Parables

This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.--Matthew 13:13

Christian parables are similar to Zen Koans. In order to comprehend the spirit that flows between the words, you must listen with a quiet mind. Their true meaning cannot be grasped by the ego.

The True Cost of Capitalism

Those who think that Capitalism is a kind and just social system have not peeked behind the curtain at the human misery found in our prisons, hospitals, asylums, and even homes.

The Key to Freedom

Do you want to know how to attain the freedom of your being?

Learn to love your insignificance.

Opium

If in past times religion was the opium of the masses, television is the preferred drug today. It is watched by those who have despaired of ever learning how to live a full life.

Once we give up on life, only death can save us.

Weak Defense

It is often our weakness that makes us fear the future. For when we are strong, we fear no fate.

But when we are weak, and we cannot rely on our courage in the face of adversity, we can then only hope that things will turn out all right.

Such a hope is a pitiable defense against "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune."

True Teacher

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.--Luke 9:62

Once you decide to seek the Truth of your own being, your own existence, your own reality--there is no turning back.

Before you begin, however, it is very important to find a true teacher who will lead you back to yourself. Without a true teacher, you will easily lose your way.

Thoreau, too, emphasizes the importance of finding a true teacher in Walden:

"I have read in a Hindoo book, that "there was a king's son, who, being expelled in infancy from his native city, was brought up by a forester, and, growing up to maturity in that state, imagined himself to belong to the barbarous race with which he lived. One of his father's ministers having discovered him, revealed to him what he was, and the misconception of his character was removed, and he knew himself to be a prince.

"So soul," continues the Hindoo philosopher, "from the circumstances in which it is placed, mistakes its own character, until the truth is revealed to it by some holy teacher, and then it knows itself to be Brahme."

All human beings are born under a delusion. This false self, or ego, covers up our true nature. When we discover or realize our true being, we regain an inheritance that was once lost.

We find ourselves in Nirvana and the Kingdom of Heaven is ours.

Yardstick

In American society, we often use fame as the yardstick for personal worth.

When the road to fame is blocked, the frustrated individual will often be tempted by infamy. He may then commit violent acts in a desperate attempt to garner media attention which he imagines will fulfill his need for social recognition.

By renouncing this false measure of personal worth, we begin to lay the foundation for a more sane and secure society.

Education

Anyone who believes that education alone will save humanity is ignorant. Without true spiritual faith, it is more likely to harden our hearts and make us indifferent to those not in our social circle.

Germany, one of the most educated societies on earth, descended into barbarism during the Second World War. The learned proved to be at least as cruel and ruthless as the uneducated.

Not For Sale

The Kingdom of Heaven is not for sale. The "pearl of great price" cannot be purchased with money.

Those who insist on charging an entry fee are false prophets.