(A) Maximize your humanity
“The greatest concern of the human being is to know how to
properly
fulfill his
status in creation and to rightly understand what one must do in
order to be
a human being,” the great German philosopher Immanuel Kant
(1724-1804)
handwrote in 1764 on his personal copy of his newly-published
book Observations
on the Beautiful and Sublime. (1)
Two centuries after Kant, Swiss
psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl
Jung (1875-1961) wrote: “As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of
human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being...” (2)
As pointed out in a concise article
posted on Wikipedia, Jung’s work on himself and his patients convinced him that
life has a spiritual purpose beyond
material goals. Our main task, he believed, is to discover and fulfill our deep
innate potential.
Based on his study of Christianity,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Gnoticism, Taoism and other traditions, Jung believed that
this journey of transformation,
which he called individuation, is at
the mystical heart of all religions. It is a journey to meet the Self and at
the same time to meet the Divine... (3)
Jung also believed that the process of
individuation was essential in order for a person to become whole and fully developed as a human being. To become
completely integrated so that the individual becomes his or her “true self”.
How
do I be more human?
How do I maximize my human potential?
How do I capture, embody, and express the essence of humanity?
How do I become a fully and wholly developed human being?
American
psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-70)
wrote:
“One’s only rival is one’s
potentialities.
“One’s only failure is failing to live
up to one’s own possibilities. In this sense, every man can be a king, and must
therefore be treated like a king.
“If you plan on being anything less than
you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your
life...” (4)
Says the Buddha Siddharta Gautama (563-483 B.C.):
“Your work is to discover your world and
then with all your heart give yourself to it.
“Know well what leads you forward and
what holds you back, and choose the path to wisdom.
“The greatest gift is to give people your
enlightenment, to share it. It has to be the greatest.” (5)
Albert
Einstein (1879-1955), preeminent US physicist and mathematician, has said:
“Only a life lived for others is worth
living...” (6)
The Chinese sage Confucius (551-479 B.C.) exhorts:
“From the Son of Heaven (Emperor) to
the masses of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the
root of everything else...” (7)
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.) has written:
“...Waste no more time arguing what a good man should. Be one.” (8)
“Each individual has his inborn nature,
svabhava, and to make it effective in his life is his duty,” Professor S. Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) has
written, commenting on Verse 41 in the concluding Chapter XVIII of the Bhagavadgita, the five-thousand-year-old
Hindu teaching and classic scripture on human development and self-realization.
“Each individual is a focus of the
Supreme, a fragment of the Divine. His destiny is to bring out in his life this
divine possibility...” (9)
25.11.2015 23:23
(B) Develop Authenticity, Integrity, and Sincerity (AIS)
(1) Authenticity
Authenticity, according to Soren Kierkegaard (1813-55), Danish
philosopher
and existential author (“Father of Existentialism”), is reliant on an
individual finding authentic faith and becoming true to oneself... He believes
that
authentic faith can be achieved by “facing reality, making a choice and then
passionately sticking with it.”
The goal of Kierkegaard’s existential
philosophy is to show that, in order to achieve authenticity, one must face
reality and form his/her opinions of existence. He suggests: “One must make an
active choice to surrender to something that goes beyond comprehension, a leap
of faith into the religious.”
To Kierkegaard, by making a choice,
man/humankind ceases to be merely a
“child of nature” and becomes a conscious personality, a spiritual being, a
being that determines itself. (10)
“I used to suppress my upsetting
emotions a lot, because I used to believe that they would attract negativity in
my life. In addition, I didn’t want to concern others, so I tried to control my
thoughts and force myself to be positive,” Anita
Moorjani has written in DYING TO BE
ME, the New York Times best-selling book about her lessons from her own
near-death experience (NDE) in the year 2006 at the climax of her four-year
campaign against cancer and her ultimate victory. “But now I understand that
the key is to always honour who you
truly are and allow yourself to be
your own truth...” (11)
In the Afterword of this remarkable
book by a remarkable individual, Anita has advised: “Always remember not to
give away your power – instead, get in touch with your own magnificence. When
it comes to finding the right path, there’s a different answer for each person.
(12)
“The only universal solution I have
it (is) to love yourself unconditionally and be yourself fearlessly! This is the most important lesson I learned
from my NDE, and I honestly feel that if I’d always known this, I never would
have gotten cancer in the first place.
“When we’re
true to ourselves, we become instruments of truth for the planet. Because
we’re all connected, we touch the lives of everyone around us, who then affect
others. Our only obligation is to be the
love we are and allow our answers to come from within in the way that’s
most appropriate for us...” (13)
(2) Integrity
“Let no one
have the right to say truthfully of you that you are without integrity or goodness; should any think
such thoughts, see that they are without foundation,” Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote more than 1,800
years ago. (14)
“This all depends upon yourself, who else
can hinder you from attaining goodness
and integrity?...” (15)
But, what is integrity? The integrity of
a human being, not a building, etc.
There are various definitions:
Integrity is the quality of being honest
and having strong moral principles; it’s moral uprightness. It is generally a
personal choice to uphold oneself to consistently moral and ethical standards.
(16)
From an ethical/moral viewpoint, an
individual is said to possess the virtue of integrity if his/her actions are
based upon an internally consistent framework of principles and values. (17)
Integrity is adherence to ethical and
moral principles; it also stands for soundness of moral character. (18)
Integrity is living by your highest
values. It is being honest and sincere.
Integrity helps you to listen to your
conscience, to do the right thing, and to tell the truth.
You act with integrity when your words
and actions match.
Integrity gives you self-respect and a
peaceful heart (a heart at ease and peace). (19)
Integrity is essential to maximize one’s
human potential; the wholeness (intactness) of personal attitude, character and
personality is indispensable, to develop
and fulfil one’s intrinsic humanity.
