Beatitude Adjustment – Our “Sermon on the Mount” Top Hits, Unplugged

“Materiality is a metaphoric manifestation of our ‘invisible’ spiritual nature.”

      Perhaps the biggest challenge that faces any theology is the tendency for its most fervent proponents to insist on literal interpretations of their basic scriptures, when really all ancient spiritual texts are intended as metaphors for spiritual conditions and approaches, meant to help you align yourself to the energy of Love in the Universe (to put it simply). 

      Translating those texts can be very important too, as certain translations may only be appropriate for very particular agendas; take for example the common Biblical translations for the terms “sin,” which comes from the Greek word amartia, and really means: to miss the mark; and “repentance,” from the Greek word metanoia, which actually transliterates as: beyond thought (transformational). You can see what a different spin those choices give to the pure meaning.

      The Beatitudes – everyone’s favorite list of righteous suggestions from “The Sermon on the Mount,” Matthew 5–7 (firmly based on the Old Testament Psalms) are no exception. Plugged into their institutional translations, they can be a little confusing, or subject to rote interpretations that overlook the underlying spiritual technology they describe. In fact, overlooking in a different way is the real meaning of “The Mount;” whether anyone ever spoke from on top of a hill or not isn’t the point – “The Mount” really only means to assume a spiritual point-of-view, where you can get a clear view of the hardships of being human. With all that in mind, allow me to try to Unplug the Beatitudes for you, and hopefully reveal their natural spiritual suggestions.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

      The idea of Heaven is always easy – it means being in alignment with the energy of Love in the Universe, it’s just “the poor in spirit” part that gets a little confusing. It seems to suggest that we’re talking about poor people, or that we’re talking about people who come up short in “the spiritual” department – yes to both. It is easier for people who don’t have lots of money, and all the demands and obsessions it brings, to be serenely connected to our Divine Source; and back in those days, the powerful leaders of organized religions were considered “rich in spirit” (the same could be said about today's Evangelical mega-preachers). Theirs was not “the kingdom.”      

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

      Sadness opens our hearts, and causes our energies to resonate with deeper structures of the Universe. It’s a call for connection, and that call is always answered by the Divine, which is absolutely indivisible. What we mourn is always alive—and we know it in our hearts.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

      A Zen sage once said, “Water finds its greatest power by seeking its lowest point,” and it’s true of the life of this planet. Humility grounds us in our most profoundly connected way, and the more dogmatic, the more egocentric, the more intellectually self-assured – the more willful – we are, the less chance we have of survival. The greatest chance for humans lies in our sincerest humility, because Earth will always default to the energy of the authentic, the most cooperatively adaptable.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

      The willingness to take part in the inner exploration – the deep need to discover that energy, that light within (our spiritual sustenance); and to reunite ourselves – to restore ourselves to that Divine energy, is absolutely essential. It’s only by opening up and digging-down (for sustenance and refreshment) that we can be repaired and re-filled by the energy of Love.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

      “Do no harm,” is the first precept of Buddhism, and it’s that absolute Golden Rule that informs not just the way we live life in each moment – with (and as a part of) the grace that compassionate consciousness grants us – but also aligns us with the energies of Love in the Universe. It creates our positive karma – as we respect the Divine in all living things, the Divine Love Energy of the Universe reflects that grace into our lives.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

      “The Kingdom of Heaven is spread across the Earth, but men don’t have eyes to see it,” said Yeshua, the Gnostic “Teacher of Righteousness,” meaning that it’s the misperceptions created in our minds that prevent us from aligning ourselves with the Field of Love. When we practice kindness, honesty, humility, forgiveness, compassion, and service, our cognitive hearts are cleared, and open to the intuitive intelligence available – the way to live with perspective, presence, and purpose. Then we can witness the Divine in every direction we look.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the Children of God.

      Really little kids are so innocent and gracious (when they’re not crying…), the ambitions and expectations of life haven’t painted them into any corners they need ‘to fight their way out of’ yet. Those judgements create the aggressive instincts to “get ahead” materially – what we want, what we think we need, what we must hold on to – that cause us to lash out, or try to forcibly control; that’s the painfulness our narrow, short-lived human desires create, not the eternal playfulness our authentic selves deserve.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

      People look at you funny when you purposefully and unashamedly pursue your spiritual path; they think you’re crazy (because they’re thinking with their heads, not their hearts). I survived three traumatic incidents, and three “Near Death Experiences” – so I had no choice in the matter, my spiritual beliefs are literally immaterial. Most folks try to navigate in a material world, grasping little pieces of serenity, wonder, and joy here and there; and if you turn that approach around 180º and live as a spirit in a world of arising matter, naturally you’ll be misunderstood a lot...

      ...but you’ll live in a world alive in the Field of Love, connected by a powerful, “unseen” spiritual technology that transforms you “beyond thought,” and lets you “hit the mark” – almost every time. It’ll give you a real experience of grace, serenity, joy, and wholeness like you’ve never known. In truth, it’ll put gratitude in your beatitude!

Read about this and much more in: How to Get to Heaven (Without Really Dying), Wisdom From a Near-Death Survivor  from Llewellyn Worldwide available direct on this page, or online. The first book: How to Survive Life (and Death), A Guide To Happiness In This World and Beyond is available the same ways – but ask for it it at your local bookstore!

Jesus Was a Buddhist: Resurrecting the Bodhisattva

When this was first posted on Evolver.net it raised a few hackles...but what is a hackle anyways? As long as it inspires some thought, I'm happy.

