From One Mountain, Many Paths
An American Freemason Speaks Out for Peace
by Dr. Patrick SwiftAn American Freemason Speaks Out for Peace
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This week we find:
Let us be united, let us speak in harmony. Let our minds apprehend alike, common be our prayer. Common be our resolution, alike be our feelings, Unified be our hearts and perfect be our unity.
Rig Veda 10:191, 2-4, Adapted
Therefore the sage is like a square which cuts no one with its angles; like a corner which injures no one with its sharpness. He is straightforward, but allows himself no license; he is bright but does not dazzle,
Tao Te Chin 58
Taoism
The first quotation reminds me of what Freemasonry is supposed to be like. Unfortunately it is not always that way. We open the Bible to the verse "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." It is good and pleasant to find things working together that way. In one of my lodges things generally seem to fall under that category. In the other it is not quite so pleasant. There is strife just below the surface and it is not quite so pleasant. Egos and personalities get in the way. It seems to me that in my long history with that lodge it has generally been that way. Little digs are made under peoples breath and there is upset. On the surface it seems to be a lodge that "has it together" but the cement of brotherly love is not always spread evenly. It is sad.
My general reaction to conflict is to be like Abram in Genesis 13;8 -9. I just have nothing further to do with the person causing the strife. Once in awhile I fall short of my goal to have no strife and then I do not enjoy the place I go. I withdrew from one Lodge completely because of a situation like that. I miss some of the brothers there but sometimes the treatment is so egregious that, for my own health and peace I must leave. I may be close to doing that again. We shall see.
The second quote is really interesting. To have no sharp cutting angles. That is a goal to set for myself. Perhaps I need to use the gavel more and cut off the sharp corners to try to better "fit myself" to the Temple of God. But then again, perhaps I do not want to be a sage.
My general reaction to conflict is to be like Abram in Genesis 13;8 -9. I just have nothing further to do with the person causing the strife. Once in awhile I fall short of my goal to have no strife and then I do not enjoy the place I go. I withdrew from one Lodge completely because of a situation like that. I miss some of the brothers there but sometimes the treatment is so egregious that, for my own health and peace I must leave. I may be close to doing that again. We shall see.
The second quote is really interesting. To have no sharp cutting angles. That is a goal to set for myself. Perhaps I need to use the gavel more and cut off the sharp corners to try to better "fit myself" to the Temple of God. But then again, perhaps I do not want to be a sage.
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