(3) Sincerity
Confucius
said: “... He who possesses sincerity hits what is right without an effort and
apprehends without thinking; he is the sage who embodies the Way (of
Benevolence) with calm and ease...” (20)
Chinese scholar Li Fu Chen has commented: “Sincerity can illustrate the Way and
complete the full development of nature. So, the establishment of sincerity can
lead to the revelation of the heart and the fulfilment of nature. For this
reason, sincerity is the source of morality, the power of life, the origin of
faith and the foundation of the common existence of mankind...” (21)
The Chinese character zhi means sincerity and devotion. This
is the idea that you enter into something with the utmost sincerity and
fidelity. Also with devotion, honesty and “one’s true heart”. (22)
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote: “...Sincerity and goodness ought to have
their own unmistakable odour (fragrance), so that one who encounters this
becomes straightaway aware of it despite himself...
“A man who is truly good and sincere and
well-meaning will show it by his looks, and no one can fail to see it...” (23)
To paraphrase the imperial philosopher,
everyone can smell and see a truly sincere and good human being.
(C) Human Values and Practices
(1) Faith/Confidence/Trust
(a) Faith
“Faith is called the “seed,” and without
it the plant of spiritual life cannot start at all. Without faith one can, as a
matter of fact, do nothing worthwhile at all. This is true not only of
Buddhism, but of all religions, and even the pseudo-religions of modern times,
such as Communism,” Buddhist scholar Dr
Edward Conze (1904-79) has written, with much clarity, on the matter of
faith, which to this day is professed and shared by the great majority (over
two-thirds) of humankind. (24)
And, Conze is quoted at length in the
following:
“And this faith is much more than the mere
acceptance of beliefs. It requires the combination of four factors –
intellectual, volitional, emotional and social.
“1. Intellectually,
faith is an assent to doctrines which are not substantiated by immediately
available direct factual evidence. To be a matter of faith, a belief must go
beyond the available evidence and the believer must be willing and ready to
fill up the gaps in the evidence with an attitude of patient and trusting
acceptance. (Buddha has said that if you know, there is no need to believe.)
“2.In this sceptical age we, anyway, dwell
too much on the intellectual side of faith. Shraddha (Pali: saddha)
the word we render as “faith,” is etymologically akin to Latin cor, “the heart,” and faith is far more
a matter of the heart than of the intellect. It is, as Prof. Radhakrishnan
incisely (incisively) puts it, “the striving after self-realization by concentrating
the powers of the mind on a given idea. Volitionally,
faith implies resolute and courageous act of will. It combines the steadfast resolution that one will do a thing with the self-confidence that one can do it...
“3. Emotionally,
faith is an attitude of serenity and lucidity. Its opposite here is worry (with
nagging doubt), the state of being troubled by many things (such as
doubtfulness, indecisiveness, etc)...
“4. Socially,
and that is more difficult to understand, faith involves trust and confidence in the Buddha (His teachings) and the Sangha
(the Buddhist community of ordained and lay disciples and followers)...
“Like other spiritual qualities, faith is
somewhat paradoxical in that in one sense it is a gift which one cannot obtain by merely wanting to, and in another
sense it is a virtue that can be
cultivated...
“As a virtue, faith is strengthened and
built up by self-discipline...”
Saint
Augustine (354-430 A.D.), one of the Fathers of the Church said:
“Faith is to believe what you do not see;
the reward of this faith is to see what you believe..
“Seek not to understand that you may
believe, but believe that you may understand...” (25)
American polymath and pioneering globalist
Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1963)
averred:
“Faith is much better than belief. Belief
is when someone else does the thinking...” (26)
A pioneering developmental psychologist, Dr James Fowler (1940-2015) has defined
faith as “a person’s way of leaning into and making sense of life.”
Fowler has written: “More verb than noun, faith is the dynamic system of images, values,
and commitments that guide one’s life. It is thus universal: everyone who chooses to go on living operated by some basic faith...” (27)
(C) 1(b) Confidence
In Sanskrit, sraddha means faith.
In Pali, saddha is translated as
confidence.
To quote distinguished Sri Lankan
Theravada monk and scholar Venerable
Narada Maha Thera:
“According to
Pali, Saddha is well-established confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma (Doctrine),
and the Sangha (Spiritual Community of ordained and lay disciples and
followers). Purification (sampasadana) of its mental associates is its chief
characteristic.
“It is compared to
the water purifying gem of the universal monarch. This particular gem, when
thrown into water, causes mud and water-weeds to subside. The water is
consequently purified. In the same way, Saddha purifies the mind of its stains.
“This Saddha is
not blind faith. It is confidence based on knowledge...” (28)
As explained by Dhammasangani in Buddhist
Psychology (p. 14): “The faith which on that occasion (referring to faith
in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha) is trusting in, the professing confidence
in, the sense of assurance, faith, faith as a faculty and as a power (of
Enlightenment)...” (29)
Confidence is also
highly valued in the field of battle. According to a subordinate of General
Ulysses S. Grant, the Union military leader had “absolute confidence” in
himself after his victory on 4 July 1863 (the 87th anniversary of
American independence) in the protracted Vicksburg campaign on the Mississippi,
which marked the crucial turning point in the Civil War of 1861-65.
“...It is no
exaggeration to say that self-confidence is a magical talisman,” Dr Bil Holton comments in his analysis
of Grant’s leadership.
“Eleanor
Roosevelt’s certainty about the subject of self-confidence serves as
confirmation: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Some of
the greatest victories leaders will have are those over self-doubt,
self-ridicule, and self-punishment.” (30)
Professor Sari Nusseibeh recently wrote
on the importance of educating young Palestinians to have self-confidence and
faith “so that they are not helpless pawns of larger forces, but are
individually and collectively capable of charting their own courses in life,
and even shaping history...”
Nusseibeh has
written: “I believe that what our students need most is faith in themselves –
and faith that they have it within themselves to shape history...” (31)
On 22 July 2013, Pope Francis spoke on the
responsibility of our present generation for the full development of all young
persons – “to awaken in them their greatest potential as builders of their own
destiny, sharing responsibility for the future of everyone...” 01.12.2015 01:27
(C)1 (c) Trust
Thesarus.com:
1. Reliance on the integrity, strength,
ability, surety, etc. Of a person or thing; confidence...
