Maitreya's Teachings: The Laws of Life

by Benjamin Creme

These teachings of Maitreya, a Being of immeasurable stature, enable us to understand the path of evolution and the Laws of Life. The essential unity of all life is outlined in a clear and meaningful... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9071484319
• ISBN13: 9789071484315
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Share International Fdn
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.5" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

spiritual nourishment

If a Christ or Buddha figure were alive today, what would his (or her) teachings look like? If Maitreya's Teachings: The Laws of Life is any indication--and from the freshness and vibrancy of this book, one hopes that it is--then these teachings would reflect the concerns of an eminently modern man, one who speaks in simple but deeply resonant terms about the most urgent problems of the day--social, economic, political, environmental, and religious. Indeed, the teachings in this volume, which take almost extended aphoristic form, are intended not so much to express truths as to change readers, spiritually, ethically, and politically: "This is not philosophy. I am teaching you live things, not `past, present and future.'" But this is a voice outside of ideology and "isms," one that offers awareness yet makes no claim on the reader. The Teacher, Maitreya, states: "Do not run after Me. I have not come to found a new religion. . . . [but to] teach the art of Self-realization." Maitreya's teachings on the art of Self-realization, whose principles in simplest form involve practicing honesty, sincerity, and detachment, are never sententious. These "live" teachings have the uncanny quality of being both familiar and absolutely new, and reading them, one feels not only the ring of truth, but also a growing sense of enlightenment, freedom, and hope. Maitreya's wisdom on the laws of life extends beyond the personal, however, to the collective and global. The text offers a razor-sharp assessment of the state of the world, on topics as wide-ranging as the environment, commercialization and market forces, poverty and world hunger, education, politics, war, terrorism, fundamentalism, drugs, energy, healing, and the all-important law of cause and effect, to name a few. A new awareness is transforming the world's structures--economic, political, and cultural--before our eyes, and, according to Maitreya, we stand on the verge of a new era of justice, freedom, and equilibrium: "The dissolution of ancient patterns of thought and behaviour has begun. Polarities will dissolve. Extreme differences between rich and poor will begin to disappear. . . . Political and religious rigidities will dissolve. New forms of government will arise across the globe. . . . People everywhere are becoming aware, and will be unwilling to be dominated by others when their destiny is to be free. Governments everywhere will have to listen to the people. Government will be by the people, for the people." These are weighty and hopeful pronouncements, to be sure. But what is particularly striking among this collection of communications from Maitreya--which were recorded by two British journalists between 1988 and 1993 during interviews with a close associate of Maitreya's in London, and published in the monthly magazine Share International--are a number of astonishing predictions that have in fact taken place, foretelling, for example, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dissolution of the Soviet

The Laws of Life

Great reading for spiritual growth. Thought provoking when considering how we affect one another on this planet simply by our own thoughts and actions and the actions of nations in relation to worldly events.

What everyone should know

How many times have you thought: people don't know how to live - how to survive much less be happy. Well, here is the book which tells it all, simply, clearly and lovingly. It makes sense that we should not hurt each other. It makes sense that what we think and do comes back to us. Like the Law of Gravity, you can choose to ignore the laws of life, but life is so much better when you adhere to them. Thanks, Maitreya, for this treasure.

A Teacher like no other

Maitreya presents ideas in a way many people might not expect. His words seem to pierce straight into the very heart of the reader. This information is immensely valuable for us all, especially during humanity's current transition from fear, greed, and imbalance to a much brighter future characterized by sharing, cooperation, and harmony.

A spiritual take on politics

This is a most unusual and intriguing book. Its ideas will warm the heart of the virtuous and stimulate the open-minded as much as they will enrage the ideologue and the fundamentalist. Written in a simple language and presented as short commentaries arranged by subject, it is suitable for the general reader and, particularly, the awakening citizen of our times. The book expounds the principle of "be who you really are" and shows its relevance to personal fulfillment, social harmony, and political stability. The qualities leading to the first are self-awareness, honesty, and detachment. Respecting other people's identity, freedom, and human rights brings about the second. The third, finally, is the expression of all the above in the act of sharing the world's resources. What makes its ideas remarkably vivid is their application to world events in the period of 1988-1993: the poll tax revolt and the subsequent fall of Margaret Thatcher in the UK; Gorbachev's hasty reforms and the collapse of the Soviet Union; and the Middle East crisis. The book offers incisive commentary on the causes and effects of the Gulf War and describes hitherto unknown incidents regarding President G. H. Bush, Saddam Hussein, the Sheikh of Kuwait, and General Colin Powell. In my opinion, spiritual politics would be a suitable (and certainly appealing) title for the book. By probing the failure of our institutions to help us "be who we really are," it delivers a call for their reform. Its brave inclusion of market forces and religious orthodoxy to the powers of social oppression will surely unnerve many readers. Even so, its honest and clear stance offers solid ground for further exploration of these topics. Actually, I would recommend it as a textbook for courses on spiritual activism, of which we will hear much in the future.