10 Teachings Shared by Most Relgions

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garybeckwith

Truth is One.
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Ten Teachings Shared by Most Religions
from the book "The Message That Comes From Everywhere"
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1. One God
“The Lord is our God, The Lord is One” - Shema, Hebrew Prayer
“Allah is One” - Koran, 112:1
“The One is Lord of all the moves” - Rig Veda III.54.8 (Hinduism)
“There is only One God.” -Chief Seattle

2. God is Everywhere
“I fill the Heaven and the Earth.” - the Bible, Jer 23:24
“The whole world is Brahman.” - the Upanishads (Hinduism)
“How majestic is your presence in all the earth!” the Bible, Psalm 8
“We think of Tirawa (God) as in everything” Lenape Indian interview

3. The Existence of the Soul
“Fear not them which are able to kill the body but not able to kill the soul”
- Bible, Matthew 10:20
“A soul will not die” Koran 3:145
“For the soul there is never birth nor death. It is not slain when the body is slain” - Bhagavad Gita (Hinduism)
“And it came to pass, as her soul was departing, (for she died)”
- Bible, Genesis 35:18

4. God is Inside of Us
“We know that He dwell in us because he has given us of his Spirit.” - Bible 1John 13
“God dwelleth in all hearts” - Bhagavad Gita
“The One God is hidden in all living things” – the Upanishads (Hinduism)
“All animals have power because the Great Spirit dwells in all of them”
- Lame Deer, Sioux Chief
“The Kingdom of God is within you.” - Jesus
“He to whom you pray is nearer than the neck of your camel.”
– Muhammad

5. Spiritual Knowledge is Accessible to Everyone
“All who dwell on earth may find you” - Jewish Prayer Book
“True knowledge can only be attained by a human being.” - Krishna
“Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave” - Muhammad
“The sage who is intent on yoga comes to Brahman without long delay” -Bhagavad-gita
“Take heed of the Living One while you are alive, lest you die and seek to see Him, and be unable to do so.”- Jesus, Gospel of Thomas
“Search with sincerity and in the end you will find the truth.” -Buddha
“If thou seekest hidden treasures, thou shall find the knowledge of God” -Bible, Proverbs

6. God’s Name: “I AM”
Although all religions have different native languages, most contain similar teachings about God’s name. Many of them tell us that God’s name can’t actually be pronounced, or that giving God a name is like putting a limit on something that is limitless. As well, many of the religions have several names for God. One name that the religions share is the phrase “I AM.” This is shown in Exodus 3:14 and John 8:58 of the Bible, and in the Shatapatha Brahmana of the Hindu faith. The sacred word soham for Hindus is translated as “I am that I am,” the exact same phrase as in Exodus 3:14.

7. Compassion and Respect for Everyone
“All beings long for happiness. Therefore extend thy compassion to all. He who wishes his own happiness, let him cultivate goodwill towards all the world” - Buddha
“Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. For if you love only those that love you, what reward have ye? -Jesus
“Judge everybody favorably” - the Talmud (Jewish sacred book)

8. Morals: Don’t Kill, Lie, Steal, Covet
The Ten Commandments, the Ten Precepts of the Buddha, and verse 16:1 of the Bhagavad-gita all clearly state these and other shared moralistic teachings.

9. All of Humanity is United
“God hath made of one blood all nations that dwell upon the face of the Earth” -Bible, Acts 17:16
“All creatures are members of the one family of God” - Muhammad
“Human beings, all, are as head, arms, trunk, and legs unto one another” - The Vedas
“One thing we know. All men are brothers” - Chief Seattle
“All people are your children, whatever their belief, whatever their shade of skin”
- Jewish prayer book

10. Peace and Nonviolence

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be known as the Children of God.” - Bible, Mt 5:9
“And make not Allah an obstacle to your doing good and guarding against evil and making peace between men,” - Koran 2:224
“… nonviolence, absence of anger, equanimity, abstaining from malicious talk, compassion for all creatures, gentleness, forgiveness, absence of malice, and absence of pride -- these are some of the qualities of those endowed with divine virtues.” – Bhagavad-gita Ch. 16
“May Your children unite and do your will: to establish peace and justice throughout the world, so that nations are drawn together by the bond of friendship.” - Jewish Prayer Book

