344 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
344 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
Image of God And Temple Of God
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World Scripture
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IMAGE OF GOD AND TEMPLE OF GOD
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The next three sections contain passages describing the original human nature
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or divine Self within every person. Some such concept is found universally,
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yet there are important distinctions and different emphases among the various
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religions. We begin with passages depicting humans as reflecting the image of
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God and conclude with passages portraying humans as temples of God and dwelling
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places of God's Spirit. These include psychological and metaphysical claims of
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man's likeness to divinity and also exhortations to become the image of God as
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an ideal of holiness.
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In Judaism and Christianity, human beings are regarded as created in the image
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of God (imago dei) and meant to be the home for God's indwelling Spirit.
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Christians disagree, however, on the extent to which the image of God has been
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damaged by the fall of man (the Original Sin); see Degraded Human Nature, pp.
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452-56. Conservative Protestants in the Calvinist tradition regard the damage
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as so severe that humans cannot be good or have a relationship with God without
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the added grace of Christ. Catholic, Orthodox, and liberal Protestant
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Christians still see vestiges of the imago dei in fallen humanity, giving all
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people the intuitive ability to judge right from wrong and to know God.
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There is wider agreement when the image of God is presented as an ideal of
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holiness. Confucian, Jewish, Christian, and Shinto scriptures speak of the
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saint or superior man as one who is like unto Heaven, or a Buddha, or one who
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manifests the character of God.
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In Hindu and Sikh scriptures the Atman or Self is the immutable and
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ever-present manifestation of Ultimate Reality immanent in each person. Most
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people live in ignorance of the Self, act entirely from the motives of egoism,
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and are enchained by their karma: hence to realize the true Self is liberation.
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This is an ontological assertion about what is most essentially human: since
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humans are essentially Spirit they should not make the error of identifying
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themselves with matter. The Metaphysical Movement in the nineteenth century
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spawned new religions which hold a similar view; among them are Christian
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Science, Seicho-no-Ie, and (with significant differences) the Church of Jesus
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Christ of Latter-day Saints, which are represented by passages in this section.
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God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."
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1. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Genesis 1.26
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If we keep unperverted the human heart--which is like unto heaven and received
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from earth--that is God.
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2. Shinto. Revelation to Mikado Seiwa
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Every being has the Buddha Nature. This is the self.
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3. Buddhism. Mahaparinirvana Sutra 214
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That which is the finest essence--this whole world has that as its soul. That
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is Reality. That is the Self. That art thou.
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4. Hinduism. Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7
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Conform yourselves to the character of God.
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5. Islam. Hadith of Abu Nuaym
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Genesis 1.26: The plural has been variously understood as the persons of the
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Trinity, God speaking to his angels, or the plural of majesty. Revelation to
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Mikado Seiwa: Finding kami within is discovering the reality of one's own
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nature. This quotation shows the influence of the Buddhist concept of Buddha
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nature. The Shinto flavor comes in the linking of heaven and earth--like the
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rope which links the shrine (symbol of the divine presence) and the worshipper.
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Mahaparinirvana Sutra 214: The Buddha nature is not an ontological immanent
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Being, as in the following passage from the Upanishads, but is rather a quality
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of thought and action that is pure and participates fully in the Buddha's
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wisdom and compassion. Compare 'This very mind is Buddha,' Mumonkan 30, p.
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116; also Sutra of Hui Neng 1, p. 217. See the longer passage on p. 219.
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Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7: See also Bhagavad Gita 10.41, Kena Upanishad 1.1-2,
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p. 117.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Fire blazing from the earth.
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The Superior man reflects in his person [Heaven's] virtue.
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6. Confucianism and Taoism. I Ching 35: Progress
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You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
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7. Christianity. Bible, Matthew 5.48
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And the Lord said to Moses, "Say to all the congregation of the people of
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Israel, 'You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy.'"
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8. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Leviticus 19.1-2
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As God is called merciful and gracious, so you be merciful and gracious,
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offering gifts gratis to all; as the Lord is called righteous and loving,
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so you be righteous and loving.
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9. Judaism. Midrash, Sifre Deuteronomy
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Beloved is man, for he was created in the image of God. But it was by a
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special love that it was made known to him that he was created in the image of
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God.
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10. Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 3.18
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Father, O mighty Force,
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That Force which is in everything,
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Come down between us, fill us,
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Until we become like Thee,
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Until we become like Thee.
