296 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
296 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
CHARITY AND HOSPITALITY
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World Scripture
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CHARITY AND HOSPITALITY
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Giving alms to the poor and hospitality to strangers are traditional virtues
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encouraged by all religions. A relationship to the Highest Good naturally
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builds a bond among all members of the community--for all people are as
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brothers and sisters with the absolute value of (potential) Enlightened Beings
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or God's children. Giving alms and charity is a concrete expression of this
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spiritual bond. Along with admonitions to practice charity, texts such as the
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Parable of the Sheep and the Goats from the New Testament, liken helping a poor
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man to giving offerings to God or the highest saints. Charity is not excused
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even for the poorest giver, according to several texts. Finally, we have
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passages on hospitality, including two texts lauding exemplary acts of charity,
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by a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and the Hindu householder Rantideva, who
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gave food and water to guests even though it meant that they would have to go
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without.
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Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord delivers him in the day of
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trouble.
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1.Judaism and Christianity. Psalm 41.1
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They feed with food the needy wretch, the orphan, and the prisoner, for love of
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Him, saying, "We wish for no reward nor thanks from you."
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2.Islam. Qur'an 76.8-9
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Charity--to be moved at the sight of the thirsty, the hungry, and the miserable
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and to offer relief to them out of pity--is the spring of virtue.
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3.Jainism. Kundakunda, Pancastikaya 137
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Psalm 41.1: Cf. Var Sarang, M.1, p. 846. Qur'an 76.8-9: Cf. Qur'an 2.264, p.
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428; 16.90, p. 827; 90.8-17, p. 584.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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"Ye shall walk after the Lord your God" [Deuteronomy 13.4]. But how can a man
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walk after God who is a devouring fire? [Deuteronomy 4.24]. It means, walk
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after His attributes: clothe the naked, visit the sick, comfort the mourner,
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bury the dead.
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4.Judaism. Talmud, Sota 14a
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Relieve people in distress as speedily as you must release a fish from a dry
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rill [lest he die]. Deliver people from danger as quickly as you must free a
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sparrow from a tight noose. Be compassionate to orphans and relieve widows.
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Respect the old and help the poor.
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5.Taoism. Tract of the Quiet Way
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Every person's every joint must perform a charity every day the sun comes up:
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to act justly between two people is a charity; to help a man with his mount,
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lifting him onto it or hoisting up his belongings onto it is a charity; a good
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word is a charity; every step you take in prayers is a charity; and removing a
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harmful thing from the road is a charity.
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6.Islam. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 26
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Be kind to parents, and the near kinsman, and to orphans, and to the needy, and
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to the neighbor who is of kin, and to the neighbor who is a stranger, and to
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the companion at your side, and to the traveler, and to [slaves] that your
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right hands own. Surely God loves not the proud and boastful such as are
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niggardly, and bid other men to be niggardly, and themselves conceal the bounty
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that God has given them.
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7.Islam. Qur'an 4.36-37
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If there is among you a poor man, one of your brethren, in any of your towns
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within your land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not harden your
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heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand
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to him, and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.... You shall
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give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him;
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because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all
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that you undertake. For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I
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command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and
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the poor, in the land.
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8.Judaism and Christianity. Deuteronomy 15.7-11
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Sota 14a: Cf. Gittin 61a, p. 68. Tract of the Quiet Way: Cf. Great Learning
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10.7-9, p. 806. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 26: Cf. Hadith of Ibn Majah, p. 847.
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Qur'an 4.36-37: Cf. Qur'an 2.177, pp. 741f.; 107.4-7, p. 427. On the Prophet's
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charity, see Hadith, p. 596. Deuteronomy 15.7-11: Cf. Matthew 6.1-4, p. 428.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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The gods have not ordained that humans die of hunger;
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even to the well-fed man death comes in many shapes.
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The wealth of the generous man never wastes away,
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but the niggard has none to console him.
