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.
.
.
.
Shalom
(Hebrew). Namaste (Sanskrit). Samadhi (Thai/Pali). Pax (Latin). Salaam
(Arabic). Peace (English). Sat Nam (Punjabi). Solh (Persian). Kwey (Lakotah).
Amani (Swahili). Barish (Turkish). Erieni (Greek). Pache (Italiano). Paz
(Espanol). Paix (Francais). Fred (Scandinavian). Frieden (Deutsch). Siochana
(Irish). Mir (Russian). Amin (Urdu). Heping (Mandarin). Heiwa (Japanese).
Pyeonghwa (Korean). Aloha (Hawai’ian). Peace (Common Symbol). Peace (Common
Sign). Peace (General American Sign Language). Peace (American Braille).
Holy Scriptures Study, Week 54 Vezot
Ha’berachah; 119.1.24
Torah
Devarim 33:1 – 34:2312
“This is the blessing that (Moshe), man of Adonai,
gave to the Israelites just before his death.
“(Moshe) said:
“Adonai came down from Mount Sinai
“And shone on us from Mount Seir;
“(Adonai) appeared from Mount Paran
“And came with numerous angels.” (v1-2).
“(Moshe) brought us the Torah;
“It is Israel’s eternal heritage.
“(Adonai) was Israel’s (Sovereign)
“when the people’s leaders gathered
“and the tribes of Israel were united into
one.” (v4-5).
“Let (Reuven) live and not perish, though the tribe
is few in number.” (v6)
“(Moshe) said to (Yudah):
“May Adonai listen to (Yudah’s) voice and return him
to his people. Although he is powerful,
help him against his enemies.” (v7).
“To Levi (Moshe) said:
“Your Urim and Thumim belong to you. You tested Adonai at Massah, and disputed
(Adonai) at the waters of Meribah. He
said of his parent, ‘I do not consider them.’
He disagreed with his family. But
he kept teaching and guarded Your covenant.
They shall teach Your law to (Yaakov), and Your Torah to Israel. They shall place incense before You and
sacrifices on Your altar. I pray that
Adonai will bless his effort and prosper the work of his hands. May (Adonai) smash the bodies of those who
rebel against him, so that his enemies will never rise.” (v8-11).
“To (Benyamin) he said:
“You are Adonai’s beloved. You shall safely dwell beside (Adonai). Adonai constantly protects him and dwells
among their hills.” (v12).
“To (Yosef) (Moshe) said:
“His land is blessed by Adonai, with precious dew
from heaven, and running waters that lie below, your crops will ripen in the
sun, and sweeten in the light of the moon, the best crops from the mountains
and abundance from the ancient hills.
The gifts of the land and its riches and the blessing of the One who dwells
in the thornbush. May blessings encircle
(Yosef’s) head, crowning the prince among his brothers. (Yosef) has the strength of a bull, and his
horns are as powerful as a wild ox. With
his horns he shall wound nations at the far ends of the earth. They are the tens of thousands of the tribe
of Ephraim and the thousands of the tribe of Manasseh.” (v13-17)
“(Zevulun) (Moshe) said:
“(Zevulun)!
Be happy when you travel.
“Issachar!
Rejoice in your homes. They
invite nations to the mountain, to offer righteous sacrifices, they will be fed
by the bounty of the sea and by the secret treasures of the sands.” (v18-19).
“To Gad (Moshe) said:
“Blessed is the One (Who) helps the territory of Gad
expand. He is like a fierce lion,
waiting to bite the arm and the head.
Gad chose the best land for himself, he received a special leader’s
share. When the leaders came together,
they followed Adonai’s decrees and judgments about Israel.” (v20-21).
“To Dan (Moshe) said:
“Dan is a young lion, leaping out from the hills of
Bashan.” (v22).
“To Naphtali (Moshe) said:
“Napthali will be completely happy and filled with
Adonai’s blessings. (Adonai) shall
possess the land to the south and west of Lake Kinneret.