2. Confident expectation of something,
hope...
LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English (2003):
A strong belief in
the honesty, goodness etc of someone or something.
As a verb, to
believe in someone or thing: We trust in God.
The motto “In God
We Trust” was first used on American coins in the early 1960s during the Civil
War (1861-65). (32)
“Trust is
important, but it is also dangerous (and risky),” Carolyn McLeod has written, at
the start of her comprehensive
philosophical tract on this rather tricky existential issue of
immeasurable import. (33)
Trust includes
self-trust.
Trust appears to
be plain and direct, yet is “inevitably complex” as McLeod has pointed out. No
one can really answer the question: “When is trust warranted?” And, trust could
be easily betrayed or broken.
The instrumental
value of trust, its benefits or the “goods of trust” include “opportunities for
cooperative activity, meaningful relations, knowledge, autonomy, self-respect,
and overall maturity” (to quote McLeod).
Although trust
cannot be willed into being, it can be cultivated. McLeod concludes: “It would
be important because trust that is warranted contributes to the foundations of
a good society. It helps people to thrive through healthy cooperation with
others and to be morally mature human
beings.”
(C) 2 Compassion/Caring
(a) Compassion
What comes from
the heart, goes to the heart.
-
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), English poet, literary
critic and philosopher.
Nobody
has ever measured, not even poets, how much a heart can hold.
-
Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-48), American novelist, dancer,
socialite, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife.
A
good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
-
Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), South Africa’s iconic
anti-apartheid revolutionary and first
state president (1994-99). (34)
I think the purpose of life is to be
useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter and
to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived
at all.
-
Leo C. Rosten (1908-97), American humorist and
author
Compassion
is not a moral commandment but a flow and overflow of the
fullest human and divine energies.
-
Matthew Fox (born 1940), American priest and
theologian as well as a prolific author
Compassion will no
longer be seen as a spiritual luxury for a contemplative few; rather it will be
viewed as a social necessity for the entire human family.
-
Duane Elgin (born 1943), American author,
educator and media activist. (35)
Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to
human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to
enlightenment...
-
Karen Armstrong (born November 1944),
Oxford-educated British author of over 20 books on comparative religion, the
heart and mind behind the Charter for
Compassion presented in Washington, D.C. November 2009.
And
its Vision: ... We believe that all
human beings are born with the capacity for compassion, and that it must be
cultivated for human beings to survive and thrive...
Embrace the compassion revolution.
(36)
(b) Caring
Pope Francis
has spoken out loud and clear on the need for caring, doing
good, and serving fellow beings for the common weal.
In 2013 the
pontiff addressed the global issues of rampant human indifference in at least a
couple of resounding speeches.
“In this
globalized world, we have fallen into globalized indifference,” the Pope said
on 8 July 2013.
“We have
become used to the suffering of others: it doesn’t affect me, it doesn’t
concern me, it’s none of my business!...”
On 8
December 2013, Pope Francis said:
“In the
dynamics of history, and in the diversity of ethnic groups, societies and
cultures, we see the seeds of a vocation to form a community composed of
brothers and sisters who accept and care for one another. But this vocation is
still frequently denied and ignored in a world marked by a “globalization of
indifference” which makes us slowly inured to the suffering of others, and
closed in ourselves...”
Indeed, pandemic is self-centredness/selfishness,
egotism/egregiousness of the self-serving lower case self.
His urgent
call is for human solidarity, service for the common good, human progress
through “the culture of encounter, a culture in which all have something good
to give and all can receive something good in return...” (37)
On 7 September 2013, the Pope delivered the gist of
his message in nine simple words:
To be human means to care for one another.
C (3) Benevolence/
Loving-Kindness
(a) Benevolence
The great fourth century B.C.
Confucian scholar and philosopher
Mencius said: “Benevolence is the
distinguishing characteristic of humanity. As embodied in man’s conduct, it is
called the Way...”
Li Fu Chen, a modern Chinese scholar,
engineer and politician, has written:
“...I am a man, as anyone else is a man (a human being).
Therefore I should not do to others what I do not wish to have done to myself.
We can call this loyalty and reciprocity; when attained, these virtues can
bring us close to the Way (of benevolence)... (38)
“The root of benevolence lies in filial piety and fraternal
love. When extended beyond love for relatives it becomes benevolence to all
people. And when extended still further, it takes the form of kindness to all
living beings.
“Therefore benevolence is what sustains human existence. It is
the foundation of morality and
prerequisite for human conduct...” (39
The Master Confucius said, “Is benevolence a thing
remote? I wish to be benevolent and lo! benevolence is at hand.” (40)
(b) Loving-Kindness (Metta/Maitri)
“...Just as a mother would protect
her only child at the risk of her own
life, even so let him cultivate a boundless heart towards all
beings,” the Buddha taught in the Metta
Sutta.
“Let his
thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world – above, below and across –
without any obstruction, without any hatred, without any enmity.
“Whether
he stands, walks, sits or lies down, as long as he is awake, he should develop
this mindfulness. This they say, is the Highest Conduct here...” (41)
As explained by the distinguished Theravada
scholar-monk Narada, Metta is the most important of the ten
transcendental virtues/perfections/Paramis (six in Mahayana practice) that
every Bodhisattva (seeking the highest enlightenment for self and all other
beings) practises in order to gain Supreme Enlightenment – Samma-Sambuddhahood.
“A
Bodhisattva extends this Metta towards every living being and identifies
himself with all, making no distinction whatsoever of caste, creed, which separate one from another,” Narada has
written.
“To a
Bodhisattva there is no far or near, no enemy or foreigner, no renegade or
untouchable, since universal love, realized through understanding, has
established the brotherhood of all living things. A Bodhisattva is a true citizen
of the world, ever kind, friendly, and compassionate.” (42)
C (4)
Altruism/Cooperation
(a) Altruism
To
be doing good deeds is man’s most glorious task.
