One That Follows the One

Truth is one; sages call it by different names. (Rig-Veda)

On our altar each Sunday at Unity Center of Davis, we display a picture of Jesus, alongside a statue of the Buddha. What do these symbols of two faiths say about our beliefs you may wonder. Are we Christian Buddhists? Do we alternate between these two faiths from lesson to lesson, and are we exclusive followers of these faiths to the exclusion of all others? Reasonable questions. The answer is none of the above.

We are a spiritual community that embraces universal spiritual principles as they express in a number of different spiritual paths. We are not much interested in religion, doctrine or dogma. Unity offers us the opportunity to recognize universal principles that are not unique to Unity, that we do not claim to own, that you don't have to join Unity in order to understand and follow. We look for and celebrate universal principles wherever in the world they are expressing, because anytime, anywhere anybody makes a choice based upon spiritual principle, it is good for all of us.

Truth (God) can never be contained to any one person, one story or one religion. If it divides people and leads to hatred, it is a false spirituality. If it unites across all differences, then it is a true spirituality. May we always seek the truth that unites and heals.

This Sunday we begin a series based loosely on the book, The Wise Heart, A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology by Jack Kornfield. For 5 Sundays we will explore the universal teachings of the Buddha; potent principles and practices for awakening our capacity for love, joy and unshakeable freedom in this new year.

You do not have to be a Buddhist to benefit from the teachings of the Buddha, anymore than you must be a Christian to be inspired by the teachings of Jesus. We look to Jesus and Buddha as the great examples of what's possible in a fully self realized human beings who took the complete journey from the false to the true self. We do not worship the individuals, nor build a box of exclusive righteousness around their teachings. Rather we follow their teachings that we might progress in our own spiritual aspirations, and carve out lives of greater equanimity, compassion, peace and freedom.

As we seek to know the depth of insights that Buddha attained, we will bring into question who we think we are. One of the great gifts of Buddhism is how it can move us forward in evolutionary fashion, to see beyond the separate self to the spacious realm of Being that is our true nature. You may called it Christ consciousness, or Atman, or Holy Spirit. By any name, it is the universal experience that opens us to joy in the midst of all that arises in life. This is what all masters know, and all true seekers seek. As we discover its veracity in new form, we reveal its universality, and deepen our faith in the omnipresence of the One. We come to see that a path with heart is not about looking in the right place but knowing how to look wherever we are. The Wise Heart, that Kornfield describes is the fruit of a sincere desire to grow beyond the surface mind, and enlarge our capacity to live in this world and still be happy. To be one that follows the One brings us to a place of unity and healing; where Jesus sits side by side with Buddha. It's what still ignites my passion for Unity.