Youmankind

http://www.perceivingreality.com A film uncovering the origin of the unfolding crisis, & more importantly … its solution.

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Selected Quotes From The Analects Of Confucius

confuciusBOOK IV. LE JIN.

【第一章】子曰、里仁為美、擇不處仁、焉得知。

【第二章】子曰、不仁者、不可以久處約、不可以長處樂、仁者安仁、知者

利仁。

CHAP. I. The Master said, ‘It is virtuous manners which constitute the excellence of a neighbourhood. If a man in selecting a residence, do not fix on one where such prevail, how can he be wise?’

CHAP. II. The Master said, ‘Those who are without virtue cannot abide long either in a condition of poverty and hardship, or in a condition of enjoyment. The virtuous rest in virtue; the wise desire virtue.’

【第三章】子曰、惟仁者、能好人、能惡人。

【第四章】子曰、苟志於仁矣、無惡也。

【第五章】【一節】子曰、富與貴、是人之所欲也、不以其道得之、不處也。

貧與賤、是人之所惡也、不以其道得之、不去也。【二節】君子去仁、惡乎

成名。【三節】君子無終食之間

CHAP. III. The Master said, ‘It is only the (truly) virtuous man, who can love, or who can hate, others.’

CHAP. IV. The Master said, ‘If the will be set on virtue, there will be no practice of wickedness.’

CHAP. V. 1. The Master said, ‘Riches and honours are what men desire. If it cannot be obtained in the proper way, they should not be held. Poverty and meanness are what men dislike. If it cannot be avoided in the proper way, they should not be avoided.

2. ‘If a superior man abandon virtue, how can he fulfil the requirements of that name?

3. ‘The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it.’

【第八章】子曰、朝聞道、夕死、可矣。

【第八章】子曰、士志於道、而恥惡衣惡食者、未足與議也。

【第十章】子曰、君子之於天下也、無適也、無莫也、義之與比。

【十一章】子曰、君子懷德、小人懷土、君子懷刑、小

CHAP. VIII. The Master said, ‘If a man in the morning hear the right way, he may die in the evening without regret.’

CHAP. IX. The Master said, ‘A scholar, whose mind is set on truth, and who is ashamed of bad clothes and bad food, is not fit to be discoursed with.’

CHAP. X. The Master said, ‘The superior man, in the world, does not set his mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will follow.’

CHAP. XI. The Master said, ‘The superior man thinks of virtue; the small man thinks of comfort. The superior man thinks of the sanctions of law; the small man thinks of favours which he may receive.’

人懷惠。

【十二章】子曰、放於利而行、多怨。

【十三章】子曰、能以禮讓為國乎、何有、不能以禮讓為國、如禮何。

【十四章】子曰、不患無位、患所以立、不患莫己知、求為可知也。

【十五章】【一節】子曰、參乎、吾道一以貫之。曾子曰、唯。【二節】子

出、門人問

曰、何謂也。曾子曰、夫子之道、忠恕而已矣。

【十六章】子曰、君子喻於義、小人喻於利。

【十七章】子曰、見賢思齊焉、見不賢而內自省也。

【十八章】子曰、事父母幾諫、見志不從、又敬

CHAP. XII. The Master said: ‘He who acts with a constant view to his own advantage will be much murmured against.’

CHAP. XIII. The Master said, ‘Is a prince is able to govern his kingdom with the complaisance proper to the rules of propriety, what difficulty will he have? If he cannot govern it with that complaisance, what has he to do with the rules of propriety?’

CHAP. XIV. The Master said, ‘A man should say, I am not concerned that I have no place, I am concerned how I may fit myself for one. I am not concerned that I am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known.’

CHAP. XV. 1. The Master said, ‘Shan, my doctrine is that of an all-pervading unity.’ The disciple Tsang replied, ‘Yes.’

2. The Master went out, and the other disciples asked, saying,
‘What do his words mean?’ Tsang said, ‘The doctrine of our master is to be true to the principles of our nature and the benevolent exercise of them to others,– this and nothing more.’

CHAP. XVI. The Master said, ‘The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the mean man is conversant with gain.’

CHAP. XVII. The Master said, ‘When we see men of worth, we should think of equalling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.’

CHAP. XVIII. The Master said, ‘In serving his parents, a son may remonstrate with them, but gently; when he sees that they do not incline to follow his advice, he shows an increased degree of reverence, but does not abandon his purpose; and should they punish him, he does not allow himself to murmur.’

【廿四章】子曰、君子欲訥於言、而敏於行。

【廿五章】子曰、德不孤、必有鄰。

【廿六章】子游曰、事君數、斯辱矣、朋友數、斯疏矣。

CHAP. XXIV. The Master said, ‘The superior man wishes to be slow in his speech and earnest in his conduct.’

CHAP. XXV. The Master said, ‘Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practises it will have neighbours.’

CHAP. XXVI. Tsze-yu said, ‘In serving a prince, frequent remonstrances lead to disgrace. Between friends, frequent reproofs make the friendship distant.’

