A providence of God may be discerned in the history of the
rise and fall of nations and their rulers. Recognition that God
is active in history and guiding the course of nations was a
first principle of the revelation to the Jews of ancient Israel.
They saw God deliver a band of slaves from the yoke of Pharaoh,
and later they recognized God's providence in His dispensing blessings
and punishments to the nation of Israel according as they were
faithful or disobedient to God's will. Similarly, the Classics of Confucianism
speak of Heaven's guidance in the affairs of state according to
the Mandate of Heaven. Heaven hears the cries of the oppressed
and overthrows corrupt regimes, taking the Mandate from them and
giving it to new leaders and favoring their revolutions.
Comparable notions are also found in the scriptures of Islam,
Sikhism, Buddhism, and African traditional religions.
The passages in this section describe God's providence in
determining the fate of rulers and nations according to two
criteria. First, a nation should be obedient to God's covenant
and God's messengers, give reverence to Heaven, and present honor and
support to sages and religious teachers. Second, a nation should
promote the welfare of the people, ruling them with justice and
benevolence, for "Heaven hears as our people see and
hear."
Every assembly which is for the sake of
Heaven will in the end be established, and every assembly which is
not for the sake of Heaven will in the end not be established.
1. Judaism.
Mishnah, Abot 4.14
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Abot 4.14: This is similar to the advice which the New Testament
records that Rabbi Gamaliel gave the council of Jewish elders
regarding the early Christians in Acts 5.38-39, p. 66. Cf.
Precious Garland 327, p. 897.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
In the land of softly lapping waves, the Heart of the kami
has turned hard. Leaving the capital in ruins, which I see, and
feel how sad.
2. Shinto.
Man'yoshu I
Have they not traveled in the land to see the nature of the
consequence for those who disbelieved before them? They were mightier
than those in power [today] and in the traces which they left
behind them in the earth. Yet God seized them for their sins, and
they had no protector from God.
That was because their messengers kept bringing them clear
proofs of God's sovereignty but they disbelieved; so God seized them.
Lo! He is Strong, Severe in punishment.
3. Islam. Qur'an
40.21-22
Dishonesty about spoil has not appeared among a people
without God casting terror into their hearts; fornication does
not become widespread among a people without death being
prevalent among them; people do not give short measure and weight
without having their provision cut off; people do not judge unjustly
without bloodshed becoming widespread among them; and people are
not treacherous about a covenant without the enemy being given
authority over them.
4. Islam. Hadith
of Malik
If there is an evil-minded king who practices wrong
teachings, interferes with the disciples of the Buddha, slanders
them, speaks ill of them, hurts them with sticks and swords, robs
them of their daily necessities, and bothers those who support them,
the king of Brahma Heaven and Indra will immediately send foreign
armies to attack him. And also his evil acts will cause several
sufferings: civil wars, famines, unseasonable storms, fightings,
and court fights in this country. They will also cause him to
lose his country before long.
5. Buddhism.
Ta-fa-teng-ta-chi-ching
I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working
at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in
the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it
seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came
to me, "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this
potter has done? says the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's
hand, so are you in my hand, O people of Israel. If at any time I
declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and
break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I
have spoken, turns from this evil, I will repent of the evil that
I intended to do it. And if at any time I declare concerning a
nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it
does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will repent
of the good, which I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore,
say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 'Thus
says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping evil against you and devising
a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and
amend your ways and your doings.'"
6. Judaism and
Christianity. Jeremiah 18.3-11
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Qur'an 40.21-22: Cf. Nahjul Balagha, Khutba 21, p. 898.
Ta-fa-teng-ta-chi-ching: This excerpt was quoted by Nichiren in his
treatise on the value of his ministry for the salvation of the
nation of Japan. Cf. Precious Garland 237, p. 897. Jeremiah 18.3-11:
Cf. 2 Timothy 2.21-22, p. 629; 2 Chronicles 7.14, p. 776; Jonah
3.3-10, pp. 777f.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Ananda, so long as the Vajjians assemble in harmony and
disperse in harmony; so long as they do their business in
harmony; so long as they introduce no revolutionary ordinance, or
break up no established ordinance, but abide by the old-time
Vajjian Norm, as ordained; so long as they honor, reverence, esteem,
and worship the elders among the Vajjians and deem them worthy of
listening to; so long as the women and maidens of the families
dwell without being forced or abducted; so long as they honor, revere,
esteem, and worship the Vajjian shrines, both the inner and the
outer; so long as they allow not the customary offerings, given
and performed, to be neglected; so long as the customary watch
and ward over the arahants that are among them is well kept, so
that they may have free access to the realm and having entered
may dwell pleasantly therein; just so long as they do these things,
Ananda, may the prosperity of the Vajjians be looked for and not
their decay.
