411 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
411 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
Cosmic Justice
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World Scripture
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COSMIC JUSTICE
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In this section we treat the principle of cosmic justice and the law of cause
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and effect. The maxim that a person reaps what he has sown, the doctrine of
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karma, and belief in divine retribution are different expressions of a common
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principle that the world is governed by justice. This section does not
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distinguish the specific manner in which justice will be vindicated; e.g.,
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through one's fate in this life, through reincarnation into a being of a
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different status, or through one's fate in the afterlife. For the latter,
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regarding beliefs about heaven and hell, see Chapter 6.
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The principle of justice bears the same ambiguous relationship to Ultimate
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Reality as does divine Law generally. In Judaism, Christianity, Islam,
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Sikhism, and African traditional religions it is God who executes judgment to
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maintain justice, while in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism the principle of
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justice is inherent in the fabric of the cosmos and is distinguished from and
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subordinate to the ultimate goal of Liberation. In Chinese religion there is
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both an impersonal Tao or Heaven which gives recompense according to principle
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and Taoist deities who execute judgment.
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More will be said in later chapters about the doctrine of karma, particularly
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the accumulated Karma and Inherited Sin, pp. 694-702, as they impinge on the
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present. Karma may function to explain a person's life circumstances by
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attributing them to conditions created in past lives; in that sense the
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doctrine of karma functions analogously to the doctrine of predestination in
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theistic religions. Yet the Buddhist scriptures caution against interpreting
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karma as a deterministic principle, and Hindu texts recognize that it can be
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blotted out through grace.1 [1See p. 695].
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This collection of texts begins with passages on the principle of cause and
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effect, on justice as inherent to the nature of life. The next group of
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passages deals with the problem of the frequent delay between actions and the
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ripening of their fruits. The scriptures affirm that regardless of the delay,
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recompense is inescapable, sometimes describing it through the metaphor of
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Heaven's net. One solution to this problem is that recompense occurs in
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another life; here we offer several fundamental texts on karma, the impersonal
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law by which the deserts of one's deeds are reaped in the next incarnation. The
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next group of passages gives another solution, which is to envision that sure
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recompense comes only at the Last Judgment. The final group of passages depicts
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God, or his angels, as personally deciding and enforcing the judgment for one's
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deeds.
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Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will
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also reap.
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1. Christianity. Bible, Galatians 6.7
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Suffering is the offspring of violence--realize this and be ever vigilant.
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2. Jainism. Acarangasutra 3.13
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Whatever affliction may visit you is for what your own hands have earned.
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3. Islam. Qur'an 42.30
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Our body in Kali Yuga is a field of action:
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As a man sows, so is his reward.
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Nothing by empty talk is determined:
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Anyone swallowing poison must die.
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Brother! behold the Creator's justice:
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As are a man's actions, so is his recompense.
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4. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Gauri Var, M.4, p. 308
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Galatians 6.7: Cf. Ezekiel 18.1-30, pp. 681f. Qur'an 42.30: Cf. Qur'an
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53.36-42, p. 681. Gauri Var, M.4: Cf. Maitri Upanishad 4.2, p. 696.
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All who take the sword will perish by the sword.
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5. Christianity. Bible, Matthew 26.52
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Those who wrongfully kill men are only putting their weapons into the hands of
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others who will in turn kill them.
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6. Taoism. Treatise on Response and Retribution 5
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Ashes fly back in the face of him who throws them.
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7. African Traditional Religions. Yoruba Proverb (Nigeria)
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For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.
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8. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Hosea 8.7
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An ignorant man committing evil deeds does not realize the consequences. The
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imprudent man is consumed by his own deeds, like one burnt by fire.
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9. Buddhism. Dhammapada 136
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Men who acquire wealth by evil deeds, by adhering to principles which are
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wrong, fall into the trap of their own passions and fettered with karma they
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sink further down.
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10. Jainism. Uttaradhyayana Sutra 4.2
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A man who has committed one of the deadly sins will never again, until his
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death, lose the thought of that action; he cannot get rid of it or remove it,
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but it follows after him until the time of his death.
