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Nondual Highlights Issue #1539 Saturday, August 30, 2003 Editor: Mark
Give, and it will
be given to you... for the measure you give will be the measure
you get back. - Luke 6.38
He who gives liberally goes straight to the gods; on the high
ridge of heaven he stands exalted. - Rig Veda 1.125.5
Those who act kindly in this world will have kindness. - Qur'an
39.10
It is only when one does not have enough faith in others that
others will have no faith in him. - Tao Te Ching 17
If beings knew, as I know, the fruit of sharing gifts, they would
not enjoy their use without sharing them, nor would the taint of
stinginess obsess the heart and stay there. Even if it were their
last bit, their last morsel of food, they would not enjoy its use
without sharing it, if there were anyone to receive it. -
Itivuttaka 18
The Buddha said, "When you see someone practicing the Way of
giving, aid him joyously, and you will obtain vast and great
blessings." A shramana asked: "Is there an end to those
blessings?" The Buddha said, "Consider the flame of a
single lamp. Though a hundred thousand people come and light
their own lamps from it so that they can cook their food and ward
off the darkness, the first lamp remains the same as before.
Blessings are like this, too." - Sutra of Forty-two Sections
10
Be kind and generous to others if you expect others to help you.
- Yoruba Proverb
Giving simply because it is right to give, without thought of
return, at a proper time, in proper circumstances, and to a
worthy person, is enlightened giving. Giving with regrets or in
the expectation of receiving some favor or of getting something
in return, is selfish giving. - Bhagavad Gita 17.20-21
Enlightening beings are magnanimous givers, bestowing whatever
they have with equanimity, without regret, without hoping for
reward, without seeking honor, without coveting material
benefits, but only to rescue and safeguard all living beings. -
Garland Sutra 21
If I give this, what shall I [have left to] enjoy?"-- Such
selfish thinking is the way of the ghosts; "If I enjoy this,
what shall I [have left to] give?"-- Such selfless thinking
is a quality of the gods. - Shantideva, Guide to the
Bodhisattva's Way of Life 8.125
Mencius said, "A man who is out to make a name for himself
will be able to give away a state of a thousand chariots, but
reluctance would be written all over his face if he had to give
away a basketful of rice and a bowlful of soup when no such
purpose was served." - Mencius VII.B.11
More here: http://www.origin.org/ucs/ws/theme140.cfm
Gratitude:
This is great
What a moment
I see the God in you
The response to grace is gratefulness. In fact, grateful is taken from the root word--grace. ..... - Liliana
If you wish to
cultivate gratitude you must develop a practice. Without
practice, there is no development of skill - only an idea. You
cannot become a grateful person just by thinking that you want to
be grateful. Sometimes we are engaged in a practice, but we don't
think of it as a practice. For example: complaining. Complaining
is a wonderful practice if you wish to cultivate disappointment,
resentment and self-pity. Have you ever tried this practice? It
is quite effective. Each time you complain you get better at
complaining. It is like learning to play an instrument.
Most of us are better at the practice of complaining than at the
practice of self-reflection. We have developed a habit of
attention - to notice the troubles others cause us. And we have
developed a habit of speech -- to complain to others about these
troubles. But to cultivate gratitude, we need to develop a new
habit of attention - to notice the concrete ways in which the
world supports us each day. And we can then develop a new habit
of speech - expressing our gratitude to others.
So start your practice today. Notice. Reflect. Express. Hey,
what's that sound? Oh, it's the alarm on my watch reminding me I
have an appointment. What a nice feature. It frees up my mind to
attend to other things. Thanks, watch. And thanks to my wife
Linda who gave it to me. And thanks to all the people who made
it. And thank goodness my finger works well enough to shut it
off. Time . . . . . to move on.
More here: http://www.todoinstitute.com/30KDaysAttnandGratitude.html
Abraham caused
God's name to be mentioned by all the travellers whom he
entertained. For after they had eaten and drunk, and when they
arose to bless Abraham, he said to them, "Is it of mine that
you have eaten? Surely it is of what belongs to God that you have
eaten. So praise and bless Him by whose word the world was
created." - Talmud, Sota 10b
The unworthy man is ungrateful, forgetful of benefits [done to
him]. This ingratitude, this forgetfulness is congenial to mean
people... But the worthy person is grateful and mindful of
benefits done to him. This gratitude, this mindfulness, is
congenial to the best people. - Anguttara Nikaya i.61
One upon whom We bestow kindness
But will not express gratitude,
Is worse than a robber
Who carries away our belongings. - Yoruba Proverb (Nigeria)
Be not like those who honor their gods in prosperity and curse
them in adversity. In pleasure or pain, give thanks! - Midrash,
Mekilta to Exodus 20.20
O my Father, Great Elder,
I have no words to thank you,
But with your deep wisdom
I am sure that you can see
How I value your glorious gifts.
O my Father, when I look upon your greatness,
I am confounded with awe.
O Great Elder,
Ruler of all things earthly and heavenly,
I am your warrior,
Ready to act in accordance with your will.
- Kikuya Prayer (Kenya)
You, the World Honored One, are a great benefactor.
By doing this rare thing,
You taught and benefited us
Out of your compassion towards us.
No one will be able to repay your favors
Even if he tries to do it
For many hundreds of millions of kalpas.
No one will be able to repay your favors
Even if he bows to you respectfully,
And offers you his hands or feet or anything else.
No one will be able to repay your favors
Even if he carries you on his head or shoulders
And respects you from the bottom of his heart
For as many kalpas
As there are sands in the River Ganges. - Lotus Sutra 4
All human bodies are things lent by God. With what thought are
you using them? - Terrikyo - Ofudesaki 3.41
Forget not the grace
Of generations of ancestors;
From age to age, the ancestors
Are our own ujigami,
Gods of our families.
Father and mother
Are gods of the family;
Even so, honor them as gods with
heartfelt service,
All you of human birth. - Shinto. Norinaga Motoori, One Hundred
Poems on the Jewelled Spear
More here: http://www.origin.org/ucs/ws/theme108.cfm
Gratitude is born
out of intentional awareness. You must be awake and alert to life
as it unfolds in order to be grateful for all that surrounds you.
To do this, simply make the conscious choice to observe.
Once Gratitude is birthed, you will naturally be drawn to take it
a step deeper than observing. Allow it to permeate your being. As
you turn the heat up a notch on your stove, turn the heat up a
notch on your gratitude.
* Note it,
* reflect upon it,
* and see how to apply the lessons you are learning from it.
Then, make those applications a reality.
Integrate Gratitude into your life through bringing it with you
into all your activities.
Be Grateful while you are exercising, doing chores, creating a
project, sorting your mail, talking to your partner. Gratitude
does not fit into a box, it needs to infiltrate all areas of your
life in order to INFLUENCE your life's entirety positively.
- Julie Jordan Scott