210 lines
9.4 KiB
Plaintext
210 lines
9.4 KiB
Plaintext
SERVING OTHERS
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World Scripture
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SERVING OTHERS
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The way of serving others is the topic of passages in this section. The purest
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service is to help others and to seek the welfare of others without the
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expectation of reward. On the contrary, the way of selfishness brings only
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disharmony and failure; the selfish person eventually will find himself alone
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and without friends in his time of need. In the Bhagavad Gita, and paralleled
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by passages in the Tao Te Ching, the way of selfless service is described as
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the fundamental principle by which God creates and sustains the universe;
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whenever a person acts selflessly in the service of others, that act is born of
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God. Another group of passages connects service with true lordship. While the
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conventional rulers abuse their powers by seeking to be served by their
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charges, the true leader is a servant to his people; as exemplified by Jesus,
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who came "not to be served, but to serve."
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Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
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1.Christianity. Galatians 6.2
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Rendering help to another is the function of all human beings.
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2.Jainism. Tattvarthasutra 5.21
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All men are responsible for one another.
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3.Judaism. Talmud, Sanhedrin 27b
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The best of men are those who are useful to others.
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4.Islam. Hadith of Bukhari
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Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
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5.Christianity. 1 Corinthians 10.24
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Galatians 6.2: Cf. John 15.13, p. 236. This fulfills not only a law of Christ,
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but also a dhamma of Buddhism; cf. Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life
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8.112-16, p. 165. Hadith of Bukhari: Cf. Bodhipathapradipa, p. 404. 1
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Corinthians 10.24: Cf. Galatians 5.13, p. 465; Philippians 2.3-4, p. 787.
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Without selfless service are no objectives fulfilled; In service lies the
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purest action.
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6.Sikhism. Adi Granth, Maru, M.1, p. 992
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He who prays for his fellowman, while he himself has the same need, will be
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answered first.
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7.Judaism. Talmud, Baba Kamma 92a
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The man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to
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establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge
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others.
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8.Confucianism. Analects 6.28.2
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I tell you these things that you may learn wisdom; that you may learn that when
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you are in the service of your fellow beings you are only in the service of
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your God.
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9.Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2.17
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One who serves and seeks no recompense Finds union with the Lord. Such a
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servant alone takes the Master's guidance, says Nanak, As on him is divine
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grace.
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10.Sikhism. Adi Granth, Sukhmani 18, M.5, pp. 286f.
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Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better
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than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also
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to the interests of others.
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11.Christianity. Philippians 2.3-4
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God's definition of goodness is total giving, total service, and absolute
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unselfishness. We are to live for others. You live for others and others live
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for you. God lives for man and man lives for God. The husband lives for his
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wife and the wife lives for her husband. This is goodness. And here unity,
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harmony, and prosperity abound.
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12.Unification Church. Sun Myung Moon, 10-20-73
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Until now each and everyone throughout the world has been concerned only with
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himself. How pitiful it is! You have no mind to help others, however hard you
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may think it over. Henceforth, replace your mind indefinitely! I, Tsukihi,
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request it from you all equally. If you ask what kind of mind it is, it is the
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mind to save single-heartedly all people of the world. Henceforth, if only all
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people of the world equally help each other on any and every matter, believe
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that I, Tsukhihi, will accept your minds and will work any and every kind of
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salvation!
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13.Tenrikyo. Ofudesaki 12.89-94
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Sun Myung Moon, 10-20-73: See Sun Myung Moon, 10-20-73; Key to Theosophy, p.
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356; Key to Theosophy, p. 356.
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Do not seek to benefit only yourself, but think of other people also. If you
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yourself have an abundance, do not say, "The others do not concern me, I need
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not bother about them!" If you were lucky in hunting, let others share it.
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Moreover, show them the favorable spots where there are many sea lions which
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can be easily slain. Let others have their share occasionally. If you want to
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amass everything for yourself, other people will stay away from you and no one
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will want to be with you. If you should one day fall ill, no one will visit
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you because, for your part, you did not formerly concern yourself about others.
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Grant other people something also. The Yamana do not like a person who acts
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selfishly.
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14.Native American Religions. Yamana Eskimo Initiation
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Heaven is eternal and Earth everlasting.
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They can be eternal and everlasting because they do not exist for them- selves,
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And for this reason can exist forever.
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Therefore the sage places himself in the background,
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but finds himself in the foreground.
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He puts himself away, and yet he always remains.
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Is it not because he has no personal interests?
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This is the reason why his personal interests are fulfilled.
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15.Taoism. Tao Te Ching 7
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At the beginning, mankind and the obligation of selfless service were created
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together. "Through selfless service, you will always be fruitful and find the
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fulfillment of your desires": this is the promise of the Creator....
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Every selfless act, Arjuna, is born from the eternal, infinite Godhead. God is
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present in every act of service. All life turns on this law, O Arjuna.
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Whoever violates it, indulging his senses for his own pleasure and ignoring the
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needs of others, has wasted his life. But those who realize the God within are
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always satisfied. Having found the source of joy and fulfillment, they no
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longer seek happiness from the external world. They have nothing to gain or
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lose by any action; neither people nor things can affect their security.
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What the outstanding person does, others will try to do. The standards such
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people set will be followed by the whole world. There is nothing in the three
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worlds for Me to gain, Arjuna, nor is there anything I do not have; I continue
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to act, but I am not driven by any need of my own. If I ever refrained from
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continuous work, everyone would immediately follow my example. If I stopped
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working I would be the cause of cosmic chaos, and finally of the destruction of
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this world and these people.
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Strive constantly to serve the welfare of the world; by devotion to self- less
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work one attains the supreme goal in life. Do your work with the welfare of
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others always in mind. It was by such work that Janaka attained perfection;
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others, too, have followed this path.
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The ignorant work for their own profit, Arjuna; the wise work for the welfare
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of the world, without thought to themselves. By abstaining from work you will
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confuse the ignorant, who are engrossed in their actions. Perform all work
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carefully, guided by compassion.
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16.Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 3.10-26
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Bhagavad Gita 3.10-26: Vv. 10, 15-26. See Bhagavad Gita 3.4-9, p. 847;
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5.10-12, p. 674; Satapatha Brahmana 5.1.1.1-2, pp. 383f. On Gandhi's
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interpretation of selfless action as satyagraha, see Bhagavad Gita 2.31-38, p.
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887n.
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Guardianship is not to give an order but to give one's self.
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17.African Traditional Religions. Nyika Proverb (Kenya and Tanzania)
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Jesus said, "You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and
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their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you;
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but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be
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first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be
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served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
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18.Christianity. Matthew 20.25-28
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The sage does not accumulate for himself.
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The more he uses for others, the more he has himself.
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The more he gives to others, the more he possesses of his own.
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The Way of Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure.
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The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete.
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19.Taoism. Tao Te Ching 81
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If, for my own sake, I cause harm to others,
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I shall be tormented in hellish realms;
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But if for the sake of others I cause harm to myself,
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I shall acquire all that is magnificent.
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By holding myself in high esteem
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I shall find myself in unpleasant realms, ugly and stupid;
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But should this [attitude] be shifted to others
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I shall acquire honors in a joyful realm.
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If I employ others for my own purposes
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I myself shall experience servitude,
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But if I use myself for the sake of others
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I shall experience only lordliness.
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20.Buddhism. Shantideva, Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life 8.126-128
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Matthew 20.25-28: Cf. Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life 5.51-52, p. 791.
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Tao Te Ching 81: Cf. Tao Te Ching 64, p. 790.
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