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The 25 Spiritual Wisdom Pillars of the World’s Religions!

By Dr Joshua David Stone

My Beloved Readers, even though I am not an exact follower of each and every one of the religions I mention in this chapter in terms of the spiritual wisdom principles that each one ascribes to; I think it would be very interesting for you, my readers, to get a quick synthesis overview of the major religions and the teachings and principles they teach. Although here and there a few notions may be just slightly off the mark, overall, I think much can be gained from the study of the world’s religions and their teachings. There are many paths back to GOD, and they all lead to the same place. My mission and work is that of “Synthesis”; to show that all paths are really teaching the same thing but using slightly different words, and maybe looking at things from a slightly different lens. This is why the study of the principles of the different world’s religions can be interesting, for it just might spark a thought or new spiritual practice that might be useful and can add to your “Full Spectrum” understanding of GOD in all His Glory!

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism

  • The first Noble Truth states that suffering and frustration are the result of the difficulty of facing the basic fact of life that everything is impermanent and transitory; “All things arise and pass away.”
  • The second Noble Truth is that the cause of suffering is the clinging to wrong points of view. Out of ignorance people divide the perceived world into individual and separate things, attempting to confine the fluid forms of reality into fixed categories created by the mind.
  • The third Noble Truth states that suffering and frustration can be ended. It is possible to be free from bondage and to reach the state of total liberation.
  • The fourth Noble Truth states that it is possible to end all suffering through self-development, which leads to enlightenment; enlightenment is achieved through right seeing, right knowing, right action, right awareness and right meditation.

The Eight-Fold Noble Path of Buddhism

  • Right Perspective and Understanding
  • Right Thought
  • Right Speech
  • Right Action
  • Right Livelihood
  • Right Effort
  • Right Mindfulness
  • Right Concentration

The Three Refuges of Buddhism

  • I take my refuge in the Buddha
  • I take my refuge in the Dharma (Teachings)
  • I take my refuge in the Sangha (Spiritual community)

The Six Perfections of Buddhism

  • Giving
  • Ethics
  • Patience
  • Effort
  • Concentration
  • Wisdom

The Four Ripening Factors in Tibetan Buddhism

  • Giving material aid
  • Speaking eloquently
  • Always giving the right counsel
  • Setting an example by living the principle taught

The Six Vassals of the Zoroastrian Religion

  • Good Thought
  • Right Law
  • Noble Government
  • Holy Character
  • Health
  • Immortality

The Five Duties of the Islamic Faith

  • Shahadah: to profess belief (“I witness that there is no GOD but Allah, and the Mohammed is the prophet of Allah.”)
  • Salat: to pray five times a day
  • Zakat: to give alms to the needy
  • Saum: to fast in the month of Ramadan
  • Haj: to make the pilgrimage to Mecca

The Five Great Vows in Jainism

  • To injure no creature
  • To speak the truth
  • To abstain from stealing
  • To renounce all worldly goods
  • To practice sexual self-control

The Nine Vows in Jainism

  • Not to take human or animal life
  • Not to be unfaithful to their spouses
  • Not to lie, steal, or cheat
  • To give alms
  • To practice self-denial
  • To guard against evil
  • To meditate regularly
  • To avoid needless travel
  • Not to be greedy

The Seven Great Egyptian Hermetic Principles

  • The Principle of Mentalism – “The all is mind: the universe is mental.”
  • The Principle of Correspondence – “As above, so below; As below, so above.”
  • The Principle of Vibration – “Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.”
  • The Principle of Polarity – “Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled.”
  • The Principle of Rhythm – “Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates.”
  • The Principle of Cause and Effect – “Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to the law; chance is but a name for law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the law.”
  • The Principle of Gender – “Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; gender manifests on all planes.”

The Ten Commandments of Judaism

And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. GOD called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses.” And he said, “Here am I.” And he said, “Draw not nigh hither; Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is Holy Ground. I am the GOD of thy father, the GOD of Abraham, the GOD of Issac, and the GOD of Jacob.”

Moses asked, “What is thy name?” The answer came: “I AM THAT I AM. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

“I am the Lord thy GOD, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them, for I the Lord thy GOD am a GOD that demands obedience, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy GOD in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy GOD; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; For in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth, the sea and all this in them, and rested the seventh day; Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

“Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy GOD giveth thee.

Thou shalt not murder.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is thy neighbors.”

The Thirteen Articles of Faith of Judaism

  • Faith in GOD, the Creator
  • His Unity
  • His Incorporeality
  • His Eternity
  • To Him alone worship is due
  • Belief in the words of the prophets
  • Moses as the greatest Jewish Prophet
  • The Revelation of the laws of Moses
  • The law as unchanging
  • Belief in GOD’s All-Knowledge
  • His rewards and punishments
  • The coming of the Messiah
  • The resurrection of the dead

The Nine Precepts of Shintoism

  • Do not transgress the will of the Gods
  • Do not forget your obligation to your Ancestors
  • Do not offend by violating the decrees of the state
  • Do not forget the profound goodness of the Gods, through which calamity and misfortunes are averted and sickness is healed
  • Do not forget that the world is one Great Family
  • Do not forget the limitation of your own person
  • Do not become angry, even though others become angry
  • Do not be sluggish in your work
  • Do not bring blame to the teachings

The Great Invocation

From the point of Light within the Mind of GOD