Religious Systems Questions INSTRUCTIONS In the Sacred Texts booklet, you will find three Jewish texts, three Christian texts and three Islamic texts. Fo

Religious Systems Questions INSTRUCTIONS

In the Sacred Texts booklet, you will find three Jewish texts, three Christian texts and three Islamic texts.

For each of the religious systems:

Select one of the texts and explain why you have chosen it as most representative of the religious system;
Address the reasons why the other two readings were not, in your assessment, as representative. You MAY NOT use outside sources to make your case. Limit yourself to the text itself, your lecture notes and your textbook.

Answer the questions found on the Answer Sheet.

Scared text and answer sheet are attached Sacred
Texts
Hinduism
The Chanting of Om
Let a person meditate on the syllable Om, called the
udgitha; for the udgitha is sung, beginning with Om. The full
account of Om is this.
The essence of all beings is the earth, the essence of the
earth is water, the essence of water the plants, the essence of
plants man, the essence of human speech, the essence of
speech the Rig-Veda, the essence of the Rig-Veda the SamaVeda, the essence of the Sama-Veda the udgitha, Om. The
udgitha is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the
highest place, the eighth.
What then is the Rig? What is the Saman? What is the
udgitha?
This is the question.
The Rig is speech, Saman is breath, the udgitha is the
syllable Om. Now speech and breath, or Rig and Saman, form
one couple. That couple is joined in the syllable Om. When
two people come together, they fulfill each other’s desire.
Thus he or she who knowing this meditates on the syllable
Om, the udgitha, becomes a fulfiller of desires.
That syllable is a syllable of permission, for whenever we
permit anything, we say Om, ‘‘Yes.’’ Now permission is
gratification. He or she who knows this and meditates on the
syllable Om becomes a gratifier of desires.
By that syllable proceeds the threefold knowledge (of the
three Vedas). When the Adhvaryu priest gives an order, he says
Om. When the Hotri priest recites, he says Om. When the
Udgatri priest sings, he says Om, all for the glory of that
syllable. The threefold knowledge and threefold sacrifice
proceed by the greatness of that syllable and by its essence.
Therefore it seems that both he and she who knows this
[the true meaning of Om], and he who does not, perform the
same sacrifice. But this is not so, for knowledge and ignorance
are different. The sacrifice that a human performs with
knowledge, faith, and the Upanishad is more powerful.
This is the full account of the syllable Om.
The Chanting of Om
Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.1–10
outcastes
The dwellings of untouchables must be outside the village. They must use
discarded bowls, and their only possessions are their dogs and donkeys.
They take for their clothing the clothes of the dead, and eat their food in
broken dishes. Their ornaments are made of black iron only, and they should
always wander from place to place.
A Hindu person should not deal with them in any way; they must do business
and marry only among themselves. Their food, for which they are dependent
upon others, should be left for them in broken dishes, and they should not
walk at night in cities or villages.
They may walk around during the day to do their work,1 with recognizably
distinctive clothing. They are to carry out the corpses of people with no
relatives. By the king’s command, they are to execute those condemned to
death, and take for themselves the clothes, beds, and ornaments of those
condemned to death.
On Outcastes
The Laws of Manu 10.51–57
1 They may walk around during the day: Some ‘‘Untouchable’’ subgroups are considered so polluting that they must do their work only at night;
hence, they are called ‘‘Unseeables.’’
THE BHAGAVAD-GITA
Arjuna said:
1By the supremely profound words, on the discrimination of Self, that have been spoken by Thee out of compassion towards me,
this my delusion is gone. 2Of Thee, O lotus-eyed, I have heard at length, of the origin and dissolution of beings, as also Thy
inexhaustible greatness. 3So it is, O Lord Supreme! as Thou hast declared Thyself. (Still) I desire to see Thy Ishvara-Form, O Purusha
Supreme. 4If, O Lord, Thou thinkest me capable of seeing it, then, O Lord of Yogis, show me Thy immutable Self.
The Blessed Lord said:
5Behold, O son of Prithâ, by hundreds and thousands, My different forms celestial, of various colours and shapes. 6Behold the
Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the twin Ashvins, and the Maruts; behold, O descendant of Bharata, many wonders never seen
before. 7See now, O Gudâkesha, in this My body, the whole universe centred in one—including the moving and the unmoving—and
all else that thou desirest to see. 8But thou canst not see Me with these eyes of thine; I give thee supersensuous sight; behold My
Yoga Power Supreme.
