Prayers and Reflections

A.   As  the  first  sound  in  most  alphabets  (see  Alphabets)  stands
commonly for the first of all existences, the Mahā-deva (“ Great God ”)
or Supreme.   It represents the agent of creation, even when typified
by the bull  (Akkadian ā or āu).   It is shrouded in the complicated
Sanskrit  A  (or  Akara)  called  “ the  Supreme ”—Vishnu  or  Krishna.
Christ, like Krishna (the Indian Apollo), is the Alpha (A, or “ bull ”),
as well as the Omega—the “ beginning and the end.”   The sound Aa
signified “ God.”   It conveyed the meanings of uprightness, physically
and ethically, and hence of righteousness (see Proc. Bib. Arch. Soc.,
November  1885, p.  28).    In Egypt and among Akkadians, aa or ai
was also the moon  (Turkish ai); and a again was  “ water ” among
Akkadians and Kelts.   The Egyptian Ra (the sun) was Aa—the high
or  sky  god ;  and  phallic  Khonsu  was  also  called  Aah-from  aa  “ to
beget,” and Aah is the “ moon.”

Islāmis head all documents with their club-headed Aleph  (for the name of God) ; and it consecrates these, and wards off the evil eye, bringing a blessing on the writing, the writer, and the subject.   So the Hindu applies his Aum or Om  (see Om), as the Hebrew ends with his Amen (see Amen).   These questions are fully treated in our Rivers of Life (ii, p. 534).

The Akkadian moon, Aa, was “ the bright one ” (with a watery
connection), and was of dual sex.   Early moon-gods were male, but
Aa was early the supreme godess of Akkadians, wife of the sun-god
of Sippara, and presiding there, and in Eridu, over the temple of her
son (Tammuz), whose Eden lay near.   She was thus both mother and
wife of the sun, and “ lady of Eden ” (Sayce, Hibbert Lect. 1887).

In Akkadian (and Turkish) a also means “ chief ” or “ father ” ; and Aa, says Dr Sayce, was originally a male deity “ representing the solar disk.”

Aalu.   Aaru.   Egyptian. Heaven, Paradise, the land of Eternity, a
tower or field of peace, and of the water of life : the fulness of bliss,

A-ami

where all live and speak with Osiris :  “ Where are no temptations ;
where,  as  by  fire,  all  have  been  purified,  entering  Aukar  through
Amenti (Hades) to be absorbed in Osiris,” dwelling for ever with him
in Ker-neter (“ the good place ”), after passing through its adjoining
Purgatory (Rusta) : where Osiris also rules as Rhot-Amenti.   Aaru is
also  identified  with  Hotep,  the  place  of  peace  and  rest-the  Indian
Nirvāna.

A-ami.    Egyptian.    The  ape-symbol  of  Thoth,  the  wise  judge, and god of the obelisk.

Aaron.  Hebrew  Aharūn.  The  brother  of  Moses,  and  first  high
priest.   The name seems posssibly connected with his special charge of
the  Ark (Ārūn),  A-harun  presenting  a  prosthetik  a.     In  Arabic
Mt. Hor  (near Petra), where he died, is still called Jebel Harūn, or
“Aaron’s Mountain.”   He is called a son of Amram (“ high people ”),
and his mother is named Yūkabad (Jochebed), meaning “ Yahveh has
been  honoured.”    He  followed  and  tended  the  ark-box  (see  Ark).
He was a bull, or sun, worshipper, who could work wonders, and made
a golden calf which “ came out ” of the fire; so that this Hebrew (solar
and lunar) legend of Moses and Aaron seems analogous to that of
Krishna  and  his  charioteer  Aruna,  “ the  tawny  one”  in  India.    At
Rephidīm  Aaron  poses  (see  Rivers  of  Life,  i,  p.  154,  fig.  57)  with
his horned brother, and Hur  (Khūr), in a remarkable group on the
mount, viewing the fight between his tribe and Amalek.   Moses forms
the central standard, raising his wonder-working Hermaik rod ; and
Aaron  and  Hur  support  him  till  sundown,  when  the  Hebrews  are
victorious,  and  their  priests  erect  a  monument  to  their  solar  god
Yahveh.

Aaru.   See Aalu.

Ab.   This  word,  in  many  languages,  denotes “ father ”    (as  in

Akkadian,  Turkish,  Hebrew,  etc.)  like  the  Latin  avus.     With
Akkadians also ab was “ moving water ” (compare A) like the Turkish
ab  “ wave,” and the Aryan ap  “ water.”    The Babylonian month Ab
was  called  in  Akkadian  Nene-gar  (“ fire  making ”),  sacred  to  “ the
queen  of  the  spear ” (see  Quirinus).  This  was  August,  but  the

Akkadian  January  was  called  Abba-uddu         (“ rising  flood ”).  Ab

“ father,” and Ma  “ mother,” are reversed in many dialects; and Ab
becomes the Aryan Pa and Pa-pa, while Ma becomes Am, and Um,
and  Ma-ma,  “ the  great  nurse.”    Ab,  as  the  father,  is  the  type  of
“ fertility ”  and  of “ fruit ” (Hebrew  Ēb :  see  Job  viii,  12 ;  Dan  iv,

12, etc) ; but the root abah signifies “ desire.”

