Hinayana Buddhist Teaching
Decay is inherent in all component things.
Work out your own salvation with diligence.
The Perennial Philosophy, Aldous Huxley
[While acknowledging the undeniable truth of the first line, as a practitioner of Christian/Catholic faith, I can only agree with the second, in a limited way, finding myself rather on the side of Martin Luther.]
Martin Luther
Therefore, it is not irreverent, inquisitive, or trivial, but helpful and necessary for a Christian, to find out whether the will does anything or nothing in matters pertaining to eternal salvation.… If we do not know these things, we shall know nothing at all of things Christian and shall be worse than any heathen.…
Therefore, let anyone who does not feel this confess that he is no Christian. For if I am ignorant of what, how far, and how much I can and may do in relation to God, it will be equally uncertain and unknown to me what, how far, and how much God can and may do in me.… But when the works and power of God are unknown in this way, I cannot worship, praise, thank, and serve God, since I do not know how much I ought to attribute to myself and how much to God. It therefore behooves us to be very certain about the distinction between God’s power and our own, God’s work and our own, if we want to live a godly life.
The Bondage of the Will
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