Sanjaya said:
9Having thus spoken, O King, Hari, the Great Lord of Yoga, showed unto the son of Prithâ, His Supreme Ishvara-Form—10With
numerous mouths and eyes, with numerous wondrous sights, with numerous celestial ornaments, with numerous celestial weapons
uplifted; 11Wearing celestial garlands and apparel, anointed with celestial-scented unguents, the All-wonderful, Resplendent,
Boundless and All-formed. 12If the splendour of a thousand suns were to rise up at once in the sky, that would be like the splendour
of that Mighty Being. 13There in the body of the Kami of gods, the son of Pându then saw the whole universe resting in one, with its
manifold divisions. 14Then Dhananjaya, filled with wonder, with his hair standing on end, bending down his head to the Deva in
adoration, spoke with joined palms.
Arjuna said:
15I see all the Devas, O Deva, in Thy body, and hosts of all grades of beings; Brahma, the Lord, seated on the lotus, and all the Rishis
and celestial serpents. 16I see Thee of boundless form on every side with manifold arms, stomachs, mouths and eyes; neither the
end nor the middle, nor also the beginning of Thee do I see, O Lord of the universe, O Universal Form. 17I see Thee with diadem,
club, and discus; a mass of radiance shining everywhere, very hard to look at, all around blazing like burning fire and sun, and
immeasurable. 18Thou art the Imperishable, the Supreme Being, the one thing to be known. Thou art the great Refuge of this
universe. Thou art the undying Guardian of the Eternal Dharma, Thou art the Ancient, Purusha, I ween. 19I see Thee without
beginning, middle or end, infinite in power, of manifold arms; the sun and the moon Thine eyes, the burning fire Thy mouth; heating
the whole universe with Thy radiance. 20The space betwixt heaven and earth and all the quarters are filled by Thee alone; having
seen this, Thy marvellous and awful Form, the three worlds are trembling with fear, O Great-souled One. 21Verily, into Thee enter
these hosts of Devas; some extol Thee in fear with joined palms; “May it be well!” thus saying, bands of great Rishis and Siddhas
praise Thee with splendid hymns. 22The Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, Sâdhyas, Vishva-Devas, the two Ashvins, Maruts, Ushmapâs, and
hosts of Gandharvas, Yakshas, Asuras, and Siddhas—allthese are looking at Thee, all quite astounded. 23Having seen Thy
immeasurable Form—with many mouths and eyes, O mighty-armed, with many arms, thighs and feet, with many stomachs, and
fearful with many tusks—the worlds are terrified, and so am I. 24On seeing Thee touching the sky, shining in many a colour, with
mouths wide open, with large fiery eyes, I am terrified at heart, and find no courage nor peace, O Vishnu. 25Having seen Thy mouths,
fearful with tusks, (blazing) like Pralaya-fires, I know not the four quarters, nor do I find peace; have mercy, O Lord of the Devas, O
Abode of the universe. 26All these sons of Dhritarâshtra, with hosts of monarchs, Bhishma, Drona, and Sutaputra, with the warrior
chiefs of ours, enter precipitately into Thy mouth, terrible with tusks and fearful to behold. 27Some are found sticking in the
interstices of Thy teeth, with their heads crushed to powder. 28Verily, as the many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean, so do
these heroes in the world of men enter Thy fiercely flaming mouths.29As moths precipitately rush into a blazing fire only to perish,
even so do these creatures also precipitately rush into Thy mouths only to perish. 30Swallowing all the worlds on every side with Thy
flaming mouths, Thou are licking Thy lips. Thy fierce rays, filling the whole world with radiance, are burning, O Vishnu! 31Tell me who
Thou art, fierce in form. Salutation to Thee, O Deva Supreme; have mercy. I desire to know Thee, O Primeval One. I know not indeed
Thy purpose.
The Blessed Lord said:
32I am the mighty world-destroying Time, here made manifest for the purpose of infolding the world. Even without thee, none of the
warriors arrayed in the hostile armies shall live. 33Therefore do thou arise and acquire fame. Conquer the enemies, and enjoy the
unrivalled dominion. Verily by Myself have they been already slain; be thou merely an apparent cause, O Savyasâchin (Arjuna).
34Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna, as well as other brave warriors—these already killed by Me, do thou kill. Be not distressed with
fear; fight, and thou shalt conquer thy enemies in battle.
Sanjaya said:
35Having, heard that speech of Keshava, the diademed one (Arjuna), with joined palms, trembling, prostrated himself, and again
addressed Krishna in a choked voice, bowing down, overwhelmed with fear.
