A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of refuge for those who lack shelter
And a servant to all in need.
—Buddhist Prayer of Peace
— 12 —
Only Connect
A thousand fibers connect us
with our fellow men;
and among those fibers,
as sympathetic threads,
our actions run as causes,
and they come back to us as effects.
—Herman Melville
— 13 —
We Are on the Same Path
Religions are different roads
converging upon the same point.
What does it matter
that we take different roads
so long as we reach the same goal.
—Mahatma Gandhi
— 14 —
For Every Care, a Promise
May God give you
For every storm, a rainbow
For each tear, a smile
For every care, a promise
And a blessing in each trial.
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.
May the blessing of God’s soft rain be on you.
—From Irish Oral Tradition
— 15 —
The Buddha’s Guide to Gratitude
Give thanks
For what has been given to you,
However little.
Be pure, never falter.
—Buddha
— 16 —
Seek and Ye Shall Find
Ask, and it shall be given you;
Seek, and you shall find;
Knock, and it shall be opened to you.
For whoever asks, receives;
And he who seeks, finds;
And to him who knocks, the door is opened.
—Matthew 7:7
— 17 —
All Life Is Bound Together
Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web,
we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.
—Chief Seattle
— 18 —
You Will Never Be Forsaken
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified,
for the LORD your God goes with you;
he will never leave you nor forsake you.
—Deuteronomy 31:6
— 19 —
The Tao of Now
The Tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.
—Lao Tse
— 20 —
What God Sows in the Heart
Give over thine own willing;
give over thine own running;
give over thine own desiring
to know or to be anything;
and let that grow in thee,
and be in thee,
and breathe in thee,
and act in thee,
and thou shalt find by sweet experience
that the Lord knows that,
and loves and owns that,
and will lead it to
the inheritance of life,
which is its portion.
—Isaac Pennington, 1661
— 21 —
How to Be Happy in the Here and Now
There is no way to happiness,
happiness is the way.
You should be happy right in the here and now.
There is no way to enlightenment.
Enlightenment should be right here and right now.
The moment when you come back to yourself, mind and body together,
fully present, fully alive, that is already enlightenment.
You are no longer a sleepwalker.
You are no longer in a dream.
You are fully alive.
You are awake.