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He who, possessed of food, hardens his heart
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against the weak man, hungry and suffering,
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who comes to him for help, though of old he helped him--
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surely he finds none to console him.
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He is liberal who gives to anyone who asks for alms,
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to the homeless, distressed man who seeks food;
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success comes to him in the challenge of battle,
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and for future conflicts he makes an ally.
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He is no friend who does not give to a friend,
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to a comrade who comes imploring for food;
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let him leave such a man--his is not a home--
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and rather seek a stranger who brings him comfort.
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Let the rich man satisfy one who seeks help;
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and let him look upon the long view:
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For wealth revolves like the wheels of a chariot,
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coming now to one, now to another.
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In vain does the mean man acquire food;
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it is--I speak the truth--verily his death;
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he who does not cherish a comrade or a friend,
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who eats all alone, is all sin.
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9.Hinduism. Rig Veda 10.117.1-6
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There are three kinds of persons existing in the world: one is like a drought,
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one who rains locally, and one who pours down everywhere.
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How is a person like a drought? He gives nothing to all alike, not giving food
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and drink, clothing and vehicle, flowers, scents and unguents, bed, lodging and
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light, neither to recluses and brahmins nor to wretched and needy beggars. In
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this way, a person is like a drought.
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How is a person like a local rainfall? He is a giver to some, but to others he
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gives not.... In this way, a person is like a local rain- fall.
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How does a person rain down everywhere? He gives to all, be they recluses and
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brahmins or wretched, needy beggars; he is a giver of food and drink,
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clothing... lodging and lights. In this way a person rains down everywhere.
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10.Buddhism. Itivuttaka 65
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When the Holy One loves a man, He sends him a present in the shape of a poor
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man, so that he should perform some good deed to him, through the merit of
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which he may draw a cord of grace.
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11.Judaism. Zohar, Genesis 104a
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Itivuttaka 65: This and the other Hindu and Buddhist passages in this section
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take a different point of view from the Hindu and Buddhist doctrine of the
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Field of Merit, in Dhammapada 356-59, p. 751; Petavatthu ii.69-71, pp. 752f.;
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Bhagavad Gita 17.20-22, p. 753, which regards only people of spiritual
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attainment as the proper recipients of gifts. Cf. Great Learning 10.9.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Whoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one
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of the griefs on the Day of Judgment. Whosoever alleviates the lot of a needy
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person, Allah will alleviate his lot in this world and the next. Whosoever
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shields a Muslim, Allah will shield him in this world and the next. Allah will
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aid a servant of His so long as the servant aids his brother.
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12.Islam. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 36
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When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he
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will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations,
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and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep
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from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at
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his left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, "Come, O blessed
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of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
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world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
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drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I
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was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." Then the
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righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or
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thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome
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you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and
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visit you?" And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it
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to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." Then he will say
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to those at his left hand, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire
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prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no
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food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not
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welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not
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visit me." Then the they also will answer, "Lord, when did we see you hungry
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or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to
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you?" Then he will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one
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of the least of these, you did it not to me." And they will go away into
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eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
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13.Christianity. Matthew 25.31-46 : Parable of the Sheep and the Goats
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On the day of judgment God Most High will say, "Son of Adam, I was sick and you
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did not visit Me." He will reply, "My Lord, how could I visit Thee when Thou
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art the Lord of the Universe!" He will say, "Did you not know that My servant
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so-and-so was ill and yet you did not visit him? Did you not know that if you
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had visited him you soon would have found Me with him?"
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14.Islam. Hadith of Muslim
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Matthew 25.31-46: Cf. Matthew 19.21-24, p. 805; Luke 10.25-37, p. 829.
