344 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
344 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
Selfish Desire, Lust, and Greed
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World Scripture
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SELFISH DESIRE, LUST, AND GREED
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Passion, greed, covetousness, hatred, lust: these emotions dominate the soul,
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causing blindness and leading to destruction. Every major religion recognizes
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that suffering and evil are caused by excessive desires or desires directed
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toward a selfish purpose. Buddhism has summed up this principle in the second
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of the Four Noble Truths and denotes these desires by the term "craving."
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Craving is a fetter: poisoning the heart, deluding the mind, and binding people
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to evil courses of action.
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While all religions view selfish desire as baneful and the cause of much
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suffering, they differ in explaining these selfish desires in relation to human
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psychology. Buddhism, and similarly Jainism, reject desire of all kinds, even
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the grasping for existence itself, as harmful and a source of bondage. In the
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monotheistic religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and in some texts from
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Sikhism and Hinduism, the passions of the flesh--which are evil--are
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distinguished from the healthy ambition for goodness and the passion for God.
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Chinese religion condemns only excessive desire and selfish desire: Desires
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themselves may be good if they are in harmony with the Tao. Similarly, Hinduism
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honors desire when it takes its rightful place within the dharma of family and
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society; this ambivalence is illustrated from a passage which identifies Kama,
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the god of desire, with the generative forces of nature.
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To these condemnations of selfish desires, the reader may add many additional
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passages concerned with their renunciation, which may be found in Chapter 18.
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The Noble Truth of the Origin of suffering is this: It is craving that leads
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back to birth, bound up with passionate greed. It finds fresh delight now here
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and now there, namely, craving for sense pleasures, craving for existence and
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becoming, and craving for non-existence.
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1. Buddhism. Samyutta Nikaya lvi.11: Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth
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Have you seen him who makes his desire his god, and God sends him astray
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purposely, and seals up his hearing and his heart, and sets on his sight a
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covering? Who, then, will lead him after God [has condemned him]? Will you not
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then heed?
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2. Islam. Qur'an 45.23
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What causes wars, and what causes fighting among you? Is it not your passions
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that are at war in your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And
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you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have,
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because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly,
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to spend it on your passions.
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3. Christianity. James 4.1-3
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The man who gathers flowers [of sensual pleasure], whose mind is distracted and
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who is insatiate in desires, the Destroyer brings under his sway.
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4. Buddhism. Dhammapada 48
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Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God;" for God cannot be
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tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one; but each person is tempted when
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he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived
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gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death.
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5. Christianity. James 1.13-15
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In desire is man born;
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From desire he consumes objects of various tastes;
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By desire is he led away bound,
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Buffeted across the face.
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Bound by evil qualities is he chastised--
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6. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Sri Raga Ashtpadi, M.1, p. 61
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Envy and desire and ambition drive a man out of the world.
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7. Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 4.28
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Samyutta Nikaya lvi.11: Cf. Dhammapada 212-16, p. 927. James 4.1-3: Cf. 1
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Peter 2.11, p. 926; also Great Learning 7, p. 928; Maitri Upanishad 6.28, p.
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1054. Abot 4.28: Cf. Itivuttaka 45, p. 390; Uttaradhyayana Sutra 23.38, p.
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390; Sorath, M.3, p. 390.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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There are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed.
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8. Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 16.21
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If a man fails to overcome illicit lustful desires, and pursues them, he will
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bring ruin upon himself. In the end, he will bring destruction to this world
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and universe.
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9. Unification Church. Sun Myung Moon, 1-3-86
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Arjuna:
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What is the force that binds us to selfish deeds, O Krishna? What power moves
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us, even against our will, as if forcing us?
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Krishna:
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It is selfish desire and anger, arising from the state of being known as
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passion; these are the appetites and evils which threaten a person in this life.
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Just as a fire is covered by smoke and a mirror is obscured by dust, just as an
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embryo is enveloped deep within the womb, knowledge is hidden by selfish
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desire--hidden, Arjuna, by this unquenchable fire for self-satisfaction, the
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inveterate enemy of the wise.
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Selfish desire is found in the senses, mind, and intellect, misleading them and
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burying wisdom in delusion. Fight with all your strength, Arjuna! Controlling
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your senses, conquer your enemy, the destroyer of knowledge and realization.
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10. Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 3.36-41
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Clinging, in bondage to desires, not seeing
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in bondage any fault, thus bound and fettered,
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never can they cross the flood so wide and mighty.
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Blinded are beings by their sense desires
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spread over them like a net; covered are they
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by cloak of craving; by their heedless ways
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caught as a fish in the mouth of a funnel-net.
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Decrepitude and death they journey to,
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just as a sucking calf goes to its mother.
