331 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
331 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
THE LIVING PRESENCE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Besides the incomparable acts of charity which the founders, during
|
|
their lifetime, did to save and enlighten humanity, in every age the
|
|
founder abides as a living presence. Thus, according to the Christian
|
|
Gospels, Jesus abides in the hearts of all believers and has sent the Holy
|
|
Spirit to enliven and instill God's love within them. The Lotus Sutra
|
|
declares that the Buddha is eternally manifest and is forever saving
|
|
living beings. In the traditions of the Sunnah, Muhammad is ever beside
|
|
the believers; he also intercedes on their behalf before the throne of
|
|
God. The living presence of the founder in the hearts of believers is an
|
|
experience of personal mystical union--'I am in my Father, and you in me,
|
|
and I in you'--that is comparable to the impersonal mystical experience of
|
|
The Unitive State, pp. 585-90.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lo, I am with you always, even to the close of the age.
|
|
|
|
Christianity. Bible, Matthew 28.20
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his
|
|
wives are their mothers.
|
|
|
|
Islam. Qur'an 33.6
|
|
|
|
|
|
Verily I am beside you, as a father is beside his children.
|
|
|
|
Islam. Hadith of Abu Dawud
|
|
|
|
|
|
Be aware of me always, adore me, make every act an offering to me, and you
|
|
shall come to me; this I [Krishna] promise, for you are dear to me.
|
|
Abandon all supports and look to me for protection. I shall purify you
|
|
from the sins of the past; do not grieve.
|
|
|
|
Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 18.65-66
|
|
|
|
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
Matthew 28.20: This is spoken by the resurrected Jesus as he commissions
|
|
his disciples to go out and teach all nations. Qur'an 33.6: Though this
|
|
passage was uttered of the historical Muhammad, it is often taken to
|
|
signify a living spiritual relationship which believers of any age may
|
|
have with the Prophet and his family; thus the following hadith.
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Jesus declared], "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I
|
|
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am
|
|
gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my
|
|
yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
|
|
|
|
Christianity. Bible, Matthew 11.28-30
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am the Tathagata, the Worshipful, the All-wise, the Perfectly
|
|
Enlightened in Conduct, the Well-departed, the Understander of the World,
|
|
the Peerless Lead- er, the Controller, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the
|
|
Buddha, the World-honored One. Those who have not yet been saved, I cause
|
|
to be saved; those who have not yet been set free, to be set free; those
|
|
who have not yet been comforted, to be comforted; those who have not yet
|
|
obtained Nirvana, to obtain Nirvana. I know the present world and the
|
|
world to come as they really are. I am the All-Knowing, the All-seeing,
|
|
the Knower of the Way, the Opener of the Way, the Preacher of the Way.
|
|
Come to me, all you gods, men, and demons, to hear the Law.
|
|
|
|
Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 5
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray to
|
|
the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you
|
|
forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
|
|
it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you,
|
|
and will be in you.
|
|
|
|
I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. Yet a little
|
|
while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I
|
|
live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my
|
|
Father, and you in me, and I in you. He who has my commandments and keeps
|
|
them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my
|
|
Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."
|
|
|
|
Christianity. Bible, John 14.15-21
|
|
|
|
|
|
He it is who sent down peace of reassurance into the hearts of the
|
|
believers, that they might add faith to their faith.
|
|
|
|
Islam. Qur'an 48.4
|
|
|
|
|
|
Says Nanak, The Master is a tree of contentment and forbearance;
|
|
Righteousness its flower, enlightenment the fruit.
|
|
This tree by joy in God keeps ever fresh and green;
|
|
By practice of meditation is it ripened.
|
|
With joy in the Lord is it consumed,
|
|
By such as dispense the supreme charity of selfless action.
|
|
|
|
Sikhism. Adi Granth, Var Majh, M.1, p. 147
|
|
|
|
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
Matthew 11.28-30: Cf. Revelation 3.20, p. 686. John 14.15-21:
|
|
'Counselor,' and 'Spirit of Truth' are names for the Holy Spirit, which
|
|
descended upon the disciples at Pentecost and which continues to infuse
|
|
the hearts of sincere Christians. At the same time, the Counselor is
|
|
identified with Jesus Christ, who comes to dwell with the faithful. Jesus
|
|
is also one with the Father. Thus, according to the doctrine of the
|
|
Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one. On the Spirit
|
|
abiding in us, cf. Romans 8.9-17, p. 576.
