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So, in Spirit there is no anything. Spirit cannot be rightly said to be everything or nothing. One can see, then, why spirit might manifest a motion away from a thing, even a holy thing. Spirit in itself cannot be a Quaker, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a theist, an agnostic, an atheist, an introvert, an extrovert, a race, a color, a political party, ... Yet, Spirit becomes all things; that is, Life clothes itself with this amazing diversity, yet the diversity cannot limit the movement of Spirit, not unless we identify with a something, even a good something.
The analogy that arose in the Quiet was of a young man getting up and clothing in the morning. On awakening he, like you and I, is a no-thing, a no-body. He gets up, he dresses. Now, fully clothed, he believes he is that he wears. This is confusing, partly for he is wearing many pieces of clothing and, also, is not the clothing. Now, would we not think it odd if this young body walked around acting as though he were this assortment of diverse clothing? We might wish to guide him to insight that he is what wears the clothing he chose to wear; also, we might wish him to arrive at the truth that the clothing is a passing experience, that he is is birthless and deathless ~ that is, he is that he is when first awakening in the morning, the moment before consciousness reclothes itself with a variety of identities, and this we call person.
Let us say, then, one chooses to be a Buddhist. Does this compromise the freedom of Spirit blowing? No, not as long as the Buddhist knows he or she is not a Buddhist. ~ This sounds paradoxical, for I am using relative language here. Please bear with me. ~ The moment consciousness claims identity with a thing, here Buddhism, a "No" to Spirit is raised, a movement occurs from the purity of Spirit. Here, ego is seeking to bound Pure Spirit in the boundary "Buddhist," while spirit would seek to bound "Buddhist" within a boundless compassion.
This is a reason I taught, when a pastor in Christian churches, that Christianity is meant to transcend itself. This transcendence, not negation, includes Christianity in a larger embrace than Christianity itself can offer the world. This is true of any religious or spiritual tradition. This larger embrace in Christianity is called Christ, in Buddhism, Buddha, in Hinduism, Atman, as examples. These words point to a singular Reality. So, religion is not a problem, identity is the hindrance to the flow of Life, and this is true of all attempts to merge Grace with a something. Suffering, pronounced or subtle, results from this, both in relation to others and oneself.
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One can say, "This is not that important, you are being nit-picky." Still, as one moves closer into identity with the embrace of pure Grace, one sees this is not being nit-picky. Indeed, to the extent I identify with a something, I have moved consciousness away from the freedom and purity of Grace; so, all the qualities of Life are thereby limited, including the capacity to Love, to enjoy Peace, for Patience, ... Likewise, the identity limits the extent of pure self-offering in compassion for others, simply for the offering will be, consciously or not, imbued within the faith in separation from the other.
If you are acting as a something ~ and this something includes other sentient beings as somethings ~ how can you embody for others the freedom and purity of That beyond all somethings? Likewise, when a something, with that comes the separation in which we, the psychological self, must defend ourselves in a world filled with other somethings defending themselves~ here, I am not speaking of natural defense, such as protection of the body-mind, but the illusions that arise in feeling that we see another something is a threat, when such is mere illusion, a projection of our something onto the other as something. How serious is this? Wars arise from somethings fighting somethings, when wars would cease this moment if we knew the other to be spiritual beings, even as we are. If other human beings were seen to be like-being, we could have no war, for no one would join in war.
This is why all work at peace and justice will have partial success, which is better than none. Still, only in the realization we are not somethings, or somebodies, among other like or unlike somethings, or somebodies, is a ground for living in communion as one-in-diversity. In such a communion, Life lifes, the Wind blows.
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