“To Asher (Moshe) said:
“Asher is the most blessed among the sons. He shall be accepted as the favourite by his
brothers, and may his land produce much olive oil. Your defences are stronger than iron and
copper, and you will become more
powerful each day. Israel! Remember, there is none like Adonai, (Adonai)
speeds through the heavens to save you, (Adonai) is majestic in the
skies.” (v24-26).
“Adonai is my refuge above, and underneath are
(Adonai’s) everlasting arms. (Adonai)
will shatter the enemy before you, and shall shout, ‘Destroy!’
“As prophesied by (Yaakov),
“Israel will dwell in safety
“in a land bursting with grain and wine,
“Your heavens will also drip with dew.
“Happy are you, Israel”
“Who is like you?
“You are a nation sheltered by Adonai,
“(Adonai) is the Shield (Who) helps you.
“(Adonai) is your magnificent Sword.
“Your enemies will bow down to you,
“And you shall trample upon their backs.” (v27-29).
“From the plains of Moab (Moshe) climbed up to Mount
Nebo, to the top of Mount Pisgah, facing Jericho. Adonai showed him all the land of the Gilead
as far as Dan, all of the land of Naphtali, all of the land of Ephraim and
Manasseh, all of the land of (Yudah) as far as the Mediterranean sea, as far
Zoar.
“This is Adonai said to him, ‘This is the land that
I swore to give to (Avraham), (Yitzak), and (Yaakov), saying, ‘I will give it
to your descendants.’ Now I have let you
see it with your own eye, but I will not allow you to cross the river and enter
it.” (v1-4).
“So (Moshe), Adonai’s servant, at (Adonai’s)
command, died in the land of Moab.
Adonai buried him the the valley in the land fo Moab, near Beth
Peor. No one, even to this day, know the
place where he was buried.” (v5-6).
“(Moshe) was 120 years old when he died, but his
eyes were sharp and he was still strong and healthy.” (v7).
“(Yoshua) son of Nun acquired the spirit of wisdom,
because (Moshe) had laid his hands on him.
The Israelites listened to him and obeyed him exactly as they had obeyed
(Moshe).” (v9).
“There never was another (Prophet) in Israel like
(Moshe), whom Adonai knew face-to-face.
No one else could have performed all the wonders and miracles that
Adonai allowed (Moshe) to perform before (Paraoh) in the land of Egypt, or any
of the powerful miracles and awesome deeds that (Moshe) performed before the
eyes of all the Israelites.” (v10-12).
--
How do
the berachot for each tribe compare and contrast with each other? How does each berachoh exist within the
context of the respective narrative of each respective son of Israel, and the
respective descendants of each of the sons of Israel?
Is
there any tendency of the berachot establishing any form of implicit or
explicit segregation (or even caste distinctions) amidst the different tribes
of Israel?
How
does Moshe’s final address compare with Muhammad’s (PBUH) final sermon, with
Jesus’s address to his disciples at the “last supper,” and with the Buddha’s
sermon before his attainment of Nirvana, and with additional “final addresses”
from additional Prophets?
Why is
there an absence of any berachah for Shimon (Simeon)? What does this imply regarding the
righteousness (or lack thereof) of Shimon?
How does this compare and contrast to the berachot that Yosef (Israel)
provides to his sons? Why does any
apparent transgression (committed by Shimon and/or his descendants) abstain
from explicitly addressed (compared to addition transgressions) within Yosef’s
berachot, and additionally within the Torah?
What
are the implications regarding Asher being proclaimed as “Adonai’s” favourite
son of Israel? How does the comparative,
previous obscurity of Asher compare with the additional berachot towards all
children of Israel, as well as to all sentient beings?
What is
the “metaphysical” significance within “climbing a mountain”?
Why
does Adonai abstain from simply provided an uninhabited land to B’nai Israel?
--
Bhagavad Gita
Chapters 17 – 18
“O
Krishna, what is the state of those who disregard the scriptures but still
worship with faith? Do they act from
sattva, rajas, or tamas?” (v1).
