A Sermon
From the Respective Prophets of
Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam
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May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon The Rishis.
May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon Moses.
May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon The Buddha.
May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon Jesus.
May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon Muhammad.
May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon The Universe.
Amen
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Sâmañña Phala Sutta 35 – 36 (in part)
‘Now what do you think, o king. Suppose amongst the people of your household there were a slave who does work for you, rises up in the matin before you do and retires later to rest, who is keen to carry out your pleasure, anxious to make himself agreeable in what he does and says, a man who watches your every look. Suppose he should think, ‘Strange is it and wonderful, this issue of meritorious deeds, this result of merit! Here is the king of
‘Nay, Leader, rather should we greet him with reverence and rise up from our seat out of deference towards him, and press him to be seated. And we should have robes and a bowl, and a lodging place, and medicine for the sick,- all the requisites of a recluse- made ready and beg him to accept of them. And we should order watch and ward and guard to be kept for him according to the law.’
‘But what do you think, o king. That being so, is there, or is there not, some fruit, visible in this World, of the life of a recluse.’
‘Certainly, Leader, that is so.’
‘This then, o king, is the first kind of the fruit, visible in this World, which I maintain to arise from the life of a recluse.’
Brahma Gâla Sutta 1:5 – 7
‘Fellows, if outsiders should speak against me, or against the Dharma, or against the Sangha, you should not on that account either bear malice, or suffer heart burning, or feel ill will. If you, on that account, should be angry and hurt, that would stand in the way of your own self conquest. If, when others speak against us, you feel angry at that, and displeased, would you then be able to judge how much that speech of theirs is well said or ill?’
‘That would not be so, sir.’
‘But when outsiders speak in dishonour of me, or of the Dharma, or of the Sangha, you should unravel what is false and point it out as wrong, saying: ‘For this or that reason this is not the fact, that is not so, such a thing is not found amongst us, is not in us.
‘But also, fellows, if outsiders should speak in honour of me, in honour of the Dharma, in honour of the Sangha, you should not, on that account, be filled with pleasure or gladness, or be lifted up in heart. Were you to be so that also would stand in the way of your self conquest. When outsiders speak in honour of me, or of the Dharma, or of the Sangha, you should acknowledge what is right to be the fact, saying: ‘For this or that reason this is the fact, that is so, such a thing is found amongst us, is in us.’
Brahma Gâla Sutta
‘Now of these, fellows, the Tathâgata knows that these speculations thus arrived at, thus insisted on, will have such and such a result, such and such an effect on the future condition of those who trust in them. That does he know, and he knows also other things much beyond (much better than those speculations); and having that knowledge he is not puffed up, and thus untarnished he has, in his own heart, realised the way of escape from them, has understood, as they really are, the rising up and passing away of sênsations, their sweet taste, their danger, how they cannot be relied on; and not grasping after any of those things men are eager for, he, the Tathâgata, is quite set free.
‘These, fellows, are those other things, profound, difficult to realise, hard to understand, tranquilising, sweet, not to be grasped by mere logic, subtle, comprehensible only by the wise, which the Tathâgata, having himself realised and seen face to face, hath set forth; and it is concerning these that they who would rightly honour the Tathâgata in accordance with the Truth, should speak.’
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From Hinduism:
Bhagavad Gita 2:12, 14 – 21, 23 – 25
There has never been a time when you and I and the kings gathered here have not existed, nor will there be a time when we will cease to exist.
When the sênses contact sênse objects, a person experiences cold or heat, pleasure or pain. These experiences are fleeting; they come and go. Bear them patiently, Arjuna.
Those who are not affected by these changes, who are the same in pleasure and pain, are Truly wise and fir for immórtality. Assert your strength and realise this!
The impermanent has no reality; reality lies in the eternal. Those who have seen the boundary between these two have attained the end of all knowledge.
Realise that which pervades the Universe and is indestructible; no power can affect this unchanging, imperishable reality.
The body is mórtal, but the Self who dwells in the body is immórtal and immeasurable. Therefore, Arjuna, fight in this battle.
One man believes he is the slayer, another believes he is the slain. Both are ignorant; there is neither slayer nor slain.
Your were never born; you will never die. You have never changed; you can never change. Unborn, eternal, immutable, immemorial, you do not die when the body dies.
Realising that which is indestructible, eternal, unborn, and unchanging, how can you slay or cause another to slay?
The Self cannot be pierced by weapons or burned by fire; water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it.
The Self cannot be pierced or burned, made wet or dry. It is everlasting and infinite, standing on the motionless foundations of eternity.
