Theosophy - The Voice of the Silence by H.P.Blavatsky
THE
VOICE OF THE SILENCE
being
Chosen
Fragments
FROM
THE 'BOOK
OF THE GOLDEN PRECEPTS.'
FOR
THE DAILY USE OF LANOOS (DISCIPLES).
TRANSLATED
AND ANNOTATED
BY
"H.P.B."
Reprinted
from the original edition with notes and comments
by
Alice Leighton Cleather and Basil Crump
published
under the auspices of
The
Chinese Buddhist Research Society Peking 1927
First
published in London, England 1889 by H.P.Blavatsky (1831-1891)
CONTENTS
PREFACE
I-
The Voice of the Silence
II-
The Two Paths
III-
The Seven Portals
[All
the words followed by figures within brackets are fully explained in the Glossary
under corresponding figures at the end of the Book and this document
PREFACE
The
following pages are derived from "The Book of the Golden Precepts,"
one of the works put into the hands of mystic students in the East. The knowledge
of them is obligatory in that school, the teachings of which are accepted by
many Theosophists. Therefore, as I know many of these Precepts by heart, the
work of translating has been relatively an easy task for me.
It is
well known that, in India, the methods of psychic development differ with the
Gurus (teachers or masters), not only because of their belonging to different
schools of philosophy, of which there are six, but because every Guru has his
own system, which he generally keeps very secret. But beyond the Himalayas the
method in the Esoteric Schools does not differ, unless the Guru is simply a
Lama, but little more learned than those he teaches.
The
work from which I here translate forms pat of the same series as that from which
the "Stanzas of the Book of Dzyan were taken, on which the Secret Doctrine
is based. Together with the great mystic work called Paramârtha, which,
the legend of of Nâgâjurna tells us, was delivered to the great
Arhat by the Nagas or "Serpents" (in truth a name given to the ancient
Initiates), the "Book of the Golden Precepts" claims the same origin.
Yet its maxims and ideas, however noble and original, are often found under
different forms in Sanskrit works, such as the Dnyaneswari, that superb mystic
treatise in which Krishna describes to Arjuna in glowing colours the condition
of a fully illumined Yogi; and again in certain Upanishads. This is but natural,
since most, if not all, of the greatest Arhats, the first followers of Gautama
Buddha were Hindus and Aryans, not Mongolians, especially those who emigrated
into Tibet. The works left by Aryasanga alone are very numerous.
The
original Precepts are engraved on thin oblong squares; copies very often on
discs. These discs, or plates, are generally preserved on the altars of the
temples attached to centres where the so-called "contemplative" or
Mahâyâna (Yogachârya) schools are established. They are written
variously, sometimes in Tibetan but mostly in ideographs. The sacerdotal language
(Senzar), besides an alphabet of its own may be rendered in several modes of
writing in cypher characters, which partake more of the nature of ideographs
than of syllables. Another method (lug, in Tibetan) is to use the numerals and
colours, each of which correspond to a letter of the Tibetan alphabet (thirty
simple and seventy-four compound letters) thus forming a complete cryptographic
alphabet.
When
the ideographs are used there is a definite mode of reading the text; as in
this case the symbols and signs used in astrology, namely the twelve zodiacal
animals and the seven primary colours, each a triplet in shade, i.e. the light,
the primary, and the dark- stand for the thirty-three letters of the simple
alphabet, for words and sentences. For in this method, the twelve "animals"
five times repeated and coupled with the five elements and the seven colours,
furnish a whole alphabet composed of sixty sacred letters and twelve signs.
A sign placed at the beginning of the text determines whether the reader has
to spell it according to the Indian mode, when every word is simply a Sanskrit
adaptation, or according to the Chinese principle of reading the ideographs.
The easiest way however, is that which allows the reader to use no special,
or any language he likes as the signs and symbols were, like the Arabian numerals
or figures, common and international property among initiated mystics and their
followers. The same peculiarity is characteristic of one of the Chinese modes
of writing, which can be read with equal facility by anyone acquainted with
the character: for instance, a Japanese can read it in his own language as readily
as a Chinese in his.
The
Book of the Golden Precepts- some of which are pre-Buddhistic while others belong
to a later date- contains about ninety distinct little treatises. Of these I
learnt thirty-nine by heart, years ago. To translate the rest, I should have
to resort to notes scattered among a too large number of papers and memoranda
collected for the last twenty years and never put in order, to make of it by
any means an easy task. Nor could they be all translated and given to a world
too selfish and to much attached to objects of sense to be in any way prepared
to receive such exalted ethics in the right spirit. For, unless a man perseveres
seriously in the pursuit of self-knowledge, he will never lend a willing ear
to advice of this nature.
And
yet such ethics fill volumes upon volumes in Eastern literature, especially
in the Upanishads. "Kill out all desire of life", says Krishna to
Arjuna. That desire lingers only in the body, the vehicle of the embodied Self,
not in the SELF which is "eternal, indestructible, which kills not nor
is it killed" (Katha Upanishad). "Kill out sensation", teaches
Sutta Nipâta: "look alike on pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory
and defeat". Again, "Seek shelter in the eternal alone" (ibid).
"Destroy the sense of separateness", repeats Krishna under every form.
"The Mind (Manas) which follows the rambling senses, makes the Soul (Buddhi)
as helpless as the boat which the wind leads astray upon the waters" (Bhagavat-gita
II. 70)
Therefore
it has been thought better to make a judicious selection only from those treatises
which will best suit the few real mystics in the Theosophical Society, and which
are sure to answer their needs. It is only these who will appreciate these words
of Krishna-Christos, the "Higher Self":-
"Sages
do not grieve for the living nor the dead. Never did I not exist, nor you, nor
these rulers of men; nor will any one of us ever hereafter cease to be."
(Bhagavat-gita II. 27).
In this
translation,I have done my best to preserve the poetical beauty of language
and imagery which characterise the original. How far this effort has been successful,
is for the reader to judge.
H.P.B.
DEDICATED
TO THE FEW
FRAGMENT
-I-
THE VOICE OF THE SILENCE
These
instructions are for those ignorant of the dangers of the lower IDDHI
(1)
He who
would hear the voice of Nada (2), "the Soundless Sound,"
and comprehend it, he has to learn the nature of Dharânâ (3)
Having
become indifferent to objects of perception, the pupil must seek out the rajah
of the senses, the Thought-Producer, he who awakes illusion.
The
Mind is the great Slayer of the Real.
Let
the Disciple slay the Slayer.
For:-
When to himself his form appears unreal, as do on waking all the forms he sees
in dreams;
When
he has ceased to hear the many, he may discern the ONE- the inner sound which
kills the outer.
Then
only, not till then, shall he forsake the region of Asat, the false, to come
unto the real of Sat, the true.
Before
the soul can see, the Harmony within must be attained, and fleshly eyes be rendered
blind to all illusion.
Before
the Soul can hear, the image (man) has to become as deaf to roarings as to whispers,
to cries of bellowing elephants as to the silvery buzzing of the golden fire-fly.
Before
the soul can comprehend and may remember, she must unto the Silent Speaker be
united, just as the form to which the clay is modelled is first united with
the potter's mind.
For
then the soul will hear, and will remember.
And
then to the inner ear will speak-
THE
VOICE OF THE SILENCE
And
say:-
If thy
soul smiles while bathing in the Sunlight of thy Life; if thy soul sings within
her chrysalis of flesh and matter; if thy soul weeps inside her castle of illusion;
if thy soul struggles to break the silver thread that binds her to the MASTER
(4); know, O Disciple, thy Soul is of the earth.
When
to the World's turmoil thy budding soul (5) lends ear; when
to the roaring voice of the great illusion thy Soul responds (6);
when frightened at the sight of the hot tears of pain, when deafened by the
cries of distress, thy soul withdraws like the shy turtle within the carapace
of SELFHOOD, learn, O Disciple, of her Silent "God", thy Soul is an
unworthy shrine.
When
waxing stronger,thy Soul glides forth from her secure retreat: and breaking
loose from the protecting shrine, extends her silver thread and rushes onward:
when beholding her image on the waves of Space, she whispers, "This is
I," declare, O Disciple, that thy soul is caught in the webs of delusion
(7).
This
Earth, Disciple, is the Hall of Sorrow, wherein are set along the Path of dire
probations, traps to ensnare thy EGO by the delusion called "Great Heresy"
(8).
This
earth, O ignorant Disciple, is but the dismal entrance leading to the twilight
that precedes the valley of true light- that light which no wind can extinguish,
that light which burns without a wick or fuel.
Saith
the Great Law:- "In order to become the knower of ALL SELF
(9) thou hast first of self to be the knower." To reach the knowledge
of that self, thou hast to give up Self to Non-Self, Being to Non-Being, and
then thou canst repose between the wings of the GREAT BIRD. Aye, sweet is rest
between the wings of that which is not born, nor dies, but is the AUM (10)
through eternal ages (11)
Bestride
the Bird of Life, if thou would'st know (12)
Give
up thy life, if thou would'st live (13)
Three
Halls, O weary pilgrim, lead to the end of toils. Three Halls, O conqueror of
Mara, will bring thee through three states (14) into the
fourth (15) and thence into the seven worlds (16),
the worlds of Rest Eternal.
If thou
would'st learn their names, then hearken, and remember.
The
name of the first Hall is IGNORANCE- Avidya.
It is
the Hall in which thou saw'st the light, in which thou livest and shalt die
(17).
The
name of Hall the second is the Hall of Learning (the Hall of Probationary Learning).
In it thy Soul will find the blossoms of life, but under every flower a serpent
coiled (18).
The
name of the third Hall is Wisdom, beyond which stretch the shoreless waters
of AKSHARA, the indestructible Fount of Omniscience (19).
If thou
would'st cross the first Hall safely, let not thy mind mistake the fires of
lust that burn therein for the Sunlight of life.
If thou
would'st cross the second safely, stop not the fragrance of its stupefying blossoms
to inhale. If freed thou would'st be from the Karmic chains, seek not for thy
Guru in those Mayavic regions.
The
WISE ONES tarry not in pleasure-grounds of senses.
The
WISE ONES heed not the sweet-tongued voices of illusion.
Seek
for him who is to give thee birth (20), in the Hall of Wisdom,
the Hall which lies beyond, wherein all shadows are unknown, and where the light
of truth shines with unfading glory.
That
which is uncreate abides in thee, Disciple, as it abides in that Hall. If thou
would'st reach it and blend the two, thou must divest thyself of thy dark garments
of illusion. Stifle the voice of flesh, allow no image of the senses to get
between its light and thine that thus the twain may blend in one. And having
learnt thine own Agnyana (21), flee from the Hall of Learning.
This Hall is dangerous in its perfidious beauty, is needed but for thy probation.
Beware, Lanoo, lest dazzled by illusive radiance thy Soul should linger and
be caught in its deception light.
