Baha’i Writings:
“Praise be to God Who hath made
being to come forth from
nothingness; graven upon the tablet of man the
secrets of pre-existence; taught him from the
mysteries of divine utterance that which he knew not; made him a
Luminous Book unto those who believed and surrendered themselves; caused him to witness the
creation of all things in this
black and ruinous age, and to speak forth from the apex of eternity with a wondrous voice in the Excellent Temple [the Manifestation]: to the end that every man may testify,
in himself, by himself, in the station of the Manifestation of his Lord, that verily there is
no God save Him, and that every man may thereby win his way to the
summit of realities, until none shall contemplate anything whatsoever but that he shall see
God therein.”
“And now concerning thy question regarding the
nature of religion. Know thou that they who are
truly wise have likened the world unto the human temple. As the
body of man needeth a garnment to clothe it, so the
body of mankind must needs be adorned with the
mantle of justice and wisdom. Its robe is the Revelation vouchsafed unto it by God. Whenever this robe hath fulfilled its purpose, the Almighty will assuredly renew it. For
every age requireth a fresh measure of the
light of God. Every
Divine Revelation hath been sent down in a manner that
befitted the circumstances of the age in which it hath appeared.”
“The
fundamental purposeanimating the
Faith of God and
His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the
unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of
love and fellowship amongst men.”
“There can be no doubt
whatever that the peoples of the world, of
whatever race or religion, derive their
inspiration from
one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of
one God. The
difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the
varying requirements and exigencies of
the age in which they were revealed.”
From the Buddhist Writings :“That Cause without beginning in time. That common foundation of all dharmas. Because it exists there also exist all places of rebirth as well as the full attainment of Nirvana.”
“There is O monks, an
Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed. Were there not, O monks, this
Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed, there would be
no escape from the world of the
born, originated, created, formed.”
“Establish the
Truth in your mind, for the
Truth is the image of the eternal, it portays the
immutable; it reveals the
everlasting; the
Truth gives unto mortals the
boon of immortality. The
Buddha has proclaimed the
Truth, the
Buddha our Lord has revealed the
Truth.”
“Let us bear in mind, O brethren, that
Gauthama Siddharta was the
visible appearance of the
truth itself. He was the
Holy One and the
Perfect One and the
Blessed One, because the
eternal truth had taken abode in his body. The great Shakyamuni is the bodily
incarnation of the truth, and
he has revealed the truth to us.”
“The Tathagata taught us that the
truth existed before he was born into this world, and will exist after he has entered into the bliss of Nirvana.”
“The
Blessed One is the
truth; and as such he is
omnipresent and eternal, endowed with excellencies innumerable,
above all human nature, and ineffable in his
holiness.”
“Many
laws of the dharma are
temporary and were prescribed because
they suited the occasion and were
needed for some
transient emergency. The
truth, however, is
not temporary.”
“The
truth is
not arbitrary or
a matter of opinion, but can be
investigated, and
he who earnestly searches for the truthwill
find it.”
“The
truth is
hidden to the blind, but he who has the
mental eye sees the
truth. The
truth is
Buddha’s essence, and the
truth will remain the
ultimate standard by which we can
discern false and true doctrines.”
“
Buddha is the
all-excellent truth, eternal, omnipresent, and immutable. …
“
Buddha is the
all-loving teacher assuming the
shape of the beings whom he teaches.
“
Buddha is the
all-blessed dispensation of religion.
He is the
spirit of the Sangha and the
meaning of the commands which he has left us in his sacred word, the
dharma.”
“
Everything changes, and there is no permanency;
yet the words of Buddhas are immutable.”
“The
Buddhas are
beings whose words cannot fail: there is
no departure from truth in their speech.”
“To abandon all
wrong-doing; to lead a
virtuous life, and to
cleanse one’s heart. This is
the religion of all Buddhas.”
“
All the Buddhas are
wonderful and glorious.
There is
not their equal. upon earth
They reveal to us the
path of life.
And we hail their appearance with pious reverence.
All the Buddhas teach the same truth.
The
Truth points out
the way to those who have gone wrong.
The
Truth is our
hope and comfort.
We
gratefully accept its
illimitable light.
All the Buddhas are one in essence,
Which is
omnipresent in
all modes of being,
Sanctifying the
bonds that
ties all souls together,
And we rest in its
bliss as our final
refuge.”
“
Those only who do not believe, call me
Gautama, but you call me
Buddha, the
Blessed One, and Teacher. And this is
right, for I have even in this life entered
Nirvana, while the life of
Gautama has been
estinguished.”
The
Blessed One said: “There are
two occasions on which a
Tathagata’s appearance becomes
clear and exceeding bright. In the night, Ananda, in which a Tathagata attains to the
supreme and perfect insight, and in the night in which
he passes finally away in that
utter passing away which leaves nothing whatever of this earthly existence to remain.”
