249 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
249 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
SACRIFICIAL LOVE
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World Scripture
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SACRIFICIAL LOVE
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Sacrificial love is self-sacrifice with the pure motivation to alleviate the
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suffering of others. This supreme love is suffering love, love that requires
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involvement in the knotty problems of the world, love that bears with the
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failings and weaknesses of others, love that is committed to helping others
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regardless of the cost. We have the example of Jesus Christ, who offered his
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life to redeem sinful humanity, and Moses, who risked his life before Pharaoh
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for the sake of his people. We have the example of the bodhisattva, who vows
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to devote himself to save all beings and to accept their sufferings as his own.
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He regards his own happiness as incidental to the happiness of others. He does
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not claim the merit of his spiritual progress for himself, but offers it for
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the liberation of others. A Hindu example of this sacrificial attitude and of
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the practice of "transfer of merit" is found in the story of King Vipascit, who
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would rather ease the suffering of the denizens of hell than enjoy by himself
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the bliss of heaven. We conclude with a description of the painful Native
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American ritual called the Sun Dance, in which the dancer has his chest pierced
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with wooden pegs tied with ropes to the top of a sacred tree; as he dances the
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ropes become taut until the pegs rip off from his flesh. The dancer sacrifices
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his body on behalf of his people, that the people may live.
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One who stays in the shade does not know the sun's heat.
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1.African Traditional Religions. Igala Proverb (Nigeria)
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Igala Proverb: A criticism of those who, enjoying luxuries, forget that others
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are suffering.
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Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
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friends.
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2.Christianity. John 15.13
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The position of love can be established when one sacrifices oneself and gives
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oneself for others. Thus sacrifice accompanies love.
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3.Unification Church. Sun Myung Moon, 9-11-72
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A man should share in the distress of the community, for so we find that Moses,
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our teacher, shared in the distress of the community.
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4.Judaism. Talmud, Taanit 11a
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The believer who participates in human life, exposing himself to its torments
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and suffering, is worth more than the one who distances himself from its
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suffering.
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5.Islam. Hadith of Ibn Majah
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It is not always physical bravery that counts. One must have the courage to
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face life as it is, to go through sorrows and always sacrifice oneself for the
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sake of others.
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6.African Traditional Religions. Kipsigis Saying (Kenya)
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We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to
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please ourselves; let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify
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him. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, "The reproaches
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of those who reproached thee fell on me."
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7.Christianity. Romans 15.1-3
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Mencius said, "Those who are morally well-adjusted look after those who are
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not; those who are talented look after those who are not. That is why people
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are glad to have good fathers and elder brothers. If those who are morally
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well-adjusted and talented abandon those who are not, then scarcely an inch
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will separate the good from the depraved."
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8.Confucianism. Mencius IV.B.7
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John 15.13: Cf. 2 Timothy 2.3-4, p. 886. Sun Myung Moon, 9-11-72: Cf. Sun
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Myung Moon, 9-11-72, p. 744; 3-30-90, p. 876; 9-30-79, p. 150. Romans 15.1-3:
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Cf. 2 Corinthians 5.20-6.13, p. 868. Mencius IV.B.7: See Chuang Tzu 33, p.
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869; Njak Proverb, p. 244.
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A bodhisattva resolves, "I take upon myself the burden of all suffering; I am
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resolved to do so; I will endure it. I do not turn or run away, do not
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tremble, am not terrified, nor afraid, do not turn back or despond.
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"And why? At all costs I must bear the burdens of all beings. In that, I do
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not follow my own inclinations. I have made the vow to save all beings. All
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beings I must set free. The whole world of living beings I must rescue from
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the terrors of birth, of old age, of sickness, of death and rebirth, of all
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kinds of moral offense, of all states of woe.... My endeavors do not merely
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aim at my own deliverance. For with the help of the boat of the thought of
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all-knowledge, I must rescue all these beings from the stream of Samsara, which
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is so difficult to cross.... I myself must grapple with the whole mass of
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suffering of all beings. To the limit of my endurance I will experience in all
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the states of woe, found in any world system, all the abodes of suffering. And
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I must not cheat all beings out of my store of merit. I am resolved to abide
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in each single state of woe for numberless aeons; and so I will help all beings
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to freedom, in all states of woe that may be found in any world system
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whatsoever.