This
light shines from the jewel of the Great Ensnarer, (Mara) (22).
The senses it bewitches blinds the mind, and leaves the unwary an abandoned
wreck.
The
moth attracted to the dazzling flame of thy night-lamp is doomed to perish in
the viscid oil. The unwary Soul that fails to grapple with the mocking demon
of illusion, will return to earth the slave of Mara.
Behold
the Hosts of Souls. Watch how they hover o'er the stormy sea of human life,
and how exhausted, bleeding, broken-winged, they drop one after other on the
swelling waves. Tossed by the fierce winds, chased by the gale, they drift into
the eddies and disappear within the first great vortex.
If though
the Hall of Wisdom, thou would'st reach the Vale of Bliss, Disciple, close fast
thy senses against the great dire heresy of separateness that weans three from
the rest.
Let
not thy "Heaven-born", merged in the sea of Maya, break from the Universal
Parent (SOUL), but let the fiery power retire into the inmost chamber, the chamber
of the Heart (23) and the abode of the World's Mother
(24)
Then
from the heart that Power shall rise into the sixth, the middle region, the
place between thine eyes, when it becomes the breath of the ONE-SOUL, the voice
which filleth all, thy Master's voice.
'Tis
only then thou canst become a "Walker of the Sky" (25)
who treads the winds above the waves, whose step touches not the waters.
Before
thou set'st thy foot upon the ladder's upper rung, the ladder of the mystic
sounds, thou hast to hear the voice of thy inner GOD (The Higher SELF) in seven
manners.
The
first is like the nightingale's sweet voice chanting a song of parting to its
mate.
The
second comes as the sound of a silver cymbal of the Dhyanis, awakening the twinkling
stars.
The
next is as the plaint melodious of the ocean-sprite imprisoned in its shell.
And
this is followed by the chant of Vina (26)
The
fifth like sound of bamboo-flute shrills in thine ear.
It changes
next into a trumpet-blast.
The
last vibrate like the dull rumbling of a thundercloud.
The
seventh swallows all the other sounds. They die, and then are heard no more.
When
the six (27) are slain and at the Master's feet are laid,
then is the pupil merged into the ONE (28), becomes that
ONE and lives therein.
Before
that path is entered, thou must destroy thy lunar body (29),
cleanse thy mind-body (30) and make clean thy heart.
Eternal
life's pure waters, clear and crystal,with the monsoon tempest's muddy torrents
cannot mingle.
Heaven's
dewdrop glittering in the morn's first sunbeam within the bosom of the lotus,
when dropped on earth becomes a piece of clay; behold, the pearl is now a speck
of mire.
Strive
with thy thoughts unclean before they overpower thee. Use them as will thee,
for if thou sparest them and they take root and grow, know well, these thoughts
will overpower and kill thee. Beware, Disciple,suffer not, e'en though it be
their shadow, to approach. For it will grow, increase in size and power, and
then this thing of darkness will absorb thy being before thou hast well realized
the black foul monster's presence.
Before
the "mystic Power" (31) [Kundalini, the "Serpent
Power" or mystic fire.) can make of thee a god, Lanoo, thou must have gained
the faculty to slay thy lunar form at will.
The
Self of matter and the SELF of Spirit can never meet. One of the twain must
disappear; there is no place for both.
Ere
thy Soul's mind can understand, the bud of personality must be crushed out,
the worm of sense destroyed past resurrection.
Thou
canst not travel on the Path before thou hast become that Path itself (32)
Let
thy Soul lends its ear to every cry of pain like as the lotus bares its heart
to drink the morning sun.
Let
not the fierce Sun dry one tear of pain before thyself hast wiped it from the
sufferer's eye.
But
let each burning human tear drop on thy heart and there remain, nor ever brush
it off, until the pain that caused it is removed.
These
tears, O thou of heart most merciful, these are the streams that irrigate the
fields of charity immortal. 'Tis on such soil that grows the midnight blossom
of Buddha (33) more difficult to find, more rare to view
than is the flower of the Vogay tree. It is the seed of freedom from rebirth.
It isolates the Arhat both from strife and lust, it leads him through the fields
of Being unto the peace and bliss known only in the land of Silence and Non-Being.
Kill
out desire; but if thou killest it take heed lest from the dead it should again
arise.
Kill
love of life, but if thou slayest tanha (34) let this not
be for thirst of life eternal, but to replace the fleeting by the everlasting.
Desire
nothing. Chafe not at Karma, nor at Nature's changeless laws. But struggle only
with the personal, the transitory, the evanescent and the perishable.
Help
Nature and work on with her; and Nature will regard thee as one of her creators
and make obeisance.]
And
she will open wide before thee the portals of her secret chambers, lay bare
before thy gaze the treasures hidden in the very depths of her pure virgin bosom.
Unsullied by the hand of matter she shows her treasures only to the eye of Spirit-
the eye which never closes, the eye for which there is no veil in all her kingdoms.
Then
will she show thee the means and way, the first gate and the second, the third
up to the very seventh. And then, the goal- beyond which lie, bathed in the
sunlight of the Spirit, glories untold, unseen by any save the eye of Soul.
There
is but one road to the Path; at its very end alone the "Voice of the Silence"
can be heard. The ladder by which the candidate ascends is formed of rungs of
suffering and pain; these can be silenced only by the voice of virtue. Woe,
then, to thee Disciple, if there is one single vice thou hast not left behind.
For then the ladder will give way and overthrow thee; its foot rests in the
deep mire of thy sins and failings, and ere thou canst attempt to cross this
wide abyss of matter thou hast to lave thy feet in Waters of Renunciation. Beware
lest thou should'st set a foot still soiled upon the ladder's lowest rung. Woe
unto him who dares pollute one rung with miry feet. The foul and viscous mud
will dry, became tenacious, then glue his feet unto the spot, and like a bird
caught in the wily fowler's lime, he will be stayed from further progress. His
vices will take shape and drag him down. His sins will raise their voices like
as the jackal's laugh and sob after the sun goes down; his thoughts become an
army, and bear him off a captive slave.
Kill
thy desires, Lanoo, make thy vices impotent, ere the first step is taken on
the solemn journey.
Strangle
thy sins, and make them dumb for ever, before thou dost lift one foot to mount
the ladder.
Silence
thy thoughts and fix thy whole attention on thy Master whom yet thou dost not
see, but whom thou feelest.
Merge
into one sense thy senses, if thou would'st be secure against the foe. 'Tis
by that sense alone which lies concealed within the hollow of thy brain, that
the steep path which leadeth to thy Master may be disclosed before thy Soul's
dim eyes.
Long
and weary is the way before thee, O Disciple. One single thought about the past
that thou hast left behind, will drag thee down and thou wilt have to start
the climb anew.
Kill
in thyself all memory of past experiences. Look not behind or thou art lost.
Do not
believe that lust can ever be killed out if gratified or satiated, for this
is an abomination inspired by Mara. It is by feeding vice that it expands and
waxes strong, like to the worm that fattens on the blossoms' heart.
The
rose must re-become the bud born of its parent stem, before the parasite has
eaten through its heart and drunk its life-sap.
The
golden tree puts forth its jewel-buds before its trunk is withered by the storm.
The
pupil must regain the child-state he hast lost' ere the first sound can fall
upon his ear.
The
light from the ONE Master, the one unfading golden light of Spirit, shoots its
effulgent beams on the disciple from the very first. Its rays thread through
the thick darks clouds of matter.
Now
here, now there, these rays illumine it, like sun-sparks light the earth through
the thick foliage of the jungle growth. But, O Disciple, unless the flesh is
passive, head cool, the soul as firm and pure as flaming diamond, the radiance
will not reach the chamber (23), its sunlight will not warm
the heart, nor will the mystic sounds of the Akasic heights (35)
reach the ear, however eager, at the initial stage.
Unless
thou hearest, thou canst not see.
Unless
thou sees thou canst not hear. To hear and see this is the second stage
When
the disciple sees and hears, and when he smells and tastes, eyes closed, ears
shut, with mouth and nostrils stopped; when the four senses blend and ready
are to pass into the fifth,that of the inner touch - then into stage the fourth
he hath passed on.
And
in the fifth, O slayer of thy thoughts, all these again have to be killed beyond
re-animation (36).
Withhold
thy mind from all external objects, all external sights. Withhold internal images,
lest on thy Soul-light a dark shadow they should cast.
Thou
art now in DHARANA (37), the sixth stage.
When
thou hast passed into the seventh, O happy one, thou shalt perceive no more
the sacred three (38), for thou shalt have become that three
thyself. Thyself and mind, like twins upon a line, the star which is thy goal,
burns overhead (39). The three that dwell in glory and in
bliss ineffable, now in the world of Maya, have lost their names. They have
become one star, the fire that burns but scorches not, that fire which is the
Upadhi (40) of the Flame.
And
this, O Yogi of success, is what men call Dhyâna (41),
the right precursor of Samâdhi (42).
And
now thy Self is lost in SELF, thyself unto THYSELF, merged in THAT SELF from
which thou first didst radiate.
Where
thy individuality, Lanoo, where the Lanoo himself? It is the spark lost in the
fire, the drop within the ocean,the ever-present Ray become the all and the
eternal radiance.
And
now, Lanoo, thou art the doer and the witness, the radiator and the radiation,
Light in the Sound, and the Sound in the Light.
Thou
art acquainted with the five impediments,O blessed one. Thou art their conqueror,
the Master of the sixth, deliverer of the four modes of Truth (43).
The light that falls upon them shines from thyself, O thou who was disciple
but art Teacher now.
And
of these modes of Truth:-
Hast
thou not passed through knowledge of all misery- Truth the first?
Hast
thou not conquered the Mara's King at Tsi, the portal of assembling- truth the
second? (44)
Hast
thou not sin at the third gate destroyed and truth the third attained?
Hast
not thou entered Tau, "the Path" that leads to knowledge- the fourth
truth? (45).
And
now, rest'neath the Bodhi tree, which is perfection of all knowledge, for, know,
thou art the Master of SAMADHI- the state of faultless vision.
Behold!
thou hast become the light, thou hast become the Sound, thou art thy Master
and thy God. Thou art THYSELF the object of thy search: the VOICE unbroken,
that resounds throughout eternities, exempt from change, from sin exempt, the
seven sounds in one, the
VOICE
OF THE SILENCE
OM
Tat Sat
FRAGMENT
II
---------------
THE
TWO PATHS
And
now, O Teacher of Compassion, point thou the way to other men. Behold, all those
who knocking for admission, await in ignorance and darkness, to see the gate
of the Sweet Law flung open!
The
voice of the Candidates:
Shalt
not thou, Master of thine own Mercy, reveal the Doctrine of the Heart?
(1) Shalt thou refuse to lead thy Servants unto the Path of Liberation?
Quoth
the Teacher:
The
Paths are two; the great Perfections three; six are the Virtues that transform
the body into the Tree of Knowledge (2).
