Response to Religious Literature: Wisdom of Buddha

The Twin Verses –CANTO I
Everything starts in your mind. Your thoughts are your reality. If one is negative thinker, he will bring about negativity in his life. Conversely, the same can be said if one is a positive thinker. This includes how one feels, as well. If one is filled with hate, his life will be miserable. Conversely, the same can be said if one is filled with love. We are the captains of our ship. We either sink or float, it all depends on our psychic harmony. This will continue with us past this life time. Those who understand the nature of mind do everything they can to lighten the load, those who don’t understand sink. You are what you think you are. When thought of in Western terms, your thoughts bring about actions, thereby, you are what you sow.

The Holy One – CANTO VII
The Holy One is the individual who has no karma, the one who has reached the end of the cycle of life and rebirth. He has reached Nirvana. This individual has forsaken all of life’s attachments, physical and psychic. The Holy One grasped The Four Noble Truths and walked down The Eightfold Path and accepted The Three Marks of Existence. We are reminded that we, too, can be a Holy One.

Old Age –CANTO XI
From the moment you are conceived you are destined to die. This is an indelible fact. So why fool yourself with good times, fancy clothes, jewelry, toys, and the whole lot. He who has the most toys does not win. Nothing in this world is yours, not even your body. This is why it is important to begin your spiritual quest very young. Do so now that when you are much older you will have the wisdom enough to let go rather than having the ignorance of holding on. Become one of self-discipline before it is too late. Acquire the knowledge now that way you will not become one who does not learn from the past and is destined to repeat it.

The Enlightened One – CANTO XIV
Those who are Enlightened are in a place most will not understand. They have traveled a path that required endless effort and selfless devotion. They were able to see beyond this world and never lost sight of what is at the end of the tunnel. They allowed their minds to be clear of negativity and hate. They aspired to be a Holy One. They acquired the knowledge young and did not fear death. They have escaped the cycle of life and rebirth and reached Nirvana.

Happiness – CANTO XV
Be careful of the company you keep. Let me see your friends and I will tell you who you are. If one is to be happy, one needs to be around happy people. If one is to be a positive person, one has to be around positive people. What we gain from surrounding ourselves with happy, positive people is not just a happy, positive life but a knowledge of what we don’t want in our lives. A knowledge of what we don’t need in our lives. That knowledge brings about a joy in us because it validates the life we have chosen in realizing The Four Noble Truths and embracing The Eightfold Path.