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Ask, and it shall be given you…

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Matthew (7:7-8) KJV

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Confucius and Lao Tzu

Chinese culture and philosophy is primarily based upon the teachings of Confucius, Lao Tzu and Buddha (Siddhatha Gautama). Lao Tzu and Confucius had quite different perspectives, though both taught very enlightening philosophies, which have indeed benefitted anyone who has studied them. Whether Confucius and Lao Tzu actually met is open to question. However, the dialogue written about their meeting is very interesting. When one contrasts these two great teachers, one who is familiar with Sufism is immediately struck by the similarity with the meeting between Prophet Moses and Al-Khidr “The Green Man”, peace be upon them… The meeting of law and the deeper truth of spirituality.

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Intercession on the Day of Resurrection

Narrated Anas

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Allah will gather the believers on the Day of Resurrection in the same way (as they are gathered in this life), and they will say, ‘Let us ask someone to intercede for us with our Lord that He may relieve us from this place of ours.’ Then they will go to Adam and say, ‘O Adam! Don’t you see the people (people’s condition)? Allah created you with His Own Hands and ordered His angels to prostrate before you, and taught you the names of all the things. Please intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.’ Adam will say, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking’ and mention to them the mistakes he had committed, and add, ‘But you’d better go to Noah as he was the first Apostle sent by Allah to the people of the Earth.’ They will go to Noah who will reply, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking,’ and mention the mistake which he made, and add, ‘But you’d better go to Abraham, Khalil Ar-Rahman.’

They will go to Abraham who will reply, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking,’ and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, ‘But you’d better go to Moses, a slave whom Allah gave the Torah and to whom He spoke directly.’ They will go to Moses who will reply, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking,’ and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, ‘You’d better go to Jesus, Allah’s slave and His Apostle and His Word (Be: And it was) and a soul created by Him.’ They will go to Jesus who will say, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking, but you’d better go to Muhammad whose sins of the past and the future had been forgiven (by Allah).’ So they will come to me and I will ask the permission of my Lord, and I will be permitted (to present myself) before Him. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in (prostration) before Him and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then it will be said to me, ‘O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.’ I will then raise my head and praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit whom I will admit into Paradise.

I will come back again, and when I see my Lord (again), I will fall down in prostration before Him, and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, ‘O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.’ I will then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise, I will return again, and when I see my Lord, I will fall down (in prostration) and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, ‘O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.’ I will then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise. I will come back and say, ‘O my Lord! None remains in Hell (Fire) but those whom Qur’an has imprisoned therein and for whom eternity in Hell (Fire) has become inevitable.’ ”

The Prophet added, “There will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: ‘La ilaha illal-lah,’ (There is no god but God) and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a barley grain. Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: ‘La ilaha illal-lah,’ and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a wheat grain. Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: ‘La ilaha illal-lah,’ and has in his heart good equal to the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant).”

Volume 9 number 507, Sahih Al-Bukhari

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Yusuf Islam – Father & Son

Yusuf Islam

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Yusuf Islam – In The End

Yusuf Islam

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Intermarriage

By Paul Salahuddin Armstrong

As we live in secular societies, a natural result of this, is our children will date whoever they fancy. We cannot watch over them forever. The only option available to us, is to make sure we’ve given our children a good religious education, the tools they need to help them make good choices.

If our faith means something to our children, they will wish to preserve it and pass it on. However, if our children do not believe in our faith, what difference does it make if they intermarry? In the latter situation, of more importance is the character of their partner. Even if they married someone of our faith, they still wouldn’t follow it.

I know many Muslim families who don’t really follow Islam or it’s religious laws. Although many cultural Muslims do follow certain aspects of Islam, such as eating halal meat and observing Ramadan, they do not practice Islam all year around.

People who convert to Islam or decide to start observing Islam, often do so after a period of reflection or some form of spiritual experience. The difference between these Muslims and cultural Muslims is like chalk and cheese! Such individuals have something they can pass on to their children and their children often do remain within the fold. The people I find most concerned about their children marrying out or leaving Islam, are ironically usually those who are not practising themselves!

Parents are the role models for their children. How you live will ultimately affect how your children live. If they see you’re not observing your faith, why would they? If they see your faith has little importance in your life, why would they see it as something to uphold? People who understand their faith’s importance and relevance in their lives will not compromise this – even if they intermarry.

I married a non-Muslim Chinese lady, who has very good character, she had started to believe in God, though didn’t observe any religion. I promised her, I’d never pressure her or our children to follow my religion. However, I would teach our children about my faith and other faiths, as this is part of my duty as a father. Within the first year of our marriage, my wife embraced Islam entirely of her own accord. She is now trying to explain to her family and friends the importance of faith in our Creator, eating pure food and living a clean life.

Marrying out is not a bad thing, so long as one is sure of one’s faith and marries a good person who they’re compatible with. Indeed this is one way faith communities have always expanded.

The real problem, is that today the prevailing culture that influences people of all faiths, is too materialistic and shallow. People are often only looking for cosmetic beauty, rather than really understanding the person behind this mask. Such marriages are doomed to failure from the start. In a prospective husband or wife, we need to look for someone of good character and virtue with a compatible personality, looks being far less important. But, left on their own, many young people will be easily enamoured by prospective partners, for their handsome or beautiful appearance. Yet, they may not be so beautiful inside…

Only by helping our children understand their faith and that which is truly important in life. Only through showing them a good example, can we trust they will make good decisions and have a bright future.

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Happy Eid!

Wishing Everyone a Happy and Blessed Eid!

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Happy Rosh Hashanah!

We wish our Jewish brothers and sisters a Happy Rosh Hashanah,

May the Lord bless your New Year!

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