Ricther 3 Exercises

1. Ricther 3 Exercises The Absolute, The Ultimate, The Holy

2. Genesis 18: 20-33 So the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant that I must go down and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. If not, I want to know."･ The two men turned and headed toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord . Abraham approached and said, "Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing-to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right?" So the Lord replied, "If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Then Abraham asked, "Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 68 (although I am but dust and ashes), what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy the whole city because five are lacking?" He replied, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."･ Abraham spoke to him again, "What if forty are found there?" He replied, "I will not do it for the sake of the forty."･ Then Abraham said, "May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak! What if thirty are found there?" He replied, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."･ Abraham said, "Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?" He replied, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty."･ Finally Abraham said, "May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?" He replied, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."･ The Lord went on his way when he had finished speaking to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home.

3. Michelangelo Buonarotti (1511) Fresco, Cappella Sistina, Vatican "Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Plants"

4. D. Divine Names The treatment of the divine name in English translations of the Hebrew Bible and in this textbook needs to be explained. The God of Israel was referred to in various ways. Sometimes God was just "God," or elohim in Hebrew. When you see "God" in the text, this typically translates Elohim. Other times God is referred to by his personal name, YHWH. It is rendered Yahweh in some versions, and the LORD in others. The letters "ORD" in LORD are in smaller-sized capital letters to distinguish it from the divine title "the Lord." Most modern translations of the Hebrew Bible employ this typographic convention to indicate when YHWH is the underlying Hebrew text.The four consonant divine name YHWH is referred to as the tetragrammaton. When the Hebrew text refers to Yahweh it uses the four consonants YHWH with a special configuration of vowels to signal that it should not be pronounced out loud to guard the sanctity of God's name. If the divine name is never spoken it can never be taken in vain. The name Yahweh, or Jehovah in its older pronunciation, is never spoken in Judaic contexts. In Jewish tradition the words "the LORD," adonay in Hebrew, are substituted for YHW. RTOT uses the convention of including YHWH in translated biblical quotations and the scholar's Yahweh in explanatory notes. In addition to the extensively employed terms Elohim and Yahweh, the Hebrew Bible uses other divine names such as El Shaddai and El Elyon. These will be explained in appropriate places.

5. KHADOGYA-UPANISHAD. 1. LET a man meditate on the syllable Om, called the udgitha; for the udgitha (a portion of the Sama-veda) is sung, beginning with Om.The full account, however, of Om is this:-- 2. 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 man speech, the essence of speech the Rig-veda, the essence of the Rig-veda the Sama-veda, the essence of the Sama-veda the udgitha (which is Om). 3. That udgitha (Om) is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the highest place, the eighth. 4. What then is the Rik? What is the Saman? What is the udgitha? 'This is the question. 5. The Rik indeed is speech, Saman is breath, the udgitha is the syllable Om. Now speech and breath, or Rik and Saman, form one couple. 6. And that couple is joined together in the syllable Om. When two people come together, they fulfil each other's desire. 7. Thus he who knowing this, meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgitha, becomes indeed a fulfiller of desires. 8. That syllable is a syllable of permission, for whenever we permit anything, we say Om, yes. Now permission is gratification. He who knowing this meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgitha, becomes indeed a gratifier of desires. 9. By that syllable does the threefold knowledge (the sacrifice, more particularly the Soma-sacrifice, as founded on the three Vedas) proceed. 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 (the sacrifice) proceeds by the greatness of that syllable (the vital breaths), and by its essence (the oblations). 10. Now therefore it would seem to follow, that both he who knows this (the true meaning of the syllable Om), and he who does not, perform the same sacrifice But this is not so, for knowledge and ignorance are different. The sacrifice which a man performs with knowledge, faith, and the Upanishadis more powerful. This is the full account of the syllable Om.

6. Shiva (Siva) Major god of Hinduism. A complex god who transcends the concepts of good and evil, Shiva represents both reproduction and destruction (a combination of seemingly contradictory qualities is not uncommon in Hinduism). He periodically destroys the world in order to create it once more. He takes little part in the affairs of humanity, although his wife, Kali, is actively involved in them.

7. Tao Te Ching 1 The Tao that can be followed is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the origin of heaven and earth While naming is the origin of the myriad things. Therefore, always desireless, you see the mystery Ever desiring, you see the manifestations. These two are the same-- When they appear they are named differently. Their sameness is the mystery, Mystery within mystery; The door to all marvels.

8. Tao Te Ching 6 The valley spirit never dies. It is called "the mysterious female." The opening of the mysterious female Is called "the root of Heaven and Earth." Continuous, seeming to remain. Use it without exertion.

9. Tao Te Ching 25 There is something that is perfect in its disorder Which is born before Heaven and Earth. So silent and desolate! It establishes itself without renewal. Functions universally without lapse. We can regard it as the Mother of Everything. I don't know its name. Hence, when forced to name it, I call it "Tao." When forced to categorize it, I call it "great." Greatness entails transcendence. Transcendence entails going-far. Going-far entails return. Hence, Tao is great, Heaven is great, the Earth is great And the human is also great. Within our realm there are four greatnesses and the human being is one of them. Human beings follow the Earth. Earth follows Heaven Heaven follows the Tao The Tao follows the way things are.

10. The Story of Job Albrecht Durer. Job and His Wife (c. 1504) Oil on panel, 94 x 51 cm Stelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

11. Chuang Tzu, 113 Chuang Tzu's wife died. When Hui Tzu went to convey his condolences, he found Chuang Tzu sitting with his legs sprawled out, pounding on a tub and singing. "You lived with her, she brought up your children and grew old," said Hui Tzu. "It should be enough simply not to weep at her death. But pounding on a tub and singing-this is going too far, isn't it?" Chuang Tzu said, "You're wrong. When she first died, do you think I didn't grieve like anyone else? But I looked back to her beginning and the time before she was born. Not only the time before she was born, but the time before she had a body. Not only the time before she had a body, but the time before she had a spirit. In the midst of the jumble of wonder and mystery a change took place and she had a spirit. Another change and she had a body. Another change and she was born. Now there's been another change and she's dead. It's just like the progression of the four seasons, spring, summer, fall, winter. "Now she's going to lie down peacefully in a vast room. If I were to follow after her bawling and sobbing, it would show that I don't understand anything about fate. So I stopped."

12. Navajo Sand Painting

13. Hindu Art (Devi)