Arjuna said:
36It is meet, O Hrishikesha, that the world is delighted and rejoices in Thy praise, that Râkshasas fly in fear to all quarters and all the
hosts of Siddhas bow down to Thee in adoration. 37And why should they not, O Great-souled One, bow to Thee, greater than, and
the Primal Cause of even Brahmâ, O Infinite Being, O Lord of the Devas, O Abode of the universe? Thou art the Imperishable, the
Being and the non-Being, (as well as) That which is Beyond (them). 38Thou art the Primal Deva, the Ancient Purusha; Thou art the
Supreme Refuge of this universe, Thou art the Knower, and the One Thing to be known; Thou art the Supreme Goal. By Thee is the
universe pervaded, O Boundless Form. 39Thou art Vâyu, Yama, Agni, Varuna, the Moon, Prajâpati, and the Great-Grandfather.
Salutation, salutation to Thee, a thousand times, and again and again salutation, salutation to Thee! 40Salutation to Thee before and
behind, salutation to Thee on every side, O All! Thou, infinite in power and infinite in prowess, pervadest all; wherefore Thou art All.
41Whatever I have presumptuously said from carelessness or love, addressing Thee as, “O Krishna, O Yâdava, O friend,” regarding
Thee merely as a friend, unconscious of this Thy greatness—42in whatever way I may have been disrespectful to Thee in fun, while
walking, reposing, sitting, or at meals, when alone (with Thee), O Achyuta, or in company—I implore Thee, Immeasurable One, to
forgive all this. 43Thou art the Father of the world, moving and unmoving; the object of its worship; greater than the great. None
there exists who is equal to Thee in the three worlds; who then can excel Thee, O, Thou of power incomparable? 44So prostrating my
body in adoration, I crave Thy forgiveness, Lord adorable! As a father forgiveth his son, friend a dear friend, a beloved one his love,
even so shouldst Thou forgive me, O Deva. 45Overjoyed am I to have seen what I saw never before; yet my mind is distracted with
terror. Show me, O Deva, only that Form of Thine. Have mercy, O Lord of Devas, O Abode of the universe. 46Diademed, bearing a
mace and a discus, Thee I desire to see as before. Assume that same four-armed Form, O Thou of thousand arms, of universal Form.
The Blessed Lord said:
47Graciously have I shown to thee, O Arjuna, this Form supreme, by My own Yoga power, this resplendent, primeval, infinite,
universal Form of Mine, which hath not been seen before by anyone else. 48Neither by the study of the Veda and Yajna, nor by gifts,
nor by rituals, nor by severe austerities, am I in such Form seen, in the world of men, by any other than thee, O great hero of the
Kurus. 49Be not afraid nor bewildered, having beheld this Form of Mine, so terrific. With thy fears dispelled and with gladdened
heart, now see again this (former) form of Mine.
Sanjaya said:
50So Vâsudeva, having thus spoken to Arjuna, showed again His own Form and the Great-souled One, assuming His gentle Form,
pacified him who was terrified.
Arjuna said:
51Having seen this Thy gentle human Form, O Janârdana, my thoughts are now composed and I am restored to my nature.
The Blessed Lord said:
52Very hard indeed it is to see this Form of Mine which thou hast seen. Even the Devas ever long to behold this Form. 53Neither by
the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor by gifts, nor by sacrifice can I be seen as thou hast seen Me. 54But by the single-minded devotion I
may in this Form, be known, O Arjuna, and seen in reality, and also entered into, O scorcher of foes. 55He who does work for Me
alone and has Me for his goal, is devoted to Me, is freed from attachment, and bears enmity towards no creature—he entereth into
Me, O Pândava.
The Mahabarata, Book VI, Chapter XI
FIRST READING
SECOND READING
On Outcastes
The Laws of Manu 10.51–57
Title: Anthology of World Scriptures;
Translator: Robert E. Van Voorst;
Publisher: Thomson Wadsworth;
Location: Belmont;
Year: 2008;
Page(s): 42.
The Chanting of Om
Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.1–10
Title: Anthology of World Scriptures;
Translator: Robert E. Van Voorst;
Publisher: Thomson Wadsworth;
Location: Belmont;
Year: 2008;
Page(s): 49.
THIRD READING
The Bhagavad-Gita
The Mahabarata, Book VI, Chapter X
Title: Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita;
Translator: Swami Swarupananda;
Publisher: Advaita Ashrama;
Location: Kolkata;
Year: 1967;
Page(s): 241-274.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION (For Chicago Manual of Style citations and bibliography)
The Blessed One then addressed the monks, saying, ‘‘Monks.’’
‘‘Yes, lord,’’ the monks responded.
The Blessed One said, ‘‘I will teach and interpret for you the Noble Eightfold Path. Listen and pay attention as I speak.’’
‘‘We will do as you say, lord,’’ the monks replied.
The Blessed One said, ‘‘What, monks, is the Noble Eightfold Path? Right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right
livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
‘‘What is right view? It is knowledge with regard to suffering, knowledge with regard to the origination of suffering, knowledge with
regard to the stopping of suffering, knowledge with regard to the way of practice leading to the stopping of suffering.
