Would the Creator, with all the love, power and wisdom of the universe, make us all so different and them deem only one right way to get to His kingdom? I would think not. As an expression of the awesome power of the ultimate creative energy, we the people have been blessed to bring forth various expressions. We call it race, culture, tradition and heritage. In essence, who we are collectively is a unique expression of God. No one knows better than He the beauty we bring to life, and He cannot be wrong. As we lift our minds and hearts to know, to be aware and to understand that we are all expressions of the Most High, we will begin to recognize thebeauty of God at our disposal. Our world reflects God's strength as tradition, God's wisdom as culture, God's love as race and ethnicity. Who are we to decide which part of God is best? Let us be reminded God's strength, wisdom, power and love are being expressed as you and me.
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I am not a Buddhist, but I've found these two quotes pretty interesting:
“Then the Blessed One spake and said: Know, Vasettha, that from time to time a Tathagata is born into the world, a fully Enlightened One, blessed and worthy, abounding in wisdom and goodness, happy with knowledge of the worlds, unsurpassed as a guide to erring mortals, . . . a blessed Buddha. He thoroughly understands this universe, as though he saw it face to face, - the world below with all its people, the worlds above, of Mara and of Brahma – and all creatures . . . and from that knowledge makes it known and teaches others. The Truth does he proclaim both in its letter and in its spirit, lovely in its origin, lovely in its progress, lovely in its consummation. A higher life doth He make known in all its purity and in all its perfections.
-excerpt from Tevigga Sutra, translated by Dwight Goddard in “A Buddhist Bible”, p.69 of the 1994 paperback edition.
"The Blessed One replied: Objects are frequently known by different names according to different aspects that they present, --the god Indra is sometimes known as Shakra, and sometimes as Purandara. These different names are sometimes used interchangeably and sometimes they are discriminated, but different objects are not to be imagined because of the different names, nor are they without individuation. The same can be said of myself as I appear in this world of patience before ignorant people and where I am known by uncounted trillions of names. They address me by different names not realizing that they are all names of the one Tathagata. Some recognize me as Tathagata, some as the Self-existent One, some as Gautama the Ascetic, some as Buddha. Then there are others who recognize me as Brahmah, as Vishnu, as Ishvara; some see me as Sun, as Moon; some as a reincarnation of the ancient sages; some as one of "the ten powers"; some as Rama, some as Indra, and some as Varuna. Still there are others who speak of me as The Un-born, as Emptiness, as "Suchness", as Truth, as Reality, as Ultimate Principle; still there are others who see me as Dharmakaya, as Nirvana, as the Eternal; some speak of me as sameness, as non-duality, as un-dying, as formless; some think of me as the doctrine of Buddha-causation, or of Emancipation, or of the Noble Path; and some think of me as Divine Mind and Noble Wisdom. Thus in this world and in other worlds am I known by these uncounted names, but they all see me as the moon is seen in water. Though they all honor, praise and esteem me, they do not fully understand the meaning and significance of the words they use; not having their own self-realization of Truth they cling to the words of their canonical books, or to what has been told them, or to what they have imagined, and fail to see that the name they are using is only one of the many names of the Tathagata. In their studies they follow the mere words of the text vainly trying to gain the true meaning, instead of having confidence in the one "text" where self-confirming Truth is revealed, that is, having confidence in the self-realization of Noble Wisdom."
Excerpt from the Lankavatara Scripture, translated by Dwight Goddard in “A Buddhist Bible”, p. 344 of the 1994 paperback edition.
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