The Portable World Bible

by Various (Author); Ballou, Robert O. (Editor)

• ISBN13: 9780140150056
• ISBN10: 0140150056
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1977-06-01
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Summary

The Portable World Bible presents the fundamental tenets of the world's basic source religions. Contemporary readers are offered, in concise, authoritative translations, the religious thought of the ages, selected, interpreted, and arranged in view of modern man's quest for ultimate truths and values. Robert O. Ballou, the volume's editor, has omitted mere stories, history, and ceremonial detail; what remains in every case is the essence of religion, set down with a clarity and simplicity never before achieved. The Portable World Bible is an unparalleled work of poetic and ethical inspiration, a book that makes a deep appeal to the mind and spirit.

Table of Contents

General Introduction	3	(14)
The Hindu
The Worshippers of Brahma	17	(78)
SELECTIONS FROM HINDU SCRIPTURES:
The Rig-Veda
Creation	32	(1)
Dialogue Between Yama and Yami	33	(1)
To Varuna	34	(1)
To Agni, in Praise of Night and Day	34	(1)
To Liberality	35	(1)
The Atharva-Veda
A Charm Against Fear	36	(1)
One Common Spirit	37	(1)
To Heaven and Earth	37	(1)
The Satapatha Brahmana
The Creation of Prajapati and the Gods	37	(2)
The Upanishads
The Universal Self	39	(3)
The House of Death	42	(8)
How Many Gods?	50	(1)
The Light of Man	51	(1)
My Self Within the Heart	52	(1)
The Sun Is Brahman	53	(1)
The Education of Svetaketu	54	(2)
The Power of God	56	(2)
The Bhagavad Gita
Revolt Against War	58	(3)
The Rule of Action	61	(2)
The Rule of Wisdom	63	(1)
The Nature of God	64	(1)
The Lord of All	65	(1)
The Rule of Devotion	66	(2)
The Good Man and the Evil	68	(1)
The Vishnu Purana
The General Duties of Man	69	(1)
The Garuda Purana
Of Associates	70	(2)
Karma	72	(1)
A Duty to Children	72	(1)
The Markandeya Purana
Sumati Instructs His Father	73	(3)
The Creation of Castes	76	(1)
Sankaracharya's Atma Bodha
Knowledge of Spirit	77	(1)
The Hitopadesa
Proverbs	78	(2)
The Works of Sri Ramakrishna
Many Paths to the One God	80	(9)
The Saints and the Saviours	89	(1)
The Protection of God	90	(1)
The Converted Snake	90	(1)
The Aspects of God	91	(4)
The Buddhist
The Buddha and the World He Sought to Save	95	(68)
SELECTIONS FROM BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES:
Early Buddhist Books
The Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness	113	(1)
The Nine Incapabilities	114	(1)
The Aryan Eightfold Path	115	(3)
Questions Which Tend Not to Edification	118	(1)
Discussion of Dependent Origination	119	(2)
On Theology	121	(2)
The Fall and Rise of Social Behaviour	123	(7)
A Sermon to the Monks	130	(4)
The Dhammapada
The Twin Verses	134	(2)
Thought	136	(1)
The Fool	136	(1)
Punishment	137	(1)
Old Age	137	(1)
Anger	138	(1)
Proverbs	139	(3)
Buddaghosha's Parables
The Story of Kisagotami	142	(2)
The Lotus of the True Law
The Wheel of the Law	144	(4)
The Diamond Sutra
The Transcendant Wisdom	148	(4)
Asvaghosha's Awakening of Faith