7. Buddhism.
Digha Nikaya ii.73
When your son asks you in time to come, "What is the
meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances
which the Lord our God has commanded you?" then you shall
say to your son, "We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt; and the
Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the Lord showed
signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against
Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes; and he brought us
out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land
which he swore to give our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to
do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good
always, that he might preserve us alive, as at this day. And it
will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this
commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.
....For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord
your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession,
out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth. It was
not because you were more in number than any other people that
the Lord set his love upon you and chose you, for you were the
fewest of all peoples; but it is because the Lord loves you, and
is keeping the oath which he swore to your fathers, that the Lord
has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house
of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt....
And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has
led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble
you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you
would keep his commandments, or not. And he humbled you and let
you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor
did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does
not live by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that
proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear
out upon you, and your foot did not swell, these forty years.
Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the
Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments
of the Lord your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him.
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of
brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys
and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and
pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which
you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack
nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you
can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall
bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
Take heed lest you forget the Lord your God, by not keeping
his commandments and his ordinances and his statutes, which I command
you this day: lest, when you have eaten and are full, and have
built goodly houses and live in them, and when your herds and
flocks multiply, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all
that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and
you forget the Lord.... Beware lest you say in your heart,
"My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth." You
shall remember the Lord your God, that it is he who gives you
power to get wealth; that he may confirm his covenant which he
swore to your fathers, as at this day. And if you forget the Lord
your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them,
I solemnly warn you this day that you shall surely perish. Like
the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall
you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your
God.
8. Judaism and
Christianity. Deuteronomy 6.20-8.20
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Deuteronomy 6.20-8.20: Deuteronomy 6.20-25, 7.6-8, 8.2-14, 17-20.
The Exodus is the first instance of God's activity in history to
redeem an oppressed people. It has served as a model for subsequent revolutions,
both religious and secular. The politics of the Exodus is not
utopian; it remains realistic in its estimation of human weakness
and finitude. Even after liberation, people who were once slaves
may continue to think and act like slaves until they are educated
in the ways of freedom. This is the purpose of the Covenant and
the forty years of discipline in the wilderness. Israel must
become conscious of its vocation as a people holy to God, set
apart from other nations, to exalt God by obeying the commandments
and ordinances of the Sinai Covenant. Otherwise there is always
the possibility of backsliding, of longing for "the
fleshpots of Egypt," as in the incident of the Golden Calf, Exodus
32.1-6, pp. 406-7. The Covenant between God and Israel includes
blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience: cf.
Deuteronomy 11.26-28, p. 675; 2 Samuel 2.4-9, pp. 545-46; Hosea 4.1-3,
p. 318.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
King Wen is on high; Oh! bright is he in heaven. Although
Chou was an old country, The appointment lighted on it recently. Illustrious
was the House of Chou, And the appointment of God came at the proper
season. King Wen ascends and descends On the left and right of
God....
Profound was King Wen; Oh! continuous and bright was his
feeling of reverence. Great is the appointment of Heaven! There were
the descendants of Shang;-- The descendants of the sovereigns of Shang
Were in number more than hundreds of thousands; But when God gave
the command, They became subject to Chou.
They became subject to Chou; The appointment of Heaven is not
constant. The officers of Yin, admirable and alert, Assist at the
libations in our capital;-- They assist at those libations,
Always wearing the hatches on their lower garment and their peculiar
cap. O ye loyal ministers of the king, Ever think of your
ancestor!
Ever think of your ancestor, Cultivating your virtue, Always
striving to accord with the will of Heaven. So shall you be
seeking for much happiness. Before Yin lost the multitudes, Its
kings were the assessors of God. Look to Yin as a beacon; The
great appointment is not easily preserved.
