BE MORE HUMAN

     BE MORE HUMAN

1. Maximize your humanity

“The greatest concern of the human being is to know how to properly

fulfill his status in creation and to rightly understand what one must do in

order to be a human being,” the great German philosopher Immanuel Kant

(1724-1804) handwrote in 1764 on his personal copy of his newly-published

book Observations on the Beautiful and Sublime. (1)

          Two centuries after Kant, Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Jung (1875-1961) wrote: “As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being...” (2)      

          As pointed out in a concise article posted on Wikipedia, Jung’s work on himself and his patients convinced him that life has a spiritual purpose beyond material goals. Our main task, he believed, is to discover and fulfill our deep innate potential.

         Based on his study of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Gnoticism, Taoism and other traditions, Jung believed that this journey of transformation, which he called individuation, is at the mystical heart of all religions. It is a journey to meet the Self and at the same time to meet the Divine... (3)

        Jung also believed that the process of individuation was essential in order for a person to become whole and fully developed as a human being. To become completely integrated so that the individual becomes his or her “true self”.

       How do I be more human?

      How do I maximize my human potential?

      How do I capture, embody, and express the essence of humanity?

      How do I become a fully and wholly developed human being?

      American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-70) wrote:

      “One’s only rival is one’s potentialities.

      “One’s only failure is failing to live up to one’s own possibilities. In this sense, every man can be a king, and must therefore be treated like a king.

      “If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life...” (4)

      Says the Buddha Siddharta Gautama (563-483 B.C.):

      “Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.

      “Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path to wisdom.

     “The greatest gift is to give people your enlightenment, to share it. It has to be the greatest.” (5)

      Albert Einstein (1879-1955), preeminent US physicist and mathematician, has said:

      “Only a life lived for others is worth living...” (6)

      The Chinese sage Confucius (551-479 B.C.) exhorts:

      “From the Son of Heaven (Emperor) to the masses of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything else...” (7)

      Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.) has written:

      “...Waste no more time arguing what a good man should. Be one.” (8)

      “Each individual has his inborn nature, svabhava, and to make it effective in his life is his duty,” Professor S. Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) has written, commenting on Verse 41 in the concluding Chapter XVIII of the Bhagavadgita, the five-thousand-year-old Hindu teaching and classic scripture on human development and self-realization.

      “Each individual is a focus of the Supreme, a fragment of the Divine. His destiny is to bring out in his life this divine possibility...” (9)

                                                                                                           25.11.2015 23:23

2. Develop Authenticity, Integrity, and Sincerity (AIS)

1. Authenticity

Authenticity, according to Soren Kierkegaard (1813-55), Danish

philosopher and existential author (“Father of Existentialism”), is reliant on an individual finding authentic faith and becoming true to oneself... He believes

that authentic faith can be achieved by “facing reality, making a choice and then passionately sticking with it.”

         The goal of Kierkegaard’s existential philosophy is to show that, in order to achieve authenticity, one must face reality and form his/her opinions of existence. He suggests: “One must make an active choice to surrender to something that goes beyond comprehension, a leap of faith into the religious.”

         To Kierkegaard, by making a choice, man/humankind  ceases to be merely a “child of nature” and becomes a conscious personality, a spiritual being, a being that determines itself. (10)

         “I used to suppress my upsetting emotions a lot, because I used to believe that they would attract negativity in my life. In addition, I didn’t want to concern others, so I tried to control my thoughts and force myself to be positive,” Anita Moorjani has written in DYING TO BE ME, the New York Times best-selling book about her lessons from her own near-death experience (NDE) in the year 2006 at the climax of her four-year campaign against cancer and her ultimate victory. “But now I understand that the key is to always honour who you truly are and allow yourself to be your own truth...” (11)

         In the Afterword of this remarkable book by a remarkable individual, Anita has advised: “Always remember not to give away your power – instead, get in touch with your own magnificence. When it comes to finding the right path, there’s a different answer for each person. (12)

         “The only universal solution I have it (is) to love yourself unconditionally and be yourself fearlessly! This is the most important lesson I learned from my NDE, and I honestly feel that if I’d always known this, I never would have gotten cancer in the first place.

    “When we’re true to ourselves, we become instruments of truth for the planet. Because we’re all connected, we touch the lives of everyone around us, who then affect others. Our only obligation is to be the love we are and allow our answers to come from within in the way that’s most appropriate for us...” (13)

2. Integrity

     “Let no one have the right to say truthfully of you that you are without integrity or goodness; should any think such thoughts, see that they are without foundation,” Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote more than 1,800 years ago. (14)

     “This all depends upon yourself, who else can hinder you from attaining goodness and integrity?...” (15)

     But, what is integrity? The integrity of a human being, not a building, etc.

    There are various definitions:

      Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; it’s moral uprightness. It is generally a personal choice to uphold oneself to consistently moral and ethical standards. (16)

      From an ethical/moral viewpoint, an individual is said to possess the virtue of integrity if his/her actions are based upon an internally consistent framework of principles and values. (17)

      Integrity is adherence to ethical and moral principles; it also stands for soundness of moral character. (18)

      Integrity is living by your highest values. It is being honest and sincere.

      Integrity helps you to listen to your conscience, to do the right thing, and to tell the truth.

      You act with integrity when your words and actions match.