(38) Jesus said,

“Many times have you desired to hear

these words which I am saying to you,

and you have no one else to hear them from.

There will be days when you will look for me

and will not find me.”

(92) Jesus said,

“Seek and you will find.

Yet, what you asked me about in former times

and which I did not tell you then,

now I do desire to tell,

but you do not inquire after it.”

Wisdom of Solomon 6:11

“be eager to hear me;

long for my teaching,

and you will learn.”

Isaiah 55:6

“Seek the Lord while he is present,

call to him while he is close at hand.”

John 7:33,34

“For a little longer I shall be with you; then I am going away to him who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

Proverbs 1:20,21,24,28

“Wisdom cries aloud in the open air,

and raises her voice in public places.

She calls at the top of the bustling streets …”

“But because you refused to listen to my call …”

“ When (you) call to me, I shall not answer;

when (you) seek, (you) will not find me.”

In saying (38),

Jesus speaks as if he is the voice of Wisdom.

The keys that are to be obtained

are again found by hearing Jesus’ words.

The idea that you might miss your opportunity

and seek and yet not find or as in Saying (92),

not ask at the appropriate time, reminds me of the parable of “The Banquet”, Saying (64), where the invitation arrives at a most inopportune moment.

I see this as advice to jump through the transitory “windows of opportunity” as they present themselves on your journey to find Wisdom. “Reap the grain when it’s ripe” as it says in Saying (21).

part 2
On the Twenty
Emptinesses

A Commentary on Selected
Verses from Chandrakirti’s
Entrance to the Middle Way

The Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche

spoke about the Twenty Emptinesses on June 22,
1997, at Kagyu Shenpen Ösel Chöling in Seattle.
The following is an edited transcription of that

teaching, which was given in Tibetan and orally translated by Ari Goldfield.

2. EMPTINESS OF THE OUTER

For these reasons, form’s nature is emptiness;

Therefore form is empty of being form. Sounds, odors, things that are tasted, and

what the body feels too,

All these phenomena are exactly the same.

(183)

Form and so forth have no essential nature:
This very lack of essence is called “emptiness

of the outer.” (184)

Form—what is smelled, what is tasted, what is
touched, what is heard, what is seen—none of
these have any inherent nature. They are just like
the appearances in dreams. Remembering that, we
rest the mind in meditation. This is the same as
the view expressed in Chapter 14 of Nagarjuna’s
Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, which
looks at the object that is seen, what sees, and the
seer, and shows that none of them have any true
existence.

So for example, in a dream the form that is
seen, the eye that sees, and the person who is
seeing, none of these ever really meet because they
do not have any essence. In the Heart Sutra it
says, there is no form, no sound, no smell, no taste,
no touch, no phenomena. It is the same meaning

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7229597.stm

Man lives in the sanctuary of God. His life is in love, in bliss, in
wisdom, in God-consciousness. He lives in the realm of universal
existence. He moves on earth and he lives in the land of God, in the
divine ground of Being far above human vision and far beyond human
thought……….

The Maharishi

How one man, one band can & does change the world. An idea whose time
has come can not be stopped.

On this night of 10000 dreams
One presence
shines through every being,
the Light of Meditation
awakens in each heart-abode,
we are filled with Divine Love,
we ascend like doves of peace,

the eternal Om has called us Home.

RIP Maharishi.

“Meditation is the direct means of enjoying the greatest happiness and is the only means to quench the thirst for happiness on earth.”

“Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower, and draws all good things toward you. Allow your love to nourish yourself as well as others. Do not strain after the needs of life. It is sufficient to be quietly alert and aware of them. In this way life proceeds more naturally and effortlessly. Life is here to Enjoy!”

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born “Mahesh Prasad Varma” according to some sources, and “Mahesh Srivastava” according to others, between 1911 and 1918 in Jabalpur, India; died on February 5, 2008, in Vlodrop, The Netherlands) founded and developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and related programs and initiatives, including schools and a university with campuses in the United States and China.^[2] He was born in India, around 1917; various years are given for his birth: most frequently 1911, 1917, and 1918,, and some sources state he was born on 12 January.

