שלום.नमस्ते.สมาธ.Pax.سلام.Peace.SatNam.صلح.Kwey.Amani.Barış.ειρήνη.Pace.Paz.Paix.Fred.Frieden.Vrede.Siochana.мир.امن.和平.平和.평화.Aloha.
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...
Holy Scriptures Study, Week 43
Masei; 118.11.9
Torah
B’midbar
33:1 – 36:13
“These are the places
where the Israelites who left Egypt camped under the leadership of (Moshe) and
Aaron. At Adonai’s command, (Moshe) kept
a written record of their stopping places along the way. These are the places
where they camped.” (v1-2).
The sequence of
encampments is listed.
“Speak to the Israelites
and say to them:
“When you cross the
(Yordan) into the land of Canaan, you must drive out the land’s
inhabitants. You must destroy all their
carved images ad destroy all their metal idols and altars.” (v51-52).
“If you do not drive out
the land’s inhabitant, those who remain shall be splinters in your eyes and
thorns in your sides. They will cause
you troubles in the land where you will live.
Then I will treat you cruelly, as I originally planned to treat them.” (v55-56).
“Adonai spoke to (Moshe),
telling him to give the Israelites these instructions:
“I am giving you the land
of Canaan as your inheritance, and these will be the boundaries of the land.” (v1-2).
The specific boundaries
are described.
“Then (Moshe) gave the
Israelites the following instructions:
“This is the land that
Adonai has commanded you to divide by lottery and distribute to the nine and a
half tribes.
“The descendants of
(Reuven) and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already taken possession
of their hereditary land. These two and
a half tribes have already been given their land east of the (Yordan) River
opposite Jericho.” (v13-15).
“Adonai spoke to (Moshe),
saying:
“These are the names of
the men who shall divide the land.
First, there shall be Eleazar the priest and (Yoshua) son of Nun. You shall also appoint one leader from each
tribe to help them divide the land.”
(v16-18).
The tribal leaders are
described.
“You shall also provide
the Levites with six safe refuge cities, where a person who has accidentally killed
someone can find refuge. In addition to
these six cities you shall also provide htem with forty-two additional
cities. In total you shall give the
Levites forty-eight cities along with the surrounding pasture lands.” (v6-7).
“These cities shall be
assigned from the lands of the Israelites, more from the larger tribe, and less
from a smaller tribe. Each tribe shall
give the Levites cities in proportion to the hereditary land that it has been
given.” (v8).
“Adonai spoke to (Moshe)
and told him: Speak to the Israelites
and say to them:
“Now that you are crossing
the (Yordan) into the land of Canaan, you must designate towns which shall
serve as safe refuge cities where a murderer who has accidentally killed a
person can find safe refuge.” (v9-11).
The characteristics of the
refuge cities and the blood avenger are described.
“If anyone kills a human
being, the murderer shall be put to death only on the basis of eyewitness
testimony.
“A single eyewitness is
not enough testimony against a person when the death penalty is involved.” (v30).
The issue of land
inheritance to women is reintroduced.
“This is Adonai’s decision
concerning the daughters of Tzelafechad.
You may marry anyone you wish as long as you marry within your ancestral
tribe. In this way, the hereditary land
of the Israelites will not be transferred from one tribe to another, and every
Israelite will remain attached to the hereditary ladn of his father’s side.” (v6-7).
--
How is the commandment to “clear
out the inhabitants” reconciled with the mitzvot to “love the ger (the
stranger) as the native Israeli”? Amidst
the notion of the “ger” being perceived as another extension of one’s own self,
how might the “inhabitant” (within this context) be considered?
What are the implications
of some Israeli tribes inhabiting land outside of Eretz Israel?
What is the purpose of the
lottery in determining which tribe receives which geographic location?
What are the implications
of the Levis being provided with cities and pasture land amidst the previously
described prohibition of Levis maintaining any hereditary land? Is there any distinction within the
nature of stewardship of the Levi land
and the Israeli land? How does this
compare with the feudal caste system within Hinduism? And how does this compare with the previous
Priestly arrangement with Paraoh (and even the Israeli arrangement with Paraoh)
within Egypt?
How is the principle of
perpetual hereditary land established amidst the context of being immigrants to
the land? What are the basic,
fundamental principles that are utilised here to assert stewardship?
--
Bhagavad
Gita
Chapters
13 – 14
“The body is called a
field, Arjuna; (that) who knows it is
called the Knower of the field. This is
the knowledge of those who know.
“I am the Knower of the
field in everyone, Arjuna. Knowledge of
the field and its Knower is (True) knowledge.”
(v1-2).
“The field, Arjuna, is
made up of the following: the five areas
of sense perception; the five
elements; the five sense organs and the
five organs of action; the three
components of the mind: manas, buddhi,
and ahamkara; and the undifferentiated
energy from which all these evolved.