The Self is unmanifested, beyond all thought, beyond all change. Knowing this, you should not grieve.
Bhagavad Gita 13:13
‘It dwells in all, in every hand and foot and head, in every mouth and eye and ear in the Universe.’
Bhagavad Gita 13:15
‘It is both near and distant, both within and without every creature; it moves and is unmoving.’
Bhagavad Gita 13:16
‘In its subtlety, it is beyond comprehension. It is indivisible yet appears divided in separate creatures. Know it to be the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer.’
Bhagavad Gita 14:6 – 9
Sattva- pure, luminous, and free from sorrow- binds us with attachment to happiness and wisdom.
Rajas is passion, arising from selfish desire and attachment. These bind the Self with compulsive action.
Tamas, born of ignorance, deludes all creatures through heedlessness, indolence, and sleep.
Sattva binds us to happiness; rajas binds us to action. Tamas, distorting our understanding, binds us to delusion.
Bhagavad Gita
Sattvic knowledge sees the one indestructible Being in all beings, the unity underlying the multiplicity of creation.
Rajasic knowledge sees all things and creatures as separate and distinct.
Tamasic knowledge, lacking any sênse of perspective, sees one small part and mistakes it for the whole.
Bhagavad Gita
‘The sattvic perform sacrifices with their entire mind fixed on the purpose of the sacrifice. Without thought of reward, they follow the teachings of the scriptures.
‘The rajasic perform sacrifices for the sake of show and the good it will bring them.
‘The tamasic perform sacrifices ignoring both the letter and the spirit. They omit the proper prayers, the proper offerings, the proper food, and the proper Faith.’
Bhagavad Gita
That which seems like poison at first, but tastes like nectar in the end- this is the joy of sattva, born of a mind at Peace with itself.
Pleasure from the sênses seems like nectar at first, but it is bitter as poison in the end. This is the kind of happiness that comes to the rajasic.
Those who are tamasic draw their pleasures from sleep, indolence, and intoxication. Both in the beginning and in the end, this happiness is a delusion.
Bhagavad Gita 18:3 – 6
‘Amongst the wise, some say that all action should be renounced as evil. Others say that certain kinds of action- self sacrifice, giving, and self discipline- should be continued.
‘Listen, Arjuna, and I will explain three kinds of tyaga and My conclusions concerning them
‘Self sacrifice, giving, and self discipline should not be renounced, for they purify the thoughtful.
‘Yet even these, Arjuna, should be performed without desire for selfish rewards. This is essential.’
Bhagavad Gita 18:11
‘As long as one has a body, one cannot renounce action altogether. True renunciation is giving up all desire for personal reward.’
Bhagavad Gita
‘To offer service to the angels, to the good, to the wise, and to your spiritual teacher; purity, honest, continence, and ahimsa: these are the disciplines of the body.
‘To offer soothing words, to speak Truly, kindly, and helpfully, and to study the scriptures: these are the disciplines of speech.
‘Calmness, gentleness, silence, self restraint, and purity: these are the disciplines of the mind.’
Bhagavad Gita
Select a clean spot, neither too high nor too low, and seat yourself firmly on a cloth, a deerskin, and kusha grass.
Then, once seated, strive to still your thoughts. Make your mind one pointed in meditation, and your heart will be purified.
Hold your body, head, and neck firmly in a straight line, and keep your eyes from wandering.
With all fears dissolved in the Peace of the Self and all desires dedicated to God, controlling the mind and fixing it on Me, sit in meditation with Me as your only goal.
With sênses and mind constantly controlled through meditation, united with the Self within, an aspirant attains Nirvâna, the state of abiding joy and Peace in Me.
Arjuna, those who eat too much or eat too little, who sleep too much or sleep too little, will not succeed in meditation.
But those who are temperate in eating and sleeping, work and recreation, will come to the end of sorrow through meditation.
Through constant effort they learn to withdraw the mind from selfish cravings and absorb it in the Self. Thus they attain the state of union.
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From Judaism:
Deuteronomy 6:4 – 9
Hear, O Israel: God our God is one God; and you shall love God your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Leviticus 24:22
You shall have one law for the sojourner and for the native; for I am God your God.
Leviticus
‘When the stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native amongst you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the
Exodus 23:9
You shall not oppress a stranger; you know the heart of a stranger, for you were strangers in the
Exodus
You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the
Deuteronomy 24:17 – 18
You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the farless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge; but you shall remember that you were a slave in
Leviticus
‘You shall not oppress your neighbour or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the matin. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am God.
‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbour. You shall not go up and down as a slanderer amongst your people, and you shall not stand forth against the life of your neighbour: I am God.
‘You shall not hate your fellow in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbour, lest you bear sin because of him.’
Deuteronomy 24:14 – 15
You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your fellows or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns; you shall give him his hire on the day he earns it, before the Sun goes down (for he is poor, and sets his heart upon it); lest he cry against you to God, and it be sin in you.’
Exodus 22:25
If you lend money to any of My people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor, and you shall not exact interest from him. If ever you take your neighbour’s garment in pledge, you shall restore it to him before the Sun goes down; for that is his only covering, it is his mantle for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
Deuteronomy 24:10 – 13
When you make your neighbour a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to fetch his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge; when the Sun goes down, you shall restore to him the pledge that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it shall be righteousness to you before God your God.
Leviticus 25:35
And if your fellow becomes poor, and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall maintain him; as a stranger and a sojourner he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or increase, but fear your God; that your fellow may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him you food for (gain). I am God your God, Who brought you forth out of the
Deuteronomy 15:12
If your fellow, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years ,and in the seventh year, you shall le him go free from you. And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty handed; you shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your wine press; as God your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the
Deuteronomy 15:1 – 2
At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbour; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, his fellow, because God’s release has been proclaimed.
Deuteronomy 15:7 – 11
If there is amongst you a poor man, one of your fellows, in any of your towns within your land which God your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor fellow, but you shall open your hand to him, and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take heed lest there be a base thought in your heart, and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye be hostile to your poor fellow, and you give him nothing, and he cry to God against you, and it be sin in you. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him; because for this God your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your fellow, to the needy and to the poor, in the land.
Leviticus 25:10
And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants; it shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his family.
Leviticus 19: 9 – 10
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very border, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am God your God.
Deuteronomy 24:19 – 22
‘When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the sojourner, the farless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterwards; it shall be for the sojourner, the farless, and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the
Deuteronomy
‘When you go into your neighbour’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your vessel. When you go into your neighbour’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to you neighbour’s standing grain.’
Deuteronomy 22:1
‘You shall not see your fellow’s ox or his sheep go astray, and withhold your help from them; you shall take them back to your fellow.’
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From Christianity:
Mark
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: God our God, God is one; and you shall love God your God with all your heart, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’ And the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher; you have Truly said that God is one, and there is not other but God; and to love God with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is much mas than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not distant from the
Luke
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? How do you read?’ And he answered, ‘You shall love God your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have answered right; do this, and you will live.’
Matthew
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love God your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall lover your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.’
Matthew
‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sens of your God who is in Heaven; for God makes the Sun of God rise on the evil and on the good, and sênds rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your fellows, what mas are you doing than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your Heavenly God is perfect.’
Matthew
Then Peter came up and said to him, ‘Leader, how often shall my fellow sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.’
Matthew 7:1 -5
‘Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your fellow’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your fellow, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your fellow’s eye.’
Luke
‘Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put unto your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’
Luke
And an argument arose amongst them as to which of them was the greatest. But when Jesus perceived the thought of their hearts, he took a child and put him by his side, and said to them, ‘Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives God Who sênt me; for he who is least amongst you all is the one who is great.’
Mark
And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the
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From Islam:
Sura 2:256
Let there be no compulsion in religion; Truth stands out clear from error; whoever rejects evil and believes in God hath grasped the most trustworthy handhold, that never breaks. And God heareth and knoweth all things.
Sura 2:186
When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close to them; I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he calleth on Me; let them also, with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me; that they may walk in the right way.
Sura 2:245
Who is he that will loan to God a beautiful loan, which God will double unto his credit and multiply many times? It is God that giveth you want or plenty. And to God shall be your return.
Sura 57:18
For those who give in charity, men and women, and loan to God a beautiful loan, it shall be increased manifold to their credit, and they shall have besides a liberal reward.
Sura 64:16 – 17
So fear God as much as ye can. Listen and obey; and spend in charity for the benefit of your souls. And those saved from the covetousness of their own souls,- they are the ones that achieve prosperity
If ye loan to God a beautiful loan, God will double it to your credit, and God will grant you forgiveness: for God is most ready to appreciate service, Most Forbearing,-
Sura 2:177
It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in God and the Last Day, and the angels, and the Book, and the messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for God, for your kin, for orphans; for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practise regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain or suffering and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of Truth, the God fearing.