Who
shall approach them?
Who
shall first enter them?
Who
shall first hear the doctrine of two Paths in one, the truth unveiled about
the Secret Heart? (3). The Law which, shunning learning, teaches
Wisdom, reveals a tale of woe.
Alas,
alas, that all men should possess Alaya, be one with the great Soul, and that
possessing it, Alaya should so little avail them!
Behold
how like the moon, reflected in the tranquil waves, Alaya is reflected by the
small and and by the great, is mirrored in the tiniest atoms, yet fails to reach
the heart of all. Alas, that so few men should profit by the gift, the priceless
boon of learning truth, the right perception of existing things, the knowledge
of the non-existent!
Saith
the pupil:
O Teacher,
what shall I do to reach to Wisdom?
O Wise
one, what, to gain perfection?
Search
for the Paths. But, O Lanoo, be of clean heart before thou startest on thy journey.
Before thou takest thy first step learn to discern the real from the false,
the ever-fleeting from the everlasting. Learn above all to separate Head-learning
from Soul-Wisdom, the "Eye" form the "Heart" doctrine.
Yea,
ignorance is like unto a closed and airless vessel; the soul a bird shut up
within. It warbles not, nor can it stir a feather; but the songster mute and
torpid sits, and of exhaustion dies.
But
even ignorance is better than Head-learning with no Soul-wisdom to illuminate
and guide it.
The
seed of Wisdom cannot sprout and grow in airless space. To live and reap experience
the mind needs breadth and depth and points to draw it towards the Diamond Soul
(4). Seek not those points in Maya's realm; but soar beyond
illusions, search the eternal and the changeless SAT (5),
mistrusting fancy's false suggestions.
For
mind is like a mirror; it gathers dust while it reflects (6).
It needs the gentle breezes of Soul-Wisdom to brush away the dust of our illusions.
Seek O Beginner, to blend thy Mind and Soul.
Shun
ignorance, and likewise shun illusion. Avert thy face from world deceptions;
mistrust thy senses, they are false. But within thy body- the shrine of thy
sensations- seek in the Impersonal for the "eternal man" (7);
and having sought him out , look inward: thou art Buddha (8).
Shun
praise, O Devotee. Praise leads to self-delusion. Thy body is not self, thy
SELF is in itself without a body, and either praise or blame affects it not.
Self-gratulation,
O disciple, is like unto a lofty tower, up which a haughty fool has climbed.
Thereon he sits in prideful solitude and unperceived by any but himself.
False
learning is rejected by the Wise, and scattered to the Winds by the good Law.
Its wheel revolves for all, the humble and the proud. The "Doctrine of
the Eye" (9) is for the crowd, the "Doctrine of
the Heart", for the elect. The first repeat in pride: "Behold, I know",
the last, they who in humbleness have garnered, low confess, "thus have
I heard". (10)
"Great
Sifter" is the name of the "Heart Doctrine", O disciple.
The
wheel of the good Law moves swiftly on. It grinds by night and day. The worthless
husks it drives from out the golden grain, the refuse from the flour. The hands
of Karma guides the wheel; the revolutions mark the beatings of the Karmic heart.
True
knowledge is the flour, false learning is the husk. If thou would'st eat the
bread of Wisdom, thy flour thou hast to knead with Amrita's (immortality) clear
waters. But if thou kneadest husks with Maya's dew, thou canst create but food
for the black doves of death, the birds of birth, decay and sorrow.
If thou
art told that to become Arhan thou hast to cease to love all beings- tell them
they lie.
If thou
art told that to gain liberation thou hast to hate thy mother and disregard
thy son; to disavow thy father and call him "householder" (11);
for man and beast all pity to renounce- tell them their tongue is false.
Thus
teach the Tirthikas, the unbelievers (Brahman ascetics)
If thou
art taught that sin is born of action and bliss of absolute inaction, then tell
them that they err. Non-permanence of human action; deliverance of mind from
thraldom by the cessation of sin and faults, are not for "Deva Egos".
(The reincarnating Ego) Thus saith the "Doctrine of the Heart."
The
Dharma of the "Eye" is the embodiment of the external, and the non-existing.
The
Dharma of the "Heart" is the embodiment of Bodhi (True, divine Wisdom),
the Permanent and Everlasting.
The
Lamp burns bright when wick and oil are clean. To make them clean a cleaner
is required. The flame feels not the process of the cleaning. "The branches
of a tree are shaken by the wind; the trunk remains unmoved".
Both
action and inaction may find room in thee; thy body agitated, thy mind tranquil,
thy Soul as limpid as a mountain lake.
Would'st
thou become a Yogi of "Time's Circle?" Then, O Lanoo:-
Believe
thou not that sitting in dark forests, in proud seclusion and apart form men;
believe thou not that life on roots and plants, that thirst assuaged with snow
from the great Range- believe thou not, O Devotee, that this will lead thee
to the goal of final liberation.
Think
not that breaking bone, that rending flesh and muscle, unites thee to thy "silent
Self (12). Think not, that when the sins of thy gross form
are conquered, O Victim of thy Shadows (13), thy duty is
accomplished by nature and by man.
The
blessed ones have scorned to do so. The Lion of the Law, the Lord of Mercy (Buddha),
perceiving the true cause of human woe, immediately forsook the sweet but selfish
rest of quiet wilds. From Aranyaka (14) He became the Teacher
of mankind. After Julai (15) had entered the Nirvâna,
He preached on mount and plain, and held discourses in the cities, to Devas,
men and gods (16).
Sow
kindly acts and thou shalt reap their fruition. Inaction in a deed of mercy
becomes an action in a deadly sin.
Thus
saith the Sage.
Shalt
thou abstain from action? Not so shall gain thy soul her freedom. To reach Nirvâna
one must reach Self-Knowledge, and Self-Knowledge is of loving deeds the child.
Have
patience, Candidate, as one who fears no failure, courts no success. Fix thy
Soul's gaze upon the star whose ray thou art (17), the flaming
star that shines within the light-less depths of ever-being, the boundless fields
of the Unknown.
Have
perseverance as one who doth for evermore endure. Thy shadows live and vanish
(18); that which in thee shall live for ever, that which
in thee knows, for its is knowledge (19), is not of fleeting
life, it is the man that was that is, and will be, for whom the hour shall never
strike.
If thou
would'st reap sweet peace and rest, Disciple sow with the seeds of merit the
fields of future harvests Accept the woes of birth.
Step
out from sunlight into shade, to make more room for others. The tears that water
the parched soil of pain and sorrow, bring forth the blossoms and the fruits
of Karmic retribution. Out of the furnace of man's life and its black smoke,
winged flames arise, flames purified, that soaring onward, 'neath the Karmic
eye, weave in the end the fabric glorified of the three vestures of the Path
(20).
These
vestures are Nirmânakâya, Sambhoga-Kâya, and Dharmakâya,
robe Sublime (21).
The
Shangna robe (22), 'tis true, can purchase light eternal.
The Shangna robe alone gives the Nirvâna of destruction; it stops rebirth,
but O Lanoo, it also kills-compassion. No longer can the perfect Buddhas, who
don the Dharmakâya glory, help man's salvation. Alas! shall SELVES be
sacrificed to Self: mankind, unto the weal of Units?
Know,
O beginner, this is the Open Path, the way to selfish bliss, shunned by the
Bôdhisattvas of the "Secret Heart", the Buddhas of Compassion.
To live
to benefit mankind is the first step. To practice the six glorious virtues (23)
is the second.
To don
Nirmânakâya's humble robe is to forego eternal bliss for Self, to
help on man's salvation. To reach Nirvâna's bliss, but to renounce it,
is the supreme, the final step- the highest on Renunciation's Path.
Know,
O Disciple, this is the Secret Path, selected by the Buddhas of Perfection,
who sacrificed The SELF to weaker Selves.
Yet,
if the "Doctrine of the Heart" is too high-winged for thee. If thou
need'st help thyself and fearest to offer help to others,- then, thou of timid
heart, be warned in time: remain content with the "Eye Doctrine" of
the Law. Hope still. For if the "Secret Path" is unattainable this
"day", it is within thy reach "tomorrow".
(24) Learn that no efforts, not the smallest- whether in right or wrong
direction- can vanish from the world of causes. E'en wasted smoke remains not
traceless. "A harsh word uttered in past lives, is not destroyed but ever
comes again". (Precepts of the Prasanga School). The pepper plant will
not give birth to roses, nor the sweet jessamine's silver star to thorn or thistle
turn.
Thou
canst create this "day" thy chances for thy "morrow". In
the "Great Journey", (25) causes sown each hour
bear each its harvest of effects, for rigid Justice rules the World. With mighty
sweep of never erring action, it brings to mortals lives of weal or woe, the
Karmic progeny of all our former thoughts and deeds.
Take
then as much as merit hath in store for thee, O thou of patient heart. Be of
good cheer and rest content with fate. Such is thy Karma, the Karma of the cycle
of thy births, the destiny of those, who, in their pain and sorrow, are born
along with thee, rejoice and weep from life to life, chained to thy previous
actions.
Act
thou for them "today", and they will act for thee, "tomorrow".
'Tis
from the bud of Renunciation of the Self, that springeth the sweet fruit of
final Liberation.
To perish
doomed is he, who out of fear of Mara refrains from helping man, lest he should
act for Self. The pilgrim who would cool his weary limbs in running waters,
yet dares not plunge for terror of the stream, risks to succumb from heat. Inaction
based on selfish fear can bear but evil fruit.
The
Selfish devotee lives to no purpose. The man who does not go through his appointed
work in life- has lived in vain.
Follow
the wheel of life; follow the wheel of duty to race and kin, to friend and foe,
and close thy mind to pleasures as to pain. Exhaust the law of Karmic retribution.
Gain Siddhis for thy future birth.
If Sun
thou can'st not be, then be the humble planet. Aye, if thou art debarred from
flaming like the noonday Sun upon the snow-capped mount of purity eternal, then
choose, O Neophyte, a humbler course.
Point
out the "Way"- however dimly, and lost among the host- as does the
evening star to those who tread their path in darkness.
Behold
Migmar (Mars), as in his crimson veils his "Eye" sweeps over slumbering
Earth. Behold the fiery aura of the "Hand" of Lhagpa (Mercury) extended
in protecting love over the heads of his ascetics. Both are now servants to
Nyima The Sun) (26) left in his absence silent watchers in
the night. Yet both in Kalpas past were bright Nyimas, and may in future "Days"
again become two Suns. Such are the falls and rises of the Karmic Law in nature.
Be,
O Lanoo, like them. Give light and comfort to the toiling pilgrim, and seek
out him who knows still less than thou; who in his wretched desolation sits
starting for the bread of Wisdom and the bread which feeds the shadow, without
a Teacher, hope or consolation,- and-let him near the Law.
