427 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
427 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
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POVERTY OF CONCEPTUAL LEARNING
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All religions distinguish between intellectual study and the
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apprehension of spiritual knowledge that is conducive to salvation.
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Intellectual and conceptual knowledge, for all its utility in the world,
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does not profit the spiritual seeker, and may even impede the realization
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of Truth. The gulf between Athens and Jerusalem--between the conceptual
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systems of secular philosophy and the scriptural truth of Western
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religions--is the subject of the first group of passages. Against the
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apparent knowledgd through philosophy and scientific reason is placed the
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seeming folly of the cross, the absurd minutiae of sacrificial lore in the
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Torah, and the absolute claim of the Word of God. We include several
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passages on the evils of knowledge that is not restrained or directed by
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spiritual wisdom: it leads to arrogance, and excessive domination by which
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people are oppressed and the environment damaged .
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Turning to Eastern religions, especially Buddhism and Taoism, we
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find that the truth which is realized in the experience of enlightenment
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is too profound to be stated in words. Words themselves become
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impediments to enlightenment when they lead to discriminative thought,
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attachment to one thing, and aversion to another thing. Thus the Zen
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koan, "Has a dog the Buddha nature?" only leads the questioner into a
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welter of mental confusion until he realizes that the way out is beyond
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any "nothingness" uod as a concept. Words can be at best a vehicle to the
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meaning that lies beyond, as a finger points to an object beyond itself,
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or as a raft that carries a man across the stream is discarded once he
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reaches the other shore.
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The poverty of conceptual learning extends to the concepts in
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scripture. Knowledge of scripture according to the letter is, like any
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other intellection, defective by itself. Direct intuitive knowledge or
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inner realization of God is far superior.
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Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the
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flesh.
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Judaism and Christianity. Ecclesiastes 12.12
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A thousand and hundred thousand feats of intellect shall not accompany man
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in the hereafter.
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Sikhism. Adi Granth, Japuji 1, M.1, p. 1
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Whoever goes after unreasonable and unnecessary rationalization will never
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be able to reach truth.
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Islam (Shiite). Nahjul Balagha, Saying 30
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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
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Judaism and Christianity. Proverbs 9.11
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This is true knowledge: to seek the Self as the true end of wisdom always.
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To seek anything else is ignorance.
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Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 13.11
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Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If any one imagines that he knows
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something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if one loves
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God, one is known by him.
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Christianity. 1 Corinthians 8.1-3
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Rabba ben Rabbi Huna said, "Whoever possesses knowledge of the Torah
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without having fear of the Lord is likened to a treasurer who has been
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entrusted with the inner keys of the treasury but from whom the outer keys
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were witheld."
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Judaism. Talmud, Shabbat 31a
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Ecclesiastes 12.12: Cf. Isaiah 64.6, p. 411. Japuji 1, M.1: Cf. Ramkali,
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M.5, p. 62. Proverbs 9.11: Cf. Isaiah 7.9, p. 750; Abot 3.11, p. 770. 1
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Corinthians 8.1-3: Cf. Mark 7.6-7, pp. 489f.; 2 Corinthians 3.6, p. 804;
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Sutta Nipata 798, p. 65; Tao Te Ching 71, p. 915; Kena Upanishad 2.1-3, p.
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87.
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Rabbi Eleazar Hisma said, "Offerings of birds and purifications of women,
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these, yea these, are the essential precepts. Astronomy and geometry are
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but fringes to wisdom."
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Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 3.23
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My now-deceased mother really scolded me. She said, "Go away somewhere
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into the wilderness, since all you seem to do is look at books. For all
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the days to come you will be pitiful because the book blocks your path.
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Never will anything be revealed to you in a vision, for you live like a
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white man."
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Native American Religions. Delaware Testimony
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Perfected is the Word of your Lord in truth and justice. There is naught
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that can change His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower. If you obeyed
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most of those on earth they would mislead you far from God's way; they
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follow naught but an opinion, and they do but guess.
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Islam. Qur'an 6.115-16
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True words are not fine-sounding; Fine-sounding words are not true. The
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good man does not prove by argument; And he who proves by argument is not
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good. True wisdom is different from much learning; Much learning means
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little wisdom.
