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  1. README.md +0 -2
  2. resources/arabs/Holy-Quran-English.txt +0 -0
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README.md CHANGED
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  # Torah Codes
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-
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-
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  ## Abstract
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  Traditional prophets are often influenced by personal interests, and their predictions are often based on fallacies or evidence that often cannot be proven. Torah Codes aims to make sense of ancestral cultures from a perspective of analyzing language, cultures and their beliefs. With tools that allow the implementation of objective criteria on coding through an impartial analysis of the information in accepted modern scientific terms. In this way we can understand where myth and reality intersect and be able to shape the understanding we have about our ancestors and the origin of language. Through the art of characteromancy we will discover together the fabrics and philosophical questions that have accompanied us since the beginning of time.
 
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12
  # Torah Codes
13
 
 
 
14
  ## Abstract
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16
  Traditional prophets are often influenced by personal interests, and their predictions are often based on fallacies or evidence that often cannot be proven. Torah Codes aims to make sense of ancestral cultures from a perspective of analyzing language, cultures and their beliefs. With tools that allow the implementation of objective criteria on coding through an impartial analysis of the information in accepted modern scientific terms. In this way we can understand where myth and reality intersect and be able to shape the understanding we have about our ancestors and the origin of language. Through the art of characteromancy we will discover together the fabrics and philosophical questions that have accompanied us since the beginning of time.
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1
+ The ESSENE GOSPEL OF PEACE
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+ The Teachings of the Elect
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+
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+
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+ Book Four
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+
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+
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+ The Original Hebrew and Aramaic Texts
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+ Translated and edited by
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+ EDMOND BORDEAUX SZEKELY
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+ MCMLXXXI
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+ INTERNATIONAL BIOGENIC SOCIETY
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+ Book Design by Golondrina Graohics
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+ Copyright @ 1981, by the International Biogenic Society
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+ Printed In the United States of America-All Rights Reserved
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+
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+
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+ Preface
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+ The Essene Communions
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+ The Gift of Life in the Humble Grass
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+
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+
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+ The Sevenfold Peace
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+
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+
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+ The Holy Streams
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+
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+
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+ The Illustrations are by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo,
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+ Fra Angelico, Botticelli, and El Greco
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+
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+
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+ PREFACE
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+
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+
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+ It was in 1928 that Edmond Bordeaux Szekely first published his translation of Book One of The
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+ Essene Gospel of Peace, an ancient manuscript he had found in the Secret Archives of the
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+ Vatican as the result of limitless patience, faultless scholarship, and unerring intuition, a story
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+ told in his book, The Discovery of the Essene Gospel of Peace. The English version of this
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+ ancient manuscript appeared in 1937, and ever since, the little volume has traveled all over the
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+ world, appearing in different languages, and gaining every year more and more readers, until
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+ now, still with no commercial advertisement, over a million copies have been sold in the United
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+ States alone. It was not until almost fifty years after the first French translation that Book Two
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+ and Book Three appeared, and these also have now become classics of the Essene literature.
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+
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+
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+ Book Four, The Teachings of the Elect, will come as a surprise to those readers who are aware of
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+ Dr. Szekely's death in 1979. if I were also a philologist, or scholar, or archeologist, I might be
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+ able to provide some explanation. But I am only his faithful famulus amanuensis, and the
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+ instructions he left me were clear and explicit: "Two years after my death, you shall publish
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+ Book Four of The Essene Gospel of Peace. " That was all, and I am now carrying out his wish.
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+
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+
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+ This Book Four, The Teachings of the Elect, represents yet another fragment of the complete
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+ manuscript which exists in Aramaic in the Secret Archives of the Vatican and in old Slavonic in
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+ the Royal Library of the Habsburgs (now the property of the Austrian government). As to the
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+ reason for the delay in its publication, I can only surmise that Dr. Szekely wanted the vivid
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+ reality of these ageless truths to stand alone, unobscured even by the presence of the translator.
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+ He did say in his Preface to the first London edition of Book One in 1937 that "we have issued
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+ this part before the rest, because it is the part of which suffering humanity has most need today."
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+ Perhaps, in the same way, the troubled world of forty-four years later needs this fourth volume of
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+ The Essene Gospel of Peace.
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+
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+
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+ Again the words of Dr. Szekely: "We have nothing to add to this text. It speaks for itself. The
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+ reader who studies the pages that follow with concentration, will feel the eternal vitality and
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+ powerful evidence of these profound truths which mankind needs today more urgently than ever
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+ before."
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+
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+
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+ "And the truth shall bear witness of itself."
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+
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+
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+ THE ESSENE COMMUNIONS
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+
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+
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+ And it came to pass that Jesus gathered the Sons of Light by the shore of the river, to reveal to
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+ them that which had been hidden; for the space of seven years had passed, and each one was ripe
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+ for truth, as the flower opens from the bud when the angels of sun and water bring it to its time
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+ of blossoming.
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+
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+
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+ And all of them were unlike one to the other, for some were of age, and some had still the dew of
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+ youth on their cheeks, and some had been raised according to the traditions of their fathers, and
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+ others knew not who their father and mother had been. But all shared in a clearness of eye and a
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+ suppleness of body, for these were signs that for seven years they had walked with the angels of
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+ the Earthly Mother and obeyed her laws. And for seven years the unknown angels of the
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+ Heavenly Father had taught them through their sleeping hours. And now was the day come when
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+ they would enter the Brotherhood of the Elect and learn the hidden teachings of the Elders, even
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+ those of Enoch and before.
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+
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+
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+ And Jesus led the Sons of Light to an ancient tree by the side of the river, and there he knelt at
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+ the place where the roots, gnarled and hoary with age, spread over the river edge. And the Sons
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+ of Light knelt also, and they did touch with reverence the trunk of the ancient tree, for it was
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+ taught to them that the trees are the Brothers of the Sons of Men. For their mother is the same,
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+ the Earthly Mother, whose blood runs in the sap of the tree and in the body of the Son of Man.
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+
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+
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+ And their father is the same, the Heavenly Father, whose laws are written in the branches of the
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+ tree, and whose laws are engraved in the forehead of the Son of Man.
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+
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+
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+ And Jesus reached out his hands to the tree, and said: "Behold, the Tree of Life, which stands in
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+ the middle of the Eternal Sea. Look not only with the eyes of the body, but see with the eyes of
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+ the spirit the Tree of Life at a source of running streams; at a living spring in a land of drought.
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+ See the eternal garden of wonders, and at its center the Tree of Life, mystery of mysteries,
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+ growing everlasting branches for eternal planting, to sink their roots into the stream of life from
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+ an eternal source. See with the eyes of the spirit the angels of day and the angels of night which
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+ protect the fruits with flames of Eternal Light burning every way.
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+
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+
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+ "See, oh Sons of Light, the branches of the Tree of Life reaching toward the kingdom of the
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+ Heavenly Father. And see the roots of the Tree of Life descending into the bosom of the Earthly
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+ Mother. And the Son of Man is raised to an eternal height and walks in the wonders of the plain;
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+ for only the Son of Man carries in his body the roots of the Tree of Life; the same roots that
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+ suckle from the bosom of the Earthly Mother; and only the Son of Man carries in his spirit the
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+ branches of the Tree of Life; the same branches that reach to the sky, even so to the kingdom of
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+ the Heavenly Father.
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+
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+
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+ "And for seven years have you labored throughout the day with the angels of the Earthly Mother;
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+ and for seven years you have slept in the arms of the Heavenly Father. And now your reward
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+ shall be great, for it shall be given unto you the gift of tongues, that you may draw to you the full
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+ power of your Earthly Mother, and have command over her angels and dominion over all her
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+ kingdom; and that you may draw to you the blinding glory of your Heavenly Father, that you
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+ may command his angels and enter into life everlasting in the heavenly kingdoms.
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+
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+
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+ "And for seven years these words were not given unto you, for he who uses the gift of tongues to
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+ seek after riches, or to hold sway over his enemies, he shall no longer be a Son of Light, but a
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+ whelp of the devil and a creature of darkness.
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+
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+
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+ For only the pure water can mirror forth the light of the sun; and that water which has become
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+ dank with filth and murk can reflect nothing. And when the body and the spirit of the Son of
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+ Man have walked with the angels of the Earthly Mother and the Heavenly Father for seven years,
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+ then is he like the running river under the noonday sun, mirroring forth dazzling lights of
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+ brilliant jewels.
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+
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+
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+ " Hear me, Sons of Light, for I will impart to you the gift of tongues, that by speaking to your
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+ Earthly Mother in the morning, and to your Heavenly Father in the evening, you may go closer
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+ and closer to oneness with the kingdoms of earth and heaven, that oneness for which the Son of
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+ Man is destined from the beginning of the times.
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+
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+
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+ "T will make known unto you deep and mysterious things. For I tell you truly, all things exist by
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+ God and there is none beside him. Direct your hearts, therefore, that you may walk on the right
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+ paths, where his presence is.
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+
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+
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+ "When you open your eyes in the morning, even then before your body has been called by the
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+ Angel of Sun, say to yourselves these words, letting them echo in your spirit; for words are like
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+ dead leaves when there is no life in them of the spirit. Say, then, these words: 'T enter the eternal
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+ and infinite garden of mystery, my spirit in oneness with the Heavenly Father, my body in
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+ oneness with the Earthly Mother, my heart in harmony with my Brothers, the Sons of Men,
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+ dedicating my spirit, my body, and my heart to the holy, pure and saving Teaching, even that
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+ Teaching which of old was known to Enoch.’
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+
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+
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+ "And after these words have entered into your spirit, on the first morning after Sabbath, say these
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+ words: "The Earthly Mother and I are one. Her breath is my breath; her blood is my blood; her
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+ bone, her flesh, her bowels, her eyes and ears, are my bone, my flesh, my bowels, my eyes and
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+ ears. Never will I desert her, and always will she nourish and sustain my body.’ And you will feel
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+ the power of the Earthly Mother flowing through your body like the river when it is swollen with
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+ rains and courses mightily with a great noise.
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+
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+
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+ "And on the second morning after Sabbath, say these words: 'Angel of Earth, make fruitful my
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+ seed, and with your power give life to my body.' Even as your seed creates new life, so courses
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+ through the earth the seed of the angel of Earth: in the grass, in the soil, in all living things that
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+ grow from the soil. Know, oh Sons of Light, that the same angel of Earth that makes your seed
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+ into sons also makes the tiny acorn into this mighty oak, and makes the seed-bearing wheat to
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+ grow for bread for the Son of Man. And the seed of your body need not enter the body of woman
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+ to create life; for the power of the angel of Earth can create the life of the spirit within, as well as
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+ the life of the body without.
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+
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+
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+ "And on the third morning after Sabbath, say these words: 'Angel of Life, enter with strength the
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+ limbs of my body.' And with these words embrace the Tree of Life, even as I embrace this
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+ brother oak, and you will feel the power of the angel of Life flow to your arms, and to your legs,
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+ and to all the parts of your body, as the sap flows in the tree in the spring, even as it runs out of
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+ the trunk, so will the angel of Life flood your body with the power of the Earthly Mother.
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+
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+
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+ "And on the fourth morning after Sabbath, say these words: 'Angel of joy, descend upon earth,
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+ pouring forth beauty and delight to all the children of the Earthly Mother and the, Heavenly
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+ Father.’ And you will go forth into the fields of flowers after rain and give thanks to your Earthly
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+ Mother for the sweet odor of blossoms; for I tell you truly, a flower has no other purpose than to
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+ bring joy to the heart of the Son of Man. And you will listen with new ears to the song of the
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+ birds, and see with new eyes the colors of the sun in its rising and its setting; and all these gifts of
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+ the Earthly Mother will cause joy to well forth within you, as a spring wells forth of a sudden in
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+ a barren place. And you shall know that no one comes before the Heavenly Father that the angel
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+ of joy lets not pass; for in joy was the earth created, and in joy did the Earthly Mother and the
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+ Heavenly Father give birth to the Son of Man.
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+
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+
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+ "And on the fifth morning after Sabbath, say these words: 'Angel of Sun, enter my body and let
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+ me bathe in the fire of life.' And you will feel the rays of the rising sun enter into the center point
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+ of your body, there in the center where the angels of day and of night mingle, and the power of
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+ the sun shall be yours to direct to any part of your body, for the angels dwell therein.
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+
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+
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+ "And on the sixth morning after Sabbath, say these words: 'Angel of Water, enter my blood and
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+ give the Water of Life to my body.’ And you will feel, like the rushing current of the river, the
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+ power of the angel of Water enter your blood, and like the rivulets of a stream, send the power of
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+ the Earthly Mother through your blood to all the parts of your body. And it shall be for healing,
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+ for the power of the angel of Water is very great, and when you speak to her, she will send her
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+ power wherever you command, for when the angels of God dwell within the Son of Man, are all
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+ things possible.
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+
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+
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+ "And on the seventh morning after Sabbath, say these words: 'Angel of Air, enter with my breath
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+ and give the Air of Life to my body.' Know, oh Sons of Light, that the Angel of Air is the
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+ messenger of the Heavenly Father, and no one comes before the face of God that the angel of Air
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+ lets not pass. For we do not think of the angel of Air when we breathe, for we breathe without
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+ thought, as the sons of darkness live their lives without thought. But when the power of life
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+ enters into your words and into your breathing, then for every time you invoke the Angel of Air,
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+ so do you also invoke the unknown angels of the Heavenly Father; and you will go closer and
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+ closer to the heavenly kingdoms.
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+
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+
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+ "And on the Sabbath evening, say these words: "The Heavenly Father and I are One.’ And close
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+ your eyes, Sons of Light, and in sleep enter into the unknown realms of the Heavenly Father.
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+ And you will bathe in the light of the stars, and the Heavenly Father will hold you in his hand
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+ and cause a spring of knowledge to well up within you; a fountain of power, pouring forth living
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+ waters, a flood of love and of all-embracing wisdom, like the splendor of Eternal Light. And one
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+ day the eyes of your spirit shall open, and you shall know all things.
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+
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+
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+ "And on the first evening after Sabbath, say these words: 'Angel of Eternal Life, descend upon
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+ me and give eternal life to my spirit.' And close your eyes, Sons of Light, and in sleep
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+ contemplate the oneness of all life everywhere. For I tell you truly, in the daylight hours are our
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+ feet on the ground and we have no wings with which to fly. But our spirits are not tied to the
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+ earth., and with the coming of night we overcome our attachment to the earth and join with that
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+ which is eternal. For the Son of Man is not all that he seems, and only with the eyes of the spirit
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+ can we see those golden threads which link us with all life everywhere.
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+
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+
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+ "And on the second evening after Sabbath, say these words: 'Angel of Creative Work, descend
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+ upon earth and give abundance to all the Sons of Men.' For this most powerful of the angels of
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+ the Heavenly Father is the cause of movement, and only in movement is life. Work, Sons of
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+ Light, in the garden of the Brotherhood to create the kingdom of the heavens upon earth. And as
245
+ you work, so will the angel of Creative Work nurture and ripen the seed of your spirit, that you
246
+ may see God.
247
+
248
+
249
+ "And on the third evening after Sabbath, say these words: 'Peace, peace, peace, Angel of Peace,
250
+ be always everywhere.’ Seek the angel of Peace in all that lives, in all you do, in every word you
251
+ speak. For peace is the key to all knowledge, to all mystery, to all life. Where there is no peace,
252
+ there does Satan reign. And the sons of darkness covet most of all to steal from the Sons of Light
253
+ their peace. Go, therefore, on this night to the golden stream of light that is the garment of the
254
+ angel of Peace. And bring back to the morning the peace of God that surpasses understanding,
255
+ that with this perfect peace you may comfort the hearts of the Sons of Men.
256
+
257
+
258
+ "And on the fourth evening after Sabbath, say these words: 'Angel of Power, descend on me and
259
+ fill with power all my deeds." I tell you truly, just as there is no life on earth without the sun, so
260
+ there is no life of the spirit without the Angel of Power. What you think and what you feel, these
261
+ are like the dead scriptures, which are only words on a page, or the dead speech of dead men. But
262
+ the Sons of Light will not only think, will not only feel, but will also do, and their acts will fulfill
263
+ their thoughts and feelings, as the golden fruit of summer gives meaning to the green leaves of
264
+ spring.
265
+
266
+
267
+ ‘And on the fifth evening after Sabbath, say these words: 'Angel of Love, descend on me and fill
268
+ with love all my feelings.’ For it is by love that the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother and
269
+ the Son of Man become one. Love is eternal. Love is stronger than death. And every night should
270
+ the Sons of Light bathe in the holy water of the angel of Love, that with the morning he may
271
+ baptize the Sons of Men with kind deeds and gentle words. For when the heart of the Son of
272
+ Light is bathed in love, only kind and gentle words speak forth.
273
+
274
+
275
+ "And on the sixth evening after Sabbath, say these words: 'Angel of Wisdom, descend on me and
276
+ fill with wisdom all my thoughts.’ Know, Sons of Light, that your thoughts are as powerful as the
277
+ bolt of lightning that stabs through th6 storm and splits asunder the mighty tree. It was for this
278
+ that you have waited seven years to learn how to speak with the angels, for you know not the
279
+ power of your thoughts. Use, then, wisdom in all you think and say and do. For I tell you truly,
280
+ that which is done without wisdom is as a rider less horse, mouth foaming and eyes wild,
281
+ running crazed into a yawning chasm. But when the angel of Wisdom governs your deeds, then
282
+ is the path to the unknown realms established, and order and harmony govern your lives.
283
+
284
+
285
+ "And these are the communions with the angels which are given to the Sons of Light, that with
286
+ bodies purified by the Earthly Mother and spirits purified by the Heavenly Father, they may
287
+ command and serve the angels, continually, from period to period, in the circuits of the day, and
288
+ in its fixed order; with the coming of light from its source and at the turn of evening and the
289
+ outgoing of light, at the outgoing of darkness and the coming in of day, continually, in all the
290
+ generations of time.
291
+
292
+
293
+ "The truth is born out of the spring of Light, falsehood from the well of darkness. The dominion
294
+ of all the children of truth is in the hands of the Angels of Light so that they may walk in the
295
+ ways of Light.
296
+
297
+
298
+ "Blessings on all the Sons of Light who have cast their lot with the Law, that walk truthfully in
299
+ all their ways. May the Law bless you with all good and keep you from all evil, and illumine
300
+ your hearts with insight into the things of life and grace you with knowledge of things Eternal."
301
+
302
+
303
+ And the crescent moon of peace rose over the mountain and slivers of light shone in the waters
304
+ of the river. And the Sons of Light as one man knelt in reverence and thanksgiving for the words
305
+ of Jesus, as he taught them in the ancient ways of their fathers, even as Enoch was taught of old.
306
+
307
+
308
+ And Jesus said: "The Law was planted to reward the Children of Light with healing and
309
+ abundant peace, with long life, with fruitful seed of everlasting blessings, with eternal joy in
310
+ immortality of Eternal Light.
311
+
312
+
313
+ "With the coming of day I embrace my Mother, with the coming of night I join my Father, and
314
+ with the outgoing of evening and morning I will breathe their Law, and I will not interrupt these
315
+ Communions until the end of time."
316
+
317
+
318
+ THE GIFT OF LIFE IN THE HUMBLE GRASS
319
+
320
+
321
+ It was in the month of Thebt, when the earth was covered with shoots of young grass after the
322
+ rains, and the covering of emerald green was tender as the fine down of a baby chick. And it was
323
+ on a bright sun-filled morning that Jesus gathered the new Brothers of the Elect round about him,
324
+ that they might hear with their ears and understand with their hearts the teachings of their fathers,
325
+ even as it was taught to Enoch of old.
326
+
327
+
328
+ And Jesus sat beneath a gnarled and ancient tree, holding in his hands a small earthen pot; and in
329
+ the pot was growing tender grass of wheat, the most perfect among all seed bearing herbs. And
330
+ the tender grass within the pot was radiant with life, even as the grass and plants which covered
331
+ the hills far into the distant fields and beyond. And Jesus stroked the grass in the pot with the
332
+ hands, even as gently as he would touch the head of a little child.
333
+
334
+
335
+ And Jesus said: "Happy are you, Sons of Light, for you have entered into the deathless way and
336
+ you walk in the path of truth, even as did your fathers of old, who were taught by the Great Ones.
337
+ With the eyes and ears of the spirit do you see and hear the sights and sounds of the kingdom of
338
+ the Earthly Mother: the blue sky where dwells the angel of Air, the foaming river where flows
339
+ the angel of Water, the golden light which streams from the angel of Sun. And I tell you truly, all
340
+ these are within you as well as without; for your breath, your blood, the fire of life within you, all
341
+ are one with the Earthly Mother.
342
+
343
+
344
+ But of all these, and more, that most precious gift of your Earthly Mother is the grass beneath
345
+ your feet, even that grass which you tread upon without thought. Humble and meek is the angel
346
+ of Earth, for she has no wings to fly, nor golden rays of light to pierce the mist. But great is her
347
+ strength and vast is her domain, for she covers the earth with her power, and without her the
348
+ Sons of Men would be no more, for no man can live without the grass, the trees and the plants of
349
+ the Earthly Mother. And these are the gifts of the angel of Earth to the Sons of Men.
350
+
351
+
352
+ "But now I will speak to you of mysterious things, for I tell you truly, the humble grass is more
353
+ than food for man and beast. it hides its glory beneath a lowly aspect, as it was told of a ruler of
354
+ old that he visited the villages of his subjects disguised as a beggar, knowing they would tell
355
+ many things to such a one, but would fall down in fear before their King. So does the humble
356
+ grass hide its glory under its coat of humble green, and the Sons of Men walk on it, plough it,
357
+ feed it to their beasts, but know not what secrets are hidden within it, even those secrets of
358
+ everlasting life in the heavenly kingdoms.
359
+
360
+
361
+ "But the Sons of Light will know what lies hidden in the grass, for it is given to them to bring
362
+ comfort to the Sons of Men. Even so are we taught by the Earthly Mother with this -little handful
363
+ of wheat in a simple pot, even the same earthen pot you use to drink milk and gather the honey
364
+
365
+
366
+ of bees. Now the pot is filled with black soil rich with old leaves and moist with the dew of
367
+ morning, even that most precious gift of the angel of Earth.
368
+
369
+
370
+ "And I did moisten a handful of wheat, that the angel of Water entered into it. The angel of Air
371
+ did also embrace it, and the angel of Sun, and the power of the three angels awakened also the
372
+ angel of Life within the wheat, and sprout and root were born in each grain.
373
+
374
+
375
+ "Then I put the awakened wheat into the soil of the angel of Earth, and the power of the Earthly
376
+ Mother and all her angels entered into the wheat, and when the sun had risen four times the
377
+ grains had become grass. I tell you truly, there is no greater miracle than this."
378
+
379
+
380
+ And the Brothers looked with reverence at the tender blades of grass in the hands of Jesus, and
381
+ one asked him: "Master, what is the secret of the grass you hold in your hands? Why is it
382
+ different from that grass that covers the hills and the mountains?"
383
+
384
+
385
+ And Jesus answered "It is not different, Son of Light. All grass, all trees, all plants, in every part
386
+ of the world, all are part of the kingdom of the Earthly Mother. But I have separated in this pot a
387
+ small portion of your Mother's kingdom, that you may touch her with the hands of the spirit, and
388
+ that her power may enter into your body.
389
+
390
+
391
+ "For I tell you truly, there is a Holy Stream of Life which gave birth to the Earthly Mother and
392
+ all her angels. Invisible is this Stream of Life to the eyes of the Sons of Men, for they walk in
393
+ darkness and see not the angels of the day and of the night that surround them and hover over
394
+ them. But the Sons of Light have walked for seven years with the angels of the day and of the
395
+ night, and now they are given the secrets of communion with the angels. And the eyes of your
396
+ spirit shall be opened, and you will see and hear and touch the Stream of Life that gave birth to
397
+ the Earthly Mother. And you will enter the Holy Stream of Life, and it will carry you with
398
+ infinite tenderness to everlasting life in the kingdom of your Heavenly Father."
399
+
400
+
401
+ "How shall we do this, Master?" some asked in amazement. "What secrets must we know to see
402
+ and hear and touch this Holy Stream of Life?".
403
+
404
+
405
+ And Jesus did not answer. But he placed his two hands around the growing blades of grass in the
406
+ pot, gently, as if it were the forehead of a little child. And he closed his eyes, and around him
407
+ were waves of light, shimmering in the sun, as the summer heat makes the light to tremble under
408
+ a cloudless sky. And the Brothers knelt and bowed their heads in reverence before the power of
409
+ the angels which poured forth from the sitting figure of Jesus; and still he sat in silence, with his
410
+ hands closed as if in prayer around the blades of grass.
411
+
412
+
413
+ And no one knew if an hour had passed, or a year, for time stood still and it was as if all creation
414
+ held its breath. And Jesus opened his eyes, and the scent of blossoms filled the air as Jesus
415
+ spoke: "Here is the secret, Sons of Light; here in the humble grass. Here is the meeting place of
416
+ the Earthly Mother and the Heavenly Father; here is the Stream of Life which gave birth to all
417
+ creation; I tell you truly, only to the Son of Man is it given to see and hear and touch the Stream
418
+ of Life which flows between the Earthly and Heavenly Kingdoms. Place your hands around the
419
+
420
+
421
+ tender grass of the angel of Earth, and you will see and hear and touch the power of all the
422
+ angels."
423
+
424
+
425
+ And one by one, each of the Brothers sat in reverence before the power of the angels, holding in
426
+ his hands the tender grass. And each one felt the Stream of Life enter his body with the force of a
427
+ rushing stream after a spring storm. And the power of the angels flowed into their hands, up into
428
+ their arms, and shook them mightily, even as the wind of the north shakes the branches of trees.
429
+ And all of them wondered at the power in the humble grass, that it could contain all the angels,
430
+ and the kingdoms of the Earthly Mother and the Heavenly Father. And they sat before Jesus, and
431
+ were taught by him.
432
+
433
+
434
+ Andjesus said: "Behold, Sons of Light, the lowly grass. See wherein are contained all the angels
435
+ of the Earthly Mother and the Heavenly Father. For now have you stepped into the Stream of
436
+ Life, and its currents will carry you in time to everlasting life in the kingdom of your Heavenly
437
+ Father.
438
+
439
+
440
+ "For in the grass are all the angels. Here is the angel of Sun, here in the brightness of the green
441
+ color of the blades of wheat. For no one can look upon the sun when it is high in the heavens, for
442
+ the eyes of the Son of Man are blinded by its radiant light. And it is for this that the angel of Sun
443
+ turns to green all that to which she gives life, that the Son of Man may look upon the many and
444
+ various shades of green and find strength and comfort therein. I tell you truly, all that is green
445
+ and with life has the power of the angel of Sun within it, even these tender blades of young
446
+ wheat.
447
+
448
+
449
+ "And so does the angel of Water bless the grass, for I tell you truly, there is more of the angel of
450
+ Water within the grass than any of the other angels of the Earthly Mother. For if you crush
451
+ within your hands the grass, you will feel the water of life, which is the blood of the Earthly
452
+ Mother. And all through the days when you touch the grass and enter into the Stream of Life, do
453
+ you give to the soil a few drops of water, that the grass may be renewed by the power of the
454
+ Angel of Water.
455
+
456
+
457
+ "Know, also, that the angel of Air is within the grass, for all that is living and green is the home
458
+ of the angel of Air. Put your face close to the grass, breathe deeply, and let the angel of Air enter
459
+ deep within your body. For she abides in the grass, as the oak abides in the acorn, and as the fish
460
+ abides in the sea.
461
+
462
+
463
+ "The angel of Earth is she who gives birth to the grass, even as the babe in the womb lives from
464
+ the nourishment of his mother, so does the earth give of itself to the grain of wheat, causing it to
465
+ shoot forth to embrace the angel of Air. I tell you truly, each grain of wheat that bursts forth
466
+ upward to the sky is a victory over death, where Satan reigns. For Life always begins again.
467
+
468
+
469
+ "It is the angel of Life that flows through the blades of grass into the body of the Son of Light,
470
+ shaking him with her power. For the grass is Life and the Son of Light is Life, and Life flows
471
+ between the Son of Light and the blades of grass, making a bridge to the Holy Stream of Light
472
+ which gave birth to all creation.
473
+
474
+
475
+ "And when the Son of Light holds between his hands the blades of grass, it is the angel of joy
476
+ which fills his body with music. To enter into the Stream of Life is to be one with the song of the
477
+ bird, the colors of the wild flowers, the scent of the sheaves of grain, newly turned over in the
478
+ fields. I tell you truly, when the Son of Man feels not joy in his heart, he labors for Satan and
479
+ brings hope to the sons of darkness. There is no sadness in the kingdom of Light, only the angel
480
+ of Joy. Learn, then, from the tender blades of grass the song of the angel of joy, that the Sons of
481
+ Light may walk with her always and so comfort the hearts of the Sons of Men.
482
+
483
+
484
+ "The Earthly Mother is she who provides for our bodies, for we are born of her, and have our life
485
+ in her. So does she provide for us food in the very blades of grass we touch with our hands. For I
486
+ tell you truly, it is not only as bread that wheat may nourish us. We may eat also of the tender
487
+ blades of grass, that the strength of the Earthly Mother may enter into us. But chew well the
488
+ blades, for the Son of Man has teeth unlike those of the beasts, and only when we chew well the
489
+ blades of grass can the angel of Water enter our blood and give us strength. Eat, then, Sons of
490
+ Light, of this most perfect herb from the table of our Earthly Mother, that your days may be long
491
+ upon the earth, for such finds favor in the eyes of God.
492
+
493
+
494
+ "T tell you truly, the angel of Power enters into you when you touch the Stream of Life through
495
+ the blades of grass. For the angel of Power is as a shining light that surrounds every living thing,
496
+ just as the full moon is encircled by rings of radiance, and as the mist rises up from the fields
497
+ when the sun climbs in the sky. And the angel of Power enters into the Son of Light when his
498
+ heart is pure and his desire is only to comfort and teach the Sons of Men. Touch, then, the blades
499
+ of grass, and feel the angel of Power enter the tips of your fingers, flow upwards through your
500
+ body, and shake you till you tremble with wonder and awe.
501
+
502
+
503
+ "Know, also, that the angel of Love is present in the blades of grass, for love is in the giving, and
504
+ great is the love given to the Sons of Light by the tender blades of grass. For I tell you truly, the
505
+ Stream of Life runs through every living thing, and all that lives, bathes in the Holy Stream of
506
+ Life. And when the Son of Light touches with love the blades of grass, so do the blades of grass
507
+ return his love, and lead him to the Stream of Life where he may find life everlasting. And this
508
+ love never exhausts itself, for its source is in the Stream of Life which flows into the Eternal Sea,
509
+ and no matter how far does the Son of Man stray from his Earthly Mother and his Heavenly
510
+ Father, the touch of the blades of grass will always bring a message from the angel of Love; and
511
+ his feet shall bathe again in the Holy Stream of Life.
512
+
513
+
514
+ "Lo, it is the angel of Wisdom that governs the movement of the planets, the circle of the
515
+ seasons, and the orderly growth of all living things. So does the angel of Wisdom ordain the
516
+ communion of the Sons of Light with the Stream of Life, through the tender blades of grass. For
517
+ I tell you truly, your body is holy, because it bathes in the Stream of Life, which is Eternal Order.
518
+
519
+
520
+ "Touch the blades of grass, Sons of Light, and touch the angel of Eternal Life. For if you look
521
+ with the eyes of the spirit, you will truly see that the grass is eternal. Now it is young and tender,
522
+ with the brightness of the newborn babe. Soon it will be tall and gracious, as the sapling tree with
523
+ its first fruits. Then it will yellow with age, and bow its head in patience, as lies the field after the
524
+ harvest. Finally, it will wither, for the small earthen pot cannot contain the full lifespan of the
525
+ wheat. But it does not die, for the brown leaves return to the angel of Earth, and she holds the
526
+
527
+
528
+ plant in her arms and bids it sleep, and all the angels work within the faded leaves and lo, they
529
+ are changed and do not die but rise again in another guise. And so do the Sons of Light never see
530
+ death, but find themselves changed and risen to everlasting Life.
531
+
532
+
533
+ "And so does the angel of Work never sleep, but sends the roots of the wheat deep into the angel
534
+ of Earth, that the shoots of tender green may overcome death and the reign of Satan. For life is
535
+ movement, and the angel of Work is never still, even does he labor without ceasing in the
536
+ vineyard of the Lord. Close your eyes when you touch the grass, Sons of Light, but fall not
537
+ asleep, for to touch the Stream of Life is to touch the eternal rhythm of the everlasting kingdoms,
538
+ and to bathe in the Stream of Life is to feel more and more the power of the angel of Work
539
+ within you, creating on earth the kingdom of Heaven.
540
+
541
+
542
+ "Peace is -the gift of the Stream of Life to the Sons of Light. Wherefore do we always greet each
543
+ other, ‘Peace be with you. Even so does the grass greet your body with the kiss of Peace. I tell
544
+ you truly, Peace is not just the absence of war, for very quickly can the peaceful river turn into a
545
+ raging torrent, and the same waves that lull the boat can quickly break it to pieces against the
546
+ rocks. So does violence lie in wait for the Sons of Man, when they keep not the vigil of Peace.
547
+ Touch the blades of grass, and thereby touch the Stream of Life. Therein you will find Peace, the
548
+ Peace built with the power of all the angels. Even so with that Peace will the rays of Holy Light
549
+ cast out all darkness.
550
+
551
+
552
+ "When the Sons of Light are one with the Stream of Life, then will the power of the blades of
553
+ grass guide them to the everlasting kingdom of the Heavenly Father. And you shall know more
554
+ of those mysteries which is not yet time for you to hear. For there are other Holy Streams in the
555
+ everlasting kingdoms; I tell you truly, the heavenly kingdoms are crossed and crossed again by
556
+ streams of golden light, arching far beyond the dome of the sky and having no end. And the Sons
557
+ of Light shall travel by these streams for ever, knowing not death, guided by the eternal love of
558
+ the Heavenly Father. And I tell you truly, all these mysteries are contained in the humble grass,
559
+ when you touch it with tenderness and open your heart to the angel of Life within.
560
+
561
+
562
+ "Gather, then, the grains of wheat and plant them in small earthen pots; and every day with glad
563
+ heart commune with the angels, that they may guide you to the Holy Stream of Life, and you
564
+ may bring back from its eternal source comfort and strength for the Sons of Men. For I tell you
565
+ truly, all that you learn, all that your eyes of the spirit see, all that your cars of the spirit hear, all
566
+ this is as a hollow reed in the wind if you do not send forth a message of truth and light to the
567
+ Sons of Men. For by the fruit do we know the worth of the tree. And to love is to teach without
568
+ end, without ceasing. For so were your fathers taught of old, even our Father Enoch. Go now,
569
+ and peace be with you."
570
+
571
+
572
+ And Jesus held forth the little pot with the blades of young grass, as if in blessing, and walked
573
+ toward the sun-filled hills, along the shore of the river, as was the custom of all the Brothers.
574
+ And the others followed, each holding to him the words of Jesus, as it were a precious jewel
575
+ within his breast.
576
+
577
+
578
+ THE SEVENFOLD PEACE
579
+
580
+
581
+ "Peace be with you," spoke the Elder in greeting to the Brothers who had gathered for the
582
+ teachings
583
+
584
+
585
+ "Peace be with you," they answered; and they walked together along the bank of the river, for so
586
+ was their custom when an Elder taught the Brothers, that they might share the teachings with the
587
+ angels of the Earthly Mother: of air, of sun, of water, of earth, of life, and of joy.
588
+
589
+
590
+ And the Elder said to the Brothers: "I would speak to you of peace, for of all the angels of the
591
+ Heavenly Father, peace is that for which the world most yearns, as a tired babe longs to put his
592
+ head on his mother's breast. It is the lack of peace that troubles the kingdoms, even when they
593
+ are not at war. For violence and warfare may reign in a kingdom even when the sounds of
594
+ clashing swords are not heard. Though no armies march one against the other, still there is no
595
+ peace when the Sons of Men walk not with the angels of God. I tell you truly, many are those
596
+ who do not know peace; for they are at war with their own body; they are at war with their
597
+ thoughts; they have no peace with their fathers, their mothers, their children; they have no peace
598
+ with their friends and neighbors; they know not the beauty of the Holy Scrolls; they labor not
599
+ through the day in the kingdom of their Earthly Mother; nor do they sleep at night in the arms of
600
+ their Heavenly Father. Peace reigns not within them, for ever do they thirst for that which in the
601
+ end brings only misery and pain, even those trappings of riches and fame which Satan uses to
602
+ tempt the Sons of Men; and they live in ignorance of the Law, even that Holy Law by which we
603
+ live: the path of the angels of the Earthly Mother and the Heavenly Father."
604
+
605
+
606
+ "How, then, may we bring peace to our brothers, Master?" asked some of the Elder, "for we
607
+ would that all the Sons of Men share in the blessings of the angel of Peace."
608
+
609
+
610
+ And he answered: "Truly, only he who is at peace with all the angels can shed the light of peace
611
+ on others. Therefore, first be at peace with all the angels of the Earthly Mother and the Heavenly
612
+ Father. For the winds of a storm stir and trouble the waters of the river, and only the stillness that
613
+ follows can calm them once again. Take care when your brother asks you for bread, that you
614
+ give him not stones. Live first in peace with all the angels, for then your peace will be as a
615
+ fountain that does replenish itself with the giving, and the more you give, so the more you will be
616
+ given, for such is the Law.
617
+
618
+
619
+ "Three arc the dwellings of the Son of Man, and no one may come before the face of God who
620
+ knows not the angel of Peace in each of the three. These are his body, his thoughts, and his
621
+ feelings. When the angel of Wisdom guides his thoughts, when the angel of Love purifies his
622
+ feelings, and when the deeds of his body reflect both love and wisdom, then does the angel of
623
+ Peace guide him unfailingly to the throne of his Heavenly Father. And he should pray without
624
+ ceasing that the power of Satan with all his diseases and uncleannesses may be cast out of all of
625
+ his three dwellings; that Power and Wisdom and Love may reign in his body, his thoughts, and
626
+ his feelings.
627
+
628
+
629
+ "First shall the Son of Man seek peace with his own body; for his body is as a mountain pond
630
+ that reflects the sun when it is still and clear; but when it is full of mud and stones, it reflects
631
+ nothing. First must Satan be cast out of the body, that the angels of God may enter again and
632
+ dwell therein. Truly, no peace can reign in the body unless it is as a temple of the Holy Law.
633
+ Therefore, when he who suffers with pains and grievous plagues asks for your help, tell him to
634
+ renew himself with fasting and with prayer. Tell him to invoke the angel of sun, the angel of
635
+ water, and the angel of air, that they may enter his body and cast out of it the power of Satan.
636
+ Show him the baptism within, and the baptism without. Tell him always to eat of the table of our
637
+ Earthly Mother, spread with her gifts: the fruits of the trees, the grasses of the fields, the milk of
638
+ beasts good for eating, and the honey of bees. He shall not invoke the power of Satan by eating
639
+ the flesh of beasts, for he who kills, kills his brother, and whoso eats the flesh of slain beasts,
640
+ eats the body of death. Tell him to prepare his food with the fire of life, not the fire of death, for
641
+ the living angels of the living God serve only living men.
642
+
643
+
644
+ "And though he sees them not, and hears them not, and touches them not, still is he every
645
+ moment surrounded by the power of God's angels. While his eyes and ears are closed by
646
+ ignorance of the Law and thirst for the pleasures of Satan, he will not see them, nor hear them,
647
+ nor touch them. But when he fasts and prays to the living God to cast out all the diseases and
648
+ uncleannesses of Satan, then will his eyes and ears be opened, and he will find peace.
649
+
650
+
651
+ "For not only he suffers who harbors the diseases of Satan within him, but his mother, his father,
652
+ his wife, his children, his companions, these suffer also, for no man is an island unto himself, and
653
+ the powers that flow through him, whether they be of the angels or of Satan, truly these powers
654
+ do unto others for good or for evil.
655
+
656
+
657
+ "After this manner, therefore, pray to your Heavenly Father, when the sun is high at midday:
658
+ ‘Our Father who art in heaven, send to all the Sons of Men your angel of Peace; and send to our
659
+ body the angel of Life to dwell therein for ever.’
660
+
661
+
662
+ "Then shall the Son of Man seek peace with his own thoughts; that the angel of Wisdom may
663
+ guide him. For I tell you truly, there is no greater power in heaven and earth than the thoughts of
664
+ the Son of Man. Though unseen by the eyes of the body, yet each thought has mighty strength,
665
+ even such strength as can shake the heavens.
666
+
667
+
668
+ "For to no other creature in the kingdom of the Earthly Mother is it given the power of thought,
669
+ for all beasts that crawl and birds that fly, live not of their own thinking but of the one Law that
670
+ governs all. Only to the Sons of Men is it given the power of thought, even that thought that can
671
+ break the bonds of death. Do not think because it cannot be seen, that thought has no power. I tell
672
+ you truly, the lightning that cleaves the mighty oak, or the quaking that opens up cracks in the
673
+ earth, these are as the play of children compared with the power of thought. Truly each thought
674
+ of darkness, whether it be of malice, or anger, or vengeance, these wreak destruction like that of
675
+ fire sweeping through dry kindling under a windless sky. But man does not see the carnage, nor
676
+ does he hear the piteous cries of his victims, for he is blind to the world of the spirit.
677
+
678
+
679
+ "But when this power is guided by holy Wisdom, then the thoughts of the Son of Man lead him
680
+ to the heavenly kingdoms and thus is paradise built on earth; then it is that your thoughts uplift
681
+ the souls of men, as the cold waters of a rushing stream revive your body in the summer heat.
682
+
683
+
684
+ "When first a fledgling bird tries to fly, his wings cannot support him, and he falls again and
685
+ again to earth. But he tries again and one day he soars aloft, leaving earth and his nest far behind.
686
+ So is it with the thoughts of the Sons of Men. The longer he walks with the angels and keeps
687
+ their Law, so do the stronger his thoughts become in holy Wisdom. And I tell you truly, that day
688
+ will come when his thoughts will overcome even the kingdom of death and soar to everlasting
689
+ life in the heavenly kingdoms; for with their thoughts guided by holy Wisdom do the Sons of
690
+ Men build a bridge of light thereby to reach God.
691
+
692
+
693
+ "After this manner, therefore, pray to your Heavenly Father, when the sun is high at midday:
694
+ ‘Our Father who art in heaven, send to all the Sons of Men your angel of Peace; and send to our
695
+ thoughts the angel of Power, that we may break the bonds of death.
696
+
697
+
698
+ "Then shall the Son of Man seek peace with his own feelings; that his family may delight in his
699
+ loving kindness, even his father, his mother, his wife, his children, and his children's children.
700
+ For the Heavenly Father is a hundred times greater than all fathers by seed and by blood, and the
701
+ Earthly Mother is a hundred times greater than all mothers by the body, and your true brothers
702
+ are all those who do the will of your Heavenly Father and of your Earthly Mother, and not your
703
+ brothers by blood. Even so, shall you see the Heavenly Father in your father by seed, and your
704
+ Earthly Mother in your mother by the body, for are not these also children of the Heavenly
705
+ Father and the Earthly Mother? Even so shall you love your brothers by blood as you love all
706
+ your true brothers who walk with the angels, for are not these also children of the Heavenly
707
+ Father and the Earthly Mother? I tell you truly, it is easier to love those newly met, than those of
708
+ our own house, who have k nown our weaknesses, and heard our words of anger, and seen us in
709
+ our nakedness, for they know us as we know ourselves, and we are ashamed. Then shall we call
710
+ on the angel of Love to enter into our feelings, that they be purifiers And all that was before
711
+ impatience and discord, will turn to harmony and peace, as the parched ground drinks in the
712
+ gentle rain and becomes green and soft, tender with new life.
713
+
714
+
715
+ "For many and grievous are the sufferings of the Sons of Men when they cleave not to the angel
716
+ of Love. Truly, a man without love casts a dark shadow on everyone he meets, most of all those
717
+ with whom he lives; his harsh and angry words fall on his brothers like fetid air rising from a
718
+ stagnant pool. And he suffers most who speaks them, for the darkness that encloses him invites
719
+ Satan and his devas.
720
+
721
+
722
+ "But when he calls on the angel of Love, then is the darkness dispersed, and the light of sunshine
723
+ streams from him, and the colors of the rainbow swirl about his head, and gentle rain falls from
724
+ his fingers, and he brings peace and strength to all those who draw near to him.
725
+
726
+
727
+ "After this manner, therefore, pray to your Heavenly Father, when the sun is high at midday:
728
+ ‘Our Father who art in heaven, send to all the Sons of Men your angel of Peace; and send to those
729
+ of our seed and of our blood the angel of Love, that peace and harmony may dwell in our house
730
+ for ever.’
731
+
732
+
733
+ "Then shall the Son of Man seek peace with other Sons of Men, even with the Pharisees and
734
+ priests, even with beggars and the homeless, even with kings and governors. For all are Sons of
735
+ Men, whatever be their station, whatever be their calling, whether their eyes have been opened to
736
+ see the heavenly kingdoms, or whether they yet walk in darkness and ignorance.
737
+
738
+
739
+ "For the justice of men may reward the undeserving and punish the innocent, but Holy Law is
740
+ the same for all, whether beggar or king, whether shepherd or priest.
741
+
742
+
743
+ "Seek peace with all the Sons of Men, and let it be known of the Brothers of Light, that we have
744
+ lived according to the Holy Law since the time of Enoch of old, and before. For we are not rich,
745
+ neither are we poor. And we do share all things, even our garments and the tools we use to till
746
+ the soil. And together we work in the fields with all the angels, bringing forth the gifts of the
747
+ Earthly Mother for all to eat.
748
+
749
+
750
+ "For the strongest of the angels of the Heavenly Father, the angel of Work, blesses each man
751
+ who works in the way best for him, for then shall he know neither want nor excess. Truly is there
752
+ abundance for all men in the kingdoms of the Earthly Mother and the Heavenly Father when
753
+ each man works at his task; for when a man shirks his task, then another must take it up, for we
754
+ are given all things in the kingdoms of heaven and earth at the price of labor.
755
+
756
+
757
+ "Always have the Brothers of Light lived where rejoice the angels of the Earthly Mother: near
758
+ rivers, near trees, near flowers, near the music of birds; where sun and rain may embrace the
759
+ body, which is the temple of the spirit. Nor do we have ought to do with the edicts of rulers;
760
+ neither do we uphold them, as our law is the Law of the Heavenly Father and the Earthly
761
+ Mother; neither do we oppose them, for no one rules save by the will of God. Rather do we strive
762
+ to live according to the Holy Law and strengthen always that which is good in all things; then
763
+ will the kingdom of darkness be changed to the kingdom of light; for where there is light, how
764
+ then can darkness remain?
765
+
766
+
767
+ "After this manner, therefore, pray to your Heavenly Father, when the sun is high at midday:
768
+ ‘Our Father who art in heaven, send to all the Sons of Men your angel of Peace; and send to all
769
+ humankind the angel of Work, that having a holy task we should not ask for any other blessing.
770
+
771
+
772
+ "Then shall the Son of Man seek peace with the knowledge of the ages past; for I tell you truly,
773
+ in the Holy Scrolls is a treasure a hundred times greater than any of jewels and gold in the richest
774
+ of kingdoms, and more precious, for surely they contain all the wisdom revealed by God to the
775
+ Sons of Light, even those traditions which came to us through Enoch of old, and before him on
776
+ an endless path into the past, the teachings of the Great Ones. And these are our inheritance, even
777
+ as the son inherits all the possessions of his father when he shows himself to be worthy of his
778
+ father's blessing. Truly, by studying the teachings of ageless wisdom do we come to know God,
779
+ for I tell you truly, the Great Ones saw God face to face; even so, when we read the Holy Scrolls
780
+ do we touch the feet of God.
781
+
782
+
783
+ "And when once we see with the eyes of wisdom and hear with the cars of understanding the
784
+ ageless truths of the Holy Scrolls, then must we go among the Sons of Men and teach them, for if
785
+ we jealously hide the holy knowledge, pretending that it belongs only to us, then we are as one
786
+
787
+
788
+ who finds a spring high in the mountains, and rather than let it flow into the valley to quench the
789
+ thirst of man and beast, buries it under rocks and dirt, thereby robbing himself of water, as well.
790
+ Go among the Sons of Men and tell them of the Holy Law, that they may thereby save
791
+ themselves and enter the heavenly kingdoms. But tell them in words they may understand, in
792
+ parables from nature that speak to the heart, for the deed must first live as desire in the awakened
793
+ heart.
794
+
795
+
796
+ "After this manner, therefore, pray to your Heavenly Father, when the sun is high at midday:
797
+ ‘Our Father who art in heaven, send to all the Sons of Men your angel of Peace; and send to our
798
+ knowledge the angel of Wisdom, that we may walk in the paths of the Great Ones who have seen
799
+ the face of God.
800
+
801
+
802
+ "Then shall the Son of Man seek peace with the kingdom of his Earthly Mother, for none can
803
+ live long, neither be happy, but he who honors his Earthly Mother and does her laws. For your
804
+ breath is her breath; your blood her blood; your bone her bone; your flesh her flesh; your bowels
805
+ her bowels; your eyes and your ears are her eyes and her ears.
806
+
807
+
808
+ "T tell you truly, you are one with the Earthly Mother; she is in you, and you in her. Of her were
809
+ you born, in her do you live, and to her shall you return again. it is the blood of our Earthly
810
+ Mother which falls from the clouds and flows in the rivers; it is the breath of our Earthly Mother
811
+ which, whispers in the leaves of the forest and blows with a mighty wind from the mountains;
812
+ sweet and firm is the flesh of our Earthly Mother in the fruits of the trees; strong and unflinching
813
+ are the bones of our Earthly Mother in the giant rocks and stones which stand as sentinels of the
814
+ lost times; truly, we are one with our Earthly Mother, and he who clings to the laws of his
815
+ Mother, to him shall his Mother cling also.
816
+
817
+
818
+ "But there will come a day when the Son of Man will turn his face from his Earthly Mother and
819
+ betray her, even denying his Mother and his birthright. Then shall he sell her into slavery, and
820
+ her flesh shall be ravaged, her blood polluted, and her breath smothered; he will bring the fire of
821
+ death into all the parts of her kingdom, and his hunger will devour all her gifts and leave in their
822
+ place only a desert.
823
+
824
+
825
+ "All these things will he do out of ignorance of the Law, and as a man dying slowly cannot smell
826
+ his own stench, so will the Son of Man be blind to the truth: that as he plunders and ravages and
827
+ destroys his Earthly Mother, so does he plunder and ravage and destroy himself. For he was born
828
+ of his Earthly Mother, and he is one with her, and all that he does to his Mother9 even so does he
829
+ do to himself.
830
+
831
+
832
+ "Long ago, before the Great Flood, the Great Ones walked the earth, and the giant trees, even
833
+ those which now are no more than legend, were their home and their kingdom. They lived many
834
+ score of generations, for they ate from the table of the Earthly Mother, and slept in the arms of
835
+ the Heavenly Father, and they knew not disease, old age, nor death. To the Sons of Men did they
836
+ bequeath all the glory of their kingdoms, even the hidden knowledge of the Tree of Life which
837
+ stands in the middle of the Eternal Sea. But the eyes of the Sons of Men were blinded by the
838
+ visions of Satan, and by promises of power, even that power which conquers by might and by
839
+ blood. And then did the Son of Man sever the golden threads that bound him to his Earthly
840
+
841
+
842
+ Mother and his Heavenly Father; he stepped from the Holy Stream of Life where his body, his
843
+ thoughts, and his feelings were one with the Law, and began to use only his own thoughts, his
844
+ own feelings, and his own deeds, making hundreds of laws, where before there was only One.
845
+
846
+
847
+ "And so did the Sons of Men exile themselves from their home, and ever since have they
848
+ huddled behind their stone walls, hearing not the sighing of the wind in the tall trees of the
849
+ forests beyond their towns.
850
+
851
+
852
+ "T tell you truly, the Book of Nature is a Holy Scroll, and if you would have the Sons of Men
853
+ save themselves and find everlasting life, teach them how once again to read from the living
854
+ pages of the Earthly Mother. For in everything that is life is the law written. It is written in the
855
+ grass, in the trees, in rivers, mountains, birds of the sky and fishes of the sea; and most of all
856
+ within the Son of Man. Only when he returns to the bosom of his Earthly Mother will he find
857
+ everlasting life and the Stream of Life which leads to his Heavenly Father; only then may the
858
+ dark vision of the future come not to pass.
859
+
860
+
861
+ "After this manner, therefore, pray to your Heavenly Father, when the sun is high at midday:
862
+ ‘Our Father who art in heaven, send to all the Sons of Men your angel of Peace; and send to the
863
+ kingdom of our Earthly Mother the angel of joy, that our hearts may be full of singing and
864
+ gladness as we nestle in the arms of our Mother.
865
+
866
+
867
+ 4 'At last, shall the Son of Man seek peace with the kingdom of his Heavenly Father; for truly,
868
+ the Son of Man is only born of his father by seed and of his mother by the body, that he may find
869
+ his true inheritance and know at last that he is the Son of the King.
870
+
871
+
872
+ "The Heavenly Father is the One Law, who fashioned the stars, the sun, the light and the
873
+ darkness, and the Holy Law within our souls. Everywhere is he, and there is nowhere he is not.
874
+ All in our understanding, and all we know not, all is governed by the Law. The falling of leaves,
875
+ the flow of rivers, the music of insects at night, all these are ruled by the Law.
876
+
877
+
878
+ "In our Heavenly Father's realm there are many mansions, and many are the hidden things you
879
+ cannot know of yet. I tell you truly, the kingdom of our Heavenly Father is vast, so vast that no
880
+ man can know its limits, for there are none. Yet the whole of his kingdom may be found in the
881
+ smallest drop of dew on a wild flower, or in the scent of newly-cut grass in the fields under the
882
+ summer sun. Truly, there are no words to describe the kingdom of the Heavenly Father.
883
+
884
+
885
+ "Glorious, indeed, is the inheritance of the Son of Man, for to hirn only is it given to enter the
886
+ Stream of Life which leads him to the kingdom of his Heavenly Father. But first he must seek
887
+ and find peace with his body, with his thoughts, with his feelings, with the Sons of Men, with
888
+ holy knowledge, and with the kingdom of the Earthly Mother. For I tell you truly, this is the
889
+ vessel which will carry the Son of Man on the Stream of Life to his Heavenly Father. He must
890
+ have peace that is sevenfold before he can know the one peace which surpasses understanding,
891
+ even that of his Heavenly Father.