Sura 9:60
Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the funds; for those whose hearts have been recently reconciled to Truth; for those in bondage and in the debt; in the Cause of God; and for the wayfarer; thus is it ordained by God, and God is full of knowledge and wisdom.
Sura 2:43
And be steadfast in prayer; practise regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down in worship.
Sura 2:110
And be steadfast in prayer and regular charity; and whatever good ye sênd forth for your souls before you, ye shall find it with God, for God sees well all that ye do.
Sura 2:263
Kind words and the covering of faults are better than charity followed by injury. God is Free of all wants, and God is Most Forbearing.
Sura 2:264 – 265 (in part)
O ye who believe! Cancel not your charity by reminders of your generosity or by injury,- like those who spend their substance to be seen of men, but believe neither in God nor in the Last Day…
And the likeness of those who spend their substance, speaking to please God and to strengthen their souls, is a garden, high and fertile; heavy rains fall on it but makes it yield a double increase of harvest, and if it receives not heavy rain, light moisture sufficeth it. God seeth well whatever ye do.
Sura 2:271
If ye disclose acts of charity, even so it is well; but if ye conceal them, and make them reach those really in need, that is best for you. It will remove from you some of your stains of evil. And God is well acquainted with what ye do.
Sura 2:274 – 281
Those who in charity spend of their good by night and by day, in secret and in public, have their reward with their God; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
Those who devour usury will not stand except as stands one whom evil by its touch hath driven to madness. That is because they say: ‘Trade is like usury,’ but God hath permitted trade and forbidden usury. Those who, after receiving direction from their God, desist, shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for God to judge. But those who repeat the offence are companions of the fire: they will abide therein for ever.
God will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity; for God loveth not creatures ungrateful and wicked.
Those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, and establish regular prayers and regular charity, will have their reward with their God; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
O ye who believe! Fear God, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers.
If ye do it not, take notice of war from God and the Apostle of God. But if ye turn back, ye shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly.
If the debtor is in a difficulty, grant him time til it is easy for him to repay. But if ye remit it by way of charity, that is best for you, if ye only knew.
And fear the Day when ye shall be brought back to God. Then shall every soul be paid what it earned, and none shall be dealt with unjustly.
Sura 2:195
And spend of your substance in the Cause of God, and make not your own hands contribute to your destruction; but do good, for God loveth those who do good.
Sura 2:215
They ask thee what they should spend in charity. Say: ‘Whatever ye spend that is good, is for parents and kindred and orphans and those in want and for wayfarers. And whatever ye do that is good,- God knoweth it well.’
Sura 2:219 – 220
They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: ‘In them is great sin, and some gain, for men; but the sin is greater than the gain.’ They ask thee how much they are to spend; say: ‘What is beyond your needs.’
Thus does God make clear to you the Signs of God; in order that ye may consider,-
Their bearings on this life and the Hereafter.
Sura 2:212
The life of this World is alluring to those who reject Faith, and they scoff at those who believe. But the righteous will be above them on the Day of Resurrection; for God bestows God’s abundance without measure on whom God wills.
Sura 14:23
But those who believe and work righteousness will be admitted to Gardens beneath which rivers flow,- to dwell therein for aye with the leave of their God. Their greeting therein will be: ‘Peace!’
Sura 2:25
But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say, ‘Why, this is what we were fed with before,’ for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions pure and Holy; and they abide therein for ever.
Sura 2:119
Verily We have sênt thee in Truth as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner;
Sura 2:272
It is not required of thee, O apostle, to set them on the right path, but God sets on the right path whom God pleaseth. Whatever of good ye give benefits your own souls, and ye shall only do so seeking the ‘Face’ of God. Whatever good ye give shall be rendered back to you, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly.
Sura 48:8
We have Truly sênt thee as a witness, a bringer of glad tidings, and as a warner:
Sura 2:286
On no soul doth God place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns and it suffers every ill that it earns. Pray: ‘Our God! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error. Our God! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness; have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; help us against those who stand against Faith.’
Sura 4:17
God accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and repent soon afterwards; to them God will turn in mercy; for God is full of Knowledge and Wisdom.
Sura 25:63
‘And the servants of God Most Gracious are those who walk on the Earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, ‘Peace!’’
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These respective Holy Scripture verses are respectively from the Torah of Judaism, the Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism, the Digha Nikâya of Buddhism, the Gospels of Christianity, and the Koran of Islam.
May Peace and blessings be upon the respective indigenous of the Universe.
Peace belongs throughout the Universe.
Good thought, be long towards Nirvâna.
All Praise Belongs To God.
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