388 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
388 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
Ignorance
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World Scripture
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IGNORANCE
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Many religions regard the evils of the human condition as a result of
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ignorance. Being ignorant of the truth about Ultimate Reality and the purpose
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of life, people's values become confused, and consequently they act wrongly. In
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Hinduism and Jainism, this blindness (avidya) is what binds people to the wheel
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of birth-and-death (samsara). In Buddhism, this ignorance (mithyajnana) leads
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to grasping after self, and hence to error. In the Christian Bible, the
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apostle Paul taught that ignorance of God lay at the root of all forms of
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license and immorality. In Islam it is the condition of forgetting God; as a
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result, people ever since Adam have deviated from the path and lost their
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souls. Taoist sages condemn knowledge of worldly things as a source of
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confusion about true values, and similarly we find in many scriptures warnings
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against the illusory goals and vanities that infect worldly life.
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This selection of passages is arranged in roughly the following order: We
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begin with the practical observation that ignorance of Ultimate Reality spurs
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evil and demonic behavior. Next, it is due to ignorance, according to the
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religions of India, that humans are bound to suffer on the wheel of samsara,
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going through continual deaths and rebirths. Humanity's spiritual blindness is
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the subject of the third group of passages, beginning with passages which
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describe ignorance as a veil that obscures the faculty of insight. Other
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passages describe humanity's blindness by such metaphors as frogs in a well and
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moths drawn to perish in a lamp. In our blindness, we are attracted to the
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vanities of this world which are ephemeral and deceiving, according to the next
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group of passages. We conclude with passages which reason that even evil
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itself is an illusion or a bad dream.
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My people go into exile for want of knowledge.
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1. Judaism and Christianity. Isaiah 5.13
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Be not like those who forgot God, therefore He made them forget their own souls!
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2. Islam. Qur'an 59.19
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Only when men shall roll up space as if it were a simple skin, Only then will
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there be an end of sorrow without acknowledging God.
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3. Hinduism. Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.20
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Whoever wants to do some evil against another does not remember God.
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4. African Traditional Religions. Proverb
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In sleep our nights wasted, in filling our belly the days:
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This life, precious as a jewel, is forfeited for a cowrie shell.
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Ignorant fool! You who have never realized God's Name, In the end into regrets
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shall fall.
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5. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Gauri Bairagani, M.1, p. 156
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Although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but
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they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.
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Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal
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God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Therefore
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God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring
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of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God
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for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who
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is blessed for ever! Amen.
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6. Christianity. Romans 1.21-25
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The fool says in his heart,
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"There is no God."
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They are all corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
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there is none that does good.
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The Lord looks down from heaven
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upon the children of men,
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to see if there are any that act wisely,
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that seek after God.
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They have all gone astray,
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they are all alike corrupt;
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there is none that does good,
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no, not one.
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Have they no knowledge,
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all the evildoers
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who eat up my people as they eat bread,
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and do not call upon the Lord?
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7. Judaism and Christianity. Psalm 14.1-4
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Romans 1.21-25: Cf. Philippians 3.18-19, p. 407; Qur'an 45.23, p. 416.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Rabbi Hananiah ben Hakinai said, "No man lies to his neighbor until he has
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denied the Root. It happened once that Rabbi Reuben was in Tiberias on the
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Sabbath, and a philosopher asked him, 'Who is the most hateful man in the
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world?' He replied, 'The man who denies his Creator.' 'How so?' said the
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philosopher. Rabbi Reuben answered, '"Honor thy father and thy mother, thou
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shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou
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shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, thou shalt not covet." No
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man denies the derivative [the Ten Commandments] until he has previously denied
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the Root [God], and no man sins unless he has denied Him who commanded him not
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to commit that sin.'"
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8. Judaism. Tosefta Shebuot 3.6
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The demonic do things they should avoid and avoid the things they should do.
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They have no sense of uprightness, purity, or truth.
