281 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
281 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
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VIGILANCE
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Vigilance, and like mental attitudes of heedfulness, wakefulness,
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and concentration, are necessary for progress on the spiritual path.
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Heedfulness is necessary because life is a continuous stream: Every moment
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is an occasion to think, will, and act either within the discipline of the
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spiritual path or to violate its teachings. Despite one's initial burst
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of enthusiasm for the Way, it is all too easy to slip back into fallen and
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worldly habits. Only continued vigilance can preserve our life.
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In the religions of the East, vigilance refers to watching over
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one's thoughts in Meditation, pp. 837-48. Intense concentration is
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required, minding the condition of one's thoughts and exercising restraint
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over one's actions. In Western religions vigilance often refers to being
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mindful of God, who is ever present. By such wakefulness, one is alert
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against any sin or diversion from a life lived in accordance with God's
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will. Islam calls us to constantly remember (dhakara) God, His
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commandments, and His mercies, and reminds us through the duty of daily
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Prayer, pp. 825-31. Christian scriptures warn us that the Lord comes
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"like a thief in the night" and encourage constant wakefulness through
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such passages as the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Maidens. At the
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conclusion we give several passages describing how a moment of weakness,
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of "looking back," can potentially ruin a lifetime of spiritual progress.
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Keep your heart with all vigilance,
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for from it flow the springs of life.
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Judaism and Christianity. Proverbs 4.23
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Proverbs 4.23: Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5.17, p. 828.
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We verily have displayed
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Our warnings in this Qur'an that they may take heed.
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Islam. Qur'an 17.41
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Men of understanding [are] such as remember God, standing, sitting, and
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reclining.
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Islam. Qur'an 3.190-91
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One who walks, stands, sits, sleeps, eats, and speaks with vigilance, no
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sin accrues.
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Jainism. Dashavaikalika Sutra 4.8
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The firm control of the senses is what is called yoga. One must then be
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vigilant; for yoga can be both beneficial and injurious.
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Hinduism. Katha Upanishad 2.3.11
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Heedfulness is the path to the deathless; heedlessness is the path to
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death. The heedful do not die; the heedless are like unto the dead.
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Distinctly understanding this difference, the wise, intent on heedfulness,
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rejoice in heedfulness, delighting in the realm of the noble ones.
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The constantly meditative, the ever steadfast ones, realize the bond-free,
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supreme Nibbana.
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The glory of him who is energetic, mindful, pure in deed, considerate,
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self-controlled, right-living, and heedful steadily increases....
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The ignorant, foolish folk indulge in heedlessness; the wise man guards
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earnestness as the greatest treasure.
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Buddhism. Dhammapada 21-26
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I [Mahavira] say, "What is the conduct that distinguishes a monk from a
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secular man? A monk is he whose conduct is ingenuous, who has devoted
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himself to the path of achieving salvation, and who never indulges in
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hypocrisy. One should preserve, without the slightest diminution, the
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faith which one had at the time of renunciation. One should not be swept
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away by the eddies of a mercurial mind."
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Jainism. Acarangasutra 1.35-37
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Qur'an 17.41: Cf. Qur'an 33.45-46, p. 633; Hadith of Darimi, p. 791.
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Qur'an 3.190-91: Cf. Qur'an 11.114, p. 827; 18.23-24, p. 913; 29.45, p.
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826; Hadith of Darimi, p. 828. Dashavaikalika Sutra 4.8: Cf. the example
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of Mahavira in Acarangasutra 9, pp. 657f. Katha Upanishad 2.3.11: Yoga
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becomes injurious when its powers disorient and overwhelm the young
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aspirant who lacks sufficient control, or when it is used for personal
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gain. Acarangasutra 1.35-37: The same principles apply to householders;
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see Tattvarthasutra 6.18-24, p. 242.
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If while going, standing, sitting or reclining when awake, a thought of
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sensuality, hatred or aggressiveness arises in a monk, and he tolerates
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it, does not reject, discard, and eliminate it, does not bring it to an
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end, that monk, who in such a manner is ever and again lacking in earnest
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endeavor and moral shame, is called indolent and void of energy.
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If while going, standing, sitting, or reclining when awake, a thought of
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sensuality, hatred, or aggressiveness arises in a monk, and he does not
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tolerate it, but rejects, discards, and eliminates it, brings it to an
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end, that monk, who in such a manner ever and again shows earnest endeavor
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and moral shame, is called energetic and resolute.
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Buddhism. Itivuttaka 110
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Kung-sun Ch'ou asked Mencius, "May I ask what your strong points
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are?"
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"I have an insight into words. I am good at cultivating my
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'flood-like ch'i.'"
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"May I ask what this 'flood-like ch'i' is?"
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"It is difficult to explain. This is a ch'i (breath) which is, in
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the highest degree, vast and unyielding. Nourish it with integrity and
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place no obstacle in its path and it will fill the space between heaven
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and earth. It is a ch'i which unites righteousness and the Way. Deprive
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it of these and it will collapse. It is born of accumulated rightness and
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cannot be appropriated by anyone through a sporadic show of rightness.
