Right Relationship

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=290 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" background="01e22c00esnpes.png"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="95" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 46 WIDTH="91"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="46" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="91" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <B>SUBLIME STATE</B></div> <div> <B> OF </B><B>FRIENDLINESS</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Creatures without feet have my love, </B></div> <div> <B>And likewise those that have two feet, </B></div> <div> <B>And those that have four fee</B><B>t I love,</B></div> <div> <B> And those, too, that have many feet.</B></div> <div> <B>May those without feet harm me not, </B></div> <div> <B>And those with two feet cause no hurt; </B></div> <div> <B>May those with four feet harm me not, </B></div> <div> <B>Nor those who many feet possess.</B></div> <div> <B>Let creatures all,</B></div> <div> <B>all things that live,</B></div> <div> <B> All beings of whatever kind, </B></div> <div> <B>See nothing that will bode them ill!</B></div> <div> <B>May naught of evil come to them!"</B></div> <div> Translated from the Culla-Vagga (v. 6.)</div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFCCB2" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Right Relationship</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> "May we know all creation as our deepest relations."</div> <div> <A HREF="fourth_order_prayers_chant.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gathering Prayers "><U>The Long Chant</U></A></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1cc0d8a0.png" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="292" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#CCCC99 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 73 ><NOBR><div> Who sees all beings in his own Self,</div> <div> and his own Self in all beings,</div> <div> loses all fear.</div> <div> Isa Upanishad</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> In the Fourth Order we are aware there are companions of the Fourth Order who not human beings. Yes, that's right, full companions in prayer and community who are not human! </div> <bR> <div> This is not the stuff of romantic images of nature, animism, anthropomorphism or the like. It is a very simple truth that is practical, experiential, scientific. Science reminds us of the web of life and the interdependence of all creation. </div> <bR> <div> Our ancestors, who lived more directly in contact with nature then many</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="3" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="134" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#993380" BORDERCOLORDARK="#9933CC" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#CCCC99 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 147 WIDTH="120"><div>  "<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9933CC" FACE="Comic Sans MS" >You, my lord, with all your creatures..with Brother Sun and  Sister Moon."</FONT></div> <div> <B>Francis of Assisi</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Canticle of the Creatures"><U><B>The Canticle of the Creatures</B></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> of us do in the current age, tell us that we are related to other beings.  The mystical paths of the major spiritual traditions of the world tell us this is true. </div> <bR> <div> Faith acknowledges that wisdom and compassion is the woven bond of sacred relationship drawing us to surrender the ego and limited perspectives of the figuring mind. The mind divides and calculates separating this from that. Wisdom and compassion draw us into themselves in unity. </div> <bR> <div> Earth is not symbolically our mother. Our cells are made of the very stuff of the earth and the earth is of the cosmos, and so on into sacred mystery. We share this with all creation. Within this deep interrelationship, all things of the worlds inspire feelings of respect and gratitude. </div> <bR> <div> A Christian woman has said of this relationship:  </div> <div> " When the bread and wine are blessed and the words of Jesus are spoken over them, "Take and eat. This is my body" it is as if a veil is lifted and the very grains and crumbs of bread are shown to be the dwelling place of God. When I take the bread and drink from the cup it is as if the cells of my body become alive with remembrance, like they greet who they really are. Everything seems charged with communion. Around me all the people, children, the old, the newly married and the middle aged, the rich and poor, people of all nationalities, cultures and races come forward and share the bread and wine and we are one body, one in Spirit. Outside through the windows I see the trees and flowers and wind. I feel the veil lifted, as if I really see them in communion and I know we are all one. It changes me. It always changes me. I feel as if I have come out of a trance. I feel so alive. That is what I want to bring more fully into the world." </div> <bR> <div> All things reflect the interrelationship with sacred mystery, its wisdom and compassion. Even the most difficult. We are called into conscious awareness of our relationships within the web of being. We are called to share the joy, triumphs, and pleasure, the misery, suffering, fear or despair of all beings. We are called into presence and to listen and to respond to the needs and wisdom of the animate, inanimate, and spiritual worlds of the ancestors and other beings. We pray with our fellow creatures consciously as brothers and sisters of creation. So much so that in the Fourth Order our very <A HREF="_interdependence_of_living_beings_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Condition of Being"><U>condition of being</U></A> is defined by the wisdom of our companions, the trees. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="486" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#CCCC99 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 56 ><NOBR><div>  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >These companions join us in prayer and we join with them.</FONT></div> <div> We bare each other's burdens.