Peter’s Philosophy Towards Service
Tikkun
Olam
Within Judaism, there is the traditional teaching
of Tikkun Olam. This can be essentially
understood as “Healing/Repairing the Universe.”
We believe that God creates the Universe, but that this process of
Creation is continual; and we are all
facilitators of this Creation. Within
the Universe, there is suffering, there is brokenness; and we each have the responsibility to heal
and repair. We conduct this healing and
repair through Tzedakah: charitable
giving. We conduct this healing and
repair through Chesed: acts of loving
kindness. We conduct this healing and
repair through our respective vocations, through our respective volunteer activities,
and through our volition of empathy and compassion to strangers whom we
seemingly randomly encounter. Through
Tikkun Olam, we enhance our relationship with God, our relationship with the
physical Universe, and our relationship with each other. Within these relationships with each other,
we are guided to love each other;
indeed, we are to love each other as we love ourselves. So, for myself, I strive to continually,
intrinsically, and genuinely love all beings through every single action I
manifest. Obviously this appears as an
extremely lofty ambition, and I regularly woefully fall short of this. However, I learn that 1 of the significant
factors involved within this ambition is simply being aware of how my actions
affect other people, directly and eventually.
We are all butterflies, each with a butterfly effect: each of our smallest actions has infinite
consequences that reverberate throughout the Universe. Our breathing. Our resting.
Our eating. Our working. Our playing.
I strive to be mindful of these consequences and improve the wellbeing
of those beings, and that life, that are affected by these consequences. Within my life, this leads me to study
economics at university, and to study entrepreneurship in business school, and
international governance in law school.
This formal education provides me with a keen understanding regarding
the institutions and systems that pervade our global community of Earth. And my spiritual teachings guide me in how to
effectuate compassionate and transcendent change through these, and new,
institutions and systems.
Beresheit 1:27 – 28
“And God created man in (God’s) image, in the
image of God (God) created him; male and
female (God) created them. God blessed
them and God said to them, ‘Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master
it; and rule the fish of the sea, the
birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”
Vayikra 19:33 – 34
“When a stranger resides with you in your land,
you shall not wrong him. The stranger
who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were
strangers in the land of Egypt; I the
LORD am your God.”
--
Seva
Within the religious traditions emanating from
India, there is a Mantra: Seva Pratham
Manav Dharam: “Service to humanity is
our 1st religion.” Within the
respective traditions of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, we are
taught to cultivate abundant compassion for all beings. This is shared through the Sanskrit word,
Ananda: love. The Bhagavad Gita provides us guidance amidst
our struggle to find purpose and meaning within this Universe. As we progress along our respective spiritual
paths and find this purpose and meaning, we find unity with the Ultimate
Reality, Brahman. When we experience
that connexion with Brahman, we are able to witness Brahman within all
phenomena, and within all beings:
Namaste. Yet, even within this
ecstatic experience of Enlightenment, we must continue to maintain our respective
physical existence within this material Universe. And thus we continually maintain a balance of
righteous living amidst our spiritual Enlightenment and our material necessities. Traditionally, there are 4 paths of Yoga that
facilitate our spiritual transcendence:
Raja Yoga, the cultivation of Enlightenment through meditation; Jnana Yoga, the cultivation of Enlightenment
through wisdom and study; Karma Yoga,
the cultivation of Enlightenment through compassionate action; and Bhakti Yoga, the cultivation of
Enlightenment through religious devotion to Brahman. Within my personal spiritual path, I practise
elements of each of these forms of Yoga.
Regarding Raja Yoga, I regularly perform Samadhi (meditation) on a daily
basis, and I strive to improve my techniques for Samadhi. Regarding Jnana Yoga, I regularly study from
the Bhagavad Gita, as well as the Torah, the Digha Nikaya, the Dhammapada, the
Gospels, the Koran, and additional Holy Scriptures. Regarding Karma Yoga, I regularly build
community locally, and globally, improving the conditioning of all beings
within my immediate and extended community.
Regarding Bhakti Yoga, I regularly engage within singing, chants,
prayer, and additional devotional acts.
As I become increasingly adept within each of these practices, I also fulfil
my responsibility in teaching these practices to others who have such an
interest.
Bhagavad Gita 3:19
“Strive constantly to serve the welfare of the
world; by devotion to selfless work one
attains the supreme goal of life.”
Bhagavad Gita 3:3
“At the beginning of time I declared two paths for
the pure heart: jnana yoga, the
contemplative path of spiritual wisdom, and karma yoga, the active path of
selfless service.”
Bhagavad Gita 12:8 – 11
“Still your mind in (Me), still your intellect in
(Me), and without doubt you will be united with (Me) forever.
“If you cannot still your mind in (Me), learn to
do so through the regular practice of meditation.
