SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 337

WE ARE EXPLORING THE HEAVENLY ATTRIBUTE OF LOVE

+ We are called to create and enjoy a realm of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all.

+ Once we experience and feel [the] interdependence of all living beings, we will cease to hurt, humiliate, exploit and kill one another. We will want to free all sentient beings from suffering. This is karuna, compassion, which in turn gives rise to the responsibility to create happiness and its causes for all.

-- Suresh Jindal in “Interdependence of All Living Beings” published by The Times of India, November 13, 2003

This was the OneSpirit Daily Inspiration on May 20, 2016

+ In Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva takes a vow to not enter Nirvana until the sentiment expressed in this quote is fully achieved. My interpretation is that no one can get there until everyone gets there together.  In one sense we are already there.  Once we have become aware of our deep connectedness and become committed to take responsibility for it, that’s when we are in heaven.  But we can’t say we are fully in heaven until everyone is experiencing the joyful abundance of heaven. If there is someone missing, any one, then we must do everything we can to find them and bring them to the heavenly banquet.

+ We explored the practice of Love & Compassion during our exploration of Heavenliness as a practice in these SE posts: 241 | 242 | 243 | 244 | 245 | 246 | 247 | 248 | 249 |250 | 251 | 252 | 253

+ Spirituality & Practice offers plenty of resources on the practice of Love, on the practice of Compassion and on the practice of hospitality and other related practices.  You can also be illuminated and inspired by their many 12s galleries of memes including the 12s Gallery on Love, the 12s Gallery on Compassion and the 12s Gallery on Hospitality.

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post.  And, I have work to do on the Abundancetrek Love page. Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Love” or “Heavenly Attributes” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 241

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS

+ Continuing with the 12 styles of the Mandalaprocess, we are exploring the style of Love and Compassion beginning with this post.  Since Love is the central attribute of the 9 heavenly attributes, this series of posts will not be the only time we explore Love or Compassion.  Can anything be more important?  So important in fact that we have explored in this realm of heaven before this. 

+

The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control.
Against such there 
is no law.
-- Galatians 5: 22-23

+ Oh how our planet needs an abundance of these fruits. The Buddhists have the powerful archetype of the Bodhisattva, who vows to “not just to attain enlightenment or Nirvana (ambitious enough of itself), but to postpone enjoying that enlightenment fully until all other beings too have reached liberation” according to  http://www.katinkahesselink.net/tibet/bodhisatva.htm.  On this amazing journey it is so important to continuously renew our intention and commitment to spread compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance to everyone everywhere as much as we possibly can.  The Charter for Compassion is a powerful statement promoting this intention and commitment.

 + The 12 styles of Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward Bastian are listed in SE206.

+ The 7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation by Edward Bastian are listed in SE21 and SE213.  They are described fully in his book, InterSpiritual Meditation.

+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos:  Seven Steps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes) | 15 minute introduction to InterSpiritual Meditation and the Mandala Process | 2 hour lecture & conversation

+ Spirituality & Practice offers abundant resources on the practices of Love & Compassion: The Practice of Love | The 12s Gallery on Love | The Practice of Compassion | The 12s Gallery on Compassion

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Heavenliness page.  Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” or  “Love” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 152

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HOLINESS

+ The four ripening factors refer to the four principal factors that bodhisattvas employ in attracting disciples and enhancing their spiritual potentials. These are:

1. Giving material aid;

2. Speaking eloquently;

3. Always giving the right counsel; and

4. Setting an example by living the principles taught.

It is through these skillful means that the compassionate bodhisattvas work for the welfare of all other beings.

— His Holiness The Dalai Lama in The Path to Bliss by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Christine Cox, editor

> http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/quotes/quotations/view/19704/spiritual-quotation

+ The archetype of the Bodhisattva is one of the greatest gifts of Buddhism to the planet. I liken it to the biblical archetype of the Suffering Servant which is introduced to us in the Servant Hymns of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-6; Isaiah 49:1-7; Isaiah 50:4-9; Isaiah 52:13-53:12).  Other wisdom traditions also offer this archetype in a variety of ways.  The main idea is that the holy person becomes totally enlightened and, rather than keeping this bliss to herself or himself, she or he vows to save all creatures everywhere with this wisdom.  There is even an insistence that it is impossible for anyone to be saved until everyone is saved.

So, becoming a Boddhisattva or a Servant of the Lord is ultimately mandatory. I like how A Course in Miracles puts it:

This is A Course in Miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time. The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite.   

Learning how to be holy and practicing holiness is an obligation.  Sooner or later, everyone gets the call to be a devoted participant in bringing our planetary evolution to a more holy level of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all creatures everywhere.  I don’t believe anyone can avoid this call nor would anyone want to avoid this call once the bliss of holiness is experienced.

+ Holiness is not one of the 37 Spirituality & Practice practices BUT put Holiness in their Search Engine and you come up with 460 items including 227 quotes, 168 books, 28 practices, 14 teachers, 12 arts links, 7 e-courses, 3 films and 1 blog as of 5/11/16.  Go to http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/search/?q=holiness.

+ The Body gets a lot of attention from Spirituality and Practice as you can see when you go to a link to “Body” on their search engine. You will find 1611 items as of 4/26/16.

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Holiness Page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Holiness” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html