Friday, January 29, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS -- 50

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HUMILITY

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
-- Micah 6:8 NRSV

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
-- Matthew 5:5 NRSV

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
-- James 4:10 NRSV

… lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
 with all humility and gentleness,
 with patience, bearing with one another in love,
 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
-- Ephesians 4:1b-3 NRSV

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
clothe yourselves with 
compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
-- Colossians 3:12 NRSV

My religion is kindness.
-- The Dalai Lama

The (true) servants of (God) the Most Gracious
are those who walk on the earth in humility,
and when the ignorant address them, reply with (words of) peace.
-- The Holy Quran, 25:63.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said
“(God) has revealed to me that you should adopt humility so that no one oppresses another."
-- Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 1589.

+ Humility is more than an essential spiritual practice.  It is an essential attribute of holiness, of  heavenliness.  The teachers of the great wisdom traditions emphasize being humble over and over again.  It is an attitude which makes it likely that you will see every person including yourself, indeed every creature, as divine and absolutely neither inferior nor superior.  When we are humble, we can see clearly.    

The essential spiritual practices of stillness and detachment lay the foundation for the practice of humility which makes it possible to live according to the Golden Rule: “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”
+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

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