-
Sophocles (?496 B.C. – 406 B.C.), Greek
dramatist
Man
becomes great exactly in the degree in which he gives for the welfare of his
fellow men.
-
Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869 – 1948), preeminent leader of
the Indian independence movement
Every
man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in
the darkness of destructive selfishness.
-
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-68), leader of the US Civil Rights Movement
Let
us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish.
-
Richard Dawkins (born 1941), The Selfish Gene (43)
“Selflessness (in altruistic living)
raises the quality and elevates the
meaning of our lives
and that of our descendants; in fact, our very survival may even depend on it,”
French Buddhist scholar-monk Venerable
Dr Matthieu Ricard (born February 1946) has written.
“Neuroscientists
have identified three components of altruism
that
anyone can develop as acquired skills: empathy (understanding and sharing the feelings of another), loving kindness (the wish to spread
happiness) and compassion (a desire
to relieve the suffering of another)...” (44)
Psychologists have suggested that there are two kinds of giving among
people who give more for their own “warm glow” and personal satisfaction, and
those who do charity to have a positive impact on the world.
“The Effective Altruism Movement (EAM)
consists of people who give in the latter way, combining the head and the
heart. Their aim is to do the most good they can with the resources that they
are willing to set aside for that purpose,” Professor Peter Singer, a prominent Australian ethical and
political philosopher, has written.
“To achieve
their aims, they use reason and evidence to ensure that whatever resources (a
portion of their income, or their time and talents) they devote to doing good will be as effective as possible...”
(45)
C (4) (b) Cooperation
“...If
we are to win the struggle for existence, and avoid a precipitous
fall, there’s no choice but to harness this extraordinary
creative force (in strong
human cooperation). We now have to refine and to extend our
ability to
cooperate,” Professor
Martin Novak and Dr Roger Highfield have written in
their recent book SUPER
COOPERATORS. (46)
“Today we
face a stark choice: we can either move up to the next stage
of evolutionary
complexity, or we can go into decline, even become extinct...” (47)
On the 70th
anniversary of the United Nations 23 October 2015, the UN
Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon said in his message to the world:
“...Alongside despair in many corners, there remains great hope in the power
of working together...”
(48)
On 24 October
2015, Spain’s King Felipe VI awarded
online encyclopedia
Wikipedia the country’s Princess of Asturias award for
international cooperation. At a ceremony held in Oviedo, Spain, attended
by
American entrepreneur
and co-founder of Wikipedia (15 Jan 2001) Jimmy
Wales, the king said the online encyclopedia wants to put culture
within reach
of the greatest number
of people possible. (49)
“Be men and
women with others and for others, real champions in the
service of others,” Pope
Francis recently urged, addressing youths on 22 July
2013.
On 24 November
2013 the Pope then exhorted: “We need to
grow in a
solidarity which “would
allow all people to become the artisans of their
destiny”, since every
person is “called to self-fulfillment”...” (50)
C (5)
Morality/Righteousness
Morality (sila)
provides the foundation of Buddhist practice to cultivate good and develop
wisdom.
“We choose to
be moral. We’re not being moral because we’re afraid of being immoral,” Venerable Ajahn Sumedho, an American
Theravada monk, said.
“We choose to
do this and rise up to that which is noble, good, kind and generous...” (51)
“The one who
takes right to be right and wrong to be wrong, and who thinks not of sensual
pleasures, can be successful in finding the Truth,” the Buddha taught. (52)
Confucius said to his disciple Tzu Kung:
“All my knowledge is strung on one connecting thread...”
As explained by
Lionel Giles, the “connecting
thread” is simply the moral life, which consists in being true to oneself
(being authentic) and good to one’s neighbour. To Confucius, to be able to
lead, in the highest sense of the word, a moral life is the object of all
learning, the end and aim of all knowledge. (53)
In an
insightful essay on enlightenment published in December 1784, German
philosopher Immanuel Kant declared
the motto of enlightenment:
Sapere aude! – Dare to
be wise!
With his moral
philosophy based on the concept of individual autonomy, Kant distinguishes a
person who is intellectually autonomous from another who’s intellectually
heteronomous, i.e. dependent (unmundig) and immature (unmundigkeit).
Describing the
majority of people as the “great unthinking masses”, he says there will always
be a few people who think for themselves, and they will help the rest of us “to
cultivate our minds...” (54)
Buddha
has taught us to share our enlightenment with our fellow beings.
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.) has
handed this gem of great moral worth to us: “If it is not the right thing to
do, never do it; if it is not the truth, never say it. Keep your impulses in
hand.” (55)
5 (b) Righteousness
The great 4th
century BC Chinese scholar and philosopher Mencius
said, “Benevolence is man’s mind, and righteousness
is man’s path...” (56)
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote: “Where life is
possible at all, a right life is possible; life in a palace is possible;
therefore even in a palace a right life is possible...(57)
“Press on
steadily, keep to the straight road in your thinking and doing, and your days
will ever flow on smoothly.
“The soul of
man, like the soul of all rational creatures, has two things in common with the
soul of God: it can never be thwarted from without, and its good consists in righteousness of character and action,
and in confining every wish thereto.” (58)
Professor GW Choudhury of Columbia
University in New York has written that the Prophet Muhammad’s message “may be summed up in two words faith (iman) and right-doing (ihsan)...”
(59)
After faith in
the unity and oneness of God, the most vital of the message, comes
righteousness.
According to
this Muslim scholar and author, the Quran emphasises the concept of the
‘Straight Path’ (1:5), righteous conduct for Muslims in the pursuit of the law
of the ideal human nature (30:30), and in the fulfilment of human destiny.
“The Quran
puts stress and emphasis on right-doing as the concomitant of faith,” Choudhury
has written. (61)
D. Self-Perfection and
Self-Realization:
the ultimate spiritual/moral/mental
evolution of Homo sapiens
“Fulfillment of our being is perfect
virtue,” the Doctrine of the Mean (Chapter
XXV) tells us.
