In answer, here's a brand new one, to me, that I lit upon in Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda's book What Buddhists Believe. He attributes this saying to the Bodhisatta who believed that,
Some people confuse charms and amulets as part of their religious practices but in actual fact these tend towards superstitions that have nothing to do with spiritual benefit.
Come back to where the fundamental "activity" for the Buddhist, takes place; the mind. It is the training and disciplining of the mind, to think and then do, what is good and wholesome. One must do all this with one's own effort and not depend on external sources of help in so doing, to reach Nirvana. Instead, Dhammananda exhorts,
Can you see how this runs parallel to dappling in horoscopes and cuts across the spectrum to consulting mediums as well? They are not necessary to the achievement of enlightenment, so why use them?
It is amusing to note that Dhammananda says, consulting mediums is only for "worldly material gain" (Page 409). That would be for the benefit of the medium not the one seeking "help". These things can drain a person's bank account.
The thinking is that charms are generally worn to protect themselves from evil spirit attacks or to ward off curses and perhaps even prevent diseases or injuries from gaining a foothold on one's health.
One needs to keep in mind, especially those of us who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, that our protection against the evil one is the armor of God. Ephesians 6:11-18 (ESV) details this,
Full and complete protection. Don't forget any articles of armor. In this we can then have perfect peace of mind when Satan, the evil one, makes his attacks. Resist him and he will flee from you (James 4:7). This come after submitting ourselves to God, and God alone.
There are plenty of verses in the Bible that beseech us to call upon God in the day of trouble too. He is our protection. When we go to Him we can have rest and peace of mind.
When we do not do this then we often become cast down, depressed and make ourselves vulnerable to the evil one's attacks. King David knew what he was talking about. He had lots and lots to be discouraged and depressed about and he often expressed those things. However, he knew Whom He could turn to in such mind conflicts and life's traumas and troubles. The book of Psalms is loaded with "remedy": Psalm 46:1 (NIV),
And Psalm 11:1,
How about this one, Psalm 18:3,
You'll find this is a repeated theme that these ancients depended upon and reckoned with.
Or when we do not forgive a 'sin' against us or are overtly worried or fearful of any number of things, we ruminate upon that grievance, even for years, instead of forgiving we consequently work ourselves into nervous wrecks. These are the things, like a chain reaction, that bring many types of immune diseases and illnesses to our physical being and our souls (the mind, the will and the emotions).
Jesus said,
When we do not follow these simple commands of Jesus, we give the evil one permission to mess with us. However, with the armor of God and confidence in Him as we build our relationship with Him, we can relinquish our fears and worries into His care. We forgive and release ourselves from a prison of hate, anger, and bitterness. Often a person's health will improve with the measure with which he/she relies on God.
Charms and amulets belong to Satan's world to keep a person in bondage to those things instead of finding freedom in Christ. Ezekiel was charged with declaring the Sovereign LORD's decree to the children of Israel in Ezekiel 13:18 and 20 (NIV),
I suppose it was the women of those times that made the charms visible on their wrists. Nowadays charms are still often worn on the wrist and/or on necklaces and it's more than just the women being "ensnared" by them.
We see King Josiah, in 2 Kings 23:24, cleansing Judah and Jerusalem of these things,
Hop over to the New Testament and we see when the new believers in Jesus Christ decided to rid themselves of all such paraphernalia it made quite the bonfire and you can also learn some of the great cost of such adherence to charms as was remarked upon by Dhammananda in regards to worldly material gain, etc. Read Acts 19:18-20 NIV,
The "true" Buddhist will let all these things go in order to rely upon themselves: their own effort and struggle to train their mind to do what is right and wholesome; a lot of "hard work". Getting rid of all these things, for the child of God, is not to go and rely upon oneself but because one is now relying upon God our Heavenly Father who loves and cares for us; one no longer needs the mind enmeshing bondage and buttress of powerless, inanimate objects or of persons who purportedly can tell one's fortune. We rely on Almighty God and the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit's indwelling.
Take a turn in another direction. Often these charms and consultations are resorted to due to persistent sicknesses and a person's belief that these will somehow influence, reduce and cause to recover from, said illnesses. For the Christian, we believe that some illnesses can be for our training in righteousness for becoming more Christ-like; that term, "sanctification" that keeps popping up.
Take the famous, ancient chap, Job, for instance. He had it made! Likely a multi-billionaire, in today's terms. Thousands and thousands of cattle, camels, sheep, donkeys, servants to care for them all; he must have had a huge ranch-sized 'piece' of land ranging over a mind-boggling amount of acreage; many children, his wife and himself. He was the philanthropist of philanthropists, helping generously those less fortunate than himself. He was a righteous and upright, good living man.