Easter is always a good time to consider what "resurrection" actually entails – what it is we might have really found, or lost. Institutional Christian mythology began as a function of veiled political intentions, created to control people at the level of their deepest needs and potential. Understanding that Christianity may actually derive it's moral center from Yoga and Buddhism, and that – very possibly –Jesus was a Buddhist, sets us free to celebrate a different way...to resurrect the bodhisattva. After all, he'll always come back to help us.

Denial is accepting ignorance as truth through force of will.

Where you find truth, Love, and compassion you'll find spiritual healing and evolution – that's how contemporary Christianity (all religion, really) can, and does work. Faith, honesty, compassionate kindness, and devotional intention is far more powerful than any single scripture, dogma, or mythological narrative; it simply is much of the message metaphorically concealed in nearly every myth, of every age and origin. The adherence to Christian myth as literal truth (as history), while inaccurate, works for many because as the Vedas, the Bhadavad Gita, then Proverbs, then The Buddha have all said (to paraphrase) "As a man thinks, so he is."

Where conflict arises in any entity, as it always has through the extraordinarily violent history of Christianity, we have to look to the origin, the psychic source of the trouble. In the case of canonical Christianity, problems may be found in the motives of its beginnings. A false motive at it's heart may continue to manifest itself in duplicitous ways – counter to what it's enlightened inspiration would suggest – namely as the fear, judgment, false entitlement, and self-righteous-ness that comes from living in denial.

"No matter what a man does, whether his deeds serve virtue or vice, nothing lacks importance. All actions bear a kind of fruit."

The Buddha, Udanavarga 8: 9

"...every good tree bringeth forth good fruit..." "Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them."

Jesus, Matthew 7: 17, 20

Institutional Christianity (and a lot of "Historical Jesus" academic and popular writing) would have us believe that the Christ story arose in a vacuum – that nothing significant existed before or after it. Of course that's not at all true. The Mediterranean Mideast into Asia was an incubator of spiritual beliefs for thousands of years prior to the Christian Era, and the mythologies of the Virgin Birth, divine personifications, the Passion Play, et al, were repeated over and over, over the centuries. Krishna, Mitra, Zoroaster, Horus – examples of the divine force personified go on and on. Trade and commerce, and the Roman Empire united a tangle of fabricated mythologies, all pointing to our mysterious union, and all made subject to political exploitation.

The authors of the Christian canons weren't indigenous "fishers of men," they were journeyman writers – specialists at a time when literacy was rare – surrounded by references and research which they were engaged to craft and edit into a religiously (and politically) viable mythology. After their work supported the authorization of a Christian hierarchy (by God himself, no less), the real roots of Christian principle were [violently] suppressed – right up until the discoveries at Nag Hammadi, in 1945, cracked open the centuries-long conspiracy.

We see the same mechanism at work in our present day in the examples of Mormonism and Scientology, both of which were likely the fabrications of deeply flawed people (God bless 'em), edited, amended, and augmented to make sense – and both of which now can legitimately claim millions of devoted adherents, many of whom have greatly benefitted by their beliefs. The truths at the heart of our shared mystery arise from our own conversion experiences. From our own personal spiritual rebirths.

The real origins of many Christian principles arrived with the transmittal of spiritual teachings out of the Gandhara region of India along trade routes to points west; Yogic (Vedic) knowledge probably very early on (4 to 5 thousand years ago), but in particular and most definitively after the age of Buddha. Almost three hundred years before the Christian Era, an Indian king named Asoka experienced a powerful conversion to Buddhism, and was struck with a determined and well-financed missionary zeal. He sent Theravedic Buddhist monks to every corner of the known world of trade, including to the Lake Mareotis area near Alexandria.

Did you know that The Buddha was born of a virgin, attained "christhood" sitting alone after being tempted by "the devil," walked on water, fed the multitudes from a single basket, and otherwise [was] copied [by] Jesus in dozens of ways? The following question and answer partly illustrates the spirit that moved from the Buddha into Jesus (keeping in mind that the answer came about five hundred years before the question); but there are easily dozens of such direct attributions that can be made when borrowing The Buddha (the "enlightened one") to build The Christ (the "anointed one"):

Q: "How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans."

John 4:9

A: "My sister, I am not asking about your caste or your family; I am asking whether you can give me some water to drink."

The Buddha, Divyavadana 217

Through Buddhist monks in and near Alexandria, the teachings of the Buddha were widely disseminated throughout the pre-Christian world, and as the historical person behind Jesus – Yeshua – was most likely an Essene Hebrew, it's very possible that he had been influenced, or taught directly by that Egyptian branch of Essenes known as Theraputae (from Theravada – "Teachings of the Old Ones," to Theraputta – "Sons of the Old Ones"). The Theraputae were Buddhist "Hebrews," categorized as Essenes, whose principles are more or less exactly those proscribed by Christianity hundreds of years before Christianity was formalized. (Note: there seems to be a continuing effort to pidgeonhole all Essene practice as that which was common to the branch found in Qumran – a curiously strict redefinition).

In no way do I mean to impugn the intentions at the heart of Christian principles, or the boundless eternal spirit of Yeshua – to the contrary, only to point out that the way towards buddhahood for the bodhisattva (the enlightened being who compassionately renounces Nirvana to return on behalf of the suffering) lies in the practice of generosity, morality, patience, energy, meditation, and wisdom.... Liberally mix that with Love; and with Right Understanding, Right Purpose, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Occupation, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Meditation, and you will be on that path of spiritual evolution yourself.

"Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me and I will become them, and what was hidden from them will be revealed."

Yeshua, The Gospel of Thomas, 108

The new book: How to Get to Heaven (Without Really Dying), Wisdom From a Near-Death Survivor, 2018, from Llewellyn Worldwide can be ordered online. The first book: How to Survive Life (and Death), A Guide To Happiness In This World and Beyond is available everywhere – but ask for them both at your local bookstore!