From the book, "The Message That Comes From Everywhere"
Available at Amazon and other bookstores
uncopyrighted. feel free to copy/share
more info: http://theharmonyinstitute.org

 
What is the purpose of making this connection? I suppose that it could help promote peace between religions that fit the model above, but it could exclude religions that don't fit. It also necessarily excludes nontheists.


eudaimonia,

Mark
 
Namaste gary,

thank you for the post.

just for your information, the Buddha Dharma does not share item 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 9. We only meet 4 of those top ten things... perhaps whomever complied this book wasn't that conversant with the Buddha Dharma?

I would agree with Mark, that list (with a few exceptions) excludes non-theists as well.

That does not mean, however, that those shared views are not valuable and useful for an interfaith discussion and for finding common ground amongst fellow religionists.

metta,

~v
 
Vajradhara said:
Namaste gary,

thank you for the post.

just for your information, the Buddha Dharma does not share item 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 9. We only meet 4 of those top ten things... perhaps whomever complied this book wasn't that conversant with the Buddha Dharma?

I would agree with Mark, that list (with a few exceptions) excludes non-theists as well.

That does not mean, however, that those shared views are not valuable and useful for an interfaith discussion and for finding common ground amongst fellow religionists.

metta,

~v
Click to expand...

It is my understanding that Buddha did not negate these ideas, rather he said it is not useful to ponder these questions, and it is more useful to end suffering.

Are you familiar with Buddha's parable of the poisoned arrow? I can send you the text.

one question, if you say Buddhist teachings do not believe in a soul. I know this has come up a lot in my discussions. I have a question about this. You agree that there is a teaching of Buddhism relating to Nirvana, Bodhi, Liberation, right? My question is... who/what is being liberated? If you are saying there is no soul, then you are saying it is the body that is being liberated? I don't mean disrespect, I'm just asking for clarification.

peace
 
Eudaimonist said:
What is the purpose of making this connection? I suppose that it could help promote peace between religions that fit the model above, but it could exclude religions that don't fit. It also necessarily excludes nontheists.


eudaimonia,

Mark
Click to expand...


the purpose is yes, to prompote peace and understanding. if people simply focused on the similarities more than the differences, the world would be a more peaceful place. for example if more Jews Christians and Muslims would simply focus on the fact that they all worship the same God and that Muhammed himself said that his followers should listen to the teachings of Jesus, the world would be more peaceful, in my opinion.

one question, I don't know very much about non-theist religions. I know there are people who don't believe in God but for the most part I think they don't consider them to be followers of a religion either. Can you point me to some information about non-theist religions? I think the issue might be semantics, depending on your definition of "religion" which many people interpret differently.

peace
 
Namaste Gary,

thank you for the post.

garybeckwith said:
It is my understanding that Buddha did not negate these ideas, rather he said it is not useful to ponder these questions, and it is more useful to end suffering.
Click to expand...

this is a frequently misunderstood aspect of the teachings so it is no wonder that it somewhat confusing. when we read the Suttas we need to understand the audience to whom Buddha Shakyamuni was speaking for Buddhas use Upaya, skillful means, to teach the Dharma. So, in the case of the Suttas where the Buddha advises that pondering on the Immersurables is not condusive to the Holy Life, we need to discern if we are of the same relative spiritual understanding and capacity to whom the teaching was originally addressed.

Are you familiar with Buddha's parable of the poisoned arrow? I can send you the text.
Click to expand...

thank you for the offer :)

i am quite aware of the text.

one question, if you say Buddhist teachings do not believe in a soul.
Click to expand...

in a conversation like this, it would due for us to understand what we each mean by the term "soul". in my case, i take the term to mean some aspect of being which is identified as "I", exists independently, unchanging and is considered to be eternal.

what do you mean by the term?