Asvaghosha's Doctrine of Suchness	152	(3)
The Tibetan Doctrine
``Elegant Sayings'' of the Lamas	155	(8)
The Parsi
The Religion Which Might Have Been Ours	163	(56)
SELECTIONS FROM ZOROASTRIAN SCRIPTURES:
The Bundahis
The Order of Creation	173	(1)
The Ancestry of the World	173	(4)
The Flood	177	(2)
The Vendidad
The First Man	179	(2)
The Evil Winters	181	(3)
The Zendavesta
The One of Whom Questions Are Asked	184	(1)
The Fatherhood of God	185	(1)
The Mazdayasnian Confession	186	(1)
The Earth	187	(3)
Reward of the Faithful	190	(1)
Hymn to the Sun	191	(1)
The Fravashis of the Faithful	192	(2)
The Abodes of the Soul	194	(1)
Of the Dog	195	(3)
The Pahlavi Texts
Instructions to Priests	198	(3)
The Righteous Man	201	(1)
The Chinvad Bridge	202	(1)
The Nature of Heaven	203	(1)
The Nature of Hell	204	(1)
The Two Regions	205	(1)
The Resurrection	205	(3)
The Gathas
Exhortation to the Faithful	208	(2)
A Prayer for Guidance	210	(3)
The Choice Between Right and Wrong	213	(6)
The Jew and the Christian
The Jew and the Christian	219	(218)
SELECTIONS FROM JUDEO-CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES:
Old Testament:
Genesis
Creation	235	(2)
The Garden of Eden	237	(2)
The Fall of Man	239	(2)
The Murder of Abel	241	(1)
The Making of the Ark	242	(2)
The Flood	244	(2)
God's Covenant with Noah	246	(1)
The Tower of Babel	247	(1)
God's Covenant with Abraham	248	(2)
The Birth of Isaac	250	(1)
Esau and Jacob	251	(1)
The Family of Jacob	252	(1)
Joseph Is Sold by His Brothers	253	(3)
Joseph in Egypt	256	(1)
Joseph's Brothers Go into Egypt	257	(4)
Joseph and His Brothers Are Reconciled	261	(3)
The Death of Joseph	264	(1)
Exodus
The Beginning of Persecution	265	(1)
The Birth of Moses	266	(1)
The Burning Bush and the Name of God	267	(1)
The Passover Is Instituted	268	(3)
They Cross the Red Sea	271	(2)
God Gives Moses the Ten Commandments	273	(1)
Further Laws	274	(1)
Moses Is Given the Tablets of Stone	275	(1)
Leviticus
Various Laws	276	(2)
Numbers
The Lord's Blessing	278	(1)
The Cloud and Fire Lead	279	(1)
The Water of Meribah	279	(2)
The Death of Aaron	281	(1)
Joshua Appointed to Succeed Moses	281	(1)
Exogamy Is Discouraged	282	(1)
Deuteronomy
For a Sign upon Thine Hand	283	(1)
The Law of Release	283	(1)
Trial and Punishment	284	(1)
The Coming of a Prophet Foretold	284	(1)
The Law of False Witness	285	(1)
Of Sanctuary	285	(1)
The Law of Divorce	286	(1)
Of Master and Servant	286	(1)
Of Individual Responsibility	286	(1)
The Duty of an Husband's Brother	287	(1)
The Cursed of Israel	287	(1)
The Blessed of Israel	287	(2)
The Death of Moses	289	(1)
The Book of Joshua
Joshua Instructs His People	290	(1)
The Death of Joshua	291	(1)
The Book of Judges
The Anger of the Lord	292	(1)
The First Book of Kings
The Divided Kingdom	293	(3)
Elijah Proves God	296	(3)
The Book of Job
What Is the Almighty?	299	(10)
The Psalms
The Godly and the Ungodly (Psalm i)	309	(1)
Prophecy of a Son of God (Psalm ii)	309	(1)
When I Consider Thy Heavens (Psalm viii)	310	(1)
Hymn of Trust (Psalm xi)	311	(1)
Who Walks Uprightly (Psalm xv)	311	(1)
The Glory of God (Psalm xix)	312	(1)
