The following quotations are just a few examples of what different religions and indigenous traditions have to say about how to respond to hate, welcome the stranger, and be in relationship with one’s fellow man.
Judaism:“What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary. Go and learn it.” (Hillel, Talmud, Shabbath 31a)
Sikhism:
“I am a stranger to no one; and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all.” (Guru Granth Sahib, p.1299)
Christianity:
“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:14
“But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth.” Colossians 3: 8
Islam:
“And good and evil deeds are not alike. Repel evil with good. And he who is your enemy will become your dearest friend.” (Qur’an 41:33-34)
“God knows all that is in their hearts; so ignore what they say, admonish them and speak to them in such terms as will address their minds.”(Qur’an 4:63)
Buddhism:
“For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.” (Dhammapada, Verses 3-5
Hinduism:
“Ahimsa [or non-violence] is the greatest gift. Ahimsa is the highest self-control. Ahimsa is the highest sacrifice. Ahimsa is the highest power. Ahimsa is the highest friend. Ahimsa is the highest truth. Ahimsa is the highest teaching.” Mahabharata XVIII:116.37-41.
Native American:
“All things are interrelated. Everything in the universe is part of a single whole. Everything is connected in some way to everything else. It is therefore possible to understand something only if we can understand how it is connected to everything else.” – The Twelve Teachings of the Sacred Tree, from Returning to the Teachings, by Rupert Ross
Baha’i:
Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face…Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh p. 285)
Blasphemy (Abusing the Prophet) - by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Center for Peace and Spirituality
The Quran is the most authentic source of Islam. The Quran clearly states which actions are crimes and specifies what kind of punishments are to be meted out for them.
We learn from verse 24:4 of the Quran that if a pious woman is defamed without any proof, such a person, in the eyes of the Quran, becomes a criminal who deserves physical punishment by a court of law. When the Quran mentions this crime, it also mentions the specific punishment along with it.
Now let us look into this matter from another aspect. The Quran states that since ancient times God has sent prophets in succession to every town and every community. It says, moreover, that the contemporaries of all of these prophets adopted the same negative attitude -- but with far greater intensity -- as has been mentioned in the Quran with regard to chaste women. For instance, the Quran says: “Alas for human beings! They ridicule every messenger that comes to them.” (36:30)
There are more than two hundred verses of this nature, which reveal that the contemporaries of the Prophet repeatedly perpetrated the same act which is now called ‘abuse of the Prophet’ or ‘using abusive language about the Prophet’. Prophets down the ages have been mocked and abused by their contemporaries (36:30), some of the epithets cited in the Quran being “a liar” (40:24), “possessed” (15:6), “a fabricator” (16:101), “a foolish man” (7:66). The Quran mentions these words of abuse used by prophets’ contemporaries but nowhere does the Quran prescribe the punishment of lashes, or death or any such deterrent punishment.
This clearly shows that ‘abuse of the Prophet’ is not a subject of punishment, but is rather a subject of dawah. That is, one who is guilty of abusing the Prophet should not have corporal punishment meted out to him: he should rather be given sound arguments in order that his mind may be addressed. In other words, peaceful persuasion should be used to reform the person concerned rather than attempting to kill him.
There is a verse in the Quran to this effect: “God knows all that is in their hearts; so ignore what they say, admonish them and speak to them in such terms as will address their minds.”(4:63)
This verse means that those who adopt a negative stance towards the Prophet will be judged by God, who knows the innermost recesses of their hearts. The responsibility of the Prophet and his followers is to observe the policy of avoidance, and, wishing well, convey the message of God to them in such a manner that their minds might be properly addressed.
This case is made out in the Chapter entitled Al-Ghashiya: “Do they never reflect on the camels and how they were created, and on the sky, how it is raised aloft, and on the mountains, how they are firmly set up, and on the earth, how it is spread out? So, exhort them; your task is only to exhort, you are not their keeper. But whoever turns back and denies the truth, will be punished by God with the greatest punishment. Certainly, it is to Us that they will return.” (88:17-26)
These verses of the Quran tell us about what approach the Prophet was required to adopt. This approach was that people should be addressed by arguments. Attempts should be made to satisfy them rationally as to the veracity of the religion. And notwithstanding any negative reaction on the part of those addressed, this same positive style of dawah(conveying the message of God to people) has to be adhered to. It is not the task of the dayee to assume the role of a keeper. So far as punishment and reward are concerned, that is a subject wholly in the domain of God. God will gather together everyone on the Day of Resurrection and then, according to their deeds, will reward or punish them.