You agree that there is a teaching of Buddhism relating to Nirvana, Bodhi, Liberation, right?
Click to expand...

there are many Sutta/Sutras that deal with these topics, to be certain.

My question is... who/what is being liberated?
Click to expand...

that is, of course, the question.

did you know that attainment of Liberation or Nibbana/Nirvana is not the end of the path of Buddhist praxis? in any event, when beings hold a view that there are such things as beings, then it is beings which are liberated, but this liberation is not the final liberation.

in the Mahayana tradition there are a whole group of Sutras called the Prajnaparamita Sutras, the Perfection of Wisdom. the Heart Sutra is one of the more compact of all the Buddhist Sutras and, i think, will answer your query directly.

If you are saying there is no soul, then you are saying it is the body that is being liberated? I don't mean disrespect, I'm just asking for clarification.

peace
Click to expand...

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thus have I once heard: [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Blessed One was staying in Rajagrha at Vulture Peak along with a great community of monks and great community of bodhisattvas, and at that time, the Blessed One fully entered the meditative concentration on the varieties of phenomena called the Appearance of the Profound. At that very time as well, holy Avalokitsevara, the bodhisattva, the great being, beheld the practice itself of the profound perfection of wisdom, and he even saw the five aggregates as empty of inherent nature. Thereupon, through the Buddha's inspiration, the venerable Sariputra spoke to holy Avalokitsevara, the bodhisattva, the great being, and said, "Any noble son who wishes to engage in the practice of the profound perfection of wisdom should train in what way?" [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]When this had been said, holy Avalokitsevara, the bodhisattva, the great being, spoke to venerable Sariputra and said, "Sariputra, any noble sons or daughters who wish to practice the perfection of wisdom should see this way: they should see insightfully, correctly, and repeatedly that even the five aggregates are empty of inherent nature. Form is empty, emptiness is form, Emptiness is not other than form, form is also not other than emptiness. Likewise, sensation, discrimination, conditioning, and awareness are empty. In this way, Sariputra, all things are emptiness; they are without defining characteristics; they are not born, they do not cease, they are not defiled, they are not undefiled. They have no increase, they have no decrease. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"Therefore, Sariputra, in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, no discrimination, no conditioning, and no awareness. There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind. There is no form, no sound, no smell, no taste, no texture, no phenomenon. There is no eye-element and so on up to no mind-element and also up to no element of mental awareness. There is no ignorance and no elimination of ignorance and so on up to no aging and death and no elimination of aging and death.[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Likewise, there is no suffering, origin, cessation, or path; there is no wisdom, no attainment, and even no non-attainment.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"Therefore, Sariputra, since the bodhisattvas have no obtainments, they abide relying on the perfection of wisdom. Having no defilements in their minds, they have no fear, and passing completely beyond error, they reach nirvana. Likewise, all the Buddhas abiding in the three times clearly and completely awaken to unexcelled, authentic, and complete awakening in dependence upon the perfection of wisdom. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"Therefore, one should know that the mantra of the perfection of wisdom - the mantra of great knowledge, the precious mantra, the unexcelled mantra, the mantra equal to the unequalled, the mantra that quells all suffering - is true because it is not deceptive. The mantra of the perfection of wisdom is proclaimed: [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]tadyatha - gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha! [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sariputra, a bodhisattva, a great being, should train in the profound perfection of wisdom in that way." [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thereupon, the Blessed One arose for that meditative concentration, and he commended holy Avalokitsevara, the bodhisattva, the great being. "Excellent!" he said. "Excellent! Excellent! Noble child, it is just so. Noble child, it is just so. One should practice the profound perfection of wisdom in the manner that you have revealed - the Tathagatas rejoice!" This is what the Blessed One said. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thereupon, the venerable Sariputra, the holy Avalokitsevara, the bodhisattva, the great being, and that entire assembly along with the world of gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas, all rejoiced and highly praised what the Blessed One had said. [/FONT]

metta,

~v
 
Namaste Promethium,

whilst that is true.. it is also true that the menu is not the meal ;)

metta,

~v
 
17th Angel said:
You forgot the 11th teaching...