“Why should I preserve this
body of flesh, when the
body of the excellent law will
endure?
I am resolved; having accomplished my purpose and attended to the work set me, I look for rest! This is the one thing needed.”
“Now the
Blessed One addressed the venerable Ananda, and said: ‘It may be, Ananda, that in some of you the thought may arise, ‘The word of the Master is ended, we have no teacher more!’ But it is not thus, Ananda, that you should regard it. It is true that no more shall I receive a body, for all future sorrow is now forever passed away. But though this body will be dissolved,
the Tathagata remains. The
truth and the
rules of the order which I have set forth and laid down for you all,
let them, after I am gone, be a teacher unto you. When I am gone, Ananda,
let the order, if it so wish, abolish all the lesser and minor precepts.”
“And the Blessed One replied to Ananda and said: “Those who have died after the
complete destruction of the
three bonds of
lust, of
covetousness and of
egoistical cleaving to existence, need
not fear the state after death. They will
not be reborn in a state of suffering; their minds will not continue as a karma of
evil deeds or sin, but are assured of
final salvation.”
“When they die,
nothing will remain of them but their
good thoughts, their
righteous acts, and the
bliss that proceeds from
truth and righteousness. As rivers must at last reach the distant main, so their minds will be reborn in
higher states of existence and continue to be pressing on their ultimate goal which is the
ocean of truth, the
eternal peace of
Nirvana.”
“And Ananda, suppressing his tears, said to the Blessed One: “Who shall teach us when thou art gone?”
And the Blessed One replied: “
I am not the first Buddha who came upon earth,
nor shall I be the last. In due time
another Buddha will arise in the world, a
Holy One, a
supremely enlightened One, endowed with
wisdom in conduct, auspicious, knowing the universe, an incomparable leader of men, a master of angels and mortals. He will reveal to you
the same eternal truths which
I have taught you. He will preach his
religion, glorious in its origin, glorious at the climax, and glorious at the goal, in the spirit and in the letter. He will proclaim a
religious life, wholly
perfect and pure; such as
I now proclaim.
His disciples will number many thousand, while mine number many hundred.
Ananda said: “How shall we know him?”
The Blessed One said: “
He will be known as Maitreya, which means ‘he whose name means kindness.”
“
Amitabha, the
unbounded light, is the
source of wisdom, of virtue, of Buddhahood. The
deeds of sorcerers and
miracle-mongers are
frauds, but is
more wondrous, more mysterious, more miraculous than Amitabha?”
“But, Master,” continued the shravaka, “is the promise of the happy region vain talk and a myth?”
“What is this promise?” asked Buddha; and the disciple replied:
“There is in the West a paradisian country called the
Pure Land, exquisitely adorned with gold and silver and precious gems. There are pure waters with golden sands, surrounded by pleasant walks and covered with large lotus flowers. Joyous music is heard, and flowers rain down three times a day. There are singing birds whose harmonious notes proclaim the praises of religion, and in the minds of those who listen to their sweet sounds, remembrance arises of the Buddha, the law, and the brotherhood. No evil birth is possible there, and even the name of hell is unknown. He who fervently and with a pious mind repeats the words ‘Amitabha Buddha’ will be transported to the happy region of this pure land, and when death draws nigh, Buddha, with a company of saintly followers, will stand before him, and there will be perfect tranquillity.”
“
In truth,” said Buddha, “there is such a happy paradise. But the country is spiritual and it is accessible only to those that are spiritual. You say, it lies in the West. This means, look for it where he who enlightens the world resides. …
“Your description,” Buddha continued, “is beautiful; yet it is insufficient and does little justice to the glory of the pure land. The worldly can speak of it in a worldly way only, they use worldly similes and worldly words.
But the pure land in which the pure live is more beautiful than you can say or imagine.
“However, the
repetition of the name Amitabha Buddha is
meritorious only if you speak it with such a
devout attitude of mind as will
cleanse your heart and attune your will to do works of
righteousness. He only can live and breathe in the
spiritual atmosphere of the western paradise who has attained
enlightenment.”
“
Verily I say unto you, the Tathagata lives in the pure land of
eternal bliss even now while he is still in the body; and the Tathagata preaches the
law of religion unto you and unto the whole world, so that you and your brethren may attain the same
peace and the same
happiness.”
~ The God of Buddha by Jamshed K. Fozdar
Buddha Maitreya-Amitabha has appeared by Jamshed K. Fozdar
Buddhism and the Baha'i Faith by Moojan Momen
The Gospel of Buddha by Paul Carus
Bhagavad-Gita as it is by A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Holy Bible, New International Version
Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, ch. 68
Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, XCIX
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