      Integrity gives you self-respect and a peaceful heart (a heart at ease and peace). (19)

      Integrity is essential to maximize one’s human potential; the wholeness (intactness) of personal attitude, character and personality is indispensable, to develop and fulfil one’s intrinsic humanity.                             27.11.2015 02:50

(3) Sincerity

      Confucius said: “... He who possesses sincerity hits what is right without an effort and apprehends without thinking; he is the sage who embodies the Way (of Benevolence) with calm and ease...” (20)

     Chinese scholar Li Fu Chen has commented: “Sincerity can illustrate the Way and complete the full development of nature. So, the establishment of sincerity can lead to the revelation of the heart and the fulfilment of nature. For this reason, sincerity is the source of morality, the power of life, the origin of faith and the foundation of the common existence of mankind...” (21)

     The Chinese character zhi means sincerity and devotion. This is the idea that you enter into something with the utmost sincerity and fidelity. Also with devotion, honesty and “one’s true heart”. (22)

     Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote: “...Sincerity and goodness ought to have their own unmistakable odour (fragrance), so that one who encounters this becomes straightaway aware of it despite himself...

     “A man who is truly good and sincere and well-meaning will show it by his looks, and no one can fail to see it...” (23)

     To paraphrase the imperial philosopher, everyone can smell and see a truly sincere and good human being.

3. Human Values and Practices

1. Faith/Confidence/Trust

1. Faith

      “Faith is called the “seed,” and without it the plant of spiritual life cannot start at all. Without faith one can, as a matter of fact, do nothing worthwhile at all. This is true not only of Buddhism, but of all religions, and even the pseudo-religions of modern times, such as Communism,” Buddhist scholar Dr Edward Conze (1904-79) has written, with much clarity, on the matter of faith, which to this day is professed and shared by the great majority (over two-thirds) of humankind. (24)

    And, Conze is quoted at length in the following:  

    “And this faith is much more than the mere acceptance of beliefs. It requires the combination of four factors – intellectual, volitional, emotional and social.

    “1. Intellectually, faith is an assent to doctrines which are not substantiated by immediately available direct factual evidence. To be a matter of faith, a belief must go beyond the available evidence and the believer must be willing and ready to fill up the gaps in the evidence with an attitude of patient and trusting acceptance. (Buddha has said that if you know, there is no need to believe.)

    “2.In this sceptical age we, anyway, dwell too much on the intellectual side of faith. Shraddha (Pali: saddha) the word we render as “faith,” is etymologically akin to Latin cor, “the heart,” and faith is far more a matter of the heart than of the intellect. It is, as Prof. Radhakrishnan incisely (incisively) puts it, “the striving after self-realization by concentrating the powers of the mind on a given idea. Volitionally, faith implies resolute and courageous act of will. It combines the steadfast resolution that one will do a thing with the self-confidence that one can do it...

    “3. Emotionally, faith is an attitude of serenity and lucidity. Its opposite here is worry (with nagging doubt), the state of being troubled by many things (such as doubtfulness, indecisiveness, etc)...

    “4. Socially, and that is more difficult to understand, faith involves trust and confidence in the Buddha (His teachings) and the Sangha (the Buddhist community of ordained and lay disciples and followers)...

    “Like other spiritual qualities, faith is somewhat paradoxical in that in one sense it is a gift which one cannot obtain by merely wanting to, and in another sense it is a virtue that can be cultivated...

    “As a virtue, faith is strengthened and built up by self-discipline...”

    Saint Augustine (354-430 A.D.), one of the Fathers of the Church said:

    “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe..

    “Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand...” (25)

    American polymath and pioneering globalist Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1963) averred:

    “Faith is much better than belief. Belief is when someone else does the thinking...” (26)

    A pioneering developmental psychologist, Dr James Fowler (1940-2015) has defined faith as “a person’s way of leaning into and making sense of life.”

    Fowler has written: “More verb than noun, faith is the dynamic system of images, values, and commitments that guide one’s life. It is thus universal: everyone who chooses to go on living operated by some basic faith...” (27)

(C) 1(b) Confidence

    In Sanskrit, sraddha means faith.

    In Pali, saddha is translated as confidence.

    To quote distinguished Sri Lankan Theravada monk and scholar Venerable Narada Maha Thera:

    “According to Pali, Saddha is well-established confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma (Doctrine), and the Sangha (Spiritual Community of ordained and lay disciples and followers). Purification (sampasadana) of its mental associates is its chief characteristic.

    “It is compared to the water purifying gem of the universal monarch. This particular gem, when thrown into water, causes mud and water-weeds to subside. The water is consequently purified. In the same way, Saddha purifies the mind of its stains.

    “This Saddha is not blind faith. It is confidence based on knowledge...” (28)

    As explained by Dhammasangani in Buddhist Psychology (p. 14): “The faith which on that occasion (referring to faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha) is trusting in, the professing confidence in, the sense of assurance, faith, faith as a faculty and as a power (of Enlightenment)...” (29)

    Confidence is also highly valued in the field of battle. According to a subordinate of General Ulysses S. Grant, the Union military leader had “absolute confidence” in himself after his victory on 4 July 1863 (the 87th anniversary of American independence) in the protracted Vicksburg campaign on the Mississippi, which marked the crucial turning point in the Civil War of 1861-65.

    “...It is no exaggeration to say that self-confidence is a magical talisman,” Dr Bil Holton comments in his analysis of Grant’s leadership.

    “Eleanor Roosevelt’s certainty about the subject of self-confidence serves as confirmation: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Some of the greatest victories leaders will have are those over self-doubt, self-ridicule, and self-punishment.” (30)

    Professor Sari Nusseibeh recently wrote on the importance of educating young Palestinians to have self-confidence and faith “so that they are not helpless pawns of larger forces, but are individually and collectively capable of charting their own courses in life, and even shaping history...”

    Nusseibeh has written: “I believe that what our students need most is faith in themselves – and faith that they have it within themselves to shape history...” (31)

    On 22 July 2013, Pope Francis spoke on the responsibility of our present generation for the full development of all young persons – “to awaken in them their greatest potential as builders of their own destiny, sharing responsibility for the future of everyone...”                                              01.12.2015 01:27

(C)1 (c) Trust

Thesarus.com:

1. Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc. Of a person or thing; confidence...
2. Confident expectation of something, hope...

     LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English (2003):

    A strong belief in the honesty, goodness etc of someone or something.

    As a verb, to believe in someone or thing: We trust in God.

    The motto “In God We Trust” was first used on American coins in the early 1960s during the Civil War (1861-65). (32)

    “Trust is important, but it is also dangerous (and risky),” Carolyn McLeod has written, at the start of her comprehensive  philosophical tract on this rather tricky existential issue of immeasurable import. (33)

    Trust includes self-trust.

    Trust appears to be plain and direct, yet is “inevitably complex” as McLeod has pointed out. No one can really answer the question: “When is trust warranted?” And, trust could be easily betrayed or broken.

    The instrumental value of trust, its benefits or the “goods of trust” include “opportunities for cooperative activity, meaningful relations, knowledge, autonomy, self-respect, and overall maturity” (to quote McLeod).

    Although trust cannot be willed into being, it can be cultivated. McLeod concludes: “It would be important because trust that is warranted contributes to the foundations of a good society. It helps people to thrive through healthy cooperation with others and to be morally mature human beings.”

(C) 2 Compassion/Caring

    (a) Compassion

    What comes from the heart, goes to the heart.

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), English poet, literary critic and philosopher.

Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much a heart can hold.

• Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-48), American novelist, dancer, socialite, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife.

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

• Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), South Africa’s iconic anti-apartheid  revolutionary and first state president (1994-99). (34)

     I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter and to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.

• Leo C. Rosten (1908-97), American humorist and author

Compassion is not a moral commandment but a flow and overflow of the

fullest human and divine energies.

• Matthew Fox (born 1940), American priest and theologian as well as a prolific author

   Compassion will no longer be seen as a spiritual luxury for a contemplative few; rather it will be viewed as a social necessity for the entire human family.

• Duane Elgin (born 1943), American author, educator and media activist. (35)

    Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment...

• Karen Armstrong (born November 1944), Oxford-educated British author of over 20 books on comparative religion, the heart and mind behind the Charter for Compassion presented in Washington, D.C. November 2009.

And its Vision: ... We believe that all human beings are born with the capacity for compassion, and that it must be cultivated for human beings to survive and thrive...

    Embrace the compassion revolution.     (36)

2. Caring

Pope Francis has spoken out loud and clear on the need for caring, doing

good, and serving fellow beings for the common weal.

          In 2013 the pontiff addressed the global issues of rampant human indifference in at least a couple of resounding speeches.

          “In this globalized world, we have fallen into globalized indifference,” the Pope said on 8 July 2013.

          “We have become used to the suffering of others: it doesn’t affect me, it doesn’t concern me, it’s none of my business!...”

          On 8 December 2013, Pope Francis said:

         “In the dynamics of history, and in the diversity of ethnic groups, societies and cultures, we see the seeds of a vocation to form a community composed of brothers and sisters who accept and care for one another. But this vocation is still frequently denied and ignored in a world marked by a “globalization of indifference” which makes us slowly inured to the suffering of others, and closed in ourselves...”

         Indeed, pandemic is self-centredness/selfishness, egotism/egregiousness of the self-serving lower case self.

        His urgent call is for human solidarity, service for the common good, human progress through “the culture of encounter, a culture in which all have something good to give and all can receive something good in return...” (37)

        On 7 September 2013, the Pope delivered the gist of his message in nine simple words:

        To be human means to care for one another.

C (3) Benevolence/ Loving-Kindness

1. Benevolence

The great fourth century B.C. Confucian scholar and philosopher

Mencius said: “Benevolence is the distinguishing characteristic of humanity. As embodied in man’s conduct, it is called the Way...”

              Li Fu Chen, a modern Chinese scholar, engineer and politician, has written:

“...I am a man, as anyone else is a man (a human being). Therefore I should not do to others what I do not wish to have done to myself. We can call this loyalty and reciprocity; when attained, these virtues can bring us close to the Way (of benevolence)... (38)

“The root of benevolence lies in filial piety and fraternal love. When extended beyond love for relatives it becomes benevolence to all people. And when extended still further, it takes the form of kindness to all living beings.

“Therefore benevolence is what sustains human existence. It is the foundation of morality and prerequisite for human conduct...” (39

         The Master Confucius said, “Is benevolence a thing remote? I wish to be benevolent and lo! benevolence is at hand.” (40)

2. Loving-Kindness (Metta/Maitri)

“...Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own

life, even so let him cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings,” the Buddha taught in the Metta Sutta.

              “Let his thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world – above, below and across – without any obstruction, without any hatred, without any enmity.

       

            “Whether he stands, walks, sits or lies down, as long as he is awake, he should develop this mindfulness. This they say, is the Highest Conduct here...” (41)

              As explained by the distinguished Theravada scholar-monk Narada, Metta is the most important of the ten transcendental virtues/perfections/Paramis (six in Mahayana practice) that every Bodhisattva (seeking the highest enlightenment for self and all other beings) practises in order to gain Supreme Enlightenment – Samma-Sambuddhahood.

            “A Bodhisattva extends this Metta towards every living being and identifies himself with all, making no distinction whatsoever of caste, creed,  which separate one from another,” Narada has written.

            “To a Bodhisattva there is no far or near, no enemy or foreigner, no renegade or untouchable, since universal love, realized through understanding, has established the brotherhood of all living things. A Bodhisattva is a true citizen of the world, ever kind, friendly, and compassionate.” (42)

C (4) Altruism/Cooperation

1. Altruism

To be doing good deeds is man’s most glorious task.

• Sophocles (?496 B.C. – 406 B.C.), Greek dramatist

Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he gives for the welfare of his fellow men.

• Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869 – 1948), preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

• Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-68), leader of the US Civil Rights Movement

Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish.