“In this field arise
desire and aversion, pleasure and pain, the body, intelligence, and will.” (v5-6).
“Those who know (Truly)
are free from pride and deceit. They are
gentle, forgiving, upright, and pure, devoted to their spiritual teacher,
filled with inner strength, and self-controlled.
“Detached from sense
objects and self-will, they have learned the painful lesson of separate birth
and suffering, old age, disease, and death.
“Free from selfish
attachments, they do not get compulsively entangled even in home and
family. They are even-minded through
(benevolent) fortune and bad.
“Their devotion to (Me) is
undivided. Enjoying solitude and not
following the crowd, they (search for) only (Me).” (v7-10).
“I will tell you of the
wisdom that leads to immortality: the
beginningless Brahman, which can be called neither being nor nonbeing.
“It dwells in all, in
every hand and foot and head, in every mouth and eye and ear in the universe.
“Without senses (Itself),
(It) shines through the functioning of the senses. Completely independent, (It) supports all
things. Beyond the gunas, (It) enjoys
their play.
“It is both near and far,
both within and without every creature;
(It) moves and is unmoving.
“In (Its) subtlety (It) is
beyond comprehension. It is indivisible,
yet appears divided in separate creatures.
Know it to be the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer.
“Dwelling in every heart,
(It) is beyond darkness. It is called
the light of lights, the object and goal of knowledge, and knowledge itself.” (v12-17).
“Know that prakriti and
Purusha are both without beginning, and that from prakriti come the gunas and
all that changes.
“Prakriti is the agent,
cause, and effect of every action, but it is Purusha that seems to experience
pleasure and pain.
“Purusha, resting in
prakriti, witnesses the play of the gunas born of prakriti. But attachment to the gunas leads a person to
be born for (benevolence) or evil.”
(v19-21).
“He alone sees (Truly) who
sees the Lord the same in every creature, who sees the Deathless in the hearts
of all that die.” (v27).
“Let (Me) tell you more
about the wisdom that transcends all knowledge, through which the saints and
sages attained perfection.
“Those who rely on this
wisdom will be united with (Me). For them
there is neither rebirth nor fear of death.”
(v1-2).
“It is the three gunas
born of prakriti—sattva, rajas, and tamas—that bind the immortal Self to the
body.
“Sattva—pure, luminous,
and free from sorrow—bind us with attachment to happiness and wisdom.
“Rajas is passion, arising
from selfish desire and attachment.
These bind the Self with compulsive action.
“Tamas, born of ignorance,
deludes all creatures through heedlessness, indolence, and sleep.” (v5-8).
“The wise see clearly that
all action is the work of the gunas.
Knowing that which is above the gunas, they enter into union with (Me).
“Going beyond the three
gunas which form the body, they leave behind the cycle of birth and death,
decrepitude and sorrow, and attain to immortality.” (v19-20).
“They are unmoved by the
harmony of sattva, the activity of rajas, or the delusion of tamas. They feel no aversion when these forces are
active, nor do they crave for them when these forces subside.” (v22).
“They remain impartial, undisturbed
by the actions of the gunas. Knowing
that it is the gunas which act, they abide within themselves and do not
vacillate.
“Established within
themselves, they are equal in pleasure and pain, praise and blame, kindness and
unkindness. Clay, a rock, and gold are
the same to them. Alike in honor and dishonour,
alike to friend and for, they have given up every selfish pursuit. Such are those who have gone beyond the
gunas.
“By serving (Me) with
steadfast love, a man or woman goes beyond the gunas. Such a one is fit for union with
Brahman. For I am the support of Brahman,
the eternal, the unchanging, the deathless, the everlasting (Dharma), the
source of all joy.” (v22-26).
--
Is there any appropriate
comparison between the concept of the “field and the knower” with the instructions
regarding the cities and pasture land provided for Levis? How might the concept of the field and the
knower be applied to this, and additional circumstances?
--
Digha
Nikaya
Sigalovada
Suttanta
“Thus have I heard:-- The Exalted One was once staying near
Rajagaha in the Bamboo Wood at the Squirrels Feedingground.
“Now at this time young
Sigala, a householder’s son, rising betimes, went forth from Rajagaha, and with
wet hair and wet garments and clasped hands uplifted, paid worship to the
several quarters of earth and sky:--to the east, south, west, and north, to the
nadir and the zenith.
“And the Exalted One early
that morning dressed himself, took bowl and robe and entered Rajagaha
(searching for) alms. Now he saw young
Sigala worshipping and spoke to him thus:--
“Why, young householder,
do you, rising betimes and leaving Rajagaha, with wet hair and ariment, worship
the several quarters of earth and sky?
“Sir, my father, when he
was a-dying, said to me: Dear son, you
should worship the quarters of earth and sky.
