interspirituality – Quotations Treasury – a sub-blog of Soul Needs

Francis Lucille: “What We Are Speaks More Loudly Than What We See”

Francis Lucille was (is?) Rupert Spira’s teacher;

YouTube Notes:

Interview with the spiritual teacher of the tradition of Advaita Vedanta (non-duality) Francis Lucille for Buddha at the Gas Pump.

In this conversation, amongst other things, we explore the intellectual understanding of enlightenment, how our neglected bodies change after becoming awakened and if consciousness is limited. Francis Lucille – Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview:

Francis Lucille was Rupert Spira’s teacher. See https://batgap.com/francis-lucille/

Francis Lucille is a spiritual teacher of the tradition of Advaita Vedanta (non-duality). He became a disciple of Jean Klein, a French Advaita teacher whom he met in 1975.

This was the beginning of a close association that lasted until the death of his friend and spiritual master in 1998.

Jean Klein‘s own guru, “Panditji” Rao, whom he met in India in the nineteen-fifties, was a college professor in Bangalore who taught Sanskrit and belonged to a lineage of traditional Advaita Vedanta teachers. Francis Lucille speaks about one thing: awareness, our true nature, the Absolute.

This is the ancient teaching of non-duality, the common ground of Advaita Vedanta, Ch’an Buddhism, Zen, Taoism and Sufism, the same common ground which is at the core of the message left behind by the founders of all great religions.

In a loving, open, blissfully peaceful manner, Francis leads us to a deep understanding that what we are is love, the pure awareness behind and between all the activities of the mind.

“Everything is created from moment to moment, always new.”

Like fireworks, this universe is a celebration and you are the spectator contemplating the eternal Fourth of July of your absolute splendor. – Francis Lucille’s quote. SOURCE

A not-to-be-missed piece on meaning-making as peace-building

Matt Talbot has written a fine piece, poetic at times, entitled ‘Some Thoughts on War for Memorial Day’ that sees war as apparently providing several forms of meaning-making. He argues, quite rightly in my world-view, that alternative ways to make meaning help those who mistakingly go to war to find peace-building alternatives

Matt builds his post around two quotations from Chris Hedges

The enduring attraction of war is this: Even with its destruction and carnage it can give us what we long for in life. It can give us purpose, meaning, a reason for living. Only when we are in the midst of conflict does the shallowness and vapidness of much of our lives become apparent. Trivia dominates our conversations and increasingly our airwaves. And war is an enticing elixir. It gives us resolve, a cause. It allows us to be noble. And those who have the least meaning in their lives, the impoverished refugees in Gaza, the disenfranchised North African immigrants in France, even the legions of young who live in the splendid indolence and safety of the industrialized world, are all susceptible to war’s appeal.

― Chris Hedges, Author of ‘War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning’

Hedges again:

‘If we really saw war, what war does to young minds and bodies, it would be impossible to embrace the myth of war. If we had to stand over the mangled corpses of schoolchildren killed in Afghanistan and listen to the wails of their parents, we would not be able to repeat clichés we use to justify war. This is why war is carefully sanitized. This is why we are given war’s perverse and dark thrill but are spared from seeing war’s consequences. The mythic visions of war keep it heroic and entertaining…

The wounded, the crippled, and the dead are, in this great charade, swiftly carted offstage. They are war’s refuse. We do not see them. We do not hear them. They are doomed, like wandering spirits, to float around the edges of our consciousness, ignored, even reviled. The message they tell is too painful for us to hear. We prefer to celebrate ourselves and our nation by imbibing the myths of glory, honor, patriotism, and heroism, words that in combat become empty and meaningless.’

Two points from me;

He underestimates the war machine that operates to bring yet more wealth to the mega-rich who run society.

Secondly if Talbot develops the post further a mention might be made of one or two of those who have evolved similar theories such as Logotherapy which was developed by psychiatrist and holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl from his time in a concentration camp in which he observed those whom meaning making helped in their survival.

Talbot’s piece is not to be missed – https://vox-nova.com/2016/05/21/some-thoughts-on-war-for-memorial-day/

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Our harmony and at-one-ment rests on realizing our true purpose in this world, which is to live in the now or presence.

Roger founded the One Garden group network.