“Every
creature is born with faith of some kind, either sattvic, rajasic, or
tamasic. Listen, and I will describe
each to you.
“Our
faith conforms to Our nature, Arjuna.
Human nature is made of faith.
Indeed, a person is his faith.”
(v2-3).
“Those
who are sattvic worship the forms of God;
those who are rajasic worship power and wealth. Those who are tamasic worship spirits and
ghosts.” (v4).
“Some
invent harsh penances. Motivated by
hypocrisy and egotism,
“they
torture their innocent bodies and (Me) (Who) dwells within. Blinded by their strength and passion, they
act and think like demons.
“The
three kinds of faith express themselves in the habits of those who hold
them: in the food they like, the work
they do, the disciplines they practice, the gifts they give. Listen, and I will describe their different
ways.” (v5-7).
Differences
are described regarding: food,
sacrifices, and service.
“When
these three levels of self-discipline are practiced without attachment to the
results, but in a spirit of great faith, the sages call this practise sattvice.
“Disciplines
practiced in order to gain respect, honor, or admiration are rajasic; they are undependable and transitory in their
effects.
“Disciplines
practiced to gain power over others, or in the confused belief that to torture
oneself is spiritual, are tamasic.”
(v17-19)
Distinctions
are described regarding: giving.
“Om Tat
Sat: these three words represent
Brahman, from Which come priests and scriptures and sacrifice.
“Those
who follow the Vedas, therefore, always repeat the word Om when offering sacrifices,
performing spiritual disciplines, or giving gifts.
“Those
(searching for) liberation and not any personal benefit add the word Tat when
performing these acts of worship, discipline, and charity.
“Sat
means ‘that which is’; it also indicates
(benevolence). Therefore it is used to
describe a worthy deed.” (v23-26).
“O
Krishna, destroyer of evil, please explain to me sannyasa and tyaga and how one
kind od renunciation differs from another.”
(v1).
“To
refrain from selfish acts is one king of renunciation, called sannyasa; to renounce the fruit of action is another,
called tyaga.
“Among
the wise, some say that all action should be renounced as evil. Others say that certain kinds of
action—self-sacrifice, giving, and self-discipline—should be continued.
“Listen,
Arjuna, and I will explain three kinds of tyaga and (My) conclusions them.
“Self-sacrifice,
giving, and self-discipline should not be renounced, for they purify the
thoughtful.
“Yet
even these, Arjuna, should be performed without desire for selfish
rewards. This is essential.” (v2-6).
“Self-sacrifice,
giving, and self-discipline should not be renounced, for they purify the
thoughtful.
“Yet
even these, Arjuna, should be performed without desire for selfish
rewards. This is essential.” (v5-6).
Distinctions
(amidst the gunas) are described for:
renunciation.
“As
long as one has a body, one cannot renounce action altogether. True renunciation is giving up all desire for
personal reward.” (v11).
“Listen,
Arjuna, and I will explain the five elements necessary for the accomplishment
of every action, as taught by the wisdom of Sankhya.
“The
body, the means, the ego, the performance of the act, and the divine will:
“these
are the five factors in all actions, right or wrong, in thought, word, or deed.”
“Those
who do not understand this think of themselves as separate agents. With their crude intellects they fail to see
the (Truth).
“The
person who is free from ego, who has attained purity of heart, though he slays
these people, he does not slay and is not bound by his action.” (v13-17).
“Knowledge,
the thing to be known, and the knower:
these three promote action. The
means, the act itself, and the doer:
these three are the totality of action.
“Knowledge,
action, and the doer can be described according to the gunas. Listen, and I will explain their distinctions
to you.” (v18-19).
Differences
are described regarding: knowledge,
work, workers, intellect, personal will, and happiness.
“The
different responsibilities found in the social order—distinguishing Brahmin,
Kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra—have their roots in this conditioning.” (v41).
Responsibilities
of each caste are described.
“He who
is free from selfish attachments, who has mastered himself and his passions,
attains the supreme perfection of freedom from action.” (v49).