To Mencius, it’s the fulfilment of
righteousness in conduct; to Confucius,
it’s the “fulfilment of benevolence” in self-cultivation. (62)
“Devoted each
to his duty man attains perfection,” the Lord
Krsna teaches Arjuna in the
concluding Chapter XVIII of the Hindu classic Bhagavadgita, verse 45. (63)
In the verse
50, Krsna tells “how, having attained perfection, he (an enlightened yogi)
attains to the Brahman (the Pure Self), that supreme consummation of wisdom.”
(64)
In Buddhist
practice, that is the attainment and realization of the Supreme, Perfect Enlightenment
of Buddhahood (Omniscient Wisdom).
“Watchful of
speech, and well-controlled in mind, let him do no evil with the body; let him
purify these three ways of action and attain the path attained by the Sages,” Buddha teaches. (65)
“In the opinion of a Buddhist, the purpose of
life is Supreme Enlightenment (Sambodhi), i.e. understanding of oneself as one
really is. This may be achieved through sublime conduct, mental culture, and
penetrative insight; or in other words, through service and perfection,” Narada explains.
“In service
are included boundless loving-kindness, compassion, and absolute selflessness
which prompt man to be of service to others. Perfection embraces absolute
purity and absolute wisdom.” (66)
In Pure
Land Buddhism, the three essentials of praxis are (1) faith in Amitabha, Buddha of Infinite Light (Omniscient Wisdom) and
Infinite Life (Great Compassion), (2) the basic practice of mindfulness of the Buddha Amitabha by
chanting/reciting/hearing the Name of Amitabha, and (3) taking the vow to seek rebirth in the Pure Land of
Infinite Light and Infinite Life where all the highly advanced cultivators
and devotees are assured of attaining total spiritual liberation and the
supreme enlightenment of Buddhahood.
“Amitabha is Enlightenment,” the saintly
philosopher Acvaghosha said to a
Brahman in the palace of King Kanishka in Benares, as related by American
philosopher and scholar Dr Paul Carus
in his 1906 classic narrative. (67)
“Amitabha is the inherently enlightened True
Nature (Buddha Nature) of sentient beings, and reciting the Name of Amitabha
reveals this Enlightenment,” Patriarch
Ou-i (1599-1655) comments. (68)
“...You invoke
the Name of Amitabha until your mind opens and you see
inherent Buddhahood (Buddha Nature)...”(69)
Through the
mindful practice of invoking the Buddha-name, you “recognize Amitabha in your
mind...” (70)
That’s self-recognition
of the True Nature in every human being.
NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA
Notes
1. Akademie Edition of Kant’s works –
Vol 20 page 41, Ak. 20:41
First published in English in 1799.
Whitman concludes his presentation on Observations and Kant’s pioneering work
in anthropology with his pragmatic approach (alongside the physiological) to
explore the things a human “can and should make of himself”, by exhorting his
readers “to fulfill the intention of Kant’s pragmatic anthropology through
applying the best empirical science to cultivating human nature in oneself and
others that meets ever higher normative standards of belief, feeling, and
volition.”
Considered the central figure of modern philosophy, Kant is ranked with
the early Greek immortals Plato (551-479 B.C.) and Aristotle (384-322 B.C.). people.whitman.edu en.wikipdia.org
In Buddhism, it’s human destiny to seek and attain the eternal light of
the supreme enlightenment of Buddhahood – through the complete and utter
destruction of the darkness of human ignorance and craving.
3. In Buddhism, the full development of
one’s inherent humanity – through spiritual evolution of the individual person
up to the ultimate level of spiritual maturation, culminating in the
fruition/fruiting of Buddhahood.
4. FINESTQUOTES.COM
In the early 1960s, Maslow expanded his original (1943) hierarchy of five
basic motivational needs to eight, by including aesthetic, self-actualization
and transcendence needs.
First published in 2007 and updated in 2014 a.simplypsychology.org, Saul
McLeod has written on self-actualization:
Psychologist Abraham Maslow
(1943, 1954) stated that human motivation is based on people seeking fulfilment
and change through personal growth.
Self-actualized people are those who were fulfilled and doing all they were
capable of.
The growth of self-actualization (Maslow, 1962) refers to the need for
personal growth and discovery that is present throughout a person’s life.
For Maslow, a person is always
‘becoming’ and never remains static in
these terms. In self-actualization a
person comes to find a meaning to
life that is personally important...
Maslow (1943) describes
self-actualization: ‘It refers to the person’s
desire for self-fulfillment, namely,
the tendency for him (or her) to
become actualized in what he (or she)
is potentially...’
5. Siddharta Gautama became fully enlightened in 528 B.C. at the age of 35 following six
years of extremely arduous spiritual cultivation, becoming the first human
being in recorded history to attain the Supreme, Perfect Enlightenment of
Buddhahood (Omniscient Wisdom) over two and a half millennia ago. Quotes fromFINESTQUOTES.COM
6. FINESTQUITES.COM
7. Great Learning,
a record of the Master’s teachings authored by a great scholar and disciple Tseng
Shen, quoted in THE CONFUCIAN WAY by
Li Fu Chen, translated by Dr Shih Shun
Liu, published by API, London, 1987, p. 7.
Li Fu Chen (1900-93) was a Chinese scholar, prominent political figure
and Minister of Education (1938-44) in the Republic of China (1912-49).
Summing up the Master’s teachings, Li has written that
“the Way (of
Benevolence) is the spiritual high
road to the common existence and
evolution of mankind...” (p. 87)
8. MEDITATIONS
translated with introduction by Maxwell Stainforth, published by Dorset Press,
New York, 1986. Book Ten 16 p. 157
Roman Emperor for 18 years (161-180 A.D.) until his death from an philosopher-emperor composed his famous
Meditations among the reeds and mists of the swampy Danube while campaigning
against the barbaric invaders from the year 167 on assuming command of the
hard-pressed Roman legions.
Towards the end of his life, he wrote in Book Twelve 1 (p. 179): “...
forget all else and pay sole regard to the helmsman of your soul and the divine
spark in you...”