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11. Buddhism. Udana 75-76
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Bhagavad Gita 3.36-41: Cf. Maitri Upanishad 6.34, p. 389. Udana 75-76: Cf.
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Udana 72, p. 401.
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The fish that is excessively attached to water, without water dies.
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For love of the lotus is the humming-bee destroyed,
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Finding not the way of escape...
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Subdued by lust is the elephant caught,
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Helpless under others' power.
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For the love of sound the deer bows his head,
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Thereby torn to pieces.
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Beholding his family, by greed is man attracted,
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With wealth involved:
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Deeply in wealth involved, regarding it as his own,
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Which inevitably he must leave behind.
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Whoever with other than the Lord forms love,
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Know him to be eternally the sufferer.
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12. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Dhanasari, M.5, pp. 670-71
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Just as a tree with roots unharmed and firm, though hewn down, sprouts again,
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even so while latent craving is not rooted out, this sorrow springs up again
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and again.
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If in anyone the thirty-six streams of craving that rush towards pleasurable
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thoughts are strong, such a deluded person torrential thoughts of lust carry
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off.
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The streams of craving flow everywhere. The creeper sprouts and stands. Seeing
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the creeper that has sprung up, with wisdom cut off the root.
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In beings there arise pleasures that rush towards sense-objects, and such
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beings are steeped in craving. Bent on happiness, they seek happiness. Verily,
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such men come to birth and decay.
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Folk enwrapt in craving are terrified like a captive hare. Held fast by
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fetters and bonds, for long they come to sorrow again and again....
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That which is made of iron, wood, or hemp, is not a strong bond, say the wise;
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the longing for jewels, ornaments, children, and wives is a far greater
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attachment. That bond is strong, say the wise. It hurls down, is supple, and
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is hard to loosen. This too the wise cut off, and leave the world, with no
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longing, renouncing sensual pleasures.
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Those who are infatuated with lust fall back into the stream, as does a spider
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into the web spun by itself. This too the wise cut off, and wander, with no
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longing, released from all sorrow.
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13. Buddhism. Dhammapada 338-47
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Dhanasari, M.5: Cf. Gauri Purabi, Ravi Das, p. 401. Dhammapada 338-47: Vv.
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338-42, 345-47. Cf. Dhammapada 334-37, pp. 927f.; Itivuttaka 114-15, p. 542.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Confucius said, "I have never seen anyone whose desire to build up his moral
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power was as strong as sexual desire."
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14. Confucianism. Analects 9.17
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There is no crime greater than having too many desires;
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There is no disaster greater than not being content;
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There is no misfortune greater than being covetous.
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15. Taoism. Tao Te Ching 46
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They say that woman is an enticement.
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No, No, she is not so.
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They say that money is an enticement.
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No, No, it is not so.
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They say that landed property is an enticement.
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No, No, it is not so.
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The real enticement is the insatiable appetite of the mind,
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O Lord Guheswara!
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16. Hinduism. Allama Prabhu, Vacana 91
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All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not
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satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
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17. Judaism and Christianity. Ecclesiastes 1.8
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Desire never rests by enjoyment of lusts, as fire surely increases the more
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butter is offered to it.
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18. Hinduism. Laws of Manu 2.94
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Not by a shower of gold coins does contentment arise in sensual pleasures.
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19. Buddhism. Dhammapada 186
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Passion makes the bones rot.
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20. Judaism and Christianity. Proverbs 14.30
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Analects 9.17: Repeated at Analects 15.12. Allama Prabhu, Vacana 91: Allama
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Prabhu was a Shaivite contemporary of Basavanna. This passage opposes the
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tendency to despise women as responsible for men's downfall. Rather, men are at
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fault for their self-begotten lusts. Guheswara is a name of Shiva.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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The ignorant one craves for a life of luxury and repeatedly hankers after
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pleasures. Haunted by his own desires he gets benumbed and is rewarded only
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with suffering.
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The benighted one is incompetent to assuage sufferings, because he is attached
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to desires and is lecherous. Oppressed by physical and mental pain, he keeps
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rotating in a whirlpool of agony. I say so.
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21. Jainism. Acarangasutra 2.60, 74
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The love of money is the root of all evils.
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22. Christianity. 1 Timothy 6.10
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Wealth is the fountainhead of inordinate craving.
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23. Islam (Shiite). Nahjul Balagha, Saying 56
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What is that love which is based on greed?
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When there is greed, the love is false.
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24. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Shalok, Farid, p. 1378
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He who loves money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth,
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with gain: this also is vanity.
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25. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Ecclesiastes 5.10
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Even were the wealth of the entire world bestowed lavishly on a man, he would
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not be happy: contentment is difficult to attain.