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11. African Traditional Religions. Susu Prayer (Guinea)
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"Now what do you think, Vasettha... is Brahma in possession of wives and
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wealth, or is he not?"
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"He is not, Gotama."
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"Is his mind full of anger, or free from anger?"
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"Free from anger, Gotama."
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"Is his mind full of malice, or free from malice?"
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"Free from malice, Gotama."
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"Is his mind tarnished, or is it pure?"
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"It is pure, Gotama."
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"Has he self-mastery, or has he not?"
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"He has, Gotama."
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"Now what do you think, Vasettha, are the brahmins versed in the Vedas in
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possession of wives and wealth, or are they not?"
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"They are, Gotama."
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"Have they anger in their hearts, or have they not?"
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"They have, Gotama."
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"Do they bear malice, or do they not?"
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"They do, Gotama."
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"Are they pure in heart, or are they not?"
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"They are not, Gotama."
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"Have they self-mastery, or have they not?"
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"They have not, Gotama."
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"Can there, then, be agreement and likeness between the brahmins with their
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wives and property, and Brahma, who has none of these things?"
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"Certainly not, Gotama!"
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"Then that these brahmins versed in the Vedas, who also live married and
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wealthy, should after death, when the body is dissolved, become united with
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Brahma, who has none of these things--such a condition of things is
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impossible!"...
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"Now what do you think, Vasettha, will the bhikkhu who lives [according to the
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Dhamma] be in possession of women and of wealth, or will he not?"
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"He will not, Gotama!"
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"Will he be full of anger, or free from anger?"
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"He will be free from anger, Gotama!"
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"Will his mind be full of malice, or free from malice?"
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"Free from malice, Gotama!"
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"Will his mind be tarnished, or pure?"
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"It will be pure, Gotama!"
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"Will he have self-mastery, or will he not?"
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"Surely he will, Gotama!"
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"Then as you say, the bhikkhu is free from household and worldly cares, free
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from anger, free from malice, pure in mind, and master of himself; and Brahma
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also is free from household and worldly cares, free from anger, free from
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malice, pure in mind, and master of himself. Is there then agreement and
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likeness between the bhikkhu and Brahma?"
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"There is, Gotama!"
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"Then verily, that the bhikkhu who is free from household cares should after
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death, when the body is dissolved, become united with Brahma, who is the
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same--such a condition of things is in every way possible!"
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12. Buddhism. Digha Nikaya xiii.31-34, Tevigga Sutta
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I have breathed into man of My spirit.
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13. Islam. Qur'an 15.29
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- - - - - - - - - - -
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Tevigga Sutta: The Buddha did not himself maintain the existence of Brahma as
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the supreme God; for no supreme God can be found in Emptiness. Yet the
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principle at issue is affirmed: the arhat is in the image of Ultimate Reality
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since the arhat in his own being is empty. Cf. Heart Sutra, pp. 589f. This
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argument is an example of the Buddha's skill in means, expressing the truth of
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Buddhism in terms suitable to a Hindu who believes in Brahma.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Let a man always consider himself as if the Holy One dwells within him.
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14. Judaism. Talmud, Ta'anit 11b
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I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who
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lives in me.
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15. Christianity. Bible, Galatians 2.20
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Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in
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you?... For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are.
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16. Christianity. Bible, 1 Corinthians 3.16-17
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Just as God fills the whole world, so the soul fills the body. Just as God
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sees, but is not seen, so the soul sees, but is not itself seen. Just as God
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feeds the whole world, so the soul feeds the whole body. Just as God is pure,
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so the soul is pure. Just as God dwells in the innermost precincts [of the
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Temple], so also the soul dwells in the innermost part of the body.
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17. Judaism. Talmud, Berakot 10a
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The rich build temples to Shiva,
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What shall I, a poor man, do?
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O my Lord! my legs are the pillars,
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My torso, the shrine,
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And my head, the golden pinnacle!
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Things standing shall fall,
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But the moving ever shall stay!
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18. Hinduism. Basavanna, Vacana 820
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The deity is immanent in man and man is inherent in the deity; there is neither
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the divine nor the human; there is no difference in essence at all between them.
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19. Shinto. Shinto Tradition
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Smaller than the smallest, greater than the greatest, this Self forever dwells
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within the hearts of all. When a man is free from desire, his mind and senses
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purified, he beholds the glory of the Self and is without sorrow.
