383 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
383 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
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BEYOND RITUAL
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Ritual is a powerful way to evoke the mystery, awe and holiness of the
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divine presence. However, ritual has sometimes been misused to cover
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hypocrisy. Overly relied upon, it may imbue an aura of sanctity which is
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not matched by wisdom or deeds. Ritual is no substitute for inward piety,
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love of one's neighbor, and personal realization of God. And whenever
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ritual is practiced, it should be done mindfully and with a proper att-
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itude; indeed one purpose of ritual is to cultivate a heart that is sin-
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cere and devoted. Nearly every religion has its own internal critique of
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ritualism. Even when, as in some of these passages (the scripture of) one
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religion is apparently criticizing the ritualism of another religion, the
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critique is essentially a teaching for its own people.
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In Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism, the ultimate goal--unity with
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Brahman or the peace of Nirvana--cannot be gained through ritual or merit-
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orious work. Offerings and ritual are fruitful only for gaining the temp-
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orary bliss of heaven; but life in heaven is temporary. Soon enough, the
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soul returns to a body and to suffering in the world. Rather, the
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Upanishads and sutras teach that the path to the ultimate goal requires
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the inner discipline and realization that comes through meditation.
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Then there is the question of what to do when a request for charity
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conflicts with ritual taboos. The question was put to Jesus, "Is it law-
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ful to heal on the Sabbath?" Mencius was asked whether a man can stretch
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out his hand to save a drowning woman even though ritually men and women
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should not touch each other. A Shinto passage praises hospitality to
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strangers even when it means breaking ritual abstinence.
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Finally, there is a general tendency in all religions to see in acts
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of devotion, study, and charity the essence of the formal rituals required
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by scripture. The Talmud which describes how Judaism spiritualized ritual
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once ritual practice had become impossible, when the Temple in Jerusalem,
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the only proper place for offering sacrifices and burnt offerings, was in
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ruins. Thus an act of charity to one's neighbor is regarded as the equiv-
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alent of sacrificing a lamb as a sin offering. In a similar vein, the
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Buddha criticizes animal sacrifice as creating evil karma by killing life,
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and instead teaches a spiritual meaning of sacrifice as fulfilled in
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honoring parents, caring for family, and charity to the monks.
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The Master said, "A man who is not humane, what can he have to do with
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ritual?"
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Confucianism. Analects 3.3
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Not by sacred water is one pure, although many folk bathe in it.
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In whom is truth and dhamma, he is pure; he is a brahmin.
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Buddhism. Udana 6
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Look, you brothers, who bathe in the holy waters,
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Look, you monks, who bathe in the stream.
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Give up, give up, your unholy thoughts;
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Give up lustful thoughts for another man's wife,
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Give up coveting after another man's wealth.
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If you bathe in the waters without giving up these,
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It is as if bathing in a stream that has run dry.
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Hinduism. Basavanna, Vachana 642
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What is Shinto? Not
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In the shrines the worldly minded
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Frequent for gifts
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In vain, but in good deeds, pure
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Of heart, lies real religion.
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Shinto. Poem
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- - - - - - - - - -
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Udana 6: Cf. Var Suhiki, M.1, p. 490; Laws of Manu 5.109, p. 728. The
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original sanction for bathing in the Ganges is given by such texts as Rig
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Veda 10.9.8-9, p. 854. Vachana 642: Cf. Vachana 126, p. 721. Shinto
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Poem: See Oracle of the Kami Hachiman, p. 728.
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- - - - - - - - - -
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Hear and understand, not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what
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comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.... Do you not see that what-
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ever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on? But
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what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a
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man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornica-
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tion, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man.
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Christianity. Matthew 15.11-20
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Abstaining from fish or flesh, nakedness, shaving of the head, wearing
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the hair matted, smearing with ashes, wearing rough deerskins, attending
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the sacrificial fire, all the various penances performed for immortality,
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neither incantations, oblations, sacrifices, nor observing seasonal feasts
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will cleanse a man who has not overcome his doubt.
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Buddhism. Sutta Nipata 249
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Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an
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unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the
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Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the
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cup. For any one who drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks
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judgment upon himself.
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Christianity. 1 Corinthians 11.27-29
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Even three times a day to offer
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Three hundred cooking pots of food
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Does not match a portion of the merit
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Acquired in one instant of love.
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Buddhism. Nagarjuna, Precious Garland 283
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With what shall I come before the Lord?
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and bow myself before God on high?
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Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
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with calves a year old?
