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Chapter 21
Beloved Gautama Buddha - May 22, 1983


Pearls of Wisdom - Year 1983
Inspired in
Mark L. Prophet
and
Elizabeth Clare Prophet

21  Beloved Gautama Buddha - May 22, 1983
    21.1  The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path

Vol. 26 No. 21 - Beloved Gautama Buddha - May 22, 1983
Five Minutes to Twelve

     How silently, how silently is the deliverance of the Word Here in the Grand Teton are assembled many magnificent beings - beings of light and beings of loveliness, those to whom only the realities of God exist. And as our consciousness is raised on high unto the vibratory level of the Spirit, we behold at last the beauty of the cosmic cloud, tinged with gold, coming down out of heaven as an unrolling scroll.

     Behind the cloud is an unearthly light. A sudden splendor fills the air, as though a bolt of blue lightning had peacefully descended through the waiting air to cleave asunder the pathway of space from infinity into the time constant. And with the moving of the belt of time, the hand of God delivers unto us the mighty scroll containing the thoughtform for this year [1972].

     It is the face of a golden clock with the hands pointing to five minutes to twelve. And at the point of twelve, a beautiful Maltese cross springs forth, embellished with thirty-six magnificent amethysts within each arm of the cross. And the cross is symbolical - symbolical of the perfection of the Presence bringing unto mankind's attention the fact that the time is short.

     The fact that the face of the clock is golden and the hours are likewise golden, the fact that at the apex of twelve stands the transmuting, perfectly balanced cross of the cosmic law, the Maltese cross (which is symbolical of the perfectionment of Saint Germain, the God of Freedom to the Earth1), containing the thirty-six symbolical jewels in each arm (the number 144 revealing the archetypes of perfection), should speak to all hearts, showing them their appointed sphere and their appointed opportunity, which is the dedication of themselves unto the Sun behind the sun.

     For in reality, the golden face of the clock is the face of the sun. And all should understand that the rays of the fiery orb itself, which beautifully inhabits the universe, are tangible ones, affecting the magnetic flux of the Earth and of all planetary orbs, assisting the boat of the planet Earth to float through the ocean of space in palatial splendor, a godchild from the heart of God.

     Have you thought of your planet, of your planetary home, as just that - as a star in the diadem of the solar crown? Have you thought of the beauty and perfection of the heart of your Presence as a star in your own world, the star of your bursting individuality? Well, do so then, if you please. For the uniqueness of the identity of each man and woman is correspondingly enhanced by the richness of the power of vision.

     In the meditations of those who are engaged in the business of meditation in the Far East and throughout other parts of the world, there is often a concentration upon the pranic star doorway. And the opening of the star doorway is a shining, splendorous path through the realm of finiteness into the realm of infinity - the antahkarana of the heart of God pouring forth and bursting forth into bloom as a flower in consciousness.

     And with the coming of radiant perfection into view, comes a positioning of change in the consciousness. Man - fearful, despised, rejected and driven from Eden, from those holy pleasures which he once knew, the deriving of his sustenance from the heart of God, into a man almost animallike at times in his greediness and grasping for outer principles - is suddenly returned to the Eden of God, to the Tree of Life,2 and to the availability of his Source, his gentle Source.

     O sweet and beautiful green orb, the snows are falling as a mantle of whiteness upon many parts of the world! The winds are blowing. And in other parts, the balm of summer is heard, together with the twitter of birds. Beauty and stillness of mind bring to the consciousness the variegation and variety which God has aborning always within that hem of his garment which he lowers into the cup of individualized consciousness as a point of contact with himself.

     For the formless Spirit, so beautiful in its formlessness as the wind that bloweth where it listeth,3 is wondrous - but scarcely beheld by the consciousness, which requires also the formation of those geometric and progressive forms that reveal to man at last the geometry of God, the essence of the soul now crystallized into the iceberg of time, infinity dropping gentle drops upon the earth, the shedding of Life's blossoms and the essence of those blossoms, petal pink with love and hope and the gentleness of the Spirit, yet so powerfully enfolding the world in a matrix of God's blue lightning and his holy infinite wisdom. O cup of wisdom, thou art the lamp of cosmic knowledge. And every angel, every deva, every gandharva4 hears thy voice - the whispering of the winds upon the lute of Life, the moving of the branches by the gentle effulgence of the Spirit. Hear now our words.