9. THE BHAGAVADGITA, published by HarperCollins Publishers India, New Delhi, 2002
(Seventeenth impression), p. 364
A prominent philosopher, author and educationist, Radhakrishnan served as
the President of India from 1961 to 1967 when he retired from public life.
1,170 words
25.11.2015 23:57
10. Philosopher, poet, social critic and
religious writer, Soren Kierkegaard is generally regarded as the first
existential philosopher. wikipedia.org
marxists.org
11. DYING
TO BE ME: My Journey From Cancer, To Near Death, To True Healing, published
by Hay House, London, 2012, p. 158
12. Ibid., p. 185
“...So in the end, my NDE brought me back to myself. I believe this is
the most powerful idea for each of us realising that we’re here to discover and honour our own individual
path,” Anita has written (p. 155).
“Ultimately, whichever path we choose is the right one for us, and none
of these options are any more or less spiritual
than the others...
“Human beings are so varied that some fare better with organised religion
or spiritual paths, whereas others don’t.
“If we simply live in a way that matures us and allow us to express our
creativity, letting us see our own magnificence, that’s the best we can
possibly do.
“To advocate any option or doctrine as being the one true way would only
serve to limit who we are and what we’ve
come here to be.”
From a traditional Hindu family,
Anita Moorjani now serves as a guest speaker on such topics as terminal
illness, facing death, and the psychology of beliefs. She works as an
international consultant for multinational corporations based in Hong Kong.
“My desire is to awaken the
dormant guru within you that guides you to find your own place at the
center of the universe,” Anita has written in the Introduction (p. xv).
“It’s my hope that you find joy in each and every day of your journey and
come to love life as much as I do these days!”
13. Ibid., p. 185
In his book on the leadership of Ulysses Grant, the 18th US
President (1869-77) and commander in chief (1864-65) of the Union forces in the
American Civil War (1861-65), Dr Bil Holton has put in a brief
comment on authenticity in a leader:
“...Once contaminated, authenticity is a difficult virtue to resurrect
fully, and the offender will always be questioned by distrustful subordinates
who feel violated and manipulated.
“A better return on equity would be to invite authenticity by being
authentic.
“As best you can as a leader and as a human being, stare truth confidently in the face.”
LEADERSHIP LESSONS OF ULYSSES S.
GRANT, published by
Gramercy Books, New York, 1995, p. 8
Nationally recognized for his
expertise in leadership development and
team building, Dr Holton has a
reputation as a powerful speaker on the
concept of “civilized leadership” –
what is utterly lacking in the world of
today and of the past seven decades
amidst the greatest technological
developments in human history.
“...Ulysses S. Grant was a great
leader and a great American,” Holton has
written (p. xiii). Wish the same
could be said of American leaders from
and after the period of World War II.
14. MEDITATIONS
Book Ten 32 p. 161
15. In Integrity: Doing the Right Thing for the Right Reason (published by
McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, 2007), clinical psychologist Dr Barbara Killinger describes the
personality traits and psychological, philosophical, historical, and familial
influences that help develop and maintain integrity.
She also looks at how integrity is undermined and lost as a result of
obsession, narcissism, and workaholism.
Killinger concludes that integrity
is not possible without compassion, and makes it clear that doing the right thing includes doing it for the right reason.
16.
en.wikipedia.org
17. en.wikipedia.org
18. Thesaurus.com
19. orientaloutpost.com 2,377 words 27.11.2015 02:59
20. Doctrine of the Mean Ch. XX as quoted in Li Fu Chen, THE
CONFUCIAN WAY, p. 192
“The Doctrine of the Mean is our precious national heritage. It embodies
the moral tradition received by Confucius from antiquity; also, this same
tradition was extensively developed by him,” Li explains in the Introduction of
his book (p. 9).
“Sincerity in this context means the sincerity of thoughts; and the Mean,
the rectification of hearts. Both are prerequisites for the cultivation of the
person.
“With the cultivation of the person comes the fullness of the essence,
and with fullness of essence comes the wide extent of utility.
“To regulate the family, to contribute to the well ordering of the state,
to pacify the world – these are but steps in the development of utility and
they are means used to point up its efficacy...”
On scholar Lee Fu Chen, please refer Note (7).
21. THE
CONFUCIAN WAY, p. 195
22. Orientalpost.com
Mencius (?372 B.C. - ?289 B.C.), a great
scholar and philosopher in the Confucian tradition, has described the Master as
the “timeous” sage, calling Confucius “the paragon among sages”. Li Fu Chen has
written (p. 253) that “without subjecting himself to the limits of time, he
(Confucius) represented the highest
possible type of human personality...”
23. MEDITATIONS
Book Ten 32 p. 161
24. The
Way of Wisdom: The Five Spiritual Faculties by Edward Conze, 1993 accesstoinsight.org Access To Insight
(Legacy Edition) 30 November 2013, first published in The Middle Way, Vol. XXVIII (1953).
Born in London, Conze was an Anglo-German scholar of Mahayana Buddhism. A
former communist in his youth, he turned to Buddhism after World War II, wrote discerning
and perceptive books on Buddhism and translated over 30 texts including the Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom)
scriptures.
Regarding Prof Radhakrishnan, please refer to Note (9).
25. FINESTQUOTES.COM
Bishop of Hippo in North Africa (396-430 A.D.), St. Augustine was a
prolific Latin author of over 100 extant titles with considerable influence on
both Catholic and Protestant theology.
His own three-year spiritual struggle before his conversion to the Faith
in 386 is recorded in one of his masterpieces, the autobiographical Confessions:
“...Thou didst gleam and glow, and dispel my blindness...”
en.wikipedia.org
26. FINESTQUOTES.COM
“Bucky” was a globally reputed architect, systems theorist, designer,
inventor, and author of over 30 books.
When in 1927 a jobless 32-year-old Fuller contemplated suicide for his
wife and daughter to claim his insurance money, he had a transformative
experience which would direct him to find his purpose in life “to find what a
single individual (could) contribute to changing the world and benefitting all
humanity...”
