301 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
301 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
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RESTRAINT AND MODERATION
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Admonitions to refrain from evil, which are found in every religion,
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open this section. Notable is restraint in Jainism, where ahimsa (non-
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violence) is practiced to the extent that one is careful as one walks,
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eats, drinks, and breathes not to kill even insects or microscopic
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animals.
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There are admonitions to refrain from acting wrongly, even when the
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mind is full of evil promptings, or when the crowd is urging. Silence
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and discretion are valuable allies in this regard. Some texts, in various
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ways, urge us to set up a fence and honor a clear boundary line, marked by
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prohibitions and moral principles, so that good and evil may be clearly
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distinguished. The ground must be swept clean of confusing debris, and
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areas of gray avoided, lest we fall unwittingly into a mistake.
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This section concludes with passages which counsel moderation in
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all things. Excessive behavior of any kind--stinginess or profligacy,
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mortification of the flesh or drowning in sense pleasures, self-righteous
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action or action to please others--should be eschewed in favor of the
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Golden Mean or Middle Path.
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Forsake the outward sin, and the inward; surely the earners of sin shall
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be recompensed for what they have earned.
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Islam. Qur'an 6.120
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Just as a wealthy merchant with only a small escort avoids a perilous
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route; just as one desiring to live avoids poison; even so should one
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shun evil things.
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Buddhism. Dhammapada 123
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Good is restraint in deed; good is restraint in speech; good is restraint
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in mind; good is restraint in everything. The bhikkhu, restrained at all
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points, is freed from sorrow.
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Buddhism. Dhammapada 361
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Realizing the retributive nature of karmas, a wise man refrains from
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accumulating them.
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Jainism. Acarangasutra 4.51
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The highest charity is refraining from violence.
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Hinduism. Srimad Bhagavatam 11.12
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Let him who believes in Allah and the last day either speak good or be
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silent.
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Islam. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 15
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The very first principle of religion laid down by Lord Mahavira is
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Ahimsa--Non-injury to living beings--which must be observed very scrupu-
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lously and thoroughly, and behaving towards all living beings with proper
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restraint and control.
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Jainism. Dashavaikalika Sutra 6.9
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He who acts, harms; he who grabs, lets slip.
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Therefore the sage does not act, and so does not harm,
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Does not grab, and so does not let slip.
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Taoism. Tao Te Ching 64
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Dhammapada 361: Cf. Dhammapada 183, p. 715; Majjhima Nikaya i.415, p. 465. On
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restraint of speech, see Dhammapada 133, p. 497. Acarangasutra 4.51: Karma is
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accumulated through evil deeds and desires, but most especially through crimes
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of violence against other creatures; see below. Tao Te Ching 64: In the Tao Te
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Ching, any form of acquisitiveness or activism is out of harmony with the Tao,
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and will lead to bad results.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Restrain thyself with those that call upon their Lord at morning and
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evening, desiring His countenance, and let not thine eyes turn away from
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them, desiring the adornments of the present life; and obey not him whose
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heart We have made neglectful of Our remembrance so that he follows his
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own lust, and his affair has become all excess.
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Islam. Qur'an 18.8
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Why endeavor in the way of evil,
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As therefrom is received evil retribution?
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If you take a long view, you would not practice evil at all.
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Throw your dice in a manner
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That with the Lord you lose not the game.
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Direct your endeavor to profit.
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Sikhism. Adi Granth, Asa-ki-Var, M.1, p. 474
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A single bangle does not make a sound.
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African Traditional Religions. Igala Proverb (Nigeria)
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Verily God forgives my people the evil promptings which arise within their
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hearts as long as they do not speak about them and did not act upon them.
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Islam. Hadith of Muslim
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Mencius said, "Only when a man will not do some things is he capable of
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doing great things."
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Confucianism. Mencius IV.B.8
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The emptiest of you are as well-packed with religious observances as a
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pomegranate with seeds. For everyone who has the opportunity of commit-
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ting a sin and escapes it and refrains from doing it performs a highly
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religious act. How much more, then, is this true of those "behind your
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veil," the modest and self-restrained among you!
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Judaism. Midrash, Canticles Rabbah 4.4.3
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Under the sway of strong impulse, the man who is devoid of self-control
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willfully commits deeds that he knows to be fraught with future misery.
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But the man of discrimination, even though moved by desires, at once be-
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comes conscious of the evil that is in them, and does not yield to their
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influence but remains unattached.
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Hinduism. Srimad Bhagavatam 11.7
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My son, if sinners entice you,
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do not consent.
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If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood,
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let us wantonly ambush the innocent;
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like Sheol let us swallow them alive
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and whole, like those who go down to the Pit;
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we shall find all precious goods,
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we shall fill our houses with spoil;
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throw in your lot among us,
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we will all have one purse"--
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my son, do not walk in the way with them,
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hold back your foot from their paths;
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for their feet run to evil,
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and they make haste to shed blood.
