World Philosophical Heritage

Wisdom and teachings of
Orthodoxy

99 quote(s) | Page 2 / 4

contact_support

I t is not only he who commits sin who is separated from God and becomes His enemy, but also he who loves it and covets something, or has an attachment in his heart to anything that is on earth. This constitutes friendship with the world (James 4:4). Thus is is clearly proven that, even if one is deprived of everything and commits no sin whatever in action, but merely likes it and favors it and, so to speak, is attached to it, he is an enemy of God. Thus John says, "If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). So the Lord Himself says, "You must love the Lord your God with all your mind and with all your strength and with all your soul" (Mk. 12:30). Therefore he who craves or has an attachment to anything else transgresses this commandment.

quote 3414 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
The Discourses, p. 111, Trans. C.J. de Catanzaro. Ramsey, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1980.

W e think we will receive the full knowledge of God's truth by means of worldly wisdom, and fancy that this mere reading of the God-inspired writings of the saints is to comprehend Orthodoxy, and that this is an exact and certain knowlege of the Holy Trinity. Nor is this all, but the more august among us foolishly suppose that the contemplation which comes to pass only through the Spirit in those who are worthy is the same as the thoughts produced by beir own reasoning. How ridiculous! How callous!

quote 3413 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
On the Mystical Life : The Ethical Discourses. Trans. Alexander Golitzin. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1996,(Vol. 2), p. 113

B ut neither should you try to seize {God} with the hands of your intellect, for He is ungraspable, and the more you make bold to touch Him or fancy that you hold Him, the more you will have nothing inside and He will immediately disappear from you entirely.

quote 3412 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
On the Mystical Life : The Ethical Discourses. Trans. Alexander Golitzin. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1996,(Vol. 2), p. 136

H ow then was {the Word} everywhere before making the world and, when He had made it, how was He shining in it without the world comprehending Him? (cf Jn 1:1-15). Pay careful attention: God "Who is everywhere present and fills all things" was not, Scripture says, separated from it by location when He created this sensible world, but by the nature of the glory of His divinity, it being evident that nothing created approached or comprehended Him at all. Indeed, being inseparable from all He is as clearly in all.

quote 3411 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
On the Mystical Life : The Ethical Discourses. Trans. Alexander Golitzin. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1996,(Vol. 1), p. 155

G od, the cause of all, is One… That One is not such as are visible things. Rather, He transcends incomparably and inalterably all the visible world…

quote 3410 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
On the Mystical Life : The Ethical Discourses. Trans. Alexander Golitzin. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1996, (Vol. 1), p. 122

W hen the intellect has been perfected, it unites wholly with God and is illumined by divine light, and the most hidden mysteries are revealed to it. Then it truly learns where wisdom and power lie… While it is still fighting against the passions it cannot as yet enjoy these things… But once the battle is over and it is found worthy of spiritual gifts, then it becomes wholly luminous, powerfully energized by grace and rooted in the contemplation of spiritual realities. A person in whom this happens is not attached to the things of this world but has passed from death to life.

quote 3409 | The Philokalia
Philokalia (Vol. 2), p. 355

T he person who listens to Christ fills himself with light; and if he imitates Christ, he reclaims himself.

quote 3408 | The Philokalia
St. Thalassios, in On Love, Self-control and Life in accordance with the Intellect: ("Philokalia (Vol. 2)", p. 321)

Y ou should not doubt that the intellect, when it begins to be strongly energized by the divine light, becomes so completely translucent that it sees its own light vividly. This takes place when the power of the soul gains control over the passions. But when St. Paul says that "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14), he definitely teaches us that everything which appears to the intellect, whether as light or as fire, if it has a shape, is the product of the evil artifice of the enemy. So we should not embark on the ascetic life in the hope of seeing visions clothed with form or shape; for if we do, Satan will find it easy to lead our soul astray. Our one purpose must be to reach the point when we perceive the love of God fully and consciously in our heart …

quote 3407 | Diadochos of Photiki
On Spiritual Knowledge: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 265, text 40)

