Jesus’s one commandment to his disciples was to love your neighbor
What is your neighbor?
Your neighbor is the poor, sick, and homeless
Your neighbor is the immigrant
Your neighbor is the LGBTQ community
Your neighbor is the pig, chicken, cow, and sheep
Your neighbor is the rainforest and it’s many wildlife
Your neighbor is the Earth
Love them with all your heart and soul
Don’t let fear, hatred or greed keep you from expanding your circle of love and compassion
To me Buddhism is studying how Jesus became Jesus and how we can become like him too through the holy spirit, similar to enlightenment or nirvana in Buddhism. It’s core belief is that we all can awaken and become a Buddha; actually we already are a Buddha but are lost in our attachments to worldly things and are consumed by our fear, greed, and hatred (sin in Christianity).
Buddha just means awakened one, similar to the title Christ in Christianity. We should not be scared of other spiritual traditions but our own fear, hatred and religious dogma that can blind us from seeing the truth and goodness in all religions. Be curious and open minded. This type of mindset is what Jesus and Buddha had in their times. This is not to assimilate or convert but to build brotherhood and sisterhood.
I found Jesus through a Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh who wrote a book called “Living Buddha, Living Christ” that changed my life 10 years ago.
He dedicated a lot of his life trying to bridge the two religions and fostering brotherhood and sisterhood.
When my mind is still through meditation I repeat Jesus’s words and the holy spirit is drawn to me and transforms me into Christ in that moment.
No words can describe this spiritual experience of deep love for all beings.
In those moments you are fully liberated from all fear, hatred, and greed.
You are truly alive.
When the holy spirit is within you, everyone is your brother or sister and you feel a deep river of joy rush through your body. ❤️🙏🏻
Why is God merciful to us?
Because we are his children.
Born in the image of love.
No matter how lost we are in the darkness of greed, fear, or hatred.
Our essence is his essence.
Our essence is love.
We all have the capacity to walk as Christ did. It’s our true nature that is buried under years of fear.
This is what God sees within us and when his spirit touches us deeply we see the divinity in others and become more peaceful and merciful. ❤️🙏🏻
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
All of these quotes from Jesus speak of one thing, an open heart to unconditional love of all beings, even your enemies
With love,
Johnny
Burn down all churches, temples and mosques
Burn down all holy books
But don’t burn down the human heart!
That’s where God is
The seed of true unconditional love is within us
This seed is patiently waiting to be watered but we must still our minds first
In stillness the holy spirit can transform us
But only if our heart is open to unconditional love
The Narrow Path 