It all came crashing down on him in one fell swoop! Definitely a stock market crash! His wealth, health and children, gone in a day. His three dubious friends came calling in sympathy but only added fuel to the fire of mental distress and discomfort. They said he MUST have some sin, a juicy secret sin of some sort. Job declared, multiple times, his innocence and righteousness. When you read through the book of Job in the Bible, and come to the ending chapters, you'll discover that God had a thing or two to say about that through a fourth friend of Job, and from God Himself. Job then humbly realized and confessed his sin of self-righteousness, repented thereof and made reparations.
The sequel: God restored all those things Job had lost, get this, multiplied by two! Except for children, it was the same number. Job's wealth and health were all restored. He even lived another 140 years and saw his offspring to the fourth generation (Job 42:16).
I'm not saying that this will necessarily happen to us. Good God-fearing people still get sick and pass away, and precious few live to be more than 100 years old, let alone having 140 more years added. The point is that some sicknesses have a "pause and consider" theme to them. A time to step back from the whirlwind of daily living and to examine the reasons for the ailments. Is there something we are missing? This is a time to consult Almighty God, Our Savior, not to consort with fortune-tellers, and witch doctors or place reliance upon charms and amulets.
To give another example, turn to the New Testament to find the apostle Paul who had a "thorn in the flesh". He besought God three different occasions to remove this thorn. God's answer: "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NIV). These thorns, Paul remarked, were to keep him "from becoming conceited". There was continual reminder. Look at Paul's graciousness and trust towards God's unfailing ways in his life and his opportunity to learn about God's grace and to become more Christ-like. For Paul to have then turned to "crutches" such as fortune-tellers and the like, would have defeated the purpose and broken fellowship with God his Heavenly Father. The process of progressive sanctification was in progress; Paul moved ahead despite pain he may have been enduring from the thorn, hung out the "do not disturb" sign, so to speak, and got on with his ministry sustained by God's sufficient grace.
The Buddhists describe this kind of sickness or difficult situations in life as the "ripening of the karmic fruit" (Page 407 in What Buddhists Believe). That is, an individual must have done something very bad and unwholesome in a previous life and it is coming back to bite him or her during the current life. One should therefore endure and learn from it; train the mind towards better things. Above all, charms, amulets, etc will be to no avail. What's gonna happen, will happen. Of course, if one can find a cure from the medical profession, or other respective professionals, then go for it.
Should that be unsuccessful, then the recommendation is for the Buddhist to seek "guidance from a proper religious teacher" (Page 407-408). In turn, they will be guided to meditate to strengthen and develop the mind. In the previous Burning Quest - Part 30, the subject of what Buddhists meditate upon was discussed. Meditating upon Buddha and his teachings and a continuance of mind-training to eradicate impurities in the mind.
Between the follower of Jesus Christ and the followers of Buddha, this process sounds very similar. However, and I will quote a chunk from the above mentioned blog entry,
Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda believes that the meditation will help to soothe the mind and bring wellness. Seeking mediums, he says,
Those of us who belong to Jesus Christ, meditate upon God's Word and see what He is telling you through His Word and the Holy Spirit's promptings. Follow that through; be a doer. Also seek professional medical help (I say it again). Find a trustworthy friend to pray with you and to encourage you and lend a listening ear and who may even give some timely advice.
Most of all, remember our Heavenly Father's ear is always available, day or night. Talk to Him in the name of Jesus Christ Who is our "bright Morning Star" (Revelation 22:16). He is the One and Only Star to consult and seek help from and Who will guide us in our lives.
Wise men and women still seek Him.
~ERC March 2019~
Adding on here a hymn Burdens are Lifted at Calvary. May you all be blessed by it.
"...hard work was the luckiest star" (Page 406).This ties in with the last blog entry, Burning Quest - Part 58, and the topic of astrology, astronomy and horoscopes. Add on fortune-telling, charms and consulting mediums, although not exactly taboo for the Buddhist, are also not encouraged. Dhammananda comments,
"...people should not be slaves to any of those forces...a person must overcome all problems and difficulties by his or her own efforts" (Page 406).
Some people confuse charms and amulets as part of their religious practices but in actual fact these tend towards superstitions that have nothing to do with spiritual benefit.
Come back to where the fundamental "activity" for the Buddhist, takes place; the mind. It is the training and disciplining of the mind, to think and then do, what is good and wholesome. One must do all this with one's own effort and not depend on external sources of help in so doing, to reach Nirvana. Instead, Dhammananda exhorts,
"Cultivate strong will-power by refusing to believe in the influence of charms" (Page 408).