• Richard Dawkins (born 1941), The Selfish Gene (43)

“Selflessness (in altruistic living) raises the quality and elevates the

meaning of our lives and that of our descendants; in fact, our very survival may even depend on it,” French Buddhist scholar-monk Venerable Dr Matthieu Ricard (born February 1946) has written.

“Neuroscientists have identified three components of altruism that

anyone can develop as acquired skills: empathy (understanding and sharing the feelings of another), loving kindness (the wish to spread happiness) and compassion (a desire to relieve the suffering of another)...” (44)

          Psychologists have suggested that there are two kinds of giving among people who give more for their own “warm glow” and personal satisfaction, and those who do charity to have a positive impact on the world.

          “The Effective Altruism Movement (EAM) consists of people who give in the latter way, combining the head and the heart. Their aim is to do the most good they can with the resources that they are willing to set aside for that purpose,” Professor Peter Singer, a prominent Australian ethical and political philosopher, has written.

         “To achieve their aims, they use reason and evidence to ensure that whatever resources (a portion of their income, or their time and talents) they devote to doing good will be as effective as possible...” (45)

C (4) (b) Cooperation

“...If we are to win the struggle for existence, and avoid a precipitous

fall, there’s no choice but to harness this extraordinary creative force (in strong

human cooperation). We now have to refine and to extend our ability to

cooperate,” Professor Martin Novak and Dr Roger Highfield  have written in

their recent book SUPER COOPERATORS. (46)

           “Today we face a stark choice: we can either move up to the next stage

of evolutionary complexity, or we can go into decline, even become extinct...” (47)

          On the 70th anniversary of the United Nations 23 October 2015, the UN

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message to the world:

“...Alongside despair in many corners, there remains great hope in the power

of working together...” (48)

         On 24 October 2015, Spain’s King Felipe VI awarded online encyclopedia

Wikipedia the country’s Princess of Asturias award for

international cooperation.  At a ceremony held in Oviedo, Spain, attended by

American entrepreneur and co-founder of Wikipedia (15 Jan 2001) Jimmy

Wales, the king said the online encyclopedia wants to put culture within reach

of the greatest number of people possible. (49)

         “Be men and women with others and for others, real champions in the

service of others,” Pope Francis recently urged, addressing youths on 22 July

2013.

        On 24 November 2013 the Pope then exhorted: “We need to grow in a

solidarity which “would allow all people to become the artisans of their

destiny”, since every person is “called to self-fulfillment”...”  (50)

C (5) Morality/Righteousness

         

       Morality (sila) provides the foundation of Buddhist practice to cultivate good and develop wisdom.

       “We choose to be moral. We’re not being moral because we’re afraid of being immoral,” Venerable Ajahn Sumedho, an American Theravada monk, said.

       “We choose to do this and rise up to that which is noble, good, kind and generous...” (51)

       “The one who takes right to be right and wrong to be wrong, and who thinks not of sensual pleasures, can be successful in finding the Truth,” the Buddha taught. (52)

        Confucius said to his disciple Tzu Kung: “All my knowledge is strung on one connecting thread...”

       As explained by Lionel Giles, the “connecting thread” is simply the moral life, which consists in being true to oneself (being authentic) and good to one’s neighbour. To Confucius, to be able to lead, in the highest sense of the word, a moral life is the object of all learning, the end and aim of all knowledge. (53)

        In an insightful essay on enlightenment published in December 1784, German philosopher Immanuel Kant declared the motto of enlightenment:

Sapere aude! – Dare to be wise!

        With his moral philosophy based on the concept of individual autonomy, Kant distinguishes a person who is intellectually autonomous from another who’s intellectually heteronomous, i.e. dependent (unmundig) and immature (unmundigkeit).

        Describing the majority of people as the “great unthinking masses”, he says there will always be a few people who think for themselves, and they will help the rest of us “to cultivate our minds...” (54)

        Buddha has taught us to share our enlightenment with our fellow beings.

        Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.) has handed this gem of great moral worth to us: “If it is not the right thing to do, never do it; if it is not the truth, never say it. Keep your impulses in hand.” (55)   

5 (b) Righteousness

        The great 4th century BC Chinese scholar and philosopher Mencius said, “Benevolence is man’s mind, and righteousness is man’s path...” (56)

        Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote: “Where life is possible at all, a right life is possible; life in a palace is possible; therefore even in a palace a right life is possible...(57)

        “Press on steadily, keep to the straight road in your thinking and doing, and your days will ever flow on smoothly.

        “The soul of man, like the soul of all rational creatures, has two things in common with the soul of God: it can never be thwarted from without, and its good consists in righteousness of character and action, and in confining every wish thereto.” (58)

       Professor GW Choudhury of Columbia University in New York has written that the Prophet Muhammad’s message “may be summed up in two words faith (iman) and right-doing (ihsan)...” (59)

        After faith in the unity and oneness of God, the most vital of the message, comes righteousness.

       According to this Muslim scholar and author, the Quran emphasises the concept of the ‘Straight Path’ (1:5), righteous conduct for Muslims in the pursuit of the law of the ideal human nature (30:30), and in the fulfilment of human destiny.

        “The Quran puts stress and emphasis on right-doing as the concomitant of faith,” Choudhury has written. (61)  

D. Self-Perfection and Self-Realization:

    the ultimate spiritual/moral/mental evolution of Homo sapiens

        “Fulfillment of our being is perfect virtue,” the Doctrine of the Mean (Chapter XXV) tells us.

        To Mencius, it’s the fulfilment of righteousness in conduct; to Confucius, it’s the “fulfilment of benevolence” in self-cultivation. (62)

        “Devoted each to his duty man attains perfection,” the Lord Krsna teaches Arjuna in the concluding Chapter XVIII of the Hindu classic Bhagavadgita, verse 45. (63)

         In the verse 50, Krsna tells “how, having attained perfection, he (an enlightened yogi) attains to the Brahman (the Pure Self), that supreme consummation of wisdom.” (64)

        In Buddhist practice, that is the attainment and realization of the Supreme, Perfect Enlightenment of Buddhahood (Omniscient Wisdom).

