432 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
432 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
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SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD
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A person with a religious goal cannot brook the standards of
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worldly life. A worldly lifestyle, seeking pleasure, wealth, fame, and
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mater ial comforts, will inevitably distract one from pursuing any
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spiritual purpose. Hence the aspirant must separate himself from the
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world or maintain some detachment from it. Separation from the world can
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be achieved either by physical isolation in a monastic community or by
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living an out wardly ordinary life yet without attachment to its
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prevailing values.
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The scriptures contain numerous admonitions to avoid conforming to
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the world and its values. The wise man regards the worldly achievement as
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an illusion; he keeps his mind free of worldly cares. He does not delight
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in worldly pleasures, but devotes himself to pursuing his spiritual goal.
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He lives detached from worldly thoughts and sense impressions. He
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measures achievement by spiritual progress, rather than by the standards
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of worldly success.
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These are followed by passages which deal with the social dimension
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of separation. A passage from the Midrash ascribes the reason for
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Judaism's severe ritual and moral injunctions to the fact that God separ
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ated the Jews from all the other peoples of the earth. In Buddhism and
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Christianity, the imperative that the Sangha or Church be a purified and
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separated environment for the sake of members' spiritual progress requires
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that miscreants be disciplined and even excommunicated.
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We conclude with texts on being in the world but not of the world.
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Such an understanding of separation from the world is the norm in
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Confucianism, Islam, and Christianity. But in Buddhism and Hinduism,
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which have had to contend with the opinion that salvation requires monk
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hood, this meaning of separation from the world has been the subject of
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much discussion. The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti, in particular, praises
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the householder's life as a middle way between the total renunciation of
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monkhood and a life of dissolute pleasure. Throughout this scripture, the
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householder Vimalakirti is an enlightened bodhisattva who displays in
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sight, powers, and attainments superior to those of the monks.
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Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of
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your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and
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acceptable and perfect.
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Christianity. Romans 12.2
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Do not serve mean ends. Do not live in heedlessness. Do not embrace
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false views. Do not be one who upholds the world.
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Buddhism. Dhammapada 167
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Come behold this world, which is like unto an ornamented royal chariot,
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wherein fools flounder, but for the wise there is no attachment.
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Buddhism. Dhammapada 171
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Pleasure lies in gold, silver, women, and delectable objects;
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Pleasure lies in mounts, soft beds, mansions, and attractions of the
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palate.
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With all such pleasures, how may the Name find place in the mind?
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Sikhism. Adi Granth, Sri Raga, M.1, p. 25
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Hillel used to say, "More flesh, more worms; more wealth more care; more
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women more witchcraft; more maidservants more lewdness; more menservants
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more thieving; more Torah more life; more assiduity more wisdom; more
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counsel more understanding; more charity more peace."
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Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 2.8
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The streams of this world are dirty and its springs are turbid. Its
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window dressing and its show is beautiful but destructive. It is a quick-
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ly ending deception, a speedily fading light, a hurrying shade, and a weak
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and unreliable protection. It is so deceptive that it waits till those
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who abhor it start taking interest in it, and those who do not know its
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deception are attracted by it, and are satisfied with it, then it shows
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scanty regard for them, it snares and captivates them, and tying the rope
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of death round their necks drags them to their graves.
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Islam. Nahjul Balagha, Khutba 86
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Be in the world as if you were a stranger or a traveler.
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Islam. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 40
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A man came to the Prophet and said, "O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an
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act which, if I do it, will cause Allah to love me and people to love me."
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He said, "Renounce the world and Allah will love you; renounce what people
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possess and people will love you."
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Islam. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 31
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A complete disregard for all worldly things, perfect contentment, abandon-
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ment of hope of every kind, and patience--these constitute the highest
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good of one who has subjugated his senses and acquired a knowledge of
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Self.
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No need of attaching yourself to things of this world. Attachment to
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worldly objects is productive of evil.
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Hinduism. Mahabharata, Santi Parva 329
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He who has found the Mother [Tao]
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And thereby understands her sons [things of the world],
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And having understood the sons,
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Still keeps to its Mother,
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Will be free from danger throughout his lifetime.
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Close the mouth,
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Shut the doors [of cunning and desire],
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And to the end of life there will be peace without toil.