A Cry of Despair (Psalm xxii)	313	(2)
The Shepherd's Psalm (Psalm xxiii)	315	(1)
The King of Glory (Psalm xxiv)	316	(1)
A Hymn of Faith (Psalm xxvii)	316	(2)
The Gentleness of God (Psalm ciii)	318	(1)
The Bounty of God (Psalm civ)	319	(2)
Whence Help Cometh (Psalm cxxi)	321	(1)
He Giveth His Beloved Sleep (Psalm cxxvii)	322	(1)
The Goodness of Unity (Psalm cxxxiii)	322	(1)
The Book of Proverbs
Proberbs	323	(3)
The Unsatisfied and the Wonderful	326	(1)
Ecclesiastes
The Vanity of Man	327	(6)
The Pre-Exilic Prophets
From the Book of Amos	333	(1)
From the Book of Hosea	334	(1)
From the Book of Micah	335	(2)
From the Book of the First Isaiah	337	(2)
From the Book of Jeremiah	339	(1)
The Book of the Second Isaiah
A Voice in the Wilderness	340	(3)
The Omnipotence of God	343	(1)
A Promise of Joy and Peace	344	(2)
New Testament:
The Gospels
The Life of Christ
The Miraculous Conception of Jesus	346	(1)
The Birth of Jesus	347	(1)
The Genealogy of Jesus	348	(1)
The Flight into Egypt	349	(2)
The Baptism of Jesus	351	(3)
Jesus Is Tempted by the Devil	354	(1)
The Healer	355	(1)
The First Disciples	356	(1)
A Crippled Man Is Healed	357	(2)
To Keep Holy the Sabbath	359	(2)
What Manner of Man Is This?	361	(2)
The Twelve Apostles Named	363	(1)
The Rock of the Christian Church	363	(2)
The Loaves and Fishes	365	(1)
The Transfiguration	366	(1)
Suffer the Little Children	367	(1)
Announcement of Destiny	367	(1)
The Woman Taken in Adultery	367	(1)
Lazarus Arises from Death	368	(3)
Entry into Jerusalem	371	(1)
The Price of a Saviour	372	(1)
The Last Supper	372	(3)
Gethsemane	375	(2)
The Trial of Jesus	377	(1)
Condemnation	378	(1)
The Crucifixion	379	(3)
Burial	382	(1)
The Tomb Is Sealed	383	(1)
The Resurrection	383	(2)
The Risen Christ	385	(1)
Sermons and Saying of Jesus
The Sermon on the Mount	385	(8)
Invitation to Christ	393	(1)
A Rebuke to Doubters	393	(1)
Of Forms and Meanings	394	(1)
The Price of Salvation	395	(1)
Until Seventy Times Seven	396	(1)
Of Marriage	397	(1)
Of Riches	398	(1)
The Great Commandments	399	(1)
Jesus Rebukes the Scribes and Pharisees	399	(2)
Second Coming	401	(3)
The Birth of the Spirit	404	(1)
The Bread of Life	405	(1)
The True Vine	406	(1)
Of the Sower, the Tares, and the Mustard Seed	406	(4)
Of the Good Samaritan	410	(1)
Of One That Layeth Up Treasure	411	(1)
Of the Two Men Who Prayed	411	(1)
The Acts of the Apostles
The Founding of the Christian Church	412	(2)
Saul's Conversion	414	(2)
Peter's Vision of the Gentiles	416	(1)
Paul and Barnabas Turn to the Gentiles	417	(2)
The Epistles
To the Jew and Also to the Gentile	419	(4)
Paul Instructs the Christian Church	423	(4)
Walk in the Spirit	427	(1)
One Lord	427	(1)
Hold Fast That Which Is Good	428	(1)
The Power of Faith	429	(3)
The Insufficiency of Faith Alone	432	(1)
Love Not the World	433	(4)
The Moslem
``There Is No God but Allah''	437	(46)
SELECTIONS FROM MOHAMMEDAN SCRIPTURES:
The Koran
Clots of Blood	451	(1)
The Enwrapped	452	(1)
The Most High	453	(1)
Those Who Stint	454	(1)
The Mountain	454	(2)
The Poets	456	(1)
God Has No Son	457	(1)