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself,
|
|
unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I
|
|
am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he
|
|
it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a
|
|
man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and
|
|
the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide
|
|
in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be
|
|
done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit,
|
|
and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I
|
|
loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide
|
|
in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his
|
|
love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and
|
|
that your joy may be full.
|
|
|
|
Christianity. Bible, John 15.4-11
|
|
|
|
|
|
Every Buddha Tathagata is one whose body is the Principle of Nature
|
|
(Dharmadhatu-kaya), so that he may enter into the mind of any being.
|
|
Consequently, when you have perceived Buddha, it is indeed that mind of
|
|
yours that possesses those thirty-two signs of perfection and eighty minor
|
|
marks of excellence [which you see in Buddha]. In fine, it is your mind
|
|
that becomes Buddha, nay, it is your mind that is indeed Buddha. The
|
|
ocean of true and universal knowledge of all the Buddhas derives its
|
|
source from one's own mind and thought. Therefore you should apply your
|
|
thought with an undivided attention to a careful meditation on that Buddha
|
|
Tathagata, the Holy and Fully Enlightened One.
|
|
|
|
Buddhism. Meditation on Buddha Amitayus 17
|
|
|
|
|
|
May the Lord of Lords [Mahavira], whom all the hosts of saints keep
|
|
in mind, all the rulers of men and angels praise, and all the
|
|
scriptures--Vedas, Puranas, and Sastras--extol, make my heart his abode.
|
|
|
|
May the Lord of Lords, who is of the nature of perception,
|
|
cognition, and bliss, is free from all mundane imperfections, is
|
|
comprehensible through concentrated contemplation, and is known as the
|
|
Highest Self, be enshrined in my heart.
|
|
|
|
May the Lord of Lords, who cuts asunder the net of worldly
|
|
afflictions and sorrows, perceives the innermost secrets of the universe,
|
|
and is the pure introvert Self capable of being visualized by the yogins,
|
|
reside in my heart.
|
|
|
|
May the Lord of Lords, who is the expounder of the path of
|
|
liberation, is beyond the reach of the miseries like those of birth and
|
|
death, is the seer of the three worlds, and is bodiless and faultless,
|
|
make my heart his abode.
|
|
|
|
May the Lord of Lords, who is free from all blemishes like
|
|
attachment and aversion which hold in tight bondage all embodied beings,
|
|
who has no need of sense organs, is knowledge itself and eternally
|
|
independent, be enshrined in my heart.
|
|
|
|
May the Lord of Lords, whose cognition pervades all the objects in
|
|
the cosmos, who has attained liberation and perfection, is fully
|
|
enlightened and absolutely free from the bondage of karma, and whose
|
|
contemplation destroys all spiritual aberrations, reside in my heart.
|
|
|
|
Jainism. Samayika Patha
|
|
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
Var Majh, M.1: This and the following passage express the image of the
|
|
founder as a Tree of Life. For more on this image, see Psalm 1:1-3, p.
|
|
160; Qur'an 14.24-27, p. 161, and Revelation 22.1-5, pp. 1118f. John
|
|
15.4-11: Cf. Romans 6.3-11, pp. 854f. Meditation on Buddha Amitayus 17:
|
|
Cf. Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala 5, p. 652; Garland Sutra 37, p. 96; Sutra
|
|
of Hui Neng 2, p. 536.
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
|
|
|
|
In order to save all creatures,
|
|
I expediently speak of Nirvana,
|
|
Yet truly I am not extinct,
|
|
But ever here preaching the Law.
|
|
I ever remain in this world,
|
|
In supernatural power,
|
|
So that all perverted creatures
|
|
Fail to see me, though near,
|
|
Looking on me as extinct,
|
|
Everywhere worshipping my relics,
|
|
Cherishing desire for goodness
|
|
And thirsting with aspiration.
|
|
When all creatures have submitted,
|
|
Are upright, and gentle in mind,
|
|
Wholeheartedly looking for Buddha,
|
|
Not caring for their own lives,
|
|
Then I with all the Sangha
|
|
On the Spirit Vulture Peak appear,
|
|
And then I tell all creatures
|
|
That I exist here, forever undying,
|
|
By means of expedients revealing
|
|
Myself as dead, yet not dead.
|
|
If in other regions there are beings,
|
|
Reverent and joyful in faith,
|
|
Again I am in their midst
|
|
To preach the supreme Law.
|
|
You, not hearing of this,
|
|
Only say I am extinct.
|
|
I, beholding all living creatures
|
|
Sunk in the sea of suffering,
|
|
At first do not show myself,
|
|
But set them expectant and thirsting,
|
|
Then, when their hearts are longing,
|
|
I appear to preach the Law.
|
|
In supernatural power,
|
|
Through kalpas numberless,
|
|
On the Spirit Vulture Peak am I,
|
|
And in other dwelling places.
|
|
|
|
Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 16
|
|
|
|
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
Samayika Patha: On these recitations, see p. 844n.