     Everything that hinders the expression of thy individual deification hinders the movement of the universe. For by the principle of Archimedes' lever,5 we are able to move the world. But each individual, as a part of the total complex of God's world magnificence, either holds back the passionate movement of God's planet, of God's evolution, or else contributes to its forward movement.

     When I spoke long ago upon the hill of Sarnath, my disciples gathered round and listened not unto me but unto the Hummm of universal Life speaking within me. As an actor in a play, I stood before them then and formed those gentle lispings and droppings of God's wisdom which comprised the Eightfold Path of righteousness. But all true religion undefiled is a point of contact with that infinite Spirit which belongs unto thee as thou belongest unto it!

     Out of the depths of thy givingness, out of the fountain of eternal wisdom, man - bathed - shall be returned to the heart of God, the cleansing of Life's wave of cleansing, producing the miracle and the song of the angels and the song of the soul and the celestial raiment: "Never the Spirit was born; the Spirit shall cease to be never ... dead though the house of it seems!"6

     Wise is he who receives the derivation of consolation from the Eternal One rather than the crassness of the jingle of the streets. Pure are those who are dipped in the eternal fountain of the living Word!

     OM MANI PADME HUM - sweet song of the ages, the jewel in the heart of the lotus!7 Wise are those who understand the outreach of the consciousness of the Brotherhood in man's heart, in God's heart - posited, anchored, and straight as a shaft of the wind yet moving ever forward into happiness.

     Drops of Life may be drops of happiness. And the consolation of those bereft of meaning is always required to be the consolation of the Spirit. Those who are without the hearing of God's voice, those who are bereft of seeing the earliest light of the dawn are those without hope.

     The silent night of the Spirit whispers unto man: Be consoled by the Comforter, by the passing Word of God delivered as steps leading to the tower from whence the light of the world is shed. The light of the world shed from the tower of the heart is shed from the tower of our heart.

     Wise are those who know the way of peace and the way of gentleness of Spirit. For gentleness of Spirit may blow as a peaceful wind or as a hurricane, flailing the heart of the world and at last, in its chastening action, chastening all whom God loves, bringing all whom God loves safely home - as the holy Mariner beckons, "Come ye, O my children! Come ye, O my children! Come ye, O my children!"

     Do you not hear him? Do you not hear his word? Do you not feel the pull of God? As the fires of the sun generate the flux of the world, so does the fire of God's love generate the magnetism of the exertion of his Presence upon the soul of man.

     What matters matter? Spirit evolves and Matter moves forward as Spirit moves forward. Light upon the Path descends, touching the bosom of the world with the fingers of infinite Love.

     O gentle Mother Earth, thy love mingles with God's love and evokes that sweet incense of cosmic response which is cosmic repose. For when man rests from his labors, God labors still. And the engines of Life will not cease to be - ever. For the words of him who has said, "Destroy ye this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (as in the mystical experiences involved even in this temple in which the pantomime of my simultaneous exhortations in the Grand Teton is radiating out), can speak to your hearts and show you the magnificence of the resurrection spiral.

     You can find here those cosmic ties and infinite inner experiences that will guide you every step of the way home. For each of these experiences is an experience with God, and they do not all come as strung upon the Tree of Life, lumped into one day, but are spread out - these spiritual experiences occurring when needed, that the soul may be shepherded and guided, caressed and adored by him who would open the gateway of his heart as the Pied Piper of Hamlin to lead the children of the world into the cavernous magnificence, swallowing up death in Life and completing at last the round of human experiences destined to come into manifestation and directing men to the fountainhead of their consciousness, the creative power of God.

     Guide, guard, and love God. Love also the creative power that would make of each one of thee a new man in Christ, a truly beloved son of God, a gentle one of the Spirit able to summon the most valiant energies, as El Morya would say, and raise your consciousness, when necessary, out of gentleness - but, when unnecessary, remaining quiescent and at rest.