Around 1939 he became a disciple of Swami Brahmananda Saraswatiwho, from 1941 to 1953, was the Shankaracharya (spiritual leader) of Jyotir Math, located in the Indian Himalayas. Maharishi credits the Shankaracharya with inspiring his teachings. Since his first global tour in 1958, Maharishi’s techniques for human development have been taught worldwide. He continued to focus on making all aspects of the Vedic Literature widely available. He became well-known in the Western world due to The Beatles having visited him in 1968. Starting in 1990, Maharishi coordinated his global activities from his residence in Vlodrop, the Netherlands.

On January 11th, 2008, he announced his retirement from his normal activities: “Invincibility is irreversibly established in the world. My work is done. My designated duty to Guru Dev is fulfilled.” He resolved to use all his remaining time to complete his commentary on the Veda. He passed away less than a month later

“For the Lord your God is consuming fire”,

Deuteronomy 4:24

“But ye that cleave unto the Lord your God are alive everyone of you this day”

Deuteronomy 4:4

A man (kether) has a wonderful message, that message (chockmah) flies through the air
Through the medatative eyes of a prophet in deep contemplation the message is received and mediated (binah)
The prophet gains his insight and thus experiencing gnosis (daath)

the flame
the oil
the lamp
that which is illumined

all are holy, inseperable, beautiuful

Daath is the beginning, through wisdom and understanding we reach the flame of kether. Without the lamp or the oil, the flame cannot burn. Gnosis cannot then illumine.

Words on a page, opinions, truths that are expressed in words, these are hints, attempts to reach the flame, to reach he who began the flame (ein sof)
But just as opinions are like a##holes, everyone has one, proclaiming you are right is akin to insisting you see the light of the flame, while having no lamp.

Beliefs, truths, expressions are wonderful
They are however the map not the territory.
Ariadne’s thread, to guide one from the labyrinth
“Those who know, do not speak
Those that speak, do not know.”

–lao tzu

with love, compassion and prayer that you will see the flame…

When the Buddha was asked how he knew he was enlightened, he touched the earth in this position and said “As the earth is my witness.”

Question: “Can Rinpoche speak to the free-floating anger that Americans are experiencing due to current events. How can we overcome this?”

Answer: “The great anger felt by some
people, when there is some outrage like
this, is expressed in various ways. As
Buddhist practitioners, what we are
concerned with is looking beneath the
surface, and realizing that this anger we
feel, we have to understand that our
anger and hatred is consistent with the
anger and the hatred of those who
committed these horrible acts. That anger
and hatred is not different, because it is in
one person versus another person.
Whether it is in a human being, an
animal, or any other sentient being, anger
is anger. Anger harms the person who harbors it, and harms anyone who is
exposed to it. The function of anger is to
harm. The karmic result is great suffering
for the person who expresses it .
Understanding these things, we can see
that the true enemy is not the body of the
person that has anger, it is not even the
mind, and it is the anger in the mind.
Anger is the true enemy. Therefore, we
cultivate compassion as the antidote to
our own anger. We know that we are all
connected, and because the nature of our
consciousness is the same as all others,
the nature of anger is the same .
Therefore, when terrible events like that
happen, which are based on anger, we
should spur ourselves onward to reduce
our anger, to meditate on compassion,
and if enough people do that, then the
level of anger in the world goes down.
This changes the minds of the enemies
who do these things. With less anger, and
less hatred in the world, the less there is
for everyone. It is beneficial to oneself; it
is beneficial to those people , and
beneficial to the world.”

–Garchen Rinpoche (Oral commentaries on the heart sutra in relation to Shamatha and Vipassana meditation and seven point mind training.

………………………………………………………

Many people receive empowerments, but few are ripened or matured through them. These days, the empowerments given seem to be a little different from the ones given in the old days. You may have heard stories about Tilopa and Naropa, great masters in the Kagyu lineage. Even prior to meeting his teacher Tilopa, Naropa was already quite an accomplished and realized person. However there still was something lacking. One day, he had a vision of his yidam who prophesied that he still needed to develop the full power of realization. In order to do so, he was to meet the siddha Tilopa who lived in a certain place.

Naropa left in search of Tilopa, went to the prescribed area and asked around. No one had ever heard of a siddha named Tilopa. They knew only the beggar
Tilopa. Naropa was directed to a ruin of a house from which smoke was coming.

He walked over and saw a dirty-looking beggar sitting with a tray of fish, some alive, some dead. He was taking the fish, one after the other, whether alive or
dead, tossing them into the fire, snapping his fingers, and then eating them.

