Выбрать главу

shelter all nations.'" BRT:6:38 "You say, 'Show us the road', and I say go a little way and you will come to a fork in the road; take the turn to the right. Go awhile along this until you come to an inn. Pass this and take the next road bearing left. A little

further along this road you will come to a village, and beyond this a lane to the left. A mile along this lane is a rise, from whence you will see your

destination ahead." BRT:6:39 "A man who has been provided with this most complete directions possible from my intimate knowledge of the area, may lose his way and become lost. Another man comes along later and is given exactly the same information, and he reaches his destination. No doubt, the first man will revile his informant and seek to place blame wholly upon him, declaring the directions to have been misleading. The other will declare how comprehensive they were." BRT:6:40 "My words direct those, who listen with understanding, along the road of man's destiny. This road will not change about and will always be

there. Here, too, there is one who knows the road well and gives clear instructions. Yet, some become lost while others get there safely. I am only the shower of the way, the light on the path. I instruct all the same." BRT:6:41 "Did I ever say to you that, if you followed me, I would make every secret known and reveal every hidden mystery? I did not, for this is not for all men. Suppose a man was pierced in the breast with an arrow, and his friends were to summon a physician skilled in such matters. What if the man said, 'I will not have the arrow withdrawn until I know who fired it and from what manner of bow it came; whether the archer be fair or dark, tall or short. I would know his name and his tribe; I want to know whether the arrow is fletched with feathers of a goose or of a fowl.'" BRT:6:42 "Such a man would die, and all his queries would serve him not one jot. The man's life would come to an end, but still the great question which he overlooked would go unanswered: Why was the arrow fired? It is equally foolish to say, 'I will not accept the teachings of this man until I know from whence he came, who is his father, what is his estate.'" BRT:6:43 "A man wishes to know what the land of Egypt is like, but does not wish to endure the discomforts and dangers of the voyage. Yet, when others who have made the journey tell him about it, he says, 'I will not believe this until I have seen it with my own eyes.' So there is only the choice of making the voyage or accepting the word of those who have done so. None can justly say, 'Because I have not seen it for myself, because I decline to face the dangers and discomforts, the place does not exist.'" BRT:6:44 The master was asked, "How shall we live to be in accord with the way of God?" He replied, "Say not that you live for God, for whatever man does serves man; God is served only by serving men. Follow the words of the wise, and do not chase after fools. Learn about the ways of life, and enjoy them to the full. Life is meant to be lived with excitement and joy, but never for mere pleasure or self-satisfaction. Discipline your daily doings, and let these not become burdensome. Earn a congenial livelihood, and in all things you, do be honest, diligent and careful." BRT:6:45 "Let not your thoughts be the sport of every wind that blows. This thought may come to you: 'I know imperfect conditions may be put aside. I know impure things can be discarded.' But a man may even be

blessed with the good things of life and yet remain sorrowful and melancholy, for this he is by nature. Happiness and cheerfulness are not things flowing from affairs of the day or through circumstances. The sorrows

of a sad man come from within." BRT:6:46 "Things of the daily round of life should be directed in the knowledge of what is for your own good. There must be an understanding of

the way of the path. Be upright, conciliatory in speech and rational in bearing; mild but not meek and with no vain conceit. Be content, having few material wants, frugal and composed in mind. Be discreet, neither insolent nor avaricious. Do no mean thing, for this is not the way of a knightly man. Never act deceitfully or scorn another unjustly. Be free from sloth, and

spread goodwill to all." BRT:6:47 "Many will merely read these things, which will go in one ear and out of the other. There is no virtue in just reading them; they have to be lived by to be of value. Wisdom can be given to men, but this, of itself, does not make them wise. Wisdom is like a handful of seeds plucked from the seedbag. There is no value in them unless they be sown, nurtured and

reaped."