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Open the mouth,
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Meddle with affairs,
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And to the end of life there will be no salvation.
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Taoism. Tao Te Ching 52
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Dhammapada 167: Cf. Dhammapada 75, p. 674. Sri Raga, M.1: Cf. Katha
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Upanishad 1.2.2, p. 675. Abot 2.8: Cf. Abot 3.17, p. 920; Luke 14.16-24,
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p. 674. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 40: Cf. Matthew 8.19-20, p. 601. Forty
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Hadith of an-Nawawi 31: On sacrifice and being loved by people, see John
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15.13, p. 979; Hadith of Bukhari, p. 992; Kojiki 110, p. 1066.
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Mahabharata, Santiparva 329: Cf. Katha Upanishad 1.2.2, p. 675. Tao Te
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Ching 52: The nature of the world should be understood from the vantage
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point of knowledge of Ultimate Reality, the Tao. Then it will be seen
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that things of the world change naturally, in accordance with the Tao.
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This leads to the concept of wu-wei, non-action, which is to let the Tao
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operate and not to meddle with things according to human ambitions.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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The Self-existent pierced sense openings outward;
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therefore a man looks out, not in.
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But a certain wise man, in search of immortality,
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turned his gaze inward and saw the Self within.
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The foolish go after outward pleasures
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and walk into the snare of all-embracing death.
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The wise, however, discerning [the path to] immortality,
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do not seek the permanent among things impermanent.
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Hinduism. Katha Upanishad 4.1-2
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What is the path of the Word? It is that a person gives up his desire for
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the world and has a deep yearning for God's world. We should love God's
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world more than we love any person: parents, children, or spouse.
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Unification Church. Sun Myung Moon, 8-9-70
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The sage patterns himself on Heaven, prizes the Truth, and does not allow
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himself to be cramped by the vulgar. The stupid man does the opposite of
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this. He is unable to pattern himself on Heaven and instead frets over
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human concerns. He does not know enough to prize the Truth but instead,
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plodding along with the crowd, he allows himself to be changed by vulgar
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ways, and so is never content.
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Taoism. Chuang Tzu 31
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Adepts in yoga speak in the manner of the uncivil, behave as if ignorant,
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appear like the lowly. They do so in order that men may ignore them and
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not flock to them; they talk nothing at all. Though realized in freedom,
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the yogi will sport like a child, may conduct himself like a dullard, talk
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like one intoxicated. Such a yogi lives in a way that this world of men
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may laugh, feel disgust, revile, and seeing, pass at a distance, leaving
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him alone. He would go about in different guises, at times like one
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worthy, at times like one fallen, at times like a ghost or demon. If the
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yogi accepts things of life it is for the good of the world and not out of
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desire. Out of compassion for all men, he will sport on the earth.
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Hinduism. Kularnava Tantra 9
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To conserve his stock of virtue, the superior man withdraws into himself
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and thus escapes from the evil influences around him. He declines all
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temptations of honor and riches.
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Confucianism. I Ching 12: Stagnation
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Katha Upanishad 4.1-2: Truth is found through meditation and fixing atten-
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tion on the Self within, not by dealing with the deceptive and transient
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phenomena of the world. This is a most fundamental statement of
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Upanishadic philosophy. Chuang Tzu 31: Cf. Chuang Tzu 23, p. 776.
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Kularnava Tantra 9: Yogis may appear as fools or madmen, be meek or act
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repulsively, all the while in a state of higher awareness. They may make
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ordinary people uncomfortable by their disregard of worldly manners and
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conventions. The biblical prophets were often thought to be crazy: see
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Hosea 9.7-9, and 1 Samuel 19.23-24. Compare also the Taoist images of the
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convict from Chuang Tzu 23, p. 776 and of the drunkard from Chuang Tzu 19,
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pp. 562f. I Ching 12: 'Virtue' has the sense of inner force and power by
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which one can act decisively and with conviction. It should not be restr-
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icted to 'morality,' though virtue in the sense of morality is one source
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of inner power.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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As a sweet-smelling, lovely lotus may grow upon a heap of rubbish thrown
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by the highway, even so a disciple of the Fully Enlightened One outshines
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the ignorant worldly people in wisdom.