At this moment, Naropa must have had some kind of experience, for otherwise Tilopa’s actions of killing animals and then eating them would have
been considered very evil. Naropa however felt great faith and asked, “Are you the siddha called Tilopa?” Tilopa replied, “I’m no siddha, just a beggar who does
evil things.” Nevertheless, Naropa prostrated and was accepted as Tilopa’s disciple. To kill sentient beings without accumulating negative karma, and to
actually benefit sentient beings instead, one must have the power to resurrect the dead, as well as the accomplishment of being able to guide them to liberation.
Having the faith that Tilopa was such an accomplished master, Naropa followed him. Tilopa gave him a very difficult time, putting him through twelve major and
twenty-four minor trials. You can read about them in Naropa’s biography.

One day when they were walking together they saw some field workers eating. Naropa, who had become Tilopa’s servant, begged a bowl of soup for Tilopa.

Tilopa ate the soup, pretending that it was the most delicious food he had ever eaten. Extremely pleased, Naropa thought, “I’ve been serving Tilopa for such a long time, but I have never been able to really please him before. I think I’ll go back and get him more of this soup.”

When he went back for the soup, there were no people around and Naropa thought, “If I wait for someone to come, I can’t be sure they’ll give me some. Maybe I should steal it.” As he was helping himself to the pot of soup someone of
course came by and said, “You’re no good! First, we give you some food out of kindness, but it wasn’t enough. Now, you come back to steal!” He was beaten nearly to death and lay there, broken, for several days before Tilopa happened by and asked, “Anything wrong? Are you having a hard time?” Naropa replied

,
“Having a hard time? I’m almost dead!” Tilopa blessed him and he became well immediately and they walked on. This wasn’t the last trial Naropa had to endure.

They continued in this way for many years, until finally one day Naropa asked Tilopa a question. In reply, Tilopa took off his sandal and smacked Naropa across

the forehead with it. Naropa blacked out for a short while and when he regained his senses, his realization was equal to Tilopa’s. That was a true empowerment.

These days, forget about a shoe! We get vases of gold and silver plating on our head for empowerment, but the realization doesn’t seem to take place in quite
the same way. A shoe might be better. In brief, many receive empowerment, but few are ripened.

– Chokyi Rinpoche (Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen: A Commentary on The Quintessence of Spiritual Practice, The Direct Instructions of the Great Compassionate One)

……………………………………..

Although I have shown the means of liberation,

you must know that it depends upon you alone.

—THE BUDDHA

A siddha in Sanskrit means “one who is accomplished” and refers to perfected masters who according to Hindu belief have transcended the ahamkara (ego or I-maker), have subdued their minds to be subservient to their Awareness, and have transformed their bodies composed mainly of dense Rajo-tama gunas into a different kind of bodies dominated by sattva. This is usually accomplished only by persistent meditation over many lifetimes.

A siddha has also been defined to refer to one who has attained a siddhi. The siddhis as paranormal abilities are considered emergent abilities of an individual that is on the path to siddhahood, and do not define a siddha, who is established in the Pranav – the Aum, which is the spiritual substrate of creation. The siddhi in its pure form means “the attainment of flawless identity with Reality (Brahman); perfection of Spirit.”

The concept of siddhas is a prime notion in Jainism.

………………

In Vajrayana Buddhism, a Yidam (Tibetan) or Ishta-devata (Sanskrit) is a fully enlightened being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a retreat or for life. The term is often translated into English as meditational deity.

……………………

On the Twenty
Emptinesses

A Commentary on Selected
Verses from Chandrakirti’s
Entrance to the Middle Way

The Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche

spoke about the Twenty Emptinesses on June 22,
1997, at Kagyu Shenpen Ösel Chöling in Seattle.
The following is an edited transcription of that

teaching, which was given in Tibetan and orally translated by Ari Goldfield.

By The Venerable

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche

1. EMPTINESS OF THE INNER

Since it has no inherent nature,

The eye is empty of being an eye.

The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are the

same way.

They are all described in a similar way. (Chap. 6., v. 181)

They are not stable nor forever lasting,
Nor do they remain for a short time and

decay.

The eye and the rest that are the six

inner ones

Are things that have no essential nature at all. This is what is meant by “emptiness of the

inner.” (182)

These two verses are in accord with the explanation in the third chapter of The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way that the sense faculties are empty of true essence. And they are empty of true essence because they exist neither as one nor as many. So we first gain certainty about that and then we rest the mind in that certainty.

Springfield, IL | February 10, 2007

Let me begin by saying thanks to all you who’ve traveled, from far and wide, to brave the cold today.

We all made this journey for a reason. It’s humbling, but in my heart I know you didn’t come here just for me, you came here because you believe in what this country can be. In the face of war, you believe there can be peace. In the face of despair, you believe there can be hope. In the face of a politics that’s shut you out, that’s told you to settle, that’s divided us for too long, you believe we can be one people, reaching for what’s possible, building that more perfect union.