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Judaism and Christianity. Proverbs 1.10-16
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Igala Proverb: It takes two to quarrel, so do not accuse another of being
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quarrelsome. Hadith of Muslim: Cf. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 29, p. 497;
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Ephesians 4.26-27, p. 923. Canticles Rabbah 4.4.3: This is a midrash on
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"Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil" (Song of
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Solomon 4.3). Srimad Bhagavatam 11.7: Cf. Majjhima Nikaya i.415, p. 465.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Whenever there is attachment in my mind
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And whenever there is the desire to be angry,
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I should not do anything nor say anything,
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But remain like a piece of wood....
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Whenever I am eager for praise
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Or have the desire to blame others;
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Whenever I have the wish to speak harshly and cause dispute;
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At such times I should remain like a piece of wood.
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Whenever I desire material gain, honor or fame;
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Whenever I seek attendants or a circle of friends,
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And when in my mind I wish to be served;
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At [all] these times I should remain like a piece of wood.
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Whenever I have the wish to decrease or to stop working for others
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And the desire to pursue my own welfare alone,
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If [motivated by such thoughts] a wish to say something occurs,
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At these times I should remain like a piece of wood.
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Buddhism. Shantideva, Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way
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of Life 5.48-52
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Do only such actions as are blameless.... If at any time there is doubt
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with regard to right conduct, follow the practice of great souls, who are
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guileless, of good judgment, and devoted to truth.
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Hinduism. Taittiriya Upanishad 1.11.2, 4
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Rabbi Akiba said, "Laughter and levity accustom a man to immorality.
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Tradition is a fence for Torah. Tithes are a fence for riches. Vows are
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a fence for saintliness. A fence for wisdom is silence."
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Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 3.17
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What is lawful is obvious, and what is unlawful is obvious; and between
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them are matters which are ambiguous and of which many people are ignor-
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ant. Hence, he who is careful in regard to the ambiguous has justified
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himself in regard to his religion and his honor; but he who stumbles in
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the ambiguous has stumbled in the forbidden, as the shepherd pasturing
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around a sanctuary is on the verge of pasturing in it. Is it not the
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true that every king has a sanctuary, and is not the sanctuary of God
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that which He has forbidden?
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Islam. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 6
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Abot 3.17: Cf. Abot 1.1, p. 711 and note; Abot 2.8, p. 959; Sifra 93d, p. 963;
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I Ching, Great Commentary 1.3.4, p. 902. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 6: Muhammad
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himself was scrupulous in this regard; see Hadith, pp. 658f.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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"To spread white rushes underneath. No blame" [Hexagram 28,
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Preponderence of the Great].
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The Master said, "It does well enough simply to place something on
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the floor. But if one puts white rushes underneath, how could that be a
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mistake? This is the extreme of caution. Rushes in themselves are worth-
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less, but they can have a very important effect. If one is as cautious as
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this in all that one does, one remains free of mistakes."
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Confucianism. I Ching, Great Commentary 1.8.7
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Be generous but not extravagant, be frugal but not miserly.
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Islam (Shiite). Nahjul Balagha, Saying 32
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However hungry you are, you do not eat with both hands.
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African Traditional Religions. Akan Proverb (Ghana)
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The master said, "'The Ospreys!' Pleasure not carried to the point of
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debauch; grief not carried to the point of self-injury."
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Confucianism. Analects 3.20
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Be not righteous overmuch, and do not make yourself overwise; why should
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you destroy yourself? Be not wicked overmuch, neither be a fool; why
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should you die before your time?
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Judaism and Christianity. Ecclesiastes 7.16-17
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In practicing the ordinary virtues and in the exercise of care in ordinary
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conversation, when there is deficiency, the superior man never fails to
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make further effort, and where there is excess, never dares to go to the
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limit.
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Confucianism. Doctrine of the Mean 13.4
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That things have being, O Kaccana, constitutes one extreme of doctrine;
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that things have no being is the other extreme. These extremes have been
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avoided by the Tathagata, and it is a middle doctrine he teaches.
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Buddhism. Samyutta Nikaya xxii.90
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Your fame or your person, which is dearer?
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Your person or your goods, which is worth more?
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Gain or loss, which is the greater bane?
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That is why excessive meanness is sure to lead to great expense;
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Too much store is sure to end in immense loss.
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Know contentment, and you will suffer no disgrace;
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Know when to stop, and you will meet with no danger.
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You can then endure.
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Taoism. Tao Te Ching 44
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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I Ching, Great Commentary 1.8.7: On discretion, see I Ching, Great
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Commentary 1.8.10, p. 497, 2.5.9, p. 742. Nahjul Balagha, Saying 32: cf.
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Qur'an 31.19. Akan Proverb: This proverb means that as you restrain your-
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self when eating to stay within the bounds of good manners, you should
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also in all things resist temptation and act within the bounds of propr-
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iety. Analects 3.20: 'The Ospreys!' refers to Ode 1 of the Book of Songs,
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p. 255. Confucius interprets this ode as describing a model of conduct
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according to the Golden Mean: faithfulness in both joy and affliction.
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Samyutta Nikaya xxii.90: In practice, the 'middle doctrine' (madhyamaka)
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means avoiding both the extremes of worldliness ('things have being') and
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total renunciation ('things have no being').
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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