From: pharvey@quack.sac.ca.us (Paul Harvey)
Subject: Witches and death
Organization: The Duck Pond public unix: +1 408 249 9630, log in as 'guest'.
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1992 21:30:53 GMT

In article <BsuasB2w165w@hogbbs.scol.pa.us> 
wce@hogbbs.scol.pa.us (Bill Eichman) writes:
>I expect this thing we call modern paganism to suffer exactly the same
>fate. When I compare 80's and 90's paganism with sixties and seventies
>paganism, already much has been lost, and already the lowest common
>denominator rears it's ugly head, imposing a ethic-default doctrine of
>"Do the right thing", or the oxymoronic "An ye harm none, do what ye
>will", on all of us collectively.

You imply that "Do the right thing" is modern, but it is actually
ancient. It is a translation of the Sanscrit word dharma and is the
theme of the Mahabharata, one of the oldest written texts in the world.
Another translation of dharma is the law but not in the Western sense.
If you read the Mahab you will find that Krishna proposes no such laws,
other than dharma, meaning do the right thing, as only the individual
knows how. The concept is subtle, too obvious at first, but there is a
great deal behind this one word. This is one of the many fundamental
differences between East and West. In the West, a teacher says many
words with little or no meaning, in the East, a teacher says few words
and words so simple that a child might understand, but the meaning is
very complex, the meaning requires a student to figure out. Here is a
sample from the William Buck translation of the Mahabharata, ISBN:
0-520-04393-6: Yudhishthira is at the lake of unquenchable thirst:

Yudhishthira sat near the water and whispered, "Arjuna, you lie dead,
Gandiva bow beside you, your arrows spilled over the sand. And my hopes
are dead with you. Bhima ... all is now fruitless. How have you died,
with no footprint here but your own? Who could do this? Each of you was
as powerful as a thundering waterfall, and the color on your faces has
not yet faded. It is even so - but first, I will drink ..."
"DO NOT!"
Yudhi looked up, but there was no one. Then again the invisible voice
spoke. "This is my lake. I am a crane, living on tiny fish. And I have
slain your brothers, for they would not answer my questions." "Who are
you to have done this?" asked Yudhi. "A bird could not do so." "I AM
WHAT I AM," said the voice. ...
"Ask", said Yudhi. "What is heavier than the Earth?", said the invisible
voice. "A mother", said Yudhi. "What is higher than heaven?" A father.
"What is swifter that the wind?" The mind is swifter that the wind.
"What is more numerous that the blades of grass in a meadow?" Our
thoughts number more than that. "What does not move after its birth into
the world?" An egg does not move. "What has no heart?" A stone. "What is
the support of man?" The clouds. "Who is the friend of the sick?" The
physician. "And the friend of the dying?" That friend is charity. "Who
is the guest that all life is host to?" Fire. "What is all the
universe?" It is but thin air and empty space. "What forever travels
alone?" The sun. "What is reborn after its birth?" The moon. "What is
the best of all things that are praised?" Skill. "What is the most
valuable possession?" Knowledge. "What is not thought of until it
departs?" Health. "What is the best happiness?" Contentment. "What makes
one wealthy if cast away?" Greed. "And what is greed?" It is poison.
"What covers all the world?" Darkness. "What keeps a thing from
discovering itself?" That is also darkness. "What enemy cannot be
overcome?" That is anger. "What is honesty?" That is to look, and to see
every living creature as yourself, bearing your own will to live, and
your own fear of death. "How may peace be false?" When it is tyranny.
"What is an incurable disease?" A false friend. "Why are friends
forsaken?" For averice. "What is envy?" Grief of the heart. "And what is
grief?" It is ignorance. "What causes desire for possessions?" Nothing
else than the possessions themselves. "Who is in Hell, though he lives
on Earth?" The wealty man who neither enjoys himself nor gives to
others. "What is it that men call good fortune?" That is the result of
what they have done honestly. "Who is dishonest?" The unmerciful. "What
is hypocrisy?" THE SETTING UP OF RELIGIOUS STANDARDS FOR OTHERS IS TRUE
HYPOCRISY! "Kindness, profit, and desire are each hostile to the others.
How may they be brought together?" When a spouse is kind, then all three
are in one. "Who is truly happy?" The man without any debts. "What is
the greatest wonder of all?" EVERY DAY DEATH TAKES LIVES BEYOND
COUNTING, YET THOSE WHO LIVE THINK: DEATH CAN NEVER COME THIS DAY TO ME.
"What is the rarest thing?" TO KNOW WHEN TO STOP. "What is true wealth?"
Love and kindness are better than gold; honor is more valuable than
rooms full of jewels. I don't know what you think of all this.

"You answer well," said the invisible voice. "I am your father Dharma. I
came to test your merit, and I have found it true, and I return your
brothers to life."

Arjuna picked up his bow and scattered arrows. "I feel better than I did
before I died. When we reach our chariots, I will shoot a deer for each
of us."

"One deer will do," said Sahadeva.

"Why only one?"

"Because at midnight tomorrow, the thirteenth year (of exile) begins."
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