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Taoism. Tao Te Ching 81
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Human philosophy has made God manlike. Christian Science makes man
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Godlike. The first is error; the latter is truth. Metaphysics is above
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physics, and matter does not enter into metaphysical premises or
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conclusions. The categories of metaphysics rest on one basis, the divine
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Mind.
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Christian Science. Science and Health, 269
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The Unification Church is a school far greater than Harvard or Yale or
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Princeton, and is a place where only the elite of the universe can enroll.
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Harvard University can graduate a Ph.D., but that person can only turn
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around and teach theories on a blackboard. Even a thousand Harvards
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cannot create one son of God, but our school turns out sons of God every
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day.
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Unification Church. Sun Myung Moon, 5-1-77
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Abot 3.23: Offerings and purity laws are God's commandments in scripture,
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while the sciences are knowledge of human devising. Qur'an 6.115-16: Cf.
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Nahjul Balagha, Khutba 1, p. 87. Tao Te Ching 81: Cf. Tao Te Ching 71, p.
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915; Chuang Tzu 2, p. 181; 13, p. 220; Gauri Sukhmani 12, M.5, p. 915.
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Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this
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age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the
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wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God
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through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For the
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Jews demand signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ
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crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those
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who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
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wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the
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weakness of God is stronger than men.
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Christianity. 1 Corinthians 1.20-25
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Know verily that knowledge is of two kinds: divine and satanic. The one
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wells out from the fountain of divine inspiration; the other is but a
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reflection of vain and obscure thoughts. The source of the former is God
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Himself; the motive force of the latter the whisperings of selfish desire.
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The one is guided by the principle: "Fear God; God will teach you"; the
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other is but a confirmation of the truth: "Knowledge is the most grievous
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veil between man and his Creator." The former brings forth the fruit of
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patience, of longing desire, of true understanding, and love; while the
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latter can yield naught but arrogance, vainglory, and conceit.
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Baha'i Faith. Book of Certitude, 69
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Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good life let him show
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his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and
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selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
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This wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly,
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unspiritual, devilish. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,
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there will be disorder and every vile practice. But wisdom from above is
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first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good
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fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity. And the harvest of
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righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
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Christianity. James 3.13-18
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"Some say that broad learning is an impediment in the study of
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Shinto; is that really so?"
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"It is not extensive learning itself which is an impediment. It
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all depends on the mind of the scholar with such erudition, whether it
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becomes a benefit or a hindrance. Learning has as its original function
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knowledge of the way of mankind, becoming familiar with all the things
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within the realm, and producing human virtue. In spite of this fact,
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current scholarship concerns itelf with matters of absolutely no value to
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the way of man, aiming merely for the approbation of fellow scholars,
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becoming merely a tenacious attachment to books, and thus dark and
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confused, without any illumination at all. Such is an evil to Shinto."
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Shinto. Ieyuki Asai, Precepts of Divine Learning
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1 Corinthians 1.20-25: Cf. 1 Corinthians 2.6-10, p. 538; Dhammapada 63, p.
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915. Book of Certitude, 69: Cf. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, 128, p.
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793; Book of Certitude, 68-69, p. 805. James 3.13-18: Cf. Galatians
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5.19-23, p. 465; Mark 7:6-7, pp. 489f.
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Of all things seen in the world
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Only mind is the host;
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By grasping forms according to interpretation
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It becomes deluded, not true to reality.
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All philosophies in the world
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Are mental fabrications;
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There has never been a single doctrine
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By which one could enter the true essence of things.
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By the power of perceiver and perceived
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All kinds of things are born;
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They soon pass away, not staying,
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Dying out instant to instant.
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Buddhism. Garland Sutra 10
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As long as men in high places covet knowledge and are without the
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Way, the world will be in great confusion. How do I know this is so?