Another important aspect of this matter is that at no point in the Quran is it stated that anyone who uses abusive language about the Prophet should be stopped from doing so, and in case he continues to do so he should be awarded severe punishment. On the contrary, the Quran commands the believer not to use abusive language directed against opponents: “But do not revile those [beings] whom they invoke instead of God, lest they, in their hostility, revile God and out of ignorance.” (6:108)
This verse of the Quran makes it plain that it is not the task of the believers to establish media watch offices and hunt for anyone involved in acts of defamation of the Prophet, and then plan for their killing, whatever the cost. On the contrary, the Quran enjoins believers to sedulously refrain from indulging in such acts as may provoke people to retaliate by abusing Islam and the Prophet. This injunction of the Quran makes it clear that this responsibility devolves upon the believers, rather than that others be held responsible and demands made for them to be punished.
Looked at from this angle, the stance of present-day Muslims goes totally against the teachings of the Quran. Whenever anyone -- in their judgement -- commits an act of ‘abuse of the Prophet’, in speech or in writing, they instantly get provoked and their response is to start leading processions through the streets, which often turn violent, and then they demand that all those who insult the Prophet be beheaded.
All those who initiate such provocative processions and demand the killing of supposed ‘abusers of the Prophet’, are instead themselves the greatest culprits when it comes to abuse of the Prophet. Their violent conduct has resulted in the public being lead into believing that Islam is a religion of a pre-civilized era, that it imposes a ban on free thinking, that it is a religion which believes in thought crime, and that it is a religion of violence, etc.
It is Muslims themselves who are entirely responsible for the formation of this negative image of Islam. Distorting the image of Islam in this way is, indeed, the greatest of all crimes.
PRAYERS, POETRY AND TEACHINGS
We offer the following prayers, poetry and teachings in the hope that they may provide inspiration to those courageous individuals who are called to take action to counter hate with positive action and to stand up for the well-being of others.
On Meeting A Stranger - by John O’DonohueWith respect
And reverence
That the unknown
Between us
Might flower
Into discovery
And lead us
Beyond
The familiar field
Blind with the weed
Of weariness
And the old walls
Of habit.
From To Bless the Space Between Us (NY: Doubleday, 2008), p. 95.
“A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies. This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concerns beyond one’s tribe, race, class and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love.”
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” From Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Mother Teresa
"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." Martin Luther King, Jr.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Nelson Mandela, from the Long Walk to Freedom
"... Move beyond any attachment to names. Every war and every conflict between human beings has happened because of some disagreement about names. It's such an unnecessary foolishness, because just beyond the arguing there's a long table of companionship, set and waiting for us to sit down.
What is praised is one, so the praise is one too, many jugs being poured into a huge basin. All religions, all this singing, one song.
The differences are just illusion and vanity. Sunlight looks slightly different on this wall than it does on that wall and a lot different on this other one, but it is still one light. We have borrowed these clothes, these time-and-space personalities, from a light, and when we praise, we pour them back in."
Mevlana Rumi, 13th century
Gitanjali - by Rabindranath Tagore
I)
Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life.
This little flute of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales, and hast breathed through I melodies eternally new.
At the immortal touch of thy hands my little heart loses its limits in joy and gives birth to utterance ineffable. Thy infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill.
II)
When thou commandest me to sing, it seems that my heart would break with pride; and I look to thy face, and tears come to my eyes.
All that is harsh and dissonant in my life melts into one sweet harmony – and my adoration spreads wings like a glad bird on its across the sea.
I know thou takest pleasure in my singing. I know that only as a singer I come before thy presence.
I touch by the edge of the far-spreading wing of my song thy feet which I could never aspire to reach.
Drunk with the joy of singing I forget myself and call thee friend who art my lord.
“Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another.”
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
- Rev. Desmond Tutu
“To handle yourself, use your head;
to handle others, use your heart.
Anger is only one letter short of danger.
If someone betrays you once, it is his fault;
if he betrays you twice, it is your fault.
Great minds discuss ideas;
average minds discuss events;
small minds discuss people.
He who loses money, loses much;
he who loses a friend, loses much more;
he who loses faith, loses all.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt
“Education is the point at which we decide whether we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it, and by the same token save it from that ruin which except for renewal, except for the coming of the new and the young, would be inevitable. And education, too, is where we decide whether we love our children enough not to expel them from our world and leave them to their own devices, nor to strike from their hands their chance of undertaking something new, something unforeseen by us, but to prepare them in advance for the task of renewing a common world.” -- Hannah Arendt, from "The Crisis in Education"
In Lak'ech (I Am You or You Are Me) - by Luis Valdez
Tú eres mi otro yo. You are my other me.
Si te hago daño a ti, If I do harm to you,
Me hago daño a mi mismo. I do harm to myself.
Si te amo y respeto, If I love you and respect you,
Me amo y respeto yo. I love and respect myself.
Mayan-inspired poem, "Pensamiento Serpentino," Luiz Valdez (1971).
People full of hope
Are themselves hope.
People looking for a new way
Are themselves a new way.