That’s the journey we’re on today. But let me tell you how I came to be here. As most of you know, I am not a native of this great state. I moved to Illinois over two decades ago. I was a young man then, just a year out of college; I knew no one in Chicago, was without money or family connections. But a group of churches had offered me a job as a community organizer for $13,000 a year. And I accepted the job, sight unseen, motivated then by a single, simple, powerful idea – that I might play a small part in building a better America.

My work took me to some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. I joined with pastors and lay-people to deal with communities that had been ravaged by plant closings. I saw that the problems people faced weren’t simply local in nature – that the decision to close a steel mill was made by distant executives; that the lack of textbooks and computers in schools could be traced to the skewed priorities of politicians a thousand miles away; and that when a child turns to violence, there’s a hole in his heart no government alone can fill.

It was in these neighborhoods that I received the best education I ever had, and where I learned the true meaning of my Christian faith.

After three years of this work, I went to law school, because I wanted to understand how the law should work for those in need. I became a civil rights lawyer, and taught constitutional law, and after a time, I came to understand that our cherished rights of liberty and equality depend on the active participation of an awakened electorate. It was with these ideas in mind that I arrived in this capital city as a state Senator.

It was here, in Springfield, where I saw all that is America converge – farmers and teachers, businessmen and laborers, all of them with a story to tell, all of them seeking a seat at the table, all of them clamoring to be heard. I made lasting friendships here – friends that I see in the audience today.

It was here we learned to disagree without being disagreeable – that it’s possible to compromise so long as you know those principles that can never be compromised; and that so long as we’re willing to listen to each other, we can assume the best in people instead of the worst.

That’s why we were able to reform a death penalty system that was broken. That’s why we were able to give health insurance to children in need. That’s why we made the tax system more fair and just for working families, and that’s why we passed ethics reforms that the cynics said could never, ever be passed.

It was here, in Springfield, where North, South, East and West come together that I was reminded of the essential decency of the American people – where I came to believe that through this decency, we can build a more hopeful America.

And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States.

I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness – a certain audacity – to this announcement. I know I haven’t spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I’ve been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change.

The genius of our founders is that they designed a system of government that can be changed. And we should take heart, because we’ve changed this country before. In the face of tyranny, a band of patriots brought an Empire to its knees. In the face of secession, we unified a nation and set the captives free. In the face of Depression, we put people back to work and lifted millions out of poverty. We welcomed immigrants to our shores, we opened railroads to the west, we landed a man on the moon, and we heard a King’s call to let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Each and every time, a new generation has risen up and done what’s needed to be done. Today we are called once more – and it is time for our generation to answer that call.

For that is our unyielding faith – that in the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it.

That’s what Abraham Lincoln understood. He had his doubts. He had his defeats. He had his setbacks. But through his will and his words, he moved a nation and helped free a people. It is because of the millions who rallied to his cause that we are no longer divided, North and South, slave and free. It is because men and women of every race, from every walk of life, continued to march for freedom long after Lincoln was laid to rest, that today we have the chance to face the challenges of this millennium together, as one people – as Americans.

All of us know what those challenges are today – a war with no end, a dependence on oil that threatens our future, schools where too many children aren’t learning, and families struggling paycheck to paycheck despite working as hard as they can. We know the challenges. We’ve heard them. We’ve talked about them for years.

What’s stopped us from meeting these challenges is not the absence of sound policies and sensible plans. What’s stopped us is the failure of leadership, the smallness of our politics – the ease with which we’re distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our preference for scoring cheap political points instead of rolling up our sleeves and building a working consensus to tackle big problems.

For the last six years we’ve been told that our mounting debts don’t matter, we’ve been told that the anxiety Americans feel about rising health care costs and stagnant wages are an illusion, we’ve been told that climate change is a hoax, and that tough talk and an ill-conceived war can replace diplomacy, and strategy, and foresight. And when all else fails, when Katrina happens, or the death toll in Iraq mounts, we’ve been told that our crises are somebody else’s fault. We’re distracted from our real failures, and told to blame the other party, or gay people, or immigrants.

And as people have looked away in disillusionment and frustration, we know what’s filled the void. The cynics, and the lobbyists, and the special interests who’ve turned our government into a game only they can afford to play. They write the checks and you get stuck with the bills, they get the access while you get to write a letter, they think they own this government, but we’re here today to take it back. The time for that politics is over. It’s time to turn the page.

We’ve made some progress already. I was proud to help lead the fight in Congress that led to the most sweeping ethics reform since Watergate.

But Washington has a long way to go. And it won’t be easy. That’s why we’ll have to set priorities. We’ll have to make hard choices. And although government will play a crucial role in bringing about the changes we need, more money and programs alone will not get us where we need to go. Each of us, in our own lives, will have to accept responsibility – for instilling an ethic of achievement in our children, for adapting to a more competitive economy, for strengthening our communities, and sharing some measure of sacrifice. So let us begin. Let us begin this hard work together. Let us transform this nation.

Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. Let’s set high standards for our schools and give them the resources they need to succeed. Let’s recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and more support in exchange for more accountability. Let’s make college more affordable, and let’s invest in scientific research, and let’s lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and rural towns all across America.

And as our economy changes, let’s be the generation that ensures our nation’s workers are sharing in our prosperity. Let’s protect the hard-earned benefits their companies have promised. Let’s make it possible for hardworking Americans to save for retirement. And let’s allow our unions and their organizers to lift up this country’s middle-class again.

Let’s be the generation that ends poverty in America. Every single person willing to work should be able to get job training that leads to a job, and earn a living wage that can pay the bills, and afford child care so their kids have a safe place to go when they work. Let’s do this.

Let’s be the generation that finally tackles our health care crisis. We can control costs by focusing on prevention, by providing better treatment to the chronically ill, and using technology to cut the bureaucracy. Let’s be the generation that says right here, right now, that we will have universal health care in America by the end of the next president’s first term.

Let’s be the generation that finally frees America from the tyranny of oil. We can harness homegrown, alternative fuels like ethanol and spur the production of more fuel-efficient cars. We can set up a system for capping greenhouse gases. We can turn this crisis of global warming into a moment of opportunity for innovation, and job creation, and an incentive for businesses that will serve as a model for the world. Let’s be the generation that makes future generations proud of what we did here.

Most of all, let’s be the generation that never forgets what happened on that September day and confront the terrorists with everything we’ve got. Politics doesn’t have to divide us on this anymore – we can work together to keep our country safe. I’ve worked with Republican Senator Dick Lugar to pass a law that will secure and destroy some of the world’s deadliest, unguarded weapons. We can work together to track terrorists down with a stronger military, we can tighten the net around their finances, and we can improve our intelligence capabilities. But let us also understand that ultimate victory against our enemies will come only by rebuilding our alliances and exporting those ideals that bring hope and opportunity to millions around the globe.

But all of this cannot come to pass until we bring an end to this war in Iraq. Most of you know I opposed this war from the start. I thought it was a tragic mistake. Today we grieve for the families who have lost loved ones, the hearts that have been broken, and the young lives that could have been. America, it’s time to start bringing our troops home. It’s time to admit that no amount of American lives can resolve the political disagreement that lies at the heart of someone else’s civil war. That’s why I have a plan that will bring our combat troops home by March of 2008. Letting the Iraqis know that we will not be there forever is our last, best hope to pressure the Sunni and Shia to come to the table and find peace.

Finally, there is one other thing that is not too late to get right about this war – and that is the homecoming of the men and women – our veterans – who have sacrificed the most. Let us honor their valor by providing the care they need and rebuilding the military they love. Let us be the generation that begins this work.

I know there are those who don’t believe we can do all these things. I understand the skepticism. After all, every four years, candidates from both parties make similar promises, and I expect this year will be no different. All of us running for president will travel around the country offering ten-point plans and making grand speeches; all of us will trumpet those qualities we believe make us uniquely qualified to lead the country. But too many times, after the election is over, and the confetti is swept away, all those promises fade from memory, and the lobbyists and the special interests move in, and people turn away, disappointed as before, left to struggle on their own.

That is why this campaign can’t only be about me. It must be about us – it must be about what we can do together. This campaign must be the occasion, the vehicle, of your hopes, and your dreams. It will take your time, your energy, and your advice – to push us forward when we’re doing right, and to let us know when we’re not. This campaign has to be about reclaiming the meaning of citizenship, restoring our sense of common purpose, and realizing that few obstacles can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change.

By ourselves, this change will not happen. Divided, we are bound to fail.

But the life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible.

He tells us that there is power in words.

He tells us that there is power in conviction.

That beneath all the differences of race and region, faith and station, we are one people.

He tells us that there is power in hope.

As Lincoln organized the forces arrayed against slavery, he was heard to say: “Of strange, discordant, and even hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought to battle through.”

That is our purpose here today.

That’s why I’m in this race.

Not just to hold an office, but to gather with you to transform a nation.

I want to win that next battle – for justice and opportunity.

I want to win that next battle – for better schools, and better jobs, and health care for all.

I want us to take up the unfinished business of perfecting our union, and building a better America.

And if you will join me in this improbable quest, if you feel destiny calling, and see as I see, a future of endless possibility stretching before us; if you sense, as I sense, that the time is now to shake off our slumber, and slough off our fear, and make good on the debt we owe past and future generations, then I’m ready to take up the cause, and march with you, and work with you. Together, starting today, let us finish the work that needs to be done, and usher in a new birth of freedom on this Earth.