892
+
893
+
894
+ "After this manner, therefore, pray to your Heavenly Father, when the sun is high at midday:
895
+ ‘Our Father who art in heaven, send to all the Sons of Men your angel of Peace; and send to your
896
+
897
+
898
+ kingdom, our Heavenly Father, your angel of Eternal Life, that we may soar beyond the stars and
899
+ live for ever."
900
+
901
+
902
+ And then the Elder was quiet, and a great stillness stole over the Brothers, and no one wished to
903
+ speak. The shadows of late afternoon played on the river, still and silvery as glass, and in the
904
+ darkening sky could faintly be seen the filigree crescent moon of peace. And the great peace of
905
+ the Heavenly Father wrapt them all in deathless love.
906
+
907
+
908
+ THE HOLY STREAMS
909
+
910
+
911
+ Into the innermost circle have you come, into the mystery of mysteries, that which was old when
912
+ our father Enoch was young and walked the earth. Around and around have you come on your
913
+ journey of many years, always following the path of righteousness, living according to the Holy
914
+ Law and the sacred vows of our Brotherhood, and you have made of your body a holy temple
915
+ wherein dwell the angels of God. Many years have you shared the daylight hours with the angels
916
+ of the Earthly Mother; many years have you slept in the arms of the Heavenly Father, taught by
917
+ his unknown angels. You have learned that the laws of the Son of Man are seven, of the angels
918
+ three, and of God, one. Now you shall know of the three laws of the angels, the mystery of the
919
+ three Holy Streams and the ancient way to traverse them; so shall you bathe in the light of
920
+ heaven and at last behold the revelation of the mystery of mysteries: the law of God, which is
921
+ One.
922
+
923
+
924
+ Now in the hour before the rising of the sun, just before the angels of the Earthly Mother breathe
925
+ life into the still sleeping earth, then do you enter into the Holy Stream of Life. It is your Brother
926
+ Tree who holds the mystery of this Holy Stream, and it is your Brother Tree that you will
927
+ embrace in your thought, even as by clay you embrace him in greeting when you walk along the
928
+ lake shore. And you shall be one with the tree, for in the beginning of the times so did we all
929
+ share in the Holy Stream of Life that gave birth to all creation. And as you embrace your Brother
930
+ Tree, the power of the Holy Stream of Life will fill your whole body, and you will tremble
931
+ before its might. Then breathe deeply of the angel of air, and say the word "Life" with the
932
+ outgiving of breath. Then you will become in truth the Tree of Life which sinks its roots deep
933
+ into the Holy Stream of Life from an eternal source. And as the angel of sun warms the earth,
934
+ and all the creatures of land and water and air rejoice in the new day, so will your body and spirit
935
+ rejoice in the Holy Stream of life that flows to you through your Brother Tree.
936
+
937
+
938
+ And when the sun is high in the heavens, then shall you seek the Holy Stream of Sound. in the
939
+ heat of noontide, all creatures are still and seek the shade; the angels of the Earthly Mother are
940
+ silent for a space. Then it is that you shall let into your ears the Holy Stream of Sound; for it can
941
+ only be heard in the silence. Think on the streams that are born in the desert after a sudden storm,
942
+ and the roaring sound of the waters as they rush past. Truly, this is the voice of God, if you did
943
+ but know it. For as it is written, in the beginning was the Sound, and the Sound was with God,
944
+ and the Sound was God. I tell you truly, when we are born, we enter the world with the sound of
945
+ God in our ears, even the singing of the vast chorus of the sky, and the holy chant of the stars in
946
+
947
+
948
+ their fixed rounds; it is the Holy Stream of Sound that traverses the vault of stars and crosses the
949
+ endless kingdom of the Heavenly Father. It is ever in our ears, so do we hear it not. Listen for it,
950
+ then, in the silence of noontide; bathe in it, and let the rhythm of the music of God beat in your
951
+ ears until you are one with the Holy Stream of Sound. It was this Sound which formed the earth
952
+ and the world, and brought forth the mountains, and set the stars in their thrones of glory in the
953
+ highest heavens.
954
+
955
+
956
+ And you shall bathe in the Stream of Sound, and the music of its waters shall flow over you; for
957
+ in the beginning of the times so did we all share in the Holy Stream of Sound that gave birth to
958
+ all creation. And the mighty roaring of the Stream of Sound will fill your whole body, and you
959
+ will tremble before its might. Then breathe deeply of the angel of air, and become the sound
960
+ itself, that the Holy Stream of Sound may carry you to the endless kingdom of the Heavenly
961
+ Father, there where the rhythm of the world rises and falls.
962
+
963
+
964
+ And when darkness gently closes the eyes of the angels of the Earthly Mother, then shall you
965
+ also sleep, that your spirit may join the unknown angels of the Heavenly Father. And in the
966
+ moments before you sleep, then shall you think of the bright and glorious stars, the white,
967
+ shining, far-seen and far-piercing stars. For your thoughts before sleep are as the bow of the
968
+ skilful archer, that sends the arrow where he wills. Let your thoughts before sleep be with the
969
+ stars; for the stars are Light, and the Heavenly Father is Light, even that Light which is a
970
+ thousand times brighter than the brightness of a thousand suns. Enter the Holy Stream of Light,
971
+ that the shackles of death may loose their hold for ever, and breaking free from the bonds of
972
+ earth, ascend the Holy Stream of Light through the blazing radiance of the stars, into the endless
973
+ kingdom of the Heavenly Father.
974
+
975
+
976
+ Unfold your wings of light, and in the eye of your thought, soar with the stars into the farthest
977
+ reaches of heaven, where untold suns blaze with light. For at the beginning of the times, the Holy
978
+ Law said, let there be Light, and there was Light. And you shall be one with it, and the power of
979
+ the Holy Light Stream will fill your whole body, and you will tremble before its might. Say the
980
+ word "Light," as you breathe deeply of the angel of air, and you will become the Light itself; and
981
+ the Holy Stream will carry you to the endless kingdom of the Heavenly Father, there losing itself
982
+ in the eternal Sea of Light which gives birth to all creation. And you shall be one with the Holy
983
+ Stream of Light, always before you sleep in the arms of the Heavenly Father.
984
+
985
+
986
+ I tell you truly, your body was made not only to breathe, and eat, and think, but it was also made
987
+ to enter the Holy Stream of Life. And your ears were made not only to hear the words of men,
988
+ the song of birds, and the music of falling rain, but they were also made to hear the Holy Stream
989
+ of Sound. And your eyes were made not only to see the rising and setting of the sun, the ripple of
990
+ sheaves of grain, and the words of the Holy Scrolls, but they were also made to see the Holy
991
+ Stream of Light. One day your body will return to the Earthly Mother; even also your ears and
992
+ your eyes. But the Holy Stream of Life, the Holy Stream of Sound, and the Holy Stream of
993
+ Light, these were never born, and can never die. Enter the Holy Streams, even that Life, that
994
+ Sound, and that Light which gave you birth; that you may reach the kingdom of the Heavenly
995
+ Father and become one with him, even as the river empties into the far distant sea.
996
+
997
+
998
+ More than this cannot be told, for the Holy Streams will take you to that place where words are
999
+ no more, and even the Holy Scrolls cannot record the mysteries therein.
1000
+
1001
+
resources/gnostic/The ESSENE GOSPEL OF PEACE Book One_djvu.txt ADDED
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1
+ The ESSENE GOSPEL OF PEACE
2
+ Book One
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+
4
+
5
+ The Original Hebrew and Aramaic Texts
6
+ Translated and edited by
7
+ EDMOND BORDEAUX SZEKELY
8
+ MCMLXXXI
9
+ INTERNATIONAL BIOGENIC SOCIETY
10
+ Book Design by Golondrina Graohics
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+ Copyright @ 1981, by the International Biogenic Society
12
+ Printed In the United States of America-All Rights Reserved
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+
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+
15
+ And then many sick and maimed came to Jesus, asking him. "if you know all things, tell us, why
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+ do we suffer with these grievous plagues? Why are we not whole like other men? Master, heal
17
+ us, that we too may be made strong, and need abide no longer in our misery. We know that you
18
+ have it in your power to heal all manner of disease. Free us from Satan and from all his great
19
+ afflictions. Master, have compassion on us."
20
+
21
+
22
+ And Jesus answered- "Happy are you that you hunger for the truth, for I will satisfy you with the
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+ bread of wisdom. Happy are you, that you knock, for I will open to you the door of life. Happy
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+ are you, that you would cast off the power of Satan, for I will lead you into the kingdom of our
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+ Mother's angels, where the power of Satan cannot enter."
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+
27
+
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+ And they asked him in amazement: "Who is our Mother and which her angels? And where is her
29
+ kingdom?"
30
+
31
+
32
+ "Your Mother is in you, and you in her. She bore you she gives you life. it was she who gave to
33
+ you your body, and to her shall you one day give it back again. Happy are you when you come to
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+ know her and her kingdom; if you receive your Mother's angels and if you do her laws. I tell you
35
+ truly, he who does these things shall never see disease. For the power of our Mother is above all.
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+ And it destroys Satan and his kingdom, and has rule over all your bodies and all living things.
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+
38
+
39
+ "The blood which runs in us is born of the blood of our Earthly Mother. Her blood falls from the
40
+ clouds; leaps from the womb of the earth; babbles in the brooks of the mountains; flows wide in
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+ the rivers of the plains; sleeps in the lakes; rages mightily in tempestuous seas.
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+
43
+
44
+ "The air which we breathe is born of the breath of our Earthly Mother. Her breath is azure in the
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+ heights of t heavens; soughs in the tops of the mountains; whispers the leaves of the forest;
46
+ billows over the cornfields; slumbers in the deep valleys, burns hot in the desert.
47
+
48
+
49
+ "The hardness of our bones is born of the bones of our Earthly Mother, of the rocks and of the
50
+ stones. They stand naked to the heavens on the tops of mountains; are as giants that lie sleeping
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+
52
+
53
+ on the sides of the mountains, as idols set in the desert, and are hidden in the deepness of the
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+ earth.
55
+
56
+
57
+ "The tenderness of our flesh is born of the flesh of our Earthly Mother; whose flesh waxes
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+ yellow and red in the fruits of the trees, and nurtures us in the furrows of the fields.
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+
60
+
61
+ "Our bowels are born of the bowels of our Earthly Mother, and are hid from our eyes, like the
62
+ invisible depths of the earth.
63
+
64
+
65
+ "The light of our eyes, the hearing of our ears, both are born of the colors and the sounds of our
66
+ Earthly Mother; which enclose us about, as the waves of the sea a fish, as the eddying air a bird.
67
+
68
+
69
+ "T tell you in very truth, Man is the Son of the Earthly Mother, and from her did the Son of Man
70
+ receive his whole body, even as the body of the newborn babe is born of the womb of his
71
+ mother. I tell you truly, you are one with the Earthly Mother; she is in you, and you in her. Of
72
+ her were you born, in her do you live, and to her shall you return again. Keep, therefore, her
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+ laws, for none can live long, neither be happy, but he who honors his Earthly Mother and
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+ does her laws. For your breath is her breath; your blood her blood; your bone her bone; your
75
+ flesh her flesh; your bowels her bowels; your eyes and your ears are her eyes and her ears.
76
+
77
+
78
+ "T tell you truly, should you fail to keep but one only of all these laws, should you harm but one
79
+ only of all your body's members, you shall be utterly lost in your grievous sickness, and there
80
+ shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I tell you, unless you follow the laws of your Mother,
81
+ you can in no wise escape death. And he who clings to the laws of his Mother, to him shall his
82
+ Mother cling also. She shall heal all his plagues, and he shall never become sick. She gives him
83
+ long life, and protects him from all afflictions; from fire, from water, from the bite of venomous
84
+ serpents. For your Mother bore you, keeps life within you. She has given you her body, and none
85
+ but she heals you. Happy is he who loves his Mother and lies quietly in her bosom. For your
86
+ Mother loves you, even when you turn away from her. And how much more shall she love you,
87
+ if you turn to her again? I tell you truly, very great is her love, greater than the greatest of
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+ mountains, deeper than the deepest seas. And those who love their Mother, she never deserts
89
+ them. As the hen protects her chickens, as the lioness her cubs, as the mother her newborn babe,
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+ so does the Earthly Mother protect the Son of Man from all danger and from all evils.
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+
92
+
93
+ "For I tell you truly, evils and dangers innumerable lie in wait for the Sons of Men. Beelzebub,
94
+ the prince of all devils, the source of every evil, lies in wait in the body of all the Sons of Men.
95
+ He is death, the lord of every plague, and taking upon him a pleasing raiment, he tempts and
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+ entices the Sons of Men. Riches does he promise, and power, and splendid palaces, and garments
97
+ of gold and silver, and a multitude of servants, all these; he promises renown and glory,
98
+ fornication and lustfulness, gluttony and wine-bibbing, riotous living, and slothfulness and idle
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+ days. And he entices every one by that to which their heart is most inclined. And in the day that
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+ the Sons of Men have already become the slaves of all these vanities and abominations, then in
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+ payment thereof he snatches from the Sons of Men all those things which the Earthly Mother
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+ gave them so abundantly. He takes from them their breath, their blood, their bone, their flesh,
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+ their bowels, their eyes and their ears. And the breath of the Son of Man becomes short and
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+ stifled, full of pain and evil-smelling, like the breath of unclean beasts. And his blood becomes
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+
106
+
107
+ thick and evil-smelling, like the water of the swamps; it clots and blackens, like the night of
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+ death. And his bone becomes hard and knotted; it melts away within and breaks asunder, as a
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+ stone falling down upon a rock. And his flesh waxes fat and watery; it rots and putrefies, with
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+ scabs and boils that are an abomination.
111
+
112
+
113
+ And his bowels become full with abominable filthiness, with oozing streams of decay; and
114
+ multitudes of abominable worms have their habitation there. And his eyes grow dim, till dark
115
+ night enshrouds them, and his ears become stopped, like the silence of the grave. And last of all
116
+ shall the erring Son of Man lose life. For he kept not the laws of his Mother, and added sin to sin.
117
+ Therefore, are taken from him all the gifts of the Earthly Mother: breath, blood, bone, flesh,
118
+ bowels, eyes and ears, and after all else, life, with which the Earthly Mother crowned his body.
119
+
120
+
121
+ "But if the erring Son of Man be sorry for his sins and undo them, and return again to his Earthly
122
+ Mother; and if he do his Earthly Mother's laws and free himself from Satan's clutches, resisting
123
+ his temptations, then does the Earthly Mother receive again her erring Son with love and sends
124
+ him her angels that they may serve him. I tell you truly, when the Son of Man resists the Satan
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+ that dwells in him and does not his will, in the same hour are found the Mother's angels there,
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+ that they may serve him with all their power and free utterly the Son of Man from the power of
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+ Satan.
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+
129
+
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+ "For no man can serve two masters. For either he serves Beelzebub and his devils or else he
131
+ serves our Earthly Mother and her angels. Either he serves death or he serves life. I ten you truly,
132
+ happy are those that do the laws of life and wander not upon the paths of death. For in them the
133
+ forces of life wax strong and they escape the plagues of death."
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+
135
+
136
+ And all those round about him listened to his words with amazement, for his word was with
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+ power, and he taught quite otherwise than the priests and scribes.
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+
139
+
140
+ And though the sun was now set, they departed not to their homes. They sat round about Jesus
141
+ and asked him: "Master, which are these laws of life? Rest with us awhile longer and teach us.
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+ We would listen to your teaching that we may be healed and become righteous."
143
+
144
+
145
+ And Jesus himself sat down in their midst and said: "I tell you truly, none can be happy, except
146
+ he do the Law."
147
+
148
+
149
+ And the others answered: "We all do the laws of Moses, our lawgiver, even as they are written in
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+ the holy scriptures."
151
+
152
+
153
+ And Jesus answered: "Seek not the law in your scriptures, for the law is life, whereas the
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+ scripture is dead. I tell you truly, Moses received not his laws from God in writing, but through
155
+ the living word. The law is living word of living God to living prophets for living men. In
156
+ everything that is life is the law written. You find it in the grass, in the tree, in the river, in the
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+ mountain, in the birds of heaven, in the fishes of the sea; but seek it chiefly in yourselves. For I
158
+ tell you truly, all living things are nearer to God than the scripture which is without life. God so
159
+ made life and all living things that they might by the everlasting word teach the laws of the true
160
+ God to man. God wrote not the laws in the pages of books, but in your heart and in your spirit.
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+
162
+
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+ They are in your breath, your blood, your bone; in your flesh, your bowels, your eyes, your ears,
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+ and in every little part of your body. They are present in the air, in the water, in the earth, in the
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+ plants, in th e sunbeams, in the depths and in the heights. They all speak to you that you may
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+ understand the tongue and the will of the living God. But you shut your eyes that you may not
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+ see, and you shut your ears that you may not hear. I tell you truly, that the scripture is the work
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+ of man, but life and all its hosts are the work of our God. Wherefore do you not listen to the
169
+ words of God which are written in His works? And wherefore do you study the dead scriptures
170
+ which are the work of the hands of men?"
171
+
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+
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+ "How may we read the laws of God elsewhere than in the scriptures? Where are they written?
174
+ Read them to us from there where you see them, for we know nothing else but the scriptures
175
+ which we have inherited from our forefathers. Tell us the laws of which you speak, that hearing
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+ them we may be healed and justified."
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+
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+
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+ Jesus said: "You do not understand the words of life, because you are in death. Darkness darkens
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+ your eyes and your ears are stopped with deafness. For I tell you, it profits you not at all that you
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+ pore over dead scriptures if by your deeds you deny him who has given you the scriptures.
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+
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+
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+ I tell you truly, God and his laws are not in that which you do. They are not in gluttony and in
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+ wine-bibbing, neither in riotous living, nor in lustfulness, nor in seeking after riches, nor yet in
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+ hatred of your enemies. For all these things are far from the true God and from his angels. But all
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+ these things come from the kingdom of darkness and the lord of all evils. And all these things do
188
+ you carry in yourselves; and so the word and the power of God enter not into you, because all
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+ manner of evil and all manner of abominations have their dwelling in your body and your spirit.
190
+ If you will that the living God's word and his power may enter you, defile not your body and
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+ your spirit; for the body is the temple of the spirit, and the spirit is the temple of God. Purify,
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+ therefore, the temple, that the Lord of the temple may dwell therein and occupy a place that is
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+ worthy of him.
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+
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+
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+ "And from all temptations of your body and your spirit, coming from Satan, withdraw beneath
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+ the shadow of God's heaven.
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+
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+
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+ "Renew yourselves and fast. For I tell you truly, that Satan and his plagues may only be cast out
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+ by -fasting and by prayer. Go by yourself and fast alone, and show your fasting to no man. The
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+ living God shall see it and great shall be your reward. And fast till Beelzebub and all his evils
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+ depart from you, and all the angels of our Earthly Mother come and serve you. For I tell you
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+ truly, except you fast, you shall never be freed from the power of Satan and from all diseases that
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+ come from Satan. Fast and pray fervently, seeking the power of the living God for your healing.
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+ While you fast, eschew the Sons of Men and seek our Earthly Mother's angels, for he that seeks
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+ shall find.
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+
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+
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+ "Seek the fresh air of the forest and of the fields, and there in the midst of them shall you find the
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+ angel of air. Put off your shoes and your clothing and suffer the angel of air to embrace all your
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+ body. Then breathe long and deeply, that the angel of air may be brought within you. I tell you
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+ truly, the angel of air shall cast out of your body all uncleannesses which defiled it without and
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+ within. And thus shall all evil-smelling and unclean things rise out of you, as the smoke of fire
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+
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+
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+ curls upwards and is lost in the sea of the air. For I tell you truly, holy is the angel of air, who
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+ cleanses all that is unclean and makes all evil-smelling things of a sweet odor. No man may
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+ come before the face of God, whom the angel of air lets not pass. Truly, all must be born again
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+ by air and by truth, for your body breathes the air of the Earthly Mother, and your spirit breathes
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+ the truth of the Heavenly Father.
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+
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+
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+ "After the angel of air, seek the angel of water. Put off your shoes and your clothing and
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+ suffer the angel of water to embrace all your body. Cast yourselves wholly into his enfolding
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+ arms, and as often as you move the air with your breath, move with your body the water also. I
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+ tell you truly, the angel of water shall cast out of your body all uncleannesses which defiled it
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+ without and within. And all unclean and evil-smelling things shall flow out of you, even as the
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+ uncleannesses of garments washed in water flow away and are lost in the stream of the river. I
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+ tell you truly, holy is the angel of water who cleanses all that is unclean and makes all evil-
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+ smelling things of a sweet odor. No man may come before the face of God whom the angel of
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+ water lets not pass. in very truth, all must be born again of water and of truth, for your
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+ body bathes in the river of earthly life, and your spirit bathes in the river of life everlasting.
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+ For you receive your blood from our Earthly Mother and the truth from our Heavenly Father.
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+
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+
237
+ "Think not that it is sufficient that the angel of water embrace you outwards only. I tell you truly,
238
+ the uncleanness within is greater by much than the uncleanness without. And he who cleanses
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+ himself without, but within remains unclean, is like to tombs that outwards are painted fair, but
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+ are within full of all manner of horrible uncleannesses and abominations. So I tell you truly,
241
+ suffer the angel of water to baptize you also within, that you may become free from all your
242
+ past sins, and that within likewise you may become as pure as the river's foam sporting in
243
+ the sunlight.
244
+
245
+
246
+ "Seek, therefore, a large trailing gourd, having a stalk the length of a man; take out its inwards
247
+ and fill it with water from the river which the sun has warmed. Hang it upon the branch of a tree,
248
+ and kneel upon the ground before the angel of water, and suffer the end of the stalk of the trailing
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+ gourd to enter your hinder parts, that the water may flow through all your bowels. Afterwards
250
+ rest kneeling on the ground before the angel of water and pray to the living God that he will
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+ forgive you all your past sins, and pray the angel of water that he will free your body from every
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+ uncleanness and disease. Then let the water run out from your body, that it may carry away from
253
+ within it all the unclean and evil-smelling things of Satan. And you shall see with your eyes and
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+ smell with your nose all the abominations, and uncleannesses which defiled the temple of your
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+ body; even all the sins which abode in your body, tormenting you with all manner of pains. I tell
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+ you truly, baptism with water frees you from all of these. Renew your baptizing with water
257
+ on every day of your fast, till the day when you see that the water which flows out of you is
258
+ as pure as the river's foam. Then betake your body to the coursing river, and there in the arms
259
+ of the angel of water render thanks to the living God that he has freed you from your sins. And
260
+ this holy baptizing by the angel of water is: Rebirth unto the new life. For your eyes shall
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+ henceforth see, and your ears shall hear. Sin no more, therefore, after your baptism, that the
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+ angels of air and of water may eternally abide in you and serve you evermore.
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+
264
+
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+ "And if afterward there remain within you aught of your past sins and uncleannesses, seek the
266
+ angel of sunlight. Put off your shoes and your clothing and suffer the angel of sunlight to
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+
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+
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+ embrace all your body. Then breathe long and deeply, that the angel of sunlight may be brought
270
+ within you. And the angel of sunlight shall cast out of your body all evil-smelling and unclean
271
+ things which defiled it without and within. And all unclean and evil-smelling things shall rise
272
+ from you, even as the darkness of night fades before the brightness of the rising sun. For I tell
273
+ you truly, holy is the angel of sunlight who cleans out all uncleannesses and makes all evil-
274
+ smelling things of a sweet odor. None may come before the face of God, whom the angel of
275
+ sunlight lets not pass. Truly, all must be born again of sun and of truth, for your body basks in
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+ the sunlight of the Earthly Mother, and your spirit basks in the sunlight of the truth of the
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+ Heavenly Father.
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+
279
+
280
+ "The angels of air and of water and of sunlight are brethren. They were given to the Son of Man
281
+ that they might serve him, and that he might go always from one to the other.
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+
283
+
284
+ "Holy, likewise, is their embrace. They are indivisible children of the Earthly Mother, so do not
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+ you put asunder those whom earth and heaven have made one. Let these three brother angels
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+ enfold you every day and let them abide with you through all your fasting.
287
+
288
+
289
+ "For I tell you truly, the power of devils, all sins and uncleannesses shall depart in haste from
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+ that body which is embraced by these three angels. As thieves flee from a deserted house at the
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+ coming of the lord of the house, one by the door, one by the window, and the third by the roof,
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+ each where he is found, and whither he is able, even so shall flee from your bodies all devils of
293
+ evil, all past sins, and all uncleannesses and diseases which defiled the temple of your bodies.
294
+ When the Earthly Mother's angels enter into your bodies, in such wise that the lords of the
295
+ temple repossess it again, then shall all evil smells depart in haste by your breath and by your
296
+ skin, corrupt waters by your mouth and by your skin, by your hinder and your privy parts. And
297
+ all these things you shall see with your eyes and smell with your nose and touch with your hands.
298
+ And when all sins and uncleannesses are gone from your body, your blood shall become as pure
299
+ as our Earthly Mother's blood and as the river's foam sporting in the sunlight. And your breath
300
+ shall become as pure as the breath of odorous flowers; your flesh as pure as the flesh of fruits
301
+ reddening upon the leaves of trees; the light of your eye as clear and bright as the brightness of
302
+ the sun shining upon the blue sky. And now shall all the angels of the Earthly Mother serve you.
303
+ And your breath, your blood, your flesh shall be one with the breath, the blood and the flesh of
304
+ the Earthly Mother, that your spirit also may become one with the spirit of your Heavenly Father.
305
+ For truly, no one can reach the Heavenly Father unless through the Earthly Mother. Even as no
306
+ newborn babe can understand the teaching of his father till his mother has suckled him, bathed
307
+ him, nursed him, put him to sleep and nurtured him. While the child is yet small, his place is
308
+ with his mother and he must obey his mother. When the child is grown up, his father takes him
309
+ to work at his side in the field, and the child comes back to his mother o nly when the hour of
310
+ dinner and supper is come. And now his father teaches him, that he may become skilled in the
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+ works of his father. And when the father sees that his son understands his teaching and does his
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+ work well, he gives him all his possessions, that they may belong to his beloved son, and that his
313
+ son may continue his father's work. I tell you truly, happy is that son who accepts the counsel of
314
+ his mother and walks therein. And a hundred times more happy is that son who accepts and
315
+ walks also in the counsel of his father, for it was said to you: 'Honor thy father and thy mother
316
+ that thy days may be long upon this earth.’ But I say to you, Sons of Man: Honor your Earthly
317
+ Mother and keep all her laws, that your days may be long on this earth, and honor your Heavenly
318
+
319
+
320
+ Father that Eternal Life may be yours in the heavens. For the Heavenly Father is a hundred times
321
+ greater than all fathers by seed and by blood, and greater is the Earthly Mother than all mothers
322
+ by the body. And d earer is the Son of Man in the eyes of his Heavenly Father and of his Earthly
323
+ Mother than are children in the eyes of their fathers by seed and by blood and of their mothers by
324
+ the body. And more wise are the words and laws of your Heavenly Father and of your Earthly
325
+ Mother than the words and the will of all fathers by seed and by blood, and of all mothers by the
326
+ body. And of more worth also is the inheritance of your Heavenly Father and of your Earthly
327
+ Mother, the everlasting kingdom of earthly and heavenly life, than all the inheritances of your
328
+ fathers by seed and by blood, and of your mothers by the body.
329
+
330
+
331
+ "And your true brothers are all those who do the will of your Heavenly Father and of your
332
+ Earthly Mother, and not your brothers by blood. I tell you truly, that your true brothers in the
333
+ will of the Heavenly Father and of the Earthly Mother will love you a thousand times more than
334
+ your brothers by blood. For since the days of Cain and Abel, when brothers by blood
335
+ transgressed the will of God, there is no true brotherhood by blood. And brothers do unto
336
+ brothers as do strangers. Therefore, I say to you, love your true brothers in the will of God a
337
+ thousand times more than your brothers by blood.
338
+
339
+
340
+ FOR YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS LOVE.
341
+ FOR YOUR EARTHLY MOTHER IS LOVE.
342
+ FOR THE SON OF MAN IS LOVE.
343
+
344
+
345
+ "It is by love, that the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother and the Son of Man become one.
346
+ For the spirit of the Son of Man was created from the spirit of the Heaven Father, and his body
347
+ from the body of the Earthly Mother. Become, therefore, perfect as the spirit of your Heavenly
348
+ Father and the body of your Earthly Mother are perfect. And so love your Heavenly Father, as he
349
+ loves your spirit. And so love your Earthly Mother, as she loves your body. And so love your
350
+ true brothers, as your Heavenly Father and your Earthly Mother love them. And then your
351
+ Heavenly Father shall give you his holy spirit, and your Earthly Mother shall give you her holy
352
+ body. And then shall the Sons of Men like true brothers give love one to another, the love which
353
+ they received from their Heavenly Father and from their Earthly Mother; and they shall all
354
+ become comforters one of another. And then shall disappear from the earth all evil and all
355
+ sorrow, and there shall be love and joy upon earth. And then shall the earth be like the heavens,
356
+ and the kingdom of God shall come. And then shall come the Son of Man in all his glory, to
357
+ inherit the kingdom of God. And then shall the Sons of Men divide their divine inheritance, the
358
+ kingdom of God. For the Sons of Men live in the Heavenly Father and in the Earthly Mother, and
359
+ the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother live in them. And then with the kingdom of God
360
+ shall come the end of the times. For the Heavenly Father's love gives to all life everlasting in the
361
+ kingdom of God. For love is eternal. Love is stronger than death.
362
+
363
+
364
+ "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become as
365
+ sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Though I tell what is to come, and know all secrets, and all
366
+ wisdom; and though I have faith strong as the storm which lifts mountains from their seat, but
367
+
368
+
369
+ have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and give all my
370
+ fire that I have received from my Father, but have not love, I am in no wise profited. Love is
371
+ patient, love is kind. Love is not envious, works not evil, knows not pride; is not rude, neither
372
+ selfish; is slow to anger, imagines no mischief; rejoices not in injustice, but delights in justice.
373
+ Love defends all, love believes all, love hopes all, love bears all; never exhausts itself; but as for
374
+ tongues they shall cease, and, as for knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we have truth in part,
375
+ and error in part, but when the fullness of perfection is come, that which is in part shall be
376
+ blotted out. When a man was a child he spoke as a child, understood as a child, thought as a
377
+ child; but when he became a man he put away childish things. For now we see through a glass
378
+ and through dark sayings. Now we know in part, but when we are come before the face of God,
379
+ we shall not know in part, but even as we are taught by him. And now remain these three: faith
380
+ and hope and love; but the greatest of these is love.
381
+
382
+
383
+ "And now I speak to you in the living tongue of the living God, through the holy spirit of our
384
+ Heavenly Father. There is none yet among you that can understand all this of which I speak. He
385
+ who expounds to you the scriptures speaks to you in a dead tongue of dead men, through his
386
+ diseased and mortal body. Him, therefore, can all men understand, for all men are diseased and
387
+ all are in death. No one sees the light of life. Blind man leads blind on the dark paths of sins,
388
+ diseases and sufferings; and at the last all fall into the pit of death.
389
+
390
+
391
+ "I am sent to you by the Father, that I may make the light of life to shine before you. The light
392
+ lightens itself and the darkness, but the darkness knows only itself, and knows not the light. I
393
+ have still many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them yet. For your eyes are used to the
394
+ darkness, and the full light of the Heavenly Father would make you blind. Therefore, you cannot
395
+ yet understand that which I speak to you concerning the Heavenly Father who sent me to you.
396
+ Follow, therefore, first, only the laws of your Earthly Mother, of which I have told you. And
397
+ when her angels shall have cleansed and renewed your bodies and strengthened your eyes, you
398
+ will be able to bear the light of our Heavenly Father. When you can gaze on the brightness of the
399
+ noonday sun with unflinching eyes, you can then look upon the blinding light of your Heavenly
400
+ Father, which is a thousand times brighter than the brightness of a thousand suns. But how
401
+ should you look upon the blinding light of you r Heavenly Father, when you cannot even bear
402
+ the shining of the blazing sun? Believe me, the sun is as the flame of a candle beside the sun of
403
+ truth of the Heavenly Father. Have but faith, therefore, and hope, and love. I tell you truly, you
404
+ shall not want your reward. If you believe in my words, you believe in him who sent me, who is
405
+ the lord of all, and with whom all things are possible. For what is impossible with men, all these
406
+ things are possible with God. If you believe in the angels of the Earthly Mother and do her laws,
407
+ your faith shall sustain you and you shall never see disease. Have hope also in the love of your
408
+ Heavenly Father, for he who trusts in him shall never be deceived, nor shall he ever see death.
409
+
410
+
411
+ "Love one another, for God is love, and so shall his angels know that you walk in his paths.
412
+ And then shall all the angels come before your face and serve you. And Satan with all sins,
413
+ diseases and uncleannesses shall depart from your body. Go, eschew your sins; repent
414
+ yourselves; baptize yourselves; that you may be born again and sin no more."
415
+
416
+
417
+ Then Jesus rose. But all else remained sitting, for every man felt the power of his words. And
418
+ then the full moon appeared between the breaking clouds and folded Jesus in its brightness. And
419
+
420
+
421
+ sparks flew upward from his hair, and he stood among them in the moonlight, as though he
422
+ hovered in the air. And no man moved, neither was the voice of any heard. And no one knew
423
+ how long a time had passed, for time stood still.
424
+
425
+
426
+ Then Jesus stretched out his hands to them and said: "Peace be with you." And so he departed, as
427
+ a breath of wind sways the green of trees.
428
+
429
+
430
+ And for a long while yet the company sat still and then they woke in the silence, one man after
431
+ another, like as from a long dream. But none would go, as if the words of him who had left them
432
+ ever sounded in their ears. And they sat as though they listened to some wondrous music.
433
+
434
+
435
+ But at last one, as it were a little fearfully, said: "How good it is to be here." Another: "Would
436
+ that this night were everlasting." And others: "Would that he might be with us always." "Of a
437
+ truth he is God's messenger, for he planted hope within our hearts." And no man wished to go
438
+ home, saying: "I go not home where all is dark and joyless. Why should we go home where no
439
+ one loves us?"
440
+
441
+
442
+ And they spoke on this wise, for they were almost all poor, lame, blind, maimed, beggars,
443
+ homeless, despised in their wretchedness, who were only borne for pity's sake in the houses
444
+ where they found a few day's refuge. Even certain, who had both home and family, said: "We
445
+ also will stay with you." For every man felt that the words of him who was gone bound the little
446
+ company with threads invisible. And all felt that they were born again. They saw before them a
447
+ shining world, even when the moon was hidden in the clouds. And in the hearts of all blossomed
448
+ wondrous flowers of wondrous beauty, the flowers of joy.
449
+
450
+
451
+ And when the bright sunbeams appeared over the earth's rim, they all felt that it was the sun of
452
+ the coming kingdom of God. And with joyful countenances they went forth to meet God's
453
+ angels.
454
+
455
+
456
+ And many unclean and sick followed Jesus' words and sought the banks of the murmuring
457
+ streams. They put off their shoes and their clothing, they fasted, and they gave up their bodies to
458
+ the angels of air, of water, and of sunshine. And the Earthly Mother's angels embraced them,
459
+ possessing their bodies both inwards and outwards. And all of them saw all evils, sins and
460
+ uncleannesses depart in haste from them.
461
+
462
+
463
+ And the breath of some became as stinking as that which is loosed from the bowels, and some
464
+ had an issue of spittle, and evil-smelling and unclean vomit rose from their inward parts. All
465
+ these uncleannesses flowed by their mouths. In some, by the nose, in others by the eyes and ears.
466
+ And many did have a noisome and abominable sweat come from all their body, over all their
467
+ skin. And on many limbs great hot boils broke forth, from which carne out uncleannesses with an
468
+ evil smell, and urine flowed abundantly from their body; and in many their urine was all but
469
+ dried up and became thick as the honey of bees; that of others was almost red or black, and as
470
+ hard almost as the sand of rivers. And many belched stinking gases from their bowels, like the
471
+ breath of devils. And their stench became so great that none could bear it.
472
+
473
+
474
+ And when they baptized themselves, the angel of water entered their bodies, and from them
475
+ flowed out all the abominations and uncleannesses of their past sins, and like a falling mountain
476
+ stream gushed from their bodies a multitude of hard and soft abominations. And the ground
477
+ where their waters flowed was polluted, and so great became the stench that none could remain
478
+ there. And the devils left their bowels in the shape of multitudinous worms which writhed in
479
+ impotent rage after the angel of water had cast them out of the bowels of the Sons of Men. And
480
+ then descended upon them the power of the angel of sunshine, and they perished there in their
481
+ desperate writhings, trod underfoot by the angel of sunshine. And all were trembling with terror
482
+ when they looked upon all these abominations of Satan, from which the angels had saved them.
483
+ And they rendered thanks to God who had sent his angels for their deliverance.
484
+
485
+
486
+ And there were some whom great pains tormented, which would not depart from them; and
487
+ knowing not what they should do, they resolved to send one of them to Jesus, for they greatly
488
+ wished he should be with them.
489
+
490
+
491
+ And when two were gone to seek him, they saw Jesus himself approaching by the bank of the
492
+ river. And their hearts were filled with hope and joy when they heard his greeting, "Peace
493
+ be with you." And many were the questions that they desired to ask him, but in their
494
+ astonishment they could not begin, for nothing came into their minds. Then said Jesus to them: "I
495
+ come because you need me." And one cried out: "Master, we do indeed, come and free us from
496
+ our pains."
497
+
498
+
499
+ And Jesus spoke to them in parables: "You are like the prodigal son, who for many years did eat
500
+ and drink, and passed his days in riotousness and lechery with his friends. And every week
501
+ without his father's knowledge he incurred new debts, and squandered all in a few days. And the
502
+ moneylenders always lent to him, because his father possessed great riches and always paid
503
+ patiently the debts of his son. And in vain did he with fair words admonish his son, for he never
504
+ listened to the admonitions of his father, who besought him in vain that he would give up his
505
+ debaucheries which had no end, and that he would go to his fields to watch over the labor of his
506
+ servants. And the son always promised him everything if he would pay his old debts, but the next
507
+ day he began again. And for more than seven years the son continued in his riotous living. But,
508
+ at last, his father lost patience and no more paid to the moneylenders the debts of his son. "if I
509
+ continue always to pay," he said, "there will be no end to the sins of my son." Then the
510
+ moneylenders, who were deceived, in their wrath took the son into slavery that he might by his
511
+ daily toil pay back to them the money which he had borrowed. And then ceased the eating and
512
+ drinking and the daily excesses. From morning until night by the sweat of his face he watered the
513
+ fields, and all of his limbs ached with the unaccustomed labor. And he lived upon dry bread, and
514
+ had naught but his tears with which he could water it. And three days after he suffered so much
515
+ from the heat and from weariness that he said to his master: 'I can work no more, for all my
516
+ limbs do ache. How long would you torment me?’ "Till the day when by the labor of your hands
517
+ you pay me all your debts, and when seven years are passed, you will be free.' And the desperate
518
+ son answered weeping: ‘But I cannot bear so much as seven days. Have pity on me, for all my
519
+ limbs do burn and ache." And the wicked creditor cried out: 'Press on with the work; if you could
520
+ for seven years spend your days and your nights in riotousness, now must you work for seven
521
+ years. I will not forgive you till you pay back all your debts to the uttermost drachma.' And the
522
+ son, with his limbs racked with pain, went back despairing to the fields to continue his work.
523
+
524
+
525
+ Already he could hardly stand upon his feet because of his weariness and of his pains, when the
526
+ seventh day was come-the Sabbath day, in which no man works in the field. Then the son
527
+ gathered the remnant of his strength and staggered to the house of his father. And he cast himself
528
+ down at his father's feet and said: 'Father, believe me for the last time and forgive me all my
529
+ offenses against your swear to you that I will never again live riotously and that I will be your
530
+ obedient son in all things. Free me from the hands of my oppressor. Father, look upon me and
531
+ upon my sick limbs, and harden not your heart.' Then tears came into his father's eyes, and he
532
+ took his son in his arms, and said: 'Let us rejoic e, for today a great joy is given me, because I
533
+ have found again my beloved son, who was lost.' And he clothed him with his choicest raiment
534
+ and all the day long they made merry. And on the morning of the morrow he gave his son a bag
535
+ of silver that he might pay to his creditors all that he owed them. And when his son came back,
536
+ he said to him: 'My son, do you see that it is easy, through riotous living, to incur debts for seven
537
+ years, but their payment is difficult by the heavy labor of seven years." 'Father, it is indeed hard
538
+ to pay them, even for seven days.’ And his father admonished him, saying: 'For this once alone
539
+ has it been permitted you to pay your debts in seven days instead of seven years, the rest is
540
+ forgiven you. But take heed that in the time to come you do not incur more debts. For I tell you
541
+ truly, that none else but your father forgives you your debts, because you are his son. For with all
542
+ else you would have had to labor hard for seven years, as it is commanded in our laws.’
543
+
544
+
545
+ My father, I will henceforth be your loving and obedient son, and I will not any more incur
546
+ debts, for I know that their payment is hard.’
547
+
548
+
549
+ "And he went to his father's field and watched every day over the work of his father's laborers.
550
+ And he never made his laborers work hard, for he remembered his own heavy labor. And the
551
+ years passed, and his father's possession increased ever more and more beneath his hand, for the
552
+ blessing of his father was upon his labor. And slowly he gave back tenfold to his father all that
553
+ he had squandered in the seven years. And when his father saw that his son used well his
554
+ servants and all his possessions, he said to him: 'My son, I see that my possessions are in good
555
+ hands. I give you all my cattle, my house, my lands and my treasures. Let all this be your
556
+ heritage, continue increasing it that I may have delight in you.’ And when the son had received
557
+ his inheritance from his father, he forgave their debts to all his debtors who could not pay him,
558
+ for he did not forget that his debt also had been forgiven when he could not pay it. And God
559
+ blessed him with long life, with many children and with much riches, because he was kind to all
560
+ his servants and to all his cattle."
561
+
562
+
563
+ Then Jesus turned to the sick folk and said: "I speak to you in parables that you may better
564
+ understand God's word. The seven years of eating and drinking and of riotous living are the sins
565
+ of the past. The wicked creditor is Satan. The debts are diseases. The heavy labor is pains. The
566
+ prodigal son, he is yourselves. The payment of the debts is the casting from you of devils and
567
+ diseases, and the healing of your body. The bag of silver received from the father is the liberating
568
+ power of the angels. The father is God. The father's possessions are earth and heaven. The
569
+ servants of the father are the angels. The father's field is the world, which is changed into the
570
+ kingdom of the heavens, if the Sons of Man work thereon together with the angels of the
571
+ Heavenly Father. For I tell you, it is better that the son should obey his father and keep watch
572
+ over his father's servants in the field, than that he should become the debtor of the wicked
573
+ creditor and toil and sweat in serfdom to repa y all his debts. it is better, likewise, if the Sons of
574
+
575
+
576
+ Man also obey the laws of their Heavenly Father, and work together with his angels upon his
577
+ kingdom, than that they should become the debtors of Satan, the lord of death, of all sins and all
578
+ diseases, and that they should suffer with pains and sweat till they have repaid all their sins. I tell
579
+ you truly, great and many are your sins. Many years have you yielded to the enticings of Satan.
580
+ You have been gluttonous, wine-bibbers and gone a-whoring, and your past debts have
581
+ multiplied. And now you must repay them, and payment is difficult and hard. Be not, therefore,
582
+ already impatient after the third day, like the prodigal son, but wait patiently for the seventh day
583
+ which is sanctified by God, and then go with humble and obedient heart before the face of your
584
+ Heavenly Father, that he may forgive you your sins and all your past debts. I tell you truly, your
585
+ Heavenly Father loves you without end, for he also allows you to pay in seven days the debts of
586
+ seven years. Those that owe the sins and diseases of seven years, but pay honestly and persevere
587
+ till the seventh day, to them shall our Heavenly Father forgive the debts of all these seven years.
588
+
589
+
590
+ "If we sin for seven times seven years?" asked a sick man who suffered horribly. "Even in that
591
+ case the Heavenly Father forgives you all your debts in seven times seven days.
592
+
593
+
594
+ "Happy are those that persevere to the end, for the devils of Satan write all your evil deeds in a
595
+ book, in the book of your body and your spirit. I tell you truly, there is not one sinful deed, but it
596
+ is written, even from the beginning of the world, before our Heavenly Father. For you may
597
+ escape the laws made by kings, but the laws of your God, these may none of the Sons of Man
598
+ escape. And when you come before the face of God, the devils of Satan bear witness against
599
+ you with your deed, and God sees your sins written in the book of your body and of your
600
+ spirit and is sad in his heart. But if you repent of your sins, and by fasting and prayer you
601
+ seek the angels of God, then each day that you continue to fast and to pray, God's angels
602
+ blot out one year of your evil deeds from the book of your body and your spirit. And when
603
+ the last page is also blotted out and cleansed from all your sins, you stand before the face of God,
604
+ and God rejoices in his heart and forgets all your sins. He frees you from the clutches of Satan
605
+ and from suffering; he takes you within his house and commands that all his servants, all his
606
+ angels serve you. Long life does he give you, and you shall never see disease. And if,
607
+ thenceforward, instead of sinning, you pass your days in doing good deeds, then the angels
608
+ of God shall write all your good deeds in the book of your body and of your spirit. I tell you
609
+ truly, no good deed remains unwritten before God, not from the beginning of the world.
610
+ For from your kings and your governors you may wait in vain for your reward, but never do your
611
+ good deeds want their reward from God.
612
+
613
+
614
+ "And when you come before the face of God, his angels bear witness for you with your good
615
+ deeds. And God sees your good deeds written in your bodies and in your spirits, and rejoices in
616
+ his heart. He blesses your body and your spirit and all your deeds, and gives you for a heritage
617
+ his earthly and heavenly kingdom, that in it you may have life everlasting. Happy is he who can
618
+ enter into the kingdom of God, for he shall never see death."
619
+
620
+
621
+ And a great silence fell at his words. And those that were discouraged took new strength from his
622
+ words and continued to fast and to pray. And he who had spoken the first, said to him: "I will
623
+ persevere to the seventh day." And the second, likewise, said to him: "I also will persevere to the
624
+ seven times seventh day."
625
+
626
+
627
+ Jesus answered them: "Happy are those that persevere to the end, for they shall inherit the earth."
628
+
629
+
630
+ And there were many sick among them tormented with grievous pains, and they hardly crawled
631
+ to Jesus' feet. For they could no longer walk upon their feet. They said: "Master, we are
632
+ grievously tormented with pain; tell us what we shall do." And they showed Jesus their feet in
633
+ which the bones were twisted and knotted and said: "Neither the angel of air, nor of water, nor of
634
+ sunshine has assuaged our pains, notwithstanding that we baptized ourselves, and do fast and
635
+ pray, and follow your words in all things."
636
+
637
+
638
+ "T tell you truly, your bones will be healed. Be not discouraged, but seek for cure nigh the
639
+ healer of bones, the angel of earth. For thence were your bones taken, and thither will they
640
+ return."
641
+
642
+
643
+ And he pointed with his hand to where the running of the water and the sun's heat had softened
644
+ to clayey mud the earth by the edge of the water. "Sink your feet in the mire, that the embrace of
645
+ the angel of earth may draw out from your bones all uncleanness and all disease. And you will
646
+ see Satan and your pains fly from the embrace of the angel of earth. And the knots of your bones
647
+ will vanish away, and they will be straightened, and all your pains will disappear."
648
+
649
+
650
+ And the sick followed his words, for they knew that they would be healed.
651
+
652
+
653
+ And there were also other sick who suffered much from their pains, howbeit, they persisted in
654
+ their fasting. And their force was spent, and great heat tormented them. And when they would
655
+ have risen from their bed to go to Jesus, their heads began to turn, as if it were a gusty wind
656
+
657
+ which shook them, and as oft as they tried to stand upon their feet they fell back to the ground.
658
+
659
+
660
+ Then Jesus went to them and said: "You suffer, for Satan and his diseases torment your bodies.
661
+ But fear not, for their power over you will quickly end. For Satan is like a choleric neighbor who
662
+ entered his neighbor's house while he was absent, intending to take his goods away to his own
663
+ house. But some told the other that his enemy was ravaging within his house, and he came back
664
+ to his house, running. And when the wicked neighbor, having gathered together all that pleased
665
+ him, saw from afar the master of the house returning in haste, then he was very wroth that he
666
+ could not take all away, and set to breaking and spoiling all that was there, to destroy all. So that
667
+ even if the things might not be his, the other might have nothing. But immediately the lord of the
668
+ house came in, and before the wicked neighbor fulfilled his purpose, he took him and cast him
669
+ out of the house. I tell you truly, even so did Satan enter your bodies which are the habitation of
670
+ God. And he took in his power all that he wished to steal: your breath, your blood, your bone,
671
+ your flesh, your bowels, your eyes, and your ears. But by your fasting and your prayer, you have
672
+ called back the lord of your body and his angels. And now Satan sees that the true lord of
673
+ your body returns, and that it is the end of his power. Wherefore, in his wrath he gathers
674
+ his strength once again, that he may destroy your bodies before the coming of the lord. It is
675
+ for this that Satan torments you so grievously, for he feels that the end is come. But let not your
676
+ hearts tremble, for soon will the angels of God appear, to occupy again their abodes and
677
+ rededicate them as temples of God. And they will seize Satan and cast himn from your bodies
678
+ with all his diseases and all his uncleannesses. And happy will you be, for you will receive the
679
+ reward of your steadfastness, and you will never see disease."
680
+
681
+
682
+ And there was among the sick, one that was more tormented by Satan than all the others. And his
683
+ body was as parched as a skeleton, and his skin yellow as a falling leaf. He was so weak already
684
+ that he could not, even upon his hands, crawl to Jesus, and cried only to him from afar: "Master,
685
+ have pity on me, for never has man suffered, not from the beginning of the world, as I do suffer.
686
+ I know that you are indeed sent by God, and I know that if you will, you can straightway cast out
687
+ Satan from my body. Do not the angels of God obey God's messenger? Come, Master, and cast
688
+ out Satan from me now, for he rages angrily within me and grievous is his torment."
689
+
690
+
691
+ And Jesus answered him: "Satan torments you thus greatly because you have already fasted
692
+ many days, and you do not pay to him his tribute. You do not feed him with all the abominations
693
+ with which you hitherto defiled the temple of your spirit. You torment Satan with hunger, and so
694
+ in his anger he torments you also. Fear not, for I tell you, Satan will be destroyed before your
695
+ body is destroyed; for while you fast and pray, the angels of God protect your body, that Satan's
696
+ power may not destroy you. And the anger of Satan is impotent against the angels of God."
697
+
698
+
699
+ Then they all came to Jesus and with loud cries besought him saying: "Master, have compassion
700
+ on him, for he suffers more than we all, and if you do not at once cast Satan out of him, we fear
701
+ he will not live until tomorrow."
702
+
703
+
704
+ And Jesus answered them: "Great is your faith. Be it according to your faith, and you shall see
705
+ soon, face to face, the frightful countenance of Satan, and the power of the Son of Man. For I
706
+ will cast out from you the powerful Satan by the strength of the innocent lamb of God, the
707
+ weakest creature of the Lord. For the holy spirit of God makes more powerful the weakest than
708
+ the strongest."
709
+
710
+
711
+ And Jesus milked an ewe which was feeding among the grass. And he put the milk upon the sand
712
+ made hot by the sun, saying: "Lo, the power of the angel of water has entered this milk. And now
713
+ the power of the angel of sunshine will enter it also."
714
+
715
+
716
+ And the milk became hot by the strength of the sun.
717
+ "And now the angels of water and of sun will join with the angel of air."
718
+ And lo, the vapor of the hot milk began to rise slowly into the air.
719
+
720
+
721
+ ."Come and breathe in by your mouth the strength of the angels of water, of sunshine, and of air,
722
+ that it may come into your body and cast out the Satan from you."
723
+
724
+
725
+ And the sick man whom Satan tormented did breathe within himself, deeply, the rising whitish
726
+ vapor.
727
+
728
+
729
+ "Straightway will Satan leave your body, since for three days he starves and finds no food within
730
+ you. He will come out of you to satisfy his hunger by the hot steaming milk, for this food finds
731
+ favor in his sight. He will smell its smell, and will not be able to resist the hunger which has
732
+ tormented him three days already. But the Son of Man will destroy his body, that he may torment
733
+ none else again."
734
+
735
+
736
+ Then the sick man's body was seized with an ague, and he retched as though he would vomit, but
737
+ he could not. And he gasped for air, for his breath was spent. And he fainted on the lap of Jesus.
738
+
739
+
740
+ "Now does Satan leave his body. See him." And Jesus pointed to the sick man's opened mouth.
741
+
742
+
743
+ And then they all saw with astonishment and terror that Satan was coming out from his mouth in
744
+ the shape of an abominable worm, straight towards the steaming milk. Then Jesus took two sharp
745
+ stones in his hands and crushed the head of Satan, and drew out from the sick man all the body
746
+ of the monster which was almost as long as the man. When the abominable worm came out of
747
+ the sick man's throat, he recovered at once his breath, and then all his pains ceased. And the
748
+ others looked with terror at the abominable body of Satan.
749
+
750
+
751
+ "See, what an abominable beast you carried and nourished in your body for long years. I have
752
+ cast it out of you and killed it that it may never again torment you. Give thanks to God that his
753
+ angels have made you free, and sin no more, lest Satan return to you again. Let your body be
754
+ henceforth a temple dedicated to your God."
755
+
756
+
757
+ And they were all amazed at his words and at his power. And they said: "Master, you are indeed
758
+ God's messenger, and do know all secrets."
759
+
760
+
761
+ "And you," answered Jesus, "be true Sons of God, that you also may partake in his power and in
762
+ the knowledge of all secrets. For wisdom and power can come only from the love of God. Love,
763
+ therefore, your Heavenly Father and your Earthly Mother with all your heart, and with all your
764
+ spirit. And serve them, that their angels may serve you also. Let all your deeds be sacrificed to
765
+ God. And feed not Satan, for the wages of sin is death. But with God lies the reward of the good,
766
+ his love, which is knowledge and power of eternal life."
767
+
768
+
769
+ And they all knelt down to give thanks to God for his love.
770
+
771
+
772
+ And Jesus departed, saying: "I will come again to all who persist in prayer and fasting tAl the
773
+ seventh day. Peace be with you."