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Knowledge enables men to fashion bows, crossbows, nets, stringed arrows,
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and like contraptions, but when this happens the birds flee in confusion
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to the sky. Knowledge enables men to fashion fishhooks, lures, seines,
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dragnets, trawls, and weirs, but when this happens the fish flee in
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confusion to the depths of the water. Knowledge enables men to fashion
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pitfalls, cages, traps, and gins, but when this happens the beasts flee in
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confusion to the swamps. And the flood of rhetoric that enables men to
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invent wily schemes and poisonous slanders, the glib gabble of "hard" and
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"white," the foul fustian of "same" and "different," bewilder the
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understanding of common men. So the world is dulled and darkened by great
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confusion. The blame lies in the coveting of knowledge.
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In the world everyone knows enough to pursue what he does not
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know, but no one knows enough to pursue what he already knows. Everyone
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knows enough to condemn what he takes to be no good, but no one knows
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enough to condemn what he has already taken to be good. This is how the
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great confusion comes about, blotting out the brightness of sun and moon
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above, searing the vigor of hills and streams below, overturning the round
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of the four seasons in between. There is no insect that creeps and
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crawls, no creature that flutters and flies, that has not lost its inborn
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nature. So great is the confusion of the world that comes from coveting
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knowledge!
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Taoism. Chuang Tzu 10
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Lord Mahavira said to Gautama, "When Dharma is not seen by the seer
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directly it is seen through the wire mesh of words. Conjecture is the
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wire mesh that covers that window. Multiple sects and systems result from
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such an indirect observation. The path suggested to you, Gautama, is the
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direct path of the seer. Be vigilant and a seer of Dharma."
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Jainism. Uttaradhyayana Sutra 10.31
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Garland Sutra 10: Cf. Lankavatara Sutra 63, p. 155. Chuang Tzu 10: Cf.
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Tao Te Ching 18-19, p. 294; Chuang Tzu 13, p. 220.
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Knowledge is of five kinds, namely: sensory knowledge, scriptural
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knowledge, clairvoyance, telepathy, and omniscience. These five kinds of
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knowledge are of two types: the first two kinds are indirect knowledge and
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the remaining three constitute direct knowledge. In sensory knowledge...
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there is only the apprehension of indistinct things.... But clairvoyance,
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telepathy, and omniscience is direct knowledge; it is perceived by the
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soul in a vivid manner without the intermediary of the senses or the
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scriptures.
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Jainism. Tattvarthasutra 1.19-29
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The kami-faith is caught, not taught.
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Shinto. Proverb
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A monk asked Joshu, "Has a dog the Buddha nature?" Joshu answered, "Mu."
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Mumon's comment: To attain this subtle realization, you must completely
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cut off the way of thinking.
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Buddhism. Mumonkan 1
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Subhuti, do not say that the Tathagata conceives the idea: I must set
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forth a Teaching. For if anyone says that the Tathagata sets forth a
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Teaching he really slanders Buddha and is unable to explain what I teach.
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As to any Truth-declaring system, Truth is undeclarable; so "an
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enunciation of Truth" is just a name given to it.
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Buddhism. Diamond Sutra 21
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Tattvarthasutra 1.19-29: Omniscience, the highest form of knowledge, is
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attained only by a perfected soul. Cf. 2 Corinthians 3.6, p. 804.
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Mumonkan 1: 'Mu' means emptiness, but emptiness cannot be realized
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conceptually. Proper meditation requires complete denial of the
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intellect. Cf. the commentary to this koan, p. 841; Lankavatara Sutra 63,
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p. 155; Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 5, p. 90. Diamond Sutra 21: This and
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all the Perfection of Wisdom sutras are written for the student who is
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aspiring for truth; there is nothing nihilistic about them. But since
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truth is based in sunyata, this text advises that 'an enunciation of
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truth' is also empty and not to be made an object of grasping. Cf.
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Lankavatara Sutra 61, p. 634f. Mumonkan 6, p. 819; Holy Teaching of
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Vimalakirti 5, p. 90; Kena Upanishad 2.1-3, p. 87; Seng ts'an, pp. 221f.
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Mulamadhyamaka Karika 24.8-12, pp. 1021f.
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It is because every one under heaven recognizes beauty as beauty that the
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idea of ugliness exists.
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And if every one recognized virtue as virtue, this would merely create
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fresh conceptions of wickedness.
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For truly, "Being and Not-being grow out of one another:
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Difficult and easy complete one another.
