Teachings
essays and principles, taught by a master teacher
About the essays
The 29 essays below are provided courtesy of Great River Institute (GRI). For further information, please contact Great River Institute directly. The essays are by Scott Walter, Jiu Jitsu Shihan and master teacher. He is the founder of Great River Institute and of Great River Jiu Jitsu.
Essay categories
- The Art of Giving — 7 essays
- Reconciling Our Separation from the Oneness — 8 essays
- Truth — 8 essays
- Being — 2 essays
- Spiritual Schools, Study and Education — 2 essays
- Questions and Problems — 2 essays
- FAQs — scroll all the way down
To read, you can use either the newer Medium shortcut, or click on the link for an older PDF version.
THE ART OF GIVING SERIES
A series of articles discussing Giving and its Principles: Respect, Appreciation, Gratitude and Value.
- Introduction to the Art of Giving— The four principles of The Art of Giving offer a way to grow any value forever and to be capable of following any chosen value to its source. It functions as a circular loop, continuously spiraling into increasing value.
- Moving Through the Values of the Moment — Appreciation and Gratitude have values and are necessary; the problem with these values is when we get stuck in them. We need a way to move to a more or less valuable version of our reasoning.
- Giving and Its Principles — These principles can help us build a stronger connection to source value. This occurs as we act in ways that help the source value, and our relationship to it, grow. This growth has to be continuous, if we want a continuous relationship.
- The 12 Step Practice — The best practice is to look for life to be a way of practicing what you want to be more about in everything you do.
- Practicing in the Moment — You don’t want to be someone who simply reads about the wonders of life, but cannot live in harmony with them. Practice helps us all to grow and improve.
- In Consideration of Compassion — How do we practice being compassionate? We should wonder about how we are practicing. Likely not as well as we could be. We are all in the human form, with every conceivable way of reasoning. Compassion considers this.
- The Inclusive Nature of Respect — One form of oneness leads to inclusive understanding and love. The other leads to exclusive understanding and love. Both have an inner and outer. One loves the inner more and one loves the outer more.
RECONCILING OUR SEPARATION FROM THE ONENESS
This point is present in every moment, but to realize it from the unknown, to the known, to a knowing of the Known, to a Knowing of being at One with the Known, requires a way of living Inward while living in an outward state or world.
- Reconciling our Separation from the Oneness — The way of being known as Christ is a way of being at One while living in two that is available to us, but just because it is in us to engage, it does not mean that we are engaging it.
- An Introductory Perspective on Adam and Eve — The beings playing these prime positions agreed to work those points on behalf of everyone and have continued to do that since their first entry into the model. Every religion focusing on Oneness has been associated with this effort.
- Adam and Eve and The Art of Giving — Adam and Eve were originally in a state of being dwelling right on the edge of the earth’s spiritual/physical plane connection. This point of dwell, represented by Adam and Eve, is in each one of us.
- Knowing and knowing the Living Form of the Moment — Outward knowings are matter based. Inward Knowings are Inward based and the Inward is more core to the current than even the inward.
- True Knowing — True Knowing comes from a Knowing of the Known.
- Knowing the Everything — True Knowing comes from a Knowing of the Known.
- What Are You Really Offering in the Moment? — The conflict of Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve, is about understanding the value of our offerings to the Lord. Abel’s offering brought him closer to the Lord, and Cain’s led him to the land of Nod, nodding off to the reason he was created.
- Here is the Point — Here is the point. I have offered it several times, but due to a lack of respect, it is not becoming the value we are centering on. We are circling it, but not centering yet.
TRUTH
If you honor the Truth and Love that is more True and Loving, it will fill you, fulfilling your inner being because you are living more authentically in line with the inner Self.
- Inventing Truth — Our relationship to Truth is always based in part on our inventions and the qualities of those inventions speaks of our inward relationship to Truth.
- The Quality of Invention — The truth can certainly be even more inward and True as we engage its more inward value and this is why some inventions of the truth are lesser while others are greater.
- Your Inner Work — We really do have work to do and we need the mindsets missing from many spiritual efforts. Consider that our work involves more than just ourselves going more within.
- Are You Valid or Invalid? — Think about what you really want to validate, focus on that. Why spend so much effort and time validating the negatives that you want to distance yourself from? There is plenty of negative in life; you do not have to be the person who validates all that.
- Revealing Aspects — Let’s remember that becoming aware in the rights and wrongs of anything and everything is our path home. And let’s Love home more than our rights and wrongs.