Tell
him, O Candidate, that he who makes of pride and self-regard bond-maidens to
devotion; that he, who cleaving to existence,still lays his patience and submission
to the Law, as a sweet flower at the feet of Shakya-Thub-pa (Buddha), becomes
a Srôtâpatti (27) in this birth. The Siddhis
of perfection may loom far, far away; but the first step is taken, the stream
is entered, and he may gain the eyesight of the mountain eagle, the hearing
of the timid doe.
Tell
him, O Aspirant, that true devotion may bring him back the knowledge, that knowledge
which was his in former births. The deva-sight and deva-hearing are not obtained
in one short birth.
Be humble,
if thou would'st attain to Wisdom.
Be humbler
still, when Wisdom thou has mastered.
Be like
the Ocean which receives all streams and rivers. The Ocean's mighty calm remains
unmoved; it feels them not.
Restrain
by thy Divine thy lower Self.
Restrain
by the Eternal the Divine.
Aye,
great is he, who is the slayer of desire.
Still
greater he, in whom the Self Divine has slain the very knowledge of desire.
Guard
thou the Lower lest it soil the Higher.
The
way to final freedom is within thy SELF.
That
way begins and ends outside of Self (28)
Unpraised
by men and humble is the mother of all Rivers, in Tirthika's proud sight; empty
the human form though filled with Amrita's sweet waters, in the sight of fools.
Withal, the birthplace of the sacred rivers is the sacred land (29),
and he who Wisdom hath is honoured by all men.
Arhans
and Sages of the boundless Vision (30) are rare as is the
blossom of the Udumbara tree. Arhans are born at midnight hour, together with
the sacred plant of nine and seven stalks (31), the holy
flower that opes and blooms in darkness, out of the pure dew and on the frozen
bed of snow-capped heights, heights that are trodden by no sinful foot.
No Arhan,
O Lanoo, becomes one in that birth when for the first the Soul begins to long
for final liberation. Yet, O thou anxious one, no warrior volunteering fight
in the fierce strife between the living and the dead (32),
not one recruit can ever be refused the right to enter on the Path that leads
toward the field of Battle.
For,
either he shall win, or he shall fall.
Yea,
if he conquers, Nirvâna shall be his. Before he casts his shadow off his
mortal coil, that pregnant cause of anguish and illimitable pain- in him will
men a great and holy Buddha honour.
And
if he falls, e'en then he does not fall in vain; the enemies he slew in the
last battle will not return to life in the next birth that will be his.
But
if thou would'st Nirvâna reach, or cast the prize away (33),
let not the fruit of action and inaction be thy motive, thou of dauntless heart.
Know
that the Bôdhisattva who liberation changes for Renunciation to don the
miseries of "Secret Life", (34) is called, "Thrice
Honoured", O thou candidate for woe throughout the cycles.
The
PATH is one, Disciple, yet in the end, twofold. Marked are its stages by four
and seven Portals. At one end- bliss immediate, and at the other- bliss deferred.
Both are of merit the reward: the choice is thine.
The
One becomes the two, the Open and the Secret (35). The first
one leadeth to the goal, the second, to Self-Immolation.
When
to the Permanent is sacrificed the Mutable, the prize is thine: the drop returned
whence it came. The Open PATH leads to the changeless change- Nirvâna,
the glorious state of Absoluteness, the Bliss past human thought.
Thus,
the first Path is LIBERATION.
But
Path the Second is RENUNCIATION, and therefore called the "Path of Woe".
That
Secret Path leads the Arhan to mental woe unspeakable; woe for the living Dead
(36), and helpless pity for the men of Karmic sorrow, the
fruit of Karma Sages dare not still.
For
it is written: "teach to eschew all causes; the ripple of effect, as the
great tidal wave, thou shalt let run its course".
The
"Open Way", no sooner has thou reached its goal, will lead thee to
reject the Bôdhisattvic body and make thee enter the thrice glorious state
of Dharmakâya (37) which is oblivion of the World and
men for ever.
The
"Secret Way" leads also to Paranirvânic bliss- but at the close
of Kalpas without number; Nirvânas gained and lost from boundless pity
and compassion for the world of deluded mortals.
But
it is said "The last shall be the greatest", Samyak Sambuddha, the
Teacher of Perfection, gave up his SELF for the salvation of the World, by stopping
at the threshold of Nirvâna- the pure state.
Thou
has the knowledge now concerning the two Ways. Thy time will come for choice,
O thou of eager Soul, when thou hast reached the end and passed the seven Portals.
Thy mind is clear. No more art thou entangled in delusive thoughts, for thou
has learned all. Unveiled stands truth and looks thee sternly in the face. She
says:
"Sweet
are the fruits of Rest and Liberation for the sake of Self ; but sweeter still
the fruits of long and bitter duty. Aye, Renunciation for the sake of others,
of suffering fellow men".
He,
who becomes Pratyêka-Buddha (38), makes his obeisance
but to his Self . The Bôhisattva who has won the battle, who holds the
prize within his palm, yet says in his divine compassion:
"For
others' sake this great reward I yield"- accomplishes the greater Renunciation.
A SAVIOUR
OF THE WORLD is he.
Behold!
The goal of bliss and the long Path of Woe are at the furthest end. Thou cans't
choose either, O aspirant to Sorrow, throughout the coming cycles!.....
OM
VAJRAPANI HUM
FRAGMENT
III
-------------------------
THE
SEVEN PORTALS
"UPADYA
(1), the choice is made, I thirst for Wisdom. Now hast thou
rent the veil before the secret Path and taught the greater Yâna
(2). Thy servant here is ready for thy guidance".
'Tis
well, Srâvaka (3). Prepare thyself, for thou wilt have
to travel on alone. The Teacher can but point the way. The Path is one for all,
the means to reach the goal must vary with the Pilgrims.
Which
wilt thou choose, O thou of dauntless heart? The Samtan (4)
of "eye Doctrine", fourfold Dhyâna, or thread thy way through
Pâramitâs (5), six in number, noble gates of virtue
leading to Bodhi and to Prjna, seventh step of Wisdom?
The
rugged Path of fourfold Dhyâna winds on uphill. Thrice great is he who
climbs the lofty top.
The
Pâramitâ heights are crossed by a still steeper path. Thou hast
to fight thy way through portals seven, seven strongholds held by cruel crafty
Powers- passions incarnate.
Be of
good cheer, Disciple; bear in mind the golden rule. Once thou has passed the
gate Srôtâpatti (6), "he who the stream hath
entered"; once thy foot hath pressed the bed of the Nirvanic stream in
this or any future life, thou hast but seven other births before thee, O thou
of adamantine Will.
Look
on. What see'st upon the deep of matter; within its folds I struggle. Beneath
my gaze it deepens, Lord; it is dispelled beneath the waving of thy hand. A
shadow moveth, creeping like the stretching serpent coils... It grows, swells
out and disappears in darkness".
It is
the shadow of thyself outside the Path, cast on the darkness of thy sins.
"Yea,
Lord; I see the PATH; its foot in mire, its summits lost in glorious light Nirvanic.
And now I see the ever narrowing Portals on the hard and thorny way to Gnyana
(Knowledge, Wisdom):
Thou
seest well, Lanoo. These Portals lead the aspirant across the waters on "to
the other shore" (7). Each Portal hath a golden key that
openeth its gate; and these keys are:-
1- Dâna,
the key of charity and love immortal.
2- Shîla,
the key of Harmony in word and act, the key that counterbalances the cause and
the effect, and leaves no further room for Karmic action.
3- Kshanti,
patience sweet, that nought can ruffle.
4- Virag',
indifference to pleasure and to pain, illusion conquered, truth alone perceived.
5- Virya,
the dauntless energy that fights its way to the supernal TRUTH, out of the mire
of lies terrestrial.
6- Dhyâna,
whose golden gate once opened leads the Narjol (a saint, an adept) toward the
realm of Sat eternal and its ceaseless contemplation.
7- Prjana
the key to which makes of a man a god, creating him a Bôdhisattva, son
of the Dhyânis.
Such
to the Portals are the golden keys.
Before
thou canst approach the last, O weaver of thy freedom, thou hast to master these
Paramitas of perfection- the virtues transcendental six and ten in number- along
the weary Path.
For,
O Disciple! Before thou wert made fit to meet thy Teacher face to face, thy
MASTER light to light, what wert thou told?
Before
thou canst approach the foremost gate thou has to learn to part thy body from
thy mind, to dissipate the shadow, and to live in the eternal. For this, thou
hast to live and breathe in all, as all that thou perceivest breathes in thee;
to feel thyself abiding in all things, all things in SELF.
Thou
shalt not let thy senses make a playground of thy mind.
Thou
shalt not separate thy being from BEING, and the rest, but merge the Ocean in
the drop,the drop within the Ocean.
So shalt
thou be in full accord with all that lives; bear love to men as though they
were thy brother-pupils, disciples of one Teacher, the sons of one sweet mother.
Of teachers
there are many; the MASTER-SOUL is one (8), Alaya, the Universal
Soul. Live in that MASTER as Its ray in thee. Live in thy fellows as they live
in IT.
Before
thou standest on the threshold of the Path before thou crossest the foremost
Gate, thou hast to merge the two into the One and sacrifice the personal to
SELF impersonal, and thus destroy the "path" between the two- Antaskarana
(9).
Thou
hast to be prepared to answer Dharma, the stern law, whose voice will ask thee
at thy first, at thy initial step:
"Hast
thou complied with all the rules, O thou of lofty hopes?"
"Hast
thou attuned thy heart and mind to the great mind and heart of all mankind?
For as the sacred River's roaring voice whereby all Nature- sounds are echoed
back (10), so must the heart of him 'who in the stream would
enter', thrill in response to every sigh and thought of all that lives and breathes".
Disciples
may be likened to the strings of the soul-echoing Vina: mankind, unto its sounding
board; the hand that sweeps it to the tuneful breath of the GREAT WORLD-SOUL.
The string that fails to answer 'neath the Master's touch in dulcet harmony
with all the others, breaks- and is cast away. So the collective minds of Lanoo-Shravakas.
They have to be attuned to the Upadya's mind- one with the Over-Soul- or, break
away.
Thus
do the "Brothers of the Shadow"- the murderers of their Souls, the
dread Dad-Dugpa clan (11).
Hast
thou attuned thy being to Humanity's great pain, O candidate for light?
Thou
hast?..... Thou mayest enter. Yet, ere thou settest foot upon the dreary Path
of sorrow, 'tis well thou should'st first learn the pitfalls on thy way.
Armed
with the key of Charity, of love and tender mercy, thou art secure before the
gate of Dâna, the gate that standeth at the entrance of the PATH.
