At Christmas Time

At Christmas time - the Christ's Mass - a time of celebration for Christians or those raised in a Christian Society.  It was also an ancient celebration of the emergence from the deepest dark of days in the Northern Hemisphere.  Greeting the light, as we should greet the light of Spirit every day of our earthly life for this is the sustaining force and power of life - of all life.  Spirit is in everything that is; even a grain of sand is no less an evocation of Spirit than mankind.  Praise the beauty and wonder of all creation, give thanks for all that is.  No life is sustained other than by the will and grace of Spirit.  From Spirit you have come and to Spirit you will return to merge with the wholeness of Love and Peace to be at one with the Light of Spirit.  You have the freedom to be and to do what you will, to make of your earthly existence all that you can - to be, or not to be, as you see fit - but remember that you are responsible to all that is, to yourself and to Spirit.  Little wonder that some scorn their responsibilities, waste their opportunities and meander down many paths rather than follow their proper path.  The rewards, however, for those who strive, struggle and succeed is endless and vast.

Atonement is that reward.  To be at one with Spirit, to be at one with self, to be at one with the universe and with all creation.  No void, no limbo, no purgatory, no hell but the purity of Spirit.  When you are told that your loved ones in spirit are just as you remember them but without their ills or disfigurements, that they enjoy all that they did in earthly form you are seeing a half truth.  For your comfort you are given these things in the language of your earthly understanding. The truth is greater than your comprehension and your language is incapable of expressing it.  Be assured that the wonder of the coming experience is beyond your imagining, the closer to the Purity of Spirit you travel you will not need your language or limited understanding.   You will Be.

                                                                                                                                      R.E.B

Happy Christmas

A Happy and Peaceful Christmas to you.

Sehastlivaya i mirnago Rozhdestva diya vas.

Ein gluckliches und friedliches Weihnachtsfest zu lhnen.

Un heureux et paisible Noel a vous.

Apa ke li'e eka khusa oura santipurna Krisamasa.

Een gelukkig en vredig Kerstfeest.

I do hope that Google translate has not led me astray and I also hope that I have not offended anyone by mistranslation.
Sadly my only language is English but I did want to greet my wider audience at this time.

Mo Yen

The Lord of Heaven sent the Cool Wind to a girl named Mo Yen.  It entered her womb and at that moment she conceived.  The Lord of Heaven did this to show that conception could take place without a husband.  He knew there was no man near her and that people who saw it would say, "How great is the power of the Lord of Heaven."  Their hearts would become filled with pure faith and they would devote themselves to bettering the karmic condition of all.
Mo Yen became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Jesus, whose father is the Cool Wind.  Some people were ignorant and said if she gave birth after becoming pregnant by the Cool Wind, then the whole thing was merely of this world.  If a Sage on High issues an edict, then everyone willingly will submit to it.  The Lord of Heaven dwells in heaven above and controls everything in heaven and earth.
When Jesus Messiah was born, the world saw clear signs in heaven and earth.  A new star that could be seen everywhere appeared in heaven above.  The star was as big as a cart wheel and shone brightly.  At about this time, the One was born in the country of Ephrath in the city of Jerusalem.  He was born the Messiah and after five years he began to preach the dharma.  His message to all living creatures was to do good.

Extract from 'The Lost Sutras of Jesus' - the wisdom of the Xian monks.

Mary

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Surah 19  Maryam

        Mary

Section 2

Relate in the Book the story of Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place in the East.

She placed a screen, to screen herself, from them; then We sent to her our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects.

She said: 'I seek refuge from thee to Allah Most Gracious: come not near if thou dost fear Allah.'

He said: 'Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, to announce to thee the gift of a holy son.'

She said: 'How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?'

He said: 'So it will be: thy Lord saith, "That is easy for me: and We wish to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from Us": it is a matter so decreed.'

So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place.

And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree: she cried in her anguish:  'Ah! Would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!'

But a voice cried to her from beneath the palm-tree: 'Grieve not! For thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee;

'And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: it will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee.

'So eat and drink and cool thine eye.  And if thou dost see any human, say, " I have vowed a fast to Allah Most Gracious, and this day I will enter into no talk with any human being." '

At length she brought the babe to her people, carrying him in her arms.  They said: 'O Mary!  Truly a strange thing hast thou brought!

'O sister of Aaron!  Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!'

But she pointed to the babe.  They said: 'How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?'

He said:  'I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet;

'And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live;

'He hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable;

'So Peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life again!'

Such was Jesus the son of Mary: it is a statement of truth, about which they vainly dispute.

It is not befitting to the majesty of Allah that He should beget a son.  Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to it, 'Be', and it is.

Extract from The Holy Qur'an as translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali - 1934.