Dear Friends,

I hope this finds you well.

A question, a reflection, and an endorsement.

Why is our country divided?
Why has this division been growing?

Can we not all agree that we are a country that supports its families, that protects its citizens and respects its neighbors?
A country that educates its children?
Are we not a country that can lead by example rather than by force?
Is ours a government of the people, by the people, for the people?

I would like to think so.
But I believe that corporate greed and its involvement in policy making, along with political cronyism have made it nearly impossible for the people to govern.
So we fight amongst ourselves over the spin of political slogans and half truths.
And so we are divided.

It is time for a change and that is why I support Barack Obama for President.

Respectfully,

Dave Matthews

The Philosophy of American Rights
by
Thomas Saunders, www.njcdlp.org

The underlying philosophy of American Rights is based upon the premise that philosophy is a science, and so a civic and socio-political responsibility is to employ Political Science to politics, in a corresponding form.

“Philosophy in Ayn Rand’s view, is the fundamental force shaping every man and culture. It is the science that guides men’s conceptual faculty, and thus every field of endeavor that counts on this faculty.” (Leonard Peikoff, from “Objectivism.”)

American politics i.e. the government, is bound to a philosophy bound in the interpretation and implimintation of the United States Constitution. American law is devised through a process of legislation, and judicial application through legislated acts, and upheld judicial findings in the form of “stare decsis.” Most people know what legislation is but stare decisis…..

Stare decisis: (To stand by things that have been settled.) The doctrine under which courts adhere to precedent on the questions of law in order to insure certainty, consistancy, and stability in the administration of justice with departure from precedent permitted for compelling reasons, ( as to prevent the perpetration of injustice). (”Webster’s Dictionary of Law,” Webster, 1996, p. 467) { Similar to ‘Res Judicata,’ or, ‘what has been decided before, and considered final.’ Usually pertaining to a single case.}

Stare decisis presents ‘primary cases of law,’ or Case Law that determine the general aim of a law in regard to Constitutionality. Case law; is ”law established by judicial decisions in cases, as distinguished from law created by legislation.” (Webster,Ibed. p. 67.) Legislative acts that are passed by process become statutes. ”A statute is a law made by the legislative branch of the government.” Constitutional law, is ”a body of statutory and case law that is based on, concerns or interprets of the constitution.” Webster, Ibed, p. 469. 470.)

The legislative and judicial branches of the government are part of a trinity designed in the Constitution, and intended to create checks and balances in the design of a free republic, and liberal democracy. Americans often argue that America is a republic, and others say democracy. I would argue that America is both….

”Democracy is defined as a government by the people through their elected representatives.” (See; ‘Webster’s Dictionary of Law,” Webster, 1996, pg. 131.) , See also; ”Dictionary and Thesaurus,” Harper -Collins, 2003. pg. 192.)

Republic; A state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch. (ORIGIN C16: from Fr. république, from L. respublica, from res ‘concern’ + publicus ‘of the people, public.’ See also; ‘Webster’s Dictionary of Law,” Webster, 1996, pg. 425.)

The American philosophy of law is based upon the implementation of both judicial and legislative acceptance that the following protections are guaranteed by both legislative mandates from Congress, signed by the President, and ruled on by the courts, and written down in the United States Code, in any dispute or challenge of that law, making it literally the ‘law of the land.’ (I am using the phrase in this sense.)

A judge who violates the Constitution, is by law committing treason…a judge does not fully comply with the Constitution, then his orders are void, in re: Sawyer, 124 U.S. 200 (1888), he/she is without jurisdiction, & he/she has engaged in an act or acts of Treason. I’ve always contended that a Congressman, Indian Cheifs, all the way to a ‘Road Kill Picker,’ has a civic responsibility to alignment with Constitutional standards.

By these standards of the law of the land, Americans should be protected for the following….

1. The right to own private property over the right of the ‘government’ to steal it.
2. The right to security in your home, family, and papers.
3. The right of free speech, and free expression.
4. The right to be free from unreasonable searches.
5. The safety net of judicial warrant requirements, and habeas corpus.
6. The right of free assembly, and association.
7. The right to a trial by a jury of your peers in a system of due process.
8. Reasonable bail and recourse for false arrest.
9. The right to the process to redress grievances.
10. Protection from cruel and unusual punishment.
11. Protection from laws that plunder life, liberty, and property, both individual and collective.

In reality none of these ‘rights’ is being protected by Congress, the Courts, or the Administration, and has not been for the past fifty years, and before the Reagan era. The Patriot Act and many laws before and since violates every precedent of civic protection the trinity of the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches are bound to protect by the Constitution.