Can you see how this runs parallel to dappling in horoscopes and cuts across the spectrum to consulting mediums as well? They are not necessary to the achievement of enlightenment, so why use them?
It is amusing to note that Dhammananda says, consulting mediums is only for "worldly material gain" (Page 409). That would be for the benefit of the medium not the one seeking "help". These things can drain a person's bank account.
The thinking is that charms are generally worn to protect themselves from evil spirit attacks or to ward off curses and perhaps even prevent diseases or injuries from gaining a foothold on one's health.
One needs to keep in mind, especially those of us who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, that our protection against the evil one is the armor of God. Ephesians 6:11-18 (ESV) details this,
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit..."
Full and complete protection. Don't forget any articles of armor. In this we can then have perfect peace of mind when Satan, the evil one, makes his attacks. Resist him and he will flee from you (James 4:7). This come after submitting ourselves to God, and God alone.
There are plenty of verses in the Bible that beseech us to call upon God in the day of trouble too. He is our protection. When we go to Him we can have rest and peace of mind.
"Cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you" (Philippians 4:6-7).
When we do not do this then we often become cast down, depressed and make ourselves vulnerable to the evil one's attacks. King David knew what he was talking about. He had lots and lots to be discouraged and depressed about and he often expressed those things. However, he knew Whom He could turn to in such mind conflicts and life's traumas and troubles. The book of Psalms is loaded with "remedy": Psalm 46:1 (NIV),
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
And Psalm 11:1,
"In the LORD I take refuge."
How about this one, Psalm 18:3,
"I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies."
You'll find this is a repeated theme that these ancients depended upon and reckoned with.
Or when we do not forgive a 'sin' against us or are overtly worried or fearful of any number of things, we ruminate upon that grievance, even for years, instead of forgiving we consequently work ourselves into nervous wrecks. These are the things, like a chain reaction, that bring many types of immune diseases and illnesses to our physical being and our souls (the mind, the will and the emotions).
Jesus said,
"Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, 29).
When we do not follow these simple commands of Jesus, we give the evil one permission to mess with us. However, with the armor of God and confidence in Him as we build our relationship with Him, we can relinquish our fears and worries into His care. We forgive and release ourselves from a prison of hate, anger, and bitterness. Often a person's health will improve with the measure with which he/she relies on God.
Charms and amulets belong to Satan's world to keep a person in bondage to those things instead of finding freedom in Christ. Ezekiel was charged with declaring the Sovereign LORD's decree to the children of Israel in Ezekiel 13:18 and 20 (NIV),
"Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists...I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds..."
I suppose it was the women of those times that made the charms visible on their wrists. Nowadays charms are still often worn on the wrist and/or on necklaces and it's more than just the women being "ensnared" by them.
We see King Josiah, in 2 Kings 23:24, cleansing Judah and Jerusalem of these things,
"Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law..."
Hop over to the New Testament and we see when the new believers in Jesus Christ decided to rid themselves of all such paraphernalia it made quite the bonfire and you can also learn some of the great cost of such adherence to charms as was remarked upon by Dhammananda in regards to worldly material gain, etc. Read Acts 19:18-20 NIV,
"Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power." (A drachma was a silver coin worth about a day's wages then and 50,000 of them worth several million dollars now)
The "true" Buddhist will let all these things go in order to rely upon themselves: their own effort and struggle to train their mind to do what is right and wholesome; a lot of "hard work". Getting rid of all these things, for the child of God, is not to go and rely upon oneself but because one is now relying upon God our Heavenly Father who loves and cares for us; one no longer needs the mind enmeshing bondage and buttress of powerless, inanimate objects or of persons who purportedly can tell one's fortune. We rely on Almighty God and the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit's indwelling.
Take a turn in another direction. Often these charms and consultations are resorted to due to persistent sicknesses and a person's belief that these will somehow influence, reduce and cause to recover from, said illnesses. For the Christian, we believe that some illnesses can be for our training in righteousness for becoming more Christ-like; that term, "sanctification" that keeps popping up.
Take the famous, ancient chap, Job, for instance. He had it made! Likely a multi-billionaire, in today's terms. Thousands and thousands of cattle, camels, sheep, donkeys, servants to care for them all; he must have had a huge ranch-sized 'piece' of land ranging over a mind-boggling amount of acreage; many children, his wife and himself. He was the philanthropist of philanthropists, helping generously those less fortunate than himself. He was a righteous and upright, good living man.