“If you lack the will for such self-discipline,
engage yourself in (My) work, for selfless service can lead you at last to
complete fulfilment.
“If you are unable to do even this, surrender
yourself to (Me), disciplining yourself and renouncing the results of all you
actions.”
Bhagavad Gita 6:7 – 9
“The supreme Reality stands revealed in the
consciousness of those who have conquered themselves. They live in peace, alike in cold and heat, pleasure
and pain, praise and blame.
“They are completely fulfilled by spiritual wisdom
and (Self-Realisation). Having conquered
their senses, they have climbed to the summit of human consciousness. To such people a clod of dirt, a stone, and
gold are the same.
“They are equally disposed to family, enemies, and
friends, to those who support them and those who are hostile, to the
(benevolent) and the evil alike. Because
they are impartial, they rise to great heights.”
Bhagavad Gita 6:32
“When a person responds to the joys and sorrows of
others as if they were his own, he has attained the highest state of spiritual
union.”
--
Beggar’s
Bowl
Through his example and legacy, the Buddha teaches
us an extraordinary methodology for mindfulness and compassion. We are taught that, within this Universe, all
beings experience suffering. And as we
engage within the temporal pursuits of maintaining a profession, becoming
married, raising children, and perpetuating the householder cycle, we
intrinsically engage within the consequential competition and transgressions that
coincide with the household life. As a
premise for attaining the highest experience of spiritual life, the Buddha
teaches us that it is necessary to let go of our temporal pursuits; to let go of the household life. In doing so, we reduce the manner in which we
contribute to such competition and transgressions, and we are better situated
to perform Samadhi, to be mindful of our connexion with Nirvana, and to be
compassionate to others. Within Buddhism,
there are numerous precepts regarding rightful actions and how to engage within
the Universe. These are epitomised
within the Noble 8-Fold Path of Right Belief, Right Aspiration, Right Speech,
Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Thought, Right Samadhi; this is in conjunction with the most basic
teaching of the Noble 4-Fold Truth:
Dukkha (suffering intrinsically exists for all within life), Tanha
(suffering is caused by wanting), Nirvana (it is possible to experience
cessation of suffering), Katari Ariyasakani (this cessation of suffering is
facilitated through the Noble 8-Fold Path).
There is also the 5 prohibitions from killing, adultery, stealing,
lying, and intoxication; as well as the
guidance to purge from 1’s self all hatred, greed, and delusion. The Buddha also provides us with a
formidable, compassionate example of Prophethood, whereby he wisely and
diplomatically engages his contemporaries and critics through religious
discourse that is often built upon the foundation of his critics’ own beliefs
and traditions. Personally for me, I am
compelled by the example of the Beggar’s Bowl:
to simply live from the contributions of those who believe in what I am
doing. Whilst I abstain from making the
commitment of asceticism and celibacy that are connected with the precepts for
monasticism within Buddhism, I do adhere to the general mechanics of the Beggar’s
Bowl, and facilitating harmony amongst our different households. I recognise that even within the lifestyle of
the Tathagata and the Bodhisattva, there effectively is competition and certain
transgression. So, as I maintain my
lifestyle as a householder, I strive to be maximally mindful and compassionate
towards all beings as we all progress along our respective spiritual paths.
Samanna Phala Sutta 41 – 42
“A householder or one of his children, or a man of
inferior birth in any class listens to that (Truth); and on hearing it he has faith in the
Tathagata (the one who has found the Truth);
and when he is possessed of that faith, he considers thus within
himself:
“ ‘Full of hindrances is household life, a path
for the dust of passion. Free as the air
is the life of him who has renounced all worldly things. How difficult is it for the man who dwells at
home to live the higher life in all its fullness, in all its purity, in all its
bright perfection! Let me then cut off
my hair and beard, let me clothe myself in the orange-coloured robes, and let
me go forth from the household life into the homeless state.’
“Then, before long, forsaking his portion of
wealth, be it great or small, forsaking his circle of relatives, be they many
or be they few, he cuts off his hair and beard, he clothes himself in the
orange-coloured robes, and he goes forth from the household life into the homeless
state.
“When he has thus become a recluse he lives
self-restrained by that restraint that should be binding on a recluse. Uprightness is his delight, and he sees
danger in the least of those things he should avoid. He adopts, and trains himself in, the
precepts. He encompasses himself with
(benevolent) deeds in act and word. Pure
are his means of livelihood, (benevolent) is his conduct, guarded the door of
his senses. Mindful and self-possessed
he is altogether happy.”
--
Healing
Through the Christian Gospel, Jesus teaches us a
compelling lesson in love and healing.
Based within the tradition of Judaism, Jesus provides concentrated
direction towards what Hillel describes as the crux of the Torah: we are to love each other as ourselves. Jesus takes this another step further and
teaches us that we are to even love our enemies as we love ourselves. Indeed, the Gospels within the Bible are rife
with Jesus’s teachings towards compassion.