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Whenever one acts in a way that falls below the standard set in one's
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heart, it will collapse.... You must work at it and never let it out of
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your mind. At the same time, while you must never let it out of your
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mind, you must not forcibly help it grow either."
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Confucianism. Mencius II.A.2
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And watch! Lo! I am a watcher with you.
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Islam. Qur'an 11.93
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I slept, but my heart was awake.
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Hark! my Beloved is knocking.
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Judaism and Christianity. Song of Solomon 5.2
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Be mindful when you are alone, in the shadow of your coverlet.
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Taoism. Tract of the Quiet Way
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Itivuttaka 110: Cf. Anguttara Nikaya v.66, pp. 724f; Digha Nikaya
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ii.99-100, p. 679. Mencius II.A.2: In Chinese thought, Ch'i (qi) is life
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energy. It is essential to health and can be focused and enhanced by
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disciplines such as T'ai-chi, Chi Gong and Kung Fu. Ch'i has a mental and
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spiritual aspect, uniting mind and body. For Mencius, the power of ch'i
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is founded on truth and righteousness. See Chuang Tzu 15, p. 841n.; cf.
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Great Learning 6.1-4, p. 724; Analects 6.5, p. 839. Qur'an 11.93:
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Muhammad often kept prayer vigils into the early morning hours, Qur'an
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73.1-8, p. 828. Cf. Hadith, p. 762. Song of Solomon 5.2: Cf. Revelation
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3.20, p. 686, Psalm 42.1-3, p. 762. Tract of the Quiet Way: Cf. Great
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Learning 6.1-4, p. 724; Doctrine of the Mean 33, p. 110.
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If one holds oneself dear, one should protect oneself well. During every
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one of the three watches the wise man should keep vigil.
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Buddhism. Dhammapada 157
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Though others sleep, be thou awake! Like a wise man, trust nobody, but be
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always on the alert; for dangerous is the time and weak the body. Be as
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watchful as the two-headed Bharunda bird!
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A monk should step carefully in his walk, supposing everything to be a
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snare for him. First, he must bestow care on his life till he wins the
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Stake and afterwards he should despise it, annihilating its sins.
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Jainism. Uttaradhyayana Sutra 4.6-7
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You yourself know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in
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the night. When people say, "There is peace and security," then sudden
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destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child,
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and there will be no escape. But you are not in darkness, brethren, for
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that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and
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sons of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us
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not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
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Christianity. 1 Thessalonians 5.2-6
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The kingdom of Heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their
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lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and
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five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil
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with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the
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bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight
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there was a cry, "Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him." Then all
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those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the
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wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out." But the
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wise replied, "Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go
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rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves." And while they went to
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buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the
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marriage feast; and the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came
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also, saying, "Lord, lord, open to us." But he replied, "Truly, I say to
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you, I do not know you." Watch therefore, for you know neither the day
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nor the hour.
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Christianity. Matthew 25.1-13
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Dhammapada 157: The 'three watches' may be interpreted as the three
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periods in a person's life. Uttaradhyayana Sutra 4.6-7: The first verse
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calls for vigilance against temptations of the world. The second verse
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describes care for the body: one should guard one's life well until one
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wins Enlightenment, 'the Stake.' Then one despises the body to the point
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of the Holy Death (sallekhana)--cf. Acarangasutra 1.7.6, p. 344. 1
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Thessalonians 5.2-6: This is often taken to refer to the wait for the
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Second Advent of Christ; see 2 Peter 3.3-10, p. 1099; also Luke 21.34-36.
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No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom
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of God.
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Christianity. Luke 9.62
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Those journeying to heaven do not look back; they ascend the heaven, the
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two worlds.
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Hinduism. Satapatha Brahmana 9.2.3.27
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But Lot's wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
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Judaism and Christianity. Genesis 19.26
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Even those who have much learning,
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Faith, and willing perseverance
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Will become defiled by a [moral] fall
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Due to the mistake of lacking alertness.
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The thieves of unalertness,
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In following upon the decline of mindfulness,
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Will steal even the merits I have firmly gathered.
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I shall then descend to the lower realms.
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Buddhism. Shantideva, Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life
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5.26-27
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The Master said, "Danger arises when a man feels secure in his position.
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Destruction threatens when a man seeks to preserve his worldly estate.
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Confusion develops when a man has put everything in order. Therefore the
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superior man does not forget danger in his security, nor ruin when he is
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well established, nor confusion when his affairs are in order. In this
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way he gains personal safety and is able to protect the empire. In the I
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Ching it is said: 'What if it should fail? What if it should fail?' In
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this way he ties it to a cluster of mulberry shoots [makes success
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certain]."
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Confucianism. I Ching, Great Commentary 2.5.9
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Luke 9.62: Cf. Luke 9.60, p. 583; 14.16-24, p. 674. Genesis 19.26: When
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Lot and his family were fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah, they were instructed
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not to look back at the destruction which was consuming the cities. I
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Ching, Great Commentary 2.5.9: Cf. I Ching, Great Commentary 1.8.7, pp.
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920f; cf. Micah 7.5-7, p. 953.
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