The ‘Oath of Office,’ for the trinity of the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches of the government mandate that the ‘law of the land,’ be the principle ‘job’ of the ‘trinity,’ as stewards in overseeing American civil liberties. Should in theory one or two of the trinity violate the basic ‘philosophy’ the other should be able to ‘right’ the corrupted members of the trilogy.

In effect, currently the United States Government is engaged in the following illegal actions, in regard to the preservation of the above list of rights.

Police Brutality:
Racial Profiling:
Illegal Searches, and Seizures:
School Zero Tolerance Policies:
Insufficient Police Protection:
Juvenile Justice Systems, Abuse:
Prisoner Abuse:
Entrapment:
Asset Forfeiture:
Disparate Sentencing, and Judicial misconduct:
Prosecutorial Misconduct:
War On Drugs:
Judicial Corruption and Misconduct:
Law Enforcement Misconduct:
Privatization of Government Duties:
Legislative Corruption and Misconduct:
Executive Corruption and Misconduct:

Without a commitment to enforce the primary rights of Americans according to those rights which can be shown as Constitutionally protected rights, corruption and government tyrany can continue. In terms of philsophy, the corruption in American government can be shown to be mostly due to the non-commitment to upholding the ‘law of the land. This is a breach in the Oath of Office to protect the Constitution. The ‘Oath’ mandates lawmakers as to their fudiciary duty to all Americans to preserve Constitutional law.

The philosophy of the American Right, is bound in a system where the premise of the philosophy of free republic, and liberal democracy, are bound to the understanding of all its citizens. This means that the trinity of the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches of the government can be made a tetrad of Executive, Judicial, Legislative, and Americans. All must know the Law of the Land.

“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5)

Humbleness and meekness create in man a bottomless receptacle of recipiency to hold Truth. A proud irascible individual, like the proverbial rolling stone, rolls down the hill of ignorance and gathers no moss of wisdom, while meek souls at peace in the valley of eager mental readiness gather waters of wisdom, flowing from sources human and divine, to nourish their flowering vale of soul qualities.

The imperious egotist is easily riled, defensive, and resentfully offensive, repelling emissaries of wisdom who seek entry into the castle of his life; but the meek and humbly receptive attract the unseen assistance of beneficent angels of cosmic forces proffering material, mental, and spiritual well-being. Thus do the meek of spirit inherit not only all wisdom, but the earth, that is, earthly happiness, along with it.

–Paramahansa Yogananda (The second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the Christ within you)

The intrinsic definition of Limitlessness is that It lacks nothing and can receive nothing, for It is everything. As It is everything, theoretictically It is the potential to be an infinite source of giving.

The question arises, however, that there is nothing for It to give to because It is everything. It would have to give to Itself. This has been a major creation. conundrum in philosophy and theology for thousands of years.

Kabbalah suggests one way of dealing with this issue. It says that as long as the infinite source of giving has no “will” to give, nothing happens. However, the instant It has the will to give, this will initiates a “thought.” Kabbalah says, “Will, which is [primordial] thought, is the beginning of all things, and the expression [of this thought] is the completion.

That is, the entire creation is nothing more than a thought in the “mind” of Ein Sof, so to speak. Another way to express this idea is that the will to u give instantly creates a will to receive. The idea that an infinite giver can create receptivity in Itself is what Kabbalists call tzimtzum (contraction). It has to make an opening within Itself for receiving.

That which is given is called light. That which receives is called vessel. Light and vessel are always in balance, because light comes from an infinite source and thus will fill a vessel to its capacity. If we put a bucket under Niagara Falls, it instantly fills. If we put a freight train there, it also instantly fills. Imagine that the entire universe rests under a Niagara Falls of light, continuously being filled.

According to Kabbalah, the interaction between vessel and light is what makes the world go around. Everything in the universe is a vessel that “wills” to receive the light of the infinite bestower. Each molecule, plant, animal, rock, and human is a vessel; each has the “will” to be exactly what it is.]

Human consciousness is unique in that it has the quality of being “in and the universe. If we the image of God.” This quality is expressed by what we call free will, and free will at its core is nothing more than the ability to bestow light. That is to say, human consciousness has an inherent will to give. This human capability of acting like God in being a bestower is the fulcrum upon which the entire universe is balanced.

The reason this is so important is that if there were a will only to receive, as described above, the universe would be completely predictable. Everything would be predetermined, all receptivity would find shape in its implicit design, and every aspect of the unfolding of creation could be anticipated. The wild card introduced here is the premise that human consciousness is informed by a soul force that gives it the capacity to emulate the infinite Bestower.

Thus human beings have an extraordinary capacity to influence the direction of creation. Each time we make use of our free will by giving, we are in copartnership with the infinite Bestower. When this is accomplished, with clear awareness of what we are doing, we raise the consciousness of creat1on.

–David A Cooper (God is a verb)

Ein Sof