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Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
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with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
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Shall I give my first-born for my transgression,
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the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
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He has showed you, O man, what is good;
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and what does the Lord require of you
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But to do justice, and to love kindness,
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and to walk humbly with your God?
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Judaism and Christianity. Micah 6.6-8
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- - - - - - - - - -
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Matthew 15.11-20: This saying was uttered in a dispute over the Jewish dietary
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laws (see Deuteronomy 14.3-21, p. 855), yet it applies generally to any
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ritualism that ascribes righteousness to certain material forms. The key to
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purity is the intention of the heart. Cf. Tanhuma, Shemini 15b, p. 855; Var
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Majh, M.1, p. 483. Sutta Nipata 249: Cf. Digha Nikaya i.167, p. 950. The same
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verse is found in Dhammapada 141. 1 Corinthians 11.27-29: Cf. Kularnava Tantra
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5, p. 468. Precious Garland 283: Cf. Itivuttaka 19, p. 969; 1 Corinthians 13,
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p. 237; Oracle of the Kami of Kasuga, p. 969.
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- - - - - - - - - -
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It is not piety that you turn your faces [in prayer] to the East and to
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the West. True piety is this:
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to believe in God, and the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the
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Prophets,
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to give of one's substance, however cherished, to kinsmen, and or-
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phans, the needy, the traveller, beggars, and to ransom the slave, to per-
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form the prayer, to pay the alms.
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And they who fulfil their covenant, when they have engaged in a
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covenant, and endure with fortitude misfortune, hardship, and peril, these
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are they who are true in their faith, these are the truly God-fearing.
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Islam. Qur'an 2.177
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Make your mosque of compassion, your prayer mat of sincerity;
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Your Koran of honest and legitimate earning.
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Be modesty your circumcision, noble conduct your Ramadan fast--
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Thus shall you be a true Muslim.
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Make good deeds your Kaaba; truth your preceptor;
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Good action your Kalima and namaz.
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Make your rosary of what pleases God:
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Thus will you be honored at the last reckoning.
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Sikhism. Adi Granth, Var Majh, M.1, p. 140
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Finite and transient are the fruits of sacrificial rites. The deluded,
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who regard them as the highest good, remain subject to birth and death.
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Living in the abyss of ignorance, yet wise in their own conceit, the del-
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uded go round and round [on the wheel of death and rebirth], like the
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blind led by the blind.
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Living in the abyss of ignorance, the deluded think themselves blessed.
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Attached to works, they know not God. Works lead them only to heaven,
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whence, to their sorrow, their rewards quickly exhausted, they are flung
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back to earth.
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Considering religion to be observance of rituals and performance of acts of
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charity, the deluded remain ignorant of the highest good. Having enjoyed in
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heaven the reward of their good works, they enter again into the world of
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mortals.
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But the wise, self-controlled, and tranquil souls, who are contented in
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spirit, and who practice austerity and meditation in solitude and silence,
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are freed from all impurity, and attain by the path of liberation the
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immortal, the truly existing, the changeless Self.
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Hinduism. Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.7-11
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- - - - - - - - -
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Micah 6.6-8: Cf. 1 Samuel 15.22, p. 771; Amos 5.23-24, p. 288; Shabbat 31a, p.
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1020; Japuji 1, M.1, p. 772; 1 Corinthians 13, p. 237; Oracle of the Kami of
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Kasuga, p. 969. Qur'an 2.177: Cf. Digha Nikaya iii.185, pp. 242f.; Qur'an
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107.4-7, p. 491. Var Majh, M.1: Cf. Gauri Sukhmani 12, M.5, p. 950; Var
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Suhiki, M.1, p. 490; Var Majh, M.1, p. 483. It should be remembered that Guru
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Nanak lived prior to the consolidation of Sikhism as a separate religion; he
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lived as a Hindu among Hindus, and a Muslim among Muslims. He was critical of
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superficial ritualism in both religions and taught devotion to the One God as
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the true path of both religions.
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- - - - - - - - -
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People under delusion accumulate tainted merits but do not tread the Path.
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They are under the impression that to accumulate merits and to tread the
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Path are one and the same thing.
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Though their merits for alms-giving and offerings are infinite
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They do not realize that the ultimate source of sin lies in the three
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poisons within their own mind.
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They expect to expiate their sins by accumulating merit
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Without knowing that felicities obtained in future lives have nothing to
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do with the expiation of sins.
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Why not get rid of the sin within our own mind,
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For this is true repentance?
