the power of music

Sometimes I find myself thinking that the lyrics of a particular hymn or song are wonderful - until I realise that it is actually the music that is moving me. Immortal, Invisible is one of those hymns. I don't much care for the grand sentiments and the distant, glorious God it describes - but the tune is so beautiful that every time I hear it it stays in my head for days, along with the words.

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Walter Chalmers Smith, 1867

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

I found a nice acoustic version on YouTube:

understanding, loving, forgiving

I spend a lot of time trying to create calm in my mind – but not love in my heart. It’s often difficult for me to show emotional generosity towards others, specifically those who have hurt or offended me. But aren’t they the ones I should focus my love on?

In each of us is a seed of understanding. That seed is God. It is also the Buddha. If you doubt the existence of that seed of understanding, you doubt God and you doubt the Buddha. … How can we love our enemy? There is only one way – to understand him. … Understanding a person brings us the power to love and accept him. And the moment we love and accept him, he ceases to be our enemy. To ‘love our enemy’ is impossible, because the moment we love him, he is no longer our enemy. To love him, we must practice deep looking in order to understand him. If we do, we accept him, we love him, and we also accept and love ourselves. As Buddhists or Christians, we cannot question that understanding is the most important component for transformation. … You cannot force yourself to forgive. Only when you understand what has happened can you have compassion for the other person and forgive him or her. That kind of forgiveness is the fruit of awareness. When you are mindful, you can see the many causes that led the other person to make you suffer, and when you see this, forgiveness and release arise naturally.

Living Buddha, Living Christ

faithful stewards of the earth

This is part of a hymn that we sang at church the other day. The words are contemporary, but we used a traditional tune. Because it was typed out on a sheet of paper I have no idea when it was written, or by whom. I liked these verses:

O God of hope, your prophets spoke
of days when war would cease;
when, taught to see each person's worth,
and faithful stewards of the earth,
we all would live in peace.


We pray that our divided world
may hear their words anew;
then lift for good the curse of war,
let bread with justice bless the poor,
and turn in hope to you.


Earth's fragile web of life demands
our reverence and our care,
lest in our folly, sloth and greed,
deaf both to you and others' need,
we lay our planet bare.


Earth's rich resources give us power
to build or to destroy;
your Spirit urges us to turn
from selfish, fearbound ways, and learn
his selfless trust and joy.

why this blog?

This is a place for me to think.
I came across this quote some years ago, and I find it both amusing and true:

On average, for every year of life you have, it takes about two years to understand exactly what happened. Most people never catch up and so die confused. That's why hermits sit on top of mountains: they're cutting down their input of experiences, so that their understanding can catch up.

How to... know yourself, Guy Browning

Welcome to my mountain top.