Now is the time
To climb up the mountain
And reason against habit.
Now is the time.
Now is the time
To renew the barren soil of nature
Ruined by the winds of tyranny
Now is the time.
Now is the time
To commence the litany of hope
Now is the time.
Now is the time
To give me roses, not to keep them
For my grave to come.
Give them to me while my heart beats,
Give them today
While my heart yearns for jubilee.
Now is the time…
Mzwakhe Mbuli
The Jain flag. The swastica has existed as a symbol in India from 3000 BC and its use by Hitler in later years is not relevant to the Jains.
Friendship toward all beings,
Delight in the qualities of virtuous ones,
Utmost compassion for afflicted beings,
Equanimity toward those who are not well-disposed toward me.
May my soul have such dispositions as these forever.
Peacefulness toward all beings;
self-control and pure aspirations;
abandonment of every thought
that is tainted by desire or aversion;
that, truly, is dwelling in my Self.
I ask for forgiveness of all living creatures,
May all of them forgive me
May I have a friendly relationship with all beings
and unfriendly with none.
Padmanabh S. Jaini
There is a dog I sometimes take for a walk
and turn loose in a field,
when I can’t give her that freedom,
I feel in debt.
I hope God thinks like that and
is keeping track of all
the bliss He
owes
me.
Rabia
Why are you waiting to begin your life?
Do you think the world must care and come soliciting?
Listen to the knocking at the door of your own heart
It is only faint because you have not answered
You have fooled yourself with preparations
Time left laughing while you considered possibilities
Wake up you have slept long enough
Wake up tomorrow may be too late
When you finally dare open the door
your life will begin arriving
Cautiously at first unbelieving that the gate
So long locked against the tide
has finally been opened
Then with swells of neglected dreams
Then with waves of joyful revelation
the sea will follow
You will be swept by the full and magnificent tides
of your own longing
That no one else can give you
That no one else can claim
Judith Gass
Every truth without exception – no matter
who makes it – is from God.
If a bird got accused of singing too early
in the morning,
if a lute began to magically play on its own
in the square
and the enchanting sounds it made drove a pair of young lovers
into a wild, public display of passion,
if this lute and bird then got called before the inquisition
and their lives were literally at stake,
could not God walk up and say before the court,
“All acts of beauty are mine, all happen on behalf of love”?
And while God was there, testifying for our heart’s desires,
hopefully the judge would be astute enough
to brave a question,
that could go,
“Dear God, you say all acts of beauty are yours,
surely we can believe that. But what of all actions
we see in this world,
for is there any force in existence greater than the power
of your omnipresent hand?”
And God might have responded, “I like that question,”
adding, “May I ask you one as well?”
And then God would say,
“Have you ever been in a conversation when children
entered the room, and then you ceased speaking because your
wisdom knew you that they were not old enough
to benefit – to understand?
As exquisite is your world, most everyone in it
is spiritually young.
Spirituality is love, and love never wars with the minute, the day,
one’s self and others. Love would rather die
than maim a limb,
a wing.
Dear, anything that divides man from man,
earth from sky, light and dark, one religion from another…
O, I best keep silent, I see a child
just entered the
room”
Thomas Aquinas
Dear God,
Please bless and protect this sacred jewel,
Our vulnerable planet so besieged.
May the rivers and the oceans and the sky and the land
All be repaired somehow, dear Lord.
May the barbarism end, which threatens to destroy our priceless treasure.
For surely the earth has been our home,
The home of our parents unto all generations.
For the sake of our children, Lord,
Save this earth.
Place in all minds a greater awe before her mysteries.
Shield her and heal her wounds,
Restore her to her former glory.
Save her, Lord, from us.
Amen.
Marianne Williamson
The world will tell you that success is achieving what you set out to do. It will tell you that success is winning, that finding recognition and/or prosperity are essential ingredients in any success. All or some of the above are usually by-products of success. The conventional notion of success is concerned with the outcome of what you do. Some say that success is the result of a combination of hard work and luck, or determination and talent, or being in the right place at the right time. While any of these may be determinants of success, they are not its essence. What the world doesn’t tell you – because it doesn’t know – is that you cannot become successful. You can only be successful. Don’t let a mad world tell you that success is anything other than a successful present moment. And what is that? There is a sense of quality in what you do, even the most simple actioon. Quality implies care and attention, which come with awareness. Quality requires your Presence.
Eckhart Tolle
And with that breath arrives a new body. Notice in the desires that arise as that new incarnation approaches the dimming of the light that precedes the forgetfulness. Attempt to stay alert through the process of re-entry.
Each breath the first.
Each breath completely new.
Taking birth once again.
Born back into a body to examine what was born. And what never dies.
Taking birth for the benefit of all sentient beings.
The light body inhabiting a heavy body. Re-animating life and the possibility of an awareness so clear it obviates any potential for the kind of still birth that lasts a lifetime.
Each breath the first.
Born to serve and explore. To deepen the mercy of whatever world we find ourselves in.
Each breath so precious, allowing the light body to remain a moment more with its earthen vessel.
Taking birth into this world to discover the healing we have so long sought. And to sing the song we have been learning since we sat beneath the bo tree or hung from the cross or looked into the eyes of our dying child. No one said it would be easy, only fruitful.
Each breath the first, the last, the only breath available, to carry us beyond our forgetfulness into the scintillating centre of the living truth.
May all beings live with death over their left shoulder and kindness in the centre of their heart.
May all beings be free from suffering. May all beings know the great fortune of their great nature.
May all beings be at peace.
Stephen Levine