Wounded
Healers:
Reflection
and Sharing for Oct 31, 2021
Introduction:
Let
us leave the popular religious saints in heaven for a while and reflect on
inspirational quotes from 4 non-biblical and non-canonized leaders of their own
era and milieu.
1. Buddha
2. Mark Twain
3. Martin Luther King Jr
4. Mahatma Gandhi
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1. Buddha
Buddha was a spiritual teacher in Nepal during the 6th century B.C. whose teachings became the foundation for the Buddhist religion. One of the most influential spiritual leaders of all time, Buddha (born with the name Siddhartha Gautama), was a philosopher who spoke extensively about peace, life, love, happiness, and death. The name Buddha itself means “one who is awakened” or “the enlightened one,” which says a lot about what he taught others.
Those teachings inspired Buddhism, a practice and spiritual development that uses things like meditation to change yourself and become more aware, kind, and wise. Buddhism is seen as the path to enlightenment, which is the ultimate goal. Buddha himself was someone who embodied that.
1. “Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer badness with goodness. Conquer meanness with generosity. Conquer dishonesty with truth.”
2. 2."Those who cling to perceptions and views
wander the world offending people.”
3. 3. “Drop by drop is the water pot filled.
Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with
good.”
4. 4. “Let none find fault with others; let none see
the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one’s own acts, done
and undone.”
5. 5. “Should a person do good, let him do it again
and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of
good.”
6. 6. “Should you find a wise critic to point out your faults, follow him as you would a guide to hidden treasure.”
7 .
“ 7. Should a seeker not find a companion who is better or equal, let them resolutely pursue a solitary course.”
8. “Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal.”
9. “One is not called noble who harms living beings. By not harming living beings one is called noble.”
10. “They blame those who remain silent, they blame those who speak much, they blame those who speak in moderation. There is none in the world who is not blamed.”
II. Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was lauded as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature".
He is best remembered as the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). Twain is widely considered one of the greatest American writers of all time.
Twain's skepticism about religion lasted all of his life. He had a personal faith — he said he believed in God, attended church and donated money for the construction of a church. But he skewered religious hypocrisy wherever he found it.
Born: 30 November 1835, Florida, Missouri, United States
Died:
21 April 1910, Redding, Connecticut, United States
1. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
2. Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.
3. Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).
4. The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.
5. Classic - a book which people praise and don't read.
6. The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.
7. A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.
8. Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.
9. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
10. Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
11. Give me a child until he is five and he is mine forevermore.
III. Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesman and leader in the American civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Wikipedia
Born: 15 January 1929, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Assassinated:
4 April 1968, Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Spouse:
Coretta Scott King (m. 1953–1968)
Education:
School of Theology (1951–1955), Crozer Theological Seminary (1948–1951), more
Awards:
Nobel Peace Prize, Grammy Hall of Fame, Presidential Medal of Freedom, more
1. “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
2. “Forgiveness is not an occasional act. It is a permanent attitude.”
3. “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
4. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'”
5. “Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.”
6. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
7. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
8. “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”
9. “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.
10. “The time is always right to do what is right.
11. “We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now because I’ve been to the mountaintop… I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.”
12. “For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.”
13. “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”
14. “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.”
15. “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.”
16. “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”
17. “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”
18. “Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”
19. “Hate is just as injurious to the hater as it is to the hated. Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Many of our inner conflicts are
20. “Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”
21. “You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.”
22. “Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”
23. “A right delayed is a right denied.”
24. “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
25. “The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.”
26. “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
27. “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”
IV. Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule and in turn to inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
Born: 2 October 1869, Porbandar, India
Nationality:
Indian
Full
name: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Assassinated:
30 January 1948, Birla House, New Delhi, India
Spouse:
Kasturba Gandhi (m. 1883–1944)
Education:
UCL Faculty of Laws (1888–1891)
1. “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”
2. “The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.”
3. “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”
4. “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”
5. “An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.”
6. “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”
7. “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
8. “Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”
9. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
10. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
11. “We may never be strong enough to be entirely nonviolent in thought, word and deed. But we must keep nonviolence as our goal and make strong progress towards it.”
12. “Change yourself – you are in control.”
13. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
14. “If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.”
15. “It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”
16. “My objective is not to be consistent with what I have said yesterday but to be faithful to respond rightfully to the truth that is revealed to me daily.”
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