“Unerring
in his discrimination, sovereign of his senses and passions, free from the
clamor of likes and dislikes,
“he
leads a simple, self-reliant life based on meditation, controlling his speech,
body, and mind.
“Free
from self-will, aggressiveness, arrogance, anger, and the lust to possess
people or things, he is at peace with himself and others and enters into the
unitive state.
“United
with Brahman, ever joyful, beyond the reach of desire and sorrow, he has equal
regard for every living creature and attains supreme devotion to (Me).” (v51-54).
Arjuna
is warned against rebelling against his duties.
--
Is
there any absolute, finite, and/or mutually exclusive tendencies amidst the 3
gunas of sattva, rajas, and tamas? Is it
possible to maintain a combination of either of the 2, or all 3, simultaneously
within a specific endeavour?
Amidst
the consideration of the simply sustaining 1’s life intrinsically deprives the
further sustaining of another (and/or additional life), what is the appropriate
balance of action and consumption within the Universe? Is it possible for an individual to
contribute to a larger extent than 1 consumes?
How can the principle of living beyond a “0 sum game” be appropriately
understood and implemented (in detail, tangibly, pragmatically,
comprehensively, and systemically)?
Does
overcoming the gunas involve overcoming the varnas?
Is it
possible to have equal regard for all beings, and simultaneously recognise the
distinctions between beings?
--
Dhammapada
Chapters 21 - 26
“If by forsaking a small pleasure one finds a great
joy, he who is wise will look to the greater and leave what is less.
“He who (searches for) happiness for himself by
making others unhappy is bound in the chains of hate and from those he cannot
be free.” (v290-291).
“And a saint, a Brahmin, is pure from past
sins; even if he had killed his father
and mother, had murdered two noble kings, and had ravaged a whole kingdom and
its people.” (v294).
The “awakeness” of the followers of the Buddha is
described.
“The followers of the Buddha Gotama are awake and
for ever watch; and ever by night and by
day they find joy in supreme contemplation.”
(v301).
“It is painful to leave the world; it is painful to be in the world; and it is painful to be alone amongst the
many. The long road of transmigration is
a road of pain for the traveller: let
him rest by the road and be free.”
(v302).
“If a man has faith and has virtue, then he has
(True) glory and treasure. Wherever that
man may go, there he will be held in honour.
“The (benevolent) shine from far away, like the
Himalaya mountains; but the wicked are in darkness, like arrows thrown in the
night.
“He who can be alone and rest alone and is never
weary of his great work, he can live in joy, when master of himself, by the
edge of the forest of desires.”
(v303-305).
“He who says what is not goes down the path of
hell; and he who says he has not done
what he knows well he has done. Both in
the end have to suffer, because both sinned against Truth.” (v1).
“Many wear the yellow robe whose life is not pure,
who have not self-control. Those evil
men through their evil deeds are reborn in a hell of evil.” (v2).
“For it were better for an evil man to swallow a
ball of red-hot iron rather than he should eat offerings of food give to him by
(benevolent) people.” (v308).
Adultery is shunned.
“For when acts of devotion are carelessly performed,
when sacred vows are broken, and when the holy life is not pure, not great
fruit can come from such a life.”
(v312).
“When a man has something to do, let him do it with
all his might. A thoughtless pilgrim
only raises dust on the road—the dust of dangerous desires.” (v313).
“Better to do nothing than to do what is wrong, for
wrongdoing brings burning sorrow. Do
therefore what is right, for (benevolent) deeds never bring pain.” (v314).
Misguided is shunned.
“I will endure words that hurt in silent peace as
the strong elephant endures in battle arrows sent by the bow, for many people
lack self-control.” (v1).
“They take trained elephants to battle, and kings
ride on royal trained elephants. The
best of men are self-trained men, those who can endure abuse in peace.
“Mules when trained are (benevolent), and so are
noble horses of Sindh. Strong elephants
when trained are (benevolent); but the
best is the man who trains himself.”
(v321-322).
“The man who is lazy and a glutton, who eats large
meals and rolls in sleep, who is like a pig which is fed in the sty, this fool
is reborn to a life of death.” (v325).