Behold,
O happy Pilgrim! The portal that faceth thee is high and wide, seems easy of
access. The road that leads therethrough is straight and smooth and green. 'Tis
like a sunny glade in the dark forest depths, a spot on earth mirrored from
Amitabha's paradise. There, nightingales of hope and birds of radiant plumage
sing perched in green bowers, chanting success to fearless Pilgrims. They sing
of Bôdhisattvas' virtues five, the fivefold source of Bodhi power, and
of the seven steps in Knowledge.
Pass
on! For thou hast brought the key; thou art secure.
And
to the second gate the way is verdant too. But it is steep and winds up hill;
yea, to its rocky top. Grey mists will overhang its rough and stony height,
and all be dark beyond. As on he goes, the song of hope soundeth more feeble
in the pilgrim's heart. The thrill of doubt is now upon him; his step less steady
grows.
Beware
of this, O candidate! Beware of fear that spreadeth, like the black and soundless
wings of midnight bat, between the moonlight of thy Soul and thy great goal
that loometh in the distance far away.
Fear,
O disciple, kills the will and stays all action. If lacking in the Shila virtue,-
the pilgrim trips, and Karmic pebbles bruise his feet along the rocky path.
Be of
sure foot, O candidate. In Kshanti's ((patience", vide supra the enumeration
of the golden keys.) Essence bathe thy Soul; for now thou dost approach the
portal of that name, the gate of fortitude and patience.
Close
not thine eyes, nor lose thy sight of Dorje (12); Mara's
arrows ever smite the man who has not reached Virâga (vide supra the enumeration
of the golden keys) (13)
Beware
of trembling. 'Neath the breath of fear the key of Kshanti rusty grows: the
rusty key refuseth to unlock.
The
more thou dost advance, the more thy feet pitfalls will meet. The path that
leadeth on, is lighted by one fire- the light of daring, burning in the heart.
The more one dares, the more he shall obtain. The more he fears, the more that
light shall pale- and that alone can guide. For as the lingering sunbeam, that
on the top of some tall mountain shines, is followed by black night when out
it fades, so is heart-light. When out it goes, a dark and threatening shade
will fall from thine own heart upon the path, and root thy feet in terror to
the spot.
Beware,
disciple, of that lethal shade. No light that shines from Spirit can dispel
the darkness of the nether Soul, unless all selfish thought has fled therefrom,
and that the pilgrim saith:" I have renounced this passing frame; I have
destroyed the cause; the shadows cast can, as effects, no longer be".
For
now the last great fight, the final war between the Higher and the Lower Self
, hath taken place. Behold, the very battlefield is now engulphed in the great
war, and is no more.
But
once that thou hast passed the gate of Kshanti, step the third is taken. Thy
body is thy slave. Now, for the fourth prepare, the Portal of temptations which
do ensnare the inner man.
Ere
thou canst near that goal, before thine hand is lifted to upraise the fourth
gate's latch, thou must have mustered all the mental changes in thy Self and
slain the army of the thought sensations that, subtle and insidious, creep unasked
within the Soul's bright shrine.
If thou
would'st not be slain by them, then must thou harmless make thy own creations,
the children of thy thoughts, unseen, impalpable,that swarm round humankind,
the progeny and heirs to man and his terrestrial spoils. Thou hast to study
the void-ness of the seeming full, the fulness of the seeming void. O fearless
Aspirant, look deep within the well of thine own heart, and answer. Knowest
thou of Self the powers, O thou perceiver of external shadows?
If thou
dost not- then art thou lost.
For,
on Path fourth, the lightest breeze of passion or desire will stir the steady
light upon the pure white walls of Soul. The smallest wave of longing or regret
for Maya's gifts illusive, along Antaskarana- the path that lies between thy
Spirit and thy self, the highway of sensations, the rude arousers of Ahankara
(14)- a thought as fleeting as the lightning flash will make
thee thy three prizes forfeit- the prizes thou hast won.
For
know, that the ETERNAL knows no change.
"The
eight dire miseries forsake for evermore. If not, to wisdom,sure, thou can'st
not come, nor yet to liberation", saith the great Lord, that Tathâgata
of perfection, "he who has followed in the footsteps of his predecessors".
(15)
Stern
and exacting is the virtue of Virâga. If thou its path would'st master,
thou must keep thy mind and thy perceptions far freer than before from killing
action.
Thou
hast to saturate thyself with pure Alaya, become as one with Nature's Soul-Thought.
At one with it thou art invincible; in separation, thou becomest the playground
of Samvriti (16), origin of all the world's delusions.
All
is impermanent in man except the pure bright essence of Alaya, Man is its crystal
ray; a beam of light immaculate within, a form of clay material upon the lower
surface. That beam is thy life-guide and thy true Self, the Watcher and the
silent Thinker,the victim of thy lower Self. Thy Soul cannot be hurt, but through
thy erring body; control and master both, and thou art safe when crossing to
the nearing "Gate of Balance".
Be of
good cheer, O daring pilgrim "to the other shore". Heed not the whisperings
of Mara's hosts; wave off the tempters, those ill-natured Sprites, the jealous
Lhamayin (17) in endless space.
Hold
firm! Thou nearest now the middle portal, the gate of Woe, wit its ten thousand
snares.
Have
master o'er thy thoughts, O striver for perfection, if thou would'st cross its
threshold.
Have
mastery o'er thy Soul, O seeker after truths undying, if thou would'st reach
the goal.
Thy
Soul-gaze centre on the One Pure Light, the Light that is free from affection,
and use thy golden Key.
The
dreary task is done,thy labour well-nigh o'er. The wide abyss that gaped to
swallow thee is almost spanned.
Thou
hast now crossed the moat that circles round the gate of human passions. Thou
hast now conquered Mara and his furious host.
Thou
hast removed pollution from thine heart and bled it from impure desire. But,
O thou glorious combatant, thy tasks is not yet done. Build high, Lanoo, the
wall that shall hedge in the Holy Isle (The Higher Ego, or Thinking Self), the
dam that will protect thy mind from pride and satisfaction at thoughts of the
great feat achieved.
A sense
of pride would mar the work. Aye, build it strong,lest the fierce rush of battling
waves, that mount and beat its shore from out the great World Maya's Ocean,
swallow up the pilgrim and the isle- yea, even when the victory's achieved.
Thine
"Isle" is the deer, thy thoughts the hounds that weary and pursue
his progress to the stream of Life. Woe to the deer that is o'ertaken by the
barking fiends before he reach the Vale of Refuge- Dnyan Mârga, "path
of pure knowledge" named.
Ere
thou canst settle in Dnyan Mârga (18) and call it thine,
thy Soul has to become as the ripe mango fruit: as soft and sweet as its bright
golden pulp for others' woes, as hard as that fruit's stone for thine own throes
and sorrows, O Conqueror of Weal and Woe.
Make
hard thy Soul against the snares of Self; deserve for it the name of "Diamond
Soul". (19)
For,
as the diamond buried deep within the throbbing heart of earth can never mirror
back the earthly lights; so are thy mind and Soul; plunged in Dnyan Mârga,
these must mirror nought of Maya's realm illusive.
When
thou hast reached that state, the Portals that thou hast to conquer on the Path
fling open wide their gates to let thee pass, and Nature's strongest mights
posses no power to stay they course. Thou wilt be master of the sevenfold Path:
but not till then, O candidate for trials passing speech.
Till
then, a task far harder still awaits thee; thou hast to feel thyself, ALL-THOUGHT,
and yet exile all thoughts from out thy Soul.
Thou
hast to reach that fixity of mind in which no breeze, however strong, can waft
an earthly thought within. Thus purified, the shrine must of all action, sound,
or earthly light be void; e'en as the butterfly, o'ertaken by the frost, falls
lifeless at the threshold- so must all earthly thoughts fall dead before the
fane.
Behold
it written:
"Ere
the gold flame can burn with steady light, the lamp must stand well guarded
in a spot free from all wind". (Bhagavat-gita) Exposed to shifting breeze,
the jet will flicker and the quivering flame cast shades deceptive, dark and
ever-changing, on the Soul's white shrine.
And
then, O thou pursuer of the truth, thy Mind-Soul will become as a mad elephant,
that rages in the jungle. Mistaking forest trees for living foes, he perishes
in his attempt to kill the ever-shifting shadows dancing on the wall of sunlit
rocks.
Beware,
lest in the care of Self thy Soul should lose her foothold on the soil of Deva-knowledge.
Beware,
lest in forgetting SELF, thy Soul lose o'er its trembling mind control, and
forfeit thus the due fruition of its conquests.
Beware
of change! For change is thy great foe. This change will fight thee off, and
throw thee back, out of the Path thou treadest, deep into viscous swamps of
doubt.
Prepare,
and be forewarned in time. If thou hast tried and failed, O dauntless fighter,
yet lose not courage: fight on and to the charge return again, and yet again.
The
fearless warrior, his precious lifeblood oozing from his wide and gaping wounds,
will still attach the foe, drive him from out his stronghold, vanquish him,
ere he himself expires. Act then, all ye who fail and suffer, act like him;
and from the stronghold of your Soul, chase all your foes away- ambition, anger,
hatred, e'en to the shadow of desire- when even you have failed...
Remember,
thou has fightest for man's liberation (20), each failure
is success, and each sincere attempt win its reward in time. The holy germs
that sprout and grow unseen in the disciple's soul, their stalks wax strong
at each new trial, they bend like reeds but never break, nor can they e'er be
lost. But when the hour has struck they blossom forth (21).
But if thou cam'st
prepared, then have no fear.
Henceforth thy way
is clear right through the Virya gate, the fifth one of the Seven Portals. Thou
art now on the way that leadeth to the Dhyâna haven, the sixth, the Bodhi
Portal.
The Dhyâna
gate is like an alabaster vase, white and transparent; within there burns a
steady golden fire, the flame of Prajna that radiates from Atman.
Thou art that vase.
Thou hast estranged
thyself from object of the senses, travelled on the "Path of seeing",
on the "Path of hearing", and standest in the light of Knowledge.
Thou hast now reached Titiksha state (22).
O Narjol thou art
safe.
Know, Conqueror of
Sins, once that a Sowanee (23) hath cross'd the seventh Path,
all Nature thrills with joyous awe and feels subdued. The silver star now twinkles
out the news to the night-blossoms, the streamlet to the pebbles ripples out
the tale; dark ocean-waves will roar it to the rocks surf-bound, scent-laden
breezes sing it to the vales, and stately pines mysteriously whisper: "A
Master has arisen, a MASTER OF THE DAY" (24).
He standeth now like
a white pillar to the west, upon whose face the rising Sun of thought eternal
poureth forth its first most glorious waves. His mind, like a becalmed and boundless
ocean, spreadeth out in shoreless space. He holdeth life and death in his strong
hand.
Yea, He is mighty.
The living power made free in him, that power which is HIMSELF, can raise the
tabernacle of illusion high above the gods, above great Brahm and Indra. Now
he shall surely reach his great reward!
Shall he not use
the gifts which it confers for his own rest and bliss, his well-earn'd weal
and glory- he, the subduer of the great Delusion?