The appointment is not easily preserved; Do not cause your own
extinction. Display and make bright your righteousness and name,
And look at the fate of Yin in the light of Heaven. The doings of
High Heaven Have neither sound nor smell. Take your pattern from
King Wen, And the myriad regions will repose confidence in you.
9. Confucianism.
Book of Songs, Ode 235
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Book of Songs, Ode 235: King Wen was the illustrious founder of
the Shang dynasty; he was a righteous king who earned the Mandate
of Heaven. But when his descendant King Yin brought corruption
and troubles to the land, the Mandate of Heaven was lost and a
new dynasty, the House of Chou, came to rule. In this poem the
rulers of Chou and their subjects, the former retainers of Yin,
are admonished to take a lesson from the fate of the previous
dynasty. See the following passage.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
The Duke of Chou said, "I make an announcement to all
Yin and managers of affairs. Oh, august Heaven, the Lord-on-High, has
changed his principal son [the ruler] and this great state Yin's
mandate. Now that the king has received the mandate, unbounded is
the grace, but also unbounded is the solicitude. Oh, how can he
be but careful!
"Heaven has removed and made an end to the great state
Yin's mandate. There were many former wise kings of Yin in Heaven,
and the later kings and people here managed their mandate. But in
the end [under the last king] wise and good men lived in misery
so that, leading their wives and carrying their children, wailing
and calling to Heaven, they went to where no one could come and
seize them. Oh, Heaven had pity on the people of the four
quarters, and looking with affection and giving its mandate, it employed
the zealous ones [the leaders of the Chou]. May the king now
urgently pay careful attention to his virtue.
"Look at the ancient predecessors, the lords of Hsia;
Heaven indulged them and cherished and protected them. They
strove to comprehend the obedience to Heaven; but in these times
they have lost their mandate....
"We do not presume to know and say that the lords of Hsia
undertook Heaven's mandate so as to have it for so-and-so many
years; we do not presume to know and say that it could not have
been prolonged. It was that they did not reverently attend to
their virtue, and so they prematurely renounced their mandate. We
do not presume to know and say that the lords of Yin received
Heaven's mandate for so-and-so many years; we do not know and say
that it could not have been prolonged. It was that they did not
reverently attend to their virtue, and so they prematurely threw
away their mandate. Now the king has succeeded to and received
their mandate. We should then also remember the mandates of these
two states and succeeding to them equal their merits."
10.
Confucianism. Book of History 5.12.2, Announcement of the Duke of
Chou
Beware of the plea of the oppressed, for he asks God Most
High only for his due, and God does not keep the one who has a right
from receiving what is due.
11. Islam.
Hadith of Baihaqi
Heaven hears and sees as our people hear and see; Heaven
brightly approves and displays its terrors as our people brightly approve
and would fear; such connection is there between the upper and
lower worlds. How reverent ought the masters of the earth to be!
12.
Confucianism. Book of History 2.3.3, Counsels of Kao Yao
I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and
have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings,
and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a
land flowing with milk and honey.
13. Judaism and
Christianity. Exodus 3.7-8
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Book of History 2.3.3: Cf. Book of History 5.1.1, p. 902; Hagiga
5b, p. 902. Exodus 3.7-8: This is from the call of Moses, Exodus
3.1-4.16, pp. 514f.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Whoever vows to tyrannize the humble and the meek The Supreme
Lord burns him in flames. The Creator dispenses perfect justice,
And preserves His servants. His majesty is manifest from the
primal hour to the end of time! The traducer is destroyed,
afflicted with a great malady. He is destroyed by Him, against
whom no savior exists: Of such here and hereafter, evil is his
repute. He cherishes His servants, clasping them to His bosom.
14. Sikhism. Adi
Granth, Gauri, M.5, p. 199
Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the people of `Ad,
With the city of Iram, with lofty pillars, The like of which were
not produced in all the land? And with the people of Thamud, who
cut out huge rocks in the valley?-- And with Pharaoh, Lord of
Stakes? All these transgressed beyond bounds in the lands And
heaped therein mischief on mischief. Therefore did your Lord pour
on them a scourge of diverse chastisements: For your Lord is as a
guardian on a watchtower.