W hen in fear, trembling and unworthiness we are yet permited to receive the divine, undefiled Mysteries of Christ, our King and Lord, we should then display even greater watchfulness, strictness and guard over our hearts, so that the divine fire, the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, may consume our sins and stains, great and small. For when that fire enters into us, it at once drives the evil spirits from our heart and remits the sins we have previously committed, leaving the intellect free from the turbulence of wicked thoughts. And if after this, standing at the entrance to our heart, we keep strict watch over the intellect, when we are again permitted to receive those Mysteries the divine body will illumine our intellect still more and make it shine like a star.

quote 3406 | Saint Hesychios the Priest
On Watchfulness and Holiness: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 179, text 101)

T he sun rising over the earth creates the daylight; and the venerable and holy name of the Lord Jesus, shining continually in the mind, gives birth to countless intellections radiant as the sun.

quote 3405 | Saint Hesychios the Priest
On Watchfulness and Holiness: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 197, text 196)

T he guarding of the intellect may appropriately be called light-producing, lightning-producing, light-giving and fire-bearing, for truly it surpasses endless virtues, bodily and other. Because of this, and because of the glorious light to which it gives birth, one must honour this virtue with worthy epithets… {Those who have become contemplatives} bathe in a sea of pure and infinite light, touching it ineffably and living and dwelling in it. They have tasted that the Lord is good (cf. Ps. 34:8)…

quote 3404 | Saint Hesychios the Priest
On Watchfulness and Holiness: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p 192, text 171)

W hile we are being strengthened in Christ Jesus and beginning to move forward in steadfast watchfulness, He at first appears in our intellect like a torch which, carried in the hand of the intellect, guides us along the tracks of the mind; then He appears like a full moon, circling the heart's firmament; then He appears to us like the sun, radiating justice, clearly revealing Himself in the full light of spiritual vision.

quote 3403 | Saint Hesychios the Priest
On Watchfulness and Holiness: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 191, text 166)

T he Lord fills His teachers with grace according to the quality and longing of those who listen.

quote 3402 | The Philokalia
St. John Cassian in On the Holy Fathers of Sketis: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 98)

W hen Christ Himself spoke to Paul and called him, He could have opened his eyes at once and made known to him the way of perfection; instead He sent him to Ananias and told him to learn from him the way of truth, saying: Arise and go into the city, and there you will be told what you must do (Acts 9:6). In this manner He teaches us to be guided by those who are advanced on the way, so that the vision rightly given to Paul should not be wrongly interpreted; otherwise it might lead later generations presumptuously to suppose that each individual must be initiated into the truth directly by God, as Paul was, and not by the fathers…

quote 3401 | The Philokalia
St. John Cassian in On the Holy Fathers of Sketis: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 107)

A ll men are made in God's image; but to be in His likeness is granted only to those who through great love have brought their own freedom into subjection to God. For only when we do not belong to ourselves do we become like Him who through love has reconciled us to Himself. No one achieves this unless he persuades his soul not to be distracted by the false glitter of this life.

quote 3400 | The Philokalia
St. Diadochos of Photiki in On Spiritual Knowledge: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 253, text 4)

A brother named John came from the coast to Father Philimon and, clasping his feet, said to him: "What shall I do to be saved? For my intellect vacillates to and fro and strays after all the wrong things." After a pause, the father replied: "This is one of the outer passions and it stays with you because you still have not acquired a perfect longing for God. The warmth of this longing and of the knowledge of God has not yet come to you." The brother said to him: "What shall I do, father?" Abba Philimon replied: "Meditate inwardly for a while, deep in your heart; for this can cleanse your intellect of these things." The brother, not understanding what was said, asked the Elder: "What is inward meditation, father?" The Elder replied: "Keep watch in your heart; and with watchfulness say in your mind with awe and trembling: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me. For this is the advice which the blessed Diadochos gave to beginners."

quote 3399 | The Philokalia
("Philokalia (Vol. 2)", p. 347)

