Behaviors, acts, works, deeds

 

That which separates man from the beasts,

That which makes man human, is not that

He is both flesh and spirit,

For all living things are in this alike.

 

What makes him fully human,

What separates him from all other life,

Is his capacity for knowing that

This is the case.

 

In the weakness of his flesh,

The strength of man’s mind

Allowed him to survive, and

Enabled his prosperity.

 

Living his life, man came to learn

What behaviors allowed his survival, and

Those behaviors, being efficacious,

Were removed from further thought.

 

Removed from his thought, those behaviors that

Help man survive become

In his conduct, habits, and

In his thinking, prejudices, and

Determine how he

Interacts with life.

 

All men, non-believers and believers alike

Go about their lives riding on the inertia of

Their habits and prejudices, free to

Bring their wills to bear on the self-interested

Acts through which

They hope to improve their lives.

 

Devotees, in addition, humble themselves, and

Setting aside their self-interest,

Perform works of charity

To the benefit of those less fortunate.

 

Making no distinction between self and other,

Renunciants make no judgments and,

In the absence of desires,  

Attain to no goals.

 

Committing no acts,

Performing no works,

Renunciants walk the paths of their lives

Devoting their skills and talents to

What needs to be done,

Committing deeds as needed

To meet events as they occur.

 

Acting without ends,

Renunciants remain detached from

The results of their actions.

 

Untroubled by the past,

Unworried for the future,

Untouched and unmoved,

Renunciants walk their paths,

Living lives of peace,

Living lives of Charity,

Living lives of Love.

  

Behaviors belong to

All living things.

 

Acts belong only to

Beings possessed of a will.

 

Works belong only to

Willful beings who, believing in spirit,

Demonstrate and strengthen their faith by

Putting their fellows first.

  

Deeds belong only to

Willful beings who, aware of

Self as the source of all suffering,

Sacrifice their Selves at spirit’s altar;

Deeds belong only to

Those now Self-less beings whose

Every act is without ends, whose

Every act is an act of prayer, whose

Every act is a manifestation

Of spirit,

Of Charity,

Of Love.