421 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
421 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
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SCRIPTURE TEACHES IN PARABLES
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The scriptures contain passages which qualify the truth of their
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own doctrines. Recognizing that scripture may be expressed in parables
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and symbolic language, they teach that spiritual discenment is required
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for its proper interpretation. Scripture also cautions us from believing
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that any system of doctrine contains the entirety of truth, for in
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reality, God's truth is infinite. Rather, as the Buddhist texts tell us,
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the teachings of religion are limited to what is needful and useful
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humankind's salvation.
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We have put forth for men in this Qur'an every kind of parable, in order
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that they may receive admonition.
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Islam. Qur'an 39.27
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Knowing that all the living have many and various desires deep-rooted in
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their minds, I have, according to their capacity, expounded the various
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laws by which these [desires] could be overcome with various reasonings,
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parabolic expressions, and expedients.
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Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 2
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And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve
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[disciples] asked [Jesus] concerning the parables. And he said to them,
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"To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those
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outside everything is in parables; so they may indeed see but not
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perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn
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again, and be forgiven."
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Christianity. Mark 4.10-12
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Mark 4.10-12: Jesus gives the reason he teaches in parables by quoting
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from Isaiah 6.9-10. The prophet Isaiah's words are a bitter commentary on
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the people's rejection of his ministry; though he preached God's words,
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the people's minds were darkened and they could not respond. Jesus was
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similarly misunderstood. Yet he still endeavored to give a gentle and
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gradual message, one that could be received even by babes, through
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teaching in simple parables. These could be understood by those who had
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ears to hear. Cf. Matthew 13.14-15, p. 400.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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It is He who sent down upon you the Book, wherein are verses clear that
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are the Essence of the Book, and others ambiguous. As for those in whose
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hearts is swerving, they follow the ambiguous part, desiring dissension,
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and desiring its interpretation; and none knows its interpretation, save
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only God. And those firmly rooted in knowledge say, "We believe in it;
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all is from our Lord"; yet none remembers, but men possessed of minds.
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Islam. Qur'an 3.7
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The written code kills, but the Spirit gives life.
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Christianity. 2 Corinthians 3.6
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Look, I will draw my sword to fight the Vedas,
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I will put shackles on the Shastras,
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I will whip the back of the books of Logic,
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And I will chop off the nose of the Agamas.
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[I don't give a damn about my high birth;
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I have no hesitation to say,]
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I am the son of the cobbler Chennyye.
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O most bountiful Lord, Kudala Sangama.
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Hinduism. Basavanna, Vachana 716
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The biblical tales are only the Torah's outer garments, and woe to him who
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regards these as being the Torah itself!
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Judaism. Zohar, Numbers 152a
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He who does not know that indestructible Being of the Rig Veda, that
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highest ether-like Self wherein all the gods reside, of what use is the
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Rig Veda to him? Those only who know It rest contented.
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Hinduism. Svetasvatara Upanishad 4.8
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First take up the words,
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Ponder their meaning,
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Then the fixed rules reveal themselves.
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But if you are not the right man,
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The meaning will not manifest itself to you.
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Confucianism. I Ching, Great Commentary 2.8.4
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Qur'an 3.7: Cf. Qur'an 2.269, p. 789; Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith
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2, pp. 598f. Svetasvatara Upanishad 4.8: Cf. Pancastikaya 170, p. 218;
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Ramkali, M.5, p. 62. Vachana 719: Basavanna, a brahmin by birth, regarded
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the cobblers and untouchables as his brothers and sisters, fathers and
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mothers. For this breach of caste taboos he was constantly rebuked by
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brahmins quoting scripture. Cf. Vachana 589, p. 280.
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When the man of highest capacities hears the Tao
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He does his best to put it into practice.
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When the man of middling capacity hears the Tao
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He is in two minds about it.
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When the man of low capacity hears Tao
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He laughs loudly at it.
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If he did not laugh, it would not be worth the name of Tao.
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Taoism. Tao Te Ching 41
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Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me; if any
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man's will is to do his will, he shall know whether this teaching is from
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God or whether I am speaking from my own authority."
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Christianity. John 7.16-17
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In the unessential they imagine the essential, in the essential they see
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the unessential--they who entertain such wrong thoughts never realize the
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essence.
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What is essential they regard as essential, what is unessential they
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regard as unessential--they who entertain such right thoughts realize the
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essence.
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Buddhism. Dhammapada 11-12
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Were you to cleanse the mirror of your heart from the dust of malice, you
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would apprehend the meaning of the symbolic terms revealed by the
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all-embracing Word of God made manifest in every dispensation, and would
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discover the mysteries of divine knowledge. Not, however, until you
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consume with the flame of utter detachment those veils of idle learning,
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that are current among men, can you behold the resplendent morn of true
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knowledge.
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Baha'i Faith. Book of Certitude, 68-69
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Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is
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from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And
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we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the
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Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit.