‘‘What is right resolve? It is being resolved to practice renunciation, to be free from ill will, to be harmless.
‘‘What is right speech? It is refraining from lying, refraining from divisive speech, refraining from abusive speech, and refraining from
idle talk.
‘‘What is right action? It is not taking life, not stealing, and being chaste.
‘‘What is right livelihood? This is when a disciple of the noble ones, having abandoned a dishonest livelihood, sustains his life with
right livelihood.
‘‘What is right effort? This is when a monk desires, endeavors, persists, upholds, and exerts his intent so that evil, unhelpful qualities
do not arise [in him]. He abandons unhelpful qualities that have arisen…[He] brings about helpful qualities that have not yet
arisen…[He brings about] helpful qualities that have arisen.
‘‘What is right mindfulness? This is when a monk remains focused on the body in and of itself—he is fervent, aware, and mindful—
putting away the greed and distress of the world. He remains focused on feelings in and of themselves—he is fervent, aware, and
mindful—putting away the greed and distress of the world. He remains focused on the mind in and of itself—he is fervent, aware,
and mindful—putting away the greed and distress of the world. He remains focused on mental qualities in and of themselves—he is
fervent, aware, and mindful—putting away the greed and distress of the world.
‘‘What is right concentration? This is when a monk—quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful (mental) qualities—
enters and remains in the first stage of concentration: rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought
and evaluation. With the stilling of his directed thought and evaluation, he enters and remains in the second stage of concentration:
rapture and pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought and evaluation. This brings internal
assurance. With the fading of rapture, he remains calm, mindful and alert, and physically sensitive of pleasure. He enters and
remains in the third stage of concentration: calm and mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding. With the abandoning of pleasure and
pain, as with the earlier disappearance of rapture and distress, he enters and remains in the fourth stage of concentration: pure
calmness and mindfulness, having neither pleasure nor pain.
This is what the Blessed One said.
Dhammacakkapparattana Sutta, 9–20
1All
that we are is the result of what we have thought: It is founded on our thoughts; it is made up of
our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the
foot of the ox that draws the carriage. All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is
founded on our thoughts; it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought,
happiness follows him like a shadow that never leaves him.
‘‘He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me’’—in those who harbor such thoughts
hatred will never cease. ‘‘He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me’’—in those who
do not harbor such thoughts hatred will cease.
5For
hatred never ends by more hatred. Hatred ends by love; this is an old rule. The world does not
know that we must all come to an end here. But for those who know it, their quarrels cease at once.
He who lives looking for pleasures only, his senses uncontrolled, immoderate in his food, idle, and
weak, Mara [the tempter] will certainly overthrow him as the wind throws down a weak tree. He
who lives without looking for pleasures, his senses well controlled, moderate in his food, faithful and
strong, him Mara will certainly not overthrow, any more than the wind throws down a rocky
mountain. He who wishes to put on the saffron robes [of the monk] without having cleansed himself
from sin, who disregards also temperance and truth, is unworthy of the saffron robes.
10But
he who has cleansed himself from sin is well grounded in all virtues; he also keeps temperance
and truth, and he is worthy of the yellow clothing. They who imagine truth in untruth, and see
untruth in truth, never arrive at truth, but follow empty desires. They who know truth in truth, and
untruth in untruth, arrive at truth, and follow true desires. As rain breaks through a poorly thatched
house, passion will break through an unreflecting mind. As rain does not break through a wellthatched house, passion will not break through a well-reflecting mind.
15The
evildoer mourns in this world, and he mourns in the next; he mourns in both. He mourns and suffers when
he sees the evil of his own work. The virtuous man delights in this world, and he delights in the next; he delights in
both. He delights and rejoices when he sees the purity of his own work. The evildoer suffers in this world, and he
suffers in the next; he suffers in both. He suffers when he thinks of the evil he has done. He suffers more when
going on the evil path. The virtuous man is happy in this world, and he is happy in the next; he is happy in both. He
is happy when he thinks of the good he has done. He is still more happy when going on the good path. The
thoughtless man, even if he can recite a large portion [of the law], but is not a doer of it, has no share in the
priesthood. He is like a cowherd counting the cows of others.
20The follower of the law, even if he can recite only a small portion [of the law], but, having forsaken passion and
hatred and foolishness, possesses true knowledge and serenity of mind, he, caring for nothing in this world or that
to come, has a share in the order of monks.
The Wisdom of the Buddha
A monk asked [the ninth-century Zen master] Baizhang, ‘‘What is extraordinary?’’
(There’s an echo in the words. He demonstrates his ability in a phrase. He flabbergasts people.
Though he h…
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