774
+
775
+
776
+ And the sick man from whom Jesus had cast out the Satan, stood up, for the strength of life had
777
+ come back to him. He breathed out deeply, and his eyes became clear, for every pain had left
778
+ him. And he cast himself down upon the ground where Jesus had stood, and he kissed the print
779
+ of his feet and he wept.
780
+
781
+
782
+ And it was by the bed of a stream, many sick fasted and prayed with God's angels for seven days
783
+ and seven nights. And great was their reward, because they followed Jesus' words. And with the
784
+ passing of the seventh day, all their pains left them. And when the sun rose over the earth's rim
785
+ they saw Jesus coming towards them from the mountain, with the brightness of the rising sun
786
+ about his head.
787
+
788
+
789
+ "Peace be with you."
790
+
791
+
792
+ And they said no word at all, but only cast themselves down before him, and touched the hem of
793
+ his garment in token of their healing.
794
+
795
+
796
+ "Give thanks not to me, but to your Earthly Mother, who sent you her healing angels. Go, and sin
797
+ no more, that you may never again see disease. And let the healing angels become your
798
+ guardians."
799
+
800
+
801
+ But they answered him: "Whither should we go, Master, for with you are the words of eternal
802
+ life? Tell us, what are the sins which we must shun, that we may nevermore see disease?"
803
+
804
+
805
+ Jesus answered: "Be it so according to your faith," and he sat down among them, saying:
806
+
807
+
808
+ "It was said to them of old time, 'Honor thy Heavenly Father and thy Earthly Mother, and do
809
+ their commandments, that thy days may be long upon the earth.’ And next afterward was given
810
+ this commandment, "Thou shalt not kill,’ for life is given to all by God, and that which God has
811
+ given, let not man take away. For-I tell you truly, from one Mother proceeds all that lives upon
812
+ the earth. Therefore, he who kills, kills his brother. And from him will the Earthly Mother turn
813
+ away, and will pluck from him her quickening breasts. And he will be shunned by her angels,
814
+ and Satan will have his dwelling in his body. And the flesh of slain beasts in his body will
815
+ become his own tomb. For I tell you truly, he who kills, kills himself, and whoso eats the
816
+ flesh of slain beasts, eats of the body of death. For in his blood every drop of their blood turns
817
+ to poison; in his breath their breath to stink; in his flesh their flesh to boils; in his bones their
818
+ bones to chalk; in his bowels their bowels t 0 decay; in his eyes their eyes to scales; in his ears
819
+ their ears to waxy issue. And their death will become his death. For only in the service of your
820
+ Heavenly Father are your debts of seven years forgiven in seven clays. But Satan forgives you
821
+ nothing and you must pay him for all. 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot;
822
+ burning for burning, wound for wound; life for life, death for death.’ For the wages of sin is
823
+ death. Kill not, neither eat the flesh of your innocent prey, lest you become the slaves of Satan.
824
+ For that is the path of sufferings, and it leads unto death. But do the will of God, that his angels
825
+ may serve you on the way of life. Obey, therefore, the words of God: 'Behold, I have given you
826
+ every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is
827
+ the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to
828
+ every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon th e earth, wherein there is breath of
829
+ life, I give every green herb for meat. Also the milk of every thing that moveth and liveth upon
830
+ earth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given unto them, so I give their milk
831
+ unto you. But flesh, and the blood which quickens it, shall ye not eat. And, surely, your spurting
832
+ blood will I require, your blood wherein is your soul; I will require all slain beasts, and the souls
833
+ of all slain men. For I the Lord thy God am a God strong and jealous, visiting the iniquity of the
834
+ fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing
835
+ mercy unto thousands -of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Love the Lord thy
836
+ God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength: this is the first and greatest
837
+ commandment.’ And the second is like unto it: 'Love thy neighbor as thyself There is none other
838
+ commandment greater than these."
839
+
840
+
841
+ And after these words they all remained silent, save one, who called out: "What am I to do,
842
+ Master, if I see a wild beast rend my brother in the forest? Shall I let my brother perish, or kill
843
+ the wild beast? Shall not I thus transgress the law?"
844
+
845
+
846
+ And Jesus answered: "It was said to them of old time: "All beasts that move upon the earth, all
847
+ the fish of the sea, and all the fowl of the air are given into thy power." I tell you truly, of all
848
+ creatures living upon the earth, God created only man after his image. Wherefore beasts are for
849
+ man, and not man for beasts. You do not, therefore, transgress the law if you kill the wild
850
+ beast to save your brother's life. For I tell you truly, man is more than the beast. But he
851
+ who kills the beast without a cause, though the beast attack him not, through lust for
852
+ slaughter, or for its flesh, or for its hide, or yet for its tusks, evil is the deed which he does,
853
+ for he is turned into a wild beast himself. Wherefore is his end also as the end of the wild
854
+ beasts."
855
+
856
+
857
+ Then another said: "Moses, the greatest in Israel, suffered our forefathers to eat the flesh of clean
858
+ beasts, and forbade only the flesh of unclean beasts. Why, therefore, do you forbid us the flesh of
859
+ all beasts? Which law comes from God? That of Moses, or your law?"
860
+
861
+
862
+ And Jesus answered: "God gave, by Moses, ten commandments to your forefathers. "These
863
+ commandments are hard,' said your forefathers, and they could not keep them. When Moses saw
864
+ this, he had compassion on his people, and would not that they perish. And then he gave them
865
+ ten times ten commandments. For he whose feet are strong as the mountain of Zion, needs no
866
+ crutches; but he whose limbs do shake, gets further having crutches, than without them. And
867
+ Moses said to the Lord: 'My heart is filled with sorrow, for my people will be lost. For they are
868
+ without knowledge, and are not able to understand thy commandments. They are as little
869
+ children who cannot yet understand their father's words. Suffer, Lord, that I give them other
870
+ laws, that they may not perish. if they may not be with thee, Lord, let them not be against thee;
871
+ that they may sustain themselves, and when the time has come, and they are ripe for thy words,
872
+ reveal to hem thy laws.' For that did Moses break the two tablets of s tone whereon were written
873
+ the ten commandments, and he gave them ten times ten in their stead. And of these ten times ten
874
+ the Scribes and Pharisees have made a hundred times ten commandments. And they have laid
875
+ unbearable burdens on your shoulders, that they themselves do not carry. For the more nigh are
876
+ the commandments to God, the less do we need; and the farther they are from God, then the
877
+ more do we need. Wherefore are the laws of the Pharisees and Scribes innumerable; the
878
+ laws of the Son of Man seven; of the angels three; and of God one.
879
+
880
+
881
+ "Therefore, I teach you only those laws which you can understand, that you may become
882
+ men, and follow the seven laws of the Son of Man. Then will the unknown angels of the
883
+ Heavenly Father also reveal their laws to you, that God's holy spirit may descend upon you, and
884
+ lead you to his law."
885
+
886
+
887
+ And all were astonished at his wisdom, and asked him: "Continue, Master, and teach us all the
888
+ laws which we can receive."
889
+
890
+
891
+ And Jesus continued: "God commanded your forefathers: "Thou shalt not kill.’ But their heart
892
+ was hardened and they killed. Then Moses desired that at least they should not kill men, and he
893
+
894
+
895
+ suffered them to kill beasts. And then the heart of your forefathers was hardened yet more, and
896
+ they killed men and beasts likewise. But I do say to you: Kill neither men, nor beasts, nor yet the
897
+ food which goes into your mouth. For if you eat living food, the same will quicken you, but if
898
+ you kill your food, the dead food will kill you also. For life comes only from life, and from death
899
+ comes always death. For everything which kills your foods, kills your bodies also. And
900
+ everything which kills your bodies kills your souls also. And your bodies become what your
901
+ foods are, even as your spirits, likewise, become what your thoughts are. Therefore, eat not
902
+ anything which fire, or frost, or water has destroyed. For burned, frozen and rotted foods will
903
+ burn, freeze and rot your body also. Be not like the foolish husbandman who sowed in his
904
+ ground cooked, and frozen, and rotten seeds. And the autumn came, and his fields bore nothing.
905
+ And great was his distress. But be like that husbandman who sowed in his field living seed, and
906
+ whose field bore living ears of wheat, paying a hundredfold for the seeds which he planted. For I
907
+ tell you truly, live only by the fire of life, and prepare not your foods with the fire of death,
908
+ which kills your foods, your bodies and your souls also."
909
+
910
+
911
+ "Master, where is the fire of life?" asked some of them.
912
+ "In you, in your blood, and in your bodies."
913
+ "And the fire of death?" asked others.
914
+
915
+
916
+ "It is the fire which blazes outside your body, which is hotter than your blood. With that fire of
917
+ death you cook your foods in your homes and in your fields. I tell you truly, it is the same fire
918
+ which destroys your foods and your bodies, even as the fire of malice, which ravages your
919
+ thoughts, ravages your spirits. For your body is that which you eat, and your spirit is that which
920
+ you think. Eat nothing, therefore, which a stronger fire than the fire of life has killed. Wherefore,
921
+ prepare and eat all fruits of trees, and all grasses of the fields, and afl milk of beasts good for
922
+ eating. For all these are fed and ripened by the fire of life; all are the gift of the angels of our
923
+ Earthly Mother. But eat nothing to which only the fire of death gives savor, for such is of Satan."
924
+
925
+
926
+ "How should we cook our daily bread without fire, Master?" asked some with great
927
+ astonishment.
928
+
929
+
930
+ "Let the angels of God prepare your bread. Moisten your wheat, that the angel of water may
931
+ enter it. Then set it in the air, that the angel of air also may embrace it. And leave it from
932
+ morning to evening beneath the sun, that the angel of sunshine may descend upon it. And the
933
+ blessing of the three angels will soon make the germ of life to sprout in your wheat. Then crush
934
+ your grain, and make thin wafers, as did your forefathers when they departed out of Egypt, the
935
+ house of bondage. Put them back again beneath the sun from its appearing, and when it is risen
936
+ to its highest in the heavens, turn them over on the other side that they be embraced there also by
937
+ the angel of sunshine, and leave them there until the sun be set. For the angels of water, of air,
938
+ and of sunshine fed and ripened the wheat in the field, and they, likewise, must prepare also your
939
+ bread. And the same sun which, with the fire of life, made the wheat to grow and ripen, must
940
+ cook your bread with the same fire. For the fire of the sun gives life to the wheat, to the bread,
941
+ and to the body. But the fire of death kills the wheat, the bread, and the body. And the living
942
+
943
+
944
+ angels of the living God serve only living men. For God is the God of the living, and not the God
945
+ of the dead.
946
+
947
+
948
+ "So eat always from the table of God: the fruits of the trees, the grain and grasses of the field, the
949
+ milk of beasts, and the honey of bees. For everything beyond these is of Satan, and leads by the
950
+ way of sins and of diseases unto death. But the foods which you eat from the abundant table of
951
+ God give strength and youth to your body, and you will never see diseases For the table of God
952
+ fed Methuselah of old, and I tell you truly, if you live even as he lived, then will the God of the
953
+ living give you also long life upon the earth as was his.
954
+
955
+
956
+ "For I tell you truly, the God of the living is richer than all the rich of the earth, and his abundant
957
+ table is richer than the richest table of feasting of all the rich upon the earth. Eat, therefore, all
958
+ your life at the table of our Earthly Mother, and you will never see want. And when you eat at
959
+ her table, eat all things even as they are found on the table of the Earthly Mother. Cook not,
960
+ neither mix all things one with another, lest your bowels become as steaming bogs. For I tell you
961
+ truly, this is abominable in the eyes of the Lord.
962
+
963
+
964
+ "And be not like the greedy servant, who always ate up, at the table of his lord, the portions
965
+ of others. And he devoured everything himself, and mixed all together in his gluttony. And
966
+ seeing that, his lord was wroth with him, and drove him from the table. And when all had ended
967
+ their meal, he mixed together all that remained upon the table, and called the greedy servant to
968
+ him, and said: "Take and eat all this with the swine, for your place is with them, and not at my
969
+ table.'
970
+
971
+
972
+ "Take heed, therefore, and defile not with all kinds of abominations the temple of your
973
+ bodies. Be content with two or three sorts of food, which you will find always upon the
974
+ table of our Earthly Mother. And desire not to devour all things which you see around you. For
975
+ I tell you truly, if you mix together all sorts of food in your body, then the peace of your body
976
+ will cease, and endless war will rage in you. And it will be blotted out even as homes and
977
+ kingdoms divided against themselves work their own destruction. For your God is the God of
978
+ peace, and does never help division. Arouse not, therefore, against you the wrath of God, lest he
979
+ drive you from his table, and lest you be compelled to go to the table of Satan, where the fire of
980
+ sins, diseases, and death will corrupt your body.
981
+
982
+
983
+ "And when you eat, never eat unto fulness. Flee the temptations of Satan, and listen to the
984
+ voice of God's angels. For Satan and his power tempt you always to eat more and more. But live
985
+ by the spirit, and resist the desires of the body. And your fasting is always pleasing in the eyes of
986
+ the angels of God. So give heed to how much you have eaten when your body is sated, and
987
+ always eat less by a third.
988
+
989
+
990
+ "Let the weight of your daily food be not less than a mina, but mark that it go not beyond
991
+ two. Then will the angels of God serve you always, and you will never fall into the bondage of
992
+ Satan and of his diseases. Trouble not the work of the angels in your body by eating often. For I
993
+ tell you truly, he who eats more than twice in the clay does in him the work of Satan. And the
994
+ angels of God leave his body, and soon Satan will take possession of it. Eat only when the sun
995
+ is highest in the heavens, and again when it is set. And you will never see disease, for such
996
+
997
+
998
+ finds favor in the eyes of the Lord. And if you will that the angels of God rejoice in your
999
+ body, and that Satan shun you afar, then sit but once in the day at the table of God. And
1000
+ then your days will be long upon the earth, for this is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. Eat
1001
+ always when the table of God is served before you, and eat always of that which you find
1002
+ upon the table of God. For I tell you truly, God knows well what your body needs, and when it
1003
+ needs.
1004
+
1005
+
1006
+ "From the coming of the month of Ijar, eat barley; from the month of Sivan, eat wheat, the most
1007
+ perfect among all seed-bearing herbs. And let your daily bread be made of wheat, that the Lord
1008
+ may take care of your bodies. From Tammuz, eat the sour grape, that your body may diminish
1009
+ and Satan may depart from it. in the month of Elul, gather the grape that the juice may serve you
1010
+ as drink. In the month of Marchesvan, gather the sweet grape, dried and sweetened by the angel
1011
+ of sun, that your bodies may increase, for the angels of the Lord dwell in them. You should eat
1012
+ figs rich in juice in the months of Ab and Shebat, and what remain, let the angel of sun keep
1013
+ them for you; eat them with the meat of almonds in all the months when the trees bear no fruits.
1014
+ And the herbs which come after rain, these eat in the month of Thebet, that your blood may be
1015
+ cleansed of all your sins. And in the same month begin to eat also the milk of your beasts,
1016
+ because for this did the Lord give the herbs of the fields to all the beasts which render milk, that
1017
+ they might with their milk feed man. For I tell you truly, happy are they that eat only at the table
1018
+ of God, and eschew all the abominations of Satan. Eat not unclean foods brought from far
1019
+ countries, but eat always that which your trees bear. For your God knows well what is
1020
+ needful for you, and where and when. And he gives to all peoples of all kingdoms for food
1021
+ that which is best for each. Eat not as the heathen do, who stuff themselves in haste, defiling
1022
+ their bodies with all manner of abominations.
1023
+
1024
+
1025
+ "For the power of God's angels enters into you with the living food which the Lord gives you
1026
+ from his royal table. And when you eat, have above you the angel of air, and below you the angel
1027
+ of water. Breathe long and deeply at all your meals, that the angel of air may bless your repasts.
1028
+ And chew well your food with your teeth, that it become water, and that the angel of water turn it
1029
+ into blood in your body. And eat slowly, as it were a prayer you make to the Lord. For I tell you
1030
+ truly, the power of God enters into you, if you eat after this manner at his table. But Satan turns
1031
+ into a steaming bog the body of him upon whom the angels of air and water do not descend at his
1032
+ repasts. And .the Lord suffers him no longer at his table. For the table of the Lord is an altar, and
1033
+ he who eats at the table of God is in a temple. For I tell you truly, the body of the Son of Man is
1034
+ turned into a temple, and his inwards into an altar, if he does the commandments of God.
1035
+ Wherefore, put naught u pon the altar of the Lord when your spirit is vexed, neither think upon
1036
+ any one with anger in the temple of God. And enter only into the Lord's sanctuary when you feel
1037
+ in yourselves the call of his angels, for all that you eat in sorrow, or in anger, or without desire,
1038
+ becomes a poison in your body. For the breath of Satan defiles aR these. Place with joy your
1039
+ offerings upon the altar of your body, and let all evil thoughts depart from you when you receive
1040
+ into your body the power of God from his table. And never sit at the table of God before he call
1041
+ you by the angel of appetite.
1042
+
1043
+
1044
+ "Rejoice, therefore, always with God's angels at their royal table, for this is pleasing to the heart
1045
+ of the Lord. And your life will be long upon the earth, for the most precious of God's servants
1046
+ will serve you all your days: the angel of joy.
1047
+
1048
+
1049
+ "And forget not that every seventh day is holy and consecrated to God. On six days feed your
1050
+ body with the gifts of the Earthly Mother, but on the seventh day sanctify your body for your
1051
+ Heavenly Father. On the seventh day eat not any earthly food, but live only on the words of
1052
+ God, and be all the day with the angels of the Lord in the kingdom of the Heavenly Father.
1053
+ And on the seventh day let the angels of God build the kingdom of the heavens in your body, as
1054
+ you labor for six days in the kingdom of the Earthly Mother. And let not food trouble the work of
1055
+ the angels in your body throughout the seventh day. And God will give you long life upon earth,
1056
+ that you may have life everlasting in the kingdom of the heavens. For I tell you truly, if you see
1057
+ not diseases any more upon earth, you will live for ever in the kingdom of the heavens.
1058
+
1059
+
1060
+ "And God will send you each morning the angel of sunshine to wake you from your sleep.
1061
+ Therefore, obey your Heavenly Father's summons, and lie not idle in your beds, for the angels of
1062
+ air and water await you already without. And labor all day long with the angels of the Earthly
1063
+ Mother that you may come to know them and their works ever more and more well. But when
1064
+ the sun is set, and your Heavenly Father sends you his most precious angel, sleep, then take your
1065
+ rest, and be all the night with the angel of sleep. And then will your Heavenly Father send you
1066
+ his unknown angels, that they may be with you the livelong night. And the Heavenly Father's
1067
+ unknown angels will teach you many things concerning the kingdom of God, even as the angels
1068
+ that you know of the Earthly Mother, instruct you in the things of her kingdom. For I tell you
1069
+ truly, you will be every night the guests of the kingdom of your Heavenly Father, if you do his
1070
+ commandments. And when you wake up upon the morrow, you will feel in you the power of the
1071
+ unknown angels. And your Heavenly Father will send them to you every night, that they may
1072
+ build your spirit, even as every day the Earthly Mother sends you her angels, that they may build
1073
+ your body. For I tell you truly, if in the daytime your Earthly Mother folds you in her arms, and
1074
+ in the night the Heavenly Father breathes his kiss upon you, then will the Sons of Men become
1075
+ the Sons of God.
1076
+
1077
+
1078
+ "Resist day and night the temptations of Satan. Wake not by night, neither sleep by day,
1079
+ lest the angels of God depart from you.
1080
+
1081
+
1082
+ "And take no delight in any drink, nor in any smoke from Satan, waking you by night and
1083
+ making you to sleep by day. For I tell you truly, all the drinks and smokes of Satan are
1084
+ abominations in the eyes of your God.
1085
+
1086
+
1087
+ "Commit not whoredom, by night or by day, for the whoremonger is like a tree whose sap
1088
+ runs out from its trunk. And that tree will be dried up before its time, nor will it ever bear fruit.
1089
+ Therefore, go not a-whoring, lest Satan dry up your body, and the Lord make your seed
1090
+ unfruitful.
1091
+
1092
+
1093
+ "Shun all that is too hot and too cold. For it is the will of your Earthly Mother that neither heat
1094
+ nor cold should harm your body. And let not your bodies become either hotter or colder than as
1095
+ God's angels warm or cool them. And if you do the commandments of the Earthly Mother, then
1096
+ as oft as your body becomes too hot, will she send the angel of coolness to cool you, and as oft
1097
+ as your body becomes too cold, will she send you the angel of heat to warm you again.
1098
+
1099
+
1100
+ "Follow the example of all the angels of the Heavenly Father and of the Earthly Mother, who
1101
+ work day and night, without ceasing, upon the kingdoms of the heavens and of the earth.
1102
+ Therefore, receive also into yourselves the strongest of God's angels, the angel of deeds, and
1103
+ work all together upon the kingdom of God. Follow the example of the running water, the
1104
+ wind as it blows, the rising and setting of the sun, the growing plants and trees, the beasts
1105
+ as they run and gambol, the wane and waxing of the moon, the stars as they come and go
1106
+ again; all these do move, and do perform their labors. For all which has life does move, and
1107
+ only that which is dead is still. And God is the God of the living, and Satan that of the dead.
1108
+ Serve, therefore, the living God, that the eternal movement of life may sustain you, and
1109
+ that you may escape the eternal stillness of death. Work, therefore, without ceasing, to
1110
+ build the kingdom of God, lest you be cast into the kingdom of Satan. For eternal joy
1111
+ abounds in the living kingdom of God, but still sorrow darkens the kingdom of death of Satan.
1112
+ Be, therefore, true Sons of your Earthly Mother and of your Heavenly Father, that you fall not as
1113
+ slaves of Satan. And your Earthly Mother and Heavenly Father will send you their angels to
1114
+ teach, to love, and to serve you. And their angels will write the commandments of God in
1115
+ your head, in your heart, and in your hands, that you may know, feel, and do God's
1116
+ commandments.
1117
+
1118
+
1119
+ "And pray every day to your Heavenly Father and Earthly mother, that your soul become
1120
+ as perfect as your Heavenly Father's holy spirit is perfect, and that your body become as
1121
+ perfect as the body of your Earthly Mother is perfect. For if you understand, feel, and do the
1122
+ commandments, then all for which you pray to your Heavenly Father and your Earthly Mother
1123
+ will be given you. For the wisdom, the love, and the power of God are above all.
1124
+
1125
+
1126
+ "After this manner, therefore, pray to your Heavenly Father: Our Father which art in heaven,
1127
+ hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
1128
+ Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And
1129
+ lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power,
1130
+ and the glory, for ever. Amen.
1131
+
1132
+
1133
+ "And after this manner pray to your Earthly Mother: Our Mother which art upon earth,
1134
+ hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, and thy will be done in us, as it is in thee. As
1135
+ thou sendest every day thy angels, send them to us also. Forgive us our sins, as we atone all
1136
+ our sins against thee. And lead us not into sickness, but deliver us from all evil, for thine is
1137
+ the earth, the body, and the health. Amen.
1138
+
1139
+
1140
+ And they all prayed together with Jesus to the Heavenly Father and to the Earthly Mother.
1141
+
1142
+
1143
+ And afterwards Jesus spoke thus to them: "Even as your bodies have been reborn through the
1144
+ Earthly Mother's angels, may your spirit, likewise, be reborn through the angels of the Heavenly
1145
+ Father. Become, therefore, true Sons of your Father and of your Mother, and true Brothers of the
1146
+ Sons of Men. Till now you were at war with your Father, with your Mother, and with your
1147
+ Brothers. And you have served Satan. From today live at peace with your Heavenly Father, and
1148
+ with your Earthly Mother, and with your Brothers, the Sons of Men. And fight only against
1149
+ Satan, lest he rob you of your peace. I give the peace of your Earthly Mother to your body, and
1150
+
1151
+
1152
+ the peace of your Heavenly Father to your spirit. And let the peace of both reign among the Sons
1153
+ of Men.
1154
+
1155
+
1156
+ "Come to me, all that are weary and that suffer in strife and affliction! For my peace will
1157
+ strengthen you and comfort you. For my peace is exceeding full of joy. Wherefore do I always
1158
+ greet you after this manner: 'Peace be with you!' Do you always, therefore, so greet one
1159
+ another, that upon your body may descend the peace of your Earthly Mother, and upon
1160
+ your spirit the peace of your Heavenly Father. And then you will find peace also among
1161
+ yourselves, for the kingdom of God is within you. And now return to your Brothers with whom
1162
+ hitherto you were at war, and give your peace to them also. For happy are they that strive for
1163
+ peace, for they will find the peace of God. Go, and sin no more. And give to every one your
1164
+ peace, even as I have given my peace unto you. For my peace is of God. Peace be with you."
1165
+
1166
+
1167
+ And he left them.
1168
+
1169
+
1170
+ And his peace descended upon them; and in their heart the angel of love, in their head the
1171
+ wisdom of law, and in their hands the power of rebirth, they went forth among the Sons of Men,
1172
+ to bring the light of peace to those that warred in darkness.
1173
+
1174
+
1175
+ And they parted, wishing one to another:
1176
+
1177
+
1178
+ "PEACE BE WITH YOU."
1179
+
1180
+
1181
+ THE STORY OF THE ESSENE GOSPEL OF PEACE
1182
+
1183
+
1184
+ Translated by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely
1185
+ In Four Volumes
1186
+
1187
+
1188
+ It was in 1928 that Edmond Bordeaux Szekely first published his translation of Book One of The
1189
+ Essene Gospel of Peace, an ancient manuscript he had found in the Secret Archives of the
1190
+ Vatican as the result of limitless patience, faultless scholarship, and unerring intuition. This story
1191
+ is told in his book, The Discovery of the Essene Gospel of Peace, published in 1975. The English
1192
+ version of Book One appcared in 1937, and ever since, the little volume has traveled over the
1193
+ world, appearing in many different languages, gaining every year more and more readers, until
1194
+ now, still with no commercial advertisement, over a million copies have been sold in the United
1195
+ States alone. It was not until almost fifty years after the first French translation that Book Two
1196
+ and Book Three appeared (The Unknown Books of the Essenes and Lost Scrolls of the Essene
1197
+ Brotherhood), achieving rapidly the popularity of Book One.
1198
+
1199
+
1200
+ In 1981, Book Four, The Teachings of the Elect, was published posthumously according to Dr.
1201
+ Szekely's wishes, representing yet another fragment of the complete manuscript which exists in
1202
+
1203
+
1204
+ Aramaic in the Secret Archives of the Vatican and in old Slavonic in the Royal Library of the
1205
+ Habsburgs (now the property of the Austrian government). The poetic style of the translator
1206
+ brings to vivid reality the exquisitely beautiful words of Jesus and the Elders of the Essene
1207
+ Brotherhood. Some of the chapters: The Essene Communions. The Sevenfold Peace. The Holy
1208
+ Streams of Life, Light, and Sound. The Gift of the Humble Grass.
1209
+
1210
+
1211
+ EXCERPTS FROM The Essene Gospel of Peace, Book Two:
1212
+ The Unknown Books of the Essenes
1213
+
1214
+
1215
+ And one man spoke: "But, Master, we are but men, we are not angels. How then can we hope to
1216
+ walk in their ways? Tell us what we must do."
1217
+
1218
+
1219
+ And Jesus spoke:
1220
+
1221
+ As the son inherits the land of his father, So have we inherited a Holy Land From our Fathers.
1222
+ This land is not a field to be ploughed, But a place within us Where we may build our Holy
1223
+ Temple. -And even as a temple must be raised, Stone by stone,
1224
+
1225
+ So will I give to you those stones
1226
+
1227
+ For the building of the Holy Temple;
1228
+
1229
+ That which we have inherited
1230
+
1231
+ From our Fathers,
1232
+
1233
+ And their Fathers' Fathers.
1234
+
1235
+ And all the men gathered around Jesus, and their faces shone with desire to hear the words which
1236
+ would come from his lips. And he lifted his face to the rising sun, and the radiance of its rays
1237
+ filled his eyes as he spoke:
1238
+
1239
+ "The Holy Temple can be built Only with the ancient Communions, Those which are spoken,
1240
+ Those which are thought, And those which are lived.
1241
+
1242
+ For if they are spoken only with the mouth,
1243
+
1244
+ They are as a dead hive
1245
+
1246
+
1247
+ Which the bees have forsaken,
1248
+
1249
+
1250
+ That gives no more honey.
1251
+
1252
+
1253
+ The Communions are a bridge
1254
+ Between man and the angels,
1255
+
1256
+ And like a bridge,
1257
+
1258
+ Can be built only with patience,
1259
+
1260
+ Yea, even as the bridge over the river
1261
+ Is fashioned stone by stone,
1262
+
1263
+ As they are found by the water's edge.
1264
+ And the Communions are fourteen in number,
1265
+ As the Angels of the Heavenly Father
1266
+ Number seven,
1267
+
1268
+ And the Angels of the Earthly Mother
1269
+ Number seven.
1270
+
1271
+ And just as the roots of the tree
1272
+
1273
+ Sink into the earth and are nourished,
1274
+ And the branches of the tree
1275
+
1276
+ Raise their arms to heaven,
1277
+
1278
+ So is man like the trunk of the tree,
1279
+ With his roots deep
1280
+
1281
+ In the breast of his Earthly Mother,
1282
+ And his soul ascending
1283
+
1284
+ To the bright stars of his Heavenly Father.
1285
+ And the roots of the tree
1286
+
1287
+
1288
+ Are the Angels of the Earthly Mother,
1289
+
1290
+
1291
+ And the branches of the tree
1292
+ Are the Angels of the Heavenly Father.
1293
+ And this is the sacred Tree of Life
1294
+
1295
+
1296
+ Which stands in the Sea of Eternity.
1297
+
1298
+
1299
+ EXCERPTS FROM The Essene Gospel of Peace, Book Three:
1300
+ Lost Scrolls of the Essene Brotherhood
1301
+
1302
+
1303
+ For the earth shall be filled
1304
+ with the Peace of the Heavenly Father,
1305
+ as the waters cover the sea.
1306
+ I will invoke the Angel of Peace,
1307
+ Whose breath is friendly,
1308
+ Whose hand is clothed in power.
1309
+
1310
+ In the reign of Peace, there is neither hunger nor thirst,
1311
+ Neither cold wind nor hot wind,
1312
+ Neither old age nor death.
1313
+
1314
+ In the reign of Peace,
1315
+
1316
+ Both animals and men shall be undying,
1317
+ Waters and plants shall be undrying,
1318
+ And the food of life shall be never-failing.
1319
+ It is said that the mountains
1320
+ Shall bring peace to the people,
1321
+
1322
+ And the little hills, righteousness.
1323
+
1324
+
1325
+ There shall be peace
1326
+
1327
+
1328
+ As long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations.
1329
+ Peace shall come down like rain upon mown grass, As showers that water the earth.
1330
+ In the reign of Peace shall the Law grow strong,
1331
+
1332
+ And the Children of Light shall have dominion
1333
+ From sea to sea, unto the ends of the earth.
1334
+
1335
+ T'he reign of Peace hath its source
1336
+ In the Heavenly Father;
1337
+
1338
+ By his strength he setteth fast the mountains,
1339
+
1340
+ He maketh the outgoings of morning and evening To rejoice in the Light,
1341
+ He bringeth to earth the river of the Law, To water and enrich it,
1342
+
1343
+ He maketh soft the earth with showers;
1344
+
1345
+ They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness,
1346
+
1347
+ And the little hills rejoice on every side.
1348
+
1349
+ The pastures are clothed with flocks;
1350
+
1351
+ The valleys also are covered over with corn;
1352
+
1353
+ They shout for joy, they also sing.
1354
+
1355
+ O Heavenly Father!
1356
+
1357
+ Bring unto thy earth the reign of Peace! 7'hen shall we remember the words
1358
+ Of him who taught of old the Children of Light:
1359
+
1360
+ I give the peace of thy Earthly Mother
1361
+ To thy body,
1362
+
1363
+ And the peace of thy Heavenly Father To thy spirit.
1364
+
1365
+
1366
+ And let the peace of both
1367
+
1368
+
1369
+ Reign among the sons of men.
1370
+ Come to me all that are weary,
1371
+ And that suffer in strife and affliction!
1372
+ For my peace will strengthen thee and comfort thee. For my peace is exceeding full of joy.
1373
+ Wherefore do I always greet thee after this manner: Peace be with thee!
1374
+
1375
+
1376
+ Do thou always, therefore, so greet one another, That upon thy body may descend The The Peace
1377
+ of thy Earthly Mother,
1378
+
1379
+
1380
+ And upon thy spirit
1381
+ The Peace of thy Heavenly Father.
1382
+
1383
+ And then wilt thou find peace also among thyselves,
1384
+ For the Kingdom of the Law is within thee.
1385
+ And return to thy Brothers
1386
+ And give thy peace to them also,
1387
+
1388
+ For happy are they that strive for peace,
1389
+
1390
+ For they will find the peace of the Heavenly Father.
1391
+ And give to every one thy peace,
1392
+
1393
+ Even as I have given my peace unto thee.
1394
+
1395
+ For my peace is of God.
1396
+
1397
+
1398
+ Peace be with thee!
1399
+
1400
+
1401
+ EXCERPTS FROM The Essene Gospel of peace, Book Four:
1402
+ The Teachings of the Elect
1403
+
1404
+
1405
+ THE HOLY STREAMS
1406
+
1407
+
1408
+ Into the innermost circle have you come, into the mystery of mysteries, that which was old when
1409
+ our father Enoch was young and walked the earth. Around and around have you come on your
1410
+ journey of many years, always following the path of righteousness, living according to the Holy
1411
+ Law and the sacred vows of our Brotherhood, and you have made of your body a holy temple
1412
+ wherein dwell the angels of God. Many years have you shared the daylight hours with the angels
1413
+ of the Earthly Mother; many years have you slept in the arms of the Heavenly Father, taught by
1414
+ his unknown angels. You have learned that the laws of the Son of Man are seven, of the angels
1415
+ three, and of God, one. Now you shall know of the three laws of the angels, the mystery of the
1416
+ three Holy Streams and the ancient way to traverse them; so shall you bathe in the light of
1417
+ heaven and at last behold the revelation of the mystery of mysteries: the law of God, which is
1418
+ One.
1419
+
1420
+
1421
+ Now in the hour before the rising of the sun, just before the angels of the Earthly Mother breathe
1422
+ life into the still sleeping earth, then do you enter into the Holy Stream of Life. It is your Brother
1423
+ Tree who holds the mystery of this Holy Stream, and it is your Brother Tree that you will
1424
+ embrace in your thought, even as by day you embrace him in greeting when you walk along the
1425
+ lake shore. And you shall be one with the tree, for in the beginning of the times so did we all
1426
+ share in the Holy Stream of Life that gave birth to all creation. And as you embrace your Brother
1427
+ Tree, the power of the Holy Stream of Life will fill your whole body, and you will tremble
1428
+ before its might. Then breathe deeply of the angel of air, and say the word "Life" with the
1429
+ outgiving of breath. Then you will become in truth the Tree of Life which sinks its roots deep
1430
+ into the Holy Stream of Life from an eternal source. And as the angel of sun warms the earth,
1431
+ and all the creatures of land and water and ai r rejoice in the new day, so will your body and
1432
+ spirit rejoice in the Holy Stream of life that flows to you through your Brother Tree.
1433
+
1434
+
1435
+ And when the sun is high in the heavens, then shall you seek the Holy Stream of Sound. in the
1436
+ heat of noontide, all creatures are still and seek the shade; the angels of the Earthly Mother are
1437
+ silent for a space. Then it is that you shall let into your ears the Holy Stream of Sound; for it can
1438
+ only be heard in the silence. Think on the streams that are born in the desert after a sudden storm,
1439
+ and the roaring sound of the waters as they rush past. Truly, this is the voice of God, if you did
1440
+ but know it. For as it is written, in the beginning was the Sound, and the Sound was with God,
1441
+ and the Sound was God. I tell you truly, when we are born, we enter the world with the sound of
1442
+ God in our ears, even the singing of the vast chorus of the sky, and the holy chant of the stars in
1443
+ their fixed rounds; it is the Holy Stream of Sound that traverses the vault of stars and crosses the
1444
+ endless kingdom of the Heavenly Father. It is ever in our ears, so do we hear it not. Listen for it,
1445
+ then, in the silence of noontide; bathe in it, and let the rhythm of the music of God beat in your
1446
+ ears untfl you are one with the Holy Stream of Sound. It was this Sound which formed the earth
1447
+ and the world, and brought forth the mountains, and set the stars in their thrones of glory in the
1448
+ highest heavens.
1449
+
1450
+
1451
+ And you shall bathe in the Stream of Sound, and the music of its waters shall flow over you; for
1452
+ in the beginning of the times so did we all share in the Holy Stream of Sound that gave birth to
1453
+ all creation. And the mighty roaring of the Stream of Sound will fill your whole body, and you
1454
+ will tremble before its might. Then breathe deeply of the angel of air, and become the sound
1455
+ itself, that the Holy Stream of Sound may carry you to the endless kingdom of the Heavenly
1456
+ Father, there where the rhythm of the world rises and falls.
1457
+
1458
+
1459
+ And when darkness gently closes the eyes of the angels of the Earthly Mother, then shall you
1460
+ also sleep, that your spirit may join the unknown angels of the Heavenly Father. And in the
1461
+ moments before you sleep, then shall you think of the bright and glorious stars, the white,
1462
+ shining, far-seen and far-piercing stars. For your thoughts before sleep are as the bow of the
1463
+ skillful archer, that sends the arrow where he wills. Let your thoughts before sleep be with the
1464
+ stars; for the stars are Light, and the Heavenly Father is Light, even that Light which is a
1465
+ thousand times brighter than the brightness of a thousand suns. Enter the Holy Stream of Light,
1466
+ that the shackles of death may loose their hold for ever, and breaking free from the bonds of
1467
+ earth, ascend the Holy Stream of Light through the blazing radiance of the stars, into the endless
1468
+ kingdom of the Heavenly Father.
1469
+
1470
+
1471
+ Unfold your wings of light, and in the eye of your thought, soar with the stars into the farthest
1472
+ reaches of heaven, where untold suns blaze with light. For at the beginning of the times, the Holy
1473
+ Law said, let there be Light, and there was Light. And you shall be one with it, and the power of
1474
+ the Holy Light Stream will fill your whole body, and you will tremble before its might. Say the
1475
+ word "Light," as you breathe deeply of the angel of air, and you will become the Light itself; and
1476
+ the Holy Stream will carry you to the endless kingdom of the Heavenly Father, there losing itself
1477
+ in the eternal Sea of Light which gives birth to all creation. And you shall be one with the Holy
1478
+ Stream of Light, always before you sleep in the arms of the Heavenly Father.
1479
+
1480
+
1481
+ I tell you truly, your body was made not only to breathe, and eat, and think, but it was also made
1482
+ to enter the Holy Stream of Life. And your ears were made not only to hear the words of men,
1483
+ the song of birds, and the music of falling rain, but they were also made to hear the Holy Stream
1484
+ of Sound. And your eyes were made not only to see the rising and setting of the sun, the ripple of
1485
+ sheaves of grain, and the words of the Holy Scrolls, but they were also made to see the Holy
1486
+ Stream of Light. One day your body will return to the Earthly Mother; even also your ears and
1487
+ your eyes. But the Holy Stream of Life, the Holy Stream of Sound, and the Holy Stream of
1488
+ Light, these were never born, and can never die. Enter the Holy Streams, even that Life, that
1489
+ Sound, and that Light which gave you birth; that you may reach the kingdom of the Heavenly
1490
+ Father and become one with him even as the river empties into the far-distant sea.
1491
+
1492
+
1493
+ More than this cannot be told, for the Holy Streams will take you to that place where words are
1494
+ no more, and even the Holy Scrolls cannot record the mysteries therein.
1495
+
1496
+
resources/gnostic/The ESSENE GOSPEL OF PEACE Book Three_djvu.txt ADDED
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@@ -0,0 +1,2217 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ PREFACE
2
+
3
+
4
+ Book Two of the Essene Gospel of Peace
5
+
6
+
7
+ I have to begin this preface with a great confession: this is not my first translation of Book Two
8
+ of the Essene Gospel of Peace; it is my second. The first effort took many years to complete, and
9
+ it was composed painstakingly and literally, with hundreds of cross references and abundant
10
+ philological and exegetical footnotes. When it was finished, I was very proud of it, and in a glow
11
+ of selfsatisfied accomplishment, I gave it to my friend, Aldous Huxley, to read. Two weeks later,
12
+ I asked him what he thought of my monumental translation. "It is very, very bad, he answered.
13
+ "It is even worse than the most boring treatises of the patristics and scholastics, which nobody
14
+ reads today. it is so dry and uninteresting, in fact, that I have no desire to read Book Three." I
15
+ was speechless, so he continued. "You should rewrite it, and give it some of the vitality of your
16
+ other books-make it literary, readable and attractive for twentieth century readers. I'm sure the
17
+ Essenes did not speak to each other in footnotes! In the form it is in now, the only readers you
18
+ will have for it may be a few dogmatists in theological seminaries, who seem to take masochistic
19
+ pleasure in reading this sort of thing. However," he added with a smile, "you might find some
20
+ value in it as a cure for insomnia; each time I tried to read it I fell asleep in a few minutes. You
21
+ might try to sell a few copies that way by advertising a new sleep remedy in the health
22
+ magazines-no harmful chemicals, and all that."
23
+
24
+
25
+ It took me a long time to recuperate from his criticism-. I put aside the manuscript for years.
26
+ Meanwhile, I continued to receive thousands of letters from many readers from all parts of the
27
+ world of my translation of Book One of the Essene Gospel of Peace, asking for the second and
28
+ third books promised in the preface. Finally, I got the courage to start again. The passing of the
29
+ years had mellowed my attitude and I saw my friend's criticism in a new light. I rewrote the
30
+ entire manuscript, treating it as literature and poetry, coming to grips with the great problems of
31
+ life, both ancient and contemporary. it was not easy to be faithful to the original, and at the same
32
+ time to present the eternal truths in a way that would appeal to twentieth century man. And yet, it
33
+ was vitally important that I try; for the Essenes, above all others, strove to win the hearts of men
34
+ through reason, and the powerful and vivid example of their li ves.
35
+
36
+
37
+ Sadly, Aldous is no longer here to read my second translation. I have a feeling he would have
38
+ liked it (not a single footnote!), but I will have to leave the final judgment to my readers. If
39
+
40
+
41
+ Books Two and Three will become as popular as Book One, my efforts of many, many years will
42
+ be amply rewarded.
43
+
44
+
45
+ EDMOND BORDEAUX SZEKELY
46
+
47
+
48
+ San Diego, California
49
+ the first of November, 1974.
50
+
51
+
52
+ INTRODUCTION
53
+
54
+
55
+ There are three paths leading to Truth. The first is the path of the consciousness, the second that
56
+ of nature, and the third is the accumulated experience of past generations, which we receive in
57
+ the shape of the great masterpieces of all ages. From time immemorial, man and humanity have
58
+ followed all three paths.
59
+
60
+
61
+ The first path to Truth, the path of the consciousness, is that followed by the great mystics. They
62
+ consider that the consciousness is the most immediate reality for us and is the key to the
63
+ universe. it is something which is in us, which is us. And throughout the ages the mystics have
64
+ made the discovery that the laws of human consciousness contain an aspect not found in the laws
65
+ governing the material universe.
66
+
67
+
68
+ A certain dynamic unity exists in our consciousness, where one is at the same time many. it is
69
+ possible for us to have simultaneously different thoughts, ideas, associations, images, memories
70
+ and intuitions occupying our consciousness within fragments of a minute or a second, yet all this
71
+ multiplicity will still constitute only a single dynamic unity. Therefore the laws of mathematics,
72
+ which are valid for the material universe and are a key to its understanding, will not be valid in
73
+ the field of consciousness, a realm where two and two do not necessarily make four. The mystics
74
+ also found that measurements of space, time and weight, universally valid in nature and
75
+ throughout the material universe, are not applicable to the consciousness, where sometimes a few
76
+ seconds seem like hours, or hours like a minute.
77
+
78
+
79
+ Our consciousness does not exist in space and therefore cannot be measured in spatial terms. It
80
+ has its own time, which is very often timelessness, so temporal measurements cannot be applied
81
+ to Truth reached by this path. The great mystics discovered that the human consciousness,
82
+ besides being the most immediate and the inmost reality for us, is at the same time our closest
83
+ source of energy, harmony and knowledge. The path to Truth leading to and through the
84
+ consciousness produced the great teachings of humanity, the great intuitions and the great
85
+ masterpieces throughout the ages. Such then is the first path to or source of Truth, as the Essene
86
+ traditions understand and interpret it.
87
+
88
+
89
+ Unfortunately, the magnificent original intuitions of the great masters often lose their vitality as
90
+ they pass down the generations. They are very often modified, distorted and turned into dogmas,
91
+ and all too frequently their values become petrified in institutions and organized hierarchies. The
92
+ pure intuitions are choked by the sands of time, and eventually have to be dug out by seekers of
93
+ Truth able to penetrate into their essence.
94
+
95
+
96
+ Another danger is that persons following this path to Truth, the path of the consciousness-may
97
+ fall into exaggerations. They come to think that this is the only path to Truth and disregard all
98
+ others. Very often, too, they apply the specific laws of the human consciousness to the material
99
+ universe where they lack validity, and ignore the laws proper to the latter sphere. The mystic
100
+ often creates for himself an artificial universe, farther and farther removed from reality, till he
101
+ ends by living in an ivory tower, having lost all contact with reality and life.
102
+
103
+
104
+ The second of the three paths is the path of nature. While the first path of the consciousness
105
+ starts from within and penetrates thence into the totality of things, the second path takes the
106
+ opposite way. Its starting point is the external world. it is the path of the scientist, and has been
107
+
108
+
109
+ followed in all ages through experience and through experiment, through the use of inductive
110
+ and deductive methods.
111
+
112
+
113
+ The scientist, working with exact quantitative measurements, measures everything in space and
114
+ time, and makes all possible correlations.
115
+
116
+
117
+ With his telescope he penetrates into far-distant cosmic space, into the various solar and galactic
118
+ systems; through spectrum analysis he measures the constituents of the different planets in
119
+ cosmic space; and by mathematical calculation he establishes in advance the movements of
120
+ celestial bodies. Applying the law of cause and effect, the scientist establishes a long chain of
121
+ causes and effects which help him to explain and measure the universe, as well as life.
122
+
123
+
124
+ But the scientist, like the mystic, sometimes falls into exaggerations. While science has
125
+ transformed the life of mankind and has created great values, for man in all ages, it has failed to
126
+ give entire satisfaction in the solution of the final problems of existence, life and the universe.
127
+ The scientist has the long chain of causes and effects secure in all its particles, but he has no idea
128
+ what to do with the end of the chain. He has no solid point to which he may attach the end of the
129
+ chain, and so by the path to Truth through nature and the material universe he is unable to
130
+ answer the great and eternal questions concerning the beginning and end of all things.
131
+
132
+
133
+ The greatest scientists recognize that in the metaphysical field beyond the scientific chain there is
134
+ something else - continuing from the end of that chain. However, there are also the dogmatic
135
+ scientists who deny any other approach to Truth than their own, who refuse to attribute reality to
136
+ the facts and phenomena which they cannot fit neatly into their own categories and
137
+ classifications.
138
+
139
+
140
+ The path to Truth through nature is not that of the dogmatic scientist, just as the first path is not
141
+ that of the one-sided mystic. Nature is a great open book in which everything can be found, if we
142
+ learn to draw from it the inspiration which it has given to the great thinkers of all ages. if we
143
+ learn her language, nature will reveal to us all the laws of life and the universe.
144
+
145
+
146
+ It is for this reason that all the great masters of humanity from time to time withdrew into nature:
147
+ Zarathustra and Moses into the mountains, Buddha to the forest, Jesus and the Essenes to the
148
+ desert-and thus followed this second path as well as that of the consciousness. The two paths do
149
+ not contradict one another, but harmoniously complete one another in full knowledge of the laws
150
+ of both. It was thus that the great teachers reached wonderful and deeply profound truths which
151
+ have given inspiration to millions through thousands of years.
152
+
153
+
154
+ The third path to Truth, is the wisdom, knowledge and experience acquired by the great thinkers
155
+ of all ages and transmitted to us in the form of great teachings, the great sacred books or
156
+ scriptures, and the great masterpieces of universal literature which together form what today we
157
+ would call universal culture.
158
+
159
+
160
+ In brief, therefore, our approach to Truth is a threefold one: through consciousness, nature and
161
+ culture.
162
+
163
+
164
+ In the following chapters we shall follow this threefold path leading to Truth and shall examine
165
+ and translate some of the great sacred writings of the Essenes.
166
+
167
+
168
+ There are different ways of studying these great writings. One way-the way of all theologians
169
+ and of the organized Churches-is to consider each text literally. This is the dogmatic way
170
+ resulting from a long process of petrification, by which truths are inevitably transformed into
171
+ dogmas.
172
+
173
+
174
+ When the theologian follows this most easy but one-sided path, he runs into endless
175
+ contradictions and complications, and he reaches a conclusion as far removed from the truth as
176
+ that of the scientific interpreter of these texts who rejects them as entirely valueless and without
177
+ validity. The approaches of the dogmatic theologian and the exclusivist scientist represent two
178
+ extremes.
179
+
180
+
181
+ A third error is to believe, as do certain symbolists, that these books have no more than a
182
+ symbolic content and are nothing more than parables. With their own particular way of
183
+ exaggeration these symbolists make thousands of different and quite contradictory interpretations
184
+ of these great texts.
185
+
186
+
187
+ The spirit of the Essene traditions is opposed to all three of these ways of interpreting these
188
+ ageless writings and follows an entirely different approach.
189
+
190
+
191
+ The Essene method of interpretation of these books is, on the one hand, to place them in
192
+ harmonious correlation with the laws of the human consciousness and of nature, and, on the
193
+ other, to consider the facts and circumstances of the age and environment in which they were
194
+ written. This approach also takes into account the degree of evolution and understanding of the
195
+ people to whom the particular master was addressing his message.
196
+
197
+
198
+ Since all the great masters had to adapt their teaching to the level of their audience, they found it
199
+ necessary to formulate both an exoteric and esoteric teaching. The exoteric message was one
200
+ comprehensible to the people at large and was expressed in terms of various rules, forms and
201
+ rituals corresponding to the basic needs of the people and the age concerned. Parallel with this,
202
+ the esoteric teachings have survived through the ages partly as written and partly as unwritten
203
+ living traditions, free from forms, rituals, rules and dogmas, and in all periods have been kept
204
+ alive and practiced by a small minority.
205
+
206
+
207
+ It is in this spirit of the interpretation of the Truth that the Essene Gospel of Peace will be
208
+ translated in the following pages. Rejecting the dogmatic methods of literal and purely scientific
209
+ interpretation as well as the exaggeration of the symbolists, we shall try to translate the Essene
210
+ Gospel of Peace in the light of our consciousness and of nature, and in harmony with the great
211
+ traditions of the Essenes, to whose brotherhood the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves
212
+ belonged.
213
+
214
+
215
+ THE VISION OF ENOCH
216
+
217
+
218
+ THE MOST ANCIENT REVELATION
219
+ God Speaks to Man
220
+
221
+
222
+ I speak to you.
223
+ Be still
224
+ Know
225
+
226
+ Iam
227
+ God.
228
+
229
+
230
+ I spoke to you
231
+ When you were born.
232
+ Be still
233
+ Know
234
+ Iam
235
+ God.
236
+
237
+
238
+ I spoke to you
239
+ At your first sight.
240
+ Be still
241
+ Know
242
+ Iam
243
+ God.
244
+
245
+
246
+ I spoke to you
247
+ At your first word.
248
+ Be still
249
+ Know
250
+ Iam
251
+ God.
252
+
253
+
254
+ I spoke to you
255
+ At your first thought.
256
+ Be still
257
+ Know
258
+ Iam
259
+ God.
260
+
261
+
262
+ I spoke to you
263
+ At your first love.
264
+ Be still
265
+ Know
266
+ Iam
267
+ God.
268
+
269
+
270
+ I spoke to you
271
+ At your first song.
272
+ Be still
273
+ Know I am
274
+ God.
275
+
276
+
277
+ I speak to you
278
+ Through the grass of the meadows.
279
+ Be still
280
+ Know
281
+ Iam
282
+ God.
283
+
284
+
285
+ I speak to you
286
+ Through the trees of the forests.
287
+ Be still
288
+ Know
289
+ Iam
290
+ God.
291
+
292
+
293
+ I speak to you
294
+ Through the valleys and the hills.
295
+ Be still
296
+ Know
297
+ Iam
298
+ God.
299
+
300
+
301
+ I speak to you
302
+ Through the Holy Mountains.
303
+ Be still
304
+ Know
305
+ Iam
306
+ God.
307
+
308
+
309
+ I speak to you
310
+ Through the rain and the snow.
311
+ Be still
312
+ Know
313
+ Tam
314
+ God.
315
+
316
+
317
+ I speak to you
318
+ Through the waves of the sea.
319
+ Be still
320
+ Know
321
+
322
+
323
+ Iam
324
+ God.
325
+
326
+
327
+ I speak to you
328
+ Through the dew of the morning.
329
+ Be still
330
+ Know
331
+ Iam
332
+ God.
333
+
334
+
335
+ I speak to you
336
+ Through the peace of the evening.
337
+ Be still
338
+ Know
339
+ Tam
340
+ God.
341
+
342
+
343
+ I speak to you
344
+ Through the splendor of the sun.
345
+ Be still
346
+ Know
347
+ Iam
348
+ God.
349
+
350
+
351
+ I speak to you
352
+ Through the brilliant stars.
353
+ Be still
354
+ Know
355
+ Iam
356
+ God.
357
+
358
+
359
+ I speak to you
360
+ Through the storm and the clouds.
361
+ Be still
362
+ Know
363
+ Iam
364
+ God.
365
+
366
+
367
+ I speak to you
368
+ Through the thunder and lightning.
369
+ Be still
370
+ Know
371
+ Iam
372
+ God
373
+
374
+
375
+ I speak to you
376
+ Through the mysterious rainbow.
377
+ Be still
378
+ Know
379
+ Iam
380
+ God.
381
+
382
+
383
+ I will speak to you
384
+ When you are alone.
385
+ Be still
386
+ Know
387
+ Iam
388
+ God
389
+
390
+
391
+ I will speak to you
392
+ Through the Wisdom of the Ancients.