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11. Buddhism. Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines 17.3
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I have acted, I have caused others to act, and I have approved of others'
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actions. One should first comprehend that all such actions taking place in the
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world are the cause of the influx of karma particles, and then should forswear
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them.
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12. Jainism. Acarangasutra 1.6-7
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Unrighteousness, practiced in this world, does not at once produce its fruit;
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but, like a cow, advancing slowly, it cuts off the roots of him who committed
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it.
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13. Hinduism. Laws of Manu 4.172
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Dhammapada 136: Cf. Dhammapada 131-132, p. 478. Perfection of Wisdom in Eight
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Thousand Lines 17.3: The 'deadly sins' in Buddhism are specifically: (1) to
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kill one's mother; (2) to kill one's father; (3) to kill an arhat; (4) to cause
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schism in the Order; and (5) to harm the body of a Buddha.
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Even if they attain to sovereignty, the wicked, engaged in cruel deeds,
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condemned by all men, do not enjoy it long, but fall like trees whose roots
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have been severed. O dweller in darkness, as in its proper season the tree
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puts forth its flowers, so in the course of time evil actions produce bitter
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fruit.
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14. Hinduism. Ramayana, Aranya Kanda 29
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Good fortune and misfortune take effect through perseverance. The tao of
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heaven and earth becomes visible through perseverance. The tao of sun and moon
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becomes bright through perseverance. All movements under heaven become uniform
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through perseverance.
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15. Confucianism. I Ching, Great Commentary 2.1.5
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As sweet as honey is an evil deed, so thinks the fool so long as it ripens not;
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but when it ripens, then he comes to grief.
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Verily, an evil deed committed does not immediately bear fruit, just as milk
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does not curdle at once; but like a smoldering fire covered with ashes, it
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remains with the fool until the moment it ignites and burns him.
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16. Buddhism. Dhammapada 69, 71
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Let not their conduct grieve you, who run easily to disbelief, for lo! they
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injure God not at all. It is God's will to assign them no portion in the
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hereafter, and theirs will be an awful doom....
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And let not those who disbelieve imagine that the rein We give them bodes good
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for their souls. We only give them rein that they may grow in sinfulness. And
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theirs will be a shameful doom.
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17. Islam. Qur'an 3.176, 178
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Then I saw the wicked buried; they used to go in and out of the holy place, and
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were praised in the city where they had done such things. Because sentence
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against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is
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fully set to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs
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his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they
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fear before him.
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18. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Ecclesiastes 8.10-12
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The net of Heaven is cast wide. Though the mesh is not fine, yet nothing ever
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slips through.
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19. Taoism. Tao Te Ching 73
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Qur'an 3.176, 178: Cf. Qur'an 4.92, p. 477 and 14.42-51, p. 1100; also 2 Peter
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3.10, p. 1099, where the reason for God's slowness is divine forbearance that
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the wicked might have a chance to repent. Ecclesiastes 8.10-12: Cf. Yoruba
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Song, p. 111.
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Further, as Heaven and Earth are the greatest of things, it is natural, from
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the point of view of universal principles, that they have spiritual power.
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Having spiritual power it is proper that they reward good and punish evil.
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Nevertheless their expanse is great and their net is wide-meshed. There is not
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necessarily an immediate response as soon as this net is set in operation.
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20. Taoism. Pao-p'u Tzu
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Everything is given on pledge, and a net is spread for all the living; the shop
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is open; and the dealer gives credit; and the ledger lies open; and the hand
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writes; and whosoever wishes to borrow may come and borrow; but the collectors
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regularly make their daily round, and exact payment from man whether he be
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content or not; and they have that whereon they can rely in their demand; and
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the judgment is a judgment of truth; and everything is prepared for the feast
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21. Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 3.20
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Not in the sky, nor in mid-ocean, nor in a mountain cave, is found that place
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on earth where abiding one may escape from the consequences of one's evil deed.