        “Watchful of speech, and well-controlled in mind, let him do no evil with the body; let him purify these three ways of action and attain the path attained by the Sages,” Buddha teaches. (65)

        “In the opinion of a Buddhist, the purpose of life is Supreme Enlightenment (Sambodhi), i.e. understanding of oneself as one really is. This may be achieved through sublime conduct, mental culture, and penetrative insight; or in other words, through service and perfection,” Narada explains.

        “In service are included boundless loving-kindness, compassion, and absolute selflessness which prompt man to be of service to others. Perfection embraces absolute purity and absolute wisdom.” (66)

         In Pure Land Buddhism, the three essentials of praxis are (1) faith in Amitabha, Buddha of Infinite Light (Omniscient Wisdom) and Infinite Life (Great Compassion), (2) the basic practice of mindfulness of the Buddha Amitabha by chanting/reciting/hearing the Name of Amitabha, and (3) taking the vow to seek rebirth in the Pure Land of Infinite Light and Infinite Life where all the highly advanced cultivators and devotees are assured of attaining total spiritual liberation and the supreme enlightenment of Buddhahood.

        “Amitabha is Enlightenment,” the saintly philosopher Acvaghosha said to a Brahman in the palace of King Kanishka in Benares, as related by American philosopher and scholar Dr Paul Carus in his 1906 classic narrative. (67)

        “Amitabha is the inherently enlightened True Nature (Buddha Nature) of sentient beings, and reciting the Name of Amitabha reveals this Enlightenment,” Patriarch Ou-i (1599-1655) comments. (68)

        “...You invoke the Name of Amitabha until your mind opens and you see

inherent Buddhahood (Buddha Nature)...”(69)

         Through the mindful practice of invoking the Buddha-name, you “recognize Amitabha in your mind...” (70)

          That’s self-recognition of the True Nature in every human being.

       NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA

Notes

1. Akademie Edition of Kant’s works – Vol 20 page 41, Ak. 20:41

First published in English in 1799.

Whitman concludes his presentation on Observations and Kant’s pioneering work in anthropology with his pragmatic approach (alongside the physiological) to explore the things a human “can and should make of himself”, by exhorting his readers “to fulfill the intention of Kant’s pragmatic anthropology through applying the best empirical science to cultivating human nature in oneself and others that meets ever higher normative standards of belief, feeling, and volition.”

Considered the central figure of modern philosophy, Kant is ranked with the early Greek immortals Plato (551-479 B.C.) and Aristotle (384-322 B.C.). people.whitman.edu   en.wikipdia.org

2. Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, 1962. www.quotationspage.com   Wikipedia.org

In Buddhism, it’s human destiny to seek and attain the eternal light of the supreme enlightenment of Buddhahood – through the complete and utter destruction of the darkness of human ignorance and craving.

3. In Buddhism, the full development of one’s inherent humanity – through spiritual evolution of the individual person up to the ultimate level of spiritual maturation, culminating in the fruition/fruiting of Buddhahood.
4. FINESTQUOTES.COM

In the early 1960s, Maslow expanded his original (1943) hierarchy of five basic motivational needs to eight, by including aesthetic, self-actualization and transcendence needs.

First published in 2007 and updated in 2014 a.simplypsychology.org, Saul McLeod has written on self-actualization:

Psychologist Abraham Maslow (1943, 1954) stated that human motivation is based on people seeking fulfilment and change through personal  growth. Self-actualized people are those who were fulfilled and doing all they were capable of.

The growth of self-actualization (Maslow, 1962) refers to the need for personal growth and discovery that is present throughout a person’s life.

          For Maslow, a person is always ‘becoming’ and never remains static in  

          these terms. In self-actualization a person comes to find a meaning to  

         life that is personally important...

         Maslow (1943) describes self-actualization: ‘It refers to the person’s

        desire for self-fulfillment, namely, the tendency for him (or her) to

         become actualized in what he (or she) is potentially...’

5. Siddharta Gautama became fully enlightened in 528 B.C. at the age of 35 following six years of extremely arduous spiritual cultivation, becoming the first human being in recorded history to attain the Supreme, Perfect Enlightenment of Buddhahood (Omniscient Wisdom) over two and a half  millennia ago.       Quotes fromFINESTQUOTES.COM
6. FINESTQUITES.COM
7. Great Learning, a record of the Master’s teachings authored by a great scholar and disciple Tseng Shen, quoted in THE CONFUCIAN WAY by Li  Fu Chen, translated by Dr Shih Shun Liu, published by API, London, 1987, p. 7.

Li Fu Chen (1900-93) was a Chinese scholar, prominent political figure and Minister of Education (1938-44) in the Republic of China (1912-49).

          Summing up the Master’s teachings, Li has written that “the Way (of

          Benevolence) is the spiritual high road to the common existence and

          evolution of mankind...” (p. 87)

8. MEDITATIONS translated with introduction by Maxwell Stainforth, published by Dorset Press, New York, 1986. Book Ten 16 p. 157

Roman Emperor for 18 years (161-180 A.D.) until his death from an  philosopher-emperor composed his famous Meditations among the reeds and mists of the swampy Danube while campaigning against the barbaric invaders from the year 167 on assuming command of the hard-pressed Roman legions.

Towards the end of his life, he wrote in Book Twelve 1 (p. 179): “... forget all else and pay sole regard to the helmsman of your soul and the divine spark in you...”