In his1970 book I Seem To Be a Verb, Fuller wrote: “I
am not a thing – a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process – an
integral function of the universe...” en.wikipedia.com
Fuller shares
the Mahayana-Avatamsaka view of the universal oneness, interconnectedness and
interdependence of all things.
“Bucky” chirped in as well:
“God is a verb, not a noun...” brainquote.com
27. amazon.com
A seminal figure in the field of developmental psychology, Professor Fowler taught at Harvard University and
Boston College. He was also an American theologian.
In STAGES OF FAITH: The Psychology
of Human Development and the and the Quest for Meaning, first published in
1981, Fowler has mapped out six stages in our life’s quest for meaning and
values: “from the intuitive, imitative faith of childhood through conventional
and then more independent faith to the universalizing, self-transcending faith
of maturity...”
3,693 words 28.11.2015 04:42
28. Narada Maha Thera, A Manual of Abhidhamma, reprinted
November 2004 for free distribution by The Corporate Body of the Buddha
Educational Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan, p. 101
29. Ibid., p. 102 (as quoted)
30. LEADERSHIP
LESSONS OF ULYSSES S. GRANT, pp. 123-124. Quotation from Eleanor Roosevelt,
The Last Word, p. 263
31. What
is A Palestinian State Worth? Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2011,
pp. 222, 223
A leading Oxford-educated Palestinian moderate, Sari Nusseibeh (born
1949) is Professor of Philosophy of the Al-Quds University in Jerusalem where
he had also served as its president for 20 years until his retirement on 27
March 2014.
Of an estimated population of over 4.5 million Palestinians, slightly
over 40% are below the age of 15 years. The future undeniably belongs to the
Palestinian youth. 16 pages 4,233 words 01.12.2015 01:32 02:47
32. This inscription was added to the
two-cent piece of 1864. But it didn’t become necessary to add it to all coins
in the US until 1955. H.I.P. Pocket
Change Fun Facts 22
33. Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu first published in February
20, 2006, and substantially revised August 3, 2015
Carolyn McLeod is Professor in the Department of
Philosophy at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.
The latest research by the Oxford Department of Sociology in Oxford
University confirms trust as a
valuable resource for an individual, and not merely a measure of intelligence.
However, the new study indicates that intelligent people are more likely
to trust others as well as being trusted themselves.
AFP-Relaxnews, SUN (Malaysia) April o1, 2014 4,581 words 02:12:2015 13:01
34.Quotes from Coleridge, Fitzgerald and
Mandela as posted on
wisdomquotes.com
On the importance of the qalb
(heart) in human leadership, Dr Siti
Suriani Othman, senior lecturer, Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti
Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) wrote in a letter to NEW STRAITS TIMES Kuala Lumpur (April 15, 2015):
“...In the Islamic perspective, qalb
does not mean the physical heart, but rather, the non-tangible meaning of
heart, which does not only refer to one’s kindness, but also to the human mind,
mental processes that comprise thinking, reasoning, intuition and
decision-making process...”
In Pali, citta is the
heart/mind, or state of mind. When purified and freed from all the
ignorance-based defilements, citta yields
the liberating insight of wisdom.
In Sanskrit, chitta/chit means
awareness or consciousness, understanding, comprehension.
In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta is
the luminous mind of enlightenment and great wisdom, enlightened consciousness.
wikipedia.org
35.Quotations from Kosten, Fox and Elgin
as posted on wisdomquotes.com
36. wikipedia.org
charterforcompassion.org 5,029 words 02.12.14:15
37.Selected Quotes of Pope Francis (born December
1936) as posted on
usccb.org
Emperor Marcus Aurelius on living with a consistency in life to benefit
fellow beings and community: “Accordingly, the aim we should propose to
ourselves must be the benefit of our fellows and the community...”
MEDITATIONS Book Eleven 21 p. 176
38. THE
CONFUCIAN WAY, p. 84
39.Ibid., pp. 87-88
In a highly significant and timely letter published in the Malaysian
newspaper SUN April 08, 2015, the
Kuala Lumpur-based NGO G 25 highlighted
the guiding principles for doctors to heal and do no harm, as enshrined in the
Hippocratic Oath as well as in the four basic moral commitments – respect for autonomy (requiring doctors
to consult and seek agreement of their patients), beneficence (connoting acts of mercy, kindness and charity to
benefit or promote the good of other persons), non-malevolence (derived from the maxim in Latin primum non nocere, meaning “first, do
no harm”), and justice.
The G25 has rightly stressed non-malevolence (harmlessness) as one
of the fundamental principles of medical ethics. It’s also one of the topmost
precepts in the world’s major religions.
40. As quoted in THE CONFUCIAN WAY, p. 86
41.Narada, THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, reprinted for free distribution
February 2004 by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation,
Taipei, Taiwan, p. 693
42.Ibid., p. 606
According to the world’s oldest person, the key to longevity is treating
other people kindly.
“I treat everyone the way I want to be treated,” Gertrude Weaver told reporters in Washington on her 116th
birthday when she got a letter from the US president.
This is the moral law of reciprocity and mutual benefit.
Reuter report in SUN April 03, 2015 5,950 words 03.12.2015 04:07
43.Quotes from Sophocles, Gandhi, Luther King and Richard
Dawkins as posted on FINESTQUOTES.COM
About half a century before Sophocles, Confucius (551-479 B.C.) prioritized altruism.
As explained by British scholar and translator Lionel Giles (1875-1958) in his translation of the Confucian
Analects, THE SAYINGS OF CONFUCIUS (first
published by John Murray, London, 1907, and by Senate, Middlesex, UK, 1998),
the injunction to “act socially” is to live for others in living for oneself.
Giles has written (p. 28): “For let a man be but thoroughly imbued with
the altruistic spirit and he may be termed “good” (or virtuous) without
qualification, since all other virtues tend to flow from unselfishness...”
Announcing the birth of their debut darling daughter Max on 01 December 2015, 31-year-old Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his30-year-old wife
Dr Priscilla Chan pledge 99% of
their total stock of shares currently worth US$45 billion into a new
philanthropy project “to advance human potential and promote equality for all
children in the next generation...”