393
+ Be still
394
+ Know
395
+ Tam
396
+ God
397
+
398
+
399
+ I will speak to you
400
+ At the end of time.
401
+ Be still
402
+ Know
403
+ Iam
404
+ God.
405
+
406
+
407
+ I will speak to you
408
+ When you have seen my Angels.
409
+ Be still
410
+ Know
411
+ Iam
412
+ God.
413
+
414
+
415
+ I will speak to you
416
+ Throughout Eternity.
417
+ Be still
418
+ Know
419
+ Iam
420
+ God
421
+
422
+
423
+ I speak to you.
424
+ Be still
425
+ Know
426
+
427
+
428
+ Iam
429
+ God.
430
+
431
+
432
+ FROM THE ESSENE BOOK OF MOSES
433
+ THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
434
+
435
+
436
+ And Mount Sinai was altogether in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the
437
+ smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
438
+
439
+
440
+ And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses
441
+ up to the top of the mount: and Moses went up.
442
+
443
+
444
+ And the Lord called unto Moses out of the mountain, saying, Come unto me, for I would give
445
+ thee the Law for thy people, which shall be a covenant for the Children of Light.
446
+
447
+
448
+ And Moses went up unto God. And God spake all these words, saying,
449
+ I am the Law, thy God, which hath brought thee out from the depths of the bondage of darkness.
450
+ Thou shalt have no other Laws before me.
451
+
452
+
453
+ Thou shalt not make unto thee any image of the Law in heaven above or in the earth beneath. I
454
+ am the invisible Law, without beginning and without end.
455
+
456
+
457
+ Thou shalt not make unto thee false laws, for I am the Law, and the whole Law of all laws. If
458
+ thou forsake me, thou shalt be visited by disasters for generation upon generation.
459
+
460
+
461
+ If thou keepest my commandments, thou shalt enter the Inftnite Garden where stands the Tree of
462
+ Life in the midst of the Eternal Sea.
463
+
464
+
465
+ Thou shalt not violate the Law. The Law is thy God, who shall not hold thee guiltless.
466
+
467
+ Honor thy Earthly Mother, that thy days may be long upon the land, and honor thy Heavenly
468
+ Father, that eternal life be thine in the heavens, for the earth and the heavens are given unto thee
469
+ by the Law, which is thy God.
470
+
471
+ Thou shalt greet thy Earthly Mother on the morning of the Sabbath.
472
+
473
+
474
+ Thou shalt greet the Angel of Earth on the second morning.
475
+
476
+
477
+ Thou shalt greet the Angel of Life on the third morning.
478
+
479
+
480
+ Thou shalt greet the Angel of Joy on the fourth morning.
481
+ Thou shalt greet the Angel of Sun on the fifth morning.
482
+ Thou shalt greet the Angel of Water on the sixth morning,
483
+ Thou shalt greet the Angel of Air on the seventh morning-
484
+
485
+
486
+ All these Angels of the Earthly Mother shalt thou greet, and consecrate thyself to them, that thou
487
+ mayest enter the Infinite Garden where stands the Tree of Life.
488
+
489
+
490
+ Thou shalt worship thy Heavenly Father on the evening of the Sabbath.
491
+ Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Eternal Life on the second evening.
492
+ Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Work on the third evening.
493
+
494
+ Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Peace on the fourth evening.
495
+
496
+ Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Power on the fifth evening,
497
+
498
+ Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Love on the sixth evening.
499
+
500
+ Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Wisdom on the seventh evening.
501
+
502
+
503
+ All these Angels of the Heavenly Father shalt thou commune with, that thy soul may bathe in the
504
+ Fountain of Light, and enter into the Sea of Eternity.
505
+
506
+
507
+ The seventh day is the Sabbath: thou shalt remember it, keep it holy. The Sabbath is the day of
508
+ the Light of the Law, thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, but search the Light, the
509
+ Kingdom of thy God, and all things shall be given unto thee.
510
+
511
+
512
+ For know ye that during six days thou shalt work with the Angels, but the seventh day shalt thou
513
+ dwell in the Light of thy Lord, who is the holy Law.
514
+
515
+
516
+ Thou shalt not take the life from any living thing. Life comes only from God, who giveth it and
517
+ taketh it away.
518
+
519
+
520
+ Thou shalt not debase Love. It is the sacred gift of thy Heavenly Father.
521
+ Thou Shalt not trade thy Soul, the priceless gift of the loving God, for the riches of the world,
522
+ which are as seeds sown on stony ground, having no root in themselves, and so enduring but for
523
+
524
+
525
+ a little while.
526
+
527
+
528
+ Thou shalt not be a false witness of the Law, to use it against thy brother: Only God knoweth the
529
+ beginning and the ending of all things, for his eye is single, and he is the holy Law.
530
+
531
+
532
+ Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's possessions. The Law giveth unto thee much greater gifts,
533
+ even the earth and the heavens, if thou keep the Commandments of the Lord thy God.
534
+
535
+
536
+ And Moses heard the voice of the Lord, and sealed within him the covenant that was between the
537
+ Lord and the Children of Light.
538
+
539
+
540
+ And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tablets of the Law were in his
541
+ hand.
542
+
543
+
544
+ And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the
545
+ tablets.
546
+
547
+
548
+ And the people knew not what became of Moses, and they gathered themselves together and
549
+ brake off their golden earrings and made a molten calf. And they worshipped unto the idol, and
550
+ offered to it burnt offerings.
551
+
552
+
553
+ And they ate and drank and danced before the golden calf, which they had made, and they
554
+ abandoned themselves to corruption and evil before the Lord.
555
+
556
+
557
+ And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the
558
+ dancing, and the wickedness of the people: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tablets
559
+ out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
560
+
561
+
562
+ And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin,
563
+ ye have denied thy Creator. I will go up unto the Lord and plead atonement for thy sin.
564
+
565
+
566
+ And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, thou hast seen the desecration of thy Holy
567
+ Law. For thy children lost faith, and worshipped the darkness, and made for themselves a golden
568
+ calf. Lord, forgive them, for they are blind to the light.
569
+
570
+
571
+ And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, at the beginning of time was a covenant made between
572
+ God and man, and the holy flame of the Creator did enter unto him. And he was made the son of
573
+ God, and it was given him to guard his inheritance of the firstborn, and to make fruitful the land
574
+ of his Father and keep it holy. And he who casteth out the Creator from him doth spit upon his
575
+ birthright, and no more grievous sin doth exist in the eyes of God.
576
+
577
+
578
+ And the Lord spoke, saying, Only the Children of Light can keep the Commandments of the
579
+ Law. Hear me, for I say thus: the tablets which thou didst break, these shall nevermore be written
580
+ in the words of men. As thou didst return them to the earth and fire, so shall they live, invisible,
581
+ in the hearts of those who are able to follow their Law. To thy people of little faith, who did sin
582
+ against the Creator, even whilst thou stood on holy ground before thy God, -I will give another
583
+ Law. It shall be a stem law, yea, it shall bind them, for they know not yet the Kingdom of Light.
584
+
585
+
586
+ And Moses hid the invisible Law within his breast, and kept it for a sign to the Children of
587
+ Light. And God gave unto Moses the written law for the people, and he went down unto
588
+ them, and spake unto them with a heavy heart.
589
+
590
+
591
+ And Moses said unto the people, these are the laws which thy God hath given thee.
592
+
593
+
594
+ Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
595
+
596
+ Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
597
+
598
+ Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
599
+ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
600
+
601
+ Honor thy father and thy mother.
602
+
603
+ Thou shalt not kill.
604
+
605
+ Thou shalt not commit adultery.
606
+
607
+ Thou shalt not steal.
608
+
609
+
610
+ Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
611
+
612
+
613
+ Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor thy neighbor's wife, nor anything that is thy
614
+ neighbor's.
615
+
616
+
617
+ And there was a day of mourning and atonement for the great sin against the Creator, which did
618
+ not end. And the broken tablets of the Invisible Law lived hidden in the breast of Moses, until it
619
+ came to pass that the Children of Light appeared in the desert, and the angels walked the earth.
620
+
621
+
622
+ THE COMMUNIONS
623
+
624
+
625
+ And it was by the bed of a stream, that the weary and afflicted came again to seek out Jesus. And
626
+ like children, they had forgotten the Law; and like children, they sought out their father to show
627
+ them where they had erred, and to set their feet again upon the path. And when the sun rose over
628
+ the earth's rim they saw Jesus coming toward them from the mountain, with the brightness of the
629
+ rising sun about his head.
630
+
631
+
632
+ And he raised his hand and smiled upon them, saying, "Peace be with you."
633
+
634
+
635
+ But they were ashamed to return his greeting, for each in his own way had turned his back on the
636
+ holy teachings, and the Angels of the Earthly Mother and the Heavenly Father were not with
637
+ them. And one man looked up in anguish and spoke: "Master, we are in sore need of your
638
+ wisdom. For we know that which is good, and yet we follow evil. We know that to enter the
639
+ kingdom of heaven we must walk with the angels of the day and of the night, yet our feet walk in
640
+ the ways of the wicked. The light of day shines only on our pursuit of pleasure, and the night
641
+ falls on our heedless stupor. Tell us, Master, how may we talk with the angels, and stay within
642
+ their holy circle, that the Law may burn in our hearts with a constant flame?"
643
+
644
+
645
+ And Jesus spoke to them:
646
+
647
+
648
+ "To lift your eyes to heaven
649
+
650
+
651
+ When all mens' eyes are on the ground,
652
+ Is not easy.
653
+
654
+ To worship at the feet of the angels
655
+ When all men worship only fame and riches,
656
+ Is not easy.
657
+
658
+ But the most difficult of all
659
+ Is to think the thoughts of the angels,
660
+
661
+ To speak the words of the angels,
662
+
663
+ And to do as angels do. "
664
+
665
+
666
+ And one man spoke: "But, Master, we are but men, we are not angels. How then can we hope to
667
+ walk in their ways? Tell us what we must do."
668
+
669
+
670
+ And Jesus spoke:
671
+ "As the son inherits the land of his father,
672
+ So have we inherited a Holy Land
673
+ From our Fathers.
674
+ T'his land is not a field to be ploughed,
675
+ But a place within us
676
+ Where we may build our Holy Temple.
677
+ And even as a temple must be raised,
678
+ Stone by stone,
679
+ So will I give to you those stones
680
+ For the building of the Holy Temple;
681
+ That which we have inherited
682
+
683
+
684
+ From our Fathers,
685
+
686
+
687
+ And their Fathers’ Fathers."
688
+ And all the men gathered around Jesus, and their faces shone with desire to hear the words which
689
+ would come from his lips. And he lifted his face to the rising sun, and the radiance of its rays
690
+ filled his eyes as he spoke:
691
+ "The Holy Temple can be built
692
+ Only with the ancient Communions,
693
+ Those which are spoken,
694
+ Those which are thought,
695
+ And those which are lived.
696
+ For if they are spoken only with the mouth,
697
+ They are as a dead hive
698
+ Which the bees have forsaken,
699
+ That gives no more honey.
700
+ Communions are a bridge
701
+ Between man and the angels,
702
+ And like a bridge,
703
+ Can be built only with patience,
704
+ Yea, even as the bridge over the river
705
+ Is fashioned stone by stone,
706
+ As they are found by the water's edge.
707
+ And the Communions are fourteen in number
708
+ As the Angels of the Heavenly Father
709
+ Number seven,
710
+
711
+
712
+ And the Angels of the Earthly Mother
713
+
714
+
715
+ Number seven.
716
+
717
+ And just as the roots of the tree
718
+ Sink into the earth and are nourished,
719
+ And the branches of the tree
720
+ Raise their arms to heaven,
721
+
722
+ So is man like the trunk of the tree,
723
+ With his roots deep
724
+ In the breast of his Earthly Mother,
725
+ And his soul ascending
726
+ To the bright stars of his Heavenly Father.
727
+ And the roots of the tree
728
+ Are the Angels of the Earthly Mother,
729
+ And the branches of the tree
730
+ Are the Angels of the Heavenly Father.
731
+ And this is the sacred Tree of Life
732
+
733
+
734
+ Which stands in the Sea of Eternity.
735
+
736
+
737
+ The first Communion is with the Angel of Sun
738
+ The Angel of Sun,
739
+ She who cometh each morning
740
+ As a bride from her chamber,
741
+ To shed her golden light on the world.
742
+
743
+
744
+ O thou immortal, shining, swift-steeded
745
+
746
+
747
+ Angel of the Sun!
748
+ There is no warmth without thee,
749
+ No fire without thee,
750
+ No life without thee.
751
+ As green leaves of the trees
752
+ Do worship thee,
753
+
754
+ And through thee is the tiny wheat kernel
755
+ Become a river of golden grass,
756
+ Moving with the wind.
757
+ Through thee is opened the flower
758
+ In the center of my body.
759
+ Tnerefore will I never hide myself
760
+ From thee.
761
+
762
+ Angel of Sun,
763
+
764
+ Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother,
765
+ Enter the holy temple within me
766
+
767
+
768
+ And give me the Fire of Life!
769
+
770
+
771
+ The Second Communion is with the Angel of Water
772
+ The Angel of Water,
773
+ She who makes the rain
774
+ To fall on the and plain,
775
+
776
+
777
+ Who fills the dry well to overflowing.
778
+
779
+
780
+ Yea, we do worship thee,
781
+ Water of Life-
782
+ From the heavenly sea
783
+ The waters run and flow forward
784
+ From the never-failing springs.
785
+ In my blood flow
786
+ A thousand pure springs,
787
+ And vapors, and clouds,
788
+ And all the waters
789
+ T'hat spread over all the seven Kingdoms.
790
+ All the waters
791
+ The Creator hath made Are holy.
792
+ The voice of the Lord
793
+ Is upon the waters:
794
+
795
+ The God of Glory thundereth;
796
+ The Lord is upon many waters.
797
+ Angel of Water,
798
+
799
+ Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother,
800
+ Enter the blood that flows through me,
801
+ Wash my body in the rain
802
+ That falls from heaven,
803
+
804
+
805
+ And give me the Water of Life.
806
+
807
+
808
+ The third Communion is with the Angel of Air
809
+ The Angel of Air,
810
+ Who spreads the perfume
811
+ Of sweet-smelling fields,
812
+ of spring grass after rain,
813
+ of the opening buds of the
814
+ Rose of Sharon.
815
+ We worship the Holy Breath
816
+ Which is placed higher
817
+ Than all the other things created.
818
+ For, lo, the eternal and sovereign Luminous space,
819
+ Where rule the unnumbered stars,
820
+ Is the air we breathe in
821
+ And the air we breathe out.
822
+ And in the moment betwixt the breathing in
823
+ And the breathing out
824
+ Is hidden all the mysteries of the Infinite Garden.
825
+ Angel of Air,
826
+ Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother,
827
+ Enter deep within me,
828
+ As the swallow plummets from the sky,
829
+ That I may know the secrets of the wind
830
+
831
+
832
+ And the music of the stars.
833
+
834
+
835
+ The fourth Communion is with the Angel of Earth
836
+ The Angel of Earth,
837
+
838
+ She who brings forth corn and grapes
839
+ From the fulness of the earth,
840
+ She who brings children
841
+ From the loins of husband and wife.
842
+ He who would till the earth,
843
+ With the left arm and the right,
844
+ Unto him will she bring forth
845
+ An abundance of fruit and grain,
846
+ Golden-hued plants
847
+ Growing up from the earth
848
+ During the spring,
849
+
850
+ As far as the earth extends,
851
+
852
+ As far as the rivers stretch,
853
+
854
+ As far as the sun rises,
855
+
856
+ To impart their gifts of food unto men.
857
+ This wide earth do I praise,
858
+ Expanded far with paths,
859
+
860
+ The productive, the full-bearing,
861
+ Thy Mother, holy plant!
862
+
863
+
864
+ Yea, I praise the lands
865
+
866
+
867
+ Where thou dost grow
868
+ Sweet-scented swiftly spreading,
869
+ The good growth of the Lord.
870
+
871
+ He who sows corn, grass and fruit,
872
+ Soweth the Law.
873
+
874
+ And his harvest shall be bountiful,
875
+ And his crop shall be ripe upon the hills
876
+ As a reward for the followers of the Law,
877
+ The Lord sent the Angel of Earth,
878
+ Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother
879
+ To make the plants to grow,
880
+
881
+ And to make fertile the womb of woman,
882
+ That the earth may never be without
883
+ The laughter of children.
884
+
885
+
886
+ Let us worship the Lord in her!
887
+
888
+
889
+ The fifth Communion is with the Angel of Life
890
+ The Angel of Life,
891
+ She who gives strength and vigor to man.
892
+ For, lo, if the wax is not pure,
893
+ How then can the candle give a steady flame?
894
+ Go, then, toward the high-growing trees,
895
+
896
+
897
+ And before one of them which is beautiful,
898
+
899
+
900
+ High-growing and mighty,
901
+ Say these words:
902
+ ‘Hail be unto thee! O good, living tree,
903
+ Made by the Creator!’
904
+
905
+ Then shall the River of Life
906
+ Flow between you and your Brother,
907
+ The Tree,
908
+
909
+ And health of the body,
910
+ Swiftness of foot,
911
+
912
+ Quick hearing of the ears,
913
+ Strength of the arms
914
+ And eyesight of the eagle be yours.
915
+ Such is the Communion
916
+ With the Angel of Life,
917
+
918
+
919
+ Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother.
920
+
921
+
922
+ The sixth Communion is with the Angel of Joy
923
+ The Angel of Joy,
924
+ She who descends upon earth
925
+ To give beauty to all men.
926
+ For the Lord is not worshipped with sadness,
927
+ Nor with cries of despair.
928
+
929
+
930
+ Leave off your moans and lamentations,
931
+
932
+
933
+ And sing unto the Lord a new song:
934
+ Sing unto the Lord, all the earth.
935
+ Let the heavens rejoice
936
+ And let the earth be glad.
937
+ Let the field be joyful,
938
+ Let the floods clap their hands;
939
+ Let the hills be joyful together Before the Lord.
940
+ For you shall go out with joy
941
+ And be led forth with peace:
942
+ The mountains and the hills
943
+ Shall break forth before you into singing.
944
+ Angel of Joy,
945
+ Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother,
946
+ I will sing unto the Lord
947
+ As long as I live:
948
+ I will sing praise to my God
949
+
950
+
951
+ While I have my being.
952
+
953
+
954
+ The Seventh Communion is with Our Earthly Mother
955
+ Our Earthly Mother,
956
+ She who sends forth her Angels
957
+ To guide the roots of man
958
+
959
+
960
+ And send them deep into the blessed soil.
961
+
962
+
963
+ We invoke the Earthly Mother!
964
+ The Holy Preserver!
965
+ The Maintainer!
966
+ It is She who will restore the world!
967
+ The earth is hers,
968
+
969
+ And the fulness thereof the world,
970
+ And they that dwell therein.
971
+ We worship the good, the strong,
972
+ The beneficent Earthly Mother
973
+ And all her Angels,
974
+ Bounteous, valiant,
975
+
976
+ And full of strength;
977
+ Welfare-bestowing, kind,
978
+ And health-giving.
979
+ Through her brightness and glory
980
+ Do the plants grow up from the earth,
981
+ By the never-failing springs.
982
+ Through her brightness and glory
983
+ Do the winds blow,
984
+ Driving down the clouds
985
+ Towards the never-failing springs.
986
+ The Earthly Mother and I are One.
987
+
988
+
989
+ I have my roots in her,
990
+
991
+
992
+ And she takes her delight in me
993
+
994
+
995
+ According to the Holy Law. "
996
+
997
+
998
+ Then there was a great silence, as the listeners pondered the words of Jesus. And there was new
999
+ strength in them, and desire and hope shone in their faces. And then one man spoke: "Master, we
1000
+ are filled with eagerness to begin our Communions with the Angels of the Earthly Mother, who
1001
+ planted the Great Garden of the Earth. But what of the Angels of the Heavenly Father, who rule
1002
+ the night? How are we to talk to them, who are so far above us, who are invisible to our eyes?
1003
+ For we can see the rays of the sun, we can feel the cool water of the stream where we bathe, and
1004
+ the grapes are warm to our touch as they grow purple on the vines. But the Angels of the
1005
+ Heavenly Father cannot be seen, or heard, or touched. How then can we talk to them, and enter
1006
+ their Infinite Garden? Master, tell us what we must do."
1007
+ And the morning sun encircled his head with glory as Jesus looked upon them and spoke:
1008
+ "My children, know you not that the Earth
1009
+ And all that dwells therein
1010
+ Is but a reflection of the
1011
+ Kingdom of the Heavenly Father?
1012
+ And as you are suckled and comforted
1013
+ By your mother when a child,
1014
+ But go to join your father in the fields
1015
+ When you grow up,
1016
+ So do the Angels of the Earthly Mother
1017
+ Guide your steps
1018
+ Toward him who is your Father,
1019
+ And all his holy Angels,
1020
+
1021
+
1022
+ That you may know your true home
1023
+
1024
+
1025
+ And become true Sons of God.
1026
+
1027
+
1028
+ While we are children,
1029
+ We will see the rays of the sun,
1030
+ But not the Power which created it;
1031
+ While we are children,
1032
+
1033
+ We will hear the sounds of the flowing brook,
1034
+ But not the Love which created it;
1035
+ While we are children,
1036
+
1037
+ We will see the stars,
1038
+
1039
+ But not the hand which scatters them
1040
+ Through the sky,
1041
+
1042
+ As the farmer scatters his seed.
1043
+ only through the Communions
1044
+ With the Angels of the Heavenly Father,
1045
+ Will we learn to see the unseen,
1046
+
1047
+ To hear that which cannot be heard,
1048
+
1049
+
1050
+ And to speak the unspoken word.
1051
+
1052
+
1053
+ The first Communion is with the Angel of Power
1054
+ The Angel of Power,
1055
+ Who fills the sun with heat,
1056
+ And guides the hand of man
1057
+ In all his works.
1058
+
1059
+
1060
+ Thine, O Heavenly Father!
1061
+
1062
+
1063
+ Was the Power,
1064
+
1065
+ When thou didst order a path
1066
+ For each of us and all.
1067
+ Through thy power
1068
+ Will my feet tread the
1069
+ Path of the Law;
1070
+ Through thy power
1071
+ Will my hands perform thy works.
1072
+ May the golden river of power
1073
+ Always flow from thee to me,
1074
+ And may my body always turn unto thee,
1075
+ As the flower turns unto the sun.
1076
+ For there is no power save that
1077
+ From the Heavenly Father;
1078
+
1079
+ All else is but a dream of dust,
1080
+
1081
+ A cloud passing over the face of the sun.
1082
+ There is no man that hath power
1083
+ Over the spirit;
1084
+
1085
+ Neither hath he power in the day of death.
1086
+ Only that power which cometh from God
1087
+ Can carry us out from the City of Death.
1088
+ Guide our works and deeds,
1089
+
1090
+
1091
+ O Angel of Power,
1092
+
1093
+
1094
+ Holy messenger of the Heavenly -Father!
1095
+
1096
+
1097
+ The second Communion is with the Angel of Love
1098
+ The Angel of Love,
1099
+ Whose healing waters flow
1100
+ In a never-ending stream
1101
+ From the Sea of Eternity.
1102
+ Beloved, let us love one another:
1103
+ For love is of the Heavenly Father,
1104
+ And every one that loveth
1105
+ Is born of the Heavenly Order
1106
+ And knoweth the Angels.
1107
+
1108
+ For without love,
1109
+
1110
+ A man's heart is parched and cracked
1111
+ As the bottom of a dry well,
1112
+ And his words are empty
1113
+ As a hollow gourd.
1114
+
1115
+ But loving words are as a honeycomb
1116
+ Sweet to the soul;
1117
+
1118
+ Loving words in a man's mouth
1119
+ Are as deep waters,
1120
+
1121
+ And the wellspring of love
1122
+
1123
+
1124
+ As a flowing brook.
1125
+
1126
+
1127
+ Yea, it was said in the ancient of days,
1128
+ Thou shalt love thy Heavenly Father
1129
+ With all thy heart,
1130
+
1131
+ And with all thy mind,
1132
+
1133
+ And with all thy deeds,
1134
+
1135
+ And thou shalt love thy brothers
1136
+ As thyself
1137
+ The Heavenly Father is love;
1138
+ And he that dwelleth in love
1139
+ Dwelleth in the Heavenly Father,
1140
+ And the Heavenly Father in him.
1141
+ He that loveth not is as a wandering bird
1142
+ Cast out of the nest;
1143
+
1144
+ For him the grass faileth
1145
+ And the stream has a bitter taste.
1146
+ And if a man say,
1147
+
1148
+ I love the Heavenly Father
1149
+ But hate my brother,
1150
+ He is a liar:
1151
+ For he that loveth not his brother
1152
+ Whom he hath seen,
1153
+ How can he love the Heavenly Father
1154
+
1155
+
1156
+ Whom he hath not seen?
1157
+
1158
+
1159
+ By this we know the Children of Light:
1160
+ T'hose who walk with the Angel of Love,
1161
+ For they love the Heavenly Father,
1162
+ And they love their brethren,
1163
+
1164
+ And they keep the Holy Law.
1165
+
1166
+ Love is stronger
1167
+ Than the currents of deep waters:
1168
+
1169
+
1170
+ Love is stronger than death.
1171
+
1172
+
1173
+ The third Communion is with the Angel of Wisdom
1174
+ The Angel of Wisdom,
1175
+ Who maketh man free from fear,
1176
+ Wide of heart,
1177
+ And easy of conscience:
1178
+ Holy Wisdom,
1179
+ The Understanding that unfolds,
1180
+ Continuously,
1181
+ As a holy scroll,
1182
+ Yet does not come through learning.
1183
+ All wisdom cometh
1184
+ From the Heavenly Father,
1185
+ And is with him for ever.
1186
+
1187
+
1188
+ Who can number the sand of the sea,
1189
+
1190
+
1191
+ And the drops of rain,
1192
+ And the days of eternity?
1193
+
1194
+ Who can find out the height of heaven,
1195
+ And the breadth of the earth?
1196
+ Who can tell the beginning
1197
+ Of wisdom?
1198
+
1199
+ Wisdom hath been created
1200
+ Before all things.
1201
+
1202
+ He who is with out wisdom
1203
+ Is like unto him that saith to the wood,
1204
+ ‘Awake’, and to the dumb stone,
1205
+ ‘Arise, and teach!'
1206
+
1207
+ So are his words empty,
1208
+
1209
+ And his deeds harmful,
1210
+
1211
+ As a child who brandishes his father's sword
1212
+ And knoweth not its cutting edge.
1213
+ But the crown of wisdom
1214
+ Makes peace and perfect health
1215
+ To flourish,
1216
+
1217
+ Both of which are the gifts of God.
1218
+ O thou Heavenly Order!
1219
+
1220
+ And thou, Angel of Wisdom!
1221
+
1222
+
1223
+ I will worship thee and
1224
+
1225
+
1226
+ The Heavenly Father,
1227
+ Because of whom
1228
+ The river of thought within us
1229
+ Is flowing towards the
1230
+
1231
+
1232
+ Holy Sea of Eternity.
1233
+
1234
+
1235
+ The fourth Communion is with the Angel of Eternal Life
1236
+ The Angel of Eternal Life,
1237
+ Who brings the message of eternity
1238
+ To man.
1239
+ For he who walks with the Angels
1240
+ Shall learn to soar
1241
+ Above the clouds,
1242
+ And his home shall be
1243
+ In the Eternal Sea
1244
+ Where stands the sacred Tree of Life.
1245
+ Do not wait for death
1246
+ To reveal the great mystery;
1247
+
1248
+ If you know not your Heavenly Father
1249
+ While your feet tread the dusty soil,
1250
+ There shall be naught but shadows for thee
1251
+ In the life that is to come.
1252
+
1253
+
1254
+ Here and now
1255
+
1256
+
1257
+ Is the mystery revealed.
1258
+ Here and now
1259
+ Is the curtain lifted.
1260
+
1261
+ Be not afraid, O man!
1262
+ Lay hold of the wings of the
1263
+ Angel of Eternal Life,
1264
+ And soar into the paths of the stars,
1265
+ The moon, the sun,
1266
+ And the endless Light,
1267
+ Moving around in their
1268
+ Revolving circle forever,
1269
+
1270
+
1271
+ And fly toward the Heavenly Sea Of Eternal Life.
1272
+
1273
+
1274
+ The fifth Communion is with the Angel of Work
1275
+ The Angel of Work,
1276
+ Who sings in the humming of the bee,
1277
+ Pausing not in its making of golden honey;
1278
+
1279
+ In the flute of the shepherd,
1280
+
1281
+ Who sleeps not lest his flock go astray;
1282
+
1283
+ In the song of the maiden
1284
+ As she lays her hand to the spindle.
1285
+
1286
+ And if you think that these
1287
+
1288
+
1289
+ Are not as fair in the eyes of the Lord
1290
+
1291
+
1292
+ As the loftiest of prayers
1293
+ Echoed from the highest mountain,
1294
+ Then you do indeed err.
1295
+
1296
+ For the honest work of humble hands
1297
+ Is a daily prayer of thanksgiving,
1298
+ And the music of the plough
1299
+ Is a joyful song unto the Lord.
1300
+
1301
+ He who eats the bread of idleness
1302
+ must die of hunger,
1303
+
1304
+ For a field of stones
1305
+ Can yield only stones.
1306
+
1307
+ For him is the day without meaning,
1308
+ And the night a bitter journey of evil dreams.
1309
+ The mind of the idle
1310
+ Is full of the weeds of discontent;
1311
+ But he who walks with the
1312
+ Angel of Work
1313
+ Has within him a field always fertile,
1314
+ Where corn and grapes
1315
+ And all manner of sweet-scented
1316
+ Herbs and flowers grow in abundance.
1317
+ As ye sow, so Shall ye reap.
1318
+
1319
+
1320
+ The man of God who has found his task
1321
+
1322
+
1323
+ Shall not ask any other blessing.
1324
+
1325
+
1326
+ The sixth Communion is with the Angel of Peace
1327
+ The Angel of Peace,
1328
+ Whose kiss bestoweth calm,
1329
+ And whose face is as the surface
1330
+ Of untroubled waters,
1331
+ Wherein the moon is reflected.
1332
+ I will invoke Peace,
1333
+ Whose -breath is friendly,
1334
+ Whose hand smooths the troubled brow.
1335
+ In the reign of Peace,
1336
+
1337
+ There is neither hunger nor thirst,
1338
+ Neither cold wind nor hot wind,
1339
+ Neither old age nor death.
1340
+
1341
+ But to him that hath not peace in his soul,
1342
+ There is no place to build within
1343
+ The Holy Temple;
1344
+
1345
+ For how can the carpenter build
1346
+ In the midst Of a whirlwind?
1347
+
1348
+ The seed of violence can reap
1349
+ Only a harvest of desolation,
1350
+
1351
+
1352
+ And from the parched clay
1353
+
1354
+
1355
+ Can grow no living thing.
1356
+ Seek ye then the Angel of Peace,
1357
+ Who is as the morning star
1358
+ In the midst of a cloud,
1359
+
1360
+ As the moon at the full,
1361
+
1362
+ As a fair olive tree budding forth fruit,
1363
+ And as the sun shining on the temple
1364
+ Of the most High.
1365
+
1366
+ Peace dwells in the heart of silence:
1367
+
1368
+
1369
+ Be still, and know that I am God.
1370
+
1371
+
1372
+ The seventh Communion is with the Heavenly Father
1373
+ The Heavenly Father,
1374
+ Who is,
1375
+ Who was, and
1376
+ Who ever shall be.
1377
+ O Great Creator!
1378
+
1379
+ Thou didst create the Heavenly Angels,
1380
+ And thou didst reveal the
1381
+ Heavenly Laws!
1382
+ 7‘hou art my refuge and my fortress,
1383
+ Thou artfrom everlasting.
1384
+
1385
+
1386
+ Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place
1387
+
1388
+
1389
+ In al | generations.
1390
+
1391
+ Before the mountains were brought forth,
1392
+ Or ever thou hadst formed the earth,
1393
+ Even from everlasting to everlasting,
1394
+
1395
+ Thou art God.
1396
+ Who hath made the waters,
1397
+ And who maketh the plants?
1398
+ Who to the wind
1399
+ I Hath yoked the storm-clouds,
1400
+ The swift and even the fleetest?
1401
+ Who, O Great Creator!
1402
+ Is the fountain of Eternal Life
1403
+ Within our souls?
1404
+ Who hath made the Light and the Darkness?
1405
+ Who hath made sleep
1406
+ And the zest of the waking hours?
1407
+ Who spread the noontides
1408
+ And the midnight? Thou,
1409
+ O Great Creator!
1410
+ Thou hast made the earth By thy power,
1411
+ Hath established the world By thy wisdom,
1412
+ And hath stretched out the heavens By thy love.
1413
+
1414
+
1415
+ Do thou reveal unto me, O Heavenly Father,
1416
+
1417
+
1418
+ Thy nature,
1419
+ Which is the power of the
1420
+ Angels of thy Holy Kingdom.
1421
+ Immortality and the Heavenly order
1422
+ Hast thou given, O Creator,
1423
+ And the best of all things, Thy Holy Law!
1424
+ I will praise thy works
1425
+ With songs of thanksgiving,
1426
+ Continually,
1427
+ In all the generations of time.
1428
+ With the coming of day
1429
+ I embrace my Mother,
1430
+ With the coming of night,
1431
+ I join my Father,
1432
+ And with the outgoing
1433
+ Of evening and morning
1434
+ I will breathe Their Law,
1435
+ And I will not interrupt these Communions Until the end of time "
1436
+
1437
+
1438
+ And over heaven and earth was a great silence, and the peace of the Heavenly Father and the
1439
+ Earthly Mother shone over the heads of Jesus and the multitude.
1440
+
1441
+
1442
+ FROM THE ESSENE BOOK OF JESUS
1443
+
1444
+
1445
+ THE SEVENFOLD PEACE
1446
+
1447
+
1448
+ And seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up into a mountain, and his disciples came unto him, and
1449
+ all those who hungered for his words. And seeing them gathered, he opened his mouth and
1450
+ taught them, saying:
1451
+
1452
+ "Peace I bring to thee, my children,
1453
+
1454
+ The Sevenfold Peace
1455
+ Of the Earthly Mother
1456
+ And the Heavenly Father.
1457
+
1458
+ Peace I bring to thy body,
1459
+
1460
+ Guided by the Angel of Power; Peace I bring to thy heart,
1461
+
1462
+ Guided by the Angel of Love; Peace I bring to thy mind,
1463
+
1464
+ Guided by the Angel of Wisdom. Through the Angels of
1465
+ Power, Love and Wisdom,
1466
+
1467
+ Thou shalt travel the Seven Paths
1468
+ Of the Infinite Garden,
1469
+
1470
+ And thy body, thy heart and thy mind
1471
+ Shall join in Oneness
1472
+
1473
+
1474
+ In the Sacred Flight to the Heavenly Sea of Peace.
1475
+
1476
+
1477
+ Yea, I tell thee truly,
1478
+ The paths are seven
1479
+ Trough the Infinite Garden,
1480
+ And each must be traversed
1481
+ By the body, the heart and the mind As one,
1482
+
1483
+
1484
+ Lest thou stumble and fall
1485
+
1486
+
1487
+ Into the abyss of emptiness.
1488
+
1489
+ For as a bird cannot fly with one wing,
1490
+ So doth thy Bird of Wisdom
1491
+ Need two wings of Power and Love
1492
+ To soar above the abyss
1493
+
1494
+
1495
+ To the Holy Tree of Life.
1496
+
1497
+
1498
+ For the body alone
1499
+ Is an abandoned house seen from afar:
1500
+ What was thought beautiful
1501
+ Is but ruin and desolation
1502
+ When drawing near.
1503
+ Are body alone
1504
+ Is as a chariot fashioned from gold,
1505
+ Whose maker sets it on a pedestal,
1506
+ Loath to soil it with use.
1507
+ But as a golden idol,
1508
+ It is ugly and without grace,
1509
+ For only in movement
1510
+ Doth it reveal its purpose.
1511
+ Like the hollow blackness of a window
1512
+ When the wind puts out its candle,
1513
+
1514
+
1515
+ Is the body alone,
1516
+
1517
+
1518
+ With no heart and no mind
1519
+
1520
+
1521
+ To fill it with light.
1522
+
1523
+
1524
+ And the heart alone
1525
+ is a sun with no earth to shine upon,
1526
+ A light in the void,
1527
+ A ball of warmth drowned
1528
+ In a sea of blackness.
1529
+ For when a man doth love,
1530
+ Aat love turneth only to
1531
+ Its own destruction
1532
+ When there is no hand to stretch forth
1533
+ In good works,
1534
+ And no mind to weave the flames of desire
1535
+ Into a tapestry of psalms.
1536
+ Like a whirlwind in the desert
1537
+ Is the heart alone,
1538
+ With no body and no mind
1539
+ To lead it singing
1540
+
1541
+
1542
+ through the cypress and the pine.
1543
+
1544
+
1545
+ And the mind alone
1546
+
1547
+
1548
+ Is a holy scroll
1549
+
1550
+
1551
+ Which has worn thin with the years,
1552
+ And must be buried.
1553
+ The truth and beauty of its words
1554
+ Have not changed,
1555
+
1556
+ But the eyes can no longer read the faded letters,
1557
+ And it falleth to pieces in the hands.
1558
+ So is the mind without the heart
1559
+ To give it words,
1560
+
1561
+ And without the body
1562
+ To do its deeds.
1563
+
1564
+ For what availeth wisdom
1565
+ Without a heart to feel
1566
+ And a tongue to give it voice?
1567
+ Barren as the womb of an aged woman
1568
+ Is the mind alone,
1569
+
1570
+
1571
+ With no heart and no body To fill it with life.
1572
+
1573
+
1574
+ For, lo, I tell thee truly,
1575
+
1576
+ The body and the heart and the mind
1577
+ Are as a chariot, and a horse, and a driver.
1578
+ The chariot is the body,
1579
+
1580
+ Forged in strength to do the will
1581
+
1582
+
1583
+ of the Heavenly Father
1584
+
1585
+
1586
+ And the Earthly Mother.
1587
+ The heart is the fiery steed,
1588
+ Glorious and courageous,
1589
+ Who carries the chariot bravely,
1590
+ Whether the road be smooth,
1591
+ Or whether stones and fallen trees
1592
+ Lie in its path.
1593
+
1594
+ And the driver is the mind,
1595
+ Holding the reins of wisdom,
1596
+ Seeing from above what lieth
1597
+ On the far horizon,
1598
+
1599
+
1600
+ Charting the course of hoofs and wheels.
1601
+
1602
+
1603
+ Give ear, O ye heavens,
1604
+ And I will speak;
1605
+ And hear, O earth,
1606
+ The words of my mouth.
1607
+
1608
+ My doctrine shall drop as the rain,
1609
+ My speech shall distil as the dew,
1610
+ As the small rain
1611
+ Upon the tender herb,
1612
+
1613
+
1614
+ And as the showers upon the grass.
1615
+
1616
+
1617
+ Blessed is the Child of Light
1618
+ Who is strong in body,
1619
+
1620
+ For he shall have oneness with the earth.
1621
+ Thou shalt celebrate a daily feast
1622
+ With all the gifts of the Angel of Earth:
1623
+ The golden wheat and corn,
1624
+
1625
+ The purple grapes of autumn,
1626
+
1627
+ The ripe fruits of the trees,
1628
+
1629
+ The amber honey of the bees.
1630
+ Thou shalt seek the fresh air
1631
+ of the forest and of the fields,
1632
+
1633
+ And there in the midst of them
1634
+ Shalt thou find the Angel of Air.
1635
+ Put off thy shoes and clothing
1636
+ And suffer the Angel of Air
1637
+ To embrace all thy body.
1638
+
1639
+ Then shalt thou breathe long and deeply,
1640
+ That the Angel of Air
1641
+ May be brought within thee.
1642
+ Enter into the cool and flowing river
1643
+ And suffer the Angel of Water
1644
+ To embrace all thy body.
1645
+
1646
+
1647
+ Cast thyself wholly into his enfolding arms,
1648
+
1649
+
1650
+ And as often as thou movest the air with thy breath,
1651
+ Move with thy body the water also.
1652
+ Thou shalt seek the Angel of Sun,
1653
+
1654
+ And enter into that embrace
1655
+ Which doth purify with holy flames.
1656
+ And all these things are of the
1657
+ Holy Law of the Earthly Mother,
1658
+ She who did give thee birth.
1659
+
1660
+ He who hath found peace with the body
1661
+ Hath built a holy temple
1662
+ Wherein may dwellforever
1663
+ The spirit of God.
1664
+
1665
+ Know this peace with thy mind,
1666
+ Desire this peace with thy heart,
1667
+
1668
+
1669
+ Fulfill this peace with thy body.
1670
+
1671
+
1672
+ Blessed is the Child of Light
1673
+ Who is wise in mind,
1674
+ For he shall create heaven.
1675
+ The mind of the wise
1676
+ Is a well-ploughed field,
1677
+ Which giveth forth abundance and plenty.
1678
+
1679
+
1680
+ For it thou showest a handful of seed
1681
+
1682
+
1683
+ To a wise man,
1684
+ He will see in his mind's eye
1685
+ A field of golden wheat.
1686
+ And if thou showest a handful of seed
1687
+ To a fool,
1688
+
1689
+ He will see only that which is before him,
1690
+ And call them worthless pebbles.
1691
+ And as the field of the wise man
1692
+ Giveth forth grain in abundance,
1693
+
1694
+ And the field of the fool
1695
+ Is a harvest only of stones,
1696
+ So it is with our thoughts.
1697
+
1698
+ As the sheaf of golden wheat
1699
+ Lieth hidden within the tiny kernel,
1700
+ So is the kingdom of heaven
1701
+ Hidden within our thoughts.
1702
+
1703
+ If they be filled with the
1704
+ Power, Love and Wisdom
1705
+ of the Angels of the Heavenly Father,
1706
+ So they shall carry us
1707
+ To the Heavenly Sea.
1708
+
1709
+ But if they be stained
1710
+
1711
+
1712
+ With corruption, hatred and ignorance,
1713
+
1714
+
1715
+ They shall chain our feet
1716
+ To pillars of pain and suffering.
1717
+
1718
+ No man can serve two masters;
1719
+ Neither can evil thoughts abide in a mind
1720
+ Filled with the Light of the Law.
1721
+
1722
+ He who hath found peace with the rnind
1723
+ Hath leamed to soar beyond
1724
+ The Realm of the Angels.
1725
+
1726
+ Know this peace with thy mind,
1727
+ Desire this peace with thy heart,
1728
+
1729
+
1730
+ Fulfill this peace with thy body.
1731
+
1732
+
1733
+ Blessed is the Child of Light
1734
+ Who is pure in heart,
1735
+ For he shall see God.
1736
+ For as the Heavenly Father hath given thee
1737
+ His holy spirit,
1738
+ And thy Earthly Mother hath given thee
1739
+
1740
+ Her holy body,
1741
+
1742
+ So shall ye give love
1743
+
1744
+ To all thy brothers.
1745
+ And thy true brothers are all those
1746
+
1747
+
1748
+ Who do the will of thy Heavenly Father
1749
+
1750
+
1751
+ An d thy Earthly Mother.
1752
+
1753
+ Let thy love be as the sun
1754
+ Which shines on all the creatures of the earth,
1755
+ And does not favor one blade of grass
1756
+ For another.
1757
+
1758
+ And this love shall flow as a fountain
1759
+ From brother to brother,
1760
+
1761
+ And as it is spent,
1762
+
1763
+ So shall it be replenished.
1764
+
1765
+ For love is eternal.
1766
+
1767
+ Love is stronger
1768
+ Than the currents of deep waters.
1769
+ Love is stronger than death.
1770
+
1771
+ And if a man hath not love,
1772
+
1773
+ He doth build a wall between him
1774
+ And all the creatures of the earth,
1775
+ And therein doth he dwell
1776
+ In loneliness and pain.
1777
+
1778
+ Or he may become as an angry whirlpool
1779
+ Which sucks into its depths
1780
+ All that floats too near.
1781
+
1782
+ For the heart is a sea with mighty waves,
1783
+
1784
+
1785
+ And love and wisdom must temper it,
1786
+
1787
+
1788
+ As the warm sun breaks through the clouds
1789
+ And quiets the restless sea.
1790
+
1791
+ He who hath found peace with his brothers
1792
+ Hath entered the kingdom of Love,
1793
+ And shall see God face to face.
1794
+ Know this peace with thy mind,
1795
+ Desire this peace with thy heart,
1796
+
1797
+
1798
+ Fulfill this peace with thy body.
1799
+
1800
+
1801
+ Blessed is the Child of Light
1802
+ Who doth build on earth
1803
+ Thekingdom of heaven,
1804
+ For he shall dwell in both worlds.
1805
+
1806
+ Thou shalt follow the Law of the Brotherhood,
1807
+ Which saith that none shall have wealth,
1808
+ And none shall be poor,
1809
+
1810
+ And all shall work together
1811
+ In the garden of the Brotherhood.
1812
+
1813
+ Yet each shall follow his own path,
1814
+ And each shall commune with his own heart.
1815
+ For in the Infinite Garden
1816
+ There are many and diverse flowers:
1817
+
1818
+
1819
+ Who shall say that one is best
1820
+
1821
+
1822
+ Because its color is purple,
1823
+ Or that one is favored
1824
+ Because its stalk is long and slender?
1825
+ Though the brothers
1826
+ Be of different complexion,
1827
+ Yet do they all toil
1828
+ In the vineyard of the Earthly Mother,
1829
+ And they all do lift their voices together
1830
+ In praise of the Heavenly Father.
1831
+ And together they break the holy bread,
1832
+ And in silence share the holy meal
1833
+ Of thanksgiving.
1834
+
1835
+ There shall be no peace among peoples
1836
+ Til there be one garden of the brotherhood
1837
+ Over the earth.
1838
+
1839
+ For how can there be peace
1840
+ When each man pursueth his own gain
1841
+ And doth sell his soul into slavery?
1842
+ Thou, Child of Light,
1843
+
1844
+ Do ye gather with thy brothers
1845
+ And then go ye forth
1846
+ To teach the ways of the Law
1847
+
1848
+
1849
+ To those who would hear.
1850
+
1851
+
1852
+ He who hath found peace
1853
+ With the brotherhood of man
1854
+ Hath made himself
1855
+ The co-worker of God
1856
+ Know this peace with thy mind,
1857
+ Desire this peace with thy heart,
1858
+
1859
+
1860
+ Fulfill this peace with thy body.
1861
+
1862
+
1863
+ Blessed is the Child of Light
1864
+ Who doth study the Book of the Law,
1865
+ For he shall be as a candle
1866
+ In the dark of night,
1867
+ And an island of truth
1868
+ In a sea of falsehood
1869
+ For know ye, that the written word
1870
+ Which cometh from God
1871
+ Is a reflection of the Heavenly Sea,
1872
+ Even as the bright stars
1873
+ Reflect the face of heaven.
1874
+ As the words of the Ancient Ones
1875
+ Are etched with the hand of God
1876
+ On the Holy Scrolls,
1877
+
1878
+
1879
+ So is the Law engraved on the hearts of the faithful who do study them.
1880
+
1881
+
1882
+ For it was said Of old,
1883
+ That in the beginning there were giants
1884
+ In the earth,
1885
+ And mighty men which were of old,
1886
+ Men Of renown.
1887
+ And the Children of Light
1888
+ Shall guard and preserve
1889
+ Their written word,
1890
+
1891
+ Lest we become again as beasts,
1892
+ And know not the Kingdom of the Angels.
1893
+ Know ye, too,
1894
+
1895
+ That only through the written word
1896
+ shalt thou find that Law
1897
+ Which is unwritten,
1898
+
1899
+ As the spring which floweth from the ground
1900
+ Hath a hidden source in the secret depths beneath the earth.
1901
+ The written Law
1902
+ Is the instrument by which
1903
+ The unwritten Law is understood,
1904
+
1905
+ As the mute branch of a tree
1906
+ Becomes a singing flute
1907
+ In the hands of the shepherd.
1908
+
1909
+
1910
+ Many there are
1911
+
1912
+
1913
+ Who would stay in the tranquil
1914
+ Valley of ignorance,
1915
+ Where children play
1916
+
1917
+ And butterflies dance in the sun
1918
+
1919
+ For their short hour of life.
1920
+
1921
+ But none can tarry there long,
1922
+ And ahead rise the somber
1923
+ Mountains of learning.
1924
+
1925
+ Many there are
1926
+ Who fear to cross,
1927
+
1928
+ And many there are
1929
+ Who have fallen bruised and bleeding
1930
+ From their steep and rugged slopes.
1931
+ But faith is the guide
1932
+ Over the gaping chasm,
1933
+
1934
+ And perseverance the foothold In the jagged rocks.
1935
+ Beyond the icy peaks of struggle
1936
+ Lies the peace and beauty
1937
+ Of the Infinite Garden of Knowledge,
1938
+ Where the meaning of the Law
1939
+ Is made known to the Children of Light.
1940
+ Here in the center of its forest
1941
+
1942
+
1943
+ Stands the Tree of Life,
1944
+
1945
+
1946
+ Mystery of mysteries.
1947
+ He who hath found peace
1948
+ With the teachings of the Ancients,
1949
+ Through the light of the mind,
1950
+ Through the light of nature,
1951
+ And through the study of the Holy Word,
1952
+ Hath entered the cloud-filled
1953
+ Hall of the Ancients,
1954
+
1955
+ Where dwelleth the Holy Brotherhood,
1956
+ of whom no man may speak.
1957
+ Know this peace with thy mind,
1958
+ Desire this peace with thy heart,
1959
+
1960
+
1961
+ Fulfill this peace with thy body.
1962
+
1963
+
1964
+ Blessed is the Child of Light
1965
+ Who knoweth his Earthly Mother,
1966
+ For she is the giver of life.
1967
+ Know that thy Mother is in thee,
1968
+ And thou art in her.
1969
+
1970
+ She bore thee
1971
+ And she giveth thee life.
1972
+
1973
+ She it was who gaveth thee thy body,
1974
+
1975
+
1976
+ And to her shalt thou one day
1977
+
1978
+
1979
+ Give it back again.
1980
+ Know that the blood which runs in thee
1981
+ is born of the blood
1982
+ Of thy Earthly Mother.
1983
+
1984
+ Her blood falls from the clouds,
1985
+ Leaps up from the womb of the earth,
1986
+ Babbles in the brooks of the mountains,
1987
+ Flows wide in the rivers of the plains,
1988
+ Sleeps in the lakes,
1989
+
1990
+ Rages mightily in the tempestuous seas.
1991
+ Know that the air which thou dost breathe
1992
+ Is born of the breath
1993
+ Of thy Earthly Mother.
1994
+
1995
+ Her breath is azure
1996
+ In the heights of the heavens,
1997
+ Soughs in the tops of the mountains,
1998
+ Whispers in the leaves of the forest,
1999
+ Billows over the cornfields,
2000
+ Slumbers in the deep valleys,
2001
+ Bums hot in the desert.
2002
+
2003
+ Know that the hardness of thy bones
2004
+ Is born of the bones
2005
+
2006
+
2007
+ Of thy Earthly Mother,
2008
+
2009
+
2010
+ Of the rocks and of the stones.
2011
+ Know that the tenderness of thy flesh
2012
+ Is born of the flesh
2013
+ Of thy Earthly Mother,
2014
+
2015
+ She whose flesh waxeth yellow and red
2016
+ In the fruits of the trees.
2017
+
2018
+ The light of thy eyes,
2019
+
2020
+ The hearing of thy ears,
2021
+
2022
+ These are born
2023
+ Of the colors and the sounds
2024
+ Of thy Earthly Mother,
2025
+
2026
+ Which doth enclose thee about,
2027
+
2028
+ As the waves of the sea enclose a fish,
2029
+ As the eddying air a bird.
2030
+
2031
+ I tell thee in truth,
2032
+
2033
+ Man is the Son
2034
+ Of the Earthly Mother,
2035
+
2036
+ And from her did the Son of Man
2037
+ Receive his whole body,
2038
+
2039
+ Even as the body of the newborn babe
2040
+ Is born of the womb of his mother.
2041
+
2042
+ I tell thee truly,
2043
+
2044
+
2045
+ Thou art one with the Earthly Mother;
2046
+
2047
+
2048
+ She is in thee, and thou art in her.
2049
+ Of her wert thou born,
2050
+ In her dost thou live,
2051
+ And to her shalt thou return again.
2052
+ Keep, therefore, her laws,
2053
+ For none can live long,
2054
+ Neither be happy,
2055
+ But he who honors his Earthly Mother
2056
+ And keepeth her laws.
2057
+ For thy breath is her breath,
2058
+ Thy blood her blood,
2059
+ Thy bone her bone,
2060
+ Thy flesh her flesh,
2061
+ Thy eyes and thy ears
2062
+ Are her eyes and her ears.
2063
+ He who hath found peace
2064
+ With his Earthly Mother
2065
+ Shall never know death.
2066
+ Know this peace with thy mind,
2067
+
2068
+
2069
+ Desire this peace with thy heart,
2070
+
2071
+
2072
+ Blessed is the Child of Light
2073
+
2074
+
2075
+ Who doth seek his Heavenly Father,
2076
+
2077
+
2078
+ For he shall have eternal life.
2079
+ He that dwelleth in the secret place
2080
+ Of the Most High
2081
+ Shall abide under the shadow
2082
+ of the Almighty.
2083
+
2084
+ For he shall give his Angels charge over thee,
2085
+ To keep thee in all thy ways.
2086
+ Know ye that the Lord hath been
2087
+ our dwelling place
2088
+ In all generations.
2089
+
2090
+ Before the mountains were brought forth,
2091
+ Or ever he had formed
2092
+ The earth and the world,
2093
+
2094
+ Even from everlasting to everlasting,
2095
+ Hath there been love
2096
+ Between the Heavenly Father
2097
+ And his children.
2098
+
2099
+ And how shall this love be severed?
2100
+ From the beginning
2101
+ Until the ending of time
2102
+ Doth the holy flame of love
2103
+ Encircle the heads
2104
+
2105
+
2106
+ Of the Heavenly Father
2107
+
2108
+
2109
+ And the Children of Light:
2110
+
2111
+ How then shall this love be extinguished?
2112
+ Ye that love thy Heavenly Father,
2113
+ Do ye then his bidding:
2114
+
2115
+ Walk ye with his Holy Angels,
2116
+ And find thy peace with his Holy Law.
2117
+ For his Law is the entire Law:
2118
+ Yea, it is the Law of laws.