“In days gone by this mind of mine used to stray
wherever selfish desire or lust or pleasure would lead it. To-day this mind does not stray and is under
the harmony of control, even as a wild elephant is controlled by the trainer.” (v326).
“Find joy in watchfulness; guard well your mind. Uplift yourself from your lower self, even as
an elephant draws himself out of a muddy swamp.” (v327).
“It is sweet to have friends in need; and to share enjoyment is sweet. It is sweet to have done (benevolence) before
death; and to surrender all pain is
sweet.
“It is sweet in this world to be a mother; and to be a father is sweet. It is sweet in this world to be a monk; and to be a saintly Brahmin is sweet.
“It is sweet to enjoy a lifelong virtue; and a pure firm faith is sweet. It is sweet to attain wisdom; and to be free from sin is sweet.” (v331-333).
“If a man watches not for NIRVANA, his cravings grow
like a creeper and he jumps from death to death like a monkey in the forest from
one tree without fruit to another.
“And when his cravings overcome him, his sorrows
increase more and more, like the entangling creeper called birana.
“But whoever is this world overcomes his selfish
cravings, his sorrows fall away from him, like drops of water from a lotus
flower.” (v334-336).
“There in love I tell you, to you all who have come
here: Cut off the bonds of desires, as
the surface grass creeper birana is cut for its fragrant foot called
usira. Be not like a reed by a stream
which Mara, the devil of temptation, crushes again and again.” (v337).
“Just as a tree, though cut down, can grow again and
again if its roots are undamaged and strong, in the same way if the roots of
craving are not wholly uprooted sorrows will come again and again.” (v338).
Temptations of pleasure are described.
“He who enjoys peaceful thoughts, who considers the
sorrows of pleasure, and who ever remembers the light of his life—he will see
the end of his cravings, he will break the chains of death.
“He has reached the end of his journey, he trembles
not, his cravings are gone, he is free from sin, he has burtn the thorns of
life: this is his last mortal body.
“He is free from lust, he is free from greed, he
knows the meaning of words, and the meaning of their combinations, he is a
great man, a great man who sees the Light:
this is his last mortal body.
“I have conquered all; I know all, and my life is pure; I have left all, and I am free from
craving. I myself found the way. Whom shall I call Teacher? Whom shall I teach?” (v350-353).
“The gift of Truth conquers all gifts. The taste of Truth conquers all
sweetness. The Joy of Truth conquers all
pleasures. The loss of desires conquers
all sorrows.” (v354).
“(Beneficial) is the control of the eye, and (beneficial)
is the control of the ear; (beneficial)
is the control of smell, and (beneficial) is the control of taste.
“(Beneficial) is the control of the body, and
(beneficial) is the control of words;
(beneficial) is the control of the mind, and (beneficial) is the control
of our whole inner life. When a monk has
achieved perfect self-control, he leaves all sorrows behind.” (v360-361).
“For whom ‘name and form’ are not (Real), who never
feels ‘this is mine,’ and who sorrows not for things that are not, he in
(Truth) can be called a monk.” (v367).
“Cut off the five—selfishness, doubt, wrong
austerities and rites, lust, hate; throw
off the five—desire to be born with a body, or without a body, self-will,
restlessness, ignorance; but cherish
five—faith, watchfulness, energy, contemplation, vision. He who has broken the five fetters—lust,
hate, delusion, pride, false views—is one who has crossed to the other
shore.” (v370).
“Arise! Rouse
thyself by thy Self; train thyself by
thy Self. Under the shelter of thy Self,
and ever watchful, thou shalt live in supreme joy.
“For thy Self is the master of thyself, and thy Self
is thy refuge. Train therefore thyself
well, even as a merchant trains a fine horse.”
(v379-380).
“In a fullness of delight and of faith in the
teaching of Buddha, the mendicant monk finds peace supreme and, beyond the
transience of time, he will find the joy of Eternity, the joy supreme of
NIRVANA.” (v381).