So I, sir, honouring my father’s word, reverencing, revering, holding it
sacred, rise betimes and, leaving Rajagaha, worship on this wise.
“But in the religion of an
Ariyan, young householder, the six quarters should not be worshipped thus.
“How then, sir, in the
religion of an Ariyan, should the six quarters be worshipped?” (v1-2).
“Inasmuch, young
householder, as the Ariyan disciple has put away the four vices in conduct,
inasmuch as he dos no evil actions from the four motives, inasmuch as he dos
not pursue the six channels for dissipating wealth, he thus, avoiding these
fourteen evil things, is a coverer of the six quarters; he has practised so as to conquer both
worlds; he tastes success both in this
world and in the next. At the
dissolution of the body, after death, he is reborn to a happy destiny in
heaven. What are the four vices of conduct that he has put away? The destruction of life, the taking what is
not given, licentiousness, and lying speech.
These are the four vices of conduct that he has put away.” (v3).
“By what four motives does
he do no evil deed? Evil deeds are done
form motives of partiality, enmity, stupidity and fear. But inasmuch as the Ariyan disciple is not
led away by these motives, he through them dos no evil deed.” (v5).
“And which are the six
channels or dissipating wealth? The
being addicted to intoxicating liquors, frequenting the streets at unseemly
hours, haunting fairs, the being
infatuated by gambling, associating with evil companions, the habit of
idleness.
The Buddha describes 6 adverse
consequences from each of these 6 channels.
The Buddha recites a poem
of this teaching.
“Four, O young
householder, are they who should be reckoned as foes in the likeness of
friends; to wit, a rapacious person, the
man of words not deeds, the flatterer, the fellow-waster.” (v15).
The Buddha provides
further detail on each of these.
“Four, O young
householder, are the friends who should be reckoned as sound at heart:--the
helper; the friend who is the same in
happiness and adversity; the friend of
(benevolent) counsel; the friend who
sympathizes.” (v21).
The Buddha provides
further detail on each of these.
The Buddha recites another
poem.
“And how, O young
householder, dos the Ariyan disciple protect the six quarters? The following should be looked upon as the
six quarters:--parents as the east, teachers as the south, wife and children as
the west, friends and companions as the north, servants and work people as the
nadir, religious teachers and Brahmins as the zenith.” (v27).
The Buddha provides
further detail pertaining to each of these relationships.
--
Amidst the consideration
of the pursuer of senses, how might the “spiritual wandering” of an individual
be appropriately perceived and described amidst the tangible, physical
stationary behaviour of that individual?
And how might the notion that, as one becomes increasingly honest with
one’s slef, on better perceives the dishonesty within others?
--
Gospels
Luke 6 –
7
“On (Shabbat), while he
was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of
grain, rubbing them in their hands. But
some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on
(Shabbat)?’” (v1-2).
Jesus refers to a story of
David, and proclaims leadership during Shabbat.
“On another (Shabbat),
when he entered the synagogue and taught, a man was there whose right hand was
withered. And the scribes and the
Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on (Shabbat), so that they
might find an accusation against him.
But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man who had the withered
hand, ‘Come and stand here.’ And he rose
and stood there. And Jesus said to them,
‘I ask you, is it lawful on (Shabbat) to do (benevolence) or to do harm, to
save life or to destroy it?’ And he
looked around on them all, and said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he did, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed
with one another what they might do to Jesus.”
(v6-11).
“In those days he went out
to the mountain to pray; and all night
he continued in prayer to God. And when
it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named
apostles; Simon, whom he named Peter,
and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and
Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called
the Zealot, and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became traitor.”
(v12-16).
Jesus preaches the Sermon
on the Mount.
“And he lifted up his eyes
on his disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you poor, for
yours is the (Sovereignty) of God.
“Blessed are you that
hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are you that weep
now, for you shall laugh.
“Blessed are you when men
hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as
evil, on account of the Son of man!
Rejoice in that day , and leap for joy, for behold your reward is great
in heaven; for so their fathers did to
the prophets.” (v20-23).
“But I say to you that
hear, Love your enemies, do (benevolence) to those who hate you, bless those
who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not
withhold even your shirt. Give to
everyone who begs from you; and of him who
takes away your (possessions) do not ask them again. And as you wish that mend would do ot you, do
so to them. (v27-31).
“If you love those who
love you, what credit is that to you?” (v32).
“But love your enemies,
and do (benevolence), and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will
be sons of the Most High; for (Deus) is
kind to the ungrateful and the selfish.
Be merciful, even as your (Deus) is merciful.” (v35-36).
“Judge not, and you will
not be judged; condemn not and you will
not be condemned; forgive, and you will
be forgiven; give, and it will be given
to you.” (v37-38).
Jesus tells parable of
blind leading blind.