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am
|
|
alive for evermore, and I have the keys to Death and Hades.
|
|
|
|
Christianity. Bible, Revelation 1.18
|
|
|
|
|
|
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies;
|
|
who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from
|
|
the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us?
|
|
|
|
Christianity. Bible, Romans 8.33-34
|
|
|
|
|
|
Why [on Rosh Hashanah] do we blow on a ram's horn? The Holy One said,
|
|
"Sound before me a ram's horn so that I may remember on your behalf the
|
|
binding of Isaac the son of Abraham, and account it to you as if you had
|
|
bound yourselves before me.
|
|
|
|
Judaism. Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 16a
|
|
|
|
|
|
My life is a mercy and a blessing for you: in my presence you speak, and
|
|
an answer is given you. When I die my death will be a mercy and a
|
|
blessing for you: After death, your deeds will be sent to me and I will
|
|
look at them: If you worked righteousness, I will praise God for this. If
|
|
you worked evil, I will ask God that you be forgiven.
|
|
|
|
Islam. Hadith of Ibn Sa`d
|
|
|
|
|
|
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to
|
|
pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too
|
|
deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the
|
|
mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according
|
|
to the will of God.
|
|
|
|
Christianity. Bible, Romans 8.26-27
|
|
|
|
|
|
According to Anas, the Prophet said, "At the Judgment Day the believers
|
|
will assemble and will say, 'Let us ask someone to intercede for us.' They
|
|
will go and find Adam and say to him, 'You are the father of mankind; God
|
|
has created you with His hand, He has taught the angels to kneel before
|
|
you, and He has taught you the names of all things. Intercede to the Lord
|
|
on our behalf in order that He may deliver us from our present
|
|
predicament.' He will reply, 'I am not the one you are needing. Go and
|
|
find Noah; he is the first messenger whom God sent to mankind.' They will
|
|
find Noah, and he will say, 'I am not the one you need.' He will remind
|
|
them that he asked the Lord about things of which he could have no
|
|
knowledge, and he would be ashamed to intercede for them. 'Go,' he will
|
|
say to them, 'and find the Friend of the Merciful [Abraham].' They will
|
|
do as they are bid, and the latter will say, 'Go and ask Moses, this
|
|
worshipper to whom God has addressed a word and to whom He has given the
|
|
Torah.' They will go and find Moses, and he will say to them, 'I am not
|
|
he whom you need.' He will tell them that he killed a man who was not
|
|
guilty, and that he is ashamed before his Lord. Then he arranges for them
|
|
to approach Jesus, the worshipper of God and His messenger, the Word of
|
|
God and the Spirit of God. But Jesus will say to them, 'I am not the one
|
|
whom you need; go and find Muhammad (God bless and preserve him!); he is
|
|
the servant for whom God has pardoned all faults, past and future.'
|
|
|
|
"Then they will come to me; I shall go to the Lord and ask Him if
|
|
He will listen to me. He will grant me my request, and when I see Him, I
|
|
shall fall down on my knees and remain there as long as it pleases Him.
|
|
Then He will say to me, 'Look up; ask and you shall receive; speak and you
|
|
will be heard; intercede and your intercession will be granted.' Then I
|
|
shall raise my head; I shall praise the Lord, following the formula which
|
|
He will teach me; then I shall intercede. The Eternal One will show me a
|
|
group of people, for whom I shall gain access into Paradise. This done, I
|
|
shall return to the Lord, and when I have seen Him, under the same
|
|
condition as before, I shall intercede afresh. He will show me a second
|
|
group, for whom I shall gain access to Paradise. Then I shall do the same
|
|
a third and a fourth time, and shall say, 'There are no more for hell
|
|
except those whom the Qur'an has condemned to it, and who must live in it
|
|
forever.'"
|
|
|
|
Islam. Hadith of Bukhari
|
|
|
|
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
Lotus Sutra 16: Cf. Lotus Sutra 16, the prose version, p. 121. Revelation
|
|
1.18: Cf. 1 Corinthians 15.21-22, p. 547. Rosh Hashanah 16a: Rosh
|
|
Hashanah is the Jewish New Year; it is invoked by sounding the ram's horn.
|
|
On the binding of Isaac, see Genesis 22, pp. 613f. Romans 8.26-27: The
|
|
Holy Spirit enters the hearts of believers and helps them in their
|
|
weakness, sanctifying them by transforming their minds into the image of
|
|
the Son, the mind of Christ. The Spirit leads people to testify to Jesus
|
|
Christ: see 1 Corinthians 12.1-3, p. 380; Matthew 10.19-20, p. 821. The
|
|
Spirit is liberating: see John 3.8, p. 531.For another conception of the
|
|
Holy Spirit as all God-centered, loving spiritual influences, see Sun
|
|
Myung Moon, 1-5-81, p. 372.
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
|
|
|