15. Islam.
Qur'an 89.6-14
On us shall descend some awful curse, Like the curse that
descended in far-off times. Thus speaks the Creator of men, But the
men refuse to listen. On us shall descend some awful curse, Like
the curse that descended in far-off times: We have but one word
to say: Idle about! Sink in sloth! Men of such kind will gain
nothing from the Father, For they know not his voice. He is the
one who loves man.
16. African
Traditional Religions. Dinka Prayer (Sudan)
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Gauri, M.5: Cf. Gauri Sukhmani 12, M.5, pp. 475f. Qur'an 89.6-14:
`Ad and Thamud were civilizations whose extensive ruins could
still be seen by the people of Muhammad's day. They were a reminder
that God's judgment could doom mighty nations. See Qur'an
14.9-15, p. 880; also Obadiah 3-4, p. 354; Isaiah 2.12-17, p.
354.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Mencius said, "The Three Dynasties won the empire
through benevolence and lost it through cruelty. This is true of
the rise and fall, survival and collapse, of states as well. An
emperor cannot keep the empire within the Four Seas unless he is benevolent;
a feudal lord cannot preserve the altars to the gods of earth and
grain unless he is benevolent; a minister or a counsellor cannot
preserve his ancestral temple unless he is benevolent; a
gentleman or a commoner cannot preserve his four limbs unless he
is benevolent. To dislike death yet revel in cruelty is no
different from drinking beyond your capacity despite your dislike
of drunkenness."
17.
Confucianism. Mencius IV.A.3
Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers
who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may
be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
What will you do on the day of punishment, in the storm which
will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where
will you leave your wealth? Nothing remains but to crouch among
the prisoners or fall among the slain. For all this his anger is
not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
18. Judaism and
Christianity. Isaiah 10.1-4
God did not make the kanyinkanyin insect As big as a horse.
Had He made it as big, the insect would be stinging people to death.
God does not elevate People who would ridicule the unfortunate.
God does not give power To those who would be wicked to their
fellowmen. No one gains anything through being wicked.
When the wicked are prosperous, And the righteous are not, If
the situation continues for long The righteous become frustrated.
Like a small needle, That is how one first starts the act of
falsehood. The day it becomes as big as a hoe, It kills.
19. African
Traditional Religions Yoruba Song (Nigeria)
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Mencius IV.A.3: Cf. Mencius I.A.6, 242; Tao Te Ching 77, p. 475.
Isaiah 10.1-4: Cf. 1 Samuel 2.4-9, p. 475.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
The Lord protected Khorasan from Babur's invasion And on
Hindustan let loose terror. The Lord Himself punishes not: So He
sent down the Mughal Babur, dealing death as Yama. As the people wailed in
their agony of suffering, Didst Thou feel no compassion for them?
Thou who art Creator of all-- Should a powerful foe molest one
equally powerful, Little would the mind be grieved; But when a ferocious
tiger falls upon a herd of kine, Then must the Master be called
to account. These dogs [profligate rulers] that despoiled the
jewels [India's resources] and wasted them, Now shameful will be their
end. Thou alone dost join and unjoin-- Such is the greatness of
Thy might. Whoever arrogates to himself greatness, Tasting all
pleasures to satiety, In the eyes of the Lord is only a worm
picking grain.
20. Sikhism. Adi
Granth, Asa, M.1, p. 360
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, "Stand in
the gate of the Lord's House, and proclaim there this word, and say,
Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who enter these
gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God
of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and I will let you
dwell in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words, 'This
is the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of
the Lord.'
"For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you
truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the alien,
the fatherless or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this
place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then
I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old
to your fathers forever.
"Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will
you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense
to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and
then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my
name, and say, 'We are delivered!'--only to go on doing all these abominations?
Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of
robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, says the
Lord.
"Go now to my place that was at Shiloh, where I made my
name dwell at first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness
of my people Israel. And now, because you have done all these
things, says the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently you did
not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore
I will do to the House which is called by my name, and in which
you trust, to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers,
as I did to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I
cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim."