The Spider	457	(2)
Relation to Jews and Christians	459	(5)
Moral and Ritual Prescriptions	464	(2)
The Holy War	466	(1)
Other Prophets	467	(1)
The Table	468	(2)
The Masnavi
A Certain Person in the Time of 'Umar---May God Be Pleased with Him!---Imagines He Sees the New Moon	470	(1)
A Governor Orders a Man to Dig Up from the Road a Bramble-Bush Which He Has Planted	471	(1)
The Being of Man Is Like a Forest	472	(1)
``Paradise Is Surrounded by Things Unpleasant to Us; the Fires Are Surrounded by Our Carnal Desires''	473	(1)
John the Baptist---on Him Be Peace---in His Mother's Womb Inclines in Worship Before Jesus---on Him Be Peace!	474	(1)
The Contention as to Grapes of Four Persons, Each of Whom Knows Grapes by a Different Name	475	(1)
The Forty-Two Traditions of An-Nawawi
Selections	476	(7)
The Confucianist
Master Kung	483	(50)
SELECTIONS FROM CONFUCIANIST SCRIPTURES:
The Li Ki
The Nature of the Universe and Man	492	(1)
The Feelings of Men	493	(1)
The Functions of the Ruler	494	(1)
The Shih King
The Song of How-tsieh	495	(1)
Plea to an Ancestor	496	(1)
How Vast Is God!	497	(1)
In Praise of Ancestors	497	(1)
On Letting Alone	498	(1)
Admonition	498	(1)
The Analects of Confucius
Selections	498	(11)
The Great Learning
The Root of Everything	509	(1)
The Doctrine of the Steadfast Mean
The Middle Way	510	(5)
The Works of Mencius
The Function of Government	515	(3)
Division of Labour	518	(2)
The Flood	520	(1)
The Root of the State	520	(1)
The Man with the Heart of a Child	521	(1)
Of Friendships and Gifts	522	(1)
Man's Nature Is Good	523	(2)
Convention and Emergency	525	(1)
All Things Are Complete in Us	526	(2)
The Book of Filial Piety
The Three Powers	528	(1)
The Question of Remonstrance	529	(4)
The Taoist
The Way	533	(44)
SELECTIONS FROM TAOIST SCRIPTURES:
The Tao-Te King
The Mother of All Things	542	(1)
Government by Non-Action	542	(1)
The Highest Goodness	543	(1)
Letting Alone	543	(1)
Favour and Disgrace	544	(1)
The Perfect Man of Tao	544	(1)
Do Away with Learning	545	(1)
What Difference Between Yea and Nay?	545	(1)
Be Humble	546	(1)
The Eternal Tao	547	(1)
He Who Assists with Tao	547	(1)
He Who Knows Others	548	(1)
The Nameless Simplicity	548	(1)
Without Going Out of the Door	549	(1)
The Sage Has No Self	549	(1)
The Great Way	549	(1)
Blunt All That Is Sharp	550	(1)
Three Treasures	550	(1)
The Best Soldier	551	(1)
The Strength of Weakness	551	(1)
Return Love for Hatred	551	(1)
The Works of Chuang Tze
All Things Are One	552	(2)
No Absolute	554	(1)
The Dream and the Dreamer	555	(2)
The Nature of God	557	(1)
The Degradation of Horses and Men	557	(2)
On Letting Alone	559	(1)
The Tao of God	560	(1)
The Circling Sky	561	(1)
Confucius and Lao Tze	561	(1)
Conceit	562	(1)
The Choice of Chuang Tze	563	(1)
The Death of Chuang Tze's Wife	564	(1)
The Wisdom of the Skull	564	(1)
The Secret of Life	565	(1)
Confucius at the Cataract	566	(1)
The Impossibility of Possessing	567	(1)
All Things After Their Kinds	567	(1)
Where Tao Is	568	(1)
The Wise Tender of Horses	569	(1)
Chuang Tze on Death	570	(1)
The Way to Tao	570	(7)
Glossary	577	(10)
Index	587