the universal truth of supreme kindness
Posted on June 28, 2007
Filed Under Stephen Christian |
While in Melbourne, Australia I found out that a person I respect was going to be speaking at the rod laver arena downtown. As a person that is always up for new experiences my manager Kyle and I set out. As we approached the ticket line a lady called us over into the comp ticket line unexpectedly and handed my manager two free tickets (worth $80 each), which we soon discovered lead us to the floor of the arena, 10 rows from the stage.
The stage was set with swooping drape, and at least a hundred monks all seated in their traditional yellow and maroon garb. The music was not what I expected, but sounded more like adult contemporary. There was a quiet and almost reverent pause as the Dalai Lama the 14th carnation walked on the aesthetically pleasing stage. The first thing I noticed was his smile and awareness of the people and friends in the room, as he went to sit upon his throne like pillow structure.
The center of the message behind the Dalai Lama’s message was the universal theme of kindness, but here are a few points I walked away with.
‘Supreme kindness is this’, he said, ‘thinking of oneself as lowest.’ This conception sees others as the highest and develops compassion in oneself.
-Supreme kindness in NOT pity.
When someone we look up to hurt’s us, we need to need to remain alert and forgive. It is never justified in hurting someone who has hurt us.
The law of Giving and taking.
Giving of myself- Taking of others (hurts) upon myself.
Holy Books are not like novels; they must be analyzed, reread, and studied. (For real benefit) Not only gain knowledge but also implement it into your life!
Further Study:
1. Hearing
2. Contemplate
3. Meditate
Walking away from the experience it made me want to search deeper into the places in this world I still do not understand, and even though I may not subscribe to a particular religion it does not mean everything that comes out of their mouth is wrong or false, there is truth and beauty everywhere in this world if only we keep an open perspective and search.
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14 Responses to “the universal truth of supreme kindness”
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Obviously you don’t have to subscribe to a religion to say “Wow, as a believe in Jesus, this is definitely something that I should also do.”
But I think if none of it leads back to Christ. If none of it leads back to Jesus.
But to incorporate multiple religions into my faith and become like the Universalists or Unitarians takes focus away from the authority of the death and resurrection of the Messiah of the world.
I dunno, that’s just where I am. If these holy books don’t point you back to Jesus, then they mean nothing.
I totally agree with Stephen on this issue. My beliefs are ‘founded’ in Christianity, but are not limited only to that field. I look at Mormonism, Islam, Zen, and admire them for their disciplines (which I must say are often much more devout than our own) and get inspired by them.
As a Christian, try to imagine our impact if we took the time to pray 5 times a day like they do in Islam, devote so much energy and time into evangelism like Mormons, and focus our minds on some of the teachings of the Dalai Lama.
Wisdom and love can be gained, shared, and spread every and anywhere. It’s our reason that matters. I believe one of Christ’s major reasons for coming to Earth (if not THE major reason) was to set the example for how we should act… in Love. Thanks for the article Stephen.
Rob Bell said “All truth is God’s truth”. Other religions have pieces of the truth, and we should be rightfully inspired by them. The Dalai Lama is a perfect example of a respected man and teacher.
But we must never forget the nature of truth, and that it is exclusive. When something is true, then quite naturally it cannot “be” anything else. so while I admire the Dalai lama, meditation, etc, they are not the end all, be all. No, they are just pieces of truth, God’s truth, that is ultimately found in God incarnate: Jesus Christ.
“But to incorporate multiple religions into my faith and become like the Universalists or Unitarians takes focus away from the authority of the death and resurrection of the Messiah of the world.”-nick
i agree with you when you say incorporating all these multiple religious beliefs into our faith could take away the focus on Christ, but i think Christ teaches us to be serve one another, if you wanna be the first you have to be the last.start from scratch.i think supreme kindess is somehow related to it.
i think “supreme kindess” is not changing what Christ taught, it is affirming it..
to serve one another..-correction
I can provide a different perspective on this.. I am a Christian in the military [read as 1st-Christian, then Airman]. ‘Supreme kindness’ is not always an option in my world. There are times when I have to get up in my subordinate’s crawl to ensure discipline and mission focus is maintained. While I would never curse at them or immasculate them in anyway, I do have to “talk down” to them from time to time.
But I guess a balance to “the force” would be my loyalty to my subordinates. Being there when they have to stay late for whatever knuckle-headed decision; also due praise and recognition when they do awesome.
I guess my point is, supreme kindness is not ALWAYS the answer. God, Himself, chooses to chastise not always in a “kind” manner. If you take the scripture from Mark 11:12-26, for example, you see that at times it is necessary to get fired up. But one thing we know, it is ALWAYS out of Love.