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Buddhism. Dhammapada 58-59
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Cast aside from you all attachments, as the leaves of a lotus let drop of
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the water of the autumn rains; exempt from every attachment, Gautama, be
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careful all the while!
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Give up your wealth and your wife; you have entered the state of the
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houseless; do not, as it were, return to your vomit. Gautama, be careful
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all the while!
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Leave your friends and relations, the large fortune you have amassed; do
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not desire them a second time; Gautama, be careful all the while!....
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Now you have entered on the path from which the thorns have been cleared,
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the great path; walk in the right path, Gautama, be careful all the while!
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Do not get into an uneven road like a weak burden-bearer; for you will
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repent of it afterwards; Gautama, be careful all the while!
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Jainism. Uttaradhyayana Sutra 10.28-33
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For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his
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own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
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Christianity. Matthew 16.26
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What worth kingship without peace of soul?
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Sikhism. Adi Granth, Suhi, M.5, p. 745
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Better than absolute sovereignty over the earth, better than going to
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heaven, better than even lordship over all the worlds is the fruit of a
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Stream-Winner.
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Buddhism. Dhammapada 178
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Dhammapada 58-59: The pure lotus flower, which grows in muddy swamps, is a
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Buddhist symbol of one who leaves worldly life to accept the Dharma, train
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according to its teaching, and flower as an enlightened being. In
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Hinduism, it symbolizes one who lives sinless, untouched by the dirt of
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the world; cf. Bhagavad Gita 5.10, p. 774. Uttaradhyayana Sutra 10.28-33:
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Cf. Katha Upanishad 1.3.14, p. 672. Matthew 16.26: Cf. Matthew 13.44-46,
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p. 675; Luke 14.16-24, p. 674. Suhi, M.5: Cf. Udana 13, p. 774.
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Dhammapada 178: The stage of Stream-Winner is only a low grade of attain-
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ment on the way to Nibbana. He sees a glimpse of the goal, and, if he
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perseveres, he comes to have assurance of attaining sainthood.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Jesus answered, "My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of
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this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to
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the Jews; but my kingship is not from this world."
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Christianity. John 18.36
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Confucius said, "Of T'ai Po it may indeed be said that he attained to the
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very highest pitch of moral power. No less than three times he renounced
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the sovereignty of all things under heaven [the throne of the empire],
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without the people getting a chance to praise him for it."
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Confucianism. Analects 8.1
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Righteousness, O Wise One, was set up for our choice, to be our blessing,
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Evil for the godless, for his undoing!
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Therefore I seek union with the Good Mind,
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And I forbid all traffic with the wicked.
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Zoroastrianism. Avesta, Yasna 49.3
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"And ye shall be holy unto me, for I, the Lord, am holy" [Leviticus
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20.26]. Even as I am holy, so be you holy. As I am separate, so you be
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separate. And "I have severed you from the other peoples that you should
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be mine" [idem.]. If you sever yourselves from the other peoples, then
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you belong to me; but if not, then you belong to Nebuchadnezzar and his
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fellows." Rabbi Eliezer said, "How can we know that a man must not say,
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'I have no desire to eat pig, I have no desire to have intercourse with a
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woman whom I may not marry'; but he must say, 'Yes, I would like to do
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these acts, but what can I do? My Father who is in heaven has forbidden
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them.' Because it says, 'I have severed you from among the nations to be
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mine.' He who is separated from iniquity receives to himself the Kingdom
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of Heaven."
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Judaism. Midrash, Sifra 93d
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I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral men; not at all
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meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or
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idolators, since then you would need to go out of the world. But rather I
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wrote to you not to associate with any one who bears the name of brother
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if he is guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolator, reviler, drunk-
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ard, or robber--not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do
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with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to
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judge? God judges those outside. "Drive out the wicked person from among
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you."
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Christianity. 1 Corinthians 5.9-13
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Sifra 93d: Cf. Abot 3.17, p. 920. 1 Corinthians 5.9-13: Cf. Garuda Purana
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112, p. 268; Tract of the Quiet Way, p. 268; Itivuttaka 68-69, p. 269. On
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the other hand, out of loving-kindness, Jesus ate with sinners and sought
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to help those afflicted with moral weakness: see Matthew 9.10-13, p. 970;
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also Romans 15.1-3, p. 979; Mencius IV.B.7, p. 979.
