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If we touch the Holy Spirit, we touch God not as a concept but as a living reality."
-Thich Nhat Hanh i have this habit of buying books and not really getting around to reading much of them.
my latest purchase has been a good one. i've always wanted to sit down and read at least a few of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches... so i'm excited about this one. here's an excerpt from another book i'm reading.. i think its great insight: "In the Psalms, it says, 'Be still and know that I am God.' 'Be still' means to become peaceful and concentrated. The Buddhist term is samatha (stopping, calming, concentrating). 'Know' means to acquire wisdom, insight, or understanding. The Buddhist term is vipasyana (insight, or looking deeply). 'Looking deeply' means observing something or someone with so much concentration that the distinction between observer and observed disappears. The result is insight into the true nature of the object. When we look into the heart of a flower, we see clouds, sunshine, minerals, time, the earth, and everything else in the cosmos in it. Without clouds, there could be no rain, and there would be no flower. Without time, the flower could not bloom. In fact, the flower is made entirely of non-flower elements; it has no independent, individual existence. It 'inter-is' with everything else in the universe. Interbeing is a new term, but I believe it will be in the dictionary soon because it is such an important word. When we see the nature of interbeing, barriers between ourselves and others are dissolved, and peace, love, and understanding are possible. Whenever there is understanding, compassion is born."
from Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh it is awkward to read a Buddhist discussing the idea of Living Christ... but its healthy |