In truly good people
Already exists a good world.
It is within people
It begins with people.
Again
People are the only hope.
- Written by Park No-Hae, a Korean labor activist, poet and former political prisoner, while serving a life sentence for labor organizing.
Prayer For Peace Offered at United Nations (House of Mica)
Great Spirit and all unseen, this day we pray and ask you for guidance. Humbly we ask you to help us and fellow men to recourse to peaceful ways of life, because of uncontrolled deceitfulness by humankind. Help us all to love, not hate one another.
We ask you to be seen in an image of Love and Peace. Let us be seen in beauty, the colors of the rainbow.
We respect our Mother, the plant with our loving care, for from her breast we receive our nourishment.
Let us not listen to the voices of the two-hearted, the destroyers of mind, the haters and self-made leaders, who lusts for power and wealth will lead us into confusion and darkness.
Seek visions always of world beauty, not violence nor the battlefields it is our duty to pray always for harmony between man and earth, so that the earth will bloom once more.
Let us show our emblem of love and goodwill for all life and land.
Pray for the House of Glass for within it are minds clear and pure as ice and the mountain streams.
Pray for the great leaders of nations in the House of Mica who in there own quiet ways help the earth in balance.
We pray the Great Spirit that one day our Mother Earth will be purified into a healthy peaceful one.
Let us sing for strength of wisdom with all nations for the good of all people.
Our hope is not yet lost, purification must be to restore the health of our Mother Earth for lasting peace and happiness.
Techqua Ikachi----for Land and Life!
"If we are to have peace on earth... we must develop a world perspective.... Yes, as nations and individuals, we are interdependent.... It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality.... This is the way our universe is structured, this is its interrelated quality. We aren’t going to have peace on earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality."
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., from "A Christmas Eve Sermon on Peace," Dec. 24, 1967.
The Guest House - by Jalal al-din Rumi
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Prayer of the Farm Workers’ Struggle - César E. Chávez, Founder of United Farm Workers
Show me the suffering of the most miserable;
So I will know my people’s plight.
Free me to pray for others;
For you are present in every person.
Help me to take responsibility for my own life;
So that I can be free at last.
Grant me courage to serve others;
For in service there is true life.
Give me honesty and patience;
So that I can work with other workers.
Bring forth song and celebration;
So that the spirit will be alive among us.
Let the spirit flourish and grow;
So we will never tire of the struggle.
Let us remember those who have died for justice;
For they have given us life.
Help us love even those who hate us;
So we can change the world.
Oración del Campesino en la Lucha - escrito por César E. Chávez, Fundador de la UFW
Enséñame el sufrimiento de los más desafortunados;
Así conoceré el dolor de mi pueblo.
Líbrame a orar por los demás;
Porque estás presente en cada persona.
Ayúdame a tomar responsabilidad de mi propia vida;
Sólo así seré libre al fin.
Concédeme valentía para servir al prójimo;
Porque en la entrega hay vida verdadera.
Concédeme honoradez y paciencia;
Para que yo pueda trabajar junto con otros trabajadores.
Alúmbranos con el canto y la celebración;
Para que levanten el Espíritu entre nosotros.
Que el Espíritu florezca y crezca;
Para que no nos cansemos entre la lucha.
Nos acordamos de los que han caído por la justicia;
Porque a nosotros han entregado la vida.
Ayúdanos a amar aún a los que nos odian;
Así podremos cambiar el mundo.
Hold On - a Pueblo Indian prayer (author unknown)
Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe even when it is a tree ?that stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do even when it is a long way from here.
Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go.
Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you.
The Paradoxical Commandments – Kent M. Keith
People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may seem forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never seem enough. Give your best anyway.
A copy of this poem appeared for many years on the wall of Mother Teresa’s children’s home in Calcutta, India.
“One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, ‘Love they neighbor as thyself;’ annihilates…whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse of man, and leaves nothing that can suffer”, be punished or destroyed.” Mary Baker Eddy, Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures, 340:23
From Prayer Without Borders, Celebrating Global Wisdom
To have hope
Is to believe that history continues open
To the dream of God and to human creativity.
To have hope
Is to continue affirming
That it is possible to dream a different world,
Without hunger, without injustice,
Without discrimination.
To have hope
Is to be a courier of God
And courier of men and women of good will,
Tearing down walls, destroying borders,
Building bridges.
To have hope
Is to believe in the revolutionary potential of faith,
Is to leave the door open so that
The Spirit can enter and make all things anew.
To have hope
Is to believe that life wins over death.
To have hope
Is to begin again as many times as necessary.
To have hope
Is to believe that hope is not
The last thing that dies.
To have hope
Is to believe that hope cannot die,
That hope no longer dies.
To have hope
Is to live.
Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo -- Scalabrinians Honduras
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