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Buddhism. Sutra of Hui Neng 6
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[Jesus] went on from there, and entered their synagogue. And behold,
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there was a man with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful
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to heal on the sabbath?" so that they might accuse him. He said to them,
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"What man of you, if he has one sheep and it falls into a pit on the
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sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value
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is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath." Then
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he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it
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out, and it was restored, whole like the other. But the Pharisees went
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out and took counsel against him, how to destroy him.
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Christianity. Matthew 12.9-14
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Ch'un-y K'un said, "Is it prescribed by the rites that, in giving and
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receiving, man and woman should not touch each other?"
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"It is," said Mencius.
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"When one's sister-in-law is drowning, does one stretch out a hand to
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help her?"
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"Not to help a sister-in-law who is drowning is to be a brute. It is
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prescribed by the rites that, in giving and receiving, man and woman do
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not touch each other, but in stretching out a helping hand to the drowning
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sister-in-law one uses one's discretion."
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Confucianism. Mencius IV.A.17
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- - - - - - - -
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Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.7-11: See the following note; cf. Chandogya
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Upanishad 7.22, p. 201. Hui Neng 6: Buddhist teaching, like that of the
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Upanishads (above), regards offerings and ritual as effective only for
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gaining the temporary bliss of heaven. Offerings made from a desire to
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earn a place in heaven are tainted by selfishness; hence they still prod-
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uce karma and cannot bring about liberation from bondage. Liberation
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comes only through the internal gnosis of dependent origination and the
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reality of Nothingness.
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- - - - - - - -
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Of old, one of the ancestral gods was roaming through the land of his
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descendant gods, and he came to Mount Fuji in the province of Suruga,
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just as it was becoming evening, so he went to the home of the gods of
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Mount Fuji and begged to be provided with a place to stay for the night.
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The god of Mount Fuji, however, replied, "Unfortunately, today is the day
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that the first fruits are being offered to the gods, and all of my family
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are under taboos of purification and abstinence. As a result, it would
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not be fitting for us to put up an unknown stranger. On this day of all
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days, please excuse me from being more courteous to you."
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With this, the other deity was filled with resentment, and said, "I am
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your ancestor! Even so, will you not put me up? For this I will make it
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snow both winter and summer on this very mountain in which you live, cover
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it with mist and cold the year long, so that no person may climb it to
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give you offerings!"
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And with these words, he ascended instead Mount Tsukuba in the pro-
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vince of Hitachi, and begged there for a place to stay the night. The god
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of Tsukuba replied, "Tonight we are keeping the abstinence of the first
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fruits, but we cannot refuse your request." And so he respectfully provi-
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ded the visiting deity with food and a place to stay.
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Thereupon, the ancestor deity was filled with joy, and said, "How
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dear, my child, you are to me, and how majestic your shrine. Here, may
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you prosper forever with the heavens and earth, with the sun and moon, and
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may people gather here forever to present you with food offerings, so that
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your generations continue in ease without end."
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As a result, Mount Fuji became covered with snow year-round so that it
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could not be climbed. Mount Tsukuba, on the other hand, is a gathering
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place for many people, who enjoy themselves with singing and dancing to
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this day.
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Shinto. Hitachi Fudoki
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Hitachi Fudoki: The Fudoki are gazeteers first prepared at the order of Empress
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Genmei (c. 715 <a.d.) to record local traditions and legends regarding the
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origins of names of local districts and villages, features of the land, local
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products, etc. See Oracle of the Kami of Kasuga, p. 969; compare Luke
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10.25-37, p. 971 and note.
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- - - - - - - -
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Once, when the Exalted One dwelt near Savatthi in Anathapindika's
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Park at Jeta Grove, a great sacrifice was being prepared for brahmin
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Uggatasarira: five hundred bulls, five hundred steers, and as many
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heifers, goats, and rams were brought to the post for sacrifice. Now
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brahmin Uggatasarira went and visited the Exalted One, greeted him, ex-
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changed the usual polite talk and sat down at one side. He said, "I have
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heard that the laying of the fire and the setting up of the pillar are
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very fruitful, very advantageous.... I am indeed anxious, Master Gotama,
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to lay the fire, to set up the pillar; let Master Gotama counsel and inst-
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ruct me for my happiness and welfare for many a day."
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"Brahmin, even before the sacrifice, a man who lays the fire, who sets
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up the pillar, sets up three swords, evil, ill in yield, ill in fruit.