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"There is no God," they say, "no truth, no spiritual law, no moral order. The
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basis of life is sex; what else can it be?" Holding such distorted views,
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possessing scant discrimination, they become enemies of the world, causing
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suffering and destruction.
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Hypocritical, proud, and arrogant, living in delusion and clinging to deluded
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ideas, insatiable in their desires, they pursue their unclean ends. Although
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burdened with fears that end only with death, they still maintain with complete
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assurance, "Gratification of lust is the highest that life can offer."
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Bound on all sides by scheming and anxiety, driven by anger and greed, they
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amass by any means they can a hoard of money for the satisfaction of their
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cravings.
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"I got this today," they say; "tomorrow I shall get that. This wealth is mine,
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and that will be mine too. I have destroyed my enemies. I shall destroy
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others too! Am I not like God? I enjoy what I want. I am successful. I am
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powerful. I am happy. I am rich and well-born. Who is equal to me? I will
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perform sacrifices and give gifts, and rejoice in my own generosity." This is
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how they go on, deluded by ignorance. Bound by their greed and entangled in a
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web of delusion, whirled about by a fragmented mind, they fall into a dark hell.
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9. Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 16.7-16
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Psalm 14.1-4: Cf. Isaiah 1.2-3, p. 456. Tosefta Shebuot 3.6: Cf. Pesikta
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Rabbati, pp. 167f.; Mekilta Exodus 12.6, p. 404. Bhagavad Gita 16.7-16: Cf.
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Isaiah 5.21, p. 409; Bhagavad Gita 3.41, p. 417; Acarangasutra 2.1-3, p. 421.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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He who does not clearly understand Heaven will not be pure in virtue. He who
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has not mastered the Way will find himself without any acceptable path of
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approach. He who does not understand the Way is pitiable indeed!
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10. Taoism. Chuang Tzu 11
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This vast universe is a wheel, the wheel of Brahman. Upon it are all creatures
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that are subject to birth, death, and rebirth. Round and round it turns, and
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never stops. As long as the individual self thinks it is separate from the
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Lord, it revolves upon the wheel in bondage to the laws of birth, death, and
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rebirth....
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The Lord supports this universe, which is made up of the perishable and the
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imperishable, the manifest and the unmanifest. The individual soul, forgetful
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of the Lord, attaches itself to pleasure and thus is bound.
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11. Hinduism. Svetasvatara Upanishad 1.6-8
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By reason of the habit-energy stored up by false imagination since
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beginningless time, this world is subject to change and destruction from moment
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to moment; it is like a river, a seed, a lamp, wind, a cloud; like a monkey who
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is always restless, like a fly who is ever in search of unclean things and
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defiled places, like a fire which is never satisfied. Again, [thought] is like
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a water-wheel or a machine: it goes on rolling the wheel of transmigration,
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carrying varieties of bodies and forms... causing the wooden figures to move as
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a magician moves them. Mahamati, a thorough understanding concerning these
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phenomena is called comprehending the egolessness of persons.
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12. Buddhism. Lankavatara Sutra 24
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Intoxicated by the wine of illusion, like one intoxicated by wine; rushing
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about, like one possessed of an evil spirit; bitten by the world, like one
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bitten by a great serpent; darkened by passion, like the night; illusory, like
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magic; false, like a dream; pithless, like the inside of a banana-tree;
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changing its dress in a moment, like an actor; fair in appearance, like a
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painted wall--thus they call him.
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13. Hinduism. Maitri Upanishad 4.2
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Owing to delusion, one again passes through cycles of birth and death. In this
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unbroken chain of births and deaths, delusion keeps cropping up again and again.