9. THE BHAGAVADGITA, published by HarperCollins Publishers India, New Delhi, 2002 (Seventeenth impression), p. 364

A prominent philosopher, author and educationist, Radhakrishnan served as the President of India from 1961 to 1967 when he retired from public life.                                                                1,170 words 25.11.2015 23:57

10. Philosopher, poet, social critic and religious writer, Soren Kierkegaard is generally regarded as the first existential philosopher. wikipedia.org

marxists.org

11. DYING TO BE ME: My Journey From Cancer, To Near Death, To True Healing, published by Hay House, London, 2012, p. 158
12. Ibid., p. 185

“...So in the end, my NDE brought me back to myself. I believe this is the most powerful idea for each of us realising that we’re here to discover and honour our own individual path,” Anita has written (p. 155).

“Ultimately, whichever path we choose is the right one for us, and none of these options are any more or less spiritual than the others...

“Human beings are so varied that some fare better with organised religion or spiritual paths, whereas others don’t.

“If we simply live in a way that matures us and allow us to express our creativity, letting us see our own magnificence, that’s the best we can possibly do.

“To advocate any option or doctrine as being the one true way would only serve to limit who we are and what we’ve come here to be.”

From a traditional Hindu family, Anita Moorjani now serves as a guest speaker on such topics as terminal illness, facing death, and the psychology of beliefs. She works as an international consultant for multinational corporations based in Hong Kong.

“My desire is to awaken the dormant guru within you that guides you to find your own place at the center of the universe,” Anita has written in the Introduction (p. xv).

“It’s my hope that you find joy in each and every day of your journey and come to love life as much as I do these days!”

13. Ibid., p. 185

In his book on the leadership of Ulysses Grant, the 18th US President (1869-77) and commander in chief (1864-65) of the Union forces in the  American Civil War (1861-65), Dr Bil Holton has put in a brief comment on authenticity in a leader:

“...Once contaminated, authenticity is a difficult virtue to resurrect fully, and the offender will always be questioned by distrustful subordinates who feel violated and manipulated.

“A better return on equity would be to invite authenticity by being authentic.

“As best you can as a leader and as a human being, stare truth confidently in the face.”

LEADERSHIP LESSONS OF ULYSSES S. GRANT, published by Gramercy Books, New York, 1995, p. 8

          Nationally recognized for his expertise in leadership development and

          team building, Dr Holton has a reputation as a powerful speaker on the

          concept of “civilized leadership” – what is utterly lacking in the world of

          today and of the past seven decades amidst the greatest technological

         developments in human history.

          “...Ulysses S. Grant was a great leader and a great American,” Holton has

         written (p. xiii). Wish the same could be said of American leaders from

         and after the period of World War II.

14. MEDITATIONS Book Ten 32 p. 161
15. In Integrity: Doing the Right Thing for the Right Reason (published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, 2007), clinical psychologist Dr Barbara Killinger describes the personality traits and psychological, philosophical, historical, and familial influences that help develop and maintain integrity.

She also looks at how integrity is undermined and lost as a result of obsession, narcissism, and workaholism.

Killinger concludes that integrity is not possible without compassion,  and makes it clear that doing the right thing includes doing it for the right reason.

16.  en.wikipedia.org
17.  en.wikipedia.org
18. Thesaurus.com
19. orientaloutpost.com                                                 2,377 words 27.11.2015 02:59
20. Doctrine of the Mean Ch. XX as quoted in Li Fu Chen, THE CONFUCIAN WAY, p. 192

“The Doctrine of the Mean is our precious national heritage. It embodies the moral tradition received by Confucius from antiquity; also, this same tradition was extensively developed by him,” Li explains in the Introduction of his book (p. 9).

“Sincerity in this context means the sincerity of thoughts; and the Mean, the rectification of hearts. Both are prerequisites for the cultivation of the person.

“With the cultivation of the person comes the fullness of the essence, and with fullness of essence comes the wide extent of utility.

“To regulate the family, to contribute to the well ordering of the state, to pacify the world – these are but steps in the development of utility and they are means used to point up its efficacy...”

On scholar Lee Fu Chen, please refer Note (7).

21. THE CONFUCIAN WAY, p. 195
22. Orientalpost.com

Mencius (?372 B.C. - ?289 B.C.), a great scholar and philosopher in the Confucian tradition, has described the Master as the “timeous” sage, calling Confucius “the paragon among sages”. Li Fu Chen has written (p. 253) that “without subjecting himself to the limits of time, he (Confucius) represented the highest possible type of human personality...”

23. MEDITATIONS Book Ten 32 p. 161
24. The Way of Wisdom: The Five Spiritual Faculties by Edward Conze, 1993 accesstoinsight.org Access To Insight (Legacy Edition) 30 November 2013, first published in The Middle Way, Vol. XXVIII (1953).

Born in London, Conze was an Anglo-German scholar of Mahayana Buddhism. A former communist in his youth, he turned to Buddhism after World War II, wrote discerning and perceptive books on Buddhism and translated over 30 texts including the Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) scriptures.

Regarding Prof Radhakrishnan, please refer to Note (9).

25. FINESTQUOTES.COM

Bishop of Hippo in North Africa (396-430 A.D.), St. Augustine was a prolific Latin author of over 100 extant titles with considerable influence on both Catholic and Protestant theology.

His own three-year spiritual struggle before his conversion to the Faith in 386 is recorded in one of his masterpieces, the autobiographical Confessions:

“...Thou didst gleam and glow, and dispel my blindness...”

           en.wikipedia.org

26. FINESTQUOTES.COM

“Bucky” was a globally reputed architect, systems theorist, designer, inventor, and author of over 30 books.

When in 1927 a jobless 32-year-old Fuller contemplated suicide for his wife and daughter to claim his insurance money, he had a transformative experience which would direct him to find his purpose in life “to find what a single individual (could) contribute to changing the world and benefitting all humanity...”

    In his1970 book I Seem To Be a Verb, Fuller wrote: “I am not a thing – a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process – an integral function of the universe...”  en.wikipedia.com

    Fuller shares the Mahayana-Avatamsaka view of the universal oneness, interconnectedness and interdependence of all things.

