FOOD FOR THOUGHT:as we the public watch all of or part or just sound bites of the 2-25-10
public dialogue between President Obama and Congress...( this is from the 1-14-05 issue of the World Tribune)
The warning of the early Buddhist also applies to the members of any society.Do the citizens of a republic say,"It is true because the government says so"? Or do they seek the truth of a matter and then judge the actions of the government?
The universal truth of life comes before religions and nations.Blind obedience to authority-whether it is religious or political-not only obscures life's truth but also causes enormous suffferings, as the history of humanity has repeatedly shown us through persecutions and genocides. People are not a means to an end. Each person is responisble for his or her actions..to learn these simple lessons, one must first discover the infinate value in each life and develop the courage to accept personal responisbility-that is, the joyful burden of freedom.
This has drawn my personal interest, because "I" am guilty of having to stop looking at this up coming meeting between my president and those representing my state of California as a battle between might and right of political one up man ship...this is public dialogue is going to be about the future as well as the secutiry of a whole nation of peoples of all races, creeds and skin colors, and not a battle of good vs evil or right vs wrong or Democrats vs Republicans...
thanks for stopping by. (smile)
The warning of the early Buddhist also applies to the members of any society.Do the citizens of a republic say,"It is true because the government says so"? Or do they seek the truth of a matter and then judge the actions of the government?
The universal truth of life comes before religions and nations.Blind obedience to authority-whether it is religious or political-not only obscures life's truth but also causes enormous suffferings, as the history of humanity has repeatedly shown us through persecutions and genocides. People are not a means to an end. Each person is responisble for his or her actions..to learn these simple lessons, one must first discover the infinate value in each life and develop the courage to accept personal responisbility-that is, the joyful burden of freedom.
This has drawn my personal interest, because "I" am guilty of having to stop looking at this up coming meeting between my president and those representing my state of California as a battle between might and right of political one up man ship...this is public dialogue is going to be about the future as well as the secutiry of a whole nation of peoples of all races, creeds and skin colors, and not a battle of good vs evil or right vs wrong or Democrats vs Republicans...
thanks for stopping by. (smile)
This is what I find so striking:
"The universal truth of life comes before religions and nations."
That means there is such a thing as a Universal Truth that powers all life. Different traditions have different names for the Supreme Authority of the Universe. I know it as God.
Then:
"Blind obedience to authority-whether it is religious or political-not only obscures life's truth but also causes enormous suffferings, as the history of humanity has repeatedly shown us through persecutions and genocides."
The single most deadly and destructive force in human history, in my opinion, is when one person believes that he or she knows the truth about this Supreme Being and that his way is the only way to find that truth and other ways of finding God are erroneous, invalid or wrong and need to be stamped out by violence if necessary.
This attitude has brought the world nothing but misery. It certainly hasn't brought anyone any closer to God who is LOVE, PEACE AND JUSTICE.
That is why the only solution, for the sake of our survival, is tolerance, understanding and mutual respect.
Great post, Irma!!!