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14. Jainism. Acarangasutra 5.7-8
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Chuang Tzu 11: Cf. Chuang Tzu 10, p. 799, on ignorance that comes to pervade
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even the world of nature. Svetasvatara Upanishad 1.6-8: Cf. Bhagavad Gita
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15.1-3, pp. 382f.; Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.7-10, pp. 861f. This wheel is a
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Buddhist symbol of bondage to samsara, due to ignorance. Lankavatara Sutra 24:
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The impermanence of the world is essentially the impermanence of thought, out
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of which it is made. Cf. Dhammapada 171, p. 959; Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti
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3, p. 220; Bhagavad Gita 15.1-3, pp. 382f. Maitri Upanishad 4.2: See Bhagavad
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Gita 5.15-16, pp. 535f.; cf. Nahjul Balagha, Khutba 86, pp. 959f. Acarangasutra
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5.7-8: Cf. Uttaradhyayana Sutra 3.1-7, p. 315; Acarangasutra 2.55-56, p. 412;
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Pancadhyayi 2.57, p. 387.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Few see through the veil of maya.
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15. Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 7.25
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Long is the night to the wakeful; long is the league to the weary; long is
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samsara to the foolish who know not the sublime Truth.
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16. Buddhism. Dhammapada 60
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This world is as a juggler's show,
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Wherein various disguises he assumes.
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As he puts off his makeup, ended is His expanse [of creation].
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Then is left the Sole Supreme Being.
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How many various guises has He assumed and cast off?
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To where have they gone? From where did they come?
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From water arise innumerable waves;
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From gold are shaped ornaments of various forms;
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Many are the kinds of seeds sown:
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As ripens the fruit, again is left the Sole Supreme Being.
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Into thousands of pitchers falls reflection of the one sky;
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As the pitcher is broken, the sole Light remains.
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While thoughts of maya last, doubt, avarice, and attachment are found;
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When illusion is lifted, only the Sole Supreme Being is left.
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17. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Suhi, M.5, p. 736
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The unbelievers... are like the depths of darkness
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In a vast deep ocean,
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Overwhelmed with billow,
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Topped by billow,
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Topped by dark clouds:
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Depths of darkness,
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One above another:
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If a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it!
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For any to whom God gives not light,
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There is no light!
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18. Islam. Qur'an 24.40
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Within the Essence of Mind all things are intrinsically pure, like the azure of
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the sky and the radiance of the sun and the moon which, when obscured by
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passing clouds, may appear as if their brightness had been dimmed; but as soon
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as the clouds are blown away, brightness reappears and all objects are fully
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illuminated. Learned Audience, our evil habits may be likened unto the clouds;
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while Sagacity and Wisdom are like the sun and the moon respectively. When we
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attach ourselves to outer objects, our Essence of Mind is clouded by wanton
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thoughts which prevent our Sagacity and Wisdom from sending forth their light.
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19. Buddhism. Sutra of Hui Neng 6
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Bhagavad Gita 7.25: Cf. Chandogya Upanishad 8.3.2, p. 219. Qur'an 24.40: Cf.
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Qur'an 24.35, p. 536; Nahjul Balagha, Khutba 86, p. 959f. Sutra of Hui Neng 6:
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Cf. Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 3, p. 220; Anguttara Nikaya i.10, p. 453;
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Chandogya Upanishad 8.3.2, p. 219; Bhagavad Gita 5.15-16, pp. 535f.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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It is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts within the breasts.
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20. Islam. Qur'an 22.46
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Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round
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and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind.
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21. Hinduism. Katha Upanishad 1.2.5
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The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them
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from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness
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of God.
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22. Christianity. 2 Corinthians 4.4
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Confucius said, "In vain I have looked for a single man capable of seeing his
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own faults and bringing the charge home against himself."
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23. Confucianism. Analects 5.26
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They have hearts, but understand not with them; they have eyes, but perceive
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not with them; they have ears, but they hear not with them. They are like
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cattle; nay, rather they are further astray. Those--they are the heedless.
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24. Islam. Qur'an 7.179
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You shall indeed hear but never understand,
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and you shall indeed see but never perceive.
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For this people's heart has grown dull,
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and their ears are heavy of hearing,
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and their eyes they have closed,
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lest they should perceive with their eyes,
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and hear with their ears,
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and understand with their heart,
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and turn for me to heal them.