2119
+ Through his Law he hath made
2120
+ The earth and the heavens to be one;
2121
+ The mountains and the sea
2122
+ Are his footstools.
2123
+
2124
+ With his hands he hath made us
2125
+ And fashioned us,
2126
+
2127
+ And he gaveth us understanding
2128
+ That we may learn his Law.
2129
+
2130
+ He is covered with Light
2131
+ As with a garment:
2132
+
2133
+ He stretcheth out the heavens
2134
+ Like a curtain.
2135
+
2136
+ He maketh the clouds his chariot;
2137
+ He walketh upon the wings of the wind.
2138
+
2139
+
2140
+ He sendeth the springs into the valleys,
2141
+
2142
+
2143
+ And his breath is in the mighty trees.
2144
+ In his hand are the deep places of the earth:
2145
+ The strength of the hills is his also.
2146
+ The sea is his,
2147
+
2148
+ And his hands formed the dry land.
2149
+ All the heavens declare the Glory of God,
2150
+ And the firmament showeth his Law.
2151
+ And to his children
2152
+ Doth he bequeath his Kingdom,
2153
+
2154
+ To those who walk with his Angels,
2155
+ And find their peace with his Holy Law.
2156
+ Wouldst thou know more, my children?
2157
+ How may we speak with our lips
2158
+ That which cannot be spoken?
2159
+
2160
+ It is like a pomegranate eaten by a mute:
2161
+ How then may he tell of its flavor?
2162
+
2163
+ If we say the Heavenly Father
2164
+ Dwelleth within us,
2165
+
2166
+ Then are the heavens ashamed;
2167
+
2168
+ If we say he dwelleth without us,
2169
+
2170
+ It is falsehood.
2171
+
2172
+ The eye which scanneth the far horizon
2173
+
2174
+
2175
+ And the eye which seeth the hearts of men
2176
+
2177
+
2178
+ He maketh as one eye.
2179
+ He is not manifest,
2180
+ He is not hidden.
2181
+ He is not revealed,
2182
+ Nor is he unrevealed.
2183
+ My children, there are no words
2184
+ To tell that which he is!
2185
+ Only this do we know:
2186
+ We are his children,
2187
+ And he is our Father.
2188
+ He is our God,
2189
+ And we are the children of his pasture,
2190
+ And the sheep of his hand.
2191
+ He who hath found peace
2192
+ With his Heavenly Father
2193
+ Hath entered the Sanctuary
2194
+ of the Holy Law,
2195
+ And hath made a covenant with God
2196
+ Which shall endure forever.
2197
+ Know this peace with thy mind,
2198
+ Desire this peace with thy heart,
2199
+ Fulfill this peace with thy body,
2200
+
2201
+
2202
+ Though heaven and earth may pass away,
2203
+
2204
+
2205
+ Not one letter of the Holy Law
2206
+ Shall change or pass away.
2207
+ For in the beginning was the Law,
2208
+ And the Law was with God,
2209
+ And the Law was God.
2210
+
2211
+ May the Sevenfold Peace
2212
+ Of the Heavenly Father
2213
+
2214
+
2215
+ Be with thee always.
2216
+
2217
+
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1
+ Tabla de Esmeralda
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+
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+
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+ Hermes Trismegisto
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+
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+
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+ mentarios a la Tabla de Esmeralda
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+ : Hortulano
9
+
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+ La Tabla de Esmeralda
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+ Fulcanelli
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+
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+
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+ ediciones
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+
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+
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+ La Tabla de Esmeralda.
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+
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+
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+ Jorge A. Mestas Ediciones.
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+ Avda. de Guadalix, 103.
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+ 28120 ALGETE (Madrid).
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+ España.
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+
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+ Tfno: (34) 91 886 43 80
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+ Fax: (34) 91 886 47 19
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+ Email: jamestas Oarrakis.es
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+
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+
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+ S999
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+
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+ BY NC SA
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+
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+
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+ O Miguel Angel Muñoz Moya.
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+ O de la presente edición: Jorge A. Mestas Ediciones.
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+
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+
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+ ISBN: 978-84-95311-52-9
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+ DL: M-32558-201 1
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+
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+
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+ LA
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+ TABLA
46
+ DE
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+ ESMERALDA
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+
49
+
50
+ Los contenidos de este libro pueden ser
51
+ reproducidos en todo o en parte, siempre
52
+ y cuando se cite la fuente y se haga con
53
+ fines académicos y no comerciales
54
+
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+
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+ ÍNDICE
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+
58
+
59
+ INTRODUCCION codoccococonononnoonacononnrnos 9
60
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
61
+
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+ La Tabla de Esmeralda de Hermes Trismegisto
63
+ SN 35
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+ Otra versión de la Tabla de Esmeralda ........ 39
65
+ Una versión más de la Tabla de Esmeralda .... 41
66
+ Versión simbólica de La Tabla de Esmeralda ... 43
67
+
68
+
69
+ EXPLICACIÓN DE LA TABLA DE ESME-
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+
71
+
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+ RADLDA por Hortulano ..ooniocnnniicinioncccc.. 47
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+ El Arte de Alquimia es verdadero y cierto... 3
74
+ La Piedra debe ser dividida en dos partes .... 54
75
+ La Piedra tiene en sí los cuatro elementos ... 55
76
+ La Piedra tiene padre y madre, que son el
77
+
78
+ Soly la LUNA eiii 56
79
+ La conjunción de las partes es la concepción
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+
81
+ y la generación de la PiedTa ......oooooinccnnoc...... 57
82
+ La Piedra es perfecta si el Alma es fijada
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+
84
+ Eme CUETPO siii li iócis 58
85
+
86
+
87
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
88
+
89
+
90
+ La mondificación de la Piedra o...
91
+ La parte no fija de la Piedra debe separar la
92
+ parte fija y elevarla .oooonnocnnnnicinncnnnncnom..
93
+ La Piedra volátil debe ser fijada una segunda
94
+
95
+
96
+ De la utilidad de Arte y de la eficacia de la
97
+ Piedra dias
98
+ El Magisterio imita la creación del
99
+ UNIVERSO ato
100
+ Declaración enigmática de la materia
101
+
102
+ della Piedra acota ictiada
103
+
104
+
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+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA.
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+
107
+
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+ por Fulcanelli
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+ INtrOdUCCI Maira ran
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+
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+
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+ La Tabla de Esmeralda ..oooncnnonicnnnnnnninn..
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+
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+ Es verdad, sin mentira... 78.- El Sol es su padre..., 80.-
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+
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+ ... y la luna su madre, 81.- El viento lo ha llevado... 82.-
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+ La tierra es su nodriza..., 82.- El Padre de todo..., 84.-
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+ Separarás la tierra del fuego..., 85.- Sube de la tierra, 86.-
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+ Así tendrás la glroa del mundo..., 86.
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+
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+
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+ 60
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+
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+
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+ 61
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+ 62
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+ 63
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+ 64
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+ 66
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+ 68
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+
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+
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+ 71
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+ 77
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+
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+
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+ INTRODUCCIÓN
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+
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+
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+ La tabla de Esmeralda es un texto clásico atribui-
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+ do a Hermes Trismegisto del que, sin excepción, se
150
+ reclaman discípulos todos los alquimistas. Estos en-
151
+ cuentran en sus enseñanzas el resumen más conciso,
152
+ pero también el más complejo, del arte hermético.
153
+
154
+
155
+ Existen numerosas versiones de dicho texto, con
156
+ variaciones a veces importantes. J. Ruska ha realizado
157
+ un profundo estudio de ella sobre la base de cinco
158
+ manuscritos árabes de los que hizo una edición crítica.
159
+
160
+ Hemos traducido aquí la edición príncipe editada
161
+ en Nuremberg, y otras versiones de revistas o libros
162
+ especializados en alquimia.
163
+
164
+
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+ Además de las diversas versiones escritas de La tabla
166
+ de Esmeralda, incluimos también una versión gráfica en
167
+ lenguaje simbólico: la plancha 95 del Viridarium
168
+ Chymicum,que así setitula, Tabula Smaragdina Hermetis.
169
+
170
+
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+ 1.- Tabula Smaragdina, Julio Ruska, Heidelberg, 1926
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+
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+
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+ -9-
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+
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+
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+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
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+
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+
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+ El lector atento podrá encontrar importantes varia-
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+ ciones entre las diversas versiones escritas, así como
182
+ entre ellas y los comentarios de Hortulano. Igual
183
+ ocurre con muchos textos de los maestros. Sirva el
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+ hecho para que el estudiante procure leer siempre los
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+ textos originales, vigile las traducciones, y huya de los
186
+ charlatanes pasados y presentes.
187
+
188
+
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+ Las alteraciones de los textos proceden de la falta
190
+ de trabajo en laboratorio. Como no se puede esperar
191
+ quetodos los traductores, editores y publicistas diversos
192
+ que se ocupan de alquimia sean alquimistas, el verda-
193
+ dero discípulo tiene que ir un día u otro al laboratorio
194
+ y elucidar por sí mismo.
195
+
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+
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+ Cuando las alteraciones de los textos no son produc-
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+ to de la mala fe, suelen estar originadas por la actitud
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+ mental con la que se aborda la alquimia.
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+
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+
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+ Tres son los tipos más frecuentes de estas Ópticas
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+ generadoras de alteraciones, las tres equivocadas a
204
+ nuestro juicio, con las que nos hemos encontrado a lo
205
+ largo de nuestro trabajo.
206
+
207
+ Una es la alquimia «espiritual».
208
+
209
+ Estudiando la historia de la alquimia se pueden hacer
210
+ varias constataciones. Una de ellas, evidentísima, es que
211
+ consiste en un saber respecto a, relacionado con la natura-
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+ leza, con la $uvo1o?. Al menos esta primera constatación
213
+
214
+
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+ 2.- La palabra física no tenía entre los griegos el sentidorestringido
216
+ que ordinariamente se le da hoy. Derivada del verbo fuo nacer,
217
+ producir, significaba naturaleza.
218
+
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+
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+ -10-
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+
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+
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+ INTRODUCCIÓN
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+
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+
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+ nos permite sospechar que la alquimia no es solo un saber
227
+ «espiritual» sino que tiene que ver con la materia en su
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+ sentido ordinario, con minerales, animales y vegetales
229
+ considerados desde el punto de vista de las ciencias
230
+ naturales. Todos los adeptos han insistido en ello. Que la
231
+ alquimia sea madre de la química moderna no es pues
232
+ ninguna casualidad. Parece que cualquier disciplina ale-
233
+ jada del laboratorio no puede ser llamada alquimia.
234
+
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+
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+ Claude d“Y ge resume muy bien esta manera de
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+ pensar.
238
+
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+
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+ «Quienes piensen que la Alquimia es estrictamente espiri-
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+ tual que se abstengan; quienes piensen que la Alquimia es
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+ sólo un símbolo para desvelar analógicamente el proceso de
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+ la “realización espiritual”, en suma, que el hombre es la
244
+ materia y el atanor de la Obra, que abandonen sus proyec-
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+ tos.»*
246
+
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+
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+ La observación no es superflua. Permite al estudioso
249
+ deslindar la alquimia de las «solicitudes engañosas o insen-
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+ satas» como las llama Canseliet. Dicho autor, junto con otros
251
+ muchos contemporáneos, coloca entre estas solicitaciones al
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+ psicoanálisis -Bachelard y particularmente el desarrollado
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+ por Jung- y también a algunas teorías espiritualistas en boga.
254
+ Fuera de la alquimia quedarían algunas corrientes especula-
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+ tivas abstractas. Emmanuel d“Hooghvorst, un estudioso
256
+ contemporáneo del Arte que, con ecuanimidad separa unos
257
+ terrenos de otros, detalla estas corrientes entre las que coloca
258
+
259
+
260
+ 3.- Nouvelle Assemblée des Philosophes Chymiques. Dervy
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+ Livres. París, 1954.
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+
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+
264
+ AT
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+
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+
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+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
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+
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+
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+ a la simbología abstracta, a la exuberantísima metafísica
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+ hindú, a la alquimia entendida como método de realización
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+ mística...etc.*
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+
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+
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+ Otra concepción de la alquimia a nuestro parecer no
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+ acorde con laenseñanza de los maestroses la «cientista».
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+
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+
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+ Según esta manera de ver, los alquimistas aborda-
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+ rían la realidad a su manera, con sus métodos, y así
281
+ habrían obtenido resultados, algunos de los cuales
282
+ confirma y "descubre" hoy otro camino de búsqueda, la
283
+ ciencia moderna, mientras que no pocos de estos resul-
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+ tados los alquimistas los saben pero los científicos no,
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+ o no todavía. Según esta concepción «cientista» la
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+ alquimia sería una ciencia -sus resultados experimen-
287
+ tales han sido tan ampliamente divulgados que ya no se
288
+ pueden ignorar pura y simplemente- de la que solo
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+ haría falta conocer el modus operandi.
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+
291
+
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+ Pero semejante concepción es difícil de ser manteni-
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+ daa menos que resuelva los problemas con los que setopa.
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+
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+
296
+ No quedan explicados lor orígenes de tal saber.
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+ Para ello se ha echado mano de extraterrestres, de
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+ Atlántidas y de civilizaciones desaparecidas. Otros
299
+ hanexplorado y continúan explorando los libros sagra-
300
+ dos de diversas tradiciones o algunos saberes iniciáticos.
301
+
302
+
303
+ 4.- El lector interesado puede consultar: Emmanuel dHooghvorst,
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+ Essai sur [Art d'Alchymie, Inconnues et leur solution, vol 5. P.
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+ Genillard. Lausanne, 1951. Edición española: Emmanuel
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+ d'Hooghvorst, Ensayo sobre el Arte de la Alquimia, Ed. 7 1/2.
307
+ Barcelona 1980.
308
+
309
+
310
+ -12-
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+
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+
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+ INTRODUCCIÓN
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+
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+
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+ Pueden admitirse a título de hipótesis algunas de estas
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+ explicaciones pero, en todo caso, ninguna de ellas
318
+ pertenece al reino de la ciencia positiva en el que se
319
+ mueve la concepción «cientista» de la alquimia. Ade-
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+ más, no parece lógico admitir una parte de la explica-
321
+ ción sin aceptar el resto, máxime cuando la inmensa
322
+ mayoría de estas hipotéticas explicaciones -por no
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+ decir todas- conducen inmediata y directamente a una
324
+ cosmovisión distinta de la de la ciencia actual.
325
+
326
+
327
+ Otra dificultad es la del lenguaje de los Adeptos
328
+ completamente incomprensible en las primeras aproxi-
329
+ maciones. Su hermetismo declarado y afirmado expre-
330
+ samente como barrera para los no dignos; su manifes-
331
+ tado juramento de secreto respecto a aspectos principa-
332
+ les de la Obra. ¿Qué clase de ciencia es ésta que se
333
+ esconde? ¿Por qué?
334
+
335
+ Algunos pretenden que la dificultad de este len-
336
+ guaje consistiría unicamente en su simbolismo: basta-
337
+ ría descifrarlo para entenderlo todo. No dudamos que
338
+ los numerosos estudios de simbología contribuirán
339
+ ciertamente a esclarecer determinados problemas de
340
+ lenguaje. Pero la alquimia, aunque en verdad habla por
341
+ alegoría, no podrá ser desentrañada por los simbolistas
342
+ porque no es una criptografía a descifrar sino, como
343
+ dicen sus Adeptos, un don de Dios.
344
+
345
+
346
+ La profunda religiosidad de los Adeptos no cuadra
347
+ tampoco con las pretensiones «cientistas» para explicar
348
+ la alquimia. Según ellos no sólo es un don de Dios el
349
+
350
+
351
+ -13-
352
+
353
+
354
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
355
+
356
+
357
+ conocimiento, digamos práctico, que permite obtener la
358
+ piedra, sino también la vocación alquímica. El amor a
359
+ Dios y la caridad con el prójimo, son de rigor entre todos
360
+ los filósofos químicos, como igualmente lo son las
361
+ invocaciones al cielo. Diversas escuelas pretenden no
362
+ solo reducir esta religiosidad privándola de su carácter
363
+ trascendente, sino que también se la quiere “cientifizar”
364
+ incluso basándose en los propios textos alquímicos. Las
365
+ alusiones alquímicas al cielo se transforman así exclusi-
366
+ vamente en cuestión de fuerzas cósmicas desconocidas
367
+ de naturaleza únicamente física.
368
+
369
+
370
+ Sabido es que la Obra necesita determinadas condi-
371
+ ciones exteriores: sub dio in prato quodan die serena
372
+ quadam? y que estas condiciones están relacionadas con
373
+ los astros,con el cosmos. En las ilustraciones alquímicas
374
+ no sólo aparecen el sol, la luna y los planetas, sino que
375
+ hay precisiones verdaderamente concretas. El carnero,
376
+ el toro y los gemelos (Aries, Taurus y Géminis), es decir,
377
+ los tres meses de la estación primaveral en la que los
378
+ astros están dispuestos de una determinada manera,
379
+ presiden fases de la Obra. El Mutus Liber dibuja en sus
380
+ láminas un abanico de rayos con franjas alternadas de
381
+ rayas y puntos, que caen sobre la tierra desde el centro
382
+ del cielo, desde un punto equidistante del Sol y la Luna,
383
+ y por encima de ellos, mientras que dos campesinos
384
+ cosechan el rocío. Se trata «sin disfraz -dice Canseliet-
385
+
386
+
387
+ 5.- En pleno aire, en un cierto prado, cierto día sereno (Cosmo-
388
+ polita: Diálogo del mercurio y el alquimista).
389
+
390
+
391
+ -14-
392
+
393
+
394
+ INTRODUCCIÓN
395
+
396
+
397
+ del método que utilizábamos nosotros mismos al princi-
398
+ pio». Algunos textos son particularmente explícitos.
399
+
400
+
401
+ Todo ello confirma sobradamente que la obra tiene
402
+ que ver con el cielo físico, con la energía cósmica, «...
403
+ con el agente principal del movimiento y de las trans-
404
+ formaciones sobre la superficie terrestre y el centro de
405
+ la Tierra, cuya intervención diferencia a la Alquimia de
406
+ la Química»?
407
+
408
+ Así pues tienen razón quienes subrayan el compo-
409
+ nente «cósmico» de la alquimia. Y la ciencia positiva
410
+ se dirige y se dirigirá aun en mayor medida por este
411
+ camino para profundizar el conocimiento de la natura-
412
+ leza y el hombre.
413
+
414
+
415
+ Pero de la misma manera que se ha revelado
416
+ unilateral asimilar la alquimia a la química, tambien es
417
+ unilateral asimilarla a este otro saber «cósmico». Dice
418
+ Juan Febro:
419
+
420
+
421
+ «Pero el influjo celeste no es nada más que la bebida caliente
422
+ natural del mundo y el estimulante, el sostén de la vida de
423
+ todo lo que es sublunar»”
424
+
425
+
426
+ Opinión que no es aislada sino general. Citemos de
427
+ nuevo a Claude d Y ge:
428
+
429
+
430
+ Quienes piensen que la Alquimia es de naturaleza terrestre,
431
+ mineral y metálica, que se abstengan .»*
432
+
433
+
434
+ 6.- Canseliet, op. cit.
435
+ 7.- Citado por Canseliet. op. cit.
436
+ 8.- Op. cit.
437
+
438
+
439
+ -15-
440
+
441
+
442
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
443
+
444
+
445
+ Así pues nos encontramos frente a una disciplina
446
+ que, al decir de sus Adeptos, no es de naturaleza
447
+ espiritual exclusivamente, ni tampoco exclusivamente
448
+ de naturaleza terrestre.
449
+
450
+
451
+ Las dos concepciones someramente analizadas, la
452
+ “espiritual” y la “cientista”, no acordes a nuestro juicio
453
+ con lo que dicen los maestros, han sido las más frecuen-
454
+ tes fuentes de aproximaciones incorrectas a la alqui-
455
+ mia. Y en gran medida lo siguen siendo, al menos entre
456
+ quienes se acercan a ella. En un foro de alquimia en
457
+ español que conocemos en Internet”, hemos podido
458
+ leer formulaciones puras de la concepción «espiri-
459
+ tual», estando sin embargo la mayor parte de las
460
+ intervenciones animadas por la concepción «cientista».
461
+
462
+
463
+ Pero aun queda una tercera concepcion no acorde
464
+ a nuestro juicio con la enseñanza de los maestros, que
465
+ hemos encontrado entre quienes ya tienen un cierto
466
+ grado de conocimientos.
467
+
468
+
469
+ Sila alquimia no es ni exclusivamente espiritual ni
470
+ exclusivamente material, la tentación «panteista» como
471
+ intento de explicación es inmediata.
472
+
473
+
474
+ Lo que está abajo es como lo que está ariba, dice
475
+ la Tabla de Esmeralda. Esta aseveración permite que se
476
+ la interprete como la unicidad de todo lo existente, rav
477
+ Beo0,todoes Dios. Espíritu y materia se interpenetrarían
478
+
479
+
480
+ 9.- Se trata del foro de alquimia forumalg. Existen otros foros :
481
+ públicos y privados
482
+
483
+
484
+ -16-
485
+
486
+
487
+ INTRODUCCIÓN
488
+
489
+
490
+ eigualarían en una sola realidad: lo que existe. Bastaría
491
+ tomar cualquier parcela de la realidad para reconstruir
492
+ el todo; más precisamente, el todo se encontraría ínte-
493
+ gro y cabal en cualquiera de sus partes, solo hace falta
494
+ saber verlo. En la mancha del jaguar estaría completo
495
+ el universo, dice el escritor Borges.'*
496
+
497
+
498
+ La idea de que en la parte está reflejado el todo
499
+ como de manera concentradaes una noción fecundísima
500
+ que, por desgracia, apenas ha sido aprovechada toda-
501
+ vía. Cuando se aplica a algún dominio concreto, por
502
+ ejemplo a la medicina, produce resultados sorprenden-
503
+ tes. Hay médicos que saben ver en iris del ojo humano
504
+ un reflejo, una proyección de los órganos y sistemas
505
+ que componen el cuerpo así como de su funcionamien-
506
+ to'!. Otros encuentran dicha proyección en las diversas
507
+ partes del rostro, en las uñas, en los pies, etc. Todos
508
+ ellos pueden curar (a condición que conozcan su cien-
509
+ cia, claro).
510
+
511
+ Los resultados serían igualmente fructíferos si
512
+ supiéramos aplicar esta idea fecunda a otras parcelas
513
+ de la realidad.
514
+
515
+
516
+ Pero pese a que el panteismo es una concepción
517
+ elaborada hace tiempo esta óptica «proyectista»! ape-
518
+
519
+
520
+ 10.- En la serie de relatos que titula «El Aleph»
521
+
522
+ 11.- El lector puede encontrar un estudio bastante detallado en
523
+ Bernard Jensen, Ciencia y práctica de la iridología, Editorial
524
+ Yug, México, 1980.
525
+
526
+ 12.- ¿Ha pensado el lector que el «polvo» con el que los alquimistas
527
+ transmutan cualquier metal imperfecto en oro es llamado por ellos
528
+
529
+
530
+ E
531
+
532
+
533
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
534
+
535
+
536
+ nas empieza a esbozarse ahora como ciencia, de lo cual
537
+ no podemos sino lamentarnos.
538
+
539
+
540
+ Pero aun cuando se constituya este cuerpo de
541
+ conocimientos con el cual la ciencia avanzaría a pasos
542
+ de gigante, sería, al menos desde el punto de vista de la
543
+ alquimia, aproximativo, imperfecto, mientras perma-
544
+ nezca en el marco de la teoría que los sustenta.
545
+
546
+
547
+ El xa Beoo permite explicarteóricamenteel cosmos,
548
+ superando la dualidad materia-espíritu tal como venía'?
549
+ siendo generalmente entendida desde hace tiempo. Pero
550
+ dicha dualidad procede de un conocimiento insuficiente de
551
+ la materia, de su identificación y reducción a una de las
552
+ formas en que esta se manifiesta. La diferencia de los
553
+ hermetistas entre materia "burda" y las diversas clases de
554
+ materia sutil hubiera contribuido a evitar este embrollo!*.
555
+
556
+
557
+ «polvo de proyección»? Siendo en su opinión el metal oro el que
558
+ resume de manera más perfecta la naturaleza de los metales ¿sería
559
+ azaroso este adjetivo «de proyección» aplicado al «polvo»?
560
+ 13.- Decimos venía, en pasado, porque la formulación de la teoría
561
+ general de la relatividad a principios del siglo XX, inició el
562
+ desmoronamiento de la separación tradicional entre materia y
563
+ formas no materiales que hasta entonces postulaba la ciencia. Que
564
+ la gravedad y otras formas de energía pueden, en determinadas
565
+ condiciones, crear «materia» ha sido comprobado posteriormente
566
+ de manera experimental. La astrofísica, la física de partículas y
567
+ especialmente la física cuántica han acabado con tal separación.
568
+ 14.- Las insólitas realizaciones de las llamadas paraciencias no
569
+ consisten sino en la aplicación de estos conceptos herméticos
570
+ acerca de las diferentes clases de materia y sus propiedades, a
571
+ diversas parcelas de la realidad (por ahora casi exclusivamente
572
+ limitadas al psiquismo humano).
573
+
574
+
575
+ - 18 -
576
+
577
+
578
+ INTRODUCCIÓN
579
+
580
+
581
+ El panteismo reune y unifica esta "materia" y este
582
+ "espíritu", cuyos límites la ciencia positiva empieza a
583
+ no saber donde se encuentra ni si es que lo hay, y los
584
+ declara la totalidad de lo existente, butizándolos de
585
+ divinos. En última instancia es un monismo inmanente
586
+ y no es un azar ni una incoherencia que fuera declarado
587
+ herético por las religiones trascendentes. Refiriéndose
588
+ a la posible existencia de algo más que trascendiera a
589
+ este uorv Beoo, Spinoza declaraba: [gnorantia non est
590
+ argumentum.
591
+
592
+
593
+ Efectivamente. Desde el punto de vista racional,
594
+ que no es el único que permite dar cuenta de lo
595
+ existente, la ignorancia no es un argumento. Pero no lo
596
+ es ni en un sentido ni en otro. En todo caso, los
597
+ alquimistas postulan energicamente la existencia de un
598
+ Dios trascendente creador de los cielos y la tierra.
599
+ Hacen suyas las palabras de la Biblia:
600
+
601
+
602
+ «Vanos son todos los hombres en quienes no se halla el
603
+ conocimiento de Dios.... no pudieron entender al que es...
604
+ sino que creyeron que el fuego, o el viento, o el aire
605
+ presuroso, o el Sol y la Luna, son los dioses que gobiernan
606
+ al mundo.Concuya belleza, estando enamorados, tuviéronlos
607
+ por dioses: sepan cuanto más bello es el señor de ellos...»!*
608
+
609
+
610
+ Los alquimistas afirman que la Gran Obra debe ser
611
+ comparada a la creación del universo:
612
+
613
+
614
+ 15.- Sabiduría XUL, | y ss.
615
+
616
+
617
+ -19-
618
+
619
+
620
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
621
+
622
+
623
+ «Que el hijo de los filósofos escuche a los sabios que
624
+ unánimemente concluyeron que esta obra debe ser compa-
625
+ rada a la creación del universo»'*
626
+
627
+
628
+ «La generación de la piedra se hace al ejemplo de la creación
629
+ del mundo»'”
630
+
631
+
632
+ Panteismo y alquimia tienen un punto parecido:
633
+ que lo que está abajo es como lo que está arriba, que
634
+ todo es uno.
635
+
636
+
637
+ «Entonces el Hombre'*, que tenía poderes plenos sobre el
638
+ mundo de los seres mortales y de los animales sin razón, se
639
+
640
+
641
+ 16.- Filaleteo, La entrada abierta al palacio cerrado del rey.
642
+ Editorial 7 1/2, Barcelona, 1979. Cap. V-1, pág 51.
643
+
644
+ 17.- Jean d Espagnet, Arcanum Hermetice opus,canon LXXXIN
645
+ 18.- Este Hombre, no es un hombre ordinario. Hermes Trismegisto
646
+ dice de él (Poimandres I, 12):«Entonces el Nous, padre de todos
647
+ los seres, produjo un Hombre parecido a él». Latradición cristiana
648
+ lo define diciendo (Gen. 1, 6) «Y dijo Dios: hagamos al Hombre a
649
+ nuestra imagen, conforme a nuestra semejanza». Es el Adan
650
+ Cadmon de los cabalistas. Este Hombre es explicado de la
651
+ siguiente manera (Jacob Lorber, Obispo Martín, 75, 16. Muñoz
652
+ Moya editor, Sevilla 1989): «Referente a los sistemas solares la
653
+ Nueva Revelación nos dice: El sol de nuestro sistema planetario es
654
+ un sol del quinto orden. Junto con una gran cantidad de otros soles
655
+ del quinto orden, de los que Alfa Centauri es nuestro sol vecino
656
+ más cercano, gira alrededor de un sol central del cuarto orden;
657
+ todo este conjunto forma un campo solar.
658
+
659
+ Incontables soles centrales del cuarto orden, es decir,
660
+ campos solares enteros, giran alrededor de un sol central del
661
+ tercer orden, formando con este una región solar.
662
+
663
+ Una cantidad inimaginable de soles centrales del tercer
664
+ orden, es decir, regiones solares enteras, giran alrededor de un
665
+
666
+
667
+ -20 -
668
+
669
+
670
+ INTRODUCCIÓN
671
+
672
+
673
+ descolgó a través de la armoniosa maquinaria compuesta de
674
+ las esferas cuyas envolturas había agujereado y manifestó la
675
+ hermosa forma de Dios a la Naturaleza de abajo. Cuando
676
+ ésta hubo visto que el Hombre poseía la forma de Dios junto
677
+ con la belleza inagotable y toda la energía de los gobernado-
678
+ res, sonrió de amor: pues había visto reflejarse en el Agua el
679
+ semblante de esta forma maravillosamente hermosa del
680
+ hombre, y a su sombra sobre la Tierra. En tanto que él,
681
+ habiendo visto reverberar en el Agua la presencia de esta
682
+ forma parecida suya, la amó y quiso morar en ella. Desde el
683
+ mismo momento que lo quiso lo cumplió. La Naturaleza
684
+ entonces, recibiendo en ella a su amado, lo abrazó entera, y
685
+ ambos se unieron ardiendo de amor.»'”
686
+
687
+
688
+ Pero mientras que el panteismo afirma esta unidad
689
+ como sustancial, como de derecho propio, como iden-
690
+ tidad, la alquimia la proclama como prestada, proyec-
691
+ tada, refleja, otra, sin entidad propia, como un don y
692
+
693
+
694
+ sol central del segundo orden, formando con este un universo
695
+ solar. Y finalmente, un número increíble de soles centrales del
696
+ segundo orden, es decir, universos solares enteros, giran alrede-
697
+ dor de un sol central principal, formando con este una enorme
698
+ vaina globular que ya no gira.
699
+
700
+ Incontables vainas globulares forman el microcosmo del gran
701
+ hombre cósmico: la creación física mayor de que nos habla la
702
+ Nueva Revelación recibida en los años 1850 por Jakob Lorber.
703
+ Mientras tanto la astronomía moderna ya ha podido localizar unos
704
+ cuantos soles centrales del cuarto orden a causa de su extraordina-
705
+ ria radiación (los cuásares); pero falta todavía que comprenda su
706
+ función como soles del cuarto orden. Luego quedan por descubrir
707
+ los soles centrales de los demás órdenes superiores, etc.
708
+
709
+ 19.- Hermes Trismegisto, Poimandres 1, Muñoz Moya y Montra-
710
+ veta editor, Sevilla 2000. I, 147. (http://www.mmoya.com)
711
+
712
+
713
+ -21-
714
+
715
+
716
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
717
+
718
+
719
+ una gracia. Si para el panteista la naturaleza es Dios,
720
+ para el adepto es sólo un reflejo de Dios. Ambos
721
+ coinciden en ver las manifestaciones del mundo
722
+ sublunar, pero mientra el panteista afirma que no existe
723
+ nada más, la alquimia afirma que Dios existe aparte y
724
+ que todo ello no es sino su reflejo.
725
+
726
+
727
+ Así pues no hay posibilidad de confusión: la alqui-
728
+ mia no es un panteismo.
729
+
730
+
731
+ Es más fácil decir lo que no es la alquimia que lo
732
+ que sí es.
733
+
734
+
735
+ Si examinamos su historia podemos hacer la consta-
736
+ tación de que siempre ha explicado lo mismo. Natural-
737
+ mente, sus enseñanzas se han presentado vestidas con el
738
+ lenguaje propio, más exactamente, con el pensamiento
739
+ propio de cada época”. Inmersa como está nuestra cultura
740
+ en la idea del progreso y la evolución resulta chocante a la
741
+ mentalidad contemporánea la existencia de algo que no
742
+ cambia a lo largo de varios millares de años, máxime
743
+ cuando este algo se presenta como un pensamiento total.
744
+ Dicha inmutabilidad permite suponer una concepción
745
+ totalmente ajena a cualquier «desarrollo» lineal o espiral
746
+
747
+
748
+ 20.- Así, por ejemplo, las abigarradas historias de las divinidades
749
+ griegas son, entre otras cosas, una manera de dejar constancia de las
750
+ operaciones de la obra. Su sentido puede ser comprendido según el
751
+ nivel de profundidad al que se examinen. El lector interesado puede
752
+ consultar el libro Les fables égiptiennes et grecques dévoilées et
753
+ reduites au méme principe, avec une explication, de Dom Pernety.
754
+ Chez Delalain, l'ainé, Libraire, Paris M.DCC.LXXXVI. Existe
755
+ edición moderna en Editions La Table dEmeraude. París 1991.
756
+
757
+
758
+ -22-
759
+
760
+
761
+ INTRODUCCIÓN
762
+
763
+
764
+ del mundo, a cualquier «expansión». Parece como si
765
+ hubiera mundos superpuestos unos a otros, telescópicos a
766
+ la manera delos catalejos plegables o de las muñecas rusas
767
+ (aunque esto es una manera analógica de expresarse).
768
+ Cada uno de ellos englobaría al inferior sin serenglobado
769
+ por él. Cada uno de los mundos englobados sería un
770
+ reflejo pálido del superior, a la manera del triángulo que
771
+ enelespaciode dos dimensiones, mediante la proyección,
772
+ refleja de alguna manera el triedro, cuerpo de un espacio
773
+ de tres dimensiones. En cada mundo inferior habría la
774
+ misma “pérdida de detalle” y, la vez, también el reflejo del
775
+ mundo superior. Esta manera de vernoes una concepción
776
+ específica de la alquimia, sino común a diversos saberes
777
+ herm��ticos -por ejemplo la cábala- y aotros queno lo son,
778
+ por ejemplo la mística.
779
+
780
+
781
+ Tampoco es una concepción específíca de la alqui-
782
+ mia el reconocimiento de que estos mundos no están
783
+ separados, de que existen puertas de comunicación
784
+ entre ellos, entre los diversos planos de existencia que
785
+ representan. Muchas ciencias ocultas coinciden en que
786
+ se puede pasar del mundo sublunar a los mundos
787
+ superiores. La alquimia se singulariza por algunos
788
+ rasgos específicos.
789
+
790
+
791
+ Uno es su materialidad. Ya hemos visto antes que
792
+ tiene que ver con las ciencias de la naturaleza; no es un
793
+ saber abstracto sino operativo, de laboratorio: los alqui-
794
+ mistas fabrican oro. Dicha fabricación no es un fin en sí
795
+ sino una de las consecuencias de aprender a conocer la
796
+
797
+
798
+ LG
799
+
800
+
801
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
802
+
803
+
804
+ naturaleza reproduciendo sus procesos: el alquimista
805
+ logra mediante el arte lo que ella crea sola, creación del
806
+ alquimista que es material, tangible. Pero no se detiene
807
+ en la transmutación de los metales: su objetivo es llevar
808
+ a la materia a un estado de fijeza perfecta, excluyendo la
809
+ alternativa de generación y corrupción que caracteriza a
810
+ nuestro mundo sublunar. En esta materia sublunar entra
811
+ el cuerpo humano al que también fija, socorriéndolo en
812
+ todas sus necesidades y asegurándole la posesión de la
813
+ vida, eternamente fijada.
814
+
815
+
816
+ De muchos de ellos se rumorea que alcanzaron la
817
+ inmortalidad: Filaleteo, el Cosmopolita, Christian
818
+ Rosenkreutz, etcétera.
819
+
820
+
821
+ La inmortalidad es pensable. El individuo no es sino
822
+ la conciencia de la propia identidad psicológica durante
823
+ un espacio de tiempo, identidad de la que se conoce una
824
+ parte de sus fundamentos materiales. La biología sabe hoy
825
+ que los caracteres físicos se transmiten e incluso se conoce
826
+ el mecanismo de la transmisión. También se tiene un
827
+ cierto conocimiento empírico de la transmisión de los
828
+ rasgos psicológicos, aunque la ciencia no está en medida
829
+ de explicar ni el mecanismo ni su fundamento. Se conoce
830
+ el asiento material de la memoria aunque se ignora si ésta
831
+ se transmite en el tiempo al igual que los rasgos físicos. La
832
+ psicología moderna -Jung y su escuela- afirma que sí y ha
833
+ llegado a la conclusión -por cierto empírica- de que existe
834
+ un depósito universal de lo memorizado durante siglos, al
835
+ que llama «inconsciente colectivo». Experiencias
836
+
837
+
838
+ -24-
839
+
840
+
841
+ INTRODUCCIÓN
842
+
843
+
844
+ hipnóticas han regresado al paciente no sólo a la infancia
845
+ y al periodo fetal, sino a vidas anteriores: sometidos a
846
+ tratamientos hablaron idiomas que desconocían en su
847
+ vida ordinaria y describieron lugares y costumbres des-
848
+ aparecidas varios siglos antes, extremos posteriormente
849
+ comprobados por historiadores y arqueólogos”. No hay a
850
+ priori ningún impedimento que niegue la posibilidad de
851
+ conocer dónde está esta conciencia individual que el
852
+ sujeto tiene de símismo, adónde pasa, cómo lo hace y cual
853
+ es el mecanismo para que esta conciencia que la materia
854
+ tiene de una de sus formas de existencia durante un
855
+ periodo de tiempo -la vida individual- tenga acceso al
856
+ almacén donde la única materia existente, sustancia de
857
+ todo el universo, guarde los recuerdos, las conciencias
858
+ individuales de sus otras formas de existencia en otros
859
+ periodos de lo que hemos dado en llamar tiempo”. Si una
860
+
861
+
862
+ 21.- Existe una abundante bibliografía al respecto. El lector
863
+ interesado puede consultar la tercera parte del libro Tres enfoques
864
+ sobre la reencarnación, de Sebastián de Araúco, espccialmente
865
+ el cap.I,La reencarnación y la ciencia, editado por el autor Vigo,
866
+ 1979, en donde encontrará abundante información. Igualmente
867
+ existen experiencias suficientes acerca de la trascensión del
868
+ espacio, videncias, premoniciones, etc., etc.
869
+
870
+ 22.- El hermetismo conoce este almacén: «En la sangre está
871
+ almacenado, por así decirlo, todo lo que el pasado material ha
872
+ edificado en el hombre». También sabe como leerlo: «En esos
873
+ casos... se sienten las imágenes del mundo externo; es decir, que
874
+ sus ascendientes están activos en su Sangre, y, enesas ocasiones,
875
+ se toma parte, confusa y vagamente, en sus vidas remotas».
876
+ Véase R. Steiner: El significado oculto de la sangre.. Editorial
877
+ Kier. Buenos Aires, 1979,
878
+
879
+
880
+ -25-
881
+
882
+
883
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
884
+
885
+
886
+ nariz tuviera conciencia de sí misma y del mundo exterior
887
+ podría contar no sólo su historia de generación en genera-
888
+ ción, de qué combinatoria proceden sus líneas, sino
889
+ también qué brisas respiró a lo largo de los tiempos, el
890
+ aroma de qué flores, cuál la tierra que las sustentaba...
891
+
892
+ No nos salimos con ello de las ciencias naturales,
893
+ aunque parezca una combinatoria harto compleja. De
894
+ donde sínos salimos es del antropomorfismo en cuanto
895
+ al tiempo y en cuanto a la conciencia.
896
+
897
+
898
+ El tiempo se supone que corre linealmente desde
899
+ atrás hacia adelante, atrás y adelante que implican la
900
+ conciencia y la historia humana, o, a un nivel más
901
+ profundo, la «historia» de la materia de la que conciencia
902
+ e historia humana serían sólo una parte. Pero el tiempo
903
+ tal como se viene entendiendo -la medida del movi-
904
+ miento o el modo de existencia de la materia- sólo tiene
905
+ sentido en relación con esta propia materia mudable, con
906
+ el mundo sublunar. Fuera de ella desaparece su necesi-
907
+ dad y su existencia misma. La serie de los siglos y las
908
+ épocas sólo tienen sentido desde la materia alterable,
909
+ sujeta acambio, corruptible, a la que el tiempo define, da
910
+ entidad y constituye. El tiempo es el modo de existencia
911
+ de esta materia a la que «coagula» diferenciándola de la
912
+ indeterminación espacio-temporal del caos, del infinito,
913
+ permitiéndole «pensarse» a sí misma. Pero el tiempo es
914
+ un absoluto sólo desde el punto de vista de esa entidad
915
+ «coagulada», diferenciada del todo, individualizada;
916
+ desde el punto de vista de la conciencia individual en
917
+ todos sus grados: mineral, vegetal o animal”. Sólo es
918
+
919
+
920
+ -26-
921
+
922
+
923
+ INTRODUCCIÓN
924
+
925
+
926
+ pensable por esa conciencia ala que permite existiren su
927
+ seno; fuera de ella no existe.
928
+
929
+
930
+ Se es hoy incapaz de pensar desde otra óptica que
931
+ la de esta «coagulación»; en el caso de los humanos,
932
+ desde la conciencia de la identidad psicológica indivi-
933
+ dual, erigida juez supremo y necesariamente ligada al
934
+ tiempo que, como hemos visto, la forma, constituye su
935
+ modo de existencia. Por ello se niega la inmortalidad,
936
+ que es la negación del tiempo.
937
+
938
+
939
+ Ahora bien, si en vez de erigir en juez supremo la
940
+ conciencia individual que nace y muere en el tiempo,
941
+ abandonáramos este punto de vista y pudiéramos adop-
942
+ tar la óptica de la sustancia universal que todo lo
943
+ conforma, nuestra concepción del tiempo y del espa-
944
+ cio, de la vida y de la muerte no serían antropomórficas.
945
+ Podríamos ver nuestra preexistencia como concreción
946
+ de un todo sin solución de continuidad; podríamos
947
+ considerar nuestra «duración» no como un absoluto
948
+ sino como la proyección de un mundo infinito -que
949
+ incluye todo lo pensable- en este mundo contingente,
950
+ sublunar, manifestado. Proyección forzosamente ves-
951
+ tida en el manto del tiempo y el espacio y, por lo tanto,
952
+ de la conciencia individual. Exclamaríamos como el
953
+ poverello de Asís: hermano lobo, hermana piedra,
954
+ hermana flor, hermana estrella, sin que ello fuera un
955
+ desahogo lírico, sino ciencias naturales.
956
+
957
+
958
+ 23.- No entramos aquí ahora en la diferenciación entre «concien-
959
+ cia» mineral, vegetal y animal, de las que se sobreentiende que no
960
+ hay que interpretar en sentido antropomorfo.
961
+
962
+
963
+ E
964
+
965
+
966
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
967
+
968
+
969
+ Esta es la óptica de los alquimistas. Considerándo-
970
+ nos, dentro del mundo sublunar, como la coagulación
971
+ de un todo sin solución de continuidad,como una de las
972
+ innumerables posibilidades de manifestación de la
973
+ sustancia constituyente de este mundo, se aplican a
974
+ descubrirla y a averiguar cómo funcionan sus «leyes»:
975
+ así pueden transmutar los metales, «curar» al reino
976
+ mineral, vegetal y animal. Considerando que esta sus-
977
+ tancia es manifestada, creada, y que el ser humano y su
978
+ conciencia son la proyección de la que acabamos de
979
+ hablar, aprenden a entrar y salir en el mundo proyecta-
980
+ do mediante la previa disolución en todo lo existente y
981
+ la identificación, la comunión, con lo reflejado en la
982
+ proyección y, por ahí, con lo que se proyecta, con la
983
+ indeterminación infinita consciente,con Dios. El adepto
984
+ atraviesa la puerta entre los mundos y para él no tienen
985
+ sentido ni el espacio ni el tiempo: es inmortal, O, si
986
+ muere, resucita. No tiene ninguna entidad concreta,
987
+ pudiendo revestirlas todas, hombre o pájaro. Puede
988
+ transmutar a los metales y puede incluso transmutarse
989
+ a sí mismo. Su reino no es de este mundo.
990
+
991
+ ¿Cómo realiza el adepto estas maravillas?
992
+
993
+ Muchos son los libros de alquimia escritos por los
994
+ maestros en los que se aborda uno u otro aspecto de la
995
+ Gran Obra, o la totalidad de ella. A su estudio remiti-
996
+ mos al lector, pues nosotros no podemos responder a lo
997
+ que ignoramos.
998
+
999
+ No obstante deseamos subrayar aun otro rasgo
1000
+ peculiar del arte hermético: en uno u otro momento de su
1001
+
1002
+
1003
+ -28-
1004
+
1005
+
1006
+ INTRODUCCIÓN
1007
+
1008
+
1009
+ trabajo material con la naturaleza, el alquimista entra en
1010
+ contacto con entidades que no son de este mundo.
1011
+
1012
+
1013
+ «Existe un medio de manipular la materia y la energía de
1014
+ manera que se produzca lo que los científicos contemporá-
1015
+ neos llamarían un campo de fuerza. Este campo de fuerza
1016
+ actúa sobre el observador y lo coloca en una situación
1017
+ privilegiada frente al universo. Desde este punto privilegia-
1018
+ do tiene acceso a realidades que el espacio y el tiempo, la
1019
+ materia y la energía, suelen ocultarnos...»
1020
+
1021
+
1022
+ Así se expresa Fulcanelli según cuenta J. Bergier
1023
+ en la obra que hemos citado antes.
1024
+
1025
+
1026
+ «Y sé que muchos, como yo, poseemos este secreto, y estoy
1027
+ persuadido de que hay muchos otros más, con los que
1028
+ próximamente entraré, por así decirlo, en una familiar y
1029
+ cotidiana comunicación.»
1030
+
1031
+
1032
+ Es Filaleteo (Introitus, Prefacio, 1H) quien alude a
1033
+ esta, por así decirlo, «familiar y cotidiana comunica-
1034
+ ción» con muchos otros.
1035
+
1036
+
1037
+ En innumerables obras de alquimia aparecen en
1038
+ determinado momento guías, ancianos, asambleas de
1039
+ ancianos, espíritus alados, ángeles, vírgenes, etcétera.
1040
+ En muchas ocasiones no son sino simbolismos de
1041
+ fuerzas y operaciones, digamos «físicas» para enten-
1042
+ dernos grosso modo. Pero en otras también sirven para
1043
+ designar entidades que acogen al adepto y cuyas for-
1044
+ mas de existencia no son las de este mundo, no son las
1045
+ de la naturaleza conocida, son sobrenaturales.
1046
+
1047
+
1048
+ -29-
1049
+
1050
+
1051
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
1052
+
1053
+
1054
+ Carácter sobrenatural que no hay que entender -
1055
+ una vez más la materialidad de la alquimia- como
1056
+ magia. Así como Aristóteles colocaba después de la
1057
+ física a la metafísica (literalmente: lo que está más allá
1058
+ de la física), estas entidades sobrenaturales interme-
1059
+ dias entre el hombre y Dios -absolutamente trascen-
1060
+ dente e inefable- son sobrenaturales en el sentido de
1061
+ que están más allá de la naturaleza. Eso no quiere decir
1062
+ que sean incognoscibles, intratables. Existen con inde-
1063
+ pendencia de los hombres individuales, por sobre ellos,
1064
+ pero éstos pueden llegar a conocerlas”, a tener trato
1065
+ con ellas; más aún, a fundirse con ellas, transformán-
1066
+ dose así en una de ellas. Tal es la pretensión de la
1067
+ alquimia.
1068
+
1069
+ Incluso algunos escritos abordan el problema de las
1070
+ relaciones entre el mundo de la naturaleza -hombre com-
1071
+ prendido y del que es conveniente no olvidar la gran
1072
+ cantidad de cosas que se ignoran- con las formas inferio-
1073
+ res del mundo sobrenatural. Así Dom Pernety, después de
1074
+ explicar que en la naturaleza existen las transmutaciones
1075
+ puesto que ésta transforma las sustancias de la tierra en
1076
+
1077
+
1078
+ 24- No nos extendemos ahora aquí en por qué algunos humanos
1079
+ tienen acceso a este conocimiento. Los maestros son unánimes en
1080
+ explicar que por la voluntad libre de Dios. «He aquí uno de
1081
+ nuestros hijos que Dios quiere hacer tan grande como sus padres.
1082
+ . >» (Saint Germain: La santísima trinosofía). «Fuera lo que fuese,
1083
+ comprendí que Dios me permitía asistir a unas bodas ocultas...»
1084
+ (Las bodas químicas de Christian Rosenkreutz). «A aquel que ha
1085
+ sido beatificado por Dios con este talento...» (Filaleteo: Introitus),
1086
+ etc., etc.
1087
+
1088
+
1089
+ 30
1090
+
1091
+
1092
+ INTRODUCCIÓN
1093
+
1094
+
1095
+ frutos o flores, los vegetales en músculo, nervios o pensa-
1096
+ miento, concluye con la siguiente afirmación:
1097
+
1098
+
1099
+ «La metempsicosis” de los antiguos filósofos no es otra
1100
+ cosa que las transmutaciones de la naturaleza, tomadas en su
1101
+ verdadero sentido físico»?
1102
+
1103
+
1104
+ También podemos leer en Las bodas químicas...,
1105
+ cuando el protagonista es sacado de la torre (alusión al
1106
+ mundo terrestre), el siguiente sorprendente párrafo:
1107
+
1108
+
1109
+ «“¡Ay!, cómo compadezco a los pobres hombres de la torre;
1110
+ ojalá que Dios me permita liberarlos a todos”. El hijo
1111
+ respondió: “Madre, Dios lo ha ordenado así y no debemos
1112
+ desobedecerle. Si todos fuéramos señores y poseyéramos
1113
+ los bienes de la Tierra, ¿quién nos serviría cuando estuvié-
1114
+ ramos en la mesa?” Su madre no respondió nada»?”
1115
+
1116
+
1117
+ No entramos ahora en el problema de las relacio-
1118
+ nes entre ambos mundos, vasto y complicado tema que
1119
+ se sale del marco de estas notas y que sólo hemos
1120
+ rozado para mostrar que el mundo natural y el sobrena-
1121
+ tural no están separados en la alquimia por ninguna
1122
+ barrera infranqueable, que, por el contrario, son distin-
1123
+ tas formas de existencia, distintas coagula de un todo
1124
+ sin solución de continuidad, al menos a este nivel.
1125
+
1126
+
1127
+ 25.- La transmigración de las almas, la serie de reencarnaciones
1128
+ sucesivas.
1129
+
1130
+ 26.- Dom Pernety, Dictionnaire Mytho-Hermetique. A Paris,
1131
+ Quai des Agustins. Chez Bauche, libraire, M.DCC.LVIT.
1132
+
1133
+ 27.- Valentín Andrez, Las bodas químicas dc Christian
1134
+ Rosenkreutz. Día 1. Editado en esta colección.
1135
+
1136
+
1137
+ Le
1138
+
1139
+
1140
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
1141
+
1142
+
1143
+ Puede afirmarse sin lugar a dudas en base en las
1144
+ aseveraciones de los propios alquimistas que, en un
1145
+ momento los adeptos entran en contacto con estas
1146
+ formas de existencia más amplias que la «coagula-
1147
+ ción» espacio-temporal de la individualidad humana:
1148
+ con los espíritus, con los ángeles, con formas de
1149
+ existencia conscientes y comunicantes cuya ipseidad,
1150
+ repetimos, no es de este mundo. Sobre el cómo de este
1151
+ contacto y sobre la naturaleza de dichas entidades los
1152
+ adeptos han sido, a nuestro conocimiento, extraordina-
1153
+ riamente reservados. Aunque una conclusión se des-
1154
+ prende unánime de todos ellos: sin la ayuda de estas
1155
+ entidades, su trabajo no habría llegado a su fin.
1156
+
1157
+
1158
+ Lector atento, lo hasta aquí dicho son reflexiones
1159
+ banales sobre un saber cuyo objeto y cuyo método,
1160
+ indisolublemente ligados como en todo saber, superan
1161
+ de lejos el círculo estrecho de nuestros conceptos
1162
+ precisos. Estas líneas introductorias han sido escritas
1163
+ en lenguaje restringido, el de la racionalidad, el de lo
1164
+ universalmente comunicable; en igual lenguaje están
1165
+ redactadas todas nuestras notas y observaciones a los
1166
+ textos alquímicos y otros. Dicha restricción no favore-
1167
+ ce, sino que obstaculiza la comprensión de aquello que
1168
+ el texto dice.
1169
+
1170
+
1171
+ No les prestes pues atención. Sin embargo, entien-
1172
+ de que, puesto que de libros publicados se trata, no son
1173
+ enteramente inútiles.
1174
+
1175
+ Quién sea cada autor, a qué «escuela» pertenezca.
1176
+ es enteramente igual. Independientemente de su propia
1177
+
1178
+
1179
+ -32-
1180
+
1181
+
1182
+ INTRODUCCIÓN
1183
+
1184
+
1185
+ voluntad, no se trata aquí sino de una manifestación del
1186
+ Espíritu, en el tiempo, sí, pero no concerniente a
1187
+ ninguna fenomenología de la historia. En el tiempo
1188
+ estamos y en él se manifiesta el Espíritu, pero no para
1189
+ historizarse, sino para inmortalizarnos. Tampoco im-
1190
+ porta cómo ni a través de quién se manifiesta y las
1191
+ discusiones al respecto son enteramente inútiles, pues
1192
+ nies problema de nuestra incumbencia, ni seguramen-
1193
+ te podemos situarlo.
1194
+
1195
+
1196
+ Por alguna razón tendrás este libro entre las manos.
1197
+ Lee pues, lector, y que el Señor quiera serte propicio.
1198
+ Dicen los maestros que llega un momento en que los
1199
+ libros no hacen falta: ojalá te sea dado alcanzarlo.