11. I am in the truth and the others are not.
Click to expand...


Friend,

I do hear what you are saying. However I have a different interpretation of this. I acknowledge that some of the great teachers have professed to be the "only" truth.

But consider a different view... If there is one truth, anyone who finds it, has found the One truth, right? So they found the only truth. And if I found the only truth and described it in my words and said it is the only truth, I would be correct. And if you found the Only truth and described it in your words, and said it was the only truth, then you also would be correct.

Now if a third person came by and listened to our interpretations they may or may not be able to see we're talking about the same thing, especially if we lived at different times, and spoke and wrote in different languages.

You can take it one step further even.

Think not about the truth, but think about the individual him/herself, the avatar, the saviour, the prophet. Think how some say "I AM THE ONLY ONE." Well that seems pretty exclusive, huh.

But consider that in the universal mind, all souls are connected. In a mysterious way we are all one. You've heard it before. Well now those avatars have realized their true being, beyond the body. They have realized their true nature. When they say "I am the only one" they are speaking, not as a person/body, but as an enlightened being, existing in knowledge of soul's nature, which is connected with all. So When they say "I am the only one" they are correct. But that doesn't mean that another great teacher or avatar isn't also the Only One. And ultimately, you and I can also say "I am the only one... the only truth..." because we are also connected to, or a part of that ONE.

just something to chew on.

peace
 
Gary ... but why is this so difficult for us to grasp? Please tell me!

And why is it - that people would rather argue over it, in the very least, or perhaps even kill, to refute such a seemingly obvious realization, or recognition?

I have little doubt that the sage was correct, who stated that 2/3rds of the evil in the world has been caused by RELIGION. I just wonder, was he being rather conservative in his estimate?

But for the 10% or so to whom all that you have said is as apparent as the noonday Sun ...

... there is nothing left, but ACTION. :)

This makes for a lot of karma yogins, whether they know it (and call themselves that) or not. I just think of such people as Servers ... living to benefit others.

We scramble, in the Western world, to get six Hummers in the garage before the polar ice caps melt ... or to get a 57" widescreen TV instead of only a 37" one ... while in many countries, people are scrambling for their next meal - and in many place, FOOD itself is a luxury, because who has time to EAT when you're being shot at? :(

But so help me, a nice new set of gold candlesticks is exactly what the local parish needs ... and God knows, when the Savior appears, it isn't these poor bastards he's going to come and rescue and deliver first - AS IF these people mattered to him, of course. I mean, come on, we all know that if you've been throwing the tens and twenties in the collection plate, you will sit at the HEAD of the table, and not down here in the dust, picking up the table scraps.

Religion - all of it - has a dark underbelly. Please forgive me for showing a CORNER of this dark side here. The 10% know, so is it any wonder that they often forsake the exoteric paths for a more mystical, eclectic, or personal approach? :eek:

It is not that people - even by the many millions - do not recognize and acknowledge the commonalities between world faiths ... the agreement upon basic principles, and the need for cooperation and collaboration to develop a sustainable world society. I think it is just that sometimes, it is necessary to cut one's ties with the past ... in order to free oneself of the DEAD WEIGHT. :(

Meanwhile, there are Baha'i's, Theosophists, people of Unity, Unitarian Universalist traditions ... Mystic and eclectics, Pagans, agnostics ... liberal-minded, spiritually-inclined people of every faith tradition - and quite a few people working hard from within, or amidst, the corruption (be it religious, political, economic, etc.) ... to move forward with the very Purpose for our being here.

May the Light, and Love, and Divine WILL see to it, that each and all are strengthened in the One Work - now, and until the day that Planetary Brotherhood is finally established, once and for all. :)

Peace,

~Zagreus
 
Baha'is are pretty much sensitive to the issues of building the foundations for a world civilization and are very active in interfaith endevours as one way of building a coalition that can address many ills of society. So we collaborate with other religions. We aslo recognize that the major religions have a common origin and address many of the same social issues dealing with alleviating poverty, disease, ignorance and suffering.

- Art
 
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