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"And why? Because it is surely better that I alone should be in pain than that
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all these beings should fall into the states of woe. Therefore I must give
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myself away as a pawn through which the whole world is redeemed from the
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terrors of hells, of animal birth, of the world of Death, and with this my own
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body I must experience, for the sake of all beings, the whole mass of painful
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feelings. And on behalf of all beings I give surety for all beings, and in
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doing so I speak truthfully, am trustworthy, do not go back on my word. I must
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not abandon all beings."
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9.Buddhism. Sikshasamuccaya 280-81, Vajradhvaja Sutra
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"I should be a hostel for all sentient beings, to let them escape from all
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painful things. I should be a protector for all sentient beings, to let them
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all be liberated from all afflictions. I should be a refuge for all sentient
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beings, to free them from all fears....
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"I should accept all sufferings for the sake of sentient beings, and enable
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them to escape from the abyss of immeasurable woes of birth and death. I
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should accept all suffering for the sake of all sentient beings in all worlds,
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in all states of misery, for ever and ever, and still always cultivate
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foundations of goodness for the sake of all beings. Why? I would rather take
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all this suffering on myself than to allow sentient beings to fall into hell.
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I should be a hostage to those perilous places- -hells, animal realms, the
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nether world--as a ransom to rescue all sentient beings in states of woe and
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enable them to gain liberation.
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"I vow to protect all sentient beings and never abandon them. What I say is
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sincerely true, without falsehood. Why? Because I have set my mind on
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enlightenment in order to liberate all sentient beings; I do not seek the
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unexcelled Way for my own sake."
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10.Buddhism. Garland Sutra 23
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Sikshasamuccaya 280-81: This is a version of the Bodhisattva Vow. It includes
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the practice of dedicating one's merits, won through years of effort at
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spiritual discipline and selfless deeds, for the benefit of others. To regard
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one's own suffering in solidarity with the suffering of others empties one's
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suffering of self-hood. Hence the pride of suffering and pride in one's own
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spiritual accomplishment is overcome. See Mahaparinirvana Sutra 15.20b, pp.
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211f.; Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra 9.1-5, pp. 449f.; Perfection of Wisdom in
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Eight Thousand Lines 321-22, p. 829; 403-03, p. 869; Lankavatara Sutra 80, p.
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207; Bodhipathapradipa, p. 467. Garland Sutra 23: See previous note.
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"Ho! servant of Yama! Say, what sin have I committed, for which I have
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incurred this deepest hell, frightful for its torments? Known as King
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Vipascit, I protected the earth with uprightness; I let no fighting rage; no
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guest departed with averted countenance; nor did I offend the spirits of the
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ancestors, the gods, ascetics, or my servants; nor did I covet other men's
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wives, or wealth, or aught else belonging to them. How, then, have I incurred
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this very terrible hell?"
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Yama's officer: "Come then, we go elsewhere. You have now seen everything, for
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you have seen hell. Come then, let us go elsewhere."
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Thereupon the king prepared to follow him; but a cry went up from all the men
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that abode in torment: "Be gracious, O king! stay but a moment, for the air
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that clings to thy body gladdens our mind and entirely dispels the burning and
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the sufferings and pains from our bodies, O tigerlike man! Be gracious, O
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king!"
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Vipascit: "Neither in heaven nor in Brahma's world do men experience such joy
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as arises from conferring bliss on suffering creatures. If, while I am present,
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torment does not hurt these men, here then will I remain, firm as a mountain."
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Yama's officer: "Come, O king; we proceed. Enjoy the delights won by your own
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merit; leave here the evildoers to their torments."