I f you really wish to cover your evil thoughts with shame, to be still and calm, and to watch over your heart without hindrance, let the Jesus Prayer cleave to your breath, and in a few days you will find that this is possible.

quote 3398 | Saint Hesychios the Priest
On Watchfulness and Holiness: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", pp. 194-195, text 182)

A ttentiveness is the heart's stillness, unbroken by any thought. In this stillness the heart breathes and invokes, endlessly and without ceasing, only Jesus Christ who is the Son of God and Himself God. It confesses Him who alone has power to forgive our sins, and with His aid it courageously faces its enemies…

quote 3397 | Saint Hesychios the Priest
On Watchfulness and Holiness: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 163, text 5)

T he soul's true peace lies in the gentle name of Jesus and in its emptying itself of impassioned thoughts.

quote 3396 | Saint Hesychios the Priest
On Watchfulness and Holiness: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 183, text 122)

T he name of Jesus should be repeated over and over in the heart as flashes of lightning are repeated over and over in the sky before rain…

quote 3395 | Saint Hesychios the Priest
On Watchfulness and Holiness: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 180, text 105)

F or the complete fulfilment of its purpose we should give it nothing but the prayer "Lord Jesus". No one, it is written, can say 'Lord Jesus' except in the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3). Let the intellect continually concentrate on these words within its inner shrine with such intensity that it is not turned aside to any mental images. Those who meditate unceasingly upon this glorious and holy name in the depths of their hearts can sometimes see the light of their own intellect. For when the mind is closely concentrated upon this name, then we grow fully conscious that the name is burning up all the filth which covers the surface of the soul; for it is written: Our God is a consuming fire (Deut. 4:24). Then the Lord awakens in the soul a great love for His glory; for when the intellect with fervour of heart maintains persistently its remembrance of the precious name, then that name implants in us a constant love for its goodness, since there is nothing now that stands in the way. This is the pearl of great price which a man can acquire by selling all that he has, and so experience the inexpressible joy of making it his own (cf. Matt. 13:45-46).

quote 3394 | Diadochos of Photiki
On Spiritual Knowledge: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", pp. 370-371, text 59)

W e should know, moreover, that a person energized by God to such love rises, at that moment, even above faith, since by reason of his great love he now senses consciously in his heart the One whom he previously honoured by faith…

quote 3393 | Diadochos of Photiki
On Spiritual Knowledge: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", text 91, p. 290)

S teadfast faith is a strong tower; and for one who has faith Christ comes to be all.

quote 3392 | Saint Mark the Ascetic
On the Spiritual Law: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", text 4, p. 110)

F asts and vigils, the study of Scripture, renouncing possessions and everything worldly are not in themselves perfection, as we have said; they are its tools. For perfection is not to be found in them; it is acquired through them. It is useless, therefore, to boast of our fasting, vigils, poverty, and reading of Scripture when we have not achieved the love of God and our fellow men. Whoever has achieved love has God within himself and his intellect is always with God.

quote 3391 | The Philokalia
St. John Cassian quoting Abba Moses in On the Holy Fathers of Sketis: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 96)

W hen the intellect forgets the purpose of true devotion, then external works of virtue bring no profit.

quote 3390 | Saint Mark the Ascetic
No Righteousness by Works: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", text 51, p. 129)

Page: 1 |2 | 3 | 4

World Sacred Scriptures

The Dhammapada
The Diamond sutra and the Heart Sutra
The Bible
Corpus Hermetica
The Bhagavad Gita
The Laws of Manu
The Upanishads
The Holy Koran (External Link)
The Zohar (External Link)
Shri Guru Granth Sahib
The Avesta
The Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
Apocrypha of the Bible
The Dao De Jing
Tibetan Book of the Dead

Quotes from the World Religion

God Love All Beings

Scriptures 360

Bahai 360
Buddhism 360
Christianity 360
Hinduism 360
Islam 360

Jainism 360
Judaism 360
Sickhim 360
Taoism 360
Zoroastrism 360

Quotes by sacred scriptures

Quotes by authors

Quotes by schools of thought

Quotes by subjects

Search quotes by keywords