Nay, O thou candidate
for Nature's hidden lore! If one would follow in the steps of holy Tathâgata,
those gifts and powers are not for Self.
Would'st thou thus
dam the waters born on Sumeru? (25) Shalt thou divert the
stream for thine own sake, or send it back to its prime source along the crest
of cycles?
If thou would'st
have that stream of hard-earn'd knowledge, of Wisdom heaven-born, remain sweet
running waters, thou should'st not leave it to become a stagnant pond.
Know, if of Amitabha,
the "Boundless Age", thou would'st become co-worker, then must thou
shed the light acquired, like to the Bôdhisattvas twain (26),
upon the span of all three worlds (27).
Known that the stream
of superhuman knowledge and the Deva-Wisdom thou hast won, must, from thyself,
the channel of Alaya, be poured forth into another bed.
Know, O Narjol, thou
of the Secret Path, its pure fresh waters must be used to sweeter make the Ocean's
bitter waves- that mighty sea of sorrow formed of the tears of men.
Alas! when once thou
hast become like the fix'd star in highest heaven, that bright celestial orb
must shine from out the spatial depths for all- save for itself; give light
to all, but take from none.
Alas! when once thou
hast become like the pure snow in mountain vales, cold and unfeeling to the
touch, warm and protective to the seed that sleepeth deep beneath its bosom-
'tis now that snow which must receive the biting frost, the northern blasts,
thus shielding form their sharp and cruel tooth the earth that holds the promised
harvest, the harvest that will feed the hungry.
Self-doomed to live
through future Kalpas (Cycles of ages), un-thanked and unperceived by men; wedged
as a stone with countless other stones which form the "Guardian Wall"
(28), such is thy future if the seventh gate thou passest.
Built by the hands of many Masters of Compassion, raised by their tortures,
by their blood cemented, it shields mankind, since man is man, protecting it
from further and far greater misery and sorrow.
Withal man sees it
not, will not perceive it, nor will he heed the word of Wisdom..... for he knows
it not.
But thou hast heard
it, thou knowest all, O thou of eager guileless Soul .... and thou must choose.
Then hearken yet again.
On Sowan's Path,
O Srôtâpatti, (Sowan and Srôtâpatti are synonymous terms)
thou art secure. Aye, on that Marga, (Path) where nought but darkness meets
the weary pilgrim,where torn by thorns the hands drip blood,the feet are cut
by sharp unyielding flints, and Mara wields his strongest arms- there lies a
great reward immediately beyond.
Calm and unmoved
the Pilgrim glideth up the stream that to Nirvâna leads. He knoweth that
the more his feet will bleed, the whiter will himself be washed. He knoweth
well that after seven short and fleeting births Nirvâna will be his...
Such is the Dhyâna
Path,the haven of the Yogi, the blessed goal that Srôtâpattis crave.
Not so when he hath
crossed and won the Aryahata Path (From the Sanscrit Arhat or Arhan)
There Klesha (29)
is destroyed for ever, Tanha's (30) roots torn out. But stay,
Disciple .....Yet one word. Canst thou destroy divine COMPASSION? Compassion
is no attribute. It is the Law of Laws- eternal Harmony, Alaya's SELF; a shoreless
universal essence, the light of everlasting Right, and fitness of all things,
the law of love eternal.
The more thou dost
become at one with it, thy being melted in its BEING, the more thy Soul unites
with that which IS, the more thou wilt become COMPASSION ABSOLUTE
(31).
Such is the Arya
Path, Path of the Buddhas of perfection.
Withal, what mean
the sacred scrolls which make thee say?
"OM! I believe
it is not all the Arhats that get of the Nirvânic Path the sweet fruition".
"OM! I believe
that the Nirvâna-Dharma is entered not by all the Buddhas"
(32) (Thegpa Chenpoido, "Mahâyâna Sutra", Invocations
to the Buddhas of Confession", Part I., iv.)
"Yea; on the
Arya Path thou art no more Srôtâpatti, thou art a Bôdhisattva
(33). The stream is cross'd. 'Tis true thou hast a right
to Dharmakâya vesture; but Sambogakâya is greater than a Nirvânee,
and greater still is a Nirmanakâya- the Buddha of Compassion (34).
Now bend thy head
and listen well, O Bôdhisattva-Compassion speaks and saith:"Can there
be bliss when all that lives must suffer? Shalt thou be saved and hear the whole
world cry?"
Now thou hast heard
that which was said.
Thou shalt attain
the seventh step and cross the gate of final knowledge but only to wed woe-
if thou would'st be Tathâgata, follow upon thy predecessor's steps, remain
unselfish till the endless end.
Thou art enlightened-
Choose thy way.
Behold, the mellow
light that floods the Eastern sky. In signs of praise both heaven and earth
unite. And from the fourfold manifested Powers a chant of love ariseth, both
form the flaming Fire and flowing Water, and from sweet-smelling Earth and rushing
Wind.
Hark! ..... From
the deep unfathomable vortex of that golden light in which the Victor bathes,
ALL NATURE'S word-less voice in thousand tones ariseth to proclaim:
JOY UNTO YE, O MEN
OF MYALBA (35)
A PILGRIM HATH RETURNED
BACK "FROM THE OTHER SHORE'.
A NEW ARHAN (36)
IS BORN....
PEACE
TO ALL BEINGS (37)
GLOSSARY
TO PART -1-
The
Voice of the Silence
(1)The
Pali word Iddhi, is the synonym of the Sanskrit Siddhis, or psychic faculties,the
abnormal powers in man. There are two kinds of Siddhis. One group which embraces
the lower, coarse, psychic and mental energies; the other is one which exacts
the highest training of Spiritual powers. Says Krishna in Shrimad Bhagavat:-
"He
who is engaged in the performance of yoga, who has subdued his senses and who
has concentrated his mind in me (Krishna), such yogis all the Siddhis stand
ready to serve".
(2).
The "Soundless Voice", or the "Voice of the Silence", Literally
perhaps this would read "Voice in the Spiritual Sound", as Nada is
the equivalent word in Sanskrit, for the Sen-sar term.
(3)
Dhâranâ, is the intense and perfect concentration of the mind upon
some one interior object,accompanied by complete abstraction from everything
pertaining to the external Universe, or the world of the senses.
(4)
The "Great Master" is the term used by lanoos or chelas to indicate
one's "Higher Self". It is the equivalent of Avalôkiteswara,
and the same as Adi-Buddha with the Buddhist Occultists, ATMAN the "Self"
(the Higher Self) with the Brahmins, and CHRISTOS with the ancient Gnostics.
(5)
Soul is used here for the Human Ego or Manas, that which is referred to in our
Occult Septenary division as the "Human Soul" (Vide the Secret Doctrine)
in contradistinction to the Spiritual and Animal Souls.
(6)
Maha Maya "Great Illusion", the objective Universe.
(7)
Sakkâyaditthi "delusion" of personality.
(8)
Attavâda, the heresy of the belief in Soul or rather in the separateness
of Soul or Self from the One Universal, infinite SELF.
(9)
The Tatwagnyanee is the "knower" or discriminator of the principles
in nature and in man; and Atmagnyanee is the knower of ATMAN or the Universal,
One Self .
(10)
Kala Hamsa, the "Bird" or Swan (Vide No. 11). Says the Nada-Bindu
Upanishad (Rig Veda) translated by the Kumbakonam Theos. Society- "The
syllable A, is considered to be its (the bird Hamsa's) right wing, U, its left,
M, its tail, and the Ardha-matra (half metre) is said to be its head".
(11)
Eternity with the Orientals has quite another signification than it has with
us. It stands generally for the 100 years or "age" of Brahmâ,
the duration of a Maha-Kalpa or a period of 311,040,000,000,000 years.
(12)
Says the same Nada-Bindu, "A Yogi who bestrides the Hamsa (thus contemplates
on Aum) is not affected by Karmic influences or crores of sins".
(13)
Give up the life of physical personality if you would live in spirit.
(14)
The three states of consciousness,which are Jagrat, the waking Swapna, the dreaming;
and Sushupti, the deep sleeping state These three Yogi conditions, lead to the
fourth or-
(15)
The Turya, that beyond the dreamless state, the one above all, a state of high
spiritual consciousness.
(16)
Some Sanskrit mystics locate seven planes of being, the seven spiritual lokas
or worlds within the body of Kala Hamsa, the Swan out of Time and Space, convertible
into the Swan in Time,when it becomes Brahmâ instead of Brahma (neuter).
(17)
The phenomenal World of Senses and of terrestrial consciousness-only.
(18)
The astral region, the Psychic World of super-sensuous perceptions and of deception
sights- the world of Mediums. It is the great "Astral Serpent" of
Eliphas Levi. No blossom plucked in those regions has ever yet been brought
down on earth without its serpent coiled around the stem. It is the world of
the Great Illusion.
(19)
The region of the full Spiritual Consciousness beyond which there is no longer
danger for him who has reached it.
(20)
The Initiate who leads the disciple through the Knowledge given to him to his
spiritual, or second, birth is called the Father guru or Master.
(21)
Agnyana is ignorance or non-wisdom the opposite of "Knowledge" gnyana.
(22)
Mara is in exoteric religions a demon, an Asura but in esoteric philosophy it
is personified temptation through men's vices, and translated literally means
"that which kills" the Soul. It is represented as King (of the Maras)
with a crown in which shines a jewel of such lustre that it blinds those who
look at it, this lustre referring of course to the fascination exercised by
vice upon certain natures.
(23)
The inner chamber of the Heart, called in Sanskrit Brahmâpoori The "fiery
power" is Kundalini.
(24)
The "Power) and the "World-mother" are names given to Kundalini-
one of the mystic "Yogi powers". It is Buddhi considered as an active
instead of a passive principle (which is generally, when regarded only as the
vehicle, or casket of the Supreme Spirit ATMA). It is an electro-spiritual force,
a creative power which when aroused into action can as easily kill as it can
create.
(25)
Keshara or "sky-walker" or "goer". As explained in the 6th
Adhyaya of that king of mystic works the Dhyaneswari- the body of the Yogi becomes
as one formed of the wind; as" a cloud from which limbs have sprouted out",
after which-"he (the Yogi) beholds the things beyond the seas and stars;
he hears the language of the Devas and comprehends it, and perceives what is
passing in the mind of the ant".
(26)
Vina is an Indian stringed instrument like a lute.
(27)
The six principles; meaning when the lower personality is destroyed and the
Inner individuality is merged into and lost in the Seventh or Spirit.
(28)
The disciple is one with Brahmâ or the ATMAN.
(29)
The astral form produced by the Kamic principle the Kama rupa or body of desire.
