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SAYINGS
OF THE BUDDHA: THE PATH OF PEACE AND
HARMONY
by
John WorldPeace
Copyright 1996 by John WorldPeace Houston, Texas USA
All rights reserved.
To World Peace; "The possible dream" andTo my
angelic and loving wife, Kay, whose beautiful spirit
caresses me with perfect love.
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PREFACE
Buddha lived around 600 B.C.E. in India. He was raised as
a prince. After
the birth of his first son, he left his family and began
a quest to seek out the
source of suffering in the world.
He tried all methods of meditation and is said to have
fasted to the point of
eating only one grain of rice or bean per day. This left
him near exhaustion
and no closer to the riddle of suffering. He sat down
under a Bo tree and
ate something and rested.
He then began to see visions and became as he said,
"awakened".
He then went and found the 6 ascetics with whom he had
been traveling and
taught them what he had learned. Then for the next forty
years taught his
message: The eight-fold path.
Toward the end of his life when his religion began to be
established there
was an attempt on his life. He survived and continued to
teach. The
bureaucratic power which always manifest around great
religious figures
had already begun to take over the message.
When he was 82 he became ill while traveling from village
to village. He
sat down under a tree and sent out word that he was dying.
Many came to
see him. When he saw everyone, he went into mediation and
left his body.
Within a month after his death, his followers gathered
together and wrote
down his most famous sayings and teachings. These have
come down to us
as the Dhammapada which contains 423 verses.
What I have done is not to interpret the original
pictographs which have
been most surely manipulated over the millennium, but
have taken several
translations and then put a peace and harmony WorldPeace
orientation on
them. What has manifested is more of an interpretation
than a literal
translation. This is what the saying of Buddha, as handed
down over the
millennia say to me.
I have no intention to argue over the literal translation
of what the Buddha
said. The thrust of his message is contained within my
words.
Neither am I trying to convert anyone to my way of
thinking. I am only
presenting what I have personally found after years of
studying the sayings
of the Buddha.
My objective is to increase the peace on earth. My goal
is to find like
minded souls to further explore these thoughts and to
help manifest
WorldPeace.
THE FOUR NOBLE
TRUTHS
The Four Noble Truths
1. Every human being to some extent lives in confusion (sorrow)
in the
manifestations of the Infinite and this reality.
2. The main cause of confusion is self centered desire
because we think
that we are not at one with all of humanity.
3. We can put an end to our confusion in the
manifestations of the Infinite
and this reality and begin to live in peace and harmony
by overcoming our
self centered desire.
4. Confusion can be put to an end by following the
peaceful and
harmonious eight fold path which consists of:
1. Peaceful and harmonious Knowledge. Know in our minds
that all
things change.
2. Peaceful and harmonious Aspiration. Determination to
live in the
peace and harmony of the oneness of the Infinite and
humanity by refusing to
make distinctions that are the source of confusion in the
manifestations of
this reality.
3. Peaceful and harmonious Speech. Always speak the truth
and be
charitable in speaking to others.
4. Peaceful and harmonious behavior
a. Do not kill.
b. Do not steal.
c. Do not lie.
d. Practice sexual restraint
e. Avoid alcohol and drugs
5. Peaceful and harmonious livelihood. Pursue occupations
that
promote peace and harmony and uplift humanity as opposed
to those that
increase confusion within humanity.
6. Peaceful and harmonious Effort. Remain centered in the
Oneness of
the Infinite.
7. Peaceful and harmonious Attention. Remaining moment to
moment
attentive to the oneness of the Infinite.
8. Peaceful and harmonious Meditation to train the mind.
THE TWIN VERSES
CHAPTER 1
THE TWIN VERSES
1.
All the aspects of our individual and collective
realities
are the result of our thoughts.
Our thoughts are the implementers
of our individual and collective paths of life.
All things are a manifestation of our thoughts.
If one's thoughts are confused,
then one becomes lost in the manifestations of those
thoughts
the same way that a cart follows a horse.
2.
All the aspects of our individual and collective
realities
are the result of our thoughts.
Our thoughts are the implementers
of our individual and collective paths of life.
All things are a manifestation of our thoughts.
If one's thoughts are in harmony with the oneness of
Infinity,
then peace and harmony permeates one's existence
the same way that one's shadow never abandons one's body.
3.
"I was demeaned. I was assaulted. I was defeated. I
was robbed."
As long as one dwell's upon these distinctions in one's
life,
he will remain confused in the manifestations of the
Infinite
and will not live in peace and harmony.
4.
"I was demeaned. I was assaulted. I was defeated. I
was robbed."
One who does not dwell on these distinctions,
is centered in the oneness of Infinity (God)
and lives in peace and harmony.
5.
When confusion manifests hatred,
it cannot be overcome by more hatred.
Only by refusing to distinguish hatred
and by refusing to dwell upon it
and by remembering the oneness
of all the manifestations of the Infinite
can hatred be neutralized.
This is the universal law of peace and harmony.
6.
The majority of people avoid contemplating their
mortality.
They are confused in this reality
and have forgotten the oneness of the Infinite.
Those who stay focused on the oneness of Infinity
are not confused in conflict with others
and live in peace and harmony.
7.
