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|  William Barr | I will not dwell on all the bitter results of new secular age. Suffice it to say that the campaign to destroy the traditional moral order has brought with it immense suffering, wreckage, and misery. And yet, the forces of secularism, ignoring these tragic results, press on with even greater militancy. Among these militant secularists are many so-called “progressives.” But where is the progress? We are told we are living in a post-Christian era. But what has replaced the Judeo-Christian moral system? What is it that can fill the spiritual void in the hearts of the individual person? And, what is a system of values that can sustain human social life? The fact is that no secular creed has emerged capable of performing the role of religion. | |
| William Barr | In the past, when societies are threatened by moral chaos, the overall social costs of licentiousness and irresponsible personal conduct becomes so high that society ultimately recoils and reevaluates the path they are on. But today – in the face of all the increasing pathologies – instead of addressing the underlying cause, we have the State in the role of Alleviator of Bad Consequences. We call on the State to mitigate the social costs of personal misconduct and irresponsibility. So the reaction to growing illegitimacy is not sexual responsibility, but abortion. The reaction to drug addiction is safe injection sites. The solution to the breakdown of the family is for the State to set itself up as the ersatz husband for single mothers and the ersatz father to their children. The call comes for more and more social programs to deal with the wreckage. While we think we are solving problems, we are underwriting them. We start with an untrammeled freedom and we end up as dependents of a coercive state on whom we depend. | |
| William Barr | One of the ironies, as some have observed, is that the secular project has itself become a religion, pursued with religious fervor. It is taking on all the trappings of a religion – including inquisitions and excommunication. Those who defy the creed risk a figurative burning at the stake – social, educational, and professional ostracism and exclusion waged through lawsuits and savage social media campaigns. | |
| Buddha | As the fletcher whittles and makes straight his arrows, so the master directs his straying thoughts. | |
| Buddha | Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind. | |
| Buddha | A man should first direct himself in the way he should go. Only then should he instruct others. | |
| Buddha | Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. | |
| Buddha | Our theories of the eternal are as valuable as are those which a chick which has not broken its way through its shell might form of the outside world. | |
| Buddha | All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him. | |
| Buddha | He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes. | |
| Buddha | Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. | |
| Buddha | Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely. | |
| Buddha | To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance. | |
| Buddha | On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him. | |
| Buddha | Do not dwell in the past, do not dwell in the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. | |
| Buddha | Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes. | |
| Buddha | Through zeal, knowledge is gotten; through lack of zeal, knowledge is lost; let a man who knows the double path of gain and loss thus place himself that knowledge may grow. | |
| Buddha | Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. | |
| Buddha | Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. | |
| Buddha | Whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings…that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide. | |
| Buddha | Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship. | |
| Buddha | You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. | |
| Buddha | A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure. | |
| Buddha | To keep the body in good health is a duty...otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. | |
| Buddha | Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. | |
| Buddha | All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain? | |
| Buddha | To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent. | |
| Buddha | It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell. | |
| Buddha | We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. | |
| Buddha | Thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them. | |
| Buddha | Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves. And those, who shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the Truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the Truth as their refuge, they shall reach the topmost height. | |
| Buddha | Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill. | |
| Buddha | We are what we think. All that we are arises With our thoughts. With our thoughts, We make our world. | |
| Buddha | The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage! Like the apparent distances in a picture, things have no reality in themselves, but they are like heat haze. | |
| Buddha | The Buddhas do but tell the way; it is for you to swelter at the task. | |
| Buddha | Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. | |
| Buddha | It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways. | |
| Buddha | A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden. | |
| Buddha | Born out of concern for all beings. | |
| Buddha | A jug fills drop by drop. | |
| Buddha | Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. | |
| Buddha | You should respect each other and refrain from disputes; you should not, like water and oil, repel each other, but should, like milk and water, mingle together. | |
| Buddha | There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it. | |
| Buddha | As irrigators lead water where they want, as archers make their arrows straight, as carpenters carve wood, the wise shape their minds. | |
| Buddha | There is, Oh Monks, a not-born, a not-become, a not-made, a not-compounded. Monks, if that unborn, not-become, not-made, not-compounded were not, there would be no escape from this here that is born, become, made and compounded. | |
| Buddha | On a long journey of human life, faith is the best of companions; it is the best refreshment on the journey; and it is the greatest property. | |
| Buddha | Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed. | |
| Buddha | It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell. | |
| Buddha | Ye must leave righteous ways behind, not to speak of unrighteous ways. | |
| Buddha | If a man possesses a repentant spirit his sins will disappear, but if he has an unrepentant spirit his sins will continue and condemn him for their sake forever. | |
| Buddha | Friendship is the only cure for hatred, the only guarantee of peace. | |
| Buddha | Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination. | |
| Buddha | Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. | |
| Buddha | The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed. | |
| Buddha | Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase our good deeds. | |
| Buddha | Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good. | |
| Buddha | We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. | |
| Buddha | All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, We make our world. | |
| Buddha | Decay is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence. | |
| Buddha | All that we are is the result of what we have thought. | |
| Buddha | Everything changes, nothing remains without change. | |
| Buddha | An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind. | |
| Buddha | A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker. | |
| Buddha | A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering. | |
| Buddha | He is able who thinks he is able. | |
| Buddha | Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed. | |
| Buddha | Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind. | |
| Buddha | Everything is changeable, everything appears and disappears; there is no blissful peace until one passes beyond the agony of life and death. | |
| Buddha | Be a lamp unto yourself. Work out your liberation with diligence. | |