A Reflection

The other day when with a few friends, the Dalai Lama came up in conversation.  One exclaimed, "I love the Dalai Lama!"

"I do too!" I responded. Later, I wondered why I had responded so readily and decided to do a little studying and research. I didn’t know much about the Dalai Lama other than he is a simple man and has a way of stating indisputable truths in very few words. One of my favorites is, when asked what his religion was, he smiled and answered, "My religion is kindness."  Naturally, such a statement piqued my curiosity and I decided to learn more about Buddhism.

 I’ve since read a few books on the subject and it seems to me it doesn’t matter whether we follow the paths of the Saints or the Buddha. They lead to the same place. Though we live in, and move through, the ‘outwardness’ of the world, our journey is an inward one. It is within ourselves we will find the God we seek and in our recognizing Him there, we will recognize Him everywhere.

When we grow in love...the love of God and the love of ourselves.... we can’t help but be a channel of that love for others.

I read and study the ways of the Saints, the paths of the Buddha, the teachings of Jesus, the understandings of the Apostles, and in the end they all lead to the same place...the love within myself.

Not that I should stop reading and studying because the mind must be fed and come to a conscious understanding of what the heart already knows.... that the path we’re called to is love.

Love is the foundation, the root, from which all joy, compassion, peace and humility grows. Without love we are nothing.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1Corinthians 13:13)