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Though seated, he travels far; though at rest, he moves all things. Who but
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the purest of the pure can realize this Effulgent Being, who is joy and who is
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beyond joy.
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Formless is he, though inhabiting form. In the midst of the fleeting he abides
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forever. All-pervading and supreme is the Self. The wise man, knowing him in
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his true nature, transcends all grief.
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20. Hinduism. Katha Upanishad 1.2.20-22
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Galatians 2.20: With the coming of Christ, divinity entered humanity and
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humanity became deified. For Christians of the Orthodox faith, the highest
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goal is divinization, oneness with Christ. As St. Athanasius taught: in Jesus
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Christ, God became man that man might be drawn back into the divine harmony.
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Cf. John 14.15-21, p. 645. 1 Corinthians 3.16-17: Every human being is meant to
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be a holy temple of God. This also applies to the body, which should never
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suffer defilement; cf. 1 Corinthians 6.13-19, p. 47 2. Vacana 820: Indian
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temples are traditionally built in the image of the human body, which is the
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primordial blueprint of the cosmos. In Lingayat Shaivism, the body itself
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becomes a temple of Shiva in private worship--see Vacana 743, p. 852. Indeed,
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to overcome the formalization of temple worship, we should return to the living
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original temple.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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This is a wonderful, unique discourse:
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The living self is the image of the Supreme Being.
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It is neither old nor a child;
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Neither it suffers pain, nor in death's snare is caught;
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It is not shattered nor dies;
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In all time it is pervasive.
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It feels not heat nor cold;
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Neither has it friend nor foe;
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It feels not joy nor sorrow:
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All is its own; to it belongs all might.
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It has neither father nor mother;
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Beyond the limits of matter has it ever existed.
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Of sin and goodness it feels not the touch--
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Within the heart of each being it is ever awake.
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21. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Gaund, M.5, p. 868
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Bright but hidden, the Self dwells in the heart.
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Everything that moves, breathes, opens, and closes
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Lives in the Self. He is the source of love
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And may be known through love but not through thought.
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He is the goal of life. Attain this goal!
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The shining Self dwells hidden in the heart.
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Everything in the cosmos, great and small,
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Lives in the Self. He is the source of life,
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Truth beyond the transience of this world.
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He is the goal of life. Attain this goal!
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22. Hinduism. Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.1-2
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What is man?
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Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material
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elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness
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of God. Matter is not that likeness. The likeness of Spirit cannot be so
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unlike Spirit. Man is spiritual and perfect; and because he is spiritual and
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perfect, he must be so understood in Christian Science. Man is idea, the image,
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of Love; he is not physique.
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23. Christian Science. Science and Health, 475
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Katha Upanishad 1.2.20-22: Cf. Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.10-11, Kena Upanishad
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1.1-2, p. 117.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Become fully aware of the true image of man:
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Man is spirit,
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Man is life,
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Man is deathless.
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God is the Light Source of man,
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And man is the light that came from God.
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There is neither light source without light,
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Nor light without a light source.
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Just as light and its light source are one,
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So man and God are one.
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God is Spirit; therefore, man is also spirit.
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God is Love; therefore, man is also love.
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God is Wisdom; therefore, man is also wisdom.
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Spirit is not material in nature;
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Love is not material in nature;
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Wisdom is not material in nature.
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Therefore, man, who is spirit, love, and wisdom, is in no way related to matter.
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24. Seicho-no-Ie. Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines 48-49
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Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth,
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was not created or made, neither indeed can be. All truth is independent in
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that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence
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also; otherwise there is no existence.
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Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because
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that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they
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receive not the light. And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is
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under condemnation.
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For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element,
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inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; and when separated, man cannot
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receive a fulness of joy. The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is
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the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is defiled, God
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shall destroy that temple.
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25. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Doctrine and Covenants
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93.29-35
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines: In his expressions Taniguchi, the founder
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of Seicho-no-Ie, is influenced by Christian terminology. Yet the thought is
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still rooted in the fusion of Shinto and Buddhist traditions of popular
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Japanese religion. Doctrine and Covenants 93.29-35: While the human person is
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essentially spirit or Intelligence, matter and the body also have a positive
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role. As in the Christian tradition generally, scriptures of the Latter-day
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Saints teach that Spirit must be enfleshed to produce God's temple, and in
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order that humans may realize their full purpose.
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