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Just as the mighty ocean consorts not with a dead body; for when a dead
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body is found in the mighty ocean it quickly wafts it ashore, throws it up
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on the shore; even so, monks, whatsoever person is immoral, of a wicked
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nature, impure, of suspicious behavior, of covert deeds, one who is no
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recluse though claiming to be such, one rotten within, full of lusts, a
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rubbish-heap of filth--with such the Order consorts not, but gathering to-
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gether quickly throws him out. Though he be seated in the midst of the
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Order, yet he is far away from the Order; far away is the Order from him.
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Buddhism. Udana 55, Elder Sona
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Krishna, thou Lord of the senses, though moving amongst the objects of
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sense, remain unaffected by them. Thou hast indeed shown us the ideal: to
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live in the world and yet not be of it.
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Hinduism. Srimad Bhagavatam 11.1
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They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them
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in truth; thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the world, so I
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have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself,
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that they also may be consecrated in truth.
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Christianity. John 17.16-19
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The homes of householders who have well-governed minds and have banished
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their sense of egoism are as good as solitary forests, cool caves, or
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peaceful woods. Men of pacified mind view the bright and beautiful build-
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ings of cities in the same dispassionate light as they behold the trees of
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a forest. He who, in his inmost Spirit, sees the world in God, is verily
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the Lord of mankind!
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Hinduism. Yoga Vasishtha
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The world of the kami does not transcend that of man, and man does not
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need to enter a divine, transcendental world to attain salvation. He
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seeks salvation by bringing the kami into the human world, into the daily
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life of the home, the marketplace....
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Shinto. The Kami Way
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Yoga consists not in frequenting tombs and cremation grounds,
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nor in falling into trances;
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Nor lies it in wandering about the world,
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Nor in ritual bathing.
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To live immaculate amidst the impurities of the world--
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This is true yoga practice.
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Sikhism. Adi Granth, Suhi, M.1, p. 730
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Udana 55: Cf. Lotus Sutra 2, p. 411; Garuda Purana 112, p. 268; Itivuttaka
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68-69, p. 269. Suhi, M.1: Cf. Var Sarang, M.1, p. 1013; Qur'an 57.27,
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p. 951.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Vimalakirti wore the white clothes of a layman, yet lived impeccably like
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a religious devotee. He lived at home, but remained aloof from the realm
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of desire, the realm of pure matter, and the immaterial realm. He had a
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son, a wife, and female attendants, yet always maintained continence. He
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appeared to be surrounded by servants, yet lived in solitude. He appeared
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to be adorned with ornaments, yet always was endowed with the auspicious
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signs and marks. He seemed to eat and drink, yet always took nourishment
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from the taste of meditation. He made his appearance at the fields of
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sports and in the casinos, but his aim was always to mature those people
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who were attached to games and gambling. He visited the fashionable
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heterodox teachers, yet always kept unswerving loyalty to the Buddha. He
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understood the mundane and transcendental sciences and esoteric practices,
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yet always took pleasure in the delights of the Dharma. He mixed in all
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crowds, yet was respected as foremost of all.... He engaged in all sorts
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of businesses, yet had no interest in profit or possessions. To train
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living beings, he would appear at crossroads and on street corners, and to
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protect them he participated in government.
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Buddhism. Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 2
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Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 2: Among Mahayana texts, this scripture most
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clearly denies the necessity for the aspirant to enlightenment to become a
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monk. The logical culmination of the doctrine of Sunyata is the thought
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that there is no difference between Samsara and Nirvana, for both are
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empty--see Mulamadhyamaka Karika 25, pp. 91f.; Lankavatara Sutra 80, p.
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234. Hence a person may dwell in perfect enlightenment while outwardly
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pursuing an ordinary life, as long as all thoughts, words, and actions are
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based upon a mind of compassion, which is the manifestation of Emptiness.
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Lay Buddhism has been particularly popular in Japan ever since the time of
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Shinran, who, believing that salvation is by faith alone and any ascetic
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practice is in vain, abandoned his monastic vows and married. Many of the
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popular modern sects of Nichiren Buddhism are also lay movements. Cf.
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Garland Sutra 11, p. 957.
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