    “Bucky” chirped in as well: “God is a verb, not a noun...” brainquote.com

27. amazon.com

A seminal figure in the field of developmental psychology, Professor Fowler taught at Harvard University and Boston College. He was also an American theologian.

In STAGES OF FAITH: The Psychology of Human Development and the and the Quest for Meaning, first published in 1981, Fowler has mapped out six stages in our life’s quest for meaning and values: “from the intuitive, imitative faith of childhood through conventional and then more independent faith to the universalizing, self-transcending faith of maturity...”                                                                    3,693 words 28.11.2015 04:42

28. Narada Maha Thera, A Manual of Abhidhamma, reprinted November 2004 for free distribution by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan, p. 101
29. Ibid., p. 102 (as quoted)
30. LEADERSHIP LESSONS OF ULYSSES S. GRANT, pp. 123-124. Quotation from Eleanor Roosevelt, The Last Word, p. 263
31. What is A Palestinian State Worth? Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2011, pp. 222, 223

A leading Oxford-educated Palestinian moderate, Sari Nusseibeh (born 1949) is Professor of Philosophy of the Al-Quds University in Jerusalem where he had also served as its president for 20 years until his retirement on 27 March 2014.

Of an estimated population of over 4.5 million Palestinians, slightly over 40% are below the age of 15 years. The future undeniably belongs to the Palestinian youth.                                    16 pages 4,233 words 01.12.2015 01:32 02:47

 

32. This inscription was added to the two-cent piece of 1864. But it didn’t become necessary to add it to all coins in the US until 1955. H.I.P. Pocket Change Fun Facts 22
33. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu first published in February 20, 2006, and substantially revised August 3, 2015

Carolyn McLeod is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.

The latest research by the Oxford Department of Sociology in Oxford University confirms trust as a valuable resource for an individual, and not merely a measure of intelligence.

However, the new study indicates that intelligent people are more likely to trust others as well as being trusted themselves.

AFP-Relaxnews, SUN (Malaysia) April o1, 2014          4,581 words 02:12:2015 13:01

34. Quotes from Coleridge, Fitzgerald and Mandela as posted on

wisdomquotes.com

On the importance of the qalb (heart) in human leadership, Dr Siti Suriani Othman, senior lecturer, Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) wrote in a letter to NEW STRAITS TIMES Kuala Lumpur (April 15, 2015):

“...In the Islamic perspective, qalb does not mean the physical heart, but rather, the non-tangible meaning of heart, which does not only refer to one’s kindness, but also to the human mind, mental processes that comprise thinking, reasoning, intuition and decision-making process...”

In Pali, citta is the heart/mind, or state of mind. When purified and freed from all the ignorance-based defilements, citta yields the liberating insight of wisdom.

In Sanskrit, chitta/chit means awareness or consciousness, understanding, comprehension.

In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta is the luminous mind of enlightenment and great wisdom, enlightened consciousness.

wikipedia.org  

35. Quotations from Kosten, Fox and Elgin as posted on wisdomquotes.com
36. wikipedia.org

charterforcompassion.org                                     5,029 words 02.12.14:15

37. Selected Quotes of Pope Francis (born December 1936) as posted on

usccb.org

Emperor Marcus Aurelius on living with a consistency in life to benefit fellow beings and community: “Accordingly, the aim we should propose to ourselves must be the benefit of our fellows and the community...”

MEDITATIONS Book Eleven 21 p. 176

38. THE CONFUCIAN WAY, p. 84

39. Ibid., pp. 87-88

In a highly significant and timely letter published in the Malaysian newspaper SUN April 08, 2015, the Kuala Lumpur-based NGO G 25 highlighted the guiding principles for doctors to heal and do no harm, as enshrined in the Hippocratic Oath as well as in the four basic moral commitments – respect for autonomy (requiring doctors to consult and seek agreement of their patients), beneficence (connoting acts of mercy, kindness and charity to benefit or promote the good of other persons), non-malevolence (derived from the maxim in Latin primum non nocere, meaning “first, do no harm”), and justice.

The G25 has rightly stressed non-malevolence (harmlessness) as one of the fundamental principles of medical ethics. It’s also one of the topmost precepts in the world’s major religions.

40. As quoted in THE CONFUCIAN WAY, p. 86
41. Narada, THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, reprinted for free distribution February 2004 by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan, p. 693
42. Ibid., p. 606

According to the world’s oldest person, the key to longevity is treating other people kindly.

“I treat everyone the way I want to be treated,” Gertrude Weaver told reporters in Washington on her 116th birthday when she got a letter from the US president.

This is the moral law of reciprocity and mutual benefit.

Reuter report in SUN April 03, 2015                                5,950 words 03.12.2015 04:07

43. Quotes from Sophocles, Gandhi, Luther King and Richard Dawkins as posted on FINESTQUOTES.COM

About half a century before Sophocles, Confucius (551-479 B.C.) prioritized altruism.

As explained by British scholar and translator Lionel Giles (1875-1958) in his translation of the Confucian Analects, THE SAYINGS OF CONFUCIUS (first published by John Murray, London, 1907, and by Senate, Middlesex, UK, 1998), the injunction to “act socially” is to live for others in living for oneself.

Giles has written (p. 28): “For let a man be but thoroughly imbued with the altruistic spirit and he may be termed “good” (or virtuous) without qualification, since all other virtues tend to flow from unselfishness...”

Announcing the birth of their debut darling daughter Max on 01 December 2015, 31-year-old Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his30-year-old wife Dr Priscilla Chan pledge 99% of their total stock of shares currently worth US$45 billion into a new philanthropy project “to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation...”