Love - now that is always Supreme!
all truth is God’s truth. it is part of his makeup. His very character instructs the core of who we are.
i look to affirm truth wherever i can find it. God’s fingerprints have permeated every nook and cranny of culture. truth is there. it’s just muddled in confusion, deception, and darkness. we need to champion for truth, wherever we can find it. find it. embrace it. live it. share it. do everything we can with it.
all truth is God’s truth. i don’t find value in acting as if all truth belongs to a certain line of thinking.
clark said: Rob Bell said “All truth is God’s truth”.
wrong. bell took that from another individual, a philosopher, by the name of arthur holmes. bell also believes that jesus was a rabbi and that’s not the case either. rabbi’s took the best of the best. jesus took whomever dared to follow him. thus, opening up the floodgates for love and freedom to all. so obviously bell is not as historically and culturally correct in terms of getting back to the “jewishness of christianity” as he would hope to claim.
stephen christian needs to get his head out of his ass and recognize that while universalism is the way to be at the moment, none of that will do you any good when standing before the only righteous and holy God who commands us to love and follow His teachings. i could care less if you’re the lead vocalist of anberlin (some seem to believe that would give you clout. i do not). there is a narrow path and a wide one. universalism is a slippery slope that will only take you to the wide one, my friend. i could go listen to tarot card readers and have them inspire me as well due to the “mystic nature of the stars and their beauty”, but that’s because i’m a sinful human being. wake up. i would hope that the dalai lama knows jesus. otherwise it’s all for not.
Great writing, my friend.
Can there be truth outside of Christ? Is it possible? If so, Jesus wouldn’t have called himself the truth. He would have said, ” I am part of the truth, or some of the truth, or… a portion of the truth..” Instead he makes it clear - where there is truth, there is Christ. He is in control of all things - and he is in control of all truth - and he can use whomever he wants to use to spread that truth, regardless of what they believe.
He’s God.
To say that God cannot use dalai lama to spread his truth is absurd. God once used a bush. God has used animals. He’s shot fire from the sky. Split seas. Raised the dead.
I do not subscribe to Mr. Lama’s beliefs - but what he had so say and the manner in which he said it in is more Christ like than what the fellow above me had to say.
Thanks for writing about your experiences. I would love to hear the Dalai Lama.
This whole “nature of truth” debate is a critically important, but dicey one. Clearly, it is not one that can be debated out, as if Truth could be narrowed down by our rationalism. As if Truth could be narrowed down.
This is a classic eastern philosophy v. western philosophy question. If God is God, he has to be bigger than both, right?
whether of apollos, cephas, jesus, or paul… if it’s true, it’s of God and if it’s of God… then it points to Jesus.
tell me where 2 + 2 = 4 is found in the bible… we accept it as true, as well as other aspects of life… but it’s nowhere to be found in the Bible. Or businessmen, utilizing tactics not found in scripture but still believed to be the best method. in fact, most business practices are found in the war tactics of Sun Tzu… a nonchristian.
don’t use “Christian” as an adjective explaining other nouns like music, books, or even thoughts.
by saying that there is no truth outside of christ one must realize this: Christ is “in all, above all, and through all.” Meaning that since he is God… he is capable of using good and evil men.
look at emperor constantine… he murdered his family. he also legalized christianity.
so, in saying this, stephen is in no way being a universalist. rather, he is being a seeker. because Jesus DOES say he is the way and the truth. which means we need to find the best, most practical way of living according to the way… Jesus’ way, which in this case, we supreme kindness.
also, i’m not sure that telling someone to get their head out of their ass is the most appropriate way to discuss… in fact, it sounds rather militious… which is, in essence, against everything stood for by Christ… so, there might not be much truth found in attacking others.
Yes, telling someone to pull their head out of their rear end defeats your own argument. Insulting the person you’re having a discussion with is self defeatist, because you’ll never arrive at a consensus. Don’t do that. It’s juvenile.
Jason: thanks for pointing out Rob Bell should give credit to people he quotes. Also, Jesus was a rabbi as a term of respect and adoration because of the authority he carried. He was not a rabbi in the traditional sense of the word, as you point out, but people attempted to ascribe words to his authority, much as the word “Christ” was attached to his first name, not because “Christ” is his last name, but because of the powerful impression he made on his initial listeners.
Cheers to you, Jason. I could not agree more with what you had to say. It’s never popular to stand up for something and point out when what they’re saying is wrong, especially when the individual is someone from a popular band.
Well… this sucked!