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Long and short test one another;
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High and low determine one another.
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Pitch and mode give harmony to one another,
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Front and back give sequence to one another."
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Therefore the Sage relies on actionless activity,
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And carries on wordless teaching.
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Taoism. Tao Te Ching 2
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Mahamati, the Tathagatas do not teach a doctrine that is dependent
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upon letters. As to letters, their being or non-being is not attainable;
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it is otherwise with thought that is never dependent upon letters. Again,
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Mahamati, anyone that discourses on a truth that is dependent upon letters
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is a mere prattler because truth is beyond letters. For this reason, it
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is declared in the canonical text by myself and other Buddhas and
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bodhisattvas that not a letter is uttered or answered by the Tathagatas.
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For what reason? Because truths are not dependent on letters....
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Therefore, Mahamati, let the son or daughter of a good family take
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good heed not to get attached to words as being in perfect conformity with
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meaning, because truth is not of the letter. Be not like the one who
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looks at the fingertip. When a man with his fingertip points out
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something to somebody, the fingertip may be taken wrongly for the thing
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pointed at. In like manner, simple and ignorant people are unable even
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unto their death to abandon the idea that in the fingertip of words there
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is the meaning itself, and will not grasp ultimate reality because of
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their intent clinging to words, which are no more than the fingertip....
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Be not like one who, grasping his own fingertip, sees the meaning there.
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You should rather energetically discipline yourself to get at the meaning
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itself.
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Buddhism. Lankavatara Sutra 76
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Tao Te Ching 2: Cf. Tao Te Ching 18-19, p. 294; 48, p. 898; Chuang Tzu 2,
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p. 67; 2, p. 181; Katha Upanishad 2.1.10-11, p. 588. Lankavatara Sutra 76:
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Cf. Lankavatara Sutra 61, pp. 634f.; Mumonkan 6, p. 819; Zohar, Numbers
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152a, p. 804.
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"O monks, a man is on a journey. He comes to a vast stretch of
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water. On this side the shore is dangerous, but on the other it is safe
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and without danger. No boat goes to the other shore which is safe and
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without danger, nor is there any bridge for crossing over. He says to
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himself, 'This sea of water is vast, and the shore on this side is full of
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danger; but on the other shore it is safe and without danger. No boat
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goes to the other side, nor is there a bridge for crossing over. It would
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be good therefore if I would gather grass, wood, branches, and leaves to
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make a raft, and with the help of the raft cross over safely to the other
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side, exerting myself with my hands and feet.' Then that man gathers
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grass, wood, branches, and leaves and makes a raft, and with the help of
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that raft crosses over safely to the other side, exerting himself with his
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hands and feet. Having crossed over and got ten to the other side, he
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thinks, 'This raft was of great help to me. With its aid I have crossed
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safely over to this side, exerting myself with my hands and feet. It
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would be good if I carry this raft on my head or on my back wherever I
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go.'
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"What do you think, O monks: if he acted in this way would that
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man be acting properly with regard to the raft?"
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"No, Sir."
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"In which way, then, would he be acting properly with regard to
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the raft? Having crossed and gone over to the other side, suppose that man
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should think, 'This raft was a great help to me. With its aid I have
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crossed safely over to this side, exerting myself with my hands and feet.
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It would be good if I beached this raft on the shore, or moored it and
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left it afloat, and then went on my way wherever it may be.' Acting in
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this way would that man act properly with regard to the raft.
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"In the same manner, O monks, I have taught a doctrine similar to
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a raft--it is for crossing over, and not for carrying. You who understand
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that the teaching is similar to a raft, should give up attachment to even
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the good Dhamma; how much more then should you give up evil things."
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Buddhism. Majjhima Nikaya i.134-35: Parable of the Raft
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The fish trap exists because of the fish; once you've gotten the fish, you
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can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit; once
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you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because
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of meaning; once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.
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Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with
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him?
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Taoism. Chuang Tzu 26
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Majjhima Nikaya i.134-35: Cf. Dhammapada 85-86, p. 541; Bhagavad Gita
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2.42-46, pp. 805f.; Mulamadhyamaka Karika 24.8-12, pp. 1021f.
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