     The conservation of energy is also a beautiful experience. For when one learns to conserve one's energy, individuals can rest in the paeans of praise generated by the Spirit. They can sit quietly while the whole orchestra of Being is creating the soundless sound all around them that magnifies Thy kingdom come in man.

     Open the gates of the temple! Open the gates of God-magnificence! O devas of the sacred fire, those in my band who belong unto Our Father, gandharvas of the heart of the world and of the heart of the Eternal God, prepare ye a highway in consciousness that shall become a magnet of fire over even this focus in which the pantomime of my simultaneous transmission is occurring. And everywhere let the great magnet of Life draw - until men and women shall come, as unto their God Presence, into one place, a spirit of universal concord and the completeness of their surrender to the beauty, the perfection, and the eternal values of God.

     I shall leave to Saint Germain and others who shall speak to you the describing of many experiences which may be of great interest unto men and women of this earth. But I want you to remember me tonight for the gentle spirit in which I spoke. For as of old came the wind, and God was not in it; came the thunder, and God was not in it; came the rain, and God was not in it; and came at last the still small voice - and God was there.

     For God is active within, and if at times you do not hear him speak, know and have confidence in heart that God always speaks - that the soundless sound, the music of the spheres, is heard everywhere where there is an ear to hear. Where a spiritual ear may open, there God speaks. And in the speaking is the recovery of every divine experience ever captured by the heart of God. And now, because you are attuned with that, captured by you also, will you make it a permanent memory? Then do so.

     The song of the gandharvas, of the angels, of the devas, of the heart of God is orchestrated by the infinite passion of the Universal Conductor of cosmic love.

     Happy am I whom you call Gautama to have brought you this in memory of the bodhisattvas of the world. My peace I leave with you. In the name of the living Christ flame, peace be upon you through the ages to come, from the year 1972.

     I thank you.

21.1  The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path

     In his first sermon following his enlightenment known as the Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta, "Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth"), Gautama outlined the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. Addressing five ascetics at Deer Park, Isipatana (now Sarnath), near Benares, he instructed that there are two extremes to be avoided: "A life given to pleasures, devoted to pleasures and lusts - this is degrading, sensual, vulgar, ignoble, and profitless."8 Gautama explained that by avoiding the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification, one gains knowledge of the "middle path" which leads to insight, wisdom, calmness, knowledge, enlightenment, and Nirvana.

     This middle path is the Noble Eightfold Path: Right Understanding (Knowledge), Right Thought (Aspiration), Right Speech, Right Action (Behavior), Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration (Absorption).

     The First Noble Truth is that life is dukkha `suffering'. The Second Noble Truth is that the cause of this suffering is tanha `desire', or `thirst'. The Third Noble Truth is that there is freedom or cessation from suffering: Nirvana (also known by the term Tankakkhaya `extinction of thirst'). The Fourth Noble Truth is that the way to this liberation is through the Noble Eightfold Path.

     In the ascended-master teachings, the first step of the Eightfold Path corresponds to the first (blue) ray of the will of God. Right Understanding requires self-analysis and the conviction that the Four Noble Truths are true. It is discovering and examining the problems if life - recognizing that one is out of alignment with the cosmos and making the decision to follow the Path back to integration with God. This involves faith and determination; it is the impetus, or power, of the Buddhic way.

     The Second step, Right Thought, is on the second (yellow) ray of illumination. It is the ray of intelligence which Buddha defines as the "intent of the heart." Those who have pure motives in the heart have the pure intelligence of the Christ mind. We must transcend the sense of separateness and identify with the needs of all through consistency of intent in order to make progress on the Path.

     The third step on the Eightfold Path, corresponding with the third (pink) ray of divine love, is Right Speech. We pursue right speech by raising the energies of the heart and releasing them through the throat chakra. Always guarding the flow of energy, we strive to become, with Lord Gautama, the "Compassionate One" - modulating the voice for comfort and avoiding harshness to any part of life.

