258 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
258 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
WITNESS
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World Scripture
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WITNESS
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Of all the kindnesses which can be conferred upon someone, perhaps the greatest
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is to lead him to realize the truth and to attain his inborn potential for
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goodness. The passages which are gathered here describe witnessing to the
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truth in two forms. First is to witness by example, or to "let your light so
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shine before men." Through good deeds and a compassionate heart the believer
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demonstrates his faith as a living reality and naturally draws others to him.
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Second is to witness by evangelism, by preaching and teaching the doctrine. We
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include both texts commissioning evangelism and missionary activity and texts
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describing the standards of good conduct and pure mind which should accompany
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the preaching.
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Master Tseng said, "The gentleman by his culture collects friends about him,
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and through these friends promotes goodness."
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1.Confucianism. Analects 12.24
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Whoso is perfect in virtue and insight, is established in the Dhamma, has
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realized the Truths, and fulfills his own duties--he is respected by all
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people.
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2.Buddhism. Dhammapada 217
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You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do
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men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light
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to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
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your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
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3.Christianity. Matthew 5.14-16
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Analects 12.24: Cf. Doctrine of the Mean 33, p. 874. Matthew 5.14-16: Having
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received the grace of salvation through Christ, the Christian becomes a being
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of light who should illumine the world. To avoid displaying that light, by
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giving witness to Christ and God's word and by giving unstinting love, is a
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sin. Cf. 1 John 4.7-20, p. 208.
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I should be a lamp for the world
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Replete with the virtues of Buddhahood,
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Their ten powers, their omniscience.
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All sentient beings
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Burn with greed, anger, and folly;
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I should save and free them,
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Have them extinguish the pains of the states of woe.
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4.Buddhism. Garland Sutra 36
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I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
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I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
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I have given you as a covenant to the peoples,
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a light to the nations,
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To open the eyes that are blind,
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to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
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from the prison those who sit in darkness.
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5.Judaism and Christianity. Isaiah 42.6-7
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Hillel said, "Be of the disciples of Aaron--one that loves peace, that loves
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mankind and brings them nigh to the Law."
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6.Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 1.12
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Believers, be God's helpers. When Jesus the son of Mary said to the disciples,
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"Who will help me on the way to God?" they replied, "We are God's helpers."
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7.Islam. Qur'an 61.14
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Asvins, Lords of light, fill me with
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the sweetness of the bee-honey,
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so I may speak the glorious Word
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to the masses of the people.
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8.Hinduism. Atharva Veda 6.69.2
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Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and kindly exhortation. Reason with
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them in the most courteous manner. Your Lord knows best those who stray from
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His path and those who are rightly guided.
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9.Islam. Qur'an 16.125
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Garland Sutra 36: Cf. Dhammapada 54, p. 873; Doctrine of the Mean 33, p. 874.
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Isaiah 42.6-7: Cf. Isaiah 42.1-4, p. 449. Abot 1.12: Judaism no longer
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encourages missionary activity. But at the time when the Mishnah was compiled
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Jewish missionaries were active throughout the Roman world. Qur'an 61.14: See 1
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Corinthians 3.9, p. 709. Qur'an 16.125: Cf. Qur'an 6.108, p. 65; 10.99-100, p.
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65. Dhammapada 406, p. 862; Laws of Manu 4.138, p. 862.
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Those who teach this supreme truth of the Gita to all who love me perform the
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greatest act of love; they will undoubtedly come to me. No one can render me
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more devoted service; no one on earth can be more dear to me.
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10.Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 18.68-69
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All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and
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make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
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the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have
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commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the close of the age.
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11.Christianity. Matthew 28.18-20: The Great Commission
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By discoursing on morality and righteousness, convert both the cunning and the
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dull. By preaching on the canonical books and histories, enlighten the
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ignorant and the benighted.... Publish and make known sutras and tracts.
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Build and repair temples and shrines.... Expound moral maxims to correct the
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people's faults.
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12.Taoism. Tract of the Quiet Way
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The Emperor Sujin proclaimed to the assembled lords, "The root of leading the
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nation's people is education. We are now reverently worshipping the kami, with
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the result that misfortunes have all disappeared. But as for those people far
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away from the capital city, they are not yet favored with our imperial grace.
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Therefore, let us now select from among our assembled lords, some to send to
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the far provinces in the four directions, to inform the people there of our
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nation's laws."
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13.Shinto. Nihon Shoki 5
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If you are aware of a certain truth, if you possess a jewel, of which others
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are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost kindliness and
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goodwill. If it be accepted, if it fulfill its purpose, your object is
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attained. If anyone should refuse it, leave him unto himself, and beseech God
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to guide them. Beware lest you deal unkindly with him.