21. Judaism and
Christianity. Jeremiah 7.1-15
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Asa, M.1: This is another of Guru Nanak's meditations on the
Mughal invasion of India. He concludes that it was justified by the
profligacy and corruption of India's rulers. Cf. Asa Ashtpadi,
M.1, p. 909. Jeremiah 7.1-5: In this, the famous Temple Sermon,
Jeremiah castigates those who continued breaking God's covenant
secure in the belief that God will never allow His Temple to be
destroyed. He points to examples of old: the tabernacle at Shiloh
which was destroyed by the Philistines, and the Northern Kingdom
of Israel (Ephraim), which was conquered and exiled by Assyria.
Note how he accuses them of violating the Ten Commandments: cf.
Hosea 4.1-3, p. 279; Exodus 20.1-17, pp. 153-54.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
God has reversed his usual course of procedure, And the lower
people are full of distress. The words which you utter are not right;
The plans which you form are not far-reaching. As there are not
sages, you think you have no guidance;-- You have no real
sincerity. Your plans do not reach far, And I therefore carefully
admonish you.
Heaven is now sending down calamities;-- Do not be so
complacent. Heaven is now producing such movements;-- Do not be
so indifferent. If your words were harmonious, The people would
become united. If your words were gentle and kind, The people
would be settled.
Though my duties are different than yours, I am your fellow
servant. I come to advise with you, And you hear me with contemptuous
indifference. My words are about the present urgent affairs;-- Do
not think them matter for laughter. The ancients had a saying,
"Consult the gatherers of grass and firewood."
Heaven is now exercising oppression;-- Do not in such a way
make a mock of things. An old man, I speak with entire sincerity;
But you, my juniors, are full of pride. It is not that my words
are those of age, But you make a joke of what is said. But the
troubles will multiply like flames, Till they are beyond help or
remedy.
Heaven is now displaying its anger;-- Do not be either
boastful or flattering, Utterly departing from all propriety of
demeanor, Till good men are reduced to personators of the dead.
The people now sigh and groan, And we dare not examine into the causes
of their trouble. The ruin and disorder are exhausting all their
means of living, And we show no kindness to our multitudes.
Heaven enlightens the people, As the bamboo flute responds to
the earthen whistle; As two half-maces form a whole one; As you
take a thing, and bring it away in your hand, Bringing it away, without
any more ado. The enlightenment of the people is very easy. They
have now so many perversities;-- Do not you set up your
perversity before them.
Revere the anger of Heaven, And presume not to make sport or
be idle. Revere the changing moods of Heaven, And presume not to
drive about at your pleasure. Great Heaven is intelligent, And is
with you in all your goings. Great Heaven is clear-seeing, And is
with you in your wanderings and indulgences.
22.
Confucianism. Book of Songs, Ode 254
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Book of Songs, Ode 254: This poem is an admonition to the court,
written by an elder official whose counsel is no longer being
taken. He is evidently a former high official, yet he in humility
numbers himself among 'the gatherers of grass and firewood.' Such
admonitions were a traditional way of offering loyal, constructive
criticism; cf. Book of History 4.8.1-3, p. 896. The writer
asserts that Heaven is displaying its anger and signaling its
removal of the Mandate from a ruler by bringing floods, earthquakes,
rebellions and civil strife, and inauspicious signs in the
heavens; cf. Hosea 4.1-3, p. 279; Anguttara Nikaya i.50, p. 279.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
The Thirty-three great gods assign the fortune of the king.
The ruler of men is created as son of all the gods, To put a stop
to unrighteousness, to prevent evil deeds, To establish all
beings in well-doing, and to show them the way to heaven. Whether man,
or god, or fairy, or demon, Or outcaste, he is a true king who
prevents evil deeds. Such a king is mother and father to those
who do good. He was appointed by the gods to show the results of
karma....
But when a king disregards the evil done in his kingdom, And
does not inflict just punishment on the criminal, From his
neglect of evil, unrighteousness grows apace, And fraud and
strife increase in the land.
The Thirty-three great gods grow angry in their palaces When
the king disregards the evil done in his kingdom.
Then the land is afflicted with fierce and terrible crime, And
it perishes and falls into the power of the enemy. Then property, families,
and hoarded wealth all vanish, And with varied deeds of deceit
men ruin one another. Whatever his reasons, if a king does not do
his duty He ruins his kingdom, as a great elephant a bed of
lotuses.