- The Current Running Through the Moment — This current is somewhere in every moment and if you center on it, you will stabilize better with it. The goal is to center on a love of truth and the truth of love.
- Fundamental Christianity — Suffering begins when we begin to realize the effects of our choices and actions are not always perfectly balanced. To reduce suffering we must take the responsibility in our current moments to change how we act and react.
- The Facing of Life and Death — The point is not to die and face death. The point is to live when facing death and to die when facing life.
BEING
Being, being of, and being a certain way means that something has been, is being or will be that way. Nothing can be unless it is.
- Many Ways of Being — Within each of us is an awareness of our former states of being, our current inner states of being and what we have come to be and are becoming. Even our relationships over time in eternity are affecting what we have been, are and will become.
- Perceiving Inner Spiritual Beings — How do we perceive them? You will know them by allowing yourself to Know them within. Meet them in their hearts and you will Know them and can Know where you belong and you can Know the more important Truths.
SPIRITUAL SCHOOLS, STUDY AND EDUCATION
The work of each school and teacher should be something you are willing to support in your way of living.
- Spiritual Schools and Education — Each school represents particular values in the larger reason and this is important as the world is full of people having different needs and doing different aspects of humanity’s work.
- The Practice of Overcoming Afflictions — One of the most important things I made note of during the Dalai Lama’s lectures was that to be successful, you must stick with it until you are.
QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
Open your dreams and purpose more fully and resign the negative feedback to center more in a deeper truth of yourself and the values of your reasons for being.
- Deeper Principles — Are some principles more important than others? Each has its own relationship to the Nature of the Everything.
- Tired and Worn Out — Let’s honor your feeling of resignation and utter fatigue. Go ahead and resign. You can now quit being so utterly fatigued. Stop doing that tired, worn out way of being.
FAQs
Q. When did the essays occur?
A. 2009.
Q. Why are they provided on the monastery’s website?
A. The monastery’s founder was trained by Great River Institute and Great River Jiu Jitsu. While the two organizations do not have a formal relationship, the monastery hosted an extensive series of web-based discussions, and also coordinated remote students from across the United States and the United Kingdom, for participation in live GRI seminars. Additionally, we hosted Sensei and a group from his Virginia center during a west coast visit, including attending seminars and initiations by HH The Dalai Lama.
Q. Who is Sensei?
A. Scott Walter. He is the founder of Great River Institute and Great River Jiu Jitsu. Mark Walter, founder of The Little Creek Monastery, is his brother. Sensei is a term of address used in the martial arts. It means teacher.
Q. Is the monastery Buddhist?
A. No. We are inclusive.
Q. Did the monastery publish these essays?
A. Yes, with the permission of Great River Institute. We also continue to host them and hope for an expanding collection.
Q. I have noticed Biblical references in GRI teachings, which appear to be Christian-based. Is Great River focused exclusively on Christianity?
A. No. GRI is a highly inclusive learning and resource center, and teaches from a number of perspectives including Christian, Sufi, Cabala, Islam, Hinduism Buddhism, Zen, and Taoist approaches, and is also familiar with numerous philosophies, including the Transcendentalists and Stoics. The institute has been involved in extensive consciousness research, and has staff members trained in traditional psychology. Due to its physical location in southwest Virginia and the predominant religious interests of that region, Biblical references may appear in GRI’s teachings. Some subjects are treated symbolically or metaphorically, and others occur within the context of diverse religious or belief systems.
Q. Sensei sometimes refers to something called the “Christ-point.” What is meant by this?
A. He is making reference to a concept that supersedes Christian references.
“The Christ is not a person. It is a way of being... You can make the connection as a Buddhist, a Zen Meditator, a Muslim, a Jew, an Artist, a Musician, and any number of forms. But the Way to connect to the Oneness in any form is the one referred to as Christ. [But] it doesn’t matter what you call it.” — Essay
This point can be described as a state of being, or as the spot between the in and out breath, the spot between right and wrong, or between life and death. In a sense, it’s the Middle Way, the overcoming of duality, the Oneness. The monastery has referred to this point in a different language, shown here…
Disclaimer: The sale, publication or distribution of any of GRI’s articles is expressly prohibited. Please feel free, however, to print and study any material here for personal use, or to quote short excerpts.
The monastery and this site have neither an official nor an unofficial affiliation with Great River Institute or Great River Jiu Jitsu.