The 85-year-old multibillionaire investor Warren Buffet said in Facebook:
“A combination of brains, passion and resources on this scale will change the
lives of millions. On behalf of future generations, I thank them.” And we
salute them!
Buffet himself had in 2006 pledged his Berkshire Hathaway stock worth $31
billion then to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) will initially focus on personalized
learning, curing disease, connecting people, and building strong communities.
03.12.2015 12:03
China Daily Online 2015-12-02 Daily Mail Online 02 December 2015
44.Project Syndicate article published
in NEW STRAITS TIMES January 7, 2014
Resident at the Shechen Monastery in Nepal, Venerable Matthieu Ricard holds a doctorate in molecular genetics,
and runs 130 humanitarian projects through his organisation Karma-Shechen.
According to a CNN report by
Stephen Galloway on October 21, 2015, 75-year-old Jane Fonda said in reply to a question how acting has made her an activist: “...You have to understand
(in acting), you have to see the world through other people’s eyes (the lenses
of empathy). And the moment you start doing that, your heart opens. And so for
people whose heads are screwed on right, that can lead you to wanting to do something
about it. Because there’s cynicism, then there’s empathy – ‘cause empathy is being able to put yourself in another
person’s shoes – the step above that is compassion.
So acting can lead from empathy to compassion...”
Loving-kindness (metta) and
compassion (karuna) are the inseparable loving twins in Buddhist practice.
45. Project Syndicate article published
in NEW STRAITS TIMES April 23, 2015
Born on 6 July 1946, Peter Singer
is professor of bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at
University of Melbourne. His books include The
Life You Can Save and most recently The
Most Good You Can Do.
46.SUPER COOPERATORS: Evolution Altruism and Human Behaviour or Why We Need
Each Other to Succeed,
by
Martin Novak, Professor of Mathematics and
Biology at Harvard University and Director of Program for Evolutionary
Dynamics, and
Roger Highfield, DPhil, Editor of New Scientist,
published by Canongate, Edinburgh, 2011, Preface, pp. xviii-xix
47.Ibid., pp. 280-281
“...Cooperation was the principal architect of 4 billion
years of evolution,” Novak and Highfield have written (p. 280).
“Cooperation built the first bacterial cells, then higher
cells (multi-cellular from singular), then complex multicellular life and
insect superorganisms. Finally cooperation constructed humanity...”
48. NEW
STRAITS TIMES October 23, 2015
49.NEW SUNDAY TIMES October 25, 2015
51. Born in Seattle, Washington, in
1934, Ajahn Sumedho was ordained in
Thailand in 1967 and became a disciple of the great Thai meditation master Venerable Ajahn Chah.
Quotation from a talk by Ajahn Sumedho on February 1988 at the Amaravati
Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire, England. Published in THE WAY IT IS, reprinted August 2008 for free distribution by Sukhi
Hotu, Malaysia, p. 45.
52. DHAMMAPADA
Chapter 1.12
Published for free distribution by Maha Karuna Buddhist Centre, Shah
Alam, Malaysia.
53. Analects,
Book XV, Chapter II
As quoted in THE SAYINGS OF
CONFUCIUS, p. 91
54. en.wikipedia.org
Published in Berlin Monthly December
1784, Answering the Question: What is
Enlightenment? appeared within a decade of the declaration of American independence on 4 July 1776,
following the triumph of the American Revolution (which, according to John
Adams, second US president (1797-1801), had started as far back as 1620).
Kant’s essay came out towards the end of the European Age of
Enlightenment, an 18th century philosophical movement stressing the
importance of reason and reappraising the existing ideas and social
institutions.
In his book published two decades earlier in 1764, Observations on the Beautiful and Sublime, Kant wrote that person
is truly and sublimely virtuous who has a “profound feeling for the beauty and
dignity of human nature...” people.whitman.edu
55. MEDIATIONS
Book Twelve 17, p. 183
56.Works of Mencius Book VI, Part 1 Chapter XI, as quoted in THE CONFUCIAN WAY p. 209
57.MEDITATIONS
Book Five 16, pp. 84-85
Reading these highly memorable lines, Mathew Arnold (1822-88), English
poet, essayist and literary critic, saluted “the imperial sage, purest of men,
Marcus Aurelius.” Ibid., p. 85 (Footnote)
58. MEDITATIONS
Book Five 34, p. 89
59.THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD His Life and Eternal Message, by Professor GW Choudhury, WHS
Publications, Kuala Lumpur, 1994, p. 169
60.Ibid., p. 116
61.Ibid., p. 172
62. THE
CONFUCIAN WAY, p. 244
63.THE BHAGAVADGITA, p. 367
64.Ibid., p. 369
65.DHAMMAPADA: Path of Righteousness Chapter 20 The Path 281, p. 62
66.THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 672
Narada explains (p. 323) that the Noble
Eightfold Path is the only straight route that leads to Nibbana, through
the eradication of human ignorance and craving.
Right Understanding, the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths of existential
suffering, its cause (ignorance-bound craving), its cessation, and the path to
its cessation and Nibbana, is the understanding of oneself as one really is.
The Noble Eightfold Path (pp. 331-332) encompasses (A) Sila/Moral Discipline/Morality (Right
Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood),
(B) Samadhi (Right Effort,
Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration), and (C) Panna/Wisdom (Right Understanding and Right Thoughts).
67. Amitabha,
A Story of Buddhist Theology by Dr Paul Carus (1906),
p. 107 Yahoo.com sacred-texts.com
68. Mind-Seal of THE
BUDDHAS: Patriarch Ou-i’s Commentary
on the AMITABHA SUTRA, translated by Dr J.C. Cleary,
published by Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada, 1998
(Third Edition) and reprinted for free distribution by AMIDA FELLOWSHIP, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, p. 74
69. Ibid., p. 90
70. Ibid., p. 87
AMITABHA embodies the spiritual essence and DNA of Buddha Nature
that is inherent and intrinsic in
every human being.