The 85-year-old multibillionaire investor Warren Buffet said in Facebook: “A combination of brains, passion and resources on this scale will change the lives of millions. On behalf of future generations, I thank them.” And we salute them!

Buffet himself had in 2006 pledged his Berkshire Hathaway stock worth $31 billion then to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) will initially focus on personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people, and building strong communities.                                                                              03.12.2015 12:03

China Daily Online 2015-12-02 Daily Mail Online 02 December 2015

44. Project Syndicate article published in NEW STRAITS TIMES January 7, 2014

Resident at the Shechen Monastery in Nepal, Venerable Matthieu Ricard holds a doctorate in molecular genetics, and runs 130 humanitarian projects through his organisation Karma-Shechen.

According to a CNN report by Stephen Galloway on October 21, 2015, 75-year-old Jane Fonda said in reply to a question how acting has made her an activist: “...You have to understand (in acting), you have to see the world through other people’s eyes (the lenses of empathy). And the moment you start doing that, your heart opens. And so for people whose heads are screwed on right,  that can lead you to wanting to do something about it. Because there’s cynicism, then there’s empathy – ‘cause empathy is being able to put yourself in another person’s shoes – the step above that is compassion. So acting can lead from empathy to compassion...”

  

Loving-kindness (metta) and compassion (karuna) are the inseparable loving twins in Buddhist practice.

45. Project Syndicate article published in NEW STRAITS TIMES April 23, 2015

Born on 6 July 1946, Peter Singer is professor of bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at University of Melbourne. His books include The Life You Can Save and most recently The Most Good You Can Do.

46. SUPER COOPERATORS: Evolution Altruism and Human Behaviour or Why We Need Each Other to Succeed, by

Martin Novak, Professor of Mathematics and Biology at Harvard University and Director of Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, and

Roger Highfield, DPhil, Editor of New Scientist,

published by Canongate, Edinburgh, 2011, Preface, pp. xviii-xix

47. Ibid., pp. 280-281

“...Cooperation was the principal architect of 4 billion years of evolution,” Novak and Highfield have written (p. 280).

“Cooperation built the first bacterial cells, then higher cells (multi-cellular from singular), then complex multicellular life and insect superorganisms. Finally cooperation constructed humanity...”

48. NEW STRAITS TIMES October 23, 2015
49. NEW SUNDAY TIMES October 25, 2015
50. www.usccb.org                                                 29 pages 7,083 words 03.12.2015 14:18 14:36

51. Born in Seattle, Washington, in 1934, Ajahn Sumedho was ordained in Thailand in 1967 and became a disciple of the great Thai meditation master Venerable Ajahn Chah.

Quotation from a talk by Ajahn Sumedho on February 1988 at the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire, England. Published in THE WAY IT IS, reprinted August 2008 for free distribution by Sukhi Hotu, Malaysia, p. 45.

52. DHAMMAPADA Chapter 1.12

Published for free distribution by Maha Karuna Buddhist Centre, Shah Alam, Malaysia.

53. Analects, Book XV, Chapter II

As quoted in THE SAYINGS OF CONFUCIUS, p. 91

54. en.wikipedia.org

Published in Berlin Monthly December 1784, Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment? appeared within a decade of the declaration of  American independence on 4 July 1776, following the triumph of the American Revolution (which, according to John Adams, second US president (1797-1801), had started as far back as 1620).

Kant’s essay came out towards the end of the European Age of Enlightenment, an 18th century philosophical movement stressing the importance of reason and reappraising the existing ideas and social institutions.

In his book published two decades earlier in 1764, Observations on the Beautiful and Sublime, Kant wrote that person is truly and sublimely virtuous who has a “profound feeling for the beauty and dignity of human nature...” people.whitman.edu

55. MEDIATIONS Book Twelve 17, p. 183

56. Works of Mencius Book VI, Part 1 Chapter XI, as quoted in THE CONFUCIAN WAY p. 209

57. MEDITATIONS Book Five 16, pp. 84-85

Reading these highly memorable lines, Mathew Arnold (1822-88), English poet, essayist and literary critic, saluted “the imperial sage, purest of men, Marcus Aurelius.” Ibid., p. 85 (Footnote)

58. MEDITATIONS Book Five 34, p. 89

59. THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD His Life and Eternal Message, by Professor GW Choudhury, WHS Publications, Kuala Lumpur, 1994, p. 169
60. Ibid., p. 116
61. Ibid., p. 172

 

62. THE CONFUCIAN WAY, p. 244

63. THE BHAGAVADGITA, p. 367
64. Ibid., p. 369

65. DHAMMAPADA: Path of Righteousness Chapter 20 The Path 281, p. 62
66. THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 672

Narada explains (p. 323) that the Noble Eightfold Path is the only straight route that leads to Nibbana, through the eradication of human ignorance and craving.

Right Understanding, the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths of existential suffering, its cause (ignorance-bound craving), its cessation, and the path to its cessation and Nibbana, is the understanding of oneself as one really is.

The Noble Eightfold Path (pp. 331-332) encompasses (A) Sila/Moral Discipline/Morality (Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood),

(B) Samadhi (Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration), and (C) Panna/Wisdom (Right Understanding and Right Thoughts).

      67. Amitabha, A Story of Buddhist Theology by Dr Paul Carus (1906),

            p. 107 Yahoo.com sacred-texts.com

       68. Mind-Seal of THE BUDDHAS: Patriarch Ou-i’s Commentary

on the AMITABHA SUTRA, translated by Dr J.C. Cleary, published by Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada, 1998 (Third Edition) and reprinted for free distribution by AMIDA FELLOWSHIP, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, p. 74

       69. Ibid., p. 90                                          34 pages 8,556 words 04.12.2015 08:27 08:43

       70. Ibid., p. 87                                                         

            AMITABHA embodies the spiritual essence and DNA of Buddha Nature

           that is inherent and intrinsic in every human being.