1200
+ Deseo pedirte tu bendición si eres ser piadoso.
1201
+
1202
+
1203
+ Que la luz, la bendición y la proteccción divinas
1204
+ sean con nosotros.
1205
+
1206
+
1207
+ Miguel Angel Muñoz Moya
1208
+
1209
+ Xochimilco, México,
1210
+
1211
+ Puebla del Maestre (Badajoz), España
1212
+
1213
+ 1% de noviembre1997,
1214
+
1215
+ día de la Comunión entre los vivos y los muertos
1216
+ de esta vida terrenal.
1217
+
1218
+
1219
+ 33%,
1220
+
1221
+
1222
+ La Tabla de Esmeralda
1223
+
1224
+
1225
+ de
1226
+ Hermes Trismegisto
1227
+
1228
+
1229
+ TABLA DE ESMERALDA
1230
+
1231
+
1232
+ de Hermes Trismegisto
1233
+ sobre la química?
1234
+
1235
+
1236
+ Palabras de los secretos de Hermes escritas sobre una
1237
+
1238
+
1239
+ tabla de esmeralda que sostenía en sus manos cuando, en
1240
+ una cueva oscura, fue encontrado su cuerpo embalsamado.
1241
+
1242
+
1243
+ Verdad sin mentira, cierto y muy verdadero:
1244
+ lo que es inferior es como lo que es superior;
1245
+ y lo que es superior es como lo que es inferior,
1246
+
1247
+
1248
+ para los cumplimientos de los milagros de una
1249
+ sola cosa.
1250
+
1251
+
1252
+ Y como todas las cosas fueron desde uno,
1253
+ por la meditación de uno sólo,
1254
+
1255
+ igualmente las cosas fueron nacidas por ello
1256
+ de una cosa, por adaptación.
1257
+
1258
+ Su padre es el Sol, su madre la Luna.
1259
+
1260
+ El viento la ha llevado en su vientre.
1261
+
1262
+
1263
+ 28.- Traducción de la primera edición impresa aparecida en
1264
+ Nuremberg, en 1541
1265
+
1266
+
1267
+ 32
1268
+
1269
+
1270
+ HERMES TRISMEGISTO
1271
+
1272
+
1273
+ La Tierra es su nodriza.
1274
+
1275
+ En ella está el padre de todos los talismanes del
1276
+ mundo.
1277
+
1278
+ Si es hecha tierra, su fuerza está entera.
1279
+
1280
+
1281
+ Separarás la Tierra del fuego, lo sutil de lo espeso,
1282
+ con gran inteligencia.
1283
+
1284
+
1285
+ Él subió de la Tierra al cielo, de nuevo descendió
1286
+ a la Tierra, y recibió la fuerza superior e inferior.
1287
+
1288
+
1289
+ Así tendrás la gloria del mundo entero.
1290
+
1291
+ Por ello toda oscuridad se aleja a ti.
1292
+
1293
+ Aquí está la fuerte fuerza de toda fuerza,
1294
+
1295
+ que vence toda cosa sutil
1296
+
1297
+ y penetra toda cosa sólida.
1298
+
1299
+ Así es creado el mundo.
1300
+
1301
+ Tales son las admirables adaptaciones cuya manera
1302
+ está aquí.
1303
+
1304
+ Poresosoy llamado Hermes Trismegisto, poseyen-
1305
+ do las tres partes de la filosofía del mundo entero.
1306
+ Completo es lo que he dicho de la operación del Sol.
1307
+
1308
+
1309
+ -38 -
1310
+
1311
+
1312
+ OTRA VERSIÓN
1313
+ DE LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA”
1314
+
1315
+
1316
+ AQUI SE ENCUENTRA LA FORMACION
1317
+ DE LA NATURALEZA
1318
+
1319
+
1320
+ Es verdad, fuera de duda, cierto, auténtico,
1321
+
1322
+ que lo superior viene de lo inferior y lo inferior de lo
1323
+ superior.
1324
+
1325
+ Él hizo maravillas a partir de Uno;
1326
+
1327
+
1328
+ cómo todas las cosas proceden de Uno por un
1329
+ procedimiento común,
1330
+
1331
+
1332
+ cómo todas las cosas son producidas de esta
1333
+ sustancia por un procedimiento común.
1334
+
1335
+
1336
+ ¡Cuán maravillosa es su ciencia! El es la cabeza del
1337
+
1338
+
1339
+ - mundo, enel que su padre es el Sol y su madre la
1340
+ Luna.
1341
+
1342
+
1343
+ 29.- Publicada en la revista Alchimie mediterranéenne. Traduci-
1344
+ da por Omar Yeshia y Munir Hafez.
1345
+
1346
+
1347
+ -39-
1348
+
1349
+
1350
+ HERMES TRISMEGISTO
1351
+
1352
+
1353
+ El viento lo ha llevado en su seno y la Tierra lo ha
1354
+ alimentado.
1355
+
1356
+ Él es el padre de los talismanes, el poseedor de las
1357
+ maravillas.
1358
+
1359
+ Sus facultades son perfectas.
1360
+
1361
+ Él es el restaurador de las luces.
1362
+
1363
+ La tierra se ha vuelto un fuego.
1364
+
1365
+ Separa la tierra del fuego y él te iluminará.
1366
+
1367
+ Lo sutil es más noble que lo grosero.
1368
+ Lentamente, suavemente, sube hacia el cielo,
1369
+ coge la luz, y después vuelve a bajar a la Tierra.
1370
+ En Él está la facultad de lo superior y de lo inferior.
1371
+ pues en Él hay la luz de las luces,
1372
+
1373
+ y es por lo que las tinieblas le huyen.
1374
+
1375
+ La fuerza del poderoso vence todas las cosas.
1376
+ Toda cosa sutil penetra toda cosa grosera.
1377
+
1378
+
1379
+ El microcosmos está formado como el macrocos-
1380
+ mos.
1381
+
1382
+
1383
+ Esto es mi gloria,
1384
+ y es por eso por lo que soy llamado Hermes,
1385
+ tres veces grandes por la sabiduría.
1386
+
1387
+
1388
+ e |
1389
+
1390
+
1391
+ UNA VERSIÓN MÁS
1392
+ DE LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA”
1393
+
1394
+
1395
+ Es verdadero, sin falsedad alguna, cierto y muy
1396
+ cierto.
1397
+
1398
+ Lo que está encima es igual a lo que está debajo, y
1399
+ lo que está debajo esigual alo que está encima para
1400
+ que se cumplan los milagros de una sola cosa.
1401
+
1402
+ Y como quiera que todas las cosas lo fueron por la
1403
+ contemplación de una sóla, así también todas las
1404
+ cosas surgieron de esta única cosa por un simple
1405
+ acto de adaptación.
1406
+
1407
+ El padre de ello es el Sol, la madre la Luna.
1408
+
1409
+ El viento lo llevaba en su seno y la Tierra es su
1410
+ nodriza.
1411
+
1412
+
1413
+ 30.-E.J]. HOLMYAROD. Alchemy. Penguin Books Ltd. Hatmond-
1414
+ sworth, Middlessex, 1957. De este libro, excelente en muchos
1415
+ aspectos y con una especial dedicación a los mal conocidos al-
1416
+ quimistas ingleses, existe traducción española de María Samper:
1417
+ Alquimia. Ediciones Redecilla, Barcelona, 1961.
1418
+
1419
+
1420
+ -41-
1421
+
1422
+
1423
+ HERMES TRISMEGISTO
1424
+
1425
+
1426
+ Es el padre de todas las obras maravillosas a lo
1427
+ largo y ancho del mundo.
1428
+
1429
+
1430
+ El poder del mismo es perfecto.
1431
+
1432
+ Si fuese arrojado a la Tierra separaría al elemento
1433
+ Tierra del elemento Fuego, lo sutil de lo grosero.
1434
+ Con gran sagacidad asciende suavemente desde la
1435
+ Tierra al Cielo.
1436
+
1437
+ Desciende de nuevo a la Tierra y reúne en sí la
1438
+ fuerza de las cosas superiores y de las cosas
1439
+ inferiores.
1440
+
1441
+ Asíposeerás la gloria del brillo de todo el universo
1442
+ y toda oscuridad huirá lejos de ti.
1443
+
1444
+ Esta cosa es la recia fortitud de toda fortaleza, ya
1445
+ que vence a toda cosa muy sutil y penetra en toda
1446
+ sustancia sólida.
1447
+
1448
+ Es así como fue creado este mundo.
1449
+
1450
+
1451
+ Por consiguiente, se alcanzarán adapataciones
1452
+ maravillosas de las cuales ésta es la clase.
1453
+
1454
+ Por esta razón me llaman Hermes Trismegisto.,
1455
+ porque poseo tres partes de la sabiduría del mundo
1456
+ entero.
1457
+
1458
+ Lo que tenía que decir sobre la operación del Sol
1459
+ está consumado.
1460
+
1461
+
1462
+ -42-
1463
+
1464
+
1465
+ Tabula Smaragdina Hermetis
1466
+
1467
+
1468
+ Esse refert Hermes supera inferioribus «qua,
1469
+ Si quis mirandum perficere optet opus,
1470
+ Errantes celso cernuntur in axe Planete,
1471
+ His est par est fructu Terra metallifero.
1472
+ Sol Pater est lapidis, Mater vaga Cynthia.
1473
+ Ventus ventre tulit natum, terra cibavit eum.
1474
+
1475
+
1476
+ -43-
1477
+
1478
+
1479
+ Es dicho por Hermes que lo superior ha de ser
1480
+ igualado a lo inferior,
1481
+
1482
+
1483
+ si quieres hacer una obra maravillosa
1484
+
1485
+
1486
+ Errantes en lo alto son movidos en el eje los
1487
+ planetas
1488
+
1489
+
1490
+ Por su fruto metalífero, la tierra es semejante.
1491
+ El Sol es el padre de la piedra, la errante Cintia
1492
+ madre.
1493
+
1494
+ El Viento la hallevado en su vientre. La Tierra la
1495
+ ha nutrido.
1496
+
1497
+
1498
+ Esta Tabla de Esmeralda en lenguaje simbólico
1499
+ está publicada como lámina 95 del compendio de
1500
+ alquimia publicado bajo el título de Viridarium
1501
+ Chymicum (El Jardín Químico) **:
1502
+
1503
+ Según Bernard Husson, está sacada del Prodomus
1504
+ Rhodostauroticus , libro de tradición rosacruz” publi-
1505
+ cado por primera vez en Heidelberg en 1620. La com-
1506
+ posición del interior del círculo procede a su vez de El
1507
+ vellocino de Oro”, de fecha anterior.
1508
+
1509
+
1510
+ Los tres escudos ligados por cadenas son la Sal
1511
+ representada por una estrella, el Azufre representado
1512
+ por un león y el Mercurio representado por un águila
1513
+ bicéfala. A la izquierda de la estrella salina se encuentra
1514
+ la tierra y a la derecha el cielo. Entre los tres encierran
1515
+ una esfera crucífera en cuyo interior hay una au
1516
+ invertida cuyo giro a la derecha, al decir de Bernard
1517
+ Husson, daría el signo espagírico del vitriolo.
1518
+
1519
+
1520
+ 31.- Viridarium Chymicum. Muñoz Moyaeditores. Sevilla, 1986.
1521
+ 32.- En griego rodos sigifica rosa, y stauros Cruz.
1522
+
1523
+ 33 - Véase Salomon Trismosin, «La Toison d'Or ou La Fleur des
1524
+ trésors», pág. 12. Existe versión moderna en Ed. Retz, París, 1975.
1525
+
1526
+
1527
+ - 45 -
1528
+
1529
+
1530
+ HERMES TRISMEGISTO
1531
+
1532
+
1533
+ El poema que explica la ilustración en El vellocino
1534
+ de Oro dice que «de este vitriolo nacen los metales».
1535
+ Estos metales los vemos arriba del grabado como
1536
+ círculos que rodean un cáliz en el que el sol y la luna
1537
+ vierten su flujo.
1538
+
1539
+
1540
+ Hay que tener igualmente presente para una ajus-
1541
+ tada interpretación de esta lámina que los metales son
1542
+ tambien calendarios e indicadores de las fases de la
1543
+ Obra (el lector interesado puede profundizar el tema en
1544
+ muchos textos clásicos como, p. ej. la novena llave de
1545
+ Basilio Valentín titulada «La revolución de los plane-
1546
+ tas y los colores»)
1547
+
1548
+
1549
+ La filacteria circular contiene el conocido axioma
1550
+ hermético Visita Interiora Terre Rectficando Invenies
1551
+ Occultum Lapidem, Visita Interior de la Tierra Recti-
1552
+ ficando Encuentras la Oculta Piedra, cuya interpreta-
1553
+ ción así como el lugar donde poner las comas ha dado
1554
+ lugar a numerosísimos comentarios.
1555
+
1556
+
1557
+ Acabemos señalando que el conjunto, visto en
1558
+ perspectiva, son dos círculos inscritos en un cuadrado,
1559
+ alusión según algunos al atanor y al horno. Las flores
1560
+ de los vértices, cuatro pétalos, macho y hembra, com-
1561
+ pletan el significado de esta obra simbólica, que no en
1562
+ balde, Basilio Valentín incluye en sus Doce Llaves de
1563
+ la Filosofía* bajo el título Paradigma de la Gran Obra.
1564
+
1565
+
1566
+ 34.- Basilio Valentín, Las doce llaves de la F ilosofía. Publicado
1567
+ en esta colección.
1568
+
1569
+
1570
+ -46 -
1571
+
1572
+
1573
+ Explicación
1574
+ de
1575
+ La Tabla de Esmeralda
1576
+
1577
+
1578
+ por
1579
+ Hortulano
1580
+
1581
+
1582
+ El siglo XIV ve surgir toda una pléyade
1583
+ de Artistas....
1584
+
1585
+
1586
+ Grasseo, llamado Hortulano, comentarista de
1587
+ La tabla de Esmeralda (1358)...
1588
+
1589
+
1590
+ Fulcanelli +
1591
+
1592
+
1593
+ 35.- Fulcanelli: Las Moradas Filosofales, cap. MM, La alquimia
1594
+ medieval. Muñoz Moya editor. Sevilla, 1989, pág. 107.
1595
+
1596
+
1597
+ -49-
1598
+
1599
+
1600
+ ¡Alabanza, honor y gloria os sean rendidas eterna-
1601
+ mente, oh Señor, Dios todopoderoso! con vuestro muy
1602
+ amado Hijo, nuestro salvador Jesús-Cristo, verdadero
1603
+ Dios y único Hombre perfecto, y el Santo Espíritu
1604
+ consolador, Trinidad Santa, que sois el Dios único. Os
1605
+ doy gracias porque habiendo conocido las cosas pasa-
1606
+ jeras de este mundo, enemigo nuestro, me habéis
1607
+ sacado de él por vuestra gran misericordia, para que no
1608
+ fuese pervertido por sus engañadoras voluptuosidades.
1609
+ Y porque he visto muchos de los que trabajan en este
1610
+ Arte que no siguen el camino derecho, os suplico, oh
1611
+ Señor mío y mi Dios, que os pluja que pueda alejar de
1612
+ este error, por la Ciencia que me habéis dado, a mis
1613
+ muy queridos y bien amados, para que, habiendo
1614
+ conocido la verdad, puedan alabar vuestro santo Nom-
1615
+ bre, que es eternamente bendito.
1616
+
1617
+
1618
+ Por tanto yo, Hortulano, es decir Jardinero, así
1619
+ llamado a causa de los Jardines marítimos, indigno de
1620
+ ser llamado Discípulo de la Filosofía, conmovido por
1621
+ la amistad que tengo a mis muy queridos, he querido
1622
+ poner por escrito la declaración y explicación cierta de
1623
+ las palabras de Hermes, padre de los Filósofos aunque
1624
+
1625
+
1626
+ a
1627
+
1628
+
1629
+ HORTULANO
1630
+
1631
+
1632
+ ellas sean oscuras, y declarar sinceramente toda la
1633
+ práctica de la Verdadera Obra. Y cierto que no sirve de
1634
+ nada a los Filósofos querer esconder la Ciencia en sus
1635
+ escritos, cuando obra la Doctrina del Espíritu Santo.
1636
+
1637
+
1638
+ -52-
1639
+
1640
+
1641
+ EXPLICACIÓN DE LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
1642
+
1643
+
1644
+ Capítulo primero
1645
+ E] Arte de Alquimia es verdadero y cierto
1646
+
1647
+
1648
+ El Filósofo dice: Es verdad, a saber, que el Arte de
1649
+ Alquimia nos ha sido dado. Sin mentira; dice eso para
1650
+ convencer a los que dicen que la Ciencia es embustera,
1651
+ es decir, falsa. Cierto, es decir experimentado, pues
1652
+ todo lo que es experimentado es muy cierto y muy
1653
+ verdadero pues el muy verdadero Sol es procreado por
1654
+ el Arte.
1655
+
1656
+
1657
+ Dice muy verdadero, en superlativo, porque el Sol
1658
+ engendrado por este Arte, sobrepasa a todo Sol natural
1659
+ en todas las propiedades, tanto medicinales como otras.
1660
+
1661
+
1662
+ 5
1663
+
1664
+
1665
+ HORTULANO
1666
+
1667
+
1668
+ Capítulo 1
1669
+ La Piedra debe ser dividida en dos partes
1670
+
1671
+
1672
+ A continuación toca la operación de la Piedra
1673
+ diciendo que lo que está abajo es como lo que está
1674
+ arriba.
1675
+
1676
+
1677
+ Dice eso porque la Piedra está dividida por el
1678
+ Magisterio en dos partes principales, a saber, en la
1679
+ parte superior, que sube arriba, y en la parte inferior que
1680
+ queda abajo fija y clara. Y sin embargo estas dos partes.
1681
+ son acordes en virtud. Es por lo que dice: y lo que está
1682
+ arriba es como lo que está abajo. Ciertamente esta
1683
+ división es necesaria. Para hacer los Milagros de una
1684
+ cosa. Es decir de la Piedra; pues la parte inferior es la
1685
+ Tierra, que es la Nodriza y el Fermento; y la parte
1686
+ superior es el Alma, la cual vivifica toda la Piedra, y la
1687
+ resucita, Es por lo que estando hecha la Separación y la
1688
+ Conjunción muchos Milagros vienen a hacerse en la
1689
+ Obra secreta de la Naturaleza.
1690
+
1691
+
1692
+ -54-
1693
+
1694
+
1695
+ EXPLICACIÓN DE LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
1696
+
1697
+
1698
+ Capítulo IU
1699
+ La Piedra tiene en sí los cuatro elementos
1700
+
1701
+
1702
+ Y como todas las cosas han sido y son venidas de
1703
+ ino por la mediación de uno. Aquí da un ejemplo
1704
+ liciendo: Como todas las cosas han sido y son salidas
1705
+ le uno, a saber, de un globo confuso, o de una masa
1706
+ onfusa, por la mediación,es decir, porel pensamiento
1707
+ , creación de uno, es decir, de Dios todopoderoso. Así
1708
+ on nacidas todas las cosas.Es decir son salidas de esta
1709
+ osa única, es decir de una Masa confusa, por adapta-
1710
+ ión, es decir por el solo mando y milagro de Dios. Así
1711
+ uestra Piedra es creada y salida de una Masa confusa,
1712
+ -onteniendo en sí todos los Elementos, la cual ha sido
1713
+ reada por Dios, y por su Milagro, nuestra Piedra ha
1714
+ salido y nacido de Él.
1715
+
1716
+
1717
+ -55-
1718
+
1719
+
1720
+ HORTULANO
1721
+
1722
+
1723
+ Capítulo IV
1724
+ La Piedra tiene Padre y Madre,
1725
+ que son el Sol y la Luna
1726
+
1727
+
1728
+ Como vemos que un Animal engendra natural-
1729
+ mente varios otros animales parecidos a él, así el Sol
1730
+ engendra artificialmente el Sol por la virtud de la
1731
+ Multiplicación de la Piedra. Es por lo que sigue: El So/
1732
+ es su Padre, es decir, el Oro de los Filósofos. Y porque
1733
+ en todas las generaciones naturales debe haber un lugar
1734
+ propio para recibir las Simientes, con alguna conformi-
1735
+ dad de parecido en parte. Así es necesario que en esta
1736
+ Generación artificial de la Piedra, el Sol tenga una
1737
+ materia que sea como una Matriz propia para recibir su
1738
+ Esperma y su Tintura. Y eso es la Plata de los Filósofos.
1739
+ Por ello es por lo que sigue, y la Luna es su Madre.
1740
+
1741
+
1742
+ -56-
1743
+
1744
+
1745
+ EXPLICACIÓN DE LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
1746
+
1747
+
1748
+ Capítulo V
1749
+ La conjunción de las Partes
1750
+ es la concepción y la generación de la Piedra
1751
+
1752
+
1753
+ Cuando estos dos se reciben el uno al otro en la
1754
+ Conjunción de la Piedra, la Piedra se engendra en el
1755
+ vientre del Viento, y es lo que dice poco después: El
1756
+ Viento la ha llevado en su Vientre. Se sabe bien que el
1757
+
1758
+
1759
+ Viento es Aire, y el Aire es vida, y la vida es el Alma,
1760
+
1761
+
1762
+ la cual ya he dicho antes que vivifica toda la Piedra. Así
1763
+ es preciso que el Viento lleve toda la Piedra, y la lleve
1764
+ de nuevo, y que engendre el Magisterio. Es por lo que
1765
+ se sigue que debe recibir alimento de su Nodriza, a
1766
+ saber de la Tierra. Así el Filósofo dice: La Tierra es su
1767
+ Nodriza. Pues al igual que el Niño no llegaría nunca a
1768
+ crecer sin el alimento que recibe de su Nodriza, de la
1769
+ misma manera nuestra Piedra no llegaría nunca a
1770
+ efecto sin la fermentación de la Tierra; y el fermento es
1771
+ llamado alimento. De tal suerte se engendra de un
1772
+ Padre,con la conjunción de su Madre, la cosa,es decir,
1773
+ los Hijos parecidos a los Padres, los cuales, si la
1774
+
1775
+
1776
+ - cocción noes larga, serán hechos parecidos a la Madre,
1777
+
1778
+
1779
+ y retendrán el peso del Padre.
1780
+
1781
+
1782
+ -57-
1783
+
1784
+
1785
+ HORTULANO
1786
+
1787
+
1788
+ Capítulo VI
1789
+ La Piedra es perfecta
1790
+ si el Alma es fijada en el Cuerpo
1791
+
1792
+
1793
+ Después continúa: El Padre de todo el Telema del
1794
+ Mundo está aquí, es decir, en la Obra de la Piedra hay
1795
+ una vía final. Y observad que el Filósofo llama a la
1796
+ Operación el Padre de todo el Telema, es decir, de todo
1797
+ el Secreto o Tesoro de todo el Mundo, a saber, de toda
1798
+ Piedra que ha podido encontrarse en este Mundo. Está
1799
+ aquí. Como si dijera: he aquí que te la enseño. Después
1800
+ el Filósofo dice ¿quieres que te enseñe cuando la fuerza
1801
+ de la Piedra está acabada y es perfecta?
1802
+
1803
+
1804
+ Ello ocurrirá cuando sea convertida y cambiada en
1805
+ su tierra. Y por eso, dice, su fuerza y potencia está
1806
+ entera, es decir, perfecta y completa, si es convertida
1807
+ y cambiada en tierra. Es decir, si el alma de la Piedra
1808
+ (de la que hemos mencionado mas arriba que el Alma
1809
+ es llamada Viento, y Aire, en la cual está toda la vida
1810
+ y la fuerza de la Piedra) es convertida en tierra, a saber
1811
+ de la Piedra, y la fija de manera tal que toda la Sustancia
1812
+
1813
+
1814
+ - 58 -
1815
+
1816
+
1817
+ |
1818
+ ¿
1819
+
1820
+
1821
+ EXPLICACIÓN DE LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
1822
+
1823
+
1824
+ * de la Piedra esté tan bien unida con la Nodriza (que es
1825
+ | la Tierra) que toda la Piedra sea convertida y vuelta
1826
+ - fermento. Y como cuando se hace pan un poco de
1827
+ levadura alimenta y fermenta una gran cantidad de
1828
+ masa y así cambia toda la sustancia de la masa en
1829
+ fermento, también el Filósofo quiere que nuestra Pie-
1830
+ dra sea fermentada de tal manera, que sirva de fermento
1831
+ a su propia multiplicación.
1832
+
1833
+
1834
+ -59-
1835
+
1836
+
1837
+ HORTULANO
1838
+
1839
+
1840
+ Capítulo VI
1841
+ La mondificación de la Piedra
1842
+
1843
+
1844
+ A continuación enseña como debe multiplicarse la
1845
+ Piedra: pero antes pone la mondificación de la misma
1846
+ y la separación de las partes, diciendo: Separarás lu
1847
+ Tierra del Fuego, el Sutil del Espeso, suavemente, con
1848
+ gran industria. Suavemente, es decir, poco a poco, no
1849
+ con violencia, sino con espíritu e industria, a saber por
1850
+ la mierda* de ave o estiércol filosofal. Separarás, es
1851
+ decir, disolverás, pues la disolución es la separación de
1852
+ las partes. La Tierra del Fuego, el Sutil del Espeso, es
1853
+ decir, los posos y la inmundicia del Fuego, del Aire y
1854
+ del Agua y de toda la Sustancia de la Piedra de manera
1855
+ que quede enteramente sin inmundicia.
1856
+
1857
+
1858
+ 36.- La palabra original significa literalmente: «excremento o
1859
+ líquido de aves, de pájaros salvajes; y de algunos animales»
1860
+
1861
+
1862
+ -60-
1863
+
1864
+
1865
+ EXPLICACIÓN DE LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
1866
+
1867
+
1868
+ Capítulo VIII
1869
+ La Parte no fija de la Piedra,
1870
+ debe separar la Parte fija y elevarla
1871
+
1872
+
1873
+ Estando preparada la Piedra de esta forma, se
1874
+ puede entonces multiplicar. Por lo tanto pone ahora la
1875
+ Multiplicación; y habla de la fácil licuefacción o
1876
+ fusión de ésta por la virtud que la misma tiene de ser
1877
+
1878
+
1879
+ - entrante y penetrante en los Cuerpos duros y blandos,
1880
+
1881
+
1882
+ diciendo: Sube de la Tierra al cielo y directamente
1883
+ desciende a la Tierra. Aquí hay que notar bien que
1884
+ aunque nuestra Piedra, en su primera Operación, se
1885
+ divida en cuatro partes, que son los cuatro Elementos,
1886
+ sin embargo, como ha sido dicho arriba, hay dos Partes
1887
+ principales en ella; una que sube arriba, que es llamada
1888
+ la no fija, o la volátil; y la otra que queda fija abajo, que
1889
+
1890
+
1891
+ - es llamada tierra o fermento, como se ha dicho. Pero
1892
+
1893
+
1894
+ hay que tener gran cantidad de la parte no fija, y darle
1895
+ a la Piedra, cuando la misma esté muy limpia y sin
1896
+ suciedad, y hay que darle tantas veces, por el Magiste-
1897
+ rio, que toda la Piedra, por la virtud del Espíritu, sea
1898
+ llevada arriba, sublimándola y haciéndola sutil. Y eso
1899
+
1900
+
1901
+ es lo que dice el Filósofo: Él sube de la Tierra al Cielo.
1902
+
1903
+
1904
+ -61-
1905
+
1906
+
1907
+ HORTULANO
1908
+
1909
+
1910
+ Capítulo IX
1911
+ La Piedra volátil
1912
+ debe ser fijada una segunda vez”
1913
+
1914
+
1915
+ Después de todo eso, hay que incerar*? esta misma
1916
+ Piedra (así exaltada y elevada, o sublimada) con el
1917
+ Aceite que ha sido sacado de ella en la primera opera-
1918
+ ción que se llama Agua de la Piedra. Y hay que darle
1919
+ vueltas muy a menudo al sublimarla, hasta que por la
1920
+ virtud de la fermentación de la Tierra (con la Piedra
1921
+ elevada o sublimada) toda la Piedra, por reiteración.
1922
+ desciende del Cielo a la Tierra, permaneciendo fija y
1923
+ fluyente. Y es lo que dice el Filósofo: desciende a la
1924
+ tierra. Y así: Recibe la fuerza de las cosas superiores,
1925
+ sublimando, de las inferiores, descendiendo; es decir,
1926
+ que lo que es corporal, será hecho espiritual en la
1927
+ sublimación, y lo espiritual, será hecho corporal en la
1928
+ Descensión, o cuando la materia desciende.
1929
+
1930
+
1931
+ 37.- Una segunda vez; una vez todavía.
1932
+ 38.- Incerar: de la raíz latina cera: dar a una materia la consisten-
1933
+ cia de la cera, mezclar cera a una sustancia.
1934
+
1935
+
1936
+ 6D
1937
+
1938
+
1939
+ EXPLICACIÓN DE LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
1940
+
1941
+
1942
+ Capítulo X
1943
+ De la utilidad de Arte
1944
+ y de la eficacia de la Piedra
1945
+
1946
+
1947
+ Tendrás por este medio la gloria de todo el Mundo.
1948
+ Es decir, por esta Piedra así compuesta, poseerás la
1949
+ gloria de todo el Mundo. Y por eso toda oscuridad se
1950
+ irá de ti,es decir toda pobreza y enfermedad. Ello es la
1951
+ Fuerza fuerte de toda fuerza. Pues no hay ninguna
1952
+ comparación de las otras Fuerzas de este Mundo con la
1953
+ Fuerza de esta Piedra: pues ella vencerá toda cosa sutil,
1954
+ y penetrará toda cosa sólida. Vencerá, es decir, ven-
1955
+ ciendo y subiendo, cambiará y convertirá el Mercurio
1956
+ vivo congelándolo, él que es sutil y blando, y penetrará
1957
+ los otros Metales, que son cuerpos duros, sólidos y
1958
+ firmes.
1959
+
1960
+
1961
+ -63 -
1962
+
1963
+
1964
+ HORTULANO
1965
+
1966
+
1967
+ Capítulo XI
1968
+ El Magisterio imita
1969
+ la Creación del Universo
1970
+
1971
+
1972
+ El filósofo da a continuación un ejemplo de la
1973
+ Composición de la Piedra, diciendo: Así ha sido creado
1974
+ el Mundo, es decir, que nuestra Piedra está hecha de la
1975
+ misma manera como ha sido creado el Mundo. Pues las
1976
+ primeras cosas de todo el Mundo, todo lo que ha sido
1977
+ en el Mundo, ha sido primero una Masa confusa, y un
1978
+ Caos sin orden, como ha sido dicho arriba. Y después,
1979
+ por el artificio del soberano Creador, esta Masa confu-
1980
+ sa, habiendo sido admirablemente separada y rectifica-
1981
+ da, ha sido dividida en cuatro Elementos: y a causa de
1982
+ esta separación, se hacen diversas y diferentes cosas.
1983
+ Así también se pueden hacer diversas y diferentes
1984
+ cosas por la producción y disposición de nuestra Obra,
1985
+ y ello por la separación de los diversos Elementos de
1986
+ los diversos Cuerpos. De ello serán y saldrán admira-
1987
+ bles adaptaciones. Es decir, si separas los Elementos,
1988
+ se harán admirables Composiciones propias a nuestra
1989
+
1990
+
1991
+ - 64 -
1992
+
1993
+
1994
+ EXPLICACIÓN DE LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
1995
+
1996
+
1997
+ -Obra, en la Composición de nuestra Piedra, por la
1998
+ conjunción de los Elementos rectificados. De las cua-
1999
+ * les, es decir de cuyas cosas admirables propias para
2000
+ ] ello, el medio, saber proceder a ello, está aquí.
2001
+
2002
+
2003
+ -65-
2004
+
2005
+
2006
+ HORTULANO
2007
+
2008
+
2009
+ Capítulo XII
2010
+ Declaración enigmática
2011
+ de la Materia de la Piedra
2012
+
2013
+
2014
+ Es por lo que ha sido llamado Hermes Trismegis-
2015
+ to, es decir, Mercurio tres veces grande. Después que
2016
+ el Filósofo ha enseñado la Composición de la Piedra,
2017
+ muestra aquí encubiertamente de qué se hace nuestra
2018
+ Piedra, nombrándose a sí mismo. Primero, para que los
2019
+ discípulos que lleguen a esta Ciencia, se acuerden
2020
+ siempre de su nombre. Pero sin embargo toca de qué
2021
+ está hecha la Piedra diciendo a continuación: Teniendo
2022
+ las tres partes de la Filosofía de todo el Mundo, porque
2023
+ todo lo que es en el Mundo, teniendo Materia y Forma,
2024
+ está compuesto de los cuatro elementos. Aunque en el
2025
+ Mundo haya una infinidad de cosas que lo componen
2026
+ y que son las Partes, el Filósofo sin embargo las divide
2027
+ y las reduce todas a tres Partes, a saber, a la Parte
2028
+ mineral, vegetal y animal, de todas las cuales, juntas o
2029
+ por separado, ha tenido la verdadera Ciencia, en la
2030
+ operación del Sol, o Composición de la Piedra. Por eso
2031
+
2032
+
2033
+ -66-
2034
+
2035
+
2036
+ EXPLICACIÓN DE LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
2037
+
2038
+
2039
+ es por lo que dice: Teniendo las tres partes de la
2040
+ : Filosofía de todo el Mundo, cuyas todas tres están
2041
+ contenidas en la sola Piedra, a saber, en el Mercurio de
2042
+ los Filósofos.
2043
+
2044
+
2045
+ - 67 -
2046
+
2047
+
2048
+ HORTULANO
2049
+
2050
+
2051
+ Capítulo XII
2052
+ Por qué la Piedra es llamada perfecta
2053
+
2054
+
2055
+ Esta Piedra es llamada perfecta, porque tiene en sí
2056
+ la naturaleza de las cosas minerales, vegetales y anima-
2057
+ les. Es por lo que es llamada triple, de otra manera trina-
2058
+ una, es decir triple y única, teniendo cuatro Naturale-
2059
+ zas, a saber, los cuatro Elementos, y tres colores: el
2060
+ negro, el blanco y el rojo. También es llamada grano de
2061
+ trigo el cual, si no muere, quedará solo, y si muere
2062
+ (como ha sido dicho arriba, cuandos se junta en la
2063
+ conjunción) trae mucho fruto; a saber, cuando las
2064
+ Operaciones de las que hemos hablado, son llevadas al
2065
+ último punto de perfección. ¡Oh, amigo lector! si haces
2066
+ la Operación de la Piedra, te he dicho la verdad, si no
2067
+ la haces, no te he dicho nada.
2068
+
2069
+
2070
+ Lo que yo he dicho de la operación del Sol está
2071
+ acabado y llevado al último punto de perfección. Es
2072
+ decir, lo que ha sido dicho de la Operación de la Piedra
2073
+ de tres Colores y cuatro Naturalezas, que están en una
2074
+ cosa única, a saber, en el solo Mercurio filosofal, está
2075
+ acabado y terminado.
2076
+
2077
+
2078
+ -68-
2079
+
2080
+
2081
+ La Tabla de Esmeralda
2082
+
2083
+
2084
+ por
2085
+ Fulcanelli
2086
+
2087
+
2088
+ (Capítulo de su libro Finis Gloriae Mundi)
2089
+ )
2090
+
2091
+
2092
+ INTRODUCCIÓN
2093
+
2094
+
2095
+ Fulcanelli es el seudónimo del mayor alquimista con-
2096
+ temporáneo, y uno de de los grandes maestros de todos los
2097
+ tiempos.
2098
+
2099
+ Sobre él circulan infinidad de rumores, pero no se sabe
2100
+ nada cierto.
2101
+
2102
+ La revista LA TOUR DE SAINT JACQUES consagró
2103
+ un número especial al misterio de su identidad, existiendo
2104
+ diversas hipótesis.
2105
+
2106
+ La única persona que lo conoció fue Eugene Canseliet
2107
+ a quien Fulcanelli remitió sus manuscritos para su publica-
2108
+ ciónen 1925, pero jamás ha revelado su identidad. Canseliet
2109
+ dice en el Prólogo a la primera edición francesa de EL
2110
+ MISTERIO DE LAS CATEDRALES*:
2111
+
2112
+
2113
+ Hace ya tiempo que el autor de este libro no está entre
2114
+ nosotros. Se extinguió el hombre. Soló persiste su
2115
+ recuerdo ...Sus numerosos amigos, hermanos desco-
2116
+ nocidos que esperaban de él la solución del misterio-
2117
+
2118
+
2119
+ 38. Fulcanelli, El Misterio de las catedrales. Muñoz Moya editores,
2120
+ Sevilla 2000
2121
+
2122
+
2123
+ FULCANELLI
2124
+
2125
+
2126
+ so Verbum dimissum, le llorarán conmigo ... Desapa-
2127
+ reció al sonar la hora fatídica, cuando se produjo lu
2128
+ Señal ... Fulcanelli ya no existe. Sin embargo, y éste
2129
+ es nuestro consuelo, su pensamiento permanece,
2130
+ ardiente y vivo, encerrado para siempre en estas
2131
+ páginas como en un sanitario.
2132
+
2133
+
2134
+ Posteriormente, con inciertas alusiones a la existencia
2135
+ en otros planos y a aspectos secretos de la alquimia, tales
2136
+ afirmaciones han sido matizadas y algunos afirman que
2137
+ Fulcanelli siguió existiendo. Según se cuenta, el premio
2138
+ Nobel de física Jacques Bergier, fue visitado en 1937 por
2139
+ Fulcanelli quien le reveló algunos secretos referentes a la
2140
+ fisión nuclear”? Los rumores han seguido proliferando y, al
2141
+ parecer, Fulcanelli ha seguido siendo visto en los más
2142
+ diversos lugares, el último de lo cuales, la ciudad española
2143
+ de Sevilla (España).
2144
+
2145
+ Fulcanelli fue el autor de dos obras cumbres de alqui-
2146
+ mia: una EL MISTERIO DE LAS CATEDRALES Y LA
2147
+ INTERPRETACIÓN ESOTÉRICA DE LOS SÍMBOLOS
2148
+ HERMÉTICOS, y la otra LAS MORADAS FILOSOFALES
2149
+ Y EL SIMBOLISMO HERMÉTICO EN SUS RELACIONES
2150
+ CON EL ARTE SAGRADO Y EL ESOTERISMO DE LA
2151
+ GRAN OBRA.
2152
+
2153
+ Los originales de ambas fueron escritos en francés y
2154
+ publicados por Omnium Literaire de París en 1925 y 1929,
2155
+
2156
+
2157
+ 39. Véase El retorno de los Brujos, Louis Pauwels y Jacques Bergier,
2158
+ Plaza i Janés 1971, Cap. La alquimia como ejemplo, II.
2159
+
2160
+ 40. Fulcanelli, Las Moradas filosofales, Muñoz Moya editores, Sevilla
2161
+ 1989.
2162
+
2163
+
2164
+ -72-
2165
+
2166
+
2167
+ "EA
2168
+
2169
+
2170
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
2171
+
2172
+
2173
+ En julio de 1999, Fulcanelli hace llegar el original de su
2174
+ + tercera y última obra a Jacques d' Ares: FINIS GLORIAE
2175
+ . MUNDI."
2176
+
2177
+ El autor ha tenido poderosas razones, expuestas en el
2178
+ libro, para abandonar el silencio
2179
+
2180
+
2181
+ «No es costumbre que un Adepto vuelva a coger la
2182
+ pluma después de haber franqueado su propia trans-
2183
+ mutación y sólo razones imperiosas que ponen en
2184
+ juego el destino de la humanidad entera han podido
2185
+ convencernos para que rompamos esta regla, habi-
2186
+ tualmente inquebrantable, y abandonemos el manto
2187
+ de silencio con el que se cubre quien pasa por las
2188
+ ascuas del Fénix.»
2189
+
2190
+
2191
+ Tras esta fugaz aparición se despide y se retira de nuevo
2192
+ al silencib:
2193
+
2194
+
2195
+ «Este libro, escrito desde la urgencia, será el último
2196
+ que firmará Fulcanelli. Podamos tras eso, habiendo
2197
+ cumplido el deber que nos incumbe, volver a entrar
2198
+ en el Silencio del adeptado y no obrar más que según
2199
+ las vías que requiere este estado.»
2200
+
2201
+ «No es, aunque lleva el mismo título, la que retiramos
2202
+ anuestro leal y muy buen discípulo Eugéne Canseliet,
2203
+ hace ya de eso más de 70 años. Nos pareció entonces
2204
+ que si habían llegado los signos de hacer públicos el
2205
+ modus operandi de la vía seca, los tiempos no esta-
2206
+
2207
+
2208
+ 41. Fulcanelli, Finis Gloriae Mundi. Muñoz Moya editores, Sevilla, 2000.
2209
+
2210
+
2211
+ FULCANELLI
2212
+
2213
+
2214
+ ban, ¡ay!, todavía maduros para desvelar los arca-
2215
+ nos del ars brevis»*?
2216
+
2217
+
2218
+ «Los intentos actuales por traer esta excepcional
2219
+ transición de fase a una fecha más satisfactoria para
2220
+ la razón inferior, 1999 en el que estamos o 2000 que
2221
+ es una cifra redonda del calendario, no tienen senti-
2222
+ do alguno.. $
2223
+
2224
+
2225
+ En Finis Gloriae Mundi se dan indicaciones preciosas
2226
+ sobre el «modus operandi» en general y, en especial, se
2227
+ desvelan arcanos del ars brevis -lo que nunca se había
2228
+ hecho- a quienes intentan aproximarse al Adeptado.
2229
+
2230
+ Por ejemplo Fulcanelli analiza de manera bastante
2231
+ explícita, por no decir de manera totalmente explicita,
2232
+ errores que cometen muchos: el estado de la materia llama-
2233
+ da «Prostituta escarlata»; algunos errores de Filaleteo res-
2234
+ pecto a la confusión de los vasos noble y vil que lleva a la
2235
+ pérdida de la Obra; la trampa «no de las menores» -como
2236
+ dice el autor- que lleva a confundir la estéril prostituta
2237
+ escarlata o el ciclo «de la cuatro edades» con la obtención de
2238
+ la Piedra; algunos remedios para rectificar el error en una u
2239
+ otra de las obras así como la manera de detectarlos; la
2240
+ multiplicación de la quintaesencia y cuantas ruedas pueden
2241
+ hacerse y cuales son sus características; los errores más
2242
+ frecuentes sobre «el sujeto de los sabios»; la insuficiencia
2243
+ -el «ni menos» de un capítulo que se llama «Ni más ni
2244
+ menos»- de «espíritu astral» del que habla Cyliani (Hermes
2245
+ Desvelado) tras la «apertura de la materia» absolutamente
2246
+
2247
+
2248
+ 42. Fulcanelli, Finis Gloriae Mundi. Carta de Fulcanelli, Nota introductoria.
2249
+ 43. Fulcanelli, Finis Gloriae Mundi. Capítulo IX, Multiplicación.
2250
+
2251
+
2252
+ 27d
2253
+
2254
+
2255
+ Ml
2256
+
2257
+
2258
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
2259
+
2260
+
2261
+ indispensable para el trabajo del Artista, y un larguísimo
2262
+ etcétera imposible de detallar aquí.
2263
+
2264
+
2265
+ Son cosas no dichas hasta ahora. Sobre todo particular-
2266
+
2267
+
2268
+ ' mente claro e importante es los concerniente a las relaciones
2269
+ " entre al Artista y la materia y como estos dos polos de la
2270
+ + obra, artista y materia en obra, se interpenetran y determinan
2271
+ ' los resultados.
2272
+
2273
+
2274
+ Pero Fulcanelli no se limita en este libro ala «operatoria»
2275
+
2276
+
2277
+ , y su fundamento filosófico. Las teorías físicas del «campo
2278
+
2279
+
2280
+ unitario» (lo que está abajo es como lo que está arriba), la
2281
+
2282
+
2283
+ ' fisión nuclear (el Sol es su padre), los viajes de los
2284
+
2285
+
2286
+ cosmonautas a la luna (la luna es su madre), el control de los
2287
+ climas y la manipulación de la opinión pública (el viento lo
2288
+
2289
+
2290
+ - ha llevado en su vientre), la ingeniería genética (la tierra es
2291
+ - sunodriza), la clonación se seres (su fuerza está entera si es
2292
+ - convertido en tierra), fusión y fisión nuclear (separarás la
2293
+
2294
+
2295
+ : tierra del fuego....) ,el porqué de este inusual comentario de
2296
+
2297
+
2298
+ la Tabla de Esmeralda, así como quien realizó la inversión
2299
+ alquímica, por qué motivo y sobre la base de qué errores
2300
+ alquímicos, están ampliamente tratados, asícomo sus reme-
2301
+ dios.
2302
+
2303
+ También trata, siempre sobre base alquímica, del fin de
2304
+ los tiempos, de la interpretación mecánica de lo que se ha
2305
+ dado en llamar «Las Cuatro edades del Mundo» particular-
2306
+ mente de la de los discípulos de René Genon y de como, al
2307
+ igual que en el crisol, ni estos ciclos, ni el fin de los tiempos,
2308
+ son irreversibles hasta que el Ángel toque su trompeta, así
2309
+ como también explica por qué son inútiles los intentos de
2310
+ inversión alquímica cuyos resultados son la desatrosa socie-
2311
+ dad que vivimos hoy (en el capítulo Las resistencias de la
2312
+ materia).
2313
+
2314
+
2315
+ -75-
2316
+
2317
+
2318
+ FULCANELLI
2319
+
2320
+
2321
+ También hace afirmaciones sorprendentes en el capítu-
2322
+ lo El secreto de los filósofos, como por ejemplo:
2323
+
2324
+
2325
+ «En revistas de divulgación hemos visto descripcio-
2326
+ nes de nuestros pequeños particulares e incluso
2327
+ algunas fases de la obra. En tal situación ya no es útil
2328
+ usar un lenguaje simbólico, tanto menos cuanto que
2329
+ el uso perverso cuya tentación temían los filósofos,
2330
+ ha llegado a ser un juego diario de las potencias
2331
+ militares y de sus servicios especiales.»
2332
+
2333
+
2334
+ FINIS GLORIAE MUNDI, junto con EL MISTERIO
2335
+ DE LAS CATEDRALES y LAS MORADAS
2336
+ FILOSOFALES, es la trilogía de Fulcanelli que conforma
2337
+ una de las obras aqluímicas más importante de todos los
2338
+ tiempos.
2339
+
2340
+ Reproducimos a continuación el capítulo de dicho libro
2341
+ que lleva por título La tabla de esmeralda que, aunque
2342
+ inusual, y más sorprendente todavía separado del contexto
2343
+ del libro cuyo tema podríamos designar muy brumosamente
2344
+ con el nombre de «alquimia social», creemos de estudio y
2345
+ difusión importante y urgente.
2346
+
2347
+ Miguel Angel Muñoz
2348
+ Sevilla, 2000
2349
+
2350
+
2351
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
2352
+
2353
+
2354
+ Desde que el presidente Truman mandó lanzar sobre
2355
+ Hiroshima la primera bomba A, inútil desde el punto de
2356
+ vista estratégico puesto que el Japón,exangie, se preparaba
2357
+ para rendirse, rendición que no se adelantó sino unos días,
2358
+ adquirimos la certidumbre que un grupo de hombres perse-
2359
+ guía secretamente un fin más exigente que terminar la
2360
+ guelra. El Sr. Truman y sus consejeros no sólo querían
2361
+ probar su proyecto mortal en condiciones reales sino asegu-
2362
+ rar al gobierno americano una supremacía sin participación
2363
+ y probarlo a los ojos del mundo. No comprendimos el
2364
+ alcance exacto de su proyecto que podía pasar entonces por
2365
+ la ambición de una nueva Roma en el imperio occidental. A
2366
+ lo largo de los decenios siguientes todo el plan se volvió
2367
+ claro a nuestros ojos pues se inspiraba estrechamente en el
2368
+ más corto y esencial de los escritos alquímicos, la Tabla de
2369
+ Esmeralda.
2370
+
2371
+ Releamos por lo tanto este texto mayor para comentar
2372
+ las adaptaciones hechas en ella con el fin de gobernar
2373
+ orientadamente a las sociedades y para el desarrollo de las
2374
+ ciencias.
2375
+
2376
+
2377
+ 77 -
2378
+
2379
+
2380
+ FULCANELLI
2381
+
2382
+
2383
+ Es verdad, sin mentira, cierto y muy verdadero.
2384
+
2385
+ Lo que está abajo es como lo que está arriba y lo que
2386
+ está arriba es como lo que está abajo; por estas cosas se
2387
+ hacen los milagros de una sola cosa. Y como todas las
2388
+ cosas son y provienen de UNO, por la mediación de UNO,
2389
+ así todas las cosas son y provienen de esta cosa única, por
2390
+ adaptación.
2391
+
2392
+
2393
+ La unidad, sustrato de toda cosa, fue presentida desde
2394
+ la antigiiedad por los filósofos hindús y griegos como lo
2395
+ atestiguan los Upanishad y el Poema de Parménides. El
2396
+ sentido profundo de estos textos ha sido desarrollado en
2397
+ numerosos comentarios y no insistiremos en ello. Los
2398
+ físicos que conocimos antes de la guerra le daban el nombre
2399
+ de campo unitario y desesperaban encontrarlo mediante sus
2400
+ cálculos y comprender sus efectos. Por nuestra parte ni
2401
+ alentamos ni desalentamos sus esfuerzos en este sentido.
2402
+ Varios de estos sabios, conscientes de las amenazas que
2403
+ hacían pesar sobre el mundo las convulsiones de Alemania
2404
+ y la cristalización de fuerzas oscuras, soñaban entonces en
2405
+ uniformar las sociedades humanas en una misma civiliza-
2406
+ ción pacífica que fuera como el reflejo del campo unitario
2407
+ de la materia. Eran, ya lo hemos dicho, niños deslumbrados
2408
+ por la luz del Umbral, ignorantes de los peligros y
2409
+ desbordantes de entusiasmo. Se preparaban, como en los
2410
+ cuentos de hadas, a vencer al lobo para vivir felices el resto
2411
+ de sus días. ¿Cómo concibieron tantas ilusiones sobre lo que
2412
+ fermentaba desde decenios en las sociedades iniciáticas
2413
+ occidentales con las que algunos de ellos se habían sin
2414
+ embargo relacionado? ¿Cómo pudieron entregarse a los
2415
+ jefes militares y políticos americanos, no atados de pies y
2416
+
2417
+
2418
+ -78 -
2419
+
2420
+
2421
+ Ñ
2422
+ 3
2423
+
2424
+
2425
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
2426
+
2427
+
2428
+ manos sino corriendo y retozando como niños tras el flau-
2429
+ tista?
2430
+
2431
+ Los primeros trabajos en los que se los empleó versa-
2432
+ ban sobre el campo unitario. Como habíamos previsto
2433
+ fueron vanos. Las raras confidencias del Sr. Rosen, asistente
2434
+ del profesor Einstein, confidencias que nos han sido conta-
2435
+ das, daban cuenta del abandono de las investigaciones a
2436
+ causa de terribles accidentes de los que no comprendían
2437
+ nada y que sus ecuaciones no había permitido prever. Los
2438
+ suministradores de fondos, almirantes de la Navy o directo-
2439
+ res de agencias credas ex profeso y dependientes del Secre-
2440
+ tariado de Defensa, exigieron secreto y aislaron a todos los
2441
+ testigos. Sin embargo, si el campo físico resistía a todos sus
2442
+ esfuerzos, la idea de la unificación de los hombres se abría
2443
+ paso y los accionistas de la industria hacían sus cálculos,
2444
+ seducidos menos por la esperanza de que se acabaran las
2445
+ guerrad que por la perspectiva de un imperio mundial
2446
+ invisible al servicio de América.
2447
+
2448
+ ¿Fue entonces cuando cabezas locas se dieron cuenta
2449
+ de la similitud entre las preocupaciones de los sabios y los
2450
+ primeros versículos de la Tabla de Hermes, o ya acariciaban
2451
+ la ambición de remodelar el mundo «reconciliando» tradi-
2452
+ ción y modernidad que la mayor parte de los epígonos del
2453
+ esoterismo se dedicaban a separar cuando no a oponer? No
2454
+ tenemos respuesta a esta pregunta. El esoterismo occidental
2455
+ aparecía desde finales del otro siglo como un campo cerrado
2456
+ en el que se enfrentaban voluntades y proyectos que de
2457
+ tradicional no tenían sino la apariencia y de los que el
2458
+ nazismo ofrecía el más lamentable de los espectáculos.
2459
+ ¡Locos fáusticos! Al menos hasta entonces estas quimeras
2460
+ bullían en vasos cerrados, en las trastiendas de librerías
2461
+ polvorientas o en los salones privados de rentistas muertos
2462
+
2463
+
2464
+ -79-
2465
+
2466
+
2467
+ FULCANELLI
2468
+
2469
+
2470
+ de aburrimiento. Pero la aventura nazi dio a muchos de que
2471
+ el poder estaba al alcance de la mano de los audaces. La
2472
+ sinarquía del Sr. Alveydre, que en sus orígenes no era sino
2473
+ una pálida imitación de la sociedad medieval, tomaba el
2474
+ sentido de una dictadura oculta de «superiores desconoci-
2475
+ dos» y todo soplador insignificante, por poco que se hubiera
2476
+ rozado con los ritos mágicos de moda, se sentía el alma de
2477
+ un Cagliostro.
2478
+
2479
+
2480
+ El Sol es su padre...
2481
+
2482
+
2483
+ En 1943, tras los fracasos parciales sobre los trabajos
2484
+ del campo unitario, el interés refluyó hacia las energías
2485
+ intratómicas. A decir verdad ya habían visto la luz, al menos
2486
+ sobre el papel, varios ensayos de «pilas» y todo lo que
2487
+ retenía a los sabios para intentar liberar la energía de Path
2488
+ era el temor a la reacción en cadena. La carta del Sr. Einstein
2489
+ al presidente Roosvelt sirvió de pretexto. ¡Hablad de huesos
2490
+ a los perros, de bombas a los militares y los veréis gruñir de
2491
+ gusto! La continuación es conocida de todos. El Sr.
2492
+ Oppenheimer, citando ante el fogonazo los versos del
2493
+ Majabáratra: «Si de repente apareciera en el cielo el res-
2494
+ plandor de mil soles, su brillo no haría sino aproximarse a la
2495
+ gloria de este espectáculo»* confirmaba a los ojos de los
2496
+ aprendices demiurgos la justeza de la Tabla de Esmeralda.