Harsh winds blow, and rain falls out of season, Planets and
stars are unpropitious, as are the moon and sun, Corn, flowers, and
fruit and seed do not ripen properly, And there is famine, when
the king is negligent...
Then all the kings of the gods say to one another, "This
king is unrighteous, he has taken the side of unrighteousness!"
Such a king will not for long anger the gods; From the wrath of
the gods his kingdom will perish....
He will be bereft of all that he values, whether by brother or
son, He will be parted from his beloved wife, his daughter will die.
Fire will fall from heaven, and mock-suns also. Fear of the enemy
and hunger will grow apace. His beloved counselor will die, and
his favorite elephant; His favorite horses will die one by one,
and his camels... There will be strife and violence and fraud in
all the provinces; Calamity will afflict the land, and terrible
plague.... Many ills such as these will befall the land Whose king
is partial in justice and disregards evil deeds....
Therefore a king should abandon his own precious life, But not
the jewel of Righteousness, whereby the world is gladdened.
23. Buddhism.
Golden Light Sutra 12
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Golden Light Sutra 12: This sutra is important for the Nichiren
schools of Japanese Buddhism, where the teaching of Buddhism has
been understood as defending the security of the nation. The Thirty-three
gods are deities of an intermediate heaven who operate in the
world of desires; they are therefore far subordinate to Ultimate
Reality as manifest in the Buddha and in enlightened beings. They seem
to have a role in manifesting the results of karma. Cf. Anguttara
Nikaya i.50, p. 279; Precious Garland 327, p. 897.
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Thus says the Lord, "For three transgressions of
Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because
they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. So I
will send a fire upon the house of Hazael, and it shall destroy
the strongholds of Ben-Hadad. I will break the bar of Damascus,
and cut off the inhabitants from the valley of Aven, and him that holds
the scepter from Beth-Eden, and the people of Syria shall go into
exile to Kir," says the Lord.
Thus says the Lord, "For three transgressions of Gaza,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they
carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom. So
I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour her strongholds.
I will cut off the inhabitants of Ashdod, and him that holds the
scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the
remnant of the Philistines shall perish," says the Lord God.
Thus says the Lord, "For three transgressions of Tyre,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they
delivered up a whole people to Edom, and did not remember the
covenant of brotherhood. So I will send a fire upon the wall of
Tyre, and it shall devour her strongholds."
Thus says the Lord, "For three transgressions of Edom,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because he
pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity, and
his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever. So I
will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the strongholds
of Bozrah."
Thus says the Lord, "For three transgressions of the
Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because they have ripped up women with child in Gilead, that they
might enlarge their border. So I will kindle a fire in the wall
of Rabbah, and it shall devour her strongholds, with shouting in the
day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind; and
their king shall go into exile, he and his princes
together," says the Lord....
Thus says the Lord, "For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they sell
the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes--
they trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and
turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in
to the same maiden, so that my holy name is profaned; they lay themselves
down beside every altar upon garments taken in pledge; and in the
house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
"Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height
was like the height of the cedars, and who was as strong as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above, and his roots beneath. Also I
brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years
in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised
up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for
Nazirites.
Is this not indeed so, O people of Israel?" says the
Lord.
"But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the
prophets, saying, 'You shall not prophesy.' "Behold, I will
press you down in your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses
down. Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall
not retain his strength, nor shall the mighty save his life; he
who handles the bow shall not stand, and he who is swift of foot
shall not save himself, nor shall he who rides the horse save his
life; and he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee
away naked in that day," says the Lord.
24. Judaism and
Christianity. Amos 1.3-2.16
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Amos 1.3-2.16: Amos preaches that God's providence applies to all
nations; each shall be punished for its sins. But his primary aim
is to convict his own country of Israel. By beginning his
prophecy with a catalogue of the sins of Israel's neighbors and
enemies, this prophet could draw in his audience to approve his
words, that is, until the final ironic stanzas where Israel herself
receives words of judgment. The Amorites were the earlier
inhabitants of Canaan who had been dispossessed by the Israelites;
God allowed them to be destroyed because of their sins (see
Deuteronomy 9.4-5). The Nazirites were those who devoted
themselves to God and vowed not to drink wine or cut their hair; the
most famous Nazirite was Samson.
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