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All beings should be accommodated and served by me as attentively as I would
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show filial respect to my parents, due respect to my teachers, to elders, and
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arhats, up to the Tathagatas, all in equality. I would be a good physician to
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the sick, a guide to those who have wandered from the path, setting their feet
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in the right way. I would be a light to those who wander in darkness. I would
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enable the people in poverty to discover vaults of treasure. A bodhisattva
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should thus benefit all beings in equal treatment, and bestow his loving care
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on all beings alike. And why? because if a bodhisattva serves all beings, that
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is equal to serving Buddhas dutifully. To hold all beings in high esteem, and
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render them respectful services, that is equal to reverencing and serving the
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Tathagatas. To make all beings happy, is to please the Tathagatas.
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15.Buddhism. Gandavyuha Sutra, Vows of Samantabhadra
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One should give even from a scanty store to him who asks.
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16.Buddhism. Dhammapada 224
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Even a poor man who himself subsists on charity should give charity.
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17.Judaism. Talmud, Gittin 7b
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Not having enough of anything can cause one to become a miser.
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18.African Traditional Religions. Yoruba Proverb (Nigeria)
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He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food,
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let him do likewise.
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19.Christianity. Luke 3.11
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See to it that whoever enters your house obtains something to eat, however
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little you may have. Such food will be a source of death to you if you
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withhold it.
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20.Native American Religions. A Winnebago Father's Precepts
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Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have
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entertained angels unawares.
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21.Christianity. Hebrews 13.1
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Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbor, and
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let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his guest.
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22.Islam. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 15
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The husband and wife of the house should not turn away any who comes at eating
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time and asks for food. If food is not available, a place to rest, water for
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refreshing one's self, a reed mat to lay one's self on, and pleasing words
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entertaining the guest--these at least never fail in the houses of the good.
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23.Hinduism. Apastamba Dharma Sutra 8.2
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Yoruba Proverb: Meaning that since it is bad to become a miser, you should give
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even though you yourself are in need. Hebrews 13.1: Cf. Hitachi Fudoki, pp.
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744-45. Apastamba Dharma Sutra 8.2: Cf. Hitachi Fudoki, pp. 744-45.
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According to Abu Hurairah, a man came to find the Prophet and the latter asked
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his wives for something to give him to eat. "We have absolutely nothing," they
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replied, "except water." "Who wants to share his meal with this man?" asked
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the Prophet. A man of the Companions then said, "I." Then he led this man to
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his wife and said to her, "Treat generously the guest of the Messenger of God."
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She replied, "We have nothing except our children's supper." "Oh, well," he
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replied, "get your meal ready, light your lamp, and when your children want
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supper, put them to bed." So the woman prepared the meal, lit the lamp, put
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the children to bed, then, getting up as if to trim the lamp, she extinguished
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it. The Companion and his wife then made as if to eat, but in fact they spent
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the night with empty stomachs. The next day when the Companion went to find
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the Messenger of God, the latter said to him, "This night God smiled." It was
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then that God revealed these words, "and they prefer the others before
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themselves, although there be indigence among them" [Qur'an 59.9].
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24.Islam. Hadith of Bukhari
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The fame of Rantideva is sung in this and the other world, Rantideva, who,
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though himself hungry, was in the habit of giving away his wealth as it came,
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while trusting in God to provide his needs. Even in time of famine, Rantideva
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continued his generosity though his family was reduced to poverty.
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For forty-eight days he and his family were starving; a little liquid, and that
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enough for only one, was all that remained. As he was about to drink it, an
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outcaste came begging for water. Rantideva was moved at the sight and said, "I
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do not desire from God the great state attended by divine powers or even
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deliverance from rebirth. Establishing myself in the hearts of all beings, I
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take on myself their suffering so that they may be rid of their misery." So
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saying, the compassionate king gave that little liquid to the outcaste, though
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he himself was dying of thirst.
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The gods of the three worlds came and desired to bestow upon him manifold
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blessings, but Rantideva, who had no attachment or desire, merely bowed to Lord
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Vasudeva [Krishna] in devotion.
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25.Hinduism. Srimad Bhagavatam 9
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