RELIGION IN TIBET

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From THE URANTIA BOOK

Part III, 94, 10
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In Tibet may be found the strangest association

of the Melchizedek teachings combined with Buddhism,

Hinduism, Taoism, and Christianity.

When the Buddhist missionaries entered Tibet, they

encountered a state of primitive savagery very similar

to that which the early Christian missionaries

found among the northern tribes of Europe.

These simple-minded Tibetans would not

wholly give up their ancient magic and charms.

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Examination of the religious ceremonials of

present-day Tibetan rituals reveals an

overgrown brotherhood of priests with shaven

heads who practice an elaborate ritual embracing

bells, chants, incense, processionals, rosaries,

images, charms, pictures, holy water, gorgeous

vestments, and elaborate choirs.

They have rigid dogmas and crystallized creeds,

mystic rites and special fasts.

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Their hierarchy embraces monks, nuns,

abbots, and the Grand Lama. They pray to angels,

saints, a Holy Mother, and the gods. They practice

confessions and believe in purgatory.

Their monasteries are extensive and their

cathedrals magnificent. They keep up an

endless repetition of sacred rituals and believe

that such ceremonials bestow salvation.

Prayers are fastened to a wheel, and with

its turning they believe the petitions

become efficacious.
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 Among no other people of

modern times can be found the observance of

so much from so many religions;

and it is inevitable that such a cumulative liturgy

would become inordinately cumbersome

and intolerably burdensome.

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The Tibetans have something of all the

leading world religions except the simple teachings

of the Jesusonian gospel: sonship with God,

brotherhood with man, and ever-ascending citizenship

in the eternal universe.
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(It should be noted that THE URANTIA BOOK passage

came out in the first half of the 20th century, and

cannot account for the current state of

religious evolution in Tibet.)

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PERSEVERANCE, OR, KEEP ON TRUCKIN'

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If we are facing in the right direction,

all we have to do is keep on walking.

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Buddhist Saying

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The difference between perseverance and obstinacy

is that one comes from a strong will, and the other

from a strong won't.

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Henry Ward Beecher

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Perseverance is the hard work you do

after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.

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Newt Gingrich

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The race is not always to the swift,

but to those who keep on running.

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Author unknown,

in reference to Ecclesiastes 9:11,

"I returned, and saw under the sun,

that the race is not to the swift,

nor the battle to the strong,

neither yet bread to the wise,

nor yet riches to men of understanding,

nor yet favour to men of skill;

but time and chance happeneth

to them all."

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  To expect that any road you travel will be

a cake walk is not only naïve and foolish,

but is the fast track to failure. Not one of us is
 immune to the obstacles that life throws our
 way, but each of us does hold the power to
 choose what we do with whatever it is  that
 lands in our lap. 

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 So what about you….do you give up when
 times are tough? Or do you pause to assess the
 obstacle and determine if you are being
 challenged with a test, a lesson or an opportunity
 that can lead to your growth and
 fulfillment? 

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 Let’s face it, we live in a society of instant
 gratification, and unfortunately it seems more
 and more people are treating their goals and
 dreams in this same manner. We want instant
 mastery, flawless performances and overnight
 success. The truth is, our true character and potential

are determined by how we deal with our
 obstacles. It is in these moments that we are
 required to step up or give up! 
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From BethAllen.com.

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You can't go through life quitting everything.

If you're going to achieve anything,

you've got to stick with something.

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From the television show Family Matters

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Most people never run far enough on their first wind

to find out they've got a second.

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William James

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"He not busy being born,
 is busy dying."
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  Bob Dylan  

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CHANGES ALONG THE NILE

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An honest observer of the evolution
of conditions in Egypt would discover
that terrorism is an alien phenomenon,
strange to our values and heritage.
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Hosni Mubarak
Former President of Egypt.
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Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.
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Mark Twain (1835-1910)
American Author & Humorist
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If you want to move people, you look for
a point of sensitivity. and in Egypt
nothing moves people like religion.
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Najuib Mahfouz
Egyptian Novelist (1911-2006)
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A PRAYER FOR THE UNEMPLOYED

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From the Episcopal

Book of Common Prayer

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Heavenly Father,

we remember before you those who suffer

want and anxiety from lack of work.

Guide the people of this land so to

use our public and private wealth

that all may find suitable and fulfilling

employment, and receive just payment

for their labor; through

Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

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FORGIVENESS OF SIN

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 Miserere (full title: Miserere mei, Deus, Latin
 for "Have mercy on me, O God") is a setting of
 Psalm 51 by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri.
   Translation at bottom of post.

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  From THE URANTIA BOOK,  Part III, 89, 10

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Ancient man only attained consciousness of favor with

God through sacrifice. Modern man must develop new

techniques of achieving the self-consciousness of salvation. The consciousness of sin persists in the mortal mind, but the thought patterns of salvation therefrom have become outworn and antiquated. The reality of the spiritual need persists, but intellectual progress has destroyed the olden ways of securing peace and consolation for mind and soul. Sin must be redefined as deliberate disloyalty to Deity. .

There are degrees of disloyalty: the partial loyalty of indecision; the divided loyalty of confliction; the dying loyalty of indifference; and the death of loyalty exhibited in devotion to godless ideals.
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  The sense or feeling of guilt is the

consciousness of the violation of the mores;

it is not necessarily sin.

There is no real sin in the absence of

conscious disloyalty to Deity.
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The possibility of the recognition of the sense of guilt

is a badge of transcendent distinction for mankind. It does not mark man as mean but rather sets him apart as a creature of potential greatness and ever-ascending glory. Such a sense of unworthiness is the initial stimulus that should lead quickly and surely to those faith conquests which translate the mortal mind to the superb levels of moral nobility, cosmic insight, and spiritual living; thus are all the meanings of human existence changed from the temporal to the eternal, and all values are elevated from the human to the divine.
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 The confession of sin is a manful repudiation of

disloyalty, but it in no wise mitigates the time-space

consequences of such disloyalty. But confession —

sincere recognition of the nature of sin —

is essential to religious growth and spiritual progress. The forgiveness of sin by Deity is the renewal of

loyalty relations following a period of the human

consciousness of the lapse of such relations as the consequence of conscious rebellion. The forgiveness does not have to be sought, only received as the consciousness of re-establishment of loyalty relations between the creature and the Creator. And all the loyal sons of God are happy, service-loving, and ever-progressive in the Paradise ascent. 
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English translation of the Miserere

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Have mercy upon me, O God Have mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great goodness According to the multitude of Thy mercies do away mine offences. Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness: and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my faults: and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that Thou mightiest be justified in Thy saying, and clear when Thou art judged. Behold, I was shapen in wickedness: and in sin hath my mother conceived me. But lo, Thou requirest truth in the inward parts: and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly. Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness: that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice. Turn Thy face from my sins: and put out all my misdeeds. Make me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. O give me the comfort of Thy help again: and establish me with Thy free Spirit. Then shall I teach Thy ways unto the wicked: and sinners shall be converted unto Thee. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou that art the God of my health: and my tongue shall sing of Thy righteousness. Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord: and my mouth shall shew Thy praise. For Thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it Thee: but Thou delightest not in burnt-offerings. The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt Thou not despise. O be favourable and gracious unto Zion: build Thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, with the burnt-offerings and oblations: then shall they offer young bullocks upon Thine altar.

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