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The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for
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they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they
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are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man judges all things, but is
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himself to be judged by no one. "For who has known the mind of the Lord
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so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
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Christianity. 1 Corinthians 2.12-16
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Tao Te Ching 41: See Chuang Tzu 14, p. 718, and the Parable of the Sower,
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Mark 4.3-20, pp. 718f. Book of Certitude, 68-69: For an example of Baha'i
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interpretation of symbols from the Bible, see Book of Certitude, 33-41, p.
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1095. 1 Corinthians 2.12-16: Interpretation of scripture should be by the
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inspiration of the Spirit. It is said that even the devil can quote
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scripture. Only with the discernment born of the Spirit of God is the Word
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of God understood in all its depth and power. The quotation is from
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Isaiah 40.13. Cf. 1 Corinthians 2.6-10, p. 538.
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Undiscerning men, theologians
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preoccupied with scriptural lore,
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Who claim there is nothing else,
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utter words with ephemeral results.
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Their words promise better births through cultic acts,
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dwell at length on various rites,
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And aim at pleasure and power.
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These men are full of desire, zealous for heaven.
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They cling to pleasures and power
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and are fooled by their own discourses.
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They have no knowledge consisting in commitment,
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fixed in concentration.
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The Scriptures speak to the world's weave of integrity,
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passion, and sloth. Transcend it, Arjuna,
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Free from opposites, forever in integrity,
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detached from things, in command of yourself.
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All the Scriptures mean as much--no more, no less--
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to the discerning spiritual man
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As a water tank
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in a universal flood.
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Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 2.42-46
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And if all the trees in the earth were pens, and the sea, with seven more
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seas to help it [were ink], the words of God could not be spent. Lo! God
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is Mighty, Wise.
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Islam. Qur'an 31.27
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The water from the ocean contained in a pot can neither be called an ocean
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nor non-ocean, but it can be called only part of the ocean. Similarly, a
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doctrine, though arising from the Absolute Truth, is neither the Truth nor
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not the Truth.
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Jainism. Vidyanandi, Tattvarthaslokavartika 116
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The Word is measured in four quarters.
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The wise who possess insight know these four divisions.
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Three quarters, concealed in secret, cause no movement.
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The fourth is the quarter that is spoken by men.
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Hinduism. Rig Veda 1.164.45
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The first man did not know her [Wisdom] perfectly,
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the last one has not fathomed her;
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for her thought is more abundant than the sea,
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and her counsel deeper than the great abyss.
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Christianity. Sirach 24.26-27
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Bhagavad Gita 2.42-46: Cf. the Parable of the Raft, Majjhima Nikaya
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i.134-35, 802; Mulamadhyamaka Karika 24.8-12, pp. 1021f.
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Tattvarthaslokavartika 116: Cf. Sanmatitarka 1.28, p. 66; Parable of the
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Blind Men and the Elephant, Udana 68-69, p. 68. Rig Veda 1.164.45: Cf.
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Rig Veda 10.90.1-4, p. 97; Kena Upanishad 2.1-3, p. 87.
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Behold, you are my son; wherefore look, and I will show you the
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workmanship of my hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and
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also my words, for they never cease.
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Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1.4
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I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the
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Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
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Christianity. John 16.12-13
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For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the
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perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke
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like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I
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became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly,
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but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully.
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Christianity. 1 Corinthians 13.9-12
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And We sent Messengers before you, and We assigned to them wives and seed;
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and it was not for any Messengers to bring a sign, but by God's leave.
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Every term has a Book.
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God blots out, and He establishes whatsoever He will; and with Him is the
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Essence of the Book.
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Whether We show you a part of that We promise them, or We call you unto
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Us, it is you only to deliver the message, and Ours is the reckoning.
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Islam. Qur'an 13.38-40
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John 16.12-13: Jesus only had three years to teach his disciples, and many
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truths of heaven were left unrevealed. The Spirit continues to inspire us
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with new and deeper insights into truth. Qur'an 13.38-40: The 'Essence of
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the Book' is the fulness of truth known only to God; what is revealed in
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the Qur'an and in the previous scriptures may only be a part of this
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fulness of truth. How is Muhammad or any of the prophets, who are but
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mortals, to know?
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Thus I have heard.
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On a certain occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in
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Jetavana monastery in Anathapindika's Park. Now it happened to the
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venerable Malunkyaputta, being in seclusion and plunged in meditation,
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that a consideration presented itself to his mind, as follows:
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"These theories which the Blessed One has left unelucidated, has
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set aside and rejected--that the world is eternal, that the world is not
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eternal, that the world is finite, that the world is infinite, that the
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soul and the body are identical, that the soul is one thing and the body
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another, that the saint exists after death, that the saint does not exist
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after death, that the saint both exists and does not exist after death,
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that the saint neither exists nor does not exist after death--these the
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Blee does not elucidate to me. And the fact that the Blessed One does not
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elucidate them to me does not please me nor suit me. Therefore I will
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draw near to the Blessed One and inquire of him concerning these matters.