BRT:6:48 "Be ever mindful of what is done. Know the body as it deals with the outside. A man thinks to himself, 'This body I wear as a garment is what I make of it.' He does not neglect the body and is always aware of its existence and activities. This awareness is called mindfulness. Through bodily contemplation, a state of mindfulness is reached." BRT:6:49 "The mindful man is ever conscious of every action and its consequences. He knows what he does, whether standing still or engaged in some activity. Whatever the body does, he is aware of it and he has it under control. He knows his body to be filled with a variety of contents, he regards it as a pedlar's bag. Examine the body daily, in contemplation, and thus

develop mindfulness." BRT:6:50 "Contemplate the body made of earthly elements in solitude and know that, which contemplates is the spirit. Think of the body as if dead.

What enlivens it? What is life? Be mindful of all your feelings. If experiencing something unpleasant, be mindful that this is so. Be mindful of all the activity about you, of the sighing of the wind, of the song of birds, the rustle of grass and the whispers of leaves." BRT:6:51 "Know the difference between that, which is generated by the body and that, which is generated by the spirit, Abide in the mindfulness of feelings. Teach the body to know itself more fully and to comprehend more of its surroundings. When a man is mindful of what flows from the body and what flows from the spirit, then he knows he is body and soul." BRT:6:52 "Be mindful of what is good and what is bad. Thoughts become confused when undirected; so, like horses, they must be kept in hand through the restrictions of bridle and reins. There are lofty thoughts and base thoughts, thoughts which arise through the prompting of the body urges and thoughts which arise through the purifying prompting of love." BRT:6:53 "The wise man dwells in mindfulness of all things, not overlooking the urges towards indolence, ill will, resentment, worry and wavering indecision. Be mindful of ideas and ideals. Be mindful of the full working of the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the ears and the skin." BRT:6:54 "The true way is the overcoming of self and the mastery over earthly conditions, for as a man changes himself so does he change his condition. Man must be able to say, This is of me and this is not of me. This is me or this is not me. He must divide himself in two in mindfulness, knowing what is of the Earth and what is of the spirit." BRT:6:55 "He must travel the great path, conscious of his twinself. He should observe others, whether or not they have the quality of mindfulness. He must be self-possessed by his own spirit. The self-possessed man acts with composure, is mindful and self-aware. The man of turmoil is he who goes abroad with senses unguarded. Without mindfulness, he is unsteady and

unstable in thought.." BRT:6:56 "The godly life is one, which attracts friendship, which is the appreciated revelation of beauty. It is the search for beauty in all things. The holy prophet, in his austere, dank, dark cell, is not truly holy. The long-faced

preacher is not truly holy."

BRT:6:57 "The godly life is associated with beauty. Whenever a man

reaches out after the beauty found in purity of spirit, he is uplifted. It is by not understanding the true nature of godliness that men have become entangled like fowls in a net. They are like leather covered with mildew, like logs

encased with moss." BRT:6:58 "Godliness is attained by abandoning worthless things, by not falling into the fallacies of unchastity, by the repulse of sensuality and the repudiation of evil. This can be done by mindfulness of such things." BRT:6:59 "When a master takes an apprentice, he gives the first lesson: 'Come and be disciplined, learn restraint and obligation. Learn right behaviour.' When the pupil is controlled, then he gets the second lesson. The master says, 'Seeing things with the eye, do not be misled by their outward appearance. Be mindful as to what they do to you. See with your mind all that the eye sees, and so it is with all the senses. Be aware of everything; experience all things, but do not become immersed in anything.'" BRT:6:60 "For man is shut off from the spirit by mindlessness. As he becomes more aware of the material things and happenings about him, so does he more and more become mindful of the spirit. He who says, 'I have no feeling of the spirit,' is a man of small mindfulness. He is mindful of what is at his hand, but unmindful of what lies beyond. What lies beyond forms a veil, through which he cannot see. How can a man mindful only of what holds his immediate attention be aware of the world beyond his narrow