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Even before the sacrifice, a man laying a fire, setting up a pillar,
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causes to rise such thoughts as, 'Let there be slain for the sacrifice so
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many bulls, steers, heifers, goats, rams!' Thinking to make merit, he
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makes demerit; thinking to do good, he does evil; thinking he seeks a way
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of happy going, he seeks a way of ill going. He sets up firstly this
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thought-sword, which is evil, ill in yield, ill in fruit. Again, brahmin,
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even before the sacrifice... he speaks such words as, 'Let there be slain
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so many bulls, steers, heifers, goats, rams!' Thinking to make merit, he
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makes demerit... he sets up secondly this word-sword.... Moreover,
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brahmin, even before the sacrifice, he himself first sets foot on the
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business, saying, 'Let them slay.'... he sets up thirdly this deed-
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sword....
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"Brahmin, these three fires, when esteemed, revered, venerated, resp-
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ected, must bring best happiness. What three? The fires of the vener-
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able, the householder, the gift-worthy. And what is the fire of the
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venerable? Consider the man who honors his father and mother--this is
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called the fire of the venerable.... And what is the fire of the house-
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holder? Consider, brahmin, the man who honors his sons, womenfolk,
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slaves, messengers, workmen--this is called the fire of the householder...
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And what is the fire of the gift-worthy? Consider, brahmin, those rec-
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luses and godly men who abstain from pride and indolence, who bear things
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patiently and meekly, each taming self, each calming self, each cooling
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self--this is called the fire of the gift-worthy.... These three fires,
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when esteemed, revered, venerated, respected, must bring the best happi-
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ness."
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Buddhism. Anguttara Nikaya iv.41-45:
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The Great Sacrifice
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There are five great sacrifices, namely, the great ritual services: the
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sacrifice to all beings, sacrifice to men, sacrifice to the ancestors,
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sacrifice to the gods, sacrifice to Brahman. Day by day a man offers
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sustenance to creatures; that is the sacrifice to beings. Day by day a
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man gives hospitality to guests, including a glass of water; that is the
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sacrifice to men. Day by day a man makes funerary offerings, including a
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glass of water; that is the sacrifice to the ancestors. Day by day a man
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makes offerings to the gods, including wood for burning; that is the sacr-
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ifice to the Gods. And the sacrifice to Brahman? The sacrifice to
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Brahman consists of sacred study.
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Hinduism. Satapatha Brahmana 11.5.6.1-3
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- - - - - - - - -
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Anguttara Nikaya iv.41-45: Zoroastrianism and Jainism similarly opposed the
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ritual slaughter of animals as practiced by the vedic Aryans. See Yasna
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49.1-9, pp. 319f. Satapatha Brahmana 11.5.6.1-3: This text shows a
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spiritualization of sacrifice in Hinduism. Since Brahman is higher than the
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gods, the sacrifice to Brahman, namely study and realization of truth, is more
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essential to religion than offerings of fire and animals to the gods.
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Similarly, feeding animals and acts of charity which are done daily in ordinary
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life are regarded as holy sacrifices. See the following passage.
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- - - - - - - - -
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"And in every place offerings are burnt and presented unto My name"
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[Malachi 1.11]. "'In every place!' Is this possible?" Rabbi Samuel ben
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Nahmai said in the name of Rabbi Jonathan, "This refers to the scholars
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who devote themselves to the study of the Torah in whatever place they
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are: [God says], 'I account it to them as though they burned and present-
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ed offerings to My name.'..."
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"Bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand in the house
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of the Lord in the night seasons" [Psalm 134.1]. "What is the meaning of
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'in the night seasons'?" Rabbi Johanan said, "This refers to the scholars
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who devote themselves to the study of the Torah at nights: Holy Writ acc-
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ounts it to them as though they were occupied with the Temple service...."
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Rabbi Isaac said, "What is the significance of the verses, 'This is
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the law of the sin offering' [Leviticus 6.18] and 'This is the law of the
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guilt offering' [Leviticus 7.1]? They teach that whosoever occupies him-
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self with the study of the laws of the sin offering is as though he were
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offering the sin offering, and whosoever occupies himself with the study
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of the laws of the guilt offering is as though he were offering a guilt
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offering."
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Judaism. Talmud, Menahot 110a
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- - - - - - -
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Menahot 110a: Judaism regards the fruit of study of the Torah as a holi-
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ness equivalent to the fruit of sacrifice in the Temple, which had become
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impossible after its destruction in 70 <a.d.
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- - - - - - -
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