However, there is a heightened factor to these lessons of
compassion: Jesus heals. Jesus recognises the manner in which the
people of his era are suffering, from blindness, from possessions (material and
spiritual), and additionally; and Jesus
alleviates the very immediate nature of that suffering. Jesus heals.
Jesus heals the blind and the deaf and the mute. Jesus cures infirmities and physical ailments. Jesus rids sufferers from spiritual
afflictions. Jesus brings life to those
condemned as dead. And Jesus even
explains to the materially wealthy and powerful why such individuals too are
suffering. Jesus accepts the mantle of
the “people’s champion,” and addresses the woes that the ordinary person
experiences. Jesus imparts his teachings
upon a select few disciples, and also lives a lifestyle of asceticism: he lives from the contributions of the
Faithful. Jesus teaches his disciples to
lead an austere life and to abstain from the pursuit of material riches: to build our treasures in Heaven, rather than
on Earth, for we can only love 1: God or
materiality. I infuse Jesus’s teachings
of compassion and healing within my occupation and ordinary endeavours. Again, I believe I am to be married and raise
a modest family; so whilst I abstain
from making a vow of asceticism or celibacy, I apply Jesus’s teachings of
compassion and healing within my daily and planned behaviour. I strive to recognise the manner in which my
contemporaries are suffering, and anticipate the manner in which the next 8
generations and beyond may be expected to suffer, and I work towards
alleviating that suffering. People need water
and food. People need shelter. People need clothing. People need health and wellbeing. People need work and energy and
transportation and reconciliation. I
work towards providing this through our global and local institutions and
systems. I also work to encourage within
others that each of us has an element of Moshiach (the Messiah) within us.
Matthew 9:35 – 36
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the (Sovereignty), and
healing every disease and every infirmity.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed
and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
Matthew 10:8 – 14
“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,
cast out demons. You received without
paying, give without pay. Take no gold,
nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey nor two tunics,
nor sandals, nor a staff; for the labourer
deserves his food. And whatever town or
village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you
depart. As you enter the house, salute
it. And if the house is worthy, let you
peace come upon it; but if it is not
worthy, let your peace return to you.
And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off
the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.”
--
Zakat
The Koran provides us with very direct and
pragmatic guidance regarding the practice of Zakat: charitable giving. We are to dedicate a percentage of our income
to the orphan, the wayfarer, the widow, and those unable to fend for 1’s
self. We are taught to build societies
of compassion and empathy where the needs of each individual are met. The Koran teaches us that all material
provision are made available to us through the benevolent generosity of
Allah; and that rather than an indulgent
pleasure, these material provisions are made available to us as a test; for a purpose. We are to accept these material provisions
and, in turn, benevolently and generously make these material provisions
available to others. Zakat is merely 1
of these methodologies of giving. The
Koran teaches us that we are to be generous to those in need who ask for
assistance; and it is better for us to
remit these material provisions as a gift rather than as a loan (and in zero
manner are we to exact interest from any material provision that we do loan). Personally, these teachings from the Koran
provide me with a certain structure and vigilance in how I dedicate the
material provisions that are made available to me. Whilst I maintain a livelihood that is based
upon contributions from the Faithful, and I am generally attentive to assure
that my general material needs are met, I also strive to be benevolent and
generous in giving to those who also communicate to me a material need. Amidst the propensity for prosperity within
my occupational practice, and as I continue to live from contributions from the
Faithful, I am reassured by the Koranic teaching that we are to appreciate our
material experience with modesty and moderation. I recognise that these material provisions
are provided to me as a test, to determine whether I can maintain my
righteousness, piety, and humility amidst such material provisions. And I also recognise the Koranic teaching
that we are to engage with each other in the benevolent competition of
righteous deeds; that we all are charged
with the responsibility to utilise our respective material provisions in a
compassionate manner that promotes the physical wellbeing and spiritual
upliftment of all beings and all life.
Sura 2:110
“And be steadfast in prayer and regular in
charity; and whatever (benevolence) ye
send forth for your souls before you, ye shall find it with Allah, for Allah
sees well all that ye do.”
Sura 2:177
“It is not righteousness that ye 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 (Allah), for you 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 Allah-fearing.”
Sura 2:273
“Charity is for the poor who are confined in the
way of Allah, they cannot go about in the land;
the ignorant man thinks them to be rich on account of their abstaining
from begging. Thou canst recognize them
by their mark—they beg not of men importunately. And whatever (benevolent) thing you spend,
surely Allah is Knower of it.”
Sura 3:14
“Fair-seeming to men is made the love of desires,
of women and sons and hoarded treasures of gold and silver and well-bred horses
and cattle and tilth. This is the
provision of the life of this world. And
Allah—with (Allah) is the (benevolent) goal of life.”