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26. Jainism. Uttaradhyayana Sutra 8.16
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O my wealth-coveting and foolish soul, when will you succeed in emancipating
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yourself from the desire for wealth? Shame on my foolishness! I have been
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your toy! It is thus that one becomes a slave of others. No one born on earth
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did ever attain to the end of desire.... Without doubt, O Desire, your heart
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is as hard as adamant, since though affected by a hundred distresses, you do
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not break into pieces! I know you, O Desire, and all those things that are
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dear to you! The desire for wealth can never bring happiness.
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27. Hinduism. Mahabharata, Santi Parva 177
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1 Timothy 6.10: This is frequently misquoted. It states that it is the love of
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money, not money itself, which is the root of all evils. Cf. Matthew 4.4, p.
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937; 6.24, p. 937; 19.21-24, p. 837; Deuteronomy 32.15, p. 409. Shalok, Farid:
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Cf. Asa-ki-Var, M.2, p. 1000.
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He who considers wealth a good thing can never bear to give up his income; he
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who considers eminence a good thing can never bear to give up his fame. He who
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has a taste for power can never bear to hand over authority to others. Holding
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tight to these things, such men shiver with fear; should they let them go, they
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would pine in sorrow. They never stop for a moment of reflection, never cease
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to gaze with greedy eyes--they are men punished by Heaven.
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28. Taoism. Chuang Tzu 14
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Carnality is nothing but mundane existence, and mundane existence is nothing
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but carnality. Stupefied by the acute torments caused by tempting passions, a
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sensual person dwells in mundane existence, uttering, "My mother, my father, my
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brother, my sister, my wife, my son, my daughter, my daughter-in-law, my
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friend, my kith and kin, my vast property and means, my food and clothes."
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Infatuated by deep attachments to these, he dwells with them. He lives
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constantly tormented by avidity; he endeavors to amass wealth in season and out
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of season; being desirous of sensual pleasures, he is avid for money, so much
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so that he becomes an out and out rogue committing theft or injury.... Such a
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man repeatedly becomes a killer of living beings.
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29. Jainism. Acarangasutra 2.1-3
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Do men delight in what they see?--they are corrupted by colors. Do they
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delight in what they hear?--they are corrupted by sounds. Do they delight in
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benevolence?--they bring confusion to virtue. Do they delight in
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righteousness?--they turn their backs on reason. Do they delight in
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rites?--they are aiding artificiality. Do they delight in music?--they are
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aiding dissolution. Do they delight in sageliness?--they are assisting
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artifice. Do they delight in knowledge?--they are assisting the fault-finders.
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As long as the world rests in the true form of its inborn nature and fate, it
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makes no difference whether these eight delights exist or not. But if the
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world does not rest in the true form of its nature and fate, then these eight
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delights will begin to grow warped and crooked, jumbled and deranged, and will
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bring confusion to the world. And if on top of that the world begins to honor
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them and cherish them, then the delusion of the world is great indeed!
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30. Taoism. Chuang Tzu 11
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The gods asked Shiva to revive Kama [Desire], and they said, "Without Desire
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the whole universe will be destroyed. How can you exist without Desire?" But
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Shiva replied in anger, "The universe must continue without Desire, for it was
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he who caused all the gods, including Indra, to fall from their places and
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become humble, and it is Desire who leads all creatures to hell. Without
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Desire a man can do no evil.... I burnt Desire in order to give peace to all
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creatures, and I will not revive him, since he is the evil at the root of all
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misery. Now all of you should set your minds on asceticism." The gods and
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sages said, "What you have said, Shiva, is no doubt the very best thing for us,
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but nevertheless, all of this universe was created by means of Desire, and all
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of it is the form of Desire, and that Desire cannot be killed. How can you
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have burnt Kama? You yourself made him and gave him the ability he has just
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used." But Shiva merely scowled and vanished.
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31. Hinduism. Skanda Purana 1.1.21
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Acarangasutra 2.1-3: Cf. Bhagavad Gita 16.7-16, p. 397. Chuang Tzu 11: Cf. Tao
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Te Ching 12, p. 934; Great Learning 7, p. 928. Skanda Purana 1.1.21: Kama, here
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personified, is the principle of desire. Later, Shiva accedes to the gods'
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request and revives Kama. The tension between asceticism and desire is a theme
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which continues throughout the cycle of Shiva myths. Pure asceticism, by whose
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ardor (tapas) the gods and sages sustain their divinity, and desire, whose
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energy engenders all life, are apparently irreconcilable, yet both are
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necessary. Kama (love) is praised as the divine source of all creation in
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Atharva Veda 9.2.19-20, p. 138.
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