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If the Blessed one will elucidate to me, either that the world is eternal
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or that the world is not eternal..., in that case I will lead the
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religious life under the Blessed One. If the Blessed One will not
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elucidate [these matters] to me..., in that case I will abandon religious
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training and return to the lower life of a layman."
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Then the venerable Malunkyaputta arose at eventide from his
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seclusion, and drew near to where the Blessed One was; and having drawn
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near and greeted the Blessed One, he sat down respectfully at one side.
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And seated respectfully at one side, Malunkyaputta asked his question....
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[The Buddha replied], "Pray, Malunkyaputta, did I ever say to you,
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'Come, Malunkyaputta, lead the religious life under me, and I will
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elucidate to you either that the world is eternal, or that the world is
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not eternal, etc.'?"
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"Nay, verily, Reverend Sir."
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"Or did you ever say to me, 'Reverend sir, I will lead the
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religious life under the Blessed One, on condition that the Blessed One
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elucidate to me these things.'?"
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"Nay, verily, reverend sir."
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"That being the case, vain man, whom are you so angrily
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denouncing? Malunkyaputta, any one who should say, 'I will not lead the
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religious life under the Blessed One until the Blessed One shall elucidate
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to me either that the world is eternal or that the world is not
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eternal...'--that person would die before the Tathagata had ever
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elucidated this to him.
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"It is as if, Malunkyaputta, a man had been wounded by an arrow
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thickly smeared with poison, and his friends and companions, relatives and
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kinsfolk, were to procure for him a physician or surgeon; and the sick man
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were to say, 'I will not have this arrow taken out until I have learnt
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whether the man who wounded me belonged to the warrior caste, or the the
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brahmin caste, or to the farmers' caste, or to the menial caste.'
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"Or again he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow taken out
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until I have learnt the name of the man who wounded me, and to what clan
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he belongs.'
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"Or again he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow taken out
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until I have learnt whether the man who wounded me was tall, or short, or
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of middle height.'
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"Or again he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow taken out
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until I have learnt whether the man who wounded me was black, or dusky, or
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of a yellow skin.'
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"Or again he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow taken out
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until I have learnt whether the man who wounded me was from this or that
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village, town, or city.'
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"Or again he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow taken out
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until I have learnt whether the bow which wounded me was a capa, or a
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kodanda.'
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"Or again he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow taken out
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until I have learnt whether the bowstring which wounded me was made from
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swallow-wort, or bamboo, or sinew, or maruva, or from milkweed.'
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"Or again he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow taken out
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until I have learnt whether the shaft which wounded me was a kaccha or a
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ropima'
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"Or again he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow taken out
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until I have learnt whether the shaft which wounded me was feathered from
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the wings of a vulture, or of a heron, or of a falcon, or of a peacock, or
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of a sithilahanu.'
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"Or again he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow taken out
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until I have learnt whether the shaft which wounded me was wound round
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with the sinews of an ox, or of a buffalo, or of a deer, or of a monkey.'
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"Or again he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow taken out
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until I have learnt whether the arrow which wounded me was an ordinary
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arrow, or a claw-headed arrow, or a vekanda, or an iron arrow, or a
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calf-tooth arrow, or a karavirapatta.' That man would die, Malunkyaputta,
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without ever having learnt this.
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"In exactly the same way, Malunkyaputta, any one who should say,
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'I will not lead the religious life under the Blessed One until the
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Blessed One shall elucidate to me either that the world is eternal or that
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the world is not eternal, etc.'--that person would die before the
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Tathagata had ever elucidated this to him.
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"The religious life does not depend on the dogma that the world is
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eternal; nor does the religious life depend on the dogma that the world is
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not eternal. Whether the dogma obtain, that the world is eternal, or that
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the world is not eternal, there still remain birth, old age, death,
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sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, despair, for the extinction of which
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in the present life I am prescribing.... This profits not, nor has to do
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with the fundamentals of religion, nor tends to aversion, absence of
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passion, cessation, quiescence, the supernatural faculties, supreme
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wisdom, and Nirvana; therefore have I not elucidated it. "And what,
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Malunkyaputta, have I elucidated? Misery I have elucidated; the cessation
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of misery I have elucidated; and the path leading to the cessation of
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misery I have elucidated. And why, Malunkyaputta, have I elucidated this?
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Because this does profit, has to do with the fundamentals of religion, and
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tends to aversion, absence of passion, cessation, quiescence, knowledge,
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supreme wisdom, and Nirvana; therefore I have elucidated it. Accordingly,
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Malun kyaputta, bear always in mind what it is that I have not elucidated,
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and what it is that I have elucidated."
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Thus spoke the Blessed One; and, delighted, the venerable
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Malunkyaputta applauded the speech of the Blessed One.
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Buddhism. Majjhima Nikaya i.426-31:
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Questions which Tend not to Edification
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Majjhima Nikaya i.426-31: Cf. Parable of the Raft, Majjhima Nikaya
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i.134-35, p. 802.
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