Peace; Happy New Year

[Guest guest]

Thoughts About Peace; Happy New Year

 

Sant Mat:

 

Once, someone asked a gardener to plant a certain kind of tree. The

gardener replied, 'But this tree grows so slowly that it will not

reach its maturity for a hundred years.' The man replied, 'Then, we

have no time to waste—plant it today!' Similarly, let us not

waste a single moment -- let us plant the tree of peace today.

 

-- Sant Rajinder Singh

Visions of the New Millennium: Global Peace through Meditation

 

* * * * *

 

I have learned to cherish all creation as my own,

Your message of love is the very meaning

of my life.

 

* * * * *

 

Life is not a dagger stained with the blood

of hatred;

It is a branch filled with the flowers of love

and compassion.

 

* * * * *

 

Every grain of sand in the desert

is a mirror;

Amidst your infinite reflections,

Your mad lovers are lost.

 

* * * * *

 

All places of worship are symbols

of the One Beloved.

Bow your head when you see a temple,

and salute when you see a mosque.

 

* * * * *

 

When the flowers of the church, mosque and

temple gather together,

Spring will blossom forth

in Your garden, O Lord.

 

-- Sant Darshan Singh, A Tear and A Star, Sawan Kirpal Publications

 

* * * * *

 

Sufi:

 

Rabia:

 

In

my soul

there is a temple, a shrine, a mosque, a church

where I kneel.

 

Prayer should bring us to an altar where no walls or names exist.

 

Is there not a religion of love where the sovereignty is

illumined nothing,

 

where ecstasy gets poured into itself

and becomes lost,

 

where the wing is fully alive

but has no mind or

body?

 

In my soul

there is a temple, a shrine, a mosque

a church

 

that dissolve, that

dissolve in

God.

 

-- Rabi'a al-Adawiyya,

" Love Poems from God " ,

Daniel Ladinsky

 

Buddhist Prayer:

 

May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind

quickly be freed from their illnesses. May those frightened cease to

be afraid, and may those bound be free. May the powerless find

power, and may people think of befriending one another. May those

who find themselves in trackless, fearful wildernesses -- the

children, the aged, the unprotected -- be guarded by beneficent

celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.

 

Hindu Prayer:

 

Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real. Oh God, lead us from

darkness to Light. Oh God, lead us from death to immortality.

Shanti, Shanti, Shanti [Peace] unto all. Oh Lord God almighty, may

there be peace in celestial regions. May there be peace on earth.

May the waters be appeasing. May herbs be wholesome, and may plants

and trees bring peace to all. May all beneficent beings bring peace

to us. May the Vedic Law propagate peace all through the world. May

all things be a source of peace to us. And may that peace itself,

bestow peace on all, and may that peace come to me also.

 

Zoroastrian Prayer:

 

We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world; that

understanding triumph over ignorance, that generosity triumph over

indifference, that trust triumph over contempt, and that truth

triumph over falsehood.

 

Islamic:

 

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Praise be to the

Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and

nations, that we may know each other, not that we may despise each

other. If the enemy inclines towards peace, do thou also incline

towards peace, and trust in God, for the Lord is the one that heareth

and knoweth all things. And the servants of God, Most Gracious, are

those who walk on the Earth in humility, and when we address them, we

say " Peace. "

 

Jewish:

 

Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that we may walk the

paths of the Most High. And we shall beat our swords into

ploughshares, and our spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not

lift up sword against nation - neither shall they learn war any

more. And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts

has spoken.

 

Christian:

 

" Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be known as Children of

God. But I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to those

who hate you, bless those who curse you. to those who strike you on

the cheek, offer the other also, and from those who take away your

cloak, do not withhold your coat as well. Give to everyone who begs

from you, and of those who take away your goods, do not ask for them

again. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. "

 

Bahai:

 

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be fair in thy

judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be a lamp unto those who walk

in darkness and a home to the stranger. Be eyes to the blind, and a

guiding Light unto the feet of the erring. Be a breath of life to

the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart, and a

fruit upon the tree of humility.

 

Shinto:

 

" Since the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe,

are all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in

this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us?

I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the

clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains. "

 

Native African:

 

Almighty God, the Great Thumb that we cannot evade to tie any knot;

the Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees; the All-seeing Lord up

on high who sees even the footprints of an antelope on a rock here on

Earth. You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to our call.

You are the cornerstone of peace.

 

Native American:

 

O Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you, to your

messengers the four winds, and to Mother Earth who provides for your

children. Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to

respect, and to be kind to each other, so that they may grow with

peace in mind. Let us learn to share all the good things that you

provide for us on this Earth.

 

Jainist:

 

Peace and Universal Love is the essence of the Gospel preached by all

the Enlightened Ones. The Lord has preached that equanimity is the

Dharma. Forgive do I creatures all, and let all creatures forgive

me. Unto all have I amity, and unto none enmity. Know that violence

is the root cause of all miseries in the world. Violence, in fact,

is the knot of bondage. Any weapon, no matter how powerful it may

be, can always be superseded by a superior one; but no weapon can,

however, be superior to non-violence and love.

 

Sikh:

 

" God adjudges us according to our deeds, not the coat that we wear;

that Truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living.

Know that we attaineth God when we loveth, and that only the victory

endures in consequence of which no one is defeated. "