It all came crashing down on him in one fell swoop! Definitely a stock market crash! His wealth, health and children, gone in a day. His three dubious friends came calling in sympathy but only added fuel to the fire of mental distress and discomfort. They said he MUST have some sin, a juicy secret sin of some sort. Job declared, multiple times, his innocence and righteousness. When you read through the book of Job in the Bible, and come to the ending chapters, you'll discover that God had a thing or two to say about that through a fourth friend of Job, and from God Himself. Job then humbly realized and confessed his sin of self-righteousness, repented thereof and made reparations.
The sequel: God restored all those things Job had lost, get this, multiplied by two! Except for children, it was the same number. Job's wealth and health were all restored. He even lived another 140 years and saw his offspring to the fourth generation (Job 42:16).
I'm not saying that this will necessarily happen to us. Good God-fearing people still get sick and pass away, and precious few live to be more than 100 years old, let alone having 140 more years added. The point is that some sicknesses have a "pause and consider" theme to them. A time to step back from the whirlwind of daily living and to examine the reasons for the ailments. Is there something we are missing? This is a time to consult Almighty God, Our Savior, not to consort with fortune-tellers, and witch doctors or place reliance upon charms and amulets.
To give another example, turn to the New Testament to find the apostle Paul who had a "thorn in the flesh". He besought God three different occasions to remove this thorn. God's answer: "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NIV). These thorns, Paul remarked, were to keep him "from becoming conceited". There was continual reminder. Look at Paul's graciousness and trust towards God's unfailing ways in his life and his opportunity to learn about God's grace and to become more Christ-like. For Paul to have then turned to "crutches" such as fortune-tellers and the like, would have defeated the purpose and broken fellowship with God his Heavenly Father. The process of progressive sanctification was in progress; Paul moved ahead despite pain he may have been enduring from the thorn, hung out the "do not disturb" sign, so to speak, and got on with his ministry sustained by God's sufficient grace.
The Buddhists describe this kind of sickness or difficult situations in life as the "ripening of the karmic fruit" (Page 407 in What Buddhists Believe). That is, an individual must have done something very bad and unwholesome in a previous life and it is coming back to bite him or her during the current life. One should therefore endure and learn from it; train the mind towards better things. Above all, charms, amulets, etc will be to no avail. What's gonna happen, will happen. Of course, if one can find a cure from the medical profession, or other respective professionals, then go for it.
Should that be unsuccessful, then the recommendation is for the Buddhist to seek "guidance from a proper religious teacher" (Page 407-408). In turn, they will be guided to meditate to strengthen and develop the mind. In the previous Burning Quest - Part 30, the subject of what Buddhists meditate upon was discussed. Meditating upon Buddha and his teachings and a continuance of mind-training to eradicate impurities in the mind.
Between the follower of Jesus Christ and the followers of Buddha, this process sounds very similar. However, and I will quote a chunk from the above mentioned blog entry,
The difference between Buddhist and Christian meditation is the motivation behind it; what one wishes to achieve. For the Buddhist it is to attain peace, yes, and purifying thoughts and behavior; but more than that, merits are gleaned towards self-salvation and Nirvana Enlightenment (Page 264 of What Buddhists Believe).
The Christian already has salvation through Jesus Christ, therefore does not need to earn anything towards salvation. He or she is already justified. However as he/she meditates on God's Word and sees where he/she is not living accordingly, they will know how to rectify the situation. If they are obedient, and out of gratitude to Jesus and God the Father, he/she will align his/herself to God's will and way.
Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda believes that the meditation will help to soothe the mind and bring wellness. Seeking mediums, he says,
"...is not a Buddhist practice; it is just a traditional practice that some people believe in very strongly...if one understands and practices the teachings of the Buddha, he or she can realize the nature of the problems. Problems can be overcome without consulting any medium" (Pages 408-409).
Those of us who belong to Jesus Christ, meditate upon God's Word and see what He is telling you through His Word and the Holy Spirit's promptings. Follow that through; be a doer. Also seek professional medical help (I say it again). Find a trustworthy friend to pray with you and to encourage you and lend a listening ear and who may even give some timely advice.
Most of all, remember our Heavenly Father's ear is always available, day or night. Talk to Him in the name of Jesus Christ Who is our "bright Morning Star" (Revelation 22:16). He is the One and Only Star to consult and seek help from and Who will guide us in our lives.
Wise men and women still seek Him.
~ERC March 2019~
Adding on here a hymn Burdens are Lifted at Calvary. May you all be blessed by it.
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