This was written by Ruth in 1996
Core Beliefs of Ruth Vuong (1996)
1
God is love. Love is the only thing that lasts forever. There is no love lost in the universe.
2
We exist to love and be loved.
3
There is the spark of God-- the image of God-- in all human beings which must be respected.
4
Whatever we do to each other, we do to God.
5
All life is interconnected; what affects one directly affects all indirectly.
6
When faced with a decision, we must ask what will be best for the poor.
7
Before God, we are all poor.
8
Life is fragile, dependent upon God.
9
Life is also beautiful, even in its fragility, and sacred.
10
Death is a mystery where life meets God most fully. Because Life is from God and death is its sacred passage back to God, we do not have the right to end life; we have the obligation to receive life as a sacred trust.
WHEN I GROW UP, I WANT TO BE....
I am grown up. I contain my childhood, but I am no longer a child. I am maturing toward death. I want to be . . . .
JUST, keeping myself in right relationship and right perspective to others; seeking right relationship and fair treatment with others; maintaining myself by right livelihood (breaking no bruised reeds and quenching no smoldering wicks),
REVERENT, living with dignity, and acting in ways which affirms the dignity of all others,
LOVING, embracing all life (including those past, present, future, and my own) with joy, gratitude, patience, and respect,
PEACEFUL, now and when I die.
I want to be.