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25. Christianity. Matthew 13.14-15
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Blind is this world. Few are those who clearly see. As birds escape from a
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net, few go to a blissful state.
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26. Buddhism. Dhammapada 174
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Qur'an 22.46: Cf. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 6, p. 218; Luke 11.34-36, p. 218.
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Katha Upanishad 1.2.5: Cf. Udana 68-69, p. 68. 2 Corinthians 4.4: Cf. John
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8.43-45, p. 436; Yasna 32.9, p. 436; Qur'an 35.5-6, p. 441. Matthew 13.14-15:
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Cf. Mark 4.10-12, p. 803n. Dhammapada 174: Cf. Udana 75-76, p. 417.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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As is a well full of frogs
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Ignorant of the wide world,
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So is my mind deluded by evil passions
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Keeping out all thought of the Beyond.
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Lord of all universes! show me for one instant a sight of Thee.
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Lord! my senses have been fouled;
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Thy state I cannot encompass.
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Shower on me Thy grace;
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Remove my delusions; confer on me true wisdom.
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Great yogis for all their praxis
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Comprehend not thy Reality inexpressible.
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Through love and devotion mayst Thou be known,
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Thus says Ravidas the cobbler.
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27. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Gauri Purabi, Ravi Das, p. 346
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On a certain occasion the Exalted One was seated in the open air, on a night of
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inky darkness, and oil lamps were burning. Swarms of winged insects kept
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falling into these oil lamps and thereby met their end, came to destruction and
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utter ruin. Seeing those swarms of winged insects so doing, the Exalted One
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saw the meaning in it and uttered this verse of uplift,
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They hasten up and past, but miss the real;
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a bondage ever new they cause to grow.
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Just as the flutterers fall into the lamp,
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so some are bent on what they see and hear.
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28. Buddhism. Udana 72
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The life of this world is but comfort of illusion.
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29. Islam. Qur'an 3.185
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Vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at
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which he toils under the sun?
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I have seen everything that is done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity
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and a striving after wind.
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30. Judaism and Christianity. Ecclesiastes 1.2-3 and 1.14
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Parable of those who reject their Lord: their works are as ashes on which the
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wind blows furiously on a stormy day. No power have they over aught that they
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have earned. That is straying far, far from the goal.
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31. Islam. Qur'an 14.18
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Gauri Purabi, Ravi Das: Cf. Jaitsari, M.5, p. 410. Udana 72: Cf. Udana 75-76,
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p. 417. Qur'an 3.185: Cf. Qur'an 57.20, p. 328.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Men think much of their own advancement and of many other worldly things; but
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there is no improvement in this decaying world, which is as a tempting dish,
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sweet-coated, yet full of deadly gall within.... It is as intangible as a
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mist; try to lay hold of it, and it proves to be nothing!
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32. Hinduism. Yoga Vasishtha
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God, or good, never made man capable of sin. It is the opposite of good--that
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is, evil--which seems to make men capable of wrongdoing. Hence evil is but an
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illusion, and it has no real basis.
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33. Christian Science. Science and Health, 480
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The Tathagata knows the polluted minds of beings for what they are. For he
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knows that the minds of ordinary people are not actually polluted by the
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polluting forces of perverted views, which, being nothing but wrong ideas, do
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not really find a place in them.
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34. Buddhism. Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines 12.3
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The power that is not good--that is, the power that causes misfortune--is,
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after all, only a bad dream.
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The life that is not good--that is, disease--is, after all, only a bad dream.
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All discords and imperfections are, after all, only bad dreams.
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It is our bad dreams that give power to disease, misfortune, discord, and
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imperfection.
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It is like being tortured by some demon in our dreams;
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But when we awaken, we find that there is actually no such power,
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And that we had suffered at the hands of our own mind.
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35. Seicho-no-Ie. Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines 12.3: Cf. Surangama Sutra, p. 454;
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Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 6, p. 442; Pancastikaya 38, p. 453.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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