“Go beyond the stream, Brahmin, go with all your
soul: leave desires behind. When you have crossed the stream of Samsara,
you will reach the land of NIRVANA.”
(v383).
“When beyond meditation and contemplation a Brahmin
has reached the other shore, then he attains the supreme vision and all his
fetters are broken.” (v384).
“He who lives in contemplation, who is pure and is
in peace, who has done what was to be done, who is free from passions, who has
reached the Supreme end—him I call a Brahmin.”
(v386).
“One should never hurt a Brahmin; and a Brahmin should never return evil for evil. Alas for the man who hurts a Brahmin! Alas for the Brahmin who returns evil for
evil!” (v389).
Characteristics of a genuine Brahmin are provided.
--
How is
Verse 294 to be appropriately understood?
How do the phenomena of forgiveness, teshuvah, atonement, repentance,
redemption, jihad, Samadhi, prayer, and transcendence factor within this
teaching? How might these principles be
evidences within the respective teachings and narratives of the Torah, Bhagavad
Gita, Gospels, and Koran, as well, and within the respective teachings of
additional religious traditions?
Why do
English translations of the Dhammapada refer to the Buddha’s Sangha (followers
of the Buddha) in the 3rd person plural (compared with the 1st
person plural)?
Does
the Buddhist doctrine have any tendency of over-emphasising the experience of
pain (thus exhibiting a certain absence of indifference towards such experience
of pain)?
What is
the nature of the criticism that the Dhammapada provides regarding the
transgressive practises of the religious leaders (ascetics) who are
contemporaries of the Buddha? How does
this compare with similar criticisms that are respectively shared by Moshe,
Muhammad (PBUH), and Jesus (and perhaps regarding the contemporaries of
Arjuna), and within additional religious traditions?
Many of
the teachings of righteousness within the Dhammapada (as with the many
respective teachings from numerous traditions) are provided within rather
absolute terms; how can such teachings
of righteousness be appropriately practised within this temporal Realm, with
its apparently inevitable tendencies for compromise and necessities for
material sustenance?
There
is the consideration that both Judaism and Hinduism are respectively predicated
upon familial ties, and maintain social constructs based upon familial
lineage; whereas both Buddhism and
Christianity fundamentally challenge the spiritual significance of such
familial lineages and social constructs (and simultaneously [and arguably]
teach doctrines of celibacy and social cooperation beyond familial
relations; and it may considered that
Islam emerges (geographically, culturally, and additionally) between these 2
respective strands of religious traditions, and that Islam provides the
emergence of a “new era” of religious traditions (with Sikhism, the Baha’i
Faith, and additional traditions) that both emphasise cooperation amidst
familial distinctions (similar to Buddhism and Christianity) as well as the
significance of marriage and familial relations and lineages (similar to
Judaism and Hinduism); is there any
legitimacy within this observation, and if so, what may be some additional
consideration from this, as well?
--
Gospels
John 14 – 21
“Let
not your hearts be troubled; believe in
God, believe also in me. In my
(Creator’s) house are many rooms; if it
were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a palce for you, I
will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be
also.” (v1-3).
Thomas
doubts Jesus’s proclamation.
“Jesus
said to him, ‘I am the way, and the (Truth), and the life; no one comes to the (Creator), but by
me.” (v6).
“Truly,
(Truly), I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I
do; and greater works than these will he
do, because I go to the (Creator).”
(v12).
“These
things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the
(Creator) will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace
I give to you; not as the world gives do
I give to you. Let not your hearts be
troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
(v25-27).
“I am
the (True) vine, and my (Creator) is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit,
(Deus) takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit (Deus) prunes, that it
may bear more fruit. You are already
made clean by the word which I have spoken to you.” (v1-3).
“This
is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man
lay down his life for his friends. You
are my friends if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his
master is doing; but I have called you
friends, for all that I have learned from my (Creator) I have made known to
you. You did not choose me, but I chose
you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit
should abide; so that whatever you ask
the (Creator) in my name, (Deus) may give it to you. This I command you, to love one another.” (v12-17).
