"It is forbidden to decry other sects; the true believer gives honor to whatever in them is worthy of honor." Asoka (d. 238 bce), Buddhist emperor of India, Decree (inscription on a pillar),
The Great Thoughts - George Seldes, compiler
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SPIRITUAL GENIUS, THE MASTERY OF LIFE'S MEANING
Winifred Gallagher
The author interviews several people who are spiritual geniuses, those who are masters of Life's meaning and how to express this in their life experiences.
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"Once a person truly awakens to the hidden holiness that underlies and unifies creation, his or her inevitable behavioral response is goodness, or treating others as the 'self' that all share."
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"That God is one means there's a oneness at the core of all being in whom everything…converges." Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
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"Mind has great power, and its nature is the same for all beings. So, at a very deep level, one person's enlightenment is enlightenment for all." Tenzin Palmo, English Buddhist nun
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"The story line in all religions tells of a happy ending that blossoms as a result of ordeals necessarily confronted and surmounted. These trials add to the ultimate glory." Huston Smith
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"Do you see what people appear to be, or the sacred presence coming through them? Dr. Tony Campolo, American Baptist minister
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"The whole world is much more globally connected. That means we're aware of our neighbors as being fully human just as they are, not as we think they should be. We can't go backwards from this point. We've got to move forward." Bette Edl, American Franciscan hermit
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"The awareness that comes out of prayer and the stillness of listening to the Spirit is releasing an energy for a new beginning. For now, we're in that place where we're groaning with all creation to be born anew." Bette Edl, American Franciscan hermit
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"Pure consciousness, called the universal Self, is all that exists."
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"God loves us a billion times more than a mother! Far beyond anything we can experience in our minds and intellects!" Karunamayi, Hindu spiritual mother
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"Once one has truly realized the mind's true nature…you just see incredibly expansive interconnection." Tenzin Palmo, English Buddhist nun
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"I understand God in terms of love, compassion, justice. The Qur'an says everything in the world has been created for a just purpose." Riffat Hassan, Muslim Feminist teacher
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"God is mysteriously the source of our true self." Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
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"Things are more integrated, unified, whole than they seem to us." Huston Smith
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"The sacred isn't just 'up there' or in some afterlife but down here, right now."
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"All religions are equally valid means to the same end: awakening the selfless, unconditional love that…is unreservedly given to all without expectations."
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"God doesn't just hear our prayers but prays them through us as well. There's a huge transformation when you forget your self and realize that your hands and eyes are God's. Once you're with, or the same as, God, you aren't praying for your own needs, because you have none." Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
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"The Christian 'unio mystico', Jewish 'devekut', Muslin 'fana', Hindu 'samadhi', and Zen 'Kensho' manifest the same intense consciousness of ultimate reality's underlying unity and goodness."
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"Spiritual genius is the uniquely human ability to seek life's meaning. It's the voice inside us that keeps asking What's it all about? Who am I? How can I make a difference? This inclination to wonder why we exist is not rarefied, but a basic human trait… We're born with a craving to know our larger purpose."
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"The world's apparent brokenness conceals a hidden unity." Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
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"When you talk about God, you're talking about what connects everything to everything else." Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
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"I just have to hold people in my prayer and love them and smile and treat them as if they're doing the best they can." Bette Edl, American Franciscan hermit
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"We're each part of something that's much bigger and better than what meets the eye, and if we keep that in mind, our hearts will be in the right place. Life will be all right, because its ups and downs will be seen as what they are – threads in a great fabric whose beauty depends on bright and dark colors."
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"God is the self of the universe, so in finding your true inner self, you find God." Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
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"I do think we're all connected. When a part of society does something special, there are ripples." Rosalie Bertell, Grey Nun of the Sacred Heart
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"Find the divine in everything. There has to be a part of you that knows that, at the end of the day, it's all working for God." Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
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