“A disciple is not above
his teacher, but every one when he is fully taught will be like his teacher.” (v40).
“Why do you see the peck
that is in your brother’s eye, but do notice the log that is in your own eye?” (v7).
“Why do you call me, ‘(Leader),
(Leader),’ and not do what I tell you?”
(v46).
“After he had ended all
his saying in the hearing of the people he entered Capernaum.” (v1)
A centurion searches to
have his slave healed.
The Centurian bids Jesus
to heal his slave from a distance; Jesus
marvels at his Faith; and the slave is
healed.
“Soon afterward he went to
a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.” (v11).
Jesus heals the young man
who is perceived as dead.
John the Baptist sends
disciples to discern the characteristics of Jesus.
“And he answered them, ‘Go
and tell John what you have seen and heard:
the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the
poor have (benevolent) news preached to them.
And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.” (v22-23).
Jesus describes the nature
of John the Baptist.
Pharisees have dinner with
Jesus and critise the behaviour of his disciples.
“A certain creditor had
two debtors: one owed five hundred
denarii, and the other fifty. When they
could not pay, he forgave them both. Now
which of them will love him more?”
(v41-42).
Jesus explains the
righteousness of the woman who anoints him with oil.
--
What is the nature of the
interaction between Jesus’s teachings regarding Shabbat, and the subsequent
traditional observance of Sunday Worship, with Christianity?
How does Jesus’s “reward
in Heaven” compare with the Koran’s “Gardens of Paradise”?
--
Koran
Sura 68: Al Qalam
The Pen
Sura
69: Al Haqqah The Sure Truth
“By the inkstand and the
pen and that which they write!
“By the grace of thy Lord
thou art not mad.
“And surely thine is a
reward never to be cut off.
“And surely thou hast sublime
morals.
“So thou wilt see, and
they too will see.``
“Which of you is mad.
“Surely thy Lord knows
best who is erring from (Allah’s) way, and (Allah) knows best those who go
aright.
“So obey not the
rejectors.
“They wish that thou
shouldst be pliant, so they too would be pliant.
“And obey not any mean
swearer.
“Defamer, going about with
slander.
“Hinderer of
(benevolence), outstepping the limits, sinful.
“Ignoble, besides all
that, notoriously mischievous—
“Because he posses wealth
and sons.
“When Our messages are
recited to him, he says: Stories of
those of yore!” (v1-15).
There is the description
of how transgressors respond to revelation and consequences.
“So leave Me alone with
him who rejects this announcement. We
shall overtake them by degrees, from when they know not.
“And I bear with them,
surely My plan is firm.
“Or dost thou ask from
them a reward, so that they are burdened with debt?
“Or is the unseen with
them so that they write it down?
“So wait patiently for the
judgment of thy Lord, and be not like the Companions of the fish, when he cried
while he was in distress.” (v44-48).
“The sure Truth!
“What is the sure Truth?
“And what would make thee
(Realise) what the sure Truth is?”
(v1-3).
There is reference to Ad
and Thamud.
“On that day you will be
exposed to view—no secret of yours will remain hidden.” (v18).
--
How may the notion of “pliancy”
be applicable to the frequent contemporary correlation of political liberalism
with efforts to be pluralism and interreligious cooperation?
When continually invoking
Al Qayimah (the Day of Judgment), does this have a subliminal, or other
sub-conscious (or unconscious, perhaps through dreams and additionally) affect,
that subsequently influence the behaviour of individuals within this temporal
Realm? What are the dynamics (amidst the
message and the messengers) that makes such communication so influential?
What is the nature of a
convert’s hold upon the previous conventional ascension (socioeconomic class,
position of authority, community standing, and additionally) after the convert joins
a new religious community? How do a
religion’s teachings influence this within each polarity and in between?
--
Blessings upon the
Prophets and Ancestors:
May Peace and Blessings of
the Highest Authority we respectively recognise, known by many names, including
God, El Shaddai, Elohim, Adonai, Hashem, Brahman, Nirvana, Dharma, Karma, Tao,
Gud, Dieu, Dios, Deus Dominus, Jah, Jehovah, Allah, Ahura Mazda, Infinity,
Logic, Wakan Tanka, Ultimate Reality, and additionally, be upon the Rishis,
Moshe, the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Baha’u’llah, Guru Nanak, Zarathustra, Avraham,
Yitzak, Yaakov, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, our Ancestors
(Known and Unknown), and the Indigenous of Tainoterranea, Asia, Europe,
Mediterranea, and Africa, and the Universe. ૐ. אמן .
שלום.नमस्ते.สมาธ.Pax.سلام.Peace.SatNam.صلح.Kwey.Amani.Barış.ειρήνη.Pace.Paz.Paix.Fred.Frieden.Vrede.Siochana.мир.امن.和平.平和.평화.Aloha.
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...
ૐ.
אמן .