“If the
world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would
love its own; but because you are not of
the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (v18-19).
“Remember
the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute
you; if they kept my word, they will
keep yours also.” (v20).
“I have
said all this to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills
you will think he is offering service to God.
And they will do this because they have not known the (Creator), nor
me. But I have said these things to you,
that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them.” (1-4).
“I did
not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to (Deus) who sent
me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are
you going?’” (v4-6).
“I have
yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the spirit of (Truth) comes, (the
Spirit) will not speak on (the Spirit’s) own authority, but whatever (the
Spirit) hears (the Spirit) will speak, and (the Spirit) will declare to you the
things that are to come.” (v12-13).
“I have
said this to you in figures; the hour is
coming when I shall no longer speak to you in figures but tell you plainly of
the (Creator).” (v25).
“I have
said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of (benevoelt) cheer, I have overcome
the world.” (v33).
“When Jesus
had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, “(Deus), the
hour has come; glorify thy Son that the
Son may glorify (Thee),” (v1)
“for I
have given them the words which (Thou) gavest me, and they have received them
and know in (Truth) that I came from (Thee);
and they have believed that (Thou) didst send me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those
whom (Thou) has given me, for they are (Thine);
all mine are (Thine), and (Thine) are mine, and I am glorified in them.” (v8-10).
“I do
not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their
word, that they ma all be one; even as
(Thou), (Deus), art in me, and I in (Thee), that they also may be in (Us), so
that the world may believe that (Thou) hast sent me.” (v20-21).
“When
Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples across the
Kidron valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.” (v1).
Judas
arrives to betray Jesus; and Jesus is
captured.
Peter
denies Jesus thrice before the cock crows.
Jesus
is brought before Pilate.
The
crowd demands the release of Barabbas, rather than Jesus.
“Then
Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. And the
soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in
a purple robe;” (v1-2).
The
crowd demands Jesus’s crucifixion.
Jesus
is crucified.
“After
this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), ‘I
thirst.’ A bowl full of vinegar stood
there; so they put a sponge full of the
vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth.
When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, ‘It is finished;’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (v28-30).
Joseph
of Arimathea takes Jesus’s body for burial;
and Nicodemus helps with the preparation.
“Now on
the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was
still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” (v1).
Peter
and another disciple race to see Jesus’s empty tomb.
2
angels speak to Mary at Jesus’s tomb.
Jesus
appears to Mary.
Jesus
appears to additional disciples.
Thomas
is absent from Jesus’s appearance and doubts Jesus’s appearance.
Jesus
returns and appears before Thomas.
“After
this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he revealed himself in this way.” (v1).
Jesus
appears on the beach whilst his disciples are fishing.
Jesus
questions Peter’s Faith.
“When
they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do
you love me more than these?’ He said to
him, ‘Yes, (Leader); you know that I
love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my
lambs.’” (v15).
“But
there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I
suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (v25).
--
What is
the nature of the Holy Spirit as Jesus describes this?
What is
the nature of the friendship that Jesus describes?
What is
the nature and the purpose of the antagonism that Jesus describes between his
disciples and “the world”?
What
may exist within the teachings that Jesus abstains from explicitly sharing with
his disciples?
What is
the nature of the distinction that Jesus describes between those who are of
Jesus and the rest of the World?
--
Koran
Sura 114: Al Nas: The Men
“Say: I (search for) refuge in the Lord of men,
“The
(Sovereign) of men,
“The
God of men,
“From
the evil of the whisperings of the slinking devil,
“Who
whispers into the hearts of men,
“From
among the jinn and the men.” (v1-6).
--
How
does the conclusion of the Koran compare and contrast with the Fatihah (the “Opening”
of the Koran)? How does this also
compare and contrast with the conclusion and opening of the Torah, as well as
the respective conclusions and openings of the Gospels, the Bhagavad Gita, the
Digha Nikaya, the Dhammapada, and the respective Holy Scriptures from
additional traditions?
--
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.
.
.
.
ૐ.
אמן .
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