on it its own full revealing value. - Robert Linssen

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Religion

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A man’s ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. - Albert Einstein

All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few. - Stendhal

Can you imagine a world with no religion? No Muslims killing Jews, no Christians bombing abortion clinics. The world would be a wonderful place... - Richard Dawkins

Wishing you a pleasant experience on your spiritual journey.

Namaste 🙏

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God

Needless to say, I do not believe that there is a God.

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Each man creates god in his own image. - Mordecai Richler

A god of kindness would be charitable to all. Your god of wrath and punishment is but a monstrous phantasy. - Emile Zola

God – if he really exist – is good, alive, self-conscious, and governs all things according to his benevolent and holy providence; but the world shows no indications of such a benevolent and holy Providence. This earth appears to be a hell, or at best a planet condemned – a sort of purgatory: it is filled with violence, tyranny and injustice, and yet God, if he exist, is absolute sovereign, and has willed that things should be as they are! – Therefore there is no God. - William Batchelder Greene

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Namaste 🙏

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Universse

A human being is part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe’, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion, of his consciousness. The delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires, and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures, and the whole of nature in its beauty. - Albert Einstein

You are not IN the universe, you ARE the universe, an intrinsic part of it. Ultimately you are not a person, but a focal point where the universe is becoming conscious of itself. - Eckhart Tolle

The microcosm of the self is essentially the same as the macrocosm of the universe. - Unknown

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Wishing you a pleasant experience on your spiritual journey.

Namaste 🙏

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Compassion

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A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. - Albert Einstein

There never was any heart truly great and generous that was not also tender and compassionate. It is this noble quality that makes all men to be of one kind; for every man would be (as it were) a distinct species to himself, were there no sympathy among individuals. - Robert South

Wishing you a pleasant experience on your spiritual journey.

Namaste 🙏

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