Become an Ordained Minister

These are stories about why people became ministers with the Universal Life Church. They tell about what motivated them and about what they've done with their ministries.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Buddhism

Master of Buddhism by Rev. Nitza L. Melgar

When I think of life and it's meaning, I picture myself on the top of a very tall mountain.  I stand there alone, overlooking the clouds that float slowly beneath me.  I see the birds flying freely to their next destination down below.  I am at the very point where the world ends and eternity begins.

There, there way down below the clouds, live the humans.  Those beings, I am suppose to love and care for without constraint.

I stand dressed in a white hooded robe.  No markings at all, as to indicate my station.  My body is entirely covered, so my gender is not known, the color of my skin is hidden.  My face, deep inside the white hood, is invisible.  Here, I ponder, the question, regarding what I must do, to reach enlightenment?

I must empty myself.  Disappear, if you will.  I must love every living creature, as it is and not as I would like it to be.  I must erase all anger, resentment, or feeling of hatred towards anyone.

I must walk away from all I have, and think more of others  than myself.

I must dissolve myself and become part of the oneness that is humanity.

I am not black, white or any color.  I am not male or female.  I am not rich or poor.  I am not tall or short.  I am open to all things.  Accepting all things as part of the greater picture, the tapestry that is life.

This, to me, is what Buddha, Christ and all those like them were trying to teach us.  There is something greater than ourselves that rules all things.  We must become less, in order to become more.  It is only in dying to oneself, that one can live.  It is only in reaching out to others, that we can receive.

We must accept ourselves, just as we are and strive continuously to do good.   It is only in emptying yourself that you can become a vessel.  A vessel to be filled with love, and selflessness.

The more I read the teachings of Buddha, the more I realize, how similar they are to Jesus teachings in the New Testament.  It has been said, "that there is nothing new under the Sun."  I began to think about this, and try to see why this happened.  It seems to me, that whenever the world becomes full of anger, war and violence,teachers such as Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mohamed and others would come and remind us what the True Path should be for us to follow.

In our lifetime, people like Martin Luther King, tried to do the same thing.   If we stray from the Path, we will be damned to relive our mistakes.  I do believe in reincarnation and I do believe a soul returns over and over till he gets it right.  To me enlightenment is the only Path to Ascension and eternal reunion with the essence from which we came.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course and highly recommend it to other ministers.   Thank for this opportunity to learn and share ideas.

God Bless,
Rev. Nitza L. Melgar ULC Minister,SBT

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