Common Hearts, Common Minds
(Three Masters in One)
by
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After his enlightenment, Siddhartha Gautama came across a man standing in the road. The man looked at Gautama and asked him, “Friend, who are you? Are you some kind of god?”
Gautama answered, “No, I am not.”
“Well, then,” the man asked, “are you some kind of wizard?”
Gautama answered once again, “No, I am not.”
“Well, then,” the bewildered man asked, “what are you?”
Gautama responded, “I am Buddha.” (Which means, “One who is awake”.)[1]
(The following account of Buddha’s early life is taken from the book, Entering the Stream, edited by Samual Bercholz and Sherab Chodzin Kohn[2].) Sometime during the sixth century B.C.E., a prince was born in
So the king sheltered his son from the realities of life, like disease, old age and death in order to prevent him from choosing the holy life. However, Siddhartha must have been destined for enlightenment, for little by little he was exposed to the sufferings of life. Here is how it happened. The prince had a charioteer named Chandaka who would take him out on special occasions. The king took great care to control where the chariot would go and what his son would see. Anything unpleasant along the path was removed ahead of time so as not to disturb the young prince. Well, things remained the same until he was in his late twenties, when he commanded Chandaka to take him to a specific garden in order to spend the day. On the way to the garden, on the side of the road, they saw an old man all bent over.
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About the Book
Have you ever wondered why it is that different spiritual beliefs are so similar to each other? Is it just coincidence or is there something more to it, something beyond the ordinary that must account for it? It may be that one belief system simply derives from another one. Originally there was an insight captured by a certain individual, and, then, connected by time and along certain geographical lines it spreads to other peoples. With slight variations, it continues largely as it was originally established. To be sure, this sort of thing happens. Yet, there are those cases where different sages or wise men who have little or nothing to do with each other in terms of time or geography uncannily espouse the same ideas, the same spiritual understandings. They speak with one voice, as it were. In today’s times, when the philosophy of materialism is still ruling our souls, the idea that there could be a natural spiritual connection between the soul and the mystery of the beyond probably does not sit well with many. It opens up a whole can of worms-- Is there a metaphysical realm? Are we more than biochemicals? Did we not put to rest that silly notion of the soul a long time ago?
For those of you committed to materialism, I ask you to open up your minds and consider the perspective of the three masters I present to you, Lao Tsu, Buddha, and Jesus. Though Lao Tsu and Buddha lived around the same time, they were clearly separated by geography. Jesus was separated from both of them by a good deal of time, and there is no solid evidence that he had any contact with their ideas. Yet, time and time again they formulate the same perspectives, the same teachings for advanced spiritual living. I found myself of necessity picturing an entire realm separate from the rigid world of matter, a realm of pure Spirit through which one can contact the mysterious, mystical Source of all Being. These three masters reached higher than most of us ever will. But does it not stand to reason that we, too, have the capacity to connect to Spirit like these three did? In our own way? To our own degree?
This book, Common Hearts, Common Minds will demonstrate to you, example after example, how each man spoke the same truth, and in the process may just give you a new way of life that you will choose to follow.
About the Author
Common Hearts, Common Minds is the second book that Robert W. Dunne has authored. His writing ability is more of a native skill than one due to advanced degrees. His schooling took him only as far as a BA in Psychology. However, his life experiences have more than made up for any lack of advanced education. At 21 he was in a horrible car accident that caused burns over 50% of his body. It took him years of recuperation and a great deal of soul searching to pull himself out of the abyss he had sunken into. But pull himself out, he did. Dunne’s first book, Underground Passages, for two semesters now, has been used as one of the texts for Professor Donald E. Washburn PhD.’s course, Divine Witness, at Mass. College of Liberal Arts in