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22. Buddhism. Dhammapada 127
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Though they dig into Sheol,
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from there shall my hand take them;
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though they climb up to heaven,
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from there I will bring them down.
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Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
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from there I will search out and take them;
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and though they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
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there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
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And though they go into captivity before their enemies,
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there I will command the sword, and it shall slay them;
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and I will set my eyes upon them for evil and not for good.
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23. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Amos 9.2-4
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According as one acts, according as one conducts himself, so does he become.
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The doer of good becomes good. The doer of evil becomes evil. One becomes
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virtuous by virtuous action, bad by bad action.
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But people say, "A person is made [not of acts, but] of desires only." [I
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say,] as his desire, such is his resolve; as is his resolve, such the action he
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performs; what action he performs, that he procures for himself.
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On this point there is this verse,
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Where one's mind is attached--the inner self
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Goes thereto with action, being attached to it alone.
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Obtaining the end of his action,
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Whatever he does in this world,
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He comes again from that world
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To this world of action.
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So the mind who desires.
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24. Hinduism. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5-6
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Pao-p'u Tzu: Written by Ko Hung (253-333), the Pao-p'u Tzu is among the most
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important classics of religious Taoism. It expounds belief in the Taoist
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Immortals, the doctrine of retribution, and the use of alchemical means to
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prolong life. Abot 3.20: The image of the ledger is a frequent one; cf. Abot
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4.29, p. 346; Qur'an 17.13-14, 39.68-75, 50.17-19, pp. 345-48; 69.13-37, pp.
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1098f.; Revelation 20.11-12, p. 346; Ramkali-ki-Var, M.1, p. 299. Amos 9.2-4:
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Cf. Qur'an 2.115, Atharva Veda 4.16, p. 111.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Action, which springs from the mind, from speech, and from the body, produces
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either good or evil results; by action are caused the conditions of men, the
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highest, the middling, and the lowest.
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A man obtains the result of a good or evil mental act in his mind; that of a
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verbal act in his speech; that of a bodily act in his body.
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In consequence of sinful acts committed with his body, a man becomes in the
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next birth an inanimate thing; in consequence of sins committed by speech, he
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becomes a bird or a beast; in consequence of mental sins he is reborn in a low
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caste.
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25. Hinduism. Laws of Manu 12.3,8,9
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According to what deeds are done
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Do their resulting consequences come to be;
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Yet the doer has no existence:
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This is the Buddha's teaching.
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Like a clear mirror,
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According to what comes before it,
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Reflecting forms, each different,
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So is the nature of actions.
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26. Buddhism. Garland Sutra 10
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As you plan for somebody so God plans for you.
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27. African Traditional Religions. Igbo Proverb (Nigeria)
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Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5-6: This classic text describes the principle by
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which karma determines the site of reincarnation. Cf. Vedanta Sutra 1.2.1, p.
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338; Svetasvatara Upanishad 5.11-12, p. 696. Laws of Manu 12.1-9: Cf. Vedanta
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Sutra 1.2.1, p. 338; Maitri Upanishad 4.2, p. 696. Garland Sutra 10: This
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passage reconciles karma and voidness. A person is subject to karma only as
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long as he dwells in the illusion that he exists as a self. Intrinsically
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empty of self, a person is like a clear mirror whose purity is not affected by
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the reflections that impinge upon it. Thus the person who courses in
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enlightenment will not accumulate new karma, though he may still have to work
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out the effects of past deeds. Cf. Majjhima Nikaya i.389-90, p. 345 and
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Anguttara Nikaya iii.33, p. 697.
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All creatures on their actions are judged In God's court, just and true.
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28. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Japuji 34, p. 7
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God is not hornless;
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He is horned:
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He exacts punishment for every deed.
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29. African Traditional Religions. Ovambo Proverb (Angola)
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I the Lord search the mind
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and try the heart,
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to give to every man according to his ways,
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according to the fruit of his doings.
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30. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Jeremiah 17.10
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Whoever vows to tyrannize over the humble and the meek,
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The Supreme Lord burns him in flames.
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The Creator dispenses perfect justice
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And preserves His devotee.