</div> <div> We share a co-responsibility for the wellbeing of all. </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCCB2 HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="480"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="480" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 116 WIDTH="480"><div> "...down from the smallest 'quark' up to the biggest galaxy, from the tiniest grain of sand up to the kingdom of the stars, the rocks, the oceans, plants, animals, humans, whatever reasonable or unreasonable beings there may exist; and in humanity itself : all humans, the weak, the heroes, the saints, the sinners...a spiritual, fundamental solidarity is manifested in which all beings in time and space are interrelated .."</div> <div> Shitoku A. Peel<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#996600" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> In the sacred pipe ceremony of Native America this profound sense of presence and mutuality is revealed. A pipe carrier has said of this prayer,</div> <bR> <div> "It is the highest form of respect and love. It is the way of the true man of spirit. We call upon the creator and mother earth. In the ceremony we welcome and invite the spirits of all the created universe, the elements of the physical world and all creatures including those from the stars. We invite the ancestors who  bring their wisdom from all the directions. We become a living medicine wheel. </div> <bR> <div> "If a person should sit in this prayer in a good way even his enemies will become his relations, and that person will become a real human being. The person who listens to all our relations and prays for the wellbeing of all our relations comes to know the true meaning of prayer. We are not alone. We are connected in the sacred hoop. Fear goes away.  When this prayer is prayed all become more alive in the Spirit. Wisdom comes to us to lead us and show us how to walk.</div> <bR> <div> "In the ceremony the stem and the bowl are united.  It is said the bowl is the woman and the stem is the man. They come together. They make a prayer of love to make new life, to experience union. The pipe has been given to us so that we will experience union with all our relatives and with the Spirit and Mother Earth. This is a great mystery.</div> <bR> <div> "When the prayer is done, the stem and bowl are separated. This is another great mystery. When we appear to be separate it is only so we can appreciate the beauty of each part of the whole. When that prayer is done, nothing remains the same. Everything is changed because union is shining out of everything, every being. We are different. Life is different on all levels. Everything is blessed in this prayer from the tiniest newly born creature to the most ancient and wise.</div> <bR> <div> "I tell you this because when you pray it should always be a living medicine wheel. Then you will become a true human being and a true person of the Spirit. You will feel healthier and alive even if you are dying.</div> <bR> <div> "A person who listens is never separate. All our relations are speaking and sharing wisdom. Today people wonder why they are unhealthy or feel alone and sad. They sit in front of the TV or go to a movie but they do not participate in the real life of relationship around them. They do not know what birds live near them or wonder if animals are suffering in the winter. They get sick and don't even wonder if their sickness is the sickness of a relative who needs prayer.</div> <bR> <div> "If we listened we would respect the earth and other creatures. We would know that we are connected. What happens to them is of vital importance to our wellbeing. Even a selfish person would see how wise it is to tend our relations with respect. So when you pray become a living medicine wheel alive with union."</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="527" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#CCCC66" BORDERCOLORDARK="#9900CC" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#CCCC99 HEIGHT= 164 WIDTH="517"><div> "We should understand well that all things are the work of the Great Spirit. We should know that He is within all things: the trees, the grasses, the rivers, the mountains, and all the four legged animals, and the winged peoples."</div> <bR> <div> "All these holy peoples and holy things are now hearing what I say! O Wakan-Tanka, I shall offer up my body and soul that my people may live!"</div> <bR> <div> "We know that we are related and are one with all things of the heavens and the earth. We all wish to live and increase in a holy manner."</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Black Elk</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> In gratitude and respect, compassion and understanding for all creation we become living medicine wheels in union with the great unseen source when we enter our prayer consciously in union and companionship with all beings. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="4" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="493" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#CCCC99" BORDERCOLORDARK="#9933CC" FRAME="BOX" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CC9980 HEIGHT= 91 WIDTH="479"><div> <IMG SRC="0874e490.png" border=0 width="78" height="73" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Prayer of loving kindness </B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCC99 HEIGHT= 136 WIDTH="479"><div> <B>May all beings be free of suffering.</B></div> <div> <B>May all beings from the least to the greatest abide in deep peace.</B></div> <div> <B>May all beings be filled with joy.</B></div> <div> <B>May all beings from the most recently born to the most ancient</B></div> <div> <B>abide in deep peace.</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="333" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#CCCC99 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <B>'O Arjuna, I am in the heart of all beings</B><B>'</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Bhagava Gita</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id91_m.htm" TITLE="Right Relationship"><U>Back to Top</U></A>     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="home"><U>Home Page</U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>