     The fourth step, on the fourth (white) ray of purity, is Right Action - the practical application of the Law. Right action can only be prompted by right motive, which necessitates that we reflect upon our motives in terms of selflessness and charity. Gautama gave five precepts of right behavior; do not kill; do not steal; do not lie; do not be unchaste; do not drink intoxicants. Right behavior becomes the discipline of the Law for purity in action.

     Right Livelihood, the fifth step, relates to the fifth (green) ray of healing, Truth, and precipitation. One cannot accelerate on the Path and precipitate the true abundance of God if one's occupation pulls one in the opposite direction. In earning our living, we should not engage in any business that compromise the path of the Buddha - any activity that involves deceit, exploitation, injustice, or harm to others. Buddha actually listed certain occupations not in keeping with the Eightfold Path, including; poison peddler, slave dealer, prostitute, butcher, hunter, brewer, armament maker, and fortune-teller.

     The sixth step, on the sixth (purple and gold) ray of ministration and service, is Right Effort - exerting oneself for good through a strong will and steady "plodding" on the Path. The way of service and ministration is the way of proving in action the previous five steps of the Eightfold Path; it is the embroidering - the going over and over again - expressed in the life of constance and dedication to the sacred labor.

     The seventh step, the seventh (violet) ray of transmutation and freedom, is Right Mindfulness - the "alchemy of self-awareness." All that we are is the result of what we are doing at a particular moment. We use the fires of transmutation, the violet flame, to invoke the energy that consumes all of the blocks to the fusion of the mind on the action and the word of the moment.

     Right Concentration, or Right Absorption, is the eight point of the Eightfold Path, which corresponds to the eight ray of integration. In Buddhist teachings, this eighth step involves meditation and proper breathing, as well as the techniques of Hinduism's raja yoga (known as "the royal road to reintegration"). It is a means of finding integration in all of the chakras and in the I AM Presence through direct personal experience of God within by the science of the spoken Word.

     _________________________________________________

     "The Summit Lighthouse Sheds Its Radiance O'er All the World to Manifest as Pearls of Wisdom."

     This dictation by Gautama Buddha was delivered through the Messenger Mark L. Prophet January 1, 1972, during The Class of the Solar Light in Colorado Springs, Colorado.


Footnotes:

1 For Saint Germain's teaching on the Maltese cross, see Mark and Elizabeth Prophet, Climb the Highest Mountain, Summit University Press, pp. 238-57, 305, paperback.
2 Gen. 2:9; 3:22, 24; Rev. 2:7; 22:2, 14.
3 "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." John 3:8.
4 In Indian mythology, the gandharvas are celestial musicians, fairylike in nature, who sing the glories of the Deity.
5 The Greek mathematician Archimedes (c. 287-212 B.C.), who developed the principle of the lever, demonstrated that a small weight at a distance from a fulcrum would balance a large weight near the fulcrum and that the weights and distances were in inverse proportion. His famous remark, "Give me a place to stand on and I can move the world," prompted King Hiero to ask for an illustration, whereupon Archimedes reportedly hooked up a system of compound levers in pulley form and singlehandedly pulled a fully laden cargo ship out of the harbor onto the shore.
6 Sir Edwin Arnold, trans., The Song Celestial or Bhagavad-Gita (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1948), p. 9.
7 According to Indian legend, the Bodhisattva Avalokite vara was born (bearing a lotus flower) from a ray of light that sprang from Amitabha Buddha's right eye. Immediately upon birth, Avalokite vara uttered the six sacred syllables OM MANI PADME HUM, meaning "O thou jewel in the heart of the lotus!" In Buddhist tradition, the mantra is used to invoke his compassionate intercession or that of his feminine counterpart, Kuan Yin (China and Japan). The ascended lady master Amaryllis, Goddess of Spring, describes this mantra as "the hum of the universe. ... The flowering of the spiritual lotus portends the opening of the soul who yearns to drink in God and his compassion" (May 11, 1969).
8 Clarence H. Hamilton, ed., Buddhism: A Religion of Infinite Compassion [New York: The Liberal Arts Press, 1952), p. 28