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14.Baha'i Faith. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, 15
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Matthew 28.18-20: The Great Commission is the foundation for Christian missions
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to the world. Cf. Matthew 10.11-20, pp. 712f. Tract of the Quiet Way: In
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keeping with the syncretic nature of religion in China, where the Three
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Teachings--Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism--coexisted, this passage
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encourages evangelism by means of Confucian books, Buddhist sutras, and Taoist
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tracts. Evangelism is not to convert people from one religion to another, but
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rather to bring about a renovation of character and to encourage morality and
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righteousness. See Tract of the Quiet Way and Commentary, p. 64. Epistle to
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the Son of the Wolf, 15: Cf. Matthew 10.11-15, pp. 712f.
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Monks, there are these two gifts, the carnal and the spiritual. Of these two
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gifts the spiritual gift is preeminent. Monks, there are two sharings
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together, the sharing of the carnal and the sharing of the spiritual. Of these
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two sharings together the sharing of the spiritual is preeminent.
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15.Buddhism. Itivuttaka 98
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There is a traffic in speakers of fine words;
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Persons of grave demeanor are accepted as gifts;
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Even the bad let slip no opportunity to acquire them.
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Therefore on the day of an emperor's enthronement
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Or at the installation of the three officers of state,
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Rather than send a team of four horses, preceded by a disc of jade,
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Better were it, as can be done without moving from one's seat, to send this Tao.
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For what did the ancients say of this Tao, how did they prize it?
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"Pursuing, they [who have Tao] shall catch; pursued, they shall escape"?
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They thought it, indeed, the most precious of all things under heaven.
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16.Taoism. Tao Te Ching 62
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We are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We beseech
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you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.... We put no obstacle in
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anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants
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of God we commend ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in
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afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors,
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watching, hunger; by purity, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, the Holy Spirit,
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genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of
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righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in
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ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as
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unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet
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not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich;
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as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
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Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide. You are not
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restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return--I
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speak as to children--widen your hearts also.
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17.Christianity. 2 Corinthians 5.20-6.13
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Itivuttaka 98: cf. Anguttara Nikaya i.61, pp. 221f.; Mulamadhyamaka Karika
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24.8-12, p. 863a. 2 Corinthians 5.20-6.13: Cf. 1 Peter 2.12, p. 68; Matthew
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10.1-25, pp. 712f.; 1 Corinthians 9.19-22, p. 863a.
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When the bodhisattva
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Enters his quiet room,
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And, in perfect meditation,
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Sees things in their true meaning,
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And, rising from his meditation,
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Whether to kings or nations,
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Or princes, ministers, and people,
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To brahmins or to others,
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Opens up, expounds,
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And preaches to them this Sutra,
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His mind shall be at ease
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And free from timid weakness.
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Let him who would preach this Sutra
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Renounce an envious, angry, proud,
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Deceitful, or false mind,
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And ever do upright deeds;
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He should disparage none,
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Never argue over the Law,
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Nor cause others doubts or regret...
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But ever be gentle, patient,
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And compassionate to all.
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18.Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 14
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A son or daughter... becomes endowed with that kind of wise insight which
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allows him to see all beings as on the way to their slaughter. Great
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compassion thereby takes hold of him. With his heavenly eye he surveys
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countless beings, and what he sees fills him with great agitation. So many
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carry the burden of a karma which will soon be punished in the hells, others
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have acquired unfortunate rebirths which keep them away from the Buddha and his
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teachings, others are doomed soon to be killed or they are enveloped in the net
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of false views, or fail to find the path, while others who had gained a rebirth
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favorable to their emancipation have lost it again.
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And he radiates great friendliness and compassion over all those beings, and
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gives his attention to them, thinking, "I shall become a savior to all those
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beings, I shall release them from all their sufferings!"
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19.Buddhism. Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines 402-63
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To be unsnared by vulgar ways, to make no vain show of material things, to
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bring no hardship on others, to avoid offending the mob, to seek peace and
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security for the world, preservation of the people's lives, full provender for
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others as well as oneself, and to rest content when these aims are fulfilled,
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in this way bringing purity to the heart--there were those in ancient times who
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believed that the "art of the Way" lay in these things.. They preached
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liberality of mind, hoping thereby to bring men together in the joy of harmony,
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to insure concord within the four seas. Their chief task lay, they felt, in
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the effort to establish these ideals. They regarded it as no shame to suffer
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insult, but sought to put an end to strife among the people, to outlaw
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aggression, to abolish the use of arms, and to rescue the world from warfare.
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With these aims they walked the whole world over, trying to persuade those
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above them and to teach those below, and though the world refused to listen,
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they clamored all the louder and would not give up, until men said, "High and
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low are sick at the sight of them, and still they demand to be seen!"
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20.Taoism. Chuang Tzu 33
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Lotus Sutra 14: This chapter describes rules for correct and effective
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preaching. Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines 402-03: Here is
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another expression of the bodhisattva ideal. Chuang Tzu 33: This chapter of the
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Chuang Tzu describes sages of various schools--Taoists, Mohists, Legalists,
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Confucianists--who wandered about China during the Chou dynasty, preaching
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their visions of peace and harmony. See Shih Chi 47, pp. 526f.
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