I think this is the most accessible of the translations of the Koran that I have read.

The Bodhisatta's Birth

There was in Kapilavatthu a Sakya king, strong of purpose and reverenced by all men, a descendent of the Okkakas, who call themselves Gotama, and his name was Suddhodana or Pure Rice.
His wife Maya-devi was beautiful as the water-lily and pure in mind as the lotus.  As the Queen of Heaven, she lived on earth, untainted by desire, and immaculate.
The king, her husband, honoured her in her holiness, and the spirit of truth, glorious and strong in his wisdom like unto a white elephant, descended upon her.
When she knew that the hour of motherhood was near, she asked the king to send her home to her parents; and Suddhodana, anxious about his wife and the child she would bear him, willingly granted her request.
At Lumbini there is a beautiful grove, and when Maya-devi passed through it the trees were one mass of fragrant flowers and many birds were warbling in their branches.  The Queen, wishing to stroll through the shady walks, left her golden palanquin, and, when she reached the giant sala tree in the midst of the grove, felt that her hour had come.  She took hold of a branch.  Her attendants hung a curtain about her and retired.
When the pain of travail came upon her, four pure-minded angels of the great Brahma held out a golden net to receive the babe, who came forth from her right side like the rising sun bright and perfect.
The Brahma-angels took the child and placing him before the mother said: "Rejoice, O queen, a mighty son has been born unto thee."
At her couch stood an aged woman imploring the heavens to bless the child.
All the worlds were flooded with light.  The blind received their sight by longing to see the coming glory of the Lord; the deaf and dumb spoke with one another of the good omens indicating the birth of the Buddha to be.  The crooked became straight, the lame walked.  All prisoners were freed from their chains and the fires
of all the hells were extinguished.
No clouds gathered in the skies and the polluted streams became clear, whilst celestial music rang through the air and the angels rejoiced with gladness.  With no selfish or partial joy but for the sake of the law they rejoiced, for creation engulfed in the ocean of pain was now to obtain release.
The cries of beasts were hushed; all malevolent beings received a loving heart, and peace reigned on earth.
Mara, the evil one, alone was grieved and rejoiced not.
The Naga kings, earnestly desiring to show their reverence for the most excellent law, as they paid honour to former Buddhas, now went to greet the Bodhisatta.  They scattered before him mandara flowers, rejoicing with heartfelt joy to pay their religious homage.
the royal father, pondering the meaning of these signs, was now full of joy and now sore distressed.

                                      Extracted from 'The Gospel of Buddha' compiled by PaulCarus. 1915

Heaven's Very Special Child

A meeting was held quite far from earth,
It's time again for another birth.

Said the Angels to the Lord above -
"This special child will need much love,
his progress may seem very slow,
accomplishments he may not show,
and he'll require some extra care
from folk he meets away down there;
he may not run, or laugh, or play,
his thoughts may seem quite far away,
in many ways he won't adapt
and he'll be called 'handicapped'.

So let's be careful where he's sent,
we want his life to be content,
and please Lord, find the parents who
will do a special job for you.
They may not realise right away
the leading role they're asked to play,
but with this child sent from above
comes stronger faith and richer love;
and soon they'll know the privilege given
in caring for this gift from Heaven,
this precious charge, so meek and mild,
is Heaven's very special child".

  Another cutting from my scrapbook from the late 1970's, simply signed M.J.

Magnificat

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He that is mighty hath done to me great things;
and Holy is His name.
And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation.
He hath shewed strength with His arm;
He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away.

                         From the King James version of the Bible; St.Luke - Chap.1 - verses 46 - 53

Christmas is Coming

After seeing all the shops with their displays of festive goods, the decorations going up in shopping precincts and outside dwellings, the ever increasing advertising for festive goods and the milling crowds, I remembered a few verses I penned in December 1968.  Still very much relevant now.

                                                          ____________________

A Commercial Success Story.

See the joy and gay carousing
The mad folly of over-spending
On all that cannot really be
For those whose need is not.
Oh yes it's a success to be sure
We've never seen spending like it before,
And more to come next year
For fatter bank accounts.

Fountains and streams of flowing wine
To inebriate gutter staggering kine
Escaping from nothing into void
For no reason.
Oh yes it's a success to be sure
We've never seen spending like it before,
And we'll milk them dry
For a percentage.

Eat, drink and a merry life lead
Enjoy yourselves, increase your breed
To perpetuate the myth
Of economic affluence,
Oh yes it's a success to be sure
We've never seen spending like it before,
With population growth
For guaranteed success.

                                                                   R.E.B
                       _______________

kine = archaic plural of cow
gay = light-hearted, carefree, mirthful