(30)
Manasa rupa. The first refers to the astral or personal Self; the second to
the individuality or the re-incarnating Ego whose consciousness on our plane
or the lower Manas- has to be paralyzed
(31)
Kundalini is called the "Serpentine" or the annular power on account
of its spiral-like working or progress in the body of the ascetic developing
the power in himself. It is an electric fiery occult or Fohatic power, the great
pristine force, which underlies all organic and inorganic matter.
(32)
This "Path" is mentioned in all the Mystic Works. As Krishna says
in the Dhyaneswari: "When this Path is beheld ... whether one sets out
to the bloom of the east or to the chambers of the west, without moving, O holder
of the bow, is the travelling in this road. In this path, to whatever place
one would go, that place one's own self becomes". "Thou art the Path"
is said to the adept guru and by the latter to the disciple, after initiation.
"I am the way and the Path" says another MASTER.
(33)
Adeptship- the "blossom of Bodhisattva".
(34)
Tanha- "the will to live", the fear of death and love for live, that
force or energy which causes the re-births.
(35)
These mystic sounds or the melody heard by the ascetic at the beginning of his
cycle of meditation called Anâhad-shabd by the Yogis.
(36)
This means that in the sixth stage of development which, in the occult system
is Dhâranâ, every sense as an individual faculty has to be "killed"
(or paralyzed) on this plane, passing into and merging with the Seventh sense,
the most spiritual
(37)
Dhâranâ, is the intense and perfect concentration of the mind upon
some one interior object,accompanied by complete abstraction from everything
pertaining to the external Universe, or the world of the senses.
(38)
Every stage of development in Raja Yoga is symbolised by a geometrical figure.
This one is the sacred Triangle and precedes Dhâranâ. The is the
sign of the high chelas,while another kind of triangle is that of high Initiates.
It is the symbol "I" discoursed upon by Buddha and used by him as
a symbol of the embodied form of Tathâgata when released from the three
methods of the Prajna. Once the preliminary and lower stages passed, the disciple
sees no more the [triangle] but the- the abbreviation of the ---, the full Septenary.
Its true form is not given here, as it is almost sure to be pounced upon by
some charlatans and- desecrated in its use for fraudulent purposes.
(39)
The star that burns overhead is the "the star of initiation". The
caste-mark of Saivas, or devotees of the sect of Siva, the great patron of all
Yogins, is a black round spot, the symbol of the Sun now perhaps, but that of
the star of initiation, in Occultism, in days of old.
(40)
The basis (upadhi) of the ever unreachable "FLAME" so long as the
ascetic is still in this life.
(41)
Dhyânâ is the last stage before the final on this Earth unless one
becomes a full MAHATMA. As said already, in this state the Raj Yogi is yet spiritually
conscious of Self, and the working of his higher principles. One step more,
and he will be on the plane beyond the Seventh (or fourth according to some
schools). These, after the practice of Pratyêhara- a preliminary training,
in order to control one's mind and thoughts- count Dhâsena, Dhyânâ
and Samâdhi and embrace the three under the generic name of SANNYAMA.
(42)
Samâdhi is the state in which the ascetic loses the consciousness of every
individuality including his own. He becomes -the ALL.
(43)
The "four modes of truth" are, in Northern Buddhism, KU "suffering
or misery"; Chi the assembling of temptations; Mi "their destructions"
and Tao the "path". The "five impediments" are the knowledge
of misery, truth about human frailty, oppressive restraints, and the absolute
necessity of separation form all the ties of passion and even of desires. The
"Path of Salvation"- is the last one.
(44)
At the portal of the "assembling" the King of the Maras, the Maha
Mara, stands trying to blind the candidate by the radiance of his "Jewel".
(45)
This is the fourth "Path" out of the five paths of rebirth which lead
and toss all human beings into perpetual states of sorrow and joy. These "Paths"
are but subdivisions of the One,the Path followed by Karma.
GLOSSARY
TO PART II
THE
TWO PATHS
(1)
The two schools of Buddha's doctrine, the esoteric and the exoteric, are respectively
called the "Heart" and the "Eye" Doctrine. Bodhidharma called
them in China- from whence the names reached Tibet- the Tsung-men (esoteric)
and Kiau-men (exoteric school). The "Heart" Doctrine is so named,
because it is the teaching which emanated from Gautama Buddha's heart, whereas
the "Eye" Doctrine was the work of his head or brain. The "Heart
Doctrine" is also called "the seal of truth" or the "true
seal", a symbol found on the heading of almost all esoteric works.
(2)
The "Tree of knowledge" is a title given by the followers of the Bodhidharma
(Wisdom religion) to those who have attained the height of mystic knowledge-
adepts. Nâgâjurna the founder of the Madhyamika School was called
the "Dragon Tree", Dragon standing as a symbol of Wisdom and Knowledge.
The tree is honoured because it is under the Bodhi (wisdom) Tree that Buddha
received his birth and enlightenment, preached his first sermon and died.
(3)
"Secret Heart" is the esoteric doctrine.
(4)
"Diamond Soul" Vajrasattva, a title of the supreme Buddha, the "Lord
of all Mysteries", called Vajradhara and Adi-Buddha.
(5)
SAT, the one eternal and Absolute Reality and Truth, all the rest being illusion.
(6)
From Shin-Sien's Doctrine, who teaches that the human mind is like a mirror
which attracts and reflects every atom of dust, and has to be, like that mirror,
watched over and dusted every day. Shi-Sien was the sixth Patriarch of North
China who taught the esoteric doctrine of Bodhidharma.
(7)
The reincarnating EGO is called by the Northern Buddhists the "true man",
who becomes in union with his Higher-Self- a Buddha.
(8)
"Buddha" means "Enlightened".
(9)
See No. 1-. (above) re : The exoteric Buddhism of the masses.
(10)
The usual formula that precedes the Buddhist Scriptures, meaning, that that
which follows is what has been recorded by direct oral tradition from Buddha
and the Archats.
(11)
Rathapâla the great Arhat thus addresses his father in the legend called
Rathapâla Sûtrasanne. But as all such legends are allegorical (e.g.
Rathapâla's father has a mansion with seven doors) hence the reproof,
to those who accept them literally.
(12)
The "Higher Self" the seventh" principle.
(13)
Our physical bodies are called "Shadows" in the mystic schools.
(14)
A hermit who retires to the jungles and lives in a forest, when becoming a Yogi.
(15)
Julaï the Chinese name for Tathâgata, a title applied to every Buddha.
(16)
All the Northern and Southern traditions agree in showing Buddha quitting his
solitude as soon as he had resolved the problem of life i.e.,, received the
inner enlightenment- and teaching mankind publicly.
(17)
Every spiritual EGO is a ray of a "Planetary Spirit" according to
esoteric teaching.
(18)
"Personalities" or physical bodies called "shadows" are
evanescent.
(19)
Mind (Manas) the thinking Principle or EGO in man, is referred to "Knowledge"
itself, because the human Egos are called Manasa-putras the sons of (universal)
Mind.
(20)
Vide Part III. Glossary, paragraph 34 et seq.
(21)
Ibid
(22)
The Shangna robe, from Shangnavesu of Rajagriha the third great Arhat or "Patriarch"
as the Orientalists call the hierarchy of the 33 Arhats who spread Buddhism.
"Shangna robe" means metaphorically, the acquirement of Wisdom with
which the Nirvâna of destruction (of personality) is entered. Literally,
the "initiation robe" of the Neophytes. Edkins states that this "grass
cloth" was brought to China from Tibet in the Tong Dynasty, "When
an Arhan is born this plant is found growing in a clean spot" says the
Chinese as also the Tibetan legend.
(23)
To "practice the Paramita Path" means to become a Yogi with a view
of becoming an ascetic.
(24)
"Tomorrow" means the following rebirth or reincarnation.
(25)
"Great Journey" or the whole complete cycle of existences, in one
"Round".
(26)
Nyima, the Sun in Tibetan Astrology. Migmar or Mars is symbolized by an "Eye",
and Shagpa or Mercury by a "Hand".
(27)
Srotâpatti or "he who enters in the stream" of Nirvâna,
unless he reaches the goal owing to some exceptional reasons, can rarely attain
Nirvâna in one birth. Usually a Chela is said to begin the ascending effort
in one life and end or reach it only in his seventh succeeding birth.
(28)
Meaning the personal lower "Self".
(29)
Tirthikas are the Brahmanical Sectarians "beyond" the Himalayas called
"infidels" by the Buddhists in the sacred land, Tibet, and vice versa.
(30)
Boundless Vision or psychic, superhuman sight. An Arhan is credited with "seeing"
and knowing all at a distance as well as on the spot.
(31)
Vide supra 22: Shangna plant.
(32)
The "living" is the immortal Higher Ego, and the "dead"-
the lower personal Ego.
(33)
Vide infra Part III, par. 34
(34)
The "Secret Life" is life as a Nirmânakaya.
(35)
The "Open" and the "Secret Path",- or the one taught to
the layman, the exoteric and the generally accepted, and the other the Secret
Path- the nature to which is explained at initiation.
(36)
Men ignorant of the Esoteric truths and Wisdom are called "the living Dead".
(37)
Vide infra, Part III. 34
(38)
Pratyéka Buddhas are those Bôdhisattvas who strive and often reach
the Dharmakâya robe after a series of lives. Caring nothing for the woes
of mankind or to help it, but only for their own bliss, they enter Nirvâna
and- disappear from the sight and the hearts of men. In Northern Buddhism a
"Pratyêka" is a synonym of spiritual Selfishness
GLOSSARY
TO PART III
The
Seven Portals
(1)
Upâdya is a spiritual preceptor, a Guru. The Northern Buddhists choose
these generally among the "Narjol", saintly men, learned in gôtrabhu-gnyâna
and gnyâna-dassana-suddhi teachers of the Secret Wisdom.
(2)
Yâna- vehicle: thus Mahayâna is the "Great Vehicle", and
Hinayâna, the "Lesser Vehicle", the names for two schools of
religious and philosophical learning in Northern Buddhism.
(3)
Srâvaka- a listener, or student who attends to the religious instructions.
From the root "Sru" . When from theory they go into practice or performance
of asceticism, they become Sramanas, "exercisers", from Srama, action.
As Hardy shows, the two appellations answer to the words ???? and ????? of the
Greeks.
(4)
Samtan (Tibetan), the same as the Sanskrit Dhyâna, or the state of meditation,
of which there are four degrees.
(5)
Paramitas, the six transcendental virtues; for the priests there are ten.
(6)
Srôtâpatti- (lit.) "he who has entered the stream" that
leads to the Nirvanic ocean. This name indicates the first Path. The name of
the second is the Path of Sakridagamin, " he who will receive birth (only)
once more". The third is called Anagâmin, "he who will be reincarnated
no more", unless he so desires in order to help mankind. The fourth Path
is known as that of Rahat or Arhat. This is the highest. An Arhat sees Nirvana
during his life. For him it is no post-mortem state, but Samâdhi, during
which he experiences all Nirvanic bliss. ( How little one can rely upon the
Orientalists for the exact words and meaning, is instanced in the case of three
"alleged" authorities. Thus the four names just explained are given
by R. Spence Hardy as: 1- Sowân; 2- Sakradâgâmi; 3- Anâgâmi,
and 4- Arya. By the Rev. J.Edkins they are given as 1- Srôtâpanna;
2- Sagardagam; 3- Anâganim, and 4. Arhan - Schlaginwelt again spells them
differently, each, moreover, giving another and a new variation in the meaning
of the terms.)
