World Religions
I have just started learning about various religions of the world, and so far I have found them all fascinating on some level. Below you will find sections on Buddhism, Zen, and Taoism. My knowledge is limited, so please feel free to send me quotes, pictures, stories, links, etc... concerning these or other religions of the world. I have not included histories of the religions or in-depth explanations because this is intended to be a simple interest-sparking page.
Buddhism
(quotes from The Teachings of the Buddha, edited by Jack Kornfield)
The Five Precepts
1. For the purpose of training I vow to refrain from taking life.
2. For the purpose of training I vow to refrain from taking what is not given.
3. For the purpose of training I vow to refrain from sexual misconduct.
4. For the purpose of training I vow to refrain from false speech.
5. For the purpose of training I vow to refrain from intoxicants which lead to carelessness.
These Five Precepts are a vehicle of happiness, a vehicle of good fortune, a vehicle for liberation. Let our virtue therefore be purified and shine forth. (translated by Gil Fronsdal)
Live in joy,
In love,
Even among those who hate.
Live in joy,
In health,
Even among the afflicted.
Live in joy,
In peace,
Even among the troubled.
Look within.
Be still.
Free from fear and attachment,
Know the sweet joy of the way.
(from the Dhammapada, translated by Thomas Byrom)
Zen
(quotes from The Little Zen Companion , by Davis Schiller)
The nature of God is a circle of which the center is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere.
-Empedocles
If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?
-Dogen
To see a World in a grain of sand,
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
-William Blake
Taoism
(excerpts from The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff)
"...[T]hrough working in harmony with life's circumstances, Taoist understanding changes what others may perceive as negative into something positive."
"Life itself, when understood for what it is, is sweet."
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