Neo
Well-Known Member
James 2 14:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
The words "works without faith is dead" and "faith without works is dead" speak volumes to me. They tell me that faith must precede our works but faith then is also continuously needed as the driver to even greater things.
So if faith is our trust and confidence in the unknown, what are our "works"? Are they in our control, at any level? Or are they predestined, like some church dogmas say?
To me, our works can be found in everything we do, in our family life, our social life, our work life, and mostly importantly in our personal lives - if we are not honest with ourselves then what are we?
I also believe that the focus on our works should be more on the "how" we approach life and not solely on the "what" we do in our lives. Without an intelligent and loving "intent" moving us forward in our works, then the "what" is becomes an empty shell. If we focus more on the "how" then the "what" takes care of itself, i.e. it begins to automatically reflect the divine principles as they are creations that originate from within.
All life is suffering, says the Buddha, because all outer life is temporary form and our attachment to that form becomes necessarily disappointing as all things pass away in time. But there is way to alleviate our suffering, the Buddha continues, and that is to believe and walk the 8 folded path, which contains the three attributes of Right Spirit, Right Thought and Right Action. These three alone say that we should focus on our Spirit, Mind and Body, aka our Life, Consciousness and Appearance.
By only having faith that God will somehow pick up His divine, and predestined -insert religion here- children while leaving the rest (and presumably most) of humanity to be like discarded seeds scattered to the wind, is to me an absurd way of thinking.
I believe evolution has something much more grand than the above. I believe that every one of will eventually awaken to the same state as someone like the Christ, i.e. "at One with the Father". Each of us will awaken, in time, to the glorious awareness of The Lord, our Father Who transits the Heavens.
This, therefore, is the "goal" of works, to align our little will with the greater Will, the Soul of our soul. By definition this alignment process unites one into all and all into One.
So hiw do we align our personal wills with that of an unseen Divine Will?
Only through the purification of the three bodies through which we we work, I believe. Only by the exercise of a Sincerity of Spirit, an Honesty of Mind, and a Detachment of Form, says the great Teacher, can we purify our approach to God. It's a simple formula that everyone can do right now, regardless of intelligence, religion or non-religion. Imagine the solutions to war, poverty and pollution if our politicians were to live everyday with these three simple approaches to life?
Through such approaches to life we will eventually discover that religions, doctrines and dogmas are not the sole determiners in our salvation. They are rather just the means to the end, like ladders to a roof.
Such are my thoughts. Walk gently everyone but open your eyes lest you stumble.
Neo
The words "works without faith is dead" and "faith without works is dead" speak volumes to me. They tell me that faith must precede our works but faith then is also continuously needed as the driver to even greater things.
So if faith is our trust and confidence in the unknown, what are our "works"? Are they in our control, at any level? Or are they predestined, like some church dogmas say?
To me, our works can be found in everything we do, in our family life, our social life, our work life, and mostly importantly in our personal lives - if we are not honest with ourselves then what are we?
I also believe that the focus on our works should be more on the "how" we approach life and not solely on the "what" we do in our lives. Without an intelligent and loving "intent" moving us forward in our works, then the "what" is becomes an empty shell. If we focus more on the "how" then the "what" takes care of itself, i.e. it begins to automatically reflect the divine principles as they are creations that originate from within.
All life is suffering, says the Buddha, because all outer life is temporary form and our attachment to that form becomes necessarily disappointing as all things pass away in time. But there is way to alleviate our suffering, the Buddha continues, and that is to believe and walk the 8 folded path, which contains the three attributes of Right Spirit, Right Thought and Right Action. These three alone say that we should focus on our Spirit, Mind and Body, aka our Life, Consciousness and Appearance.
By only having faith that God will somehow pick up His divine, and predestined -insert religion here- children while leaving the rest (and presumably most) of humanity to be like discarded seeds scattered to the wind, is to me an absurd way of thinking.
I believe evolution has something much more grand than the above. I believe that every one of will eventually awaken to the same state as someone like the Christ, i.e. "at One with the Father". Each of us will awaken, in time, to the glorious awareness of The Lord, our Father Who transits the Heavens.
This, therefore, is the "goal" of works, to align our little will with the greater Will, the Soul of our soul. By definition this alignment process unites one into all and all into One.
So hiw do we align our personal wills with that of an unseen Divine Will?
Only through the purification of the three bodies through which we we work, I believe. Only by the exercise of a Sincerity of Spirit, an Honesty of Mind, and a Detachment of Form, says the great Teacher, can we purify our approach to God. It's a simple formula that everyone can do right now, regardless of intelligence, religion or non-religion. Imagine the solutions to war, poverty and pollution if our politicians were to live everyday with these three simple approaches to life?
Through such approaches to life we will eventually discover that religions, doctrines and dogmas are not the sole determiners in our salvation. They are rather just the means to the end, like ladders to a roof.
Such are my thoughts. Walk gently everyone but open your eyes lest you stumble.
Neo
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