2497
+ Faltaba todavía que este sol concebido por las manos del
2498
+
2499
+
2500
+ 44. Majabáratra, Libro VI. Subrayaremos que estos versos no se
2501
+ aplican a las “terribles armas de Indra” sino a las transfiguraciones de
2502
+ Krisna. Para el Sr. Oppenheimer el fulgor mortal de la bomba se
2503
+ transformaba en la revelación de la gloria de la materia; nadie sabía
2504
+ todavía cuales serían sus consecuencias. (Nota de Fulcanelli)
2505
+
2506
+
2507
+ - 80 -
2508
+
2509
+
2510
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
2511
+
2512
+
2513
+ hombre apareciese al mundo en el esplendor de sus nubes;
2514
+ ' nuestros rufianes sabían su Biblia y su salmo 18: «De sus
2515
+ narices salía humo y de su boca un fuego devorador...
2516
+ Delante suyo, nubes de las que salían relámpagos, granizos
2517
+ y carbones de fuego...» Así el presidente Truman ordenó
2518
+ bombardear Hiroshima y Nagasaki para que se viera que los
2519
+ rayos y la potencia de los astros ya no pertenecían al Zeus
2520
+ olímpico sino a los hombres, a algunos hombres.
2521
+
2522
+
2523
+ ... y la luna su madre
2524
+
2525
+
2526
+ Acabada la guerra y dominado el sol nuclear, se intere-
2527
+ saron inmediatamente por los trabajos del Sr. von Braun y
2528
+ por perfeccionar sus V2. La carrera del espacio alcanzó su
2529
+ punto culminante cuando dos astronautas embutidos en sus
2530
+ escafandras dieron algunos pasos por nuestro satélite. Una
2531
+ interpretación tan literal podría no ser sino trabajo de
2532
+ soplador pero su práctica parece más retorcida. La «con-
2533
+ quista» de la Luna fue abandonada poco tiempo después de
2534
+ esta burda marcha. Sin duda no esperaban de ella sino una
2535
+ huella simbólica en el alma de las masas. Al igual que con
2536
+ la bomba de Hiroshima, un acto ostentoso debía persuadir a
2537
+ los hombres de su dominio sobre las potencias cósmicas e
2538
+ ilusionarlos con que, a continuación, todos participarían de
2539
+ un proyecto que, en los hechos, se reservaban ellos.
2540
+
2541
+
2542
+ -81-
2543
+
2544
+
2545
+ FULCANELLI
2546
+
2547
+
2548
+ El viento lo ha llevado en su vientre.
2549
+
2550
+
2551
+ Del viento, al igual que con la Luna, hicieron una
2552
+ lectura literal y se dedicaron a continuación a controlar los
2553
+ climas reteniendo las masas de aire mediante «muros de
2554
+ ondas» levantados sobre continentes enteros, análogos al
2555
+ confinamiento magnético de los flujos de partículas en los
2556
+ grandes aceleradores. Las primeras experiencias,en 1975 y
2557
+ 76, escaparon a todo control durante varios meses. Las
2558
+ segundas, en 1983, tuvieron mejores resultados pero no se
2559
+ levantó su secreto aunque circularon rumores en las univer-
2560
+ sidades. La contrapartida social del dominio de los vientos
2561
+ se tradujo en un intento de controlar la opinión, lo que
2562
+ Virgilio llamaba fama volans, tan móvil y fugaz como la
2563
+ brisa.
2564
+
2565
+
2566
+ La tierra es su nodriza y su receptáculo.
2567
+
2568
+
2569
+ Para asegurarel retorno a alguna materia densa decidie-
2570
+ ron entonces favorecer los trabajos sobre lo viviente y la
2571
+ ingeniería genética de la que hemos dicho todas las reservas
2572
+ que nos inspira.
2573
+
2574
+ Las cuatro citas que abren este versículo de la Tabla de
2575
+ Esmeralda cuyos comentarios en actos acabamos de descri-
2576
+ bir corresponden en una lectura alquímica canónica a los
2577
+ cuatro elementos, en un orden extraño: fuego, aire, agua y
2578
+ tierra, en el que alternan lo sutil y lo denso, lo caliente y lo
2579
+ frío. Subrayemos la progresión de los éteres hasta el acaba-
2580
+ miento de la corporificación, correspondientes a los cuatro
2581
+ primeros días del Génesis. La Obra divina de la creación
2582
+ revelada por el Gran Hermes sigue estrechamente el «ciclo»
2583
+
2584
+
2585
+ -82-
2586
+
2587
+
2588
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
2589
+
2590
+
2591
+ - de las cuatro Edades, edad de oro del Sol, edad de plata de
2592
+ la Luna, edad de bronce de los héroes erráticos cuyas
2593
+ correrías poseen la libertad del viento, edad del hierro
2594
+ densificado al máximo. El lector comprenderá mejor por
2595
+ qué la aparición de estos ciclos tras el fin del proceso de la
2596
+ Creación significa que se cometió un error. Efectivamente,
2597
+ desde que la densificación material del cosmos se acabó no
2598
+ era necesario ya seguir más adelante. Admitamos incluso
2599
+ que, por analogía, este ciclo se aplique a las civilizaciones;
2600
+ debería resumir su nacimiento pero, una vez que toman
2601
+ cuerpo ¿para qué destruirlas y volver a empezar ad libitum
2602
+ la generación de abortos? Pese al absurdo de semejante
2603
+ rueda loca girando sin fin, podríamos admitir un ciclo así si
2604
+ la enseñanza de Hermes se detuviera ahí; pero después de
2605
+ haber comentado brevemente esta primera etapa de la Obra
2606
+ divina e introducido a su discípulo a la contemplación de los
2607
+ orígenés, describe muchas otras operaciones.
2608
+
2609
+ La aparición inesperada de las cuatro edades en el crisol
2610
+ tiende a rehacer naturalmente lo que, por accidente, fue
2611
+ demasiado deshecho; o, a veces, a obtener el «castigo» de
2612
+ una corporificación demasiado extremada. Sin embargo, en
2613
+ la historia de las civilizaciones ocurre que introduce una
2614
+ creación real, aunque sólo conocemos un ejemplo, que se
2615
+ extiende a lo largo de varios milenios a partir del despertar
2616
+ inducido por la última inversión de los polos. Cuando se
2617
+ examinan tiempos más cortos, aparece inmediatamente
2618
+ algún furor sangriento o la desmesura del orgullo, y lleva a
2619
+ una época a la vez caótica y petrificada cuya salida «natu-
2620
+ ral», ya lo hemos dicho, se realiza por la violencia de un
2621
+ pequeño ragnarok. Aquí fue planificado y programado por
2622
+ demiurgos pervertidos que parecen haber comprendido su
2623
+ sentido primero y pretendían imponer al mundo, fuera del
2624
+
2625
+
2626
+ -83-
2627
+
2628
+
2629
+ FULCANELLI
2630
+
2631
+
2632
+ tiempo marcado por el Creador, una recración de la civili-
2633
+ zación análoga a la «revolución neolítica». Ningún alqui-
2634
+ mista ha intentado en su crisol una parecida inducción
2635
+ forzada, al menos ninguno habla de ella, y nos parece
2636
+ razonable pensar que no conducirá a «un mundo nuevo»
2637
+ sino al desorden acostumbrado.
2638
+
2639
+ Subrayemos también las equivalencias simbólicas rí
2640
+ gidas y no filosóficas introducidas entre los elementos y las
2641
+ prácticas sociales. Al fuego corresponde la energía del
2642
+ átomo; al agua lunar la conquista espacial asimilada a una
2643
+ navegación; al aire los climas y la opinión; a la tierra los
2644
+ seres vivos. Nada de esta clasificación habría sido admitida
2645
+ por los antiguos porque distribuye elementos heteróclitos
2646
+ bastante arbitrariamente, pero la encontremos hasta en las
2647
+ metáforas populares o entre los novelistas. En cualquie:
2648
+ caso es sofística como hubiesen proclamado con nosotros
2649
+ los antiguos maestros.
2650
+
2651
+
2652
+ El Padre de todo, el Telesma del mundo universal,
2653
+ está aquí. Su fuerza o su potencia permanece entera si es
2654
+ hecho tierra.
2655
+
2656
+
2657
+ Con estas frases Hermes Trismegisto resume y comen
2658
+ tael estado de la Creación acabada. Pero nuestros demiurgos
2659
+ lo han entendido no como el reposo del séptimo Día, sino
2660
+ como una instrucción para continuar su obra y puesto de lo
2661
+ que se trataba era de «convertir en tierra», han aplicado su
2662
+ fuerza a hacer aparecer seres inexistentes hasta entonces.
2663
+ nuevos virus en biología, cuerpos superpesados en física ya
2664
+
2665
+
2666
+ -84 -
2667
+
2668
+
2669
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
2670
+
2671
+
2672
+ que, por ventura, su arte no les permite suscitar especies más
2673
+ allá del primer grado estructural de corporización. Las
2674
+ bacterias o las plantas transgénicas no son sino organismos
2675
+ modificados, no criaturas inéditas.
2676
+
2677
+
2678
+ Separarás la tierra del fuego, lo sutil de lo espeso,
2679
+ suavemente, con gran industria.
2680
+
2681
+
2682
+ Tanta es la claridad de esta frase para un alquimista
2683
+ como fue la dificultad que tuvimos para comprender cómo
2684
+ la interpretaban ellos para sus propios fines. Separar lo sutil
2685
+ de lo espeso encontraba un sentido en teoría de la informa-
2686
+ ción, con la distinción entre hard (espeso) y soft (sutil). En
2687
+ lo que respecta a la tierra y al fuego ¿se trataba de aislar la
2688
+ biología de la física? ¿de oponer las dos técnicas de mani-
2689
+ bidón del átomo, la fisión de los elementos pesados que
2690
+ sirven para producir la energía doméstica, y la fusión,
2691
+ analogon del fuego estelar, reservada para la bomba H? Esta
2692
+ última solución explicaría por qué las investigaciones sobre
2693
+ la fusión controlada fueron desalentadas sistemáticamente,
2694
+ aunque no fuera sino negando a los investigadores los
2695
+ subsidios y los laboratorios necesarios para su puesta a
2696
+ punto. Una tal desafección carece de sentido económico: el
2697
+ hidrógeno abunda en la naturaleza mientras que el uranio no
2698
+ se encuentra sino en escasa minas y exige costosísimos
2699
+ procesos de extracción; tampoco se justifica por los riesgos
2700
+ arrostrados pues la fisión produce deshechos mortales que
2701
+ hay inmediatamente que depositar, vigilar o volver a trans-
2702
+ formar. La aberración de esta política no ha dejado de
2703
+
2704
+
2705
+ -85-
2706
+
2707
+
2708
+ FULCANELLI
2709
+
2710
+
2711
+ sorprender a numerosos sabios a los que siempre se les negó
2712
+ una explicación creíble.
2713
+
2714
+
2715
+ Sube de la tierra y baja del cielo, y recibe la fuerza de
2716
+ las cosas superiores y de las cosas inferiores.
2717
+
2718
+
2719
+ Quienquiera que se haya inclinado sobre los escritos
2720
+ alquímicos comprenderá que el pasaje describe la ascensión
2721
+ del águila de la que nosotros mismos hemos hablado varias
2722
+ veces. Ahora bien, el águila figura en el escudo de los
2723
+ Estados Unidos y, desde la caída de los imperios de Europa,
2724
+ es incluso la única potencia que todavía la lleva.
2725
+ Exotericamente, en la sucesión de logros ostentosos desti-
2726
+ nados a fijar en el alma de los pueblos estrechas alegorías a
2727
+ guisa de símbolos, la construcción de la lanzadera espacial
2728
+ y sus idas y venidas públicas responderían a las exigencias
2729
+ de su ilusorio programa. De manera más secreta vemos aqui
2730
+ y allá intentos por aliar la tecnología más material a opera-
2731
+ ciones mágicas confundidas con el cielo espiritual. Ya no se
2732
+ contentan con dirigir la opinión mediante la prensa o la
2733
+ televisión, tratan de penetrar los cerebros mediante ondas
2734
+ para ordenar los pensamientos más íntimos como si cada ser
2735
+ humano no fuera sino una acotación de limaduras de hierro
2736
+ entre los polos del imán.
2737
+
2738
+
2739
+ Así tendrás la gloria del mundo y toda oscuridad se
2740
+ alejará de ti.
2741
+
2742
+
2743
+ No despreciemos nunca a estos maestros ocultos de la
2744
+ alquimia fáustica. A imitación de los sabios trabajan en este
2745
+
2746
+
2747
+ - 86 -
2748
+
2749
+
2750
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
2751
+
2752
+
2753
+ mundo pero no por é ni siquiera con él. Si buscaran la gloria
2754
+ en el sentido ordinario del término, no se cubrirían con un
2755
+ velo de secreto casi totalmente opaco, poco propicio a
2756
+ exaltar las vanidades. La gloria, entre los antiguos, no es
2757
+ sino una energía de luz, a la que los magos persas llamaban
2758
+ el xvarnah, la misma que manifestó Cristo durante su
2759
+ transfiguración. ¿Cómo aspirar al nimbo de esta gloria a la
2760
+ vez que se rechaza seguir los caminos de la revelación
2761
+ divina y realizar sobre sí las purificaciones más elementa-
2762
+ les? ¿Qué es pues esta gloria mundi si no se la entiende ni
2763
+ en el sentido exotérico ordinario ni en su verdadero signifi-
2764
+ cado espiritual? Acabamos de ver que intentan agrupar y
2765
+ ordenar los cerebros para hacer de ellos alojamientos indi-
2766
+ viduales de un alma única, de una especie de TOV-AVTPONOO
2767
+ artificial. El Padre Teilhard de Chardin había anunciado
2768
+ coma última perspectiva de la evolución la formación de lo
2769
+ lo que él llamaba una noosfera. Pero además de que el mav-
2770
+ AVTPOTOO Cuyo profeta pretendía ser no advenía sino al fin
2771
+ de los tiempos, como un calderón musical del fin de los
2772
+ tiempos, su surgimiento en nada reducía la libertad perso-
2773
+ nal. En su espíritu se trataba de una fusión de amor e
2774
+ inteligencia análoga ala que los teólogos más fiables han
2775
+ descrito como relaciones trinitarias de Dios. No nos corres-
2776
+ ponde juzgar lo bien fundado de las afirmaciones de los
2777
+ teólogos: las revelaciones de las que nos hemos beneficiado
2778
+ y sin las cuales nuestra labor alquímica hubiera sido vana,
2779
+ no concernían sino a la perfección de la materia y a la
2780
+ purificación de nuestra propia naturaleza. El optimismo del
2781
+ padre Teilhard de Chardin, la imagen lineal y suave que se
2782
+ hacía de la evolución no nos han convencido nunca y, si la
2783
+ noosfera a la que llamaba con toda su esperanza visionaria
2784
+
2785
+
2786
+ -87 -
2787
+
2788
+
2789
+ FULCANELLI
2790
+
2791
+
2792
+ ha de realizarse un día, dudamos que sea antes de la
2793
+ formación de los nuevos cielos y la nueva tierra anunciados
2794
+ por San Juan.
2795
+
2796
+ Pero una noosfera impuesta para explotar su potencia
2797
+ mágica o decuplicar la intuición intelectual de algunos
2798
+ falsos demiurgos está emparentada con la violación de los
2799
+ ángeles que le costó a Sodoma desaparecer bajo el fuego y
2800
+ el azufre. Pues es efectivamente al ángel embrionario que
2801
+ hay en el hombre a quien quieren desviar de su vocación
2802
+ última, a menos que no tengan la jactancia de llegar a ser los
2803
+ únicos hombres verdaderos enviando a los demás a un
2804
+ callejón sin salida, simples células de una máquina pensante
2805
+ esclavizada. Más grave todavía; si nos aproximamos al
2806
+ brillante y locuaz satélite artificial previsto para la entrada
2807
+ en un falacioso tercer milenio, las divagaciones alentadas en
2808
+ torno al eclipse del 11 de agosto de 1999, parecería que se
2809
+ hubieran fijado una fecha para triunfar, lo que les obliga a
2810
+ intensificar su presión sobre las masas. ¡Pura locura hozar
2811
+ así! Un aprendiz se da cuenta desde sus primeros errores y
2812
+ desde sus primeras decepciones que alejarse de las vías de
2813
+ la naturaleza retrasa la obra cuando no obliga a volver a
2814
+ empezarlo todo desde el principio. Pero el orgullosos ni ve
2815
+ ni oye y por más que la materia le huya permanentemente en
2816
+ su crisol, él continúa hasta que todo se rompe irremediable-
2817
+ mente entre sus manos y, de vuelta, le rompe a él.
2818
+
2819
+ No iremos más adelante en el comentario de la Tabla
2820
+ esmeraldina. Pues ellos mismos, hagan lo que hagan, no
2821
+ alcanzarán nunca ni siquiera la ilusión de la verdadera
2822
+ fuerza, fuerte de toda fuerza que vencerá toda cosa sutil y
2823
+ penetrará toda cosa sólida a la que el Cosmopolita llama,
2824
+
2825
+
2826
+ -88-
2827
+
2828
+
2829
+ LA TABLA DE ESMERALDA
2830
+
2831
+
2832
+ muy acertadamente, la Sal de la tierra*. La quintaesencia,
2833
+ en sus aspectos otros que minerales, mora más allá de la
2834
+ espada del kherub. ¡Finis gloriae mundi! En el cuadro de
2835
+ Valdés Leal, las nubes cubren la última luz y sólo se abren
2836
+ por arriba, desvelando la púrpura que reviste la mano divina
2837
+ y sin embargo natural.
2838
+
2839
+ Recibiendo esta revelación, el alquimista sincero llega-
2840
+ rá sin duda alguna a su fin, y la verdadera Gloria del Mundo
2841
+ reposará sobre él. Sin embargo, la obra posible al hombre,
2842
+ incluso en su plenitud, no manifiesta sino la esperanza de las
2843
+ cosas por venir; como los Magos en el pesebre o Salomón
2844
+ construyendo el Templo tendrá que depositar su verdadero
2845
+ tesoro en el altar invisible de Aquél ante quien toda carne
2846
+ gime de terror en sus extravíos o ignorancia primera, de
2847
+ amorosa Alegría cuando habiendo cumplido su parte de la
2848
+ obra y sin poder determinar de antemano ni el tiempo ni la
2849
+ hora, contemple no ya la apertura de la materia, sino la de los
2850
+ Cielos y la claridad de Su Gloria. ¡ Y qué necio sería quien
2851
+ prefiriese la gloria vana de este mundo al Don divino más
2852
+ luminoso aún que el carbunclo de los sabios!
2853
+
2854
+
2855
+ 45.Sethon. Las obras del Cosmopolita, traducción por Antoine Du Val,
2856
+ Paris, 1969 (Nota de Fulcanelli).
2857
+
2858
+
2859
+ -89-
2860
+
resources/hermes/hermes_trimigesto.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,1527 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Hermes Trismegistos:
2
+
3
+ El Tres Veces Grande y Muchas Veces Forjado
4
+
5
+
6
+ Octavio da Cunha Botelho
7
+
8
+
9
+ Octobre/2019
10
+
11
+
12
+ 2
13
+
14
+
15
+ La Pseudoepigrafía
16
+
17
+ Actualmente, cuando un autor escribe un
18
+ libro, sus derechos de autor o los derechos del
19
+ editor son registrados en un organismo
20
+ especializado para dicho registro, entonces la obra
21
+ es registrada para obtener el ISBN (International
22
+ Standard Book Number). Este recurso fue creado
23
+ en 1967 y oficializado como norma internacional
24
+ en 1972. Es un sistema de identificación numérica
25
+ para obras literarias. Más recientemente, fui
26
+ creada otra forma de identificación de libros a
27
+ través de códigos de barras. Para las
28
+ publicaciones en la web, ahora existe el DOI
29
+ (Digital Object Identifier), un padrón internacional
30
+ para la identificación numérica de artículos y otras
31
+ publicaciones científicas en Internet. Estas
32
+ características identifican y garantizan claramente
33
+ los derechos de autor según las leyes de derechos
34
+ de autor, la infracción de los derechos de autor es
35
+ un delito penal. Esta identificación clara del autor
36
+ es muy importante para el conocimiento preciso
37
+ del verdadero autor de una obra.
38
+
39
+ Sin embargo, este proceso no existía en
40
+ el pasado, las obras no tenían derechos de autor,
41
+ ya que no había un cuerpo para tal tarea, ni había
42
+ legislación pertinente, ni identificación numérica de
43
+ la obra, etc. Por lo tanto, el concepto de autoría
44
+ era muy diferente del actual, además, el autor no
45
+
46
+
47
+ 3
48
+
49
+
50
+ tenía protección de derechos de su trabajo, lo que
51
+ facilitaba la falsificación de la autoría
52
+ (pseudoepigrafía) de los libros. Es decir, un autor
53
+ podría escribir un libro y luego asignar la autoría a
54
+ quien quisiera, como regla general, a un autor
55
+ prestigioso, para que la obra pueda ser acepta
56
+ fácilmente.
57
+
58
+ Más que con los autores de otros
59
+ asuntos, este procedimiento fue frecuente entre
60
+ los autores religiosos del pasado. Como signo de
61
+ humildad y sumisión, algunos autores religiosos
62
+ escribieron libros, pero atribuyeron la autoría a
63
+ otro autor más prestigioso, o incluso a un dios o
64
+ diosa. Incluso hoy, con tantos recursos para
65
+ asegurar los derechos de autor, hay adherentes
66
+ religiosos, investigadores e historiadores que no
67
+ perciben la inmoralidad o el crimen en estas
68
+ prácticas, alegando que estos religiosos del
69
+ pasado, al escribir, se sentían como canales de
70
+ transmisión de enseñanzas de una tradición, por lo
71
+ tanto, con muy poca, si alguna, creación individual
72
+ en la obra. Entonces el libro podría ser más una
73
+ compilación que la creación de un autor.
74
+
75
+ Sin embargo, para estos casos, algunos
76
+ temas deben ser discutidos. Primero, cuánta
77
+ creación personal o compilación reproducida está
78
+ presente en la obra que no la caracteriza como
79
+ una creación personal. En segundo lugar, la
80
+ cuestión de la responsabilidad. Al asignar la
81
+ autoría a otra persona, el verdadero autor se
82
+ exime de la responsabilidad por los errores, lo que
83
+
84
+
85
+ 4
86
+
87
+
88
+ lo hace inmune, luego transfiere la responsabilidad
89
+ por los errores, que el verdadero autor cometió, a
90
+ otro autor. En la India, un autor religioso a menudo
91
+ se compara con un loro, como un signo de
92
+ extrema humildad en la preparación de su libro,
93
+ alegando que solo repite lo que ha aprendido de
94
+ sus maestros. Bien, compararse con un loro es
95
+ realmente una comparación humilde, porque
96
+ desde otra perspectiva, es reconocer que el autor
97
+ reproduce lo que no entiende, tal como un loro. En
98
+ tercer lugar, lo que es más grave, la cuestión de la
99
+ astucia al atribuir la autoría a otro autor prestigioso
100
+ o un dios. La intención subyacente es hacer valer
101
+ la aceptación y el prestigio utilizando la autoridad
102
+ de otro autor.
103
+
104
+ Un ejemplo similar bien conocido en el
105
+ Hinduismo es Krshna Dwaipáyana Vyása
106
+ otTRT), a quien se le atribuyen la autoría
107
+ de muchas obras, como los cuatro Vedas (más de
108
+ diez mil himnos), el Mahábhárata (cien mil coplas),
109
+ los 18 Puránas (alrededor de 400,000 coplas), el
110
+ Brahma Sütra, el Yoga Sütra Bháshya y una
111
+ cantidad más de pseudoepígrafos controvertidos.
112
+ La justificación de algunos autores hindúes, para
113
+ la autoría de tantos y tan largas obras, es que
114
+ Vyása no es un autor per se, sino el nombre de un
115
+ puesto de compilador ocupado por diferentes
116
+ autores, por lo que a veces el nombre Vyása es
117
+ traducido por “compilador”. Si es así, la
118
+ justificación aún no está completa, ya que los
119
+ nombres Krshna y Dwaipáyana especifican un
120
+
121
+
122
+
123
+ 5
124
+
125
+
126
+ vyása (compilador) particular, a saber, el de piel
127
+ oscura ( Krshna ), generado por la diosa Saraswatí
128
+ y que reside en una isla ( dwipa ), de ahí la palabra
129
+ Dwaipáyana (residente en una isla). Entonces, si
130
+ se especifica el nombre de un compilador (vyása),
131
+ ¿cuál es el nombre de los otros vyásas ? Porque,
132
+ un hecho muy común en la historia de los oficios
133
+ es uno ocupar un puesto y conocer el nombre de
134
+ este ocupante del puesto.
135
+
136
+ La práctica de la pseudoepigrafía
137
+ demostró ser eficiente con el tiempo para lograr
138
+ aceptación y prestigio, ya que los nombres de
139
+ sabios y dioses usurpados funcionaron como un
140
+ "sello" para la legitimidad del texto recién escrito,
141
+ de ahí su consecuente credibilidad y aceptación
142
+ entre los seguidores. Autores como Hermes
143
+ Trismegistos, Vyása y otros funcionaron como
144
+ sellos, de modo que, por ejemplo, si un libro fue
145
+ escrito por Hermes Trismegistus, entonces sería
146
+ un libro aceptado. Algo así como si la
147
+ pseudoepigrafía funcionara como la puerta de
148
+ entrada a la canonización, o algo así como lo que
149
+ ahora llamamos el "sello de calidad". Este sello
150
+ finalmente se extendió al sistema, por lo que
151
+ Florian Ebeling señaló: "El Hermetismo parece
152
+ haberse convertido en un sello con el cual un texto
153
+ y su contenido factual podrían provocar el
154
+ reconocimiento de su ortodoxia y su verdad"
155
+ (Ebeling, 2007: 75). Entonces, con el crecimiento
156
+ del prestigio del sello Hermetismo, dentro del
157
+ entorno esotérico, ha multiplicado el número de
158
+
159
+
160
+ 6
161
+
162
+
163
+ escritos en nombre de esta tradición. Un ejemplo
164
+ reciente fue el libro Kybalion: The Hermetic
165
+ Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece,
166
+ (Kybalion: La Filosofía Hermética del Antiguo
167
+ Egipto y Grecia), escrito por Three Initiates y
168
+ publicado en 1908. Este libro no es mencionado
169
+ en los textos Hermética, ni por los hermetistas de
170
+ la Edad Media y el Renacimiento, sin duda es un
171
+ texto hermético tardío cuando ya se fusionó con
172
+ nuevas ideas para agregar a las muchas otras
173
+ doctrinas obsoletas del pasado. Finalmente, el
174
+ libro que tiene la firma de Hermes Trismegistos o
175
+ Hermetismo, obtiene aceptación inmediata en el
176
+ entorno esotérico.
177
+
178
+ Con el tiempo, la práctica de la
179
+ pseudoepigrafía se hizo tan común y aceptable
180
+ que, debido a las incertidumbres de la autoría, la
181
+ autoría se atribuyó a los personajes más ilustres.
182
+ Así Christian Bull señaló: “Los tratados herméticos
183
+ se atribuyen a Hermes o sus discípulos, lo que
184
+ significa que no sabemos quién los escribió
185
+ realmente. Esto coloca a los Hermética 1 en el
186
+
187
+
188
+ 1 Hermética es un adjetivo latino masculino en plural de
189
+ hermeticum (hermético), por lo que significa "herméticos".
190
+ Con el tiempo, se ha vuelto convencional llamar Hermética
191
+ los textos más directamente relacionados con Hermes
192
+ Trismegistus. Los textos que se incluyen o no en
193
+ Hermética varían de una colección a otra, según los
194
+ criterios del autor o editor, así como el descubrimiento de
195
+ nuevos textos. La colección más actualizada es la
196
+
197
+
198
+
199
+ 7
200
+
201
+
202
+ género de la pseudoepigrafía, en el que
203
+ encontramos textos que se atribuyen a figuras
204
+ míticas como Orfeo, Museo, Enoch y Seth, o se
205
+ atribuyen erróneamente a figuras históricas (pero
206
+ a veces semi-legendarias) como Zoroastro,
207
+ Homero, Pitágoras, Jesús y sus apóstoles” * 2 (Bull,
208
+ 2018: 03).
209
+
210
+ El Autor que Nunca Existió
211
+
212
+ El caso anterior es el de Hermes
213
+ Trismegistos (Eppqg TpiapeyiaTog). Como nunca
214
+ existió, todas las autorías de las obras que se le
215
+ atribuyen son pseudoepígrafos. Cuando él no es el
216
+ autor, él es el protagonista, o ambos al mismo
217
+ tiempo, autor y protagonista. Por ejemplo: el
218
+ primer capítulo del Corpus Hermeticum, conocido
219
+ como Poimandres (noipavSpng), un diálogo entre
220
+ Hermes Trismegistos y Poimandres, este último es
221
+
222
+
223
+ publicada y comentada por Xavier Renau Nebot, Textos
224
+ Herméticos, Editorial Gredos, 1999, que incluyó
225
+ descubrimientos recientes.
226
+
227
+
228
+ 2 Los seguidores del Hermetismo consideraban a Hermes
229
+ Trismegistos como el primer filósofo y el primer profeta
230
+ de la humanidad, por lo que todos los otros sabios y
231
+ místicos que surgieron a continuación fueron sus
232
+ discípulos, por lo que cualquiera de estos podría ser el
233
+ autor de una obra hermética.
234
+
235
+
236
+
237
+ 8
238
+
239
+
240
+ el Pensamiento ( nous ) 3 del Poder Supremo
241
+ ( authentes ), Hermes es el autor y el personaje
242
+ (interlocutor) del diálogo con Poimandres. Lo
243
+ mismo sucede en otras obras. Por lo tanto, porque
244
+ nunca existió, pero estuvo presente en la
245
+ imaginación durante muchos siglos, Florian
246
+ Ebeling lo llamó "fantasma" y observó: "El heroico
247
+ patrón del Hermetismo nunca existió, Hermes
248
+ Trismegistos fue una ficción, una ficción fructífera
249
+ con efectos duraderos. La figura de este
250
+ legendario sabio egipcio surgió de la fusión de dos
251
+ deidades de origen altamente divergente: el dios
252
+ egipcio Thoth y el dios griego Hermes" (Ebeling,
253
+ 2007: 03). Esta fusión puede haber ocurrido
254
+ durante el período helenístico. El epíteto
255
+ "Trismegistos" significa "Tres Veces Grande" y es
256
+ tomado del dios egipcio Thoth, que ya era
257
+ conocido por este epíteto en Egipto antes del
258
+ sincretismo (Ebeling, 2007: 03-7 y Bull, 2018: 33s).
259
+ En la mitología romana, Hermes es conocido como
260
+ Mercurio. El epíteto "Tres Veces Grande"
261
+ (TpiapeyioToq - Trismegistos-, Latín: Termaximus)
262
+ se le atribuye, según algunos autores, porque
263
+ Hermes Trismegistos fui un dios, un rey y un
264
+ hombre sabio, aunque cuando leemos la extensa
265
+
266
+
267
+ 3 La traducción del término griego nous (vouq) es
268
+ divergente, a veces traducida por intelecto, a veces por
269
+ mente, alma o pensamiento, por lo que algunos autores
270
+ prefieren no traducir.
271
+
272
+
273
+
274
+ 9
275
+
276
+
277
+ literatura hermética, nos damos cuenta de que él
278
+ era mucho más que solo Tres Veces Grande,
279
+ mucho más que eso en los mitos, él fue Muchas
280
+ Veces Grande, ya que realizó innumerables
281
+ funciones, como veremos más adelante.
282
+
283
+ El "Jack for all the Trades"
284
+
285
+ Como mencionamos anteriormente,
286
+ Hermes fui un personaje mitológico, pero no
287
+ cualquier personaje, sino que, como un actor que
288
+ puede interpretar diferentes roles en diferentes
289
+ obras de teatro o películas, él aparece en los
290
+ textos herméticos como un protagonista “sabe-
291
+ todo” y con una versatilidad muy diversa. Además
292
+ de conocer innumerables temas, se presenta a
293
+ veces como un dios, a veces como un rey, como
294
+ un mago, como un maestro de la sabiduría, como
295
+ un médico, un astrólogo, un alquimista, un profeta,
296
+ un educador, un adivino, un maestro de
297
+ alfabetización, un constructor de pirámides, etc.
298
+ De todos modos, Hermes Trismegistos sería aquel
299
+ actor versátil que a los cineastas siempre les
300
+ gustarían tener a su disposición, o el "manitas"
301
+ que a todas las compañías les gustarían tener en
302
+ su personal.
303
+
304
+ La Literatura Hermética
305
+
306
+ Muchos piensan que el Hermetismo es
307
+ simplemente sinónimo de esoterismo, magia,
308
+
309
+
310
+ 10
311
+
312
+
313
+ alquimia u ocultismo. Esta es una idea resultante
314
+ de los desarrollos del Hermetismo después de
315
+ siglos de absorción de ideas y prácticas de otras
316
+ tradiciones, por lo tanto, un concepto
317
+ contemporáneo de un Hermetismo muy
318
+ desarrollado y diverso. Estrictamente hablando, el
319
+ Hermetismo fue diferente en distintos momentos
320
+ de su evolución, así como en diferentes regiones
321
+ (por ejemplo, Hermetismo Árabe, Hermetismo de
322
+ Alejandría, Hermetismo Grecorromano, etc.), por
323
+ lo que puede conceptualizarse de una manera en
324
+ la Antigüedad, otro en la Edad Media, otro en el
325
+ Renacimiento, otro en la Edad Contemporánea.
326
+ Con el tiempo, nuevos textos fueron compuestos y
327
+ unidos a la tradición hermética. Entonces eso se
328
+ vuelve difícil hoy conciliar las opiniones de los
329
+ diversos autores sobre qué textos pertenecen o no
330
+ a la literatura hermética, los criterios varían de un
331
+ autor a otro. Kevin Van Bladel reflexionó: "... hoy
332
+ no existe consenso entre los académicos sobre
333
+ qué obras pueden considerarse herméticas" (Van
334
+ Bladel, 2009: 18). Por lo tanto, algunos
335
+
336
+ investigadores prefieren considerar como
337
+ herméticos aquellos textos con relación directa
338
+ con Hermes Trismegistos, es decir, aquellos cuya
339
+ autoría se le atribuye o aquellos en los que él es
340
+ un personaje en el diálogo, este fue el criterio
341
+ utilizado por Florian Ebeling para circunscribir los
342
+ límites de su historia sobre el Hermetismo
343
+ (Ebeling, 2007: 07-9).
344
+
345
+
346
+ 11
347
+
348
+
349
+ A principios del siglo III e. c., Clemente
350
+ de Alejandría registró en su obra Stromata, una
351
+ serie de escritos herméticos que se llevaron
352
+ durante una procesión de culto egipcio. Al
353
+ comienzo de la procesión estaban los himnos
354
+ herméticos divinos y la biografía real. Los libros
355
+ astrológicos sobre estrellas fijas, planetas y sus
356
+ movimientos fueron seguidos por inscripciones
357
+ jeroglíficas sobre temas geográficos, a
358
+ continuación, los libros que trataban sobre
359
+ educación y prácticas de adoración. Había libros
360
+ sobre las leyes, sobre los dioses y sobre el
361
+ entrenamiento de los sacerdotes. Hubo un total de
362
+ 36 libros de Hermes que contenían toda la filosofía
363
+ de los egipcios, que se complementaron con seis
364
+ libros sobre temas médicos. Pero estos números
365
+ son muy modestos en comparación con los 36,525
366
+ libros herméticos señalados por Menetho o los
367
+ 20,000 mencionados por Seleucus (Ebeling, 2007:
368
+ 09). Sin embargo, estos libros no sobrevivieron,
369
+ por lo que no conocemos el contenido; de lo que
370
+ tenemos actualmente, los siguientes son los textos
371
+ fundamentales de la tradición de Hermes
372
+ Trismegistos, divididos en dos categorías:
373
+
374
+ a) los textos filosófico-religiosos (teología,
375
+ creacionismo, cosmogénesis, soteriología,
376
+ cosmología, etc.) y
377
+
378
+ b) los textos técnicos (Astrología, Magia, Alquimia,
379
+ Curación, etc.).
380
+
381
+ Los textos filosófico-religiosos son los
382
+ Hermética, que incluyen las siguientes obras:
383
+
384
+
385
+ 12
386
+
387
+
388
+ 1) El Corpus Hermeticum, una colección de
389
+ dieciocho tratados (se perdió el tratado
390
+ XV) compuesto entre los siglos I y III. e. c.,
391
+ conservado en griego a través de
392
+ manuscritos bizantinos de los siglos XIV a
393
+ XVI e. c. La edición crítica del texto griego,
394
+ ahora considerada por los estudiosos
395
+ como la referencia, es la de A. J.
396
+ Festugiére y N. D. Nock, publicada con
397
+ notas y traducción al francés en los años
398
+ 1945-54.
399
+
400
+ 2) El Asclepius (griego: Logos Teleios: Latín:
401
+ Sermo Perfectum), una colección de
402
+ discursos de Hermes Trismegistos para su
403
+ discípulo Asclepios, compuesto entre los
404
+ siglos II y III e. c. Se perdió el griego
405
+ completo original, solo hay fragmentos en
406
+ griego, sobrevivieron completamente solo
407
+ a través de traducciones latinas. Una
408
+ versión en lenguaje copto de los párrafos
409
+ 21 al 29 se encontró entre los manuscritos
410
+ de la biblioteca Nag Hammadi en 1945.
411
+ Los manuscritos latinos más importantes
412
+ son de los siglos XII y XIII. e. c.
413
+
414
+ 3) Los Extractos de Stobeu, una compilación
415
+ de 29 extractos de textos herméticos
416
+ recopilados por John Stobeu en el siglo V
417
+ e. c., para la educación de su hijo, con
418
+ algunos extractos relativamente extensos,
419
+ especialmente el extracto XXIII, el Kóré
420
+ Kósmou.
421
+
422
+
423
+ 13
424
+
425
+
426
+ 4) Los textos coptos de la Biblioteca Nag
427
+ Hammadi, encontrados en 1945. De los
428
+ cinco textos herméticos incluidos en esta
429
+ biblioteca, dos de ellos eran previamente
430
+ desconocidos: el Octavo y Noveno
431
+ Discurso, y la Oración de Acción de
432
+ Gracias.
433
+
434
+ 5) Fragmentos de textos herméticos
435
+ conservados en los escritos de los Padres
436
+ de la Iglesia (Tertuliano, Lactantius,
437
+ Agustín, etc.).
438
+
439
+ 6) Las Definiciones de Hermes
440
+ Trismegistos para Asclepios, una
441
+ colección de aforismos, conservada en el
442
+ idioma armenio traducida del griego y
443
+ compuesta en griego probablemente a
444
+ fines del siglo VI e. c.
445
+
446
+ 7) Pequeños fragmentos herméticos en
447
+ papiro descubiertos en archivos y
448
+ bibliotecas en la última mitad del siglo XX.
449
+
450
+ En cuanto al Corpus Hermeticum, Wouter
451
+ J. Planegraaff señaló: “No sabemos cuántos
452
+ Hermética filosóficos pueden haber existido o en
453
+ qué orden deberían leerse originalmente. La
454
+ colección conocida hoy por Corpus Hermeticum
455
+ fue reunida en Bizancio durante la Edad Media y
456
+ parece haber sido vagamente conocida en su
457
+ forma actual por Michael Psellus en el siglo XI e. c.
458
+ Consiste en 17 tratados, confusamente listados
459
+ como l-XV y XVI-XVIII desde el siglo XVI e. c. La
460
+ enumeración padrón deriva del primer editor
461
+
462
+
463
+ 14
464
+
465
+
466
+ moderno del texto griego, Adrien Turnébe, quien
467
+ en 1554 incluyó algunos extractos herméticos de
468
+ Stobeu, como Capítulo XV del Corpus , los editores
469
+ luego retuvieron la enumeración de Turnébe, pero
470
+ retiraron el Capítulo XV” (Hanegraaff, 2018: 02).
471
+
472
+ Los textos técnicos son:
473
+
474
+ 1) Muchos escritos astrológicos se
475
+ atribuyen a Hermes Trismegistos, especialmente
476
+ detallado es el Libro Sobre los Treinta y Seis
477
+ Decanos , compuesto quizás en el siglo I a. e. c.
478
+
479
+ 2) Hermes como mago y adivino, como
480
+ se menciona en los Papiros Mágicos Griegos ,
481
+ compuesto entre los siglos II y IV e. c. Hermes
482
+ también aparece como un curador mágico en el
483
+ conocido Cyranidi, compuesto entre los siglos I y
484
+ IV. e. c.
485
+
486
+ 3) Hermes también es conocido como el
487
+ autor de trabajos alquímicos, jugó un papel
488
+ importante como precursor de la alquimia, como
489
+ se menciona en los escritos del alquimista
490
+ Zozymus de Panópolis, de finales del siglo III y
491
+ principios del siglo IV e. c.
492
+
493
+ Además de estas obras arriba, se
494
+ pueden agregar los textos herméticos
495
+ conservados en traducciones al árabe (ver: Van
496
+ Bladel, 2009).
497
+
498
+ El Hermes Árabe
499
+
500
+ La leyenda árabe más conocida
501
+ menciona la existencia de tres Hermeses. El
502
+
503
+
504
+ 15
505
+
506
+
507
+ primer Hermes fue nieto de Adán y vivió antes del
508
+ Diluvio. Los hebreos lo consideraban el profeta
509
+ Enoc, mientras que los árabes lo consideraban
510
+ IdrTs, un profeta mencionado en el Corán por ser
511
+ correcto y determinado (capítulos 19 versículos
512
+ 56-7 y 21 versículos 86-7). Como el primer
513
+ astrólogo, Adán le instruyó sobre las horas que
514
+ dividen el día y la noche. Construyó pirámides y
515
+ ciudades en el Alto Egipto donde vivió y advirtió
516
+ sobre la destrucción del mundo por agua y fuego.
517
+ Para salvar la floreciente ciencia antediluviana de
518
+ la destrucción durante el Diluvio, construyó un
519
+ templo y grabó todo su conocimiento científico
520
+ grabándolo en las paredes. El segundo Hermes
521
+ vivió después del Diluvio en Babilonia (antiguo
522
+ Egipto) y se sabe que enseñó filosofía y
523
+ matemáticas a Pitágoras. El tercer Hermes
524
+ continuó la tradición, nuevamente en Egipto.
525
+ Escribió un libro sobre alquimia y fue el maestro
526
+ de Asclepios (Ebeling, 2007: 45, para más
527
+ detalles, ver Van Bladel, 2009: 121 s). Entonces
528
+ este tercer Hermes es lo que se conoce como
529
+ Hermes Trismegistos.
530
+
531
+ Aunque sin consenso, Hermes es el
532
+ profeta IdrTs en la interpretación de algunos
533
+ musulmanes, con quienes los judíos se identifican
534
+ con Enoch, mencionados en dos pasajes del
535
+ Corán: “Mencione también en el Corán la historia
536
+ de IdrTs. Era un hombre de verdad, un profeta. Lo
537
+ elevamos a una posición alta” (19: 56-7). “Y
538
+
539
+
540
+ 16
541
+
542
+
543
+ recuerda que Ismael, Idus y Dhul KifP, todos
544
+ estaban decididos. Los admitimos a nuestra
545
+ compasión, fueron verdaderamente virtuosos” (21:
546
+ 86-7).
547
+
548
+ En términos generales, el Hermetismo
549
+ Árabe enfatiza temas prácticos (alquimia,
550
+ astrología, magia, etc.) en lugar de temas
551
+ filosóficos-religiosos, como en el Corpus
552
+ Hermeticum, de modo que en la literatura
553
+ hermética árabe, Hermes es más un mago que a
554
+ un sabio (ver, Van Bladel, 2009).
555
+
556
+ Los Delirios de los Renacentistas
557
+
558
+ En 1460, un agente de Cosino de Medice
559
+ trajo de Bizancio a Florencia un manuscrito griego
560
+ del Corpus Hermeticum. La obra impresionó a los
561
+ intelectuales de la Academia Florentina. Cosino
562
+ inmediatamente le pidió a Marcilio Ficino (1433-
563
+ 1499) que interrumpiera sus traducciones de
564
+ Platón y comenzara la traducción latina de este
565
+ texto hermético. Ficino terminó la traducción al
566
+ latín del Corpus en 1463, que se publicó en 1471,
567
+ bajo el título Pimander (nombre del primer tratado
568
+ del Corpus), pero solo los tratados l-XIV. La
569
+ traducción latina de los tratados XVI-XVIII fue
570
+ completada por Lodovico Lazzarelli (1447-1500) y
571
+
572
+
573
+ 4 Algunos autores sugieren que este es el profeta
574
+ Ezequiel.
575
+
576
+
577
+
578
+ 17
579
+
580
+
581
+ publicada en 1507 después de su muerte (el texto
582
+ del tratado XV se perdió). Este evento
583
+ desencadenó una ola de entusiasmo por el
584
+ Hermetismo en Italia, cuya resonancia se
585
+ extendería por toda Europa, sin embargo, algo
586
+ diferente de la tradición que se había conservado
587
+ durante la Edad Media, es decir, en lugar de la
588
+ conocida tradición hermética sobrecargada de
589
+ alquimia, como se conservó durante la Edad
590
+ Media, Europa ahora encontró la tradición
591
+ filosófica-religiosa de la tradición hermética a
592
+ través de las publicaciones del Corpus
593
+ Hermeticum y lo Asclepius.
594
+
595
+ Con el fin de diferenciar claramente entre
596
+ estas dos tradiciones herméticas, a saber, la
597
+ tradición técnica (alquimia, astrología, magia, etc.)
598
+ y la tradición filosófico-religiosa (teología,
599
+ cosmología, soteriología, etc.), algunos autores
600
+ que escriben en el idioma inglés, sugieren cambiar
601
+ la amplia denominación inglesa Hermeticism
602
+ (Hermeticismo), que abarca la generalidad de las
603
+ artes ocultas, a la denominación inglesa
604
+ Hermetism (Hermetismo), esta última se refiere
605
+ solo a la tradición filosófica-religiosa, también
606
+ conocida como Hermética Alejandrina, porque fui
607
+ compuesta por sacerdotes egipcios helenizados.
608
+ Antoine Faivre explicó: "Gradualmente, Hermes y
609
+ el Hermetismo llegaron a significar cada vez más
610
+ alquimia o teosofía, o esoterismo en el sentido
611
+ moderno del término" (Faivre, 1995: 60, 39 y
612
+ Hanegraaff, 2018: 02). En el momento del nuevo
613
+
614
+
615
+ 18
616
+
617
+
618
+ renacimiento del Hermetismo en el siglo XIX, con
619
+ la fundación de grupos herméticos como la
620
+ Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Orden
621
+ Hermética del Amanecer Dorado), la Hermetic
622
+ Brotherhood of Luxor (Hermandad Hermética de
623
+ Luxor), la Mysteria Mystica Aeterna y Esoteric
624
+ School of the Theosophical Society (Escuela
625
+ Esotérica de la Sociedad Teosófica), el
626
+ Hermetismo ya se había convertido en un nombre
627
+ común para las diversas formas de artes ocultas
628
+ (alquimia, astrología, magia, tarot, numerología,
629
+ quiromancia, etc.), con tal alcance que un autor lo
630
+ ha definido como "una cosa sin esquinas y
631
+ extremos" (Ebeling, 2007: 11).
632
+
633
+ Marcilio Ficino, en el prefacio de su
634
+ traducción latina del Corpus Hermeticum ,
635
+ utilizando datos mitológicos en lugar de históricos,
636
+ elogió a Hermes Trismegistos como el fundador de
637
+ la filosofía (priscus theologus). Este prefacio fue
638
+ influyente en su tiempo y en los años siguientes
639
+ hasta el desafío de la antigüedad y los textos
640
+ herméticos de Hermes Trismegistos de Isaac
641
+ Casaubon en 1614. Basado en los mitos de los
642
+ autores neoplatónicos y cristianos de la
643
+ Antigüedad Clásica, Ficino desarrolló una
644
+ fantasiosa genealogía a partir de Hermes
645
+ Trismegistos a Platón, que alcanzó consecuencias
646
+ influyentes: “Como primer filósofo, él (Hermes)
647
+ pasó de las cosas naturales y las matemáticas a la
648
+ contemplación de lo divino. Fue el primero en
649
+ descubrir, con gran sabiduría, la majestad de Dios,
650
+
651
+
652
+ 19
653
+
654
+
655
+ el orden de los espíritus y los cambios del alma.
656
+ Fue llamado el primer autor de teología. Le siguió
657
+ Orfeo, que obtuvo la segunda posición entre los
658
+ antiguos teólogos. Aglaofemo se inició en los
659
+ misterios órficos, Pitágoras lo siguió en teología y
660
+ luego fue seguido por Filolao, quien fui el maestro
661
+ del divino Platón. Luego surgió una teología
662
+ primordial única e internamente consistente (pasca
663
+ theologia)” (Ebeling, 2007: 62).
664
+
665
+ Entonces, estos son los seis primeros
666
+ hijos de la filosofía (priscT theologl). Esta
667
+ genealogía de Ficino es una entre otras creadas
668
+ por simpatizantes de Hermes Trismegistos desde
669
+ la Antigüedad hasta el Renacimiento (Cicerón,
670
+ Agustín, Lactantius, etc.). Para él, Hermes
671
+ Trismegistos precedió a Moisés y a otros profetas
672
+ bíblicos. De manera ligeramente diferente,
673
+ Francisco Patrizi (1529-1597) también creó una
674
+ fantasiosa genealogía de Prisca Theologia, que
675
+ comenzó con "Zoroastro, a quien se considera el
676
+ autor de los oráculos caldeos. Zoroastro fundó
677
+ colonias en Egipto y encontró un descendiente en
678
+ el rey Osiris, que tenía un consejero llamado
679
+ Hermes Trismegistos. El nieto de este último
680
+ también se llamaba Hermes Trismegistos.
681
+ Después de Zoroastro, este Hermes, que vivió
682
+ antes que Moisés, fue el segundo filósofo más
683
+ importante. Como la sabiduría había sobrevivido
684
+ entre los sacerdotes egipcios, Orfeo y Pitágoras se
685
+ iniciaron en ella mientras estaban en Egipto.
686
+ Incluso Platón estaba en esta tradición de
687
+
688
+
689
+ 20
690
+
691
+
692
+ sabiduría, que fue interrumpida, sin embargo, por
693
+ Aristóteles. Fue Amonio Sakkas (175-242 e. c.), el
694
+ fundador de la escuela neoplatónica, quien una
695
+ vez más le dio vida a esta antigua sabiduría de
696
+ Zoroastro y Flermes Trismegistos. Debido a su
697
+ sello aristotélico, la Edad Media interrumpió esta
698
+ tradición hasta que Raimundo Lulo (1235-1315) y
699
+ Paracelso (1493-1541) la renovaron una vez más”
700
+ (Ebeling, 2007: 68-9). De todos modos, todos
701
+ estos genealogistas de los primeros filósofos
702
+ confundían el mito con la historia.
703
+
704
+ Luego, con el tiempo, se crearon
705
+ genealogías cada vez más eclécticas y delirantes,
706
+ Antoine Faivre mencionó una lista típica de
707
+ genealogía filosófica, que tomó la siguiente forma:
708
+ Enoc, Abraham, Noé, Zoroastro, Moisés, Flermes
709
+ Trismegistos, los brahmanes, los druidas, David,
710
+ Orfeo, Pitágoras. Platón y las sibilas” (Faivre,
711
+ 1995: 39). La inclusión de brahmanes y druidas en
712
+ esta lista no solo es extraña, sino también cómica.
713
+ Bueno, ¿están incluidos en esta lista todos los
714
+ millones de brahmanes, presentes y pasados,
715
+ incluso aquellos de los tiempos védicos que
716
+ realizaron el - Purushamedha (sacrificio
717
+
718
+ humano) y el - Ashwamedha (sacrificio de
719
+
720
+ caballo), como se informa en los antiguos textos
721
+ Bráhmanas ? ¿También fueron filósofos, del mismo
722
+ modo, los sacerdotes druidas, que no tenían
723
+ escritura y eran analfabetos? ¿Puede un
724
+ analfabeto ser filósofo y hay filosofía sin literatura?
725
+
726
+
727
+
728
+ 21
729
+
730
+
731
+ Los delirios de Ficino fueran tan
732
+ fantasiosos que incluso dijo que “él (Hermes
733
+ Trismegistos) a menudo hablaba no solo como
734
+ filósofo sino también como profeta. Él previo la
735
+ caída de las religiones antiguas, la venida de
736
+ Cristo, el próximo día del juicio, la resurrección, la
737
+ gloria de los bienaventurados y el castigo de los
738
+ pecadores” (Ebeling, 2007: 62). Bueno, si creemos
739
+ que todo lo que se le atribuye a Flermes
740
+ Trismegistos, él no solo fue filósofo y profeta, fue
741
+ mucho más que esto: gobernante, mago, maestro,
742
+ alquimista, astrólogo, médico, constructor, adivino,
743
+ alfabetizador, escriba, sacerdote, etc., etc., etc.
744
+
745
+ La Ducha de Agua Fría
746
+
747
+ Sin embargo, esta fiesta hermética
748
+ delirante tuve un fin para muchos crédulos y el
749
+ "spoiler" fue el pastor y humanista Isaac Casaubon
750
+ (1559-1614), quien demostró, a través de una
751
+ seria investigación histórica, lingüística y filológica,
752
+ publicada en 1614, que Flermes Trismegistos no
753
+ podía ser tan antiguo como imaginaban sus
754
+ admiradores, y formuló fuertes argumentos de que
755
+ los textos del Corpus Hermeticum y el Asclepius
756
+ fueron compuestos entre los siglos I y IV. e. c., y
757
+ no en la remota antigüedad atribuida por los
758
+ algunos renacentistas, por estar lleno de ideas
759
+ helenísticas y cristianas. La evidencia concreta de
760
+ que el Corpus Hermeticum no podría ser tan
761
+ antiguo, como señalaron sus deslumbrantes
762
+
763
+
764
+ 22
765
+
766
+
767
+ admiradores, es la mención en el tratado XVIII §
768
+ 04 del famoso escultor griego Fidias (cpeióíag -
769
+ Pheidias), que vivió entre 480 y 430 a. e. c. "Si en
770
+ particular la materia que utilizó el escultor Fidias
771
+ no le hubiera obedecido..." (ver: Festugiére, 1945-
772
+ 54, tomo II: 249; Nebot, 1999: 239; Ebeling, 2007).