Those who mindlessly lust after possessions,
who are caught up in the physical pleasures of eating
and sexual stimulation,
who avoid the routine of working
at some productive endeavor,
are confused in the physical manifestations of this
reality
and find living in peace and harmony
difficult to achieve and maintain.
They are like a tree with shallow roots
which succumbs to the monsoon rains.
8.
Those whose possessions are limited for the most part by
utility,
like pots and pans for cooking and vehicles for
transportation,
as opposed to ownership for the purpose of achieving
social status;
whose food is simple and basic
and whose sexual pleasures are an integral part of loving
someone
as opposed the to mindless gratification of the genitals,
tend not to be confused in the manifestations of this
reality
and have a better chance of achieving
and maintaining peace and harmony in their lives.
These people can be likened to a mountain
which is unaffected by even the most violent of winds.
9.
One who is intemperate in succumbing to the physical
pleasures,
who is untruthful, and who has little self restraint,
will find it difficult to live in peace and harmony.
10.
One who keeps the physical pleasures in perspective,
who is truthful in her encounters with others,
who maintains self-restraint in her daily life,
will live in peace and harmony.
11.
Those who believes that the manifestations of Infinity
are the true reality
and who thinks the oneness of Infinity is the unreal
are confused
and find it difficult to live in peace and harmony.
12.
Those who recognize the manifestations of Infinity as the
unreal,
and recognize the oneness of Infinity as the true
reality,
are not confused
and live in peace and harmony.
13.
As rain penetrates an improperly shingled roof,
so passion overwhelms a confused mind.
14.
As rain does not penetrate a properly shingled roof,
so passion does not overwhelm a mind
centered in the oneness of Infinity.
15.
Those who are confused in the manifestations of Infinity
are confused in this reality and the reality of the
spirit as well.
Peace and harmony elude the confused.
16.
Those who are not confused in the manifestations of
Infinity
are not confused in this reality or the reality of the
spirit.
They live in the peace and harmony of the oneness of
Infinity.
17.
Those who are confused in the manifestations of Infinity
have no peace in this reality or the reality of the
spirit.
They seek peace and harmony in the manifestations of
Infinity
and they therefore never achieve peace and harmony in
their lives.
18.
Those who live in peace and harmony are not confused
in the manifestations of Infinity,
in this reality or the reality of the spirit.
They maintain peace and harmony in this reality
and the reality of the spirit
because they remain moment to moment
centered in the oneness of Infinity.
19.
One who can recite many sacred verses
but cannot live by them
is like an accountant who tallies the wealth of others.
He does not live in peace and harmony.
20.
One who can recite only a few sacred verses
but lives in the peace and harmony of those verses,
who has not succumbed to confusion in desire, passion or
hatred
in the manifestations of Infinity,
lives in peace and harmony.
VIGILANCE
CHAPTER 2
VIGILANCE
21.
Vigilance in remaining centered in the oneness of
Infinity
is the path of peace and harmony and the fullness of life.
The lack of vigilance in remaining centered
in the oneness of Infinity
is the path of confusion in the manifestations of the
Infinite.
The vigilant do not become confused.
Those who lack vigilance are deprived
of the fullness of life as a result of their confusion;
even though on the surface they may appear
to live in peace and harmony.
22.
Having knowledge of the peace and harmony
and the fullness of life which vigilance manifests,
the wise embrace vigilance
and delight in the path of peace and harmony
and the fullness of life which vigilance manifests.
23.
The wise ones who moment to moment
meditate upon the oneness of Infinity,
who are unwavering in their vigilance
in remaining centered in the oneness of Infinity,
live in peace and harmony.
24.
One who is on the path to the supreme peace and harmony
of Nirvana
is one who never stops striving for peace and harmony,
who moment to moment meditates
on her oneness with the earth, with the universe, with
God
and with all of humanity;
is truthful in character,
treats others as she desires to be treated,
acts with forethought and restraint,
is vigilant
and lives in harmony with her inner being
and her path of life.
25.
Through perseverance, vigilance and self-restraint,
a wise person creates a safe harbor for herself
that no storm can overwhelm.
26.
Those who are confused in the manifestations of the
Infinite
place no value on vigilance;
but the wise ones regard their vigilance
as their greatest treasure.
27.
Maintain your vigilance
and avoid overindulging in sensuous pleasures.
Those who maintain their vigilance and meditate
on the oneness of the Infinite
live in peace and harmony.
28.
When the wise person avoids confusion in sorrow
through his unwavering vigilance,
he ascends to the mountain peaks of peace and harmony.
He observes those below him, who remain confused in
sorrow,
like a mountaineer observes people in the valley.
29.
Vigilant among those who are negligent,
awake among those who are asleep,
the wise advance on the path of peace and harmony
like the thoroughbred that outdistances the plowhorse.
30.
It was through vigilance
that Indra became the sovereign of all the gods.
Vigilance is moment to moment maintained
and negligence is always avoided by the wise.
31.
The sincere seeker of peace and harmony
who maintains vigilance and avoids negligence
advances on the path of peace and harmony like fire;
burning all her fetters both great and small.
32.
The sincere seeker of peace and harmony
who maintains vigilance and avoids negligence
is unlikely to be set back
on the path of peace and harmony.
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