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Vipascit, "As long as these beings are in sore suffering, I will not go. From
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my presence the denizens of hell grow happy. Fie on the sickly
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protection-begging life of that man who shows no favor to one distressed, even
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though he be a resolute foe! Sacrifices, gifts, austerities do not work for
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the welfare of him who has no thought for the succor of the distressed.... To
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grant deliverance to these men excels, I consider, the joy of heaven. If many
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sufferers shall obtain happiness while only I undergo pain, shall I not in
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truth embrace it?"
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Dharma (the Law): "These evil-doers have come to hell in consequence of their
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own deeds; you also, O king, must go to heaven in consequence of your
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meritorious deeds. I lead you to heaven; mount this heavenly chariot and
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linger not; let us go."
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Vipascit: "Men in thousands, O Dharma, suffer pain here in hell; and being in
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affliction they cry to me to save them; hence I will not depart."
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Dharma: "O king! Your merit is truly beyond reckoning. In evincing now this
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compassion here in the hells, your merit has amounted even higher. Come, enjoy
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the abode of the immortals; let these unfortunates consume away in hell the sin
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arising from their own actions!"
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Vipascit: "Whatever good deeds I possess, O Lord of the Thirty Gods, by means
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thereof let the sinners who are undergoing torment be delivered from hell!"
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Indra: "So be it, O king! You have gained an even more exalted station: see
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too these sinners delivered from hell!"
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11.Hinduism. Markandeya Purana 13-15
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Markandeya Purana 13-15: Compare Christ's tour of hell in 1 Peter 3.18-20, p.
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450. For another Hindu story of exemplary sacrificial love, see the account of
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Rantideva, Srimad Bhagavatam 9, pp. 842f.
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When all the preparations were finished, the dancers stood at the foot of the
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sacred tree, at the west, and, gazing up at the top of the tree, they raised
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their right hands and blew upon the eagle-bone whistles. As they did this,
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Kablaya prayed,
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"O Grandfather, Wakan Tanka, bend down and look upon me as I raise my hand to
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You. You see here the faces of my people... You have beheld the sacred place
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and the sacred center which we have fixed, and where we shall suffer. I offer
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all my suffering to You on behalf of the people... Be merciful to me, O Great
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Spirit, that my people may live!"
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Then all the singers chanted together, "O Wakan Tanka, be merciful to me! I am
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doing this that my people may live!"
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The dancers all moved around to the east, looking towards the top of the sacred
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tree at the west, and, raising up their hands, they sang, "Our Grandfather,
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Wakan Tanka, has given to me a path which is sacred!"
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The dancers moved now to the south... to the west... to the north, and again to
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the west, all the time blowing upon their shrill eagle-bone whistles. Then the
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dancers all began to cry, and Kablaya was given a long thong and two wooden
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pegs, and with these he went to the center, and grasping the sacred tree he
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cried, "O Wakan Tanka, be merciful to me. I do this that my people may
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live!"...
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As the singers and drummers increased the speed of their chanting and drumming,
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the helpers rushed up and, grasping Kablaya roughly, threw him on the ground.
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The helper then pulled up the skin of Kablaya's left breast, and through this
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loose skin a sharp stick was thrust; and in the same manner the right breast
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was pierced. The long rawhide rope had been tied at its middle around the
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sacred tree, towards its top, and then the two ends of the rope were tied to
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the pegs in Kablaya's chest. The helpers stood Kablaya up roughly, and he blew
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upon his whistle, and, leaning back upon the thongs, he danced, and continued
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to dance in this manner until the thongs broke loose from his flesh.
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12.Native American Religions. Sun Dance (Sioux)
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Sun Dance: This dance is performed in times of famine, disease, or other danger
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to the community. The dancer afflicts himself in this prescribed way in order
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to procure spiritual help for his people. Cf. Rig Veda 10.136.7, p. 755.
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