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Thursday, 21 August 2008
Archives 2006 Insights & Visions
| Insights & Visions | | Print | |
| Written by Rev. Kris Collins | |
 The Dali Lama encouraged us to test, question and research, instead of simply accept and believe. I recently had the magnificent opportunity to be with the Dali Lama at his private teaching and public talks. For three days we listened and learned from this humble Buddhist monk. It is obvious he has not only studied his own sacred writings and many aspects of science and philosophy, but has also preformed his spiritual practices in great depth. He said he had been a serious student since he was 16 and, that at 71, he still found himself confused on some of the difficult passages of the Buddhist writings. And yet, he encouraged us to do our own work and thought process. His message to us was not to believe anything just because it was told to us, or contained in the sacred writings of our religious traditions. He views himself as a scientist and brings critical thinking to all of his learning processes. The Dali Lama encouraged us to test, question and research, instead of simply accept and believe. He understood that some things are written from the observations of a time period and that now, with our advanced technology, we may be able to understand a particular thing in a new way. The example he used was the writing from Buddha which said, “The moon had its own light.” The Dali Lama said we now know the moon has no light of its own, but reflects the light of the sun. How wise of him to not cling to a writing that is not physically true, attempting to disprove all the other evidence. I personally find some writing that is in error with science, can have a deeper spiritual truth which can only be found when I am willing to look beyond the need to have it be physically and historically correct. The Buddhist have a daily prayer taken from a writing of the Buddha: “With a wish to free all beings I shall always go for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha until I reach full enlightenment.” The motive for enlightenment is that of freeing all others who are part of this interconnected wholeness I call God. This motive comes from the quality of compassion. Buddhism believes there are enlightened souls who have earned their freedom from the wheel of reincarnation and have the right to the state of Nirvana (the merger back into the One). They volunteer, out of compassion for the suffering of the world, to return to assist others to gain the same freedom. These souls are called “Bodhisattva” and are the embodiment of compassion. The idea of taking refuge is similar to the idea of sanctuary. Even an enlightened being must have a holy place of peace, protection and safety to restore themselves from the day to day journey of this world. The idea of refuge means to take shelter in the consciousness that was the enlightenment of the Buddha (which is the same as the enlightenment of the Christ awareness), to find protection and freedom in the Dharma or spiritual teaching, and to find in your spiritual community (or Sangha) the support and safety to practice what you are learning. We are beginning our annual stewardship program, which will support you in learning the tools and concepts of the Science of Mind (our Dharma). When we work together in a class or as a whole church, we prove Jesus’ idea that where two or more are gathered there I AM (meaning our Christ consciousness) and as a Sangha, our community acts as support for each other, so we all grow together. From my heart to yours, Rev. Kris REV KRIS COLLINS is Minister of Sanctuary of Spiritual Living, Covina, A Science of Mind Center. |
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