773
+ : 92 y Regal, 2009: 78).
774
+
775
+ Basado en su extenso conocimiento
776
+ histórico y filológico del idioma griego, Casaubon
777
+ argumentó que “el Corpus Hermeticum usa
778
+ conceptos que pueden no haberse originado en
779
+ una era tan remota. Si los textos del Corpus
780
+ Hermeticum son de hecho precristianos, no
781
+ deberían exhibir una diferencia estilística
782
+ importante de la de los primeros escritores
783
+ griegos, tal como Heródoto. Sin embargo, el
784
+ lenguaje claramente usa un estilo tardío, en
785
+ particular, emplea muchas palabras que
786
+ aparecieron en griego solo después del nacimiento
787
+ de Cristo” (Ebeling, 2007: 92). Además, Casaubon
788
+ no creía que Hermes Trismegistos fuera el autor y
789
+ llamó al autor del Corpus Hermeticum un
790
+ falsificador (ídem: 92). También señaló las
791
+ similitudes entre las frases del Nuevo Testamento
792
+ y el Corpus Hermeticum, argumentando que este
793
+ último no podía ser precristiano. Y que los textos
794
+ del Corpus no registraban la sabiduría del antiguo
795
+ Egipto, sino que eran de hecho un conjunto de
796
+ conceptos platónicos y cristianos escritos después
797
+ de la época de Cristo (ídem, 91 y Van Bladel,
798
+ 2009: 06-7).
799
+
800
+
801
+ 23
802
+
803
+
804
+ Aunque Casaubon es considerado
805
+ unánimemente el gran contendiente de la remota
806
+ antigüedad del Corpus Hermeticum, más
807
+ específicamente, Wouter J. Hanegraaff señaló que
808
+ antes de Casaubon, el discípulo de Adrien
809
+ Turnébe, Gilbert Genebrard, Matthieu Béroalde y
810
+ Jean van Gorp ya habían estado criticando la
811
+ remota antigüedad del Corpus Hermeticum desde
812
+ 1567. Por lo tanto, Casaubon parece haber sido
813
+ solo el protagonista final y culminante de un
814
+ debate que había comenzado casi un siglo antes
815
+ (Hanegraaff, 2018: 07 y Ebeling, 2007: 95). Parece
816
+ que la alquimia no se vio inmediatamente afectada
817
+ por las críticas de Casaubon, pero otro autor,
818
+ Hermann Conring, profesor de medicina en la
819
+ Universidad Helmstedt, publicó en 1648 un libro
820
+ que cuestionaba la validez de la alquimia de
821
+ Paracelso. Estuvo de acuerdo en que los libros,
822
+ atribuidos a Hermes Trismegistos, eran
823
+ falsificaciones y afirmó que nunca existió un
824
+ hombre con este nombre y que la medicina egipcia
825
+ era pura superstición, mucho más que la medicina
826
+ griega, así como las matemáticas, la física y la
827
+ filosofía (Ebeling, 2007: 97).
828
+
829
+ Las obras de Isaac Casaubon y Hermann
830
+ Conring impactaron como duchas de agua fría
831
+ sobre el entusiasmo de los hermetistas de la
832
+ época y las generaciones siguientes, el
833
+ enfriamiento fue tan fuerte que, entre 1630 y 1856,
834
+ no hubo publicaciones de textos herméticos,
835
+ debido a la caída del interés en el tema (Faivre,
836
+
837
+
838
+ 24
839
+
840
+
841
+ 1995: 186 y Van Bladel, 2009: 06). El interés solo
842
+ resurgiría a mediados del siglo XIX con la
843
+ formación de grupos herméticos, mezclando todas
844
+ las artes ocultas en un calderón llamado
845
+ Hermetismo.
846
+
847
+ Critica
848
+
849
+
850
+ Desde un punto de vista crítico, se puede
851
+ definir, simple y brevemente, que el Hermetismo
852
+ es la intelectualización más exitosa de la
853
+ superstición. Porque en la historia, ninguna otra
854
+ superstición antigua ha sido capaz de vestirse con
855
+ una intelectualidad como el Hermetismo. En cierto
856
+ modo, es un curioso ejemplo de cómo la
857
+ imaginación humana es capaz de transformar una
858
+ cultura supersticiosa en una cultura
859
+ intelectualizada y sofisticada, capaz de atraer
860
+ personalidades educadas e individuos de clase
861
+ alta a su entorno. Porque es una mezcla variada
862
+ de mitología egipcia, supersticiones religiosas y
863
+ filosofía helenística racional. A diferencia de las
864
+ supersticiones de las creencias incultas, que no
865
+ tienen literatura, y mucho menos exégesis, las
866
+ ideas herméticas, a su vez, son supersticiones con
867
+ una extensa literatura reveladora y exegética,
868
+ vestidas con lenguaje y rituales sofisticados que
869
+ las cubren con una apariencia intelectual (gracias
870
+ a la intrusión de las ideas filosóficas griegas), tan
871
+ brillante y seductor para aquellos que se deleitan
872
+ con la especulación y las prácticas antiguas. Con
873
+
874
+
875
+ 25
876
+
877
+
878
+ esto, sus especulaciones asumen la apariencia de
879
+ cientificidad. Por lo tanto, no sin razón Brian Regal
880
+ incluyó la doctrina de Hermes Trismegistos como
881
+ un ejemplo de pseudociencia en su enciclopedia
882
+ Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia (Regal,
883
+ 2009: 78-9). La razón de esta inclusión radica en
884
+ la insistencia de los partidarios y admiradores en
885
+ calificar las especulaciones rudimentarias de
886
+ Hermes Trismegistos y de sus seguidores, como
887
+ "Ciencia Hermética" o "Filosofía Hermética".
888
+ Cuando un autor así las nombra, ignora el carácter
889
+ evolutivo de las ciencias y las filosofías, por lo que
890
+ se conocía como ciencia en el momento de la
891
+ composición de los primeros textos herméticos
892
+ (primeros siglos de la Era Común), hoy estas
893
+ enseñanzas se reconocen como especulaciones
894
+ primitivas, porque las metodologías científicas
895
+ utilizadas en estas dos épocas son enormemente
896
+ distintas.
897
+
898
+ Las doctrinas herméticas son a veces tan
899
+ extrañas y absurdas para el recién llegado que lee
900
+ este tema, que un escéptico con formación
901
+ científica y racional puede leer por primera vez
902
+ que la doctrina de esta antigua tradición es el
903
+ producto de un delirio esquizofrénico. Lo mismo no
904
+ se notará por alguien acostumbrado a leer sobre la
905
+ cultura y las religiones de la Antigüedad. Las
906
+ doctrinas herméticas se ajustan perfectamente a
907
+ esta época, ya que fueron extraídas de ideas
908
+ contemporáneas de otros sistemas.
909
+
910
+
911
+ 26
912
+
913
+
914
+ La comunicación hermética nos recuerda
915
+ un ejemplo interesante, citado por los psicólogos
916
+ de la persuasión, el arte persuasivo de persuadir a
917
+ alguien más por la astucia de la retórica, por la
918
+ elocuencia, por la fascinación, por la oratoria
919
+ brillante o por el argumento persuasivo, que por el
920
+ contenido del mensaje en sí mismo, es decir, más
921
+ por su forma que por su contenido. Los
922
+ investigadores de la persuasión mencionan un
923
+ ejemplo a través de la experiencia de alguien que
924
+ admira una pintura por la belleza del marco y no
925
+ por la belleza de la pintura en sí, es decir, la
926
+ belleza del marco sugiere la opinión del
927
+ espectador sobre la belleza de la pintura. Este
928
+ suele ser el caso cuando se presta más atención a
929
+ la forma externa que al contenido, como juzgar un
930
+ libro por su portada o una película por su póster.
931
+ De la misma manera, el Hermetismo seduce por la
932
+ curiosidad de los misterios (la verdad está oculta
933
+ en los misterios antiguos), por el encanto de los
934
+ rituales (los rituales reproducen las realidades que
935
+ la inteligencia no puede entender), el enigma de
936
+ los símbolos (cuanto más simbólico, más
937
+ verdadero ), la antigüedad de las doctrinas (cuanto
938
+ más antiguas, más sabias), la oportunidad de las
939
+ iniciaciones (solo el iniciado conoce la verdad), la
940
+ sabiduría de los mitos (cuanto más fantasioso, el
941
+ más significativo) y la deslumbrante revelación.
942
+ Pero desde una perspectiva medida, toda esta
943
+ atracción seductora enmascara una multitud de
944
+
945
+
946
+ 27
947
+
948
+
949
+ revelaciones delirantes, especulaciones
950
+ infundadas y prácticas supersticiosas.
951
+
952
+
953
+ La Decepción con el Obsoleto
954
+
955
+ Que en los grupos esotéricos, como en
956
+ las iglesias populares, el número de disidentes
957
+ decepcionados con lo que han aprendido o
958
+ experimentado es grande, solo aquellos que
959
+ asisten pueden saberlo, ya que estos grupos,
960
+ como las iglesias, ocultan la divulgación estos
961
+ hechos. Por lo tanto, la rotación de miembros es
962
+ alta. De hecho, hay muchos que dejan a estos
963
+ grupos esotéricos por decepción, y una de las
964
+ decepciones más frecuentes es el reconocimiento
965
+ de las doctrinas obsoletas y la superstición de las
966
+ prácticas. Cuando llega el momento, cuyo adepto
967
+ es capaz de aislar las exaltaciones, las
968
+ esperanzas infundadas, las promesas utópicas, la
969
+ fascinación y las alabanzas, que alinean las
970
+ doctrinas y prácticas esotéricas, entonces es
971
+ capaz de percibir, detrás de estas capas
972
+ seductoras, un conjunto de ideas y prácticas que
973
+ solo es válido para la cultura de la Antigüedad y la
974
+ Edad Media. Porque el esoterismo es más
975
+ fascinación que realidad, también, la seducción del
976
+ misterio y lo oculto dificulta la percepción del
977
+ obsoleto y hace que las viejas ideas parezcan
978
+ actuales.
979
+
980
+
981
+ 28
982
+
983
+
984
+ El remedio para esta ceguera evolutiva
985
+ es el estudio de la historia de las ideas, pero no de
986
+ acuerdo con la versión de la tradición, sino con la
987
+ versión de estudios académicos e imparciales
988
+ independientes de la versión tradicional. El estudio
989
+ de la historia siempre ha sido una molestia para la
990
+ religión, e inevitablemente también para el
991
+ esoterismo, y se puede señalar por la cantidad de
992
+ doctrinas basadas en mitos y rumores, que
993
+ carecen de historicidad.
994
+
995
+ La Decepción con el Secreto
996
+
997
+ El Hermetismo, junto con otras
998
+ tradiciones esotéricas (Rosacruz, Masonería,
999
+ Sociedad Teosófica y otras), enfatiza demasiado
1000
+ el secreto. El iniciado es obligado a guardar un
1001
+ secreto sobre algunas revelaciones que se le dan,
1002
+ así como sobre los rituales. Para estas tradiciones
1003
+ iniciáticas, el secreto es una fuerza poderosa.
1004
+ Porque ayuda a preservar la santidad de las
1005
+ doctrinas esotéricas, evitando que caigan en
1006
+ manos de personas no preparadas para recibirlas.
1007
+ Esta es la versión esotérica.
1008
+
1009
+ Sin embargo, una ocurrencia es común
1010
+ entre aquellos que se aventuran en estas escuelas
1011
+ esotéricas, es decir, la decepción con estos
1012
+ secretos, por dos razones. Primero, el
1013
+ descubrimiento de que estos secretos no son
1014
+ realmente tan secretos, ya que si el iniciado se
1015
+ dispone a investigar, encontrará que estos
1016
+
1017
+
1018
+ 29
1019
+
1020
+
1021
+ secretos están disponibles en docenas de libros
1022
+ publicados abiertamente. Y en segundo lugar, lo
1023
+ que es aún más decepcionante es que estos
1024
+ secretos o misterios no son grandes cosas, es
1025
+ decir, son ideas obsoletas, supersticiones,
1026
+ creencias y prácticas inútiles.
1027
+
1028
+ Por ejemplo, los herméticos desde la
1029
+ antigüedad consideran que sus doctrinas y
1030
+ prácticas son muy secretas, tanto que la palabra
1031
+ "hermético" se ha convertido en sinónimo de algo
1032
+ muy secreto. Este sentimiento de secreto revivió
1033
+ durante el Renacimiento, a través de la admiración
1034
+ y exaltación de Masilio Ficino, Giordano Bruno y
1035
+ otros, cuando el Hermetismo ya se había
1036
+ convertido en una tradición casi olvidada. Sin
1037
+ embargo, estudios académicos e históricos
1038
+ recientes han revelado que las doctrinas
1039
+ herméticas no son tan secretas, ya que son una
1040
+ mezcla de doctrinas egipcias, platónicas,
1041
+ pitagóricas, neoplatónicas, judaicas, persas,
1042
+ cristianas, neopitagóricas y gnósticas, de las
1043
+ cuales tenemos abundantes publicaciones (para
1044
+ profundizar en la historia de la tradición de Hermes
1045
+ Trismegistos, los trabajos de referencia son:
1046
+ Faivre, 1995; Broek, 1998; Ebeling, 2007 y Bull,
1047
+ 2018). También hay literatura árabe hermética,
1048
+ traducida del persa y el griego, de ahí la creación
1049
+ de un "Hermes Árabe" (ver: Van Bladel, 2009).
1050
+ Para conocer las fuentes de las ideas herméticas
1051
+ en sus textos principales ( Hermética ), vea las
1052
+ traducciones al español de Xavier Renau Nebot,
1053
+
1054
+
1055
+ 30
1056
+
1057
+
1058
+ Textos Herméticos, 1999, con abundantes notas
1059
+ que identifican las fuentes doctrinales del
1060
+ Hermetismo.
1061
+
1062
+ Estrictamente hablando, el Hermetismo
1063
+ se forma a partir de una mezcla tan diversa de
1064
+ ideas que los investigadores e historiadores aún
1065
+ discuten la cantidad de ideas egipcias presentes
1066
+ en la doctrina hermética. Hasta hace unas
1067
+ décadas, se pensaba que el Hermetismo no tenía
1068
+ elementos egipcios en sus doctrinas, solo el
1069
+ sincretismo entre el dios egipcio Thoth y el dios
1070
+ griego Hermes. Sin embargo, este punto de vista
1071
+ cambió después del descubrimiento de textos
1072
+ herméticos en el lenguaje copto entre los
1073
+ manuscritos de la biblioteca de Nag Hammadi,
1074
+ estos son: The Discourse of the Eighth and Ninth
1075
+ (Discurso de la Octava y Novena), The Prayer of
1076
+ Thanksgiving (Oración de Acción de Gracias) y
1077
+ Asclepius 21-29 (Parrott, 1990: 321-38 y Nebot,
1078
+ 1999: 247-56 y 493-501).
1079
+
1080
+ Durante el Renacimiento, la admiración
1081
+ por el Hermetismo fue tan delirante, por algunos
1082
+ entusiastas, que se crearon versiones exaltando a
1083
+ Hermes Trismegistos como el padre de la filosofía,
1084
+ que Pitágoras fue su discípulo, que vivió en una
1085
+ antigüedad muy remota, por lo tanto, antes de
1086
+ Moisés, que él fue el fundador de la sabiduría en
1087
+ el mundo, etc., etc. En el Renacimiento, la
1088
+ comprensión de la escritura jeroglífica ya no era
1089
+ posible, es decir, la comprensión de la escritura se
1090
+ había perdido, por lo que los hermetistas
1091
+
1092
+
1093
+ 31
1094
+
1095
+
1096
+ delirantes fantaseaban con las ideas de que los
1097
+ jeroglíficos contenían una gran sabiduría en sus
1098
+ escritos. El caso más fantasioso, y hasta cierto
1099
+ punto cómico, fue el esoterista inglés Athanasius
1100
+ Kircher (1601-1680), quien se aventuró a traducir
1101
+ algunos jeroglíficos disponibles en aquel
1102
+ momento, alegando haber podido descifrar la
1103
+ escritura egipcia, es decir, antes de desciframiento
1104
+ definitivo de Jean-Frangois Champollion en 1822.
1105
+ Kircher imaginó que los jeroglíficos guardaban
1106
+ mensajes religiosos y místicos cifrados
1107
+ herméticamente, luego los tradujeron a partir de
1108
+ esta suposición. Con lo desciframiento definitivo y
1109
+ universalmente aceptado de Champollion, se
1110
+ descubrió que las fantasiosas traducciones de
1111
+ jeroglíficos con mensajes religiosos de Kircher
1112
+ eran de hecho comunicaciones administrativas,
1113
+ informes de triunfos de batalla, decretos de
1114
+ faraones y otros textos burocráticos, aunque hay
1115
+ textos religiosos en jeroglíficos, pero estos no
1116
+ fueran los que Kircher intentó traducir. Para
1117
+ obtener más información sobre las fantasiosas
1118
+ concepciones de Athanasius Kircher, consulte el
1119
+ libro de John Glassie, A Man of Misconceptions:
1120
+ The Ufe of an Eccentric in an Age of Change (Un
1121
+ Hombre de Ideas Equivocadas: La Vida de un
1122
+ Excéntrico en una Era de Cambio - 2012).
1123
+
1124
+ Además, en el libro Picatrix, muy
1125
+ estimado por los hermetistas árabes, se menciona
1126
+ que "la antigua sabiduría hermética egipcia era un
1127
+ instrumento tan poderoso que debía codificarse en
1128
+
1129
+
1130
+ 32
1131
+
1132
+
1133
+ jeroglíficos" (Ebeling, 2007: 47). Los hermetistas
1134
+ árabes, sin comprender la escritura egipcia
1135
+ antigua, también imaginaron que los jeroglíficos
1136
+ registraban secretos herméticos, registros que
1137
+ hasta ahora no se han encontrado después de
1138
+ tantos años de exploración arqueológica en
1139
+ Egipto. La prueba de que los hermetistas estaban
1140
+ delirando, cuando afirmaban que los jeroglíficos
1141
+ egipcios registraban la sabiduría hermética, vino
1142
+ con la fundación de la Egiptología, después del
1143
+ desciframiento por J. F. Champollion en 1822,
1144
+ cuando, desde entonces, no fue posible encontrar
1145
+ en los cientos de textos jeroglíficos que ya se
1146
+ encontraron por excavación en Egipto, que luego
1147
+ fueron descifrados y traducidos, ni siquiera uno
1148
+ menciona el Corpus Hermeticum, Asclepius , la
1149
+ Tableta Esmeralda o cualquiera de los otros textos
1150
+ herméticos (Ebeling, 2007: 131). Los jeroglíficos
1151
+ egipcios son mudos cuanto la literatura hermética.
1152
+ Así, el desciframiento de los jeroglíficos fue otra
1153
+ "ducha de agua fría" para los hermetistas y
1154
+ simpatizantes. Florian Ebeling señaló: “Tanto la
1155
+ figura como los escritos de Flermes Trismegistos
1156
+ son producto de un sincretismo de la filosofía
1157
+ helenística de la naturaleza, que en sí misma era
1158
+ un conjunto de doctrinas pitagóricas, estoicas,
1159
+ platónicas y aristotélicas intercaladas con motivos
1160
+ de la mitología egipcia y temas de origen persa y
1161
+ judaico” (Ebeling, 2007: 09).
1162
+
1163
+ También en los textos herméticos puede
1164
+ agregarse la influencia de la doctrina cristiana, ya
1165
+
1166
+
1167
+ 33
1168
+
1169
+
1170
+ que en estos, especialmente en el Corpus
1171
+ Hermeticum y en el Asclepius , las terminologías
1172
+ cristianas aparecen como en los pasajes del
1173
+ Corpus Hermeticum, cap. I ( Poimandres ), § 5 y 6:
1174
+ “Santo Verbo” (ayiog Aóyog - agios logos), “Hijo de
1175
+ Dios” (uiog 0£ou - uios theou), como en la frase
1176
+ Aóyog uiog 0eou ( logos uios theou) “el Logos es el
1177
+ Hijo de Dios", también en la frase: voug ucrrrip
1178
+ (nous pater), "el Pensamiento ( nous ) es el Padre"
1179
+ (ver: Nebot, 1999: 77 y Salaman, 2000: 18).
1180
+ Además, en el tratado XIII § 02, la frase: "Dios el
1181
+ hijo de Dios" (Oeou 0£o<¡ uaig -Theou theos país)
1182
+ (Festugiére, 1945-54, tomo II: 201, Nebot, 1999:
1183
+ 207 y Salaman, 2000: 65).
1184
+
1185
+ A pesar de la inmensa influencia y
1186
+ dependencia de la cultura griega en la
1187
+ composición de los textos herméticos, ya que la
1188
+ mayoría fueron compuestos y preservados en el
1189
+ idioma griego, o traducidos del griego al latín o al
1190
+ árabe, observe el insulto al pueblo griego y al
1191
+ idioma griego en Corpus Hermeticum XVI, § 01-2:
1192
+ Asclepios dijo que Hermes solía decir que
1193
+ "aquellos que leerán mis libros encontrarán que la
1194
+ composición es simple y clara, a la vez que oscura
1195
+ y oculta el significado de las palabras y eso será
1196
+ aún más oscuro cuando los griegos luego los
1197
+ traducir de nuestro idioma (egipcio) a su propio
1198
+ (griego), lo que conducirá a una distorsión
1199
+ completa del texto y su oscuridad total". Y más
1200
+ adelante: "...tente preservar este discurso de toda
1201
+ traducción para que tales grandes misterios no
1202
+
1203
+
1204
+ 34
1205
+
1206
+
1207
+ lleguen a los griegos y que la expresión orgullosa,
1208
+ de ellos, con su falta de sensibilidad y lo que
1209
+ podría decirse que son falsas gracias, hace que la
1210
+ gravedad, la solidez, la virtud efectiva de las
1211
+ palabras de nuestro idioma, palidezcan y
1212
+ desaparezcan. Porque los griegos, oh rey, solo
1213
+ tienes discursos vacíos, buenos con fines de
1214
+ demostración; y esta es toda la filosofía de los
1215
+ griegos, un rumor de palabras. En cuanto a
1216
+ nosotros, no usamos palabras simples, sino
1217
+ sonidos llenos de eficacia” (Festugiére, 1945: tomo
1218
+ II, 231-3; Nebot, 1999: 226-7 y Salaman: 2000:
1219
+ 74).
1220
+
1221
+ Entre otras, una curiosidad en las
1222
+ advertencias anteriores es que "tales grandes
1223
+ misterios no llegan a los griegos", siendo que casi
1224
+ todas las doctrinas mencionadas en el Corpus
1225
+ Hermeticum son de origen griego. Ahora, ¿cómo
1226
+ es posible evitar que las ideas herméticas lleguen
1227
+ a los griegos si ellas provienen en gran parte de
1228
+ los griegos?
1229
+
1230
+ Decepción Personal
1231
+
1232
+ Yo mismo experimenté esta decepción
1233
+ cuando, después de comenzar a practicar la
1234
+ disciplina en una institución esotérica de la India,
1235
+ después de unos años decidí, en la década de
1236
+ 1980, hacer un viaje allá para profundizar la
1237
+ doctrina y comenzar los estudios del idioma
1238
+ sánscrito. Durante los años que asistí a este grupo
1239
+
1240
+
1241
+ 35
1242
+
1243
+
1244
+ esotérico, fui adoctrinado a la idea de que algunas
1245
+ doctrinas y prácticas eran muy secretas, tan
1246
+ secreta para los iniciados, que no podían hacerse
1247
+ públicas. Por esta razón, las publicaciones de esta
1248
+ institución esotérica no se vendían en librerías,
1249
+ solo a miembros de los ashrams , porque eran muy
1250
+ secretas. Bueno, estando allá, cuando pude
1251
+ comenzar a leer en este idioma antiguo, comencé
1252
+ a darme cuenta de que muchas doctrinas y
1253
+ prácticas, consideradas altamente esotéricas, eran
1254
+ comunes con algunas corrientes del Hinduismo, la
1255
+ religión más popular en la India, con
1256
+ aproximadamente un millón de seguidores. Es
1257
+ decir, estas enseñanzas y rituales eran
1258
+ popularmente conocidos y practicados en la
1259
+ religión hindú.
1260
+
1261
+ Recuerdo la decepción cuando encontré
1262
+ por primera vez, en la casa de un pariente de mi
1263
+ instructor, durante una visita, una guía para la
1264
+ realización del ritual Sandhyávandana (^^Id^d), 5
1265
+ un antiguo ritual védico realizado por miles de
1266
+ brahmanes por muchos siglos, durante el
1267
+ amanecer o el crepúsculo de día o de noche, más
1268
+ comúnmente al amanecer. Este antiguo ritual
1269
+ védico (tal como casi todas las prácticas antiguas,
1270
+
1271
+
1272
+ 5 ■a^Tl ( scmdhyá ] literalmente significa "unión", por lo
1273
+ tanto, unión de día y noche, es decir, "amanecer" o
1274
+ "crepúsculo"; d<d ( vandana ] significa "adoración", por lo
1275
+ que sandhyávandana significa "adoración del amanecer o
1276
+ del crepúsculo".
1277
+
1278
+
1279
+
1280
+
1281
+
1282
+ 36
1283
+
1284
+
1285
+ es supersticioso) es el mismo que, en la institución
1286
+ esotérica a la que frecuentaba, se practicaba bajo
1287
+ el nombre mal representado de "Práctica de
1288
+ Salud", 6 porque, en lugar de realizarse diariamente
1289
+ al amanecer, aquí en Occidente se practicaba el
1290
+ domingo por la mañana para parecerse a la misa
1291
+ católica. En el Hinduismo, Sandhyávandana es un
1292
+ ritual doméstico, donde el brahmán realiza el ritual
1293
+ para su familia, mientras que aquí en Occidente es
1294
+ un ritual colectivo practicado en los ashrams. Este
1295
+ evento comenzó mi decepción por el esoterismo
1296
+ de esta institución que frecuentaba, porque con mi
1297
+ conocimiento del idioma sánscrito descubrí
1298
+ muchas cosas en común con el Hinduismo popular
1299
+ y supersticioso.
1300
+
1301
+ Además, las decepciones con las
1302
+ disciplinas prácticas. Después de la iniciación, el
1303
+ novicio recibe de su instructor las disciplinas a
1304
+ realizar individualmente (ejercicios de respiración,
1305
+ concentración, visualización, imaginación,
1306
+ meditación, etc.), según su grado, por el juramento
1307
+
1308
+
1309
+ 6 Fue nombrado aquí en Occidente debido al ritual de
1310
+ invocar a antiguos dioses védicos a través de mantras y
1311
+ gestos para magnetizar el agua que luego se toca en
1312
+ diferentes partes del cuerpo (ojos, nariz, orejas, etc.), con
1313
+ la intención de proporcionar salud o curación. No existe
1314
+ una confirmación científica adecuada de que el agua
1315
+ magnetizada durante ritual tenga un efecto saludable y
1316
+ terapéutico, solo la confirmación de experimentos
1317
+ pseudocientíficos.
1318
+
1319
+
1320
+
1321
+ 37
1322
+
1323
+
1324
+ de no revelar la naturaleza de ellos. A medida que
1325
+ avanzan los grados, se informa al iniciado que las
1326
+ prácticas se vuelven más secretas y más
1327
+ poderosas. La decepción ocurre cuando el iniciado
1328
+ tiene curiosidad por investigar, luego descubre que
1329
+ esas prácticas secretas son conocidas
1330
+ públicamente, algunas se enseñan en libros
1331
+ populares, en cursos abiertos a todos, en prácticas
1332
+ colectivas, y algunas incluso son desaconsejadas
1333
+ por médicos y psiquiatras, por riesgos de daño a la
1334
+ salud física o mental.
1335
+
1336
+ A veces, en las instituciones esotéricas,
1337
+ donde se revelan las instrucciones o las
1338
+ disciplinas, se practican de acuerdo con los grados
1339
+ del discípulo (ejemplos: Rosacruz y Masonería),
1340
+ los secretos se revelan a través de otro secreto en
1341
+ el siguiente grado, y así ad infinitum, sin nunca
1342
+ encuentre una explicación o base para ideas o
1343
+ prácticas. Entonces, algunos críticos dicen que
1344
+ estas enseñanzas esotéricas son como un pozo
1345
+ sin fondo, donde nunca se puede encontrar agua
1346
+ en el fondo.
1347
+
1348
+ Además, es curioso el hábito frecuente
1349
+ de algunos esoteristas de tratar de explicar un
1350
+ simbolismo a través de otro simbolismo, como si la
1351
+ presencia de un símbolo similar en otra tradición
1352
+ justificara el significado de un símbolo. Algo así
1353
+ como un símbolo interpretando otro símbolo. Esta
1354
+ práctica se hizo tan común entre los esoteristas
1355
+ que se creó un tópico conocido como "Simbolismo
1356
+ Comparativo". Dos comparadores conocidos
1357
+
1358
+
1359
+ 38
1360
+
1361
+
1362
+ fueron René Guénon y Julius Evola. De todos
1363
+ modos, explicar o interpretar un símbolo a través
1364
+ de otro símbolo no es una explicación suficiente,
1365
+ es algo así como "intercambiar seis por media
1366
+ docena", es decir, la inexplicabilidad sigue siendo
1367
+ la misma.
1368
+
1369
+
1370
+ Referencias
1371
+
1372
+ BROEK, Roelof van den and Wouter J. Hanegraaff
1373
+ (eds.). Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to
1374
+ Modern Times. Albany: State University of New
1375
+ York Press, 1998.
1376
+
1377
+ BULL, Christian H. The Tradition of Hermes
1378
+ Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a
1379
+ Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom. Leiden/Boston:
1380
+ Brill, 2018.
1381
+
1382
+ COPENHAVER, Brain P. (tr.). Hermética: The
1383
+ Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latín Asclepius
1384
+ in a new English translation, with notes and
1385
+ introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University
1386
+ Press, 2002.
1387
+
1388
+ EBELING, Florian. The Secret History of Hermes
1389
+ Trismegistus: Hermeticism from Ancient to Modern
1390
+ Times. Ithaca/London: Cornell University Press,
1391
+ 2007.
1392
+
1393
+ EVERARD, Dr. John (tr.). The Divine Pymander of
1394
+ Hermes Mercurius Trifmegiftus in XVII Books.
1395
+ London: printed by Robert White for The Brewfter
1396
+ and Greg Moule, 1650.
1397
+
1398
+
1399
+ 39
1400
+
1401
+
1402
+ EVOLA, Julius. The Hermetic Tradition: Symbots
1403
+ and Teachings of the RoyaI Art. Rochester: Inner
1404
+ Traditions International, 1995.
1405
+
1406
+ FAIVRE Antoine. The Eternal Hermes: From Greek
1407
+ God to Alchemical Magus. Grand Rapids: Phanes
1408
+ Press, 1995.
1409
+
1410
+ FESTUGIÉRE, A. J. (tr.). Corpus Hermeticum (04
1411
+ vols.). Paris: Société D’Edition Les Belles Lettres,
1412
+ 1945-54.
1413
+
1414
+ FOWDEN, Garth. The Egyptian Hermes: a
1415
+ históricaI approach to the late pagan mind.
1416
+ Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.
1417
+ GLASSIE, John. A Man of Misconceptions: The
1418
+ Life of an Eccentric in an Age of Change. New
1419
+ York: Riverhead Book, 2012.
1420
+
1421
+ PIANEGRAAFF, Wouter J. How Hermetic was
1422
+ Renaissance Hermetism ? in ARIES - Journal for
1423
+ the Study of Western Esotericism 15, Leiden:
1424
+ Koninklijke Brill, 2015, p. 179-209.
1425
+
1426
+ _ Hermes Trismegistus
1427
+
1428
+ and Hermetism in Encyclopedia of Renaissance
1429
+ Philosophy. M. Sgarbi (ed.). Springer International
1430
+ Publishing, Eletronic Edition, 2018.
1431
+
1432
+ INITIATES, Three. The Kybalion: The Hermetic
1433
+ Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece. Chicago:
1434
+ The Yogi Publication Society, 1908.
1435
+
1436
+ JASNOW, Richard and Karl-Theodor Zauzich
1437
+ (trs.). The Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth: A
1438
+ Demotic Discourse on Knowledge and Pendant to
1439
+ the Classical Hermética (02 vols.). Wiesbaden:
1440
+ Plarrassowitz Verlag, 2005.
1441
+
1442
+
1443
+
1444
+ 40
1445
+
1446
+
1447
+ KRAYE, Jill. The Philosophy of the Italian
1448
+ Renaissance in The Routledge History of
1449
+ Philosophy, volume IV, The Renaissance and IT 4 "
1450
+ Century Rationalism. London/New York:
1451
+ Routledge, 2005, p. 15-64.
1452
+
1453
+ MEAD, G. R. S. Thrice-Greatest Hermes: Studies
1454
+ in Hellenist Theosophy and Gnosis (03 vols.).
1455
+ London/Benares: The Theosophical Publishing
1456
+ Society, 1906.
1457
+
1458
+ NEBOT, Xavier Renau (tr.). Textos Herméticos.
1459
+ Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1999.
1460
+
1461
+ PARROTT, Douglas M. et. al. (trs.). The Discourse
1462
+ of the Eighth and Ninth in The Nag Hammadi
1463
+ Library in English: The Definitive Translation of the
1464
+ Gnostic Scriptures Complete in One Volume.
1465
+ James M. Robinson (ed.). New York: HarperCollins
1466
+ Publishers, 1990, p. 321-7.
1467
+
1468
+ _ The Prayer of
1469
+
1470
+ Thanksgiving in The Nag Hammadi Library in
1471
+ English: The Definitive Translation of the Gnostic
1472
+ Scriptures Complete in One Volume. James M.
1473
+ Robinson (ed.). New York: HarperCollins
1474
+ Publishers, 1990, p.328-9.
1475
+
1476
+ _ Asclepius 21-
1477
+
1478
+ 29 in The Nag Hammadi Library in English: The
1479
+ Definitive Translation of the Gnostic Scriptures
1480
+ Complete in One Volume. James M. Robinson
1481
+ (ed.). New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1990, p.
1482
+ 330-8.
1483
+
1484
+
1485
+
1486
+ 41
1487
+
1488
+
1489
+ REGAL, Brian. Pseudoscience: A CriticaI
1490
+ Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press,
1491
+ 2009, p. 78-9.
1492
+
1493
+ SALAMAN, Clement et. al. (trs.). The Way of
1494
+ Hermes: New Translations of the Corpus
1495
+ Hermeticum and The Definitions of Hermes
1496
+ Trismegistus to Asclepius. Rochester: Inner
1497
+ Traditions International, 2000.
1498
+
1499
+ Echoes of Egypt in Hermes
1500
+ and Ficino in Marsilio Ficino: his Theology, his
1501
+ Philosophy, his Legacy. Michael J. B. Alien et. al.
1502
+ (eds.). Leiden: Brill, 2002, p. 115-35.
1503
+
1504
+ SCHMITT, Charles B. et. al. (eds). The Cambridge
1505
+ History of Renaissance Philosophy. Cambridge:
1506
+ Cambridge University Press, 2008.
1507
+
1508
+ SCOTT, Walter (tr.). Hermética: TheAncient Greek
1509
+ and Latín Writings which Contain Religious or
1510
+ Philosophic Teachings Ascribed to Hermes
1511
+ Trismegistus. Oxford: The Clarendon Press/Oxford
1512
+ University Press, Vol. I 1924; Vol. II 1925; Vol. III
1513
+ 1926 and Vol. IV 1927.
1514
+
1515
+ VAN BLADEL, Kevin. The Arabio Hermes: from
1516
+ Pagan Sage to Prophet of Science. Oxford/New
1517
+ York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
1518
+
1519
+ WALKER, D. P. Spiritual & Demonio Magic: from
1520
+ Ficino to Campanella. Pennsylvania Park: The
1521
+ Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000.
1522
+
1523
+ YATES, Francés A. Giordano Bruno and the
1524
+ Hermetic Tradition. London: Routledge, 1964.
1525
+
1526
+
1527
+
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1
+ Précis of Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness
2
+ in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy
3
+ Evan Thompson
4
+ Philosophy East and West, Volume 66, Number 3, July 2016, pp. 927-933 (Article)
5
+
6
+ Published by University of Hawai'i Press
7
+ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/pew.2016.0059
8
+
9
+ For additional information about this article
10
+ https://muse.jhu.edu/article/626967
11
+
12
+ Access provided by University of California , Santa Barbara (24 Jun 2018 15:10 GMT)
13
+
14
+ Précis of Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness
15
+ in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy
16
+ Evan Thompson
17
+ Philosophy Department, University of British Columbia
18
+ evan.thompson@ubc.ca
19
+
20
+ The central idea of Waking, Dreaming, Being is that the self is a process, not a thing
21
+ or an entity.1 The self isn’t something outside experience, hidden either in the brain
22
+ or in some immaterial realm. It is an experiential process that is subject to constant
23
+ change. We enact a self in the process of awareness, and this self comes and goes
24
+ depending on how we are aware.
25
+ When we’re awake and occupied with some manual task, we enact a bodily self
26
+ geared to our immediate environment. Yet this bodily self recedes from our experience if our task becomes an absorbing mental one. If our mind wanders, the men­tally
27
+ imagined self of the past or future overtakes the self of the present moment.
28
+ As we start to fall asleep, the sense of self slackens. Images float by, and our
29
+ awareness becomes progressively absorbed in them. The impression of being a
30
+ bounded individual distinct from the world dissolves. In this hypnagogic state, the
31
+ borders between self and not-self seem to fall away.
32
+ The feeling of being a distinct self immersed in the world comes back in the
33
+ dream state. We experience the dream from the perspective of the self within it,
34
+ or the dream ego. Although the entire dream world exists only as a content of our
35
+ awareness, we identify our self with only a portion of it — the dream ego that centers
36
+ our experience of the dream world and presents itself as the locus of our awareness.
37
+ At times, however, something else happens. We realize we’re dreaming, but instead of waking up we keep right on dreaming with the knowledge that we’re dreaming. We enter what is called a lucid dream. Here we experience a different kind of
38
+ awareness, one that witnesses the dream state. No matter what dream contents come
39
+ and go, including the forms the dream ego takes, we can tell they’re not the same as
40
+ our awareness of being in the dream state. We no longer identify only with our dream
41
+ ego — the “I” as dreamed — for our sense of self now includes our dreaming self: the
42
+ “I” as dreamer.
43
+ Similarly, while meditating in the waking state, we can simply witness being
44
+ conscious and watch whatever sensory or mental events occur within the field of our
45
+ awareness. We can also watch how we may identify with some of them as “Me” or
46
+ appropriate some of them as “Mine.”
47
+ According to the Indian yogic traditions, which broadly construed include Buddhism, we can distinguish three aspects of consciousness.2 The first aspect is awareness, the second is the contents of awareness, and the third is how we experience
48
+ some of these contents of awareness as “I” or “Me” or “Mine.” From this perspective,
49
+ to understand how we enact a self we need to understand three things — the nature
50
+
51
+ Philosophy East & West Volume 66, Number 3 July 2016 927–933
52
+ © 2016 by University of Hawai‘i Press
53
+
54
+ 927
55
+
56
+ of awareness and its sensory and mental contents, the mind-body processes that produce these contents, and how some of these contents come to be experienced as “I”
57
+ or “Me” or “Mine.”
58
+ In Waking, Dreaming, Being, I take this threefold framework of awareness,
59
+ contents of awareness, and self-experience — or what the Indian tradition calls
60
+ ­
61
+ “I-making” (ahaṃkāra) — and put it to work in cognitive science. Whereas the Indian
62
+ thinkers mapped consciousness and I-making in philosophical and phenomenological terms, I show how their insights can also help to advance the neuroscience of
63
+ consciousness by weaving together neuroscience and Indian philosophy in an exploration of wakefulness, falling asleep, dreaming, lucid dreaming, out-of-body experiences, deep and dreamless sleep, forms of meditative awareness, and the process
64
+ of dying.
65
+ The organizing principle for the book comes from the Indian tradition, specifi­
66
+ cally from the Upaniṣads, which arguably contain the world’s first recorded map of
67
+ consciousness. The earliest texts — the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Chāndogya Upaniṣads —
68
+ delineate three principal states of the self — the waking state, the dream state, and the
69
+ state of deep and dreamless sleep. The later text of the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad adds a
70
+ fourth state — “the fourth” (turīya) or pure awareness. Waking consciousness relates
71
+ to the outer world and apprehends the physical body as the self. Dream consciousness relates to mental images constructed from memories and apprehends the dream
72
+ body as the self. In deep and dreamless sleep, consciousness rests in a dormant state
73
+ not differentiated into subject and object. Pure awareness is variously described as
74
+ underlying these changing states of waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep or as
75
+ witnessing them without identifying with them or with the self that appears in them.
76
+ I use this fourfold structure to organize my exploration of consciousness and the
77
+ sense of self across the waking, dreaming, and deep-sleep states, as well as meditative states of heightened awareness and concentration.
78
+ In the yogic traditions, meditation trains both the ability to sustain attention on
79
+ a single object and the ability to be openly aware of the entire field of experience
80
+ without selecting or suppressing anything that arises. In both modes of meditation —
81
+ one-pointed concentration and open awareness — one learns to monitor specific
82
+ qualities of experience, such as moment-to-moment fluctuations of attention and
83
+ emotion, that are difficult for the restless mind to see.3 One of the guiding ideas of
84
+ Waking, Dreaming, Being is that individuals who can move reliably and flexibly
85
+ between these different modes of attention and awareness, and who can describe in
86
+ precise terms how their experience feels from moment to moment, offer a new source
87
+ of information about the self and consciousness for neuroscience and the philosophy
88
+ of mind.
89
+ Let me give a brief overview of the main ideas from the book’s chapters. Chapter
90
+ 1 explains the formative Indian image of light or luminosity as the basic nature of
91
+ consciousness.4 Indian philosophers often define consciousness as that which is luminous and knowing. “Luminous” means having the power to reveal; “knowing”
92
+ means being able to apprehend whatever appears. In the waking state, consciousness reveals and apprehends the outer world through the senses; in the dream state,
93
+
94
+ 928
95
+
96
+ Philosophy East & West
97
+
98
+ consciousness reveals and apprehends the inner world of mental images. This c­ hapter
99
+ also introduces the ancient Indian map of consciousness, which comprises the four
100
+ states of wakefulness, dreaming, deep and dreamless sleep, and pure awareness.
101
+ Chapter 2 focuses on attention and perception in the waking state. I compare
102
+ theories and findings from cognitive neuroscience with Indian Buddhist theories
103
+ of attention and perception. According to both perspectives, although the stream of
104
+ consciousness may seem to flow continuously, upon closer inspection it appears to
105
+ be made up of discrete moments of awareness that depend on how attention shifts
106
+ from one thing to another. I review evidence from neuroscience showing that focused attention and open-awareness forms of meditation have measurable effects on
107
+ how attention structures the stream of consciousness into discrete moments of awareness. I conclude by using both Buddhist philosophy and cognitive neuroscience to
108
+ argue that in addition to these discrete moments we also need to recognize a more
109
+ slowly changing background awareness that includes the sense of self and that shifts
110
+ across waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep.
111
+ Chapter 3 takes up the question of whether the basic nature of consciousness as
112
+ pure awareness transcends the brain and living body, as Indian and Tibetan philosophers traditionally claim, or whether it is dependent on the brain and living body.
113
+ I describe a dialogue on this question with the fourteenth Dalai Lama at his refugee
114
+ home in Dharamsala, India, in which I participated, and I explain the basis in
115
+ ­Buddhist philosophy for the Dalai Lama’s view that consciousness transcends the
116
+ brain.5 I argue, however, that there is no scientific evidence to support this view. All
117
+ the evidence available to us indicates that consciousness is contingent on the brain.
118
+ Nevertheless, my point of view is not a materialist one, for two reasons. First, consciousness has a cognitive primacy that materialism fails to see. There is no way to
119
+ step outside consciousness and measure it against something else. Science always
120
+ moves within the field of what consciousness reveals; it can enlarge this field and
121
+ open up new vistas, but it can never get beyond the horizon set by consciousness.
122
+ Second, since consciousness has this kind of primacy, it makes no sense to try to reductively explain consciousness in terms of something that is conceived to be essentially non-experiential, as physicalists conceive of fundamental physical phenomena.
123
+ Rather, understanding consciousness as a natural phenomenon is going to require
124
+ rethinking our scientific concepts of nature and physical being.
125
+ Chapters 4, 5, and 6 concern falling asleep, dreaming, and lucid dreaming. I
126
+ begin with the state leading into sleep, the hypnagogic state, in which strange images
127
+ make their way before our eyes and we hear sounds or what seem like conversations going on around us or inside us. Whereas normal waking consciousness is ego-­
128
+ structured — we experience ourselves as bounded beings distinct from the outside
129
+ world — this structure dissolves in the hypnagogic state. There is no ego in the sense
130
+ of an “I” who acts as a participant in a larger world, and there is no larger world in
131
+ which we feel immersed. Instead, there is a play of images and sounds that holds
132
+ consciousness spellbound. In short, two key features mark the hypnagogic state — a
133
+ dissolution of ego boundaries and an attention drawn to what consciousness spontaneously imagines.
134
+
135
+ Evan Thompson
136
+
137
+ 929
138
+
139
+ The ego structure of consciousness returns in the dream state. In the dream state
140
+ we experience being in the dream world. Sometimes we experience it from an inside
141
+ or first-person perspective; sometimes we see ourselves in it from an outside or third-­
142
+ person perspective. These two perspectives also occur in memory, where they are
143
+ known as “field memory” and “observer memory.” Yet even in the case of the ob­
144
+ server perspective in a dream, we experience ourselves as a subject situated in relation to the dream world. At the same time, the spellbound attention that arises in the
145
+ hypnagogic state also characterizes the dream state, so it, too, is a kind of captivated
146
+ consciousness.
147
+ All this changes in a lucid dream. The defining feature of a lucid dream is being
148
+ able to direct attention to the dreamlike quality of the state so that one can think
149
+ about it as a dream. When this happens, the sense of self shifts, for one becomes
150
+ aware of the self both as dreamer — “I’m dreaming” — and as dreamed — “I’m flying in
151
+ my dream.”
152
+ In these three chapters I review findings from sleep science that show that each
153
+ state — the hypnagogic state, dreaming, and lucid dreaming — is associated with its
154
+ own distinct kind of brain activity.
155
+ I end my discussion of dreaming by criticizing the standard neuroscience conception of the dream state as a form of delusional hallucination. Instead, I argue that
156
+ dreaming is a kind of spontaneous imagination. I also argue that dreaming is not a
157
+ passive epiphenomenon of the sleeping brain, for intentional mental activity in
158
+ dreaming, especially in lucid dreaming and meditative practices of lucid dreaming,
159
+ actively affects the sleeping brain.
160
+ Chapter 7 examines out-of-body experiences. In an out-of-body experience, you
161
+ feel as if you’re located outside your body, often at an elevated vantage point. Yet far
162
+ from showing the separability of the self from the body, out-of-body experiences reinforce the strong connection between the body and the sense of self. These aren’t
163
+ experiences of disembodiment; they’re experiences of altered embodiment. You see
164
+ your body as an object at a place that doesn’t coincide with the felt location of your
165
+ visual and vestibular awareness. In this way, there’s a dissociation between your
166
+ body as an object of perception and your body as a perceptual subject and atten­
167
+ tional agent. Out-of-body experiences reveal something crucial about the sense of
168
+ self: you locate yourself as an experiential subject wherever your attentional perspective feels located, regardless of whether this happens to be the place you see your
169
+ body as occupying.
170
+ Out-of-body experiences provide no evidence that one can have an experience
171
+ without one’s biological body, for the body remains present throughout. Furthermore, experiences with many of the features of out-of-body experiences can be
172
+ brought about by direct electrical stimulation of certain brain regions and by virtual
173
+ reality devices. So out-of-body experiences are brain-dependent.
174
+ Chapter 8 asks whether consciousness is or can be present in deep and dreamless sleep. Most neuroscientists and philosophers of mind today assume that
175
+ dreamless sleep is a blackout state in which consciousness fades or disappears completely. In contrast, the Indian philosophical schools of Yoga and Vedānta, as well as
176
+
177
+ 930
178
+
179
+ Philosophy East & West
180
+
181
+ Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, maintain that a subtle form of awareness continues to
182
+ be present in dreamless sleep. I present the Indian philosophical case for deep sleep
183
+ being a mode of consciousness and show that none of the behavioral or physiological evidence from sleep science suffices to rule out there being a mode of consciousness in dreamless sleep. Hence, the standard neuroscience way of trying to define
184
+ consciousness as that which disappears in dreamless sleep needs to be revised. Yoga,
185
+ Vedānta, and Buddhism assert that the subliminal consciousness present in dreamless sleep can become cognitively accessible through meditative mental training. I
186
+ present some preliminary evidence from sleep science in support of this idea. I end
187
+ the chapter by proposing that we need to enlarge sleep science to include contemplative ways of training the mind in sleep. This project will require sleep scientists,
188
+ anthropologists, meditation practitioners, and contemplative scholars of the Indian
189
+ and Tibetan traditions to work together to map the sleeping mind.6
190
+ Chapter 9 investigates what happens to the self and consciousness when we die.
191
+ Neuroscience and biomedicine talk about death as if it were essentially an objective
192
+ and impersonal event instead of a subjective and personal one. From a purely biomedical perspective, death consists in the breakdown of the functions of the living
193
+ body along with the disappearance of all outer signs of consciousness. Missing from
194
+ this perspective is the subjective experience of this breakdown and the existential
195
+ significance of the inevitable fact of one’s own death. In contrast, Tibetan Buddhism
196
+ presents a vivid account of the progressive breakdown of consciousness and the dissolution of the sense of self during the dying process. It also describes how to face
197
+ this process in a meditative way. According to Tibetan Buddhism — as well as Yoga
198
+ and Vedānta — great contemplatives can disengage from the sense of self as ego as
199
+ they die. Resting in an experience of pure awareness, they can watch the dissolution of their everyday “I-Me-Mine” consciousness and witness their own dying with
200
+ equanimity.
201
+ Near-death experiences during cardiac arrest provide an important case for investigating how the mind meets death and the relationship between consciousness
202
+ and the body. Although these experiences are often presented as challenging the
203
+ view that consciousness is contingent on the brain, I argue that none of the evidence
204
+ brought forward to support this position is convincing. Instead, all the evidence to
205
+ date, when examined carefully, supports the view that these experiences are con­
206
+ tingent on the brain.
207
+ At the same time, we should avoid the trap of thinking that the reports of neardeath experience after resuscitation from cardiac arrest must be either literally true or
208
+ literally false. This way of thinking remains caught in the grip of a purely third-person
209
+ view of death. Dying and death must also be understood from the first-person perspective. We need to stop using accounts of these experiences to justify either neuroreductionist or spiritualist agendas and instead take them seriously for what they
210
+ are: narratives of first-person experience arising from circumstances that we will all
211
+ in some way face.
212
+ Chapter 10 targets the view widespread in neuroscience and “neurophilosophy”
213
+ that the self is nothing but an illusion created by the brain. I call this view “neuro-­
214
+
215
+ Evan Thompson
216
+
217
+ 931
218
+
219
+ nihilism.” I argue that although the self is a construction — or rather a process that
220
+ is under constant construction — it isn’t an illusion. A self is an ongoing process
221
+ that enacts an “I” and in which the “I” is no different from the process itself, rather
222
+ like the way dancing is a process that enacts a dance and in which the dance is
223
+ no different from the dancing. I call this the “enactive” view of the self. This chapter presents a systematic statement of the enactive view and shows how I-making
224
+ happens at multiple biological, psychological, and social levels. The discussion
225
+ ­combines elements from Buddhist philosophy (specifically from the “Middle Way”
226
+ or Madhyamaka school), biology, cognitive science, and the neuroscience of
227
+ meditation.
228
+ Although cognitive science and the Indian yogic philosophical traditions form
229
+ the core of this book, I also draw from a wide range of other sources: poetry and
230
+ fiction, Western philosophy, Chinese Daoism, and personal experience. By weaving
231
+ together these diverse sources, I hope to demonstrate a new way to relate science
232
+ and what many people like to call spirituality. Instead of being either opposed or
233
+ ­indifferent to each other, cognitive science and the world’s great contemplative traditions can work together on a common project — understanding the mind and giving
234
+ meaning to human life. Two extreme and regressive tendencies mark our era: (1) the
235
+ resurgence of religious extremism and outmoded belief systems, and (2) the entrenchment of scientific materialism and reductionism. Neither mindset realizes the
236
+ value of meditation and of the contemplative way of life as a source of wisdom and
237
+ firsthand knowledge essential to a mature cognitive science that can do justice to our
238
+ entire way of being — to our spirit, to use an older idiom.7 My book upholds a different vision. By enriching science with contemplative knowledge and contemplative
239
+ knowledge with cognitive science, we can work to create a new scientific and contemplative appreciation of human life, one that no longer requires or needs to be
240
+ contained within either a religious or an anti-religious framework.
241
+
242
+ Notes
243
+ 1    –    The following Précis draws extensively from the Introduction to Waking, Dream­
244
+ ing, Being, pp. xxxi–xl.
245
+ 2    –    I use the terms “yogic traditions” and “yogic philosophies” in a broad sense that
246
+ includes Buddhism. For justification of this usage, see Stephen Phillips, Yoga,
247
+ Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009), pp. 4–5.
248
+ 3    –    See Antoine Lutz, Heleen A. Slagter, John D. Dunne, and Richard J. Davidson,
249
+ “Attention Regulation and Monitoring in Meditation,” Trends in Cognitive Sci­
250
+ ences 12 (2008): 163–169, and Antoine Lutz, Amishi Jha, John D. Dunne, and
251
+ Clifford D. Saron, “Investigating the Phenomenological and Neurocognitive Matrix of Mindfulness-Related Practices,” American Psychologist 70, no. 7 (2015):
252
+ 632–658.
253
+
254
+ 932
255
+
256
+ Philosophy East & West
257
+
258
+ 4    –    See Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, Indian Philosophy and the Consequences of
259
+ Knowledge: Themes in Ethics, Metaphysics, and Soteriology (Hampshire, England and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007), chap. 2.
260
+ 5    –    See Dalai Lama, The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and
261
+ Spirituality (New York: Morgan, 2005).
262
+ 6    –    For further discussion of these