THE COMING INTERSPIRITUAL AGE – by Johnson & Ord

The first part of the book is here;

Click to access Pages-from-THE-COMING-INTERSPIRITUAL-AGE.pdf

Baha’u’llah and Doubting Thomas

A statement by Baha’u’llah, founder of the Baha’i Faith, always reminds me of ‘doubting Thomas’;

Say: The first and foremost testimony establishing His truth is His own Self.
Next to this testimony is His Revelation.
For whoso faileth to recognize either the one or the other He hath established the
words He hath revealed as proof of His reality and truth. – Gleanings LII / pp 104/107

“But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”” – (John 20:24–25 NRSV)

Four key articles for understanding interfaith as inter-spirituality

1) Best introduction – https://universalistspirit.wordpress.com/about/extracts-from-interspirituality-bridging-the-religious-and-spiritual-traditions-of-the-world-by-william-keepin/

NB the whole of the book in which Keepin’s superb piece is free online HERE – http://www.satyana.org/pdf/SongoftheEartheBook.pdf

2) Mysticism as the Crossing of Ultimate Boundaries – by Wayne Teasdale – http://csp.org/experience/docs/teasdale-mysticism.html

3) The Mystical Core of Organized Religion – David Steindl-Rast – http://csp.org/experience/docs/steindl-mystical.html

4) Aldous Huxley’s Perennial Philosophy is HERE – https://archive.org/stream/perennialphilosp035505mbp#page/n5/mode/2up

LONG LIVE DUALITY THE TEN THOUSAND THINGS AND…

LONG LIVE DUALITY, THE TEN THOUSAND THINGS AND CONCEPTS

I laughed with delight when I came across the quotation below said to be from Chuang Tzu – in Tales From the Tao by Solala Towler.

Why?

Because there are so many who teach nonduality and they seem negative or contemptuous of the glorious world of duality. For me the old master nails the fact that humans fly with two wings – one of duality, one of nonduality.

“Where can I find a man who has forgotten words?

I would like to have a word with him.” – Chuang Tzu

Two other masters have said something similar’

The great Master Dogen said
“To study the Buddha Way is to study the self,
to study the self is to forget the self, and
to forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things.”
To be enlightened by the ten thousand things is to recognize the unity of the self and the ten thousand things.

“Concepts are delicious snacks with which we try to alleviate our amazement.” (A J Heschel)

I found hope in the darkest of days…

I found hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe. Dalai Lama

Q WHAT IS THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM REQUIRED TO…

Q. WHAT IS THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM REQUIRED TO ARRANGE AN INTERSPIRITUAL MEDITATION & DIALOGUE?

1. One other person.
2. Sit with them in silent meditation for a few minutes. Breathe – be conscious of your breathing.
3. Bring two or more high-level texts from different traditions that around a particular topic e.g. ‘love’ that point to the Oneness beyond the diverse traditions. To start see http://universalistspirit.wordpress.com/about/mission-and-vision/ for wonderful texts about love.
4. Read them aloud to each other.
5. Share insights.
6. Take tea or break bread together
7. Take the inspiration and do something good for other people.

How do you know if you are doing it right? There will be one or more of the following; lots of insights, perhaps astonishment, joy, laughter, perhaps some tears and an increased desire to serve others.

BRO WAYNE TEASDALE ON INTERSPIRITUALITY Inter spirituality is…

BRO. WAYNE TEASDALE ON INTERSPIRITUALITY

Inter-spirituality is focused on

“the recovery of the shared mystic heart beating in the center of the world’s deepest spiritual traditions.”

via

‘…the sharing of ultimate experiences across traditions.’ WT p26 The Mystic Heart

“Interspiritual dialogue can underpin a new kind of inter-religious dialogue” Wayne Teasdale

“Interspirituality is not a new form of spirituality or an overarching synthesis of what exists, but a willingness and determination to taste the depth of mystical life in other traditions.

Interfaith encounter, interreligious dialogue, and the collaborations of the religions, whether through interfaith organizations or more directly in bilateral relationships, are becoming permanent features of a new global culture.

Our knowledge of other religions and cultures is likewise increasing, opening the door to a universal understanding of religion, spirituality, and culture.” A Monk in the World, Wayne Teasdale