(7)
"Arrival at the shore" is with the Northern Buddhists synonymous with
reaching Nirvana through the exercise of the six and the the Paramitas (virtues).
(8)
The "MASTER-SOUL' is Alaya, the Universal Soul or Atman, each man having
a ray of it in him and being supposed to be able to identify himself with and
to merge himself into it.
(9)
Antaskarana is the lower Manas, the Path of communication or communion between
the personality and the higher Manas or human Soul. At death it is destroyed
as a Path or medium of communication, and its remains survive in a form as the
Kamarupa- the "shell".
(10)
The Northern Buddhists, and all Chinese, in fact, find in the deep roar of some
of the great and sacred rivers the key-note of Nature Hence the simile. It is
a well-known fact in Physical Science, as well as in Occultism, that the aggregate
sound of Nature- such as heard in the roar of great rivers,the noise produced
by the waving tops of trees in large forest, or that of a city heard at a distance-
is a definite single tone of quite an appreciable pitch. This is shown by physicists
and musicians. Thus Prof. Rice (Chinese Music) shows that the Chinese recognized
the fact thousands of years ago by saying that "the waters of the Hoang-ho
rushing by intoned the kung" called "the great tone" in Chinese
music; and he shows this tone corresponding with the F, "considered by
modern physicists to be the actual tonic of Nature". Professor B.Silliman
mentions it, too, in his Principles of Physics, saying that "this tone
is held to be the middle F. of the piano; which may, therefore, be considered
the key-note of Nature".
(11)
The Bhons or Dugpas, the sect of the "Red Caps" , are regarded as
the most versed in sorcery. They inhabit Western and Little Tibet and Bhutan.
They are all Tantrikas. It is quite ridiculous to find Orientalists who have
visited the borderlands of Tibet,such as Schlaintweit and others, confusing
the rites and disgusting practices of these with the religious beliefs of the
Eastern Lamas, the "Yellow Caps" and their Narjols or holy men. The
following is an instance.
(12)
Dorje is the Sanscrit Vajra, a weapon or instrument in the hands of some gods
(The Tibetan Dragshed, the Devas who protect men) and is regarded as having
the same occult power of repelling evil influences by purifying the air as Ozone
in chemistry. It is also a Mudra, a gesture and posture used in sitting for
meditation. It is, in short,a symbol of power over invisible evil influences,
whether as a posture or a talisman. The Bhons or Dugpas , however, having appropriated
the symbol, misuse it for purposes of Black Magic. With the "Yellow Caps",
or Gelugpas, it is a symbol of power, as the Cross is with the Christians, while
it is in no way more "superstitious". With the Dugpas, it is like
the double triangle reversed, the sign of sorcery.
(13)
Virâga is that feeling of absolute indifference to the objective universe,
to pleasure and to pain. "Disgust" does not express its meaning, yet
is is akin to it.
(14)
Ahankara- the "I" or feeling of one's personality, the "I-am-ness".
(15)
One who walks in the steps of his predecessors" or "those who came
before him", is the true meaning of the name Tathagata.
(16)
Samvriti is that one of the two truths which demonstrates the illusive character
or emptiness of all things. It is relative truth in this case. The Mahayana
school teaches the difference between these two truths- Paramârthasatya
and Samvritisatya (Satya "truth"). This is the bone of contention
between the Madhyâmikas and the Yogâcharyas, the former denying
and the latter affirming that every object exists owing to a previous cause
or by a concatenation. The Madhyâmikas are the great Nihilists and Deniers,
for whom everything is parikapita, an illusion and an error in the world of
thought and the subjective, as much as in the objective universe. The Yogâcharyas
are the great spiritualists Samvriti, therefore, as only relative truth, is
the origin of all illusion.
(17)
Lhamayin are elementals and evil spirits adverse to men, and their enemies.
(18)
Dhyân-Mârga is the "Path of Dhyânâ", literally;
or the Path of pure knowledge, of Paramârtha or (Sanscrit) Svasamvedenta
"the self-evident or self-analysing reflection".
(19)
Vide Glossary of Part II., Number 4- "Diamond-Soul" or Vajradhara
presides over the Dhyani-Buddhas.
(20)
This is an allusion to a well-known belief in the East (as in the West, too,
for the matter of that) that every additional Buddha or Saint is a new soldier
in the army of those who work for the liberation or salvation of mankind. In
Northern Buddhist countries, where the doctrine of Nirmânakâyas-
those Bôdhisattvas who renounce well-earned Nirvana or the Dharmakâya
vesture (both of which shut them out for ever from the world of men) in order
to invisibly assist mankind and lead it finally to Paranirvana- is taught, every
new Bôdhisattva or initiated great Adept is called the "liberator
of mankind". The statement made by Schlagintweit in his "Buddhism
in Tibet" to the effect that Prulpai Ku or "Nirmânakâya
is "the body in which the Buddhas or Bôdhisattvas appear upon earth
to teach men" is absurdly inaccurate and explains nothing.
(21)
A reference to human passions and sins which slaughtered during the trials of
the novitiate, and serve as well-fertilized soil in which "holy germs"
or seeds of transcendental virtues may germinate. Pre-existing or innate virtues,
talents or gifts are regarded as having been acquired in a previous birth. Genius
is without exception a talent or aptitude brought from another birth.
(22)
Titiksha is the fifth state of Raja Yoga - one of supreme indifference; submission,
if necessary, to what is called "pleasures and pains for all", but
deriving neither pleasure nor pain from such submission- in short, the becoming
physically, mentally, and morality indifferent and insensible to either pleasure
or pain.
(23)
Sowanee is one who practises Sowan, the first path in Dhyan, a Srôtâpatti.
(24)
"Day" means here a whole Manvantara, a period of incalculable duration.
(25)
Mount Meru, the sacred mountain of the Gods.
(26)
In the Northern Buddhist symbology, Amitabha or "Boundless Space"
(Parabrahm) is said to have in his paradise two Bôdhisattvas- Kwan-shi-yin
and Tashishi- who ever radiate light over the three worlds where they lived,
including our own (vide 27), in order to help with this light (of knowledge)
in the instruction of Yogis, who will, in their turn,save men. Their exalted
position in Amitabha's realm is due to deeds of mercy performed by the two,
as such Yogis, when on earth, says the allegory.
(27)
These three worlds are the three planes of being, the terrestrial, astral and
the spiritual.
(28)
The "Guardian Wall" or the "Wall of Protection". It is taught
that the accumulated efforts of long generations of Yogis, Saints and Adepts,
especially of the Nirmânakâyas - have created, so to say, a wall
of protection around mankind, which wall shields mankind invisibly from still
worse evils.
(29)
Klesha is the love of pleasure or of worldly enjoyment, evil or good.
(30)
Tanha, the will to live, that which causes rebirth.
(31)
This "compassion" must not be regarded in the same light as "God,
the divine love" of the Theists. Compassion stands here as an abstract,
impersonal law whose nature, being absolute Harmony, is thrown into confusion
by discord, suffering and sin.
(32)
In the Northern Buddhist phraseology all the great Arhats, Adepts and Saints
are called Buddhas.
(33)
A Bôdhisattva is, in the hierarchy, less than a "perfect Buddha".
In the exoteric parlance these two are very much confused. Yet the innate and
right popular perception, owing to that self-sacrifice, has placed a Bôdhisattva
higher in its reverence than a Buddha.
(34)
This same popular reverence calls "Buddhas of Compassion" those Bôdhisattvas
who, having reached the rank of an Arhat (i.e., have completed the fourth or
seventh Path) refuse to pass into the Nirvânic state or "don the
Dharmakâya robe and cross to the other shore", as it would then become
beyond their power to assist men even so little as Karma permits. They prefer
to remain invisibly (in Spirit, so to speak) in the world and contribute toward
men's salvation by influencing them to follow the Good Law, i.e, lead them on
the Path of Righteousness. It is part of the exoteric Northern Buddhism to honour
all such great characters as Saints, and to offer even prayers to them, as the
Greeks and Catholics do to their Saints and Patrons; on the other hand,the esoteric
teachings countenance no such thing. There is a great difference between the
two teachings. The exoteric layman hardly knows the real meaning of the word
Nirmânakâya- hence the confusion and inadequate explanations of
the Orientalists. For example Schlagintweit believes that Nirmânakâya-
body, means the physical form assumed by the Buddhas when they incarnate on
earth- "the least sublime of their earthly encumbrances" (vide "Buddhism
in Tibet")- and he proceeds o give an entirely false view on the subject.
The real teaching is, however, this:-
The
three buddhic bodies or forms are styled:-
1- Nirmânakâya.
2- Sambhogakâya
3- Dharmâkâya
The
first is that ethereal form which one would assume when leaving his physical
he would appear in his astral body- having in addition all the knowledge of
an Adept. The Bôdhisattva develops it in himself as he proceeds on the
Path. Having reached the goal and refused its fruition,he remains on Earth,
as an Adept; and when he dies, instead of going into Nirvâna, he remains
in that glorious body he has woven for himself, invisible to uninitiated mankind,
to watch over and protect it.
Sambhogakâya
is the same, but with the additional lustre of "three perfections",
one of which is entire obliteration of all earthly concerns.
The
Dharmakâya body is that of a complete Buddha, i.e., no body at all, but
an ideal breath: Consciousness merged in the Universal Consciousness, or Soul
devoid of every attribute. Once a Dharmakâya, an Adept or Buddha leaves
behind every possible relation with, or thought for this earth. Thus, to be
enabled to help humanity, an Adept who has won the right to Nirvâna, "renounces
the Dharmakâya body" in mystic parlance; keeps, of the Sambhogakâya,
only the great and complete knowledge and remains in his Nirmânakâya
body. The esoteric school teaches that Gautama Buddha with several of his Arhats
is such a Nirmânakâya, higher than whom, on account of the great
renunciation and sacrifice to mankind there is none known.
(35)
Myalba, is our earth- pertinently called "Hell", and the greatest
of all Hells,by the esoteric school. The esoteric doctrine knows of no hell
or place of punishment other than on a man-bearing planet or earth. Avitchi
is a state and not a locality.
(36)
Meaning that a new and additional Saviour of mankind is born, who will lead
men to final Nirvâna, i.e., after the end of the life-cycle.
(37)
This is one of the variations of the formula that invariably follows every treatise,
invocation or Instruction."Peace to all beings", "Blessings on
all that lives", &c., &c
|