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31. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Gauri, M.5, p. 199
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To God belongs all that is in the heavens and on the earth; and whether you
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make known what is in your minds or hide it, God will bring you to account for
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it. He will forgive whom He will and He will punish whom He will. God is able
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to do all things.
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32. Islam. Qur'an 2.284
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Never mind if the people are not intimidated by your [correct] authority. A
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mightier Authority will deal with them in the end.
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33. Taoism. Tao Te Ching 72
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For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and
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then he will repay every man for what he has done.
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34. Christianity. Bible, Matthew 16.27
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Ovambo Proverb: Cf. Yoruba Song, p. 701; Igbo Consecration, p. 769. Jeremiah
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17.10: Cf. Hebrews 4.12-13, p. 110. Qur'an 2.284: Cf. Qur'an 14.38, p. 109.
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God's attributes of justice and mercy are often in seeming contradiction; see
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Abot 3.19, p. 687; Rig Veda 7.86.1-4, p. 904. Matthew 16.27: Cf. Matthew
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25.31-46, p. 990; 13.47-50, p. 1097.
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Holy, then, did I recognize Thee, O Wise Lord.
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I perceived Thee foremost at the birth of life,
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When Thou didst endow acts and words with retribution:
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Bad unto bad, good blessing unto holy,
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Through Thy wisdom, at the final goal of life!
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35. Zoroastrianism. Avesta, Yasna 43.5
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Even if the wrong-doers had all that there is on earth, and as much more, in
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vain would they offer it for ransom from the pain of the penalty on the Day of
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Judgment, but something will confront them from God which they could never have
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counted upon! For the evils of their deeds will confront them, and they will
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be encircled by that at which they used to mock!
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36. Islam. Qur'an 39.47-48
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Upon that Day men shall issue in scatterings to see their works, And whoso has
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done an atom's weight of good shall see it, And whoso has done an atom's weight
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of evil shall see it.
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37. Islam. Qur'an 99.6-8
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And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according
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to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of
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their hearts were good, that they should also, in the last day, be restored
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unto that which is good.
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And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil.
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Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to
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its natural frame--mortality raised to immortality, corruption to
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incorruption--raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to
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endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the
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other on the other.
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38. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Book of Mormon, Alma 41.3-4
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Alike of you is he who conceals his speech, and he who proclaims it, he who
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hides himself in the night, and he who sallies forth by day; he has attendant
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angels, before him and behind him, watching over him by God's command.
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39. Islam. Qur'an 13.10-11
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Yasna 43.5: Cf. Yansa 48.4, p. 408. The 'final goal of life' will come at the
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Last Judgment--see Yasna 30.8-10, p. 1098. Qur'an 39.47-48: Cf. Qur'an
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69.13-37, pp. 1098f. and similar passages on the last judgment. Qur'an
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13.10-11: Cf. Qur'an 41.30-31, p. 368; 50.17-19, p. 347. Atharva Veda 4.16.4,
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p. 111, speaks of Varuna's 'envoys' who spy out the doings of men.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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The Exalted One says, "There are no special doors for calamity and happiness
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[in men's lot]; they come as men themselves call them. Their recompenses
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follow good and evil as the shadow follows the substance." Accordingly, in
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heaven and earth there are spirits that take account of men's transgressions,
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and, according to the lightness or gravity of their offenses, take away from
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their term of life. When that term is curtailed, men become poor and reduced,
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and meet with many sorrows and afflictions. All people hate them; punishments
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and calamities attend them; good luck and occasions for felicitation shun them;
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evil stars send down misfortune on them. When their term of life is exhausted
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they die.
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40. Taoism. Treatise on Response and Retribution 1-2
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Treatise on Response and Retribution 1-2: In popular Chinese religion, the
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Spirit of the Hearth ascends to Heaven annually to report on the deeds which
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transpired in that family, at which time a determination is made on each
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individual's span of life; see Tract of the Quiet Way, p. 347. Compare Qur'an
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39.42, p. 333; Igbo Consecration, p. 769.
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