to the index
THE SACRED READINGS
ARCHIVE
Subject: Lovingkindness
Cherag Hamid Cecil Touchon
From The Hindu Tradition;
The Isha Upanishad
"The Lord is enshrined in the hearts
of all. The Lord is the supreme Reality...
Those who see all creatures in themselves
and themselves in all creatures know no fear. Those who see all creatures
in themselves and themselves in all creatures know no grief. How can the
multiplicity of life delude the one who sees its unity?
From The Buddhist Tradition:
The 'Dhammapada' Chap. 1 'Twins' Verses
3-5
' "He abused me,mistreated me, defeated
me, robbed me." Harboring such thoughts keep hatred alive. "He abused me,
mistreated me, defeated me, robbed me." Releasing such thoughts banishes
hatred for all time. Animosity does not eradicate animosity. Only by loving
kindness is animosity dissolved. This law is ancient and eternal."
From The Buddha's sermon at Rajagaha;
"Do not deceive, do not despise each
other anywhere. Do not be angry nor bear secret resentments; for as a mother
will risk her life and watches over her child, so boundless be your love
to all, so tender, kind and mild. Cherish good will right and left, early
and late, and without hindrance, without stint, be free of hate and envy,
while standing and walking and sitting down, what ever you have in mind,
the rule of life that is always best is to be loving-kind. Gifts are great,
founding temples is meritorious, meditations and religious exercises pacify
the heart,comprehension of the truth leads to Nirvana, but greater than
all is lovingkindness. As the light of the moon is 16 times stronger than
the light of all the stars, so lovingkindness is 16 times more efficacious
in liberating the heart than all other religious accomplishments taken
together."
From the Tradition of Taoism:
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 79
"In reconciling a great injury there
is sure to be injury left over [resentment, hurt] How can this be good?
Therefore the sage holds the left tally [in other words, he keeps a mental
note of what he owes to others rather than what others owe to him] he does
not blame others. One who has te [goodness of nature] is in charge of the
tally, one who has no te is in charge of the tax law. The Tao [harmony]
of heaven has no partiality, it is always with the good people." [it favors
those who accord themselves to it.]
The Hebrew Scriptures:
Psalms: 107 verse 23-38
And then there are the sailers sailing
the seven seas, plying the trade routes of the world. They too, observe
the power of God in action. He calls to the storm winds; the waves rise
high. Their ships are tossed to the heavens and sink again to the depths;
the sailors cringe in terror. They reel and stagger like drunkards and
are at their wit's end. Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and
He saves them. He calms the storm and stills the waves. What a blessing
is that stillness, as He brings them safely into harbor!Oh, that these
men would praise the Lord for His lovingkindness and for all of his wonderful
deeds! Let them praise Him publicly before the congregation, and before
the leaders of the nation.
He drys up rivers, and turns the
good land of the wicked into deserts of salt. Again, He turns deserts into
fertile, watered valleys. He brings the hungry to settle there and build
their cities, to sow their fields and plant their vinyards, and reap their
abundant crops! How he blesses them! They raise big families there and
many cattle.
From the Christian Tradition:
New Testament 1 John 4 verses 7-12 ;
18-21
'Dear friends, let us love one another,
because love is from God. Everyone who loves is a child of God and knows
God, but the unloving know nothing of God. For God is love; and his love
was disclosed to us is this, that he sent his only son into the world to
bring us life. The love I speak of is not our love for God, but the love
he showed us in sending his Son as the remedy for the defilement of our
sins. If God thus loved us, dear friends, we in turn are bound to love
one another. Though God has never been seen by any man, God himself dwells
in us if we love one another; his love is brought to perfection within
us.
...There is no room for fear in love;
perfect love banishes fear. For fear brings with it the pains of judgment,
and anyone who is afraid has not attained to love in its perfection. We
love because he loved us first. But if a man says,'I love God', while hating
his brother, he is a liar. If he does not love the brother whom he has
seen, it cannot be that he loves God whom he has not seen. And indeed this
command comes to us from Christ himself: that he who loves God must also
love his brother.
From the Tradition of Islam:
Koran Sura 5 verse 16-18
Oh people of the Book!
There hath come to you
Our Apostle, revealing
To you much that ye
Used to hide in the Book,
And passing over much
(that is now unnecessary):
There hath come to you
From God a (new) light
And a perspicuos Book,-
Wherewith God Guideth all
Who seek His good pleasure
To ways of peace and safety,
And leadeth them out
Of darkness, by His Will,
Unto the light,-- Guideth them
To a Path that is Straight
From The Gayan of Hazrat Inayat Khan:
The heart of man is a temple; when its
door is closed to man, it is also closed to God.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
HINDUISM
The threefold offspring of Prajapati--gods,
men, and demons--dwelt with their father Prajapati as students of sacred
knowledge.
Having lived the life of a
student of sacred knowledge, the gods said, "Speak to us, sir." To them
then he spoke this syllable, "Da." "Did you understand?" "We did understand,"
said they. "You said to us, 'Restrain yourselves (damyata).'" "Yes (Om)!"
said he. "You did under- stand."
So then the men said to him,
"Speak to us, sir." To them he spoke this syllable, "Da." "Did you understand?"
"We did understand," said they. "You said to us, 'Give (datta).'" "Yes
(Om)!" said he. "You did understand."
So then the demons said to
him, "Speak to us, sir." To them he spoke this syllable, "Da." "Did you
understand?" "We did understand," said they. "You said to us, 'Be compassionate
(dayadhvam).'" "Yes (Om)!" said he. "You did understand."
The same thing does the divine
voice here, thunder, repeat, Da! Da! Da! that is, restrain yourselves,
give, be compassionate. One should practice this same triad, self-restraint,
giving, compassion.
Hinduism. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
5.2.2: The Voice of Thunder
What sort of religion can it be without
compassion?
You need to show compassion to all
living beings.
Compassion is the root of all religious
faiths.
Hinduism. Basavanna, Vachana
247
BUDDHISM
The bhikkhu who abides in loving-kindness,
who is pleased with the Buddha's teaching, attains to that state of peace
and happiness, the stilling of conditioned things, Nibbana. Let him be
cordial in all his ways and refined in conduct; filled thereby with joy,
he will make an end of ill.
Buddhism. Dhammapada 368, 376
Monks, whatsoever grounds there be
for good works undertaken with a view to [favorable] rebirth, all of them
are not worth one-sixteenth part of that goodwill which is the heart's
release; goodwill alone, which is the heart's release, shines and burns
and flashes forth in surpassing them.
Buddhism. Itivuttaka 19
As a mother with her own life guards
the life of her own child, let all-embracing embracing thoughts for all
that lives be thine.
Buddhism. Khuddaka Patha, Metta
Sutta
The bodhisattva should adopt the
same attitude towards all beings, his mind should be even towards all beings,
he should not handle others with an uneven mind, but with a mind which
is friendly, well-disposed, helpful, free from aversions avoiding harm
and hurts, he should handle others as if they were his mother, father,
son, or daughter. As a savior of all beings should a bodhisattva behave
towards all beings. So should he train him- self if he wants to know full
enlightenment.
Buddhism. Perfection of Wisdom
in Eight Thousand Lines 321-22
JUDAISM
The world stands upon three things:
upon the Law, upon worship, and upon showing kindness. Judaism. Mishnah,
Abot 1.2
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai said, "Go
forth and see which is the good way to which a man should cleave." Rabbi
Eliezar said, "A good eye"; Rabbi Joshua said, "A good friend"; Rabbi Jose
said, "A good neighbor"; Rabbi Simeon said, "One who foresees the fruit
of an action"; Rabbi Elazar said, "A good heart." Thereupon he said to
them, "I approve the words of Elazar ben Arach, rather than your words,
for in his words yours are included."
Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 2.13
Once, as Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai
was coming forth from Jerusalem, Rabbi Joshua followed after him and beheld
the Temple in ruins. "Woe unto us," Rabbi Joshua cried, "that this, the
place where the iniquities of Israel were atoned for, is laid waste!"
"My son," Rabbi Yohanan said
to him, "be not grieved. We have another atonement as effective as this.
And what is it? It is acts of loving-kindness, kindness, as it is said,
'For I desire mercy and not sacrifice' [Hosea 6.6]."
Judaism. Talmud, Abot de Rabbi
Nathan 6
CHRISTIANITY
Love covers a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4.8
And as he sat at table in the house,
behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and
the disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples,
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he
heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but
those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and
not sacrifice.'"
Christianity. Matthew 9.10-13
Do not rebuke an older man but exhort
him as you would a father; treat younger men like brothers, older women
like mothers, younger women like sisters, all in purity.
Christianity. 1 Timothy 5.1-2
A lawyer stood up to put Jesus 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 the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and you shall
love your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered
right; do this, and you will live."
But he, desiring to justify
himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man
was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who
stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half-dead. Now by
chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed
by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and
saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed,
came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went
to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him
on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the
next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying,
'Take care of him; and whatever you spend, I will repay you when I come
back.' Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who
fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And
Jesus said to him, "Go, and do likewise."
Christianity. Luke 10.25-37:
Parable of the Good Samaritan
ISLAM
Those who act kindly in this world
will have kindness. Islam Qur'an 39.10
God enjoins justice, kindness, and
charity to one's kindred, and forbids indecency, abomination, and oppression.
He admonishes you so that you may take heed. Islam. Qur'an 16.90
Anas and 'Abdullah reported God's
Messenger as saying, "All [human] creatures are God's children, and those
dearest to God are those who treat His children kindly."
Islam. Hadith of Baihaqi
Treat people in such a way and live
amongst them in such a manner that if you die they will weep over you;
alive they crave for your company. Islam (Shiite). Nahjul Balagha, Saying
9
A man once asked the Prophet what
was the best thing in Islam, and the latter replied, "It is to feed the
hungry and to give the greeting of peace both to those one knows and to
those one does not know."
Islam. Hadith of Bukhari
TAOISM
He who can find no room for others
lacks fellow feeling, and to him who lacks fellow feeling, all men are
strangers. Taoism. Chuang Tzu 23
I have three treasures. Guard and
keep them:
The first is deep love,
The second is frugality,
The third is not to dare to take
the lead in the world.
Because of deep love, one is courageous.
Because of frugality, one is generous.
Because of not daring to take the
lead in the world, one becomes the leader of the world.
Now, to be courageous by forsaking
deep love,
To be generous by forsaking frugality,
And to take the lead in the world
by forsaking following behind--
This is fatal.
For deep love helps one to win in
case of attack,
And to be firm in the case of defense.
When Heaven is to save a person,
Heaven will protect him through
deep love.
Taoism. Tao Te Ching 67
OTHER TRADITIONS
Those who do not abandon mercy will
not be abandoned by me. Shinto. Oracle of the Kami of Itsukushima
Even though it be the home of someone
who has managed for long to avoid misfortune, we gods will not enter into
the dwelling of a person with perverse disposition. Even though it be a
dwelling where a man be in mourning for father and mother, if he be a man
of compassion, we deities will enter in there.
Shinto. Oracle of the Kami of
Kasuga
Treat the aged of your own family
in a manner befitting their venerable age and extend this treatment to
the aged of other families; treat your own young in a manner befitting
their tender age and extend this to the young of other families, and you
can roll the empire on your palm. The Book of Songs says,
He set an example for his consort
And also for his brothers,
And so ruled over the family and
the state.
In other words, all you have
to do is take this very heart here and apply it to what is over there.
Hence one who extends his bounty can bring peace to the Four Seas; one
who does not cannot bring peace even to his own family. There is just one
thing in which the Ancients greatly surpassed others, and that is the way
they extended what they did.
Confucianism. Mencius I.A.7
Gentle character it is which enables
the rope of life to stay unbroken in one's hand. African Traditional
Religions. Yoruba Proverb (Nigeria)
Mencius said, "'Benevolence' means
'man.' When these two are conjoined, the result is 'the Way.'" Mencius
VII.B.16
Have benevolence towards all living
beings, joy at the sight of the virtuous, compassion and sympathy for the
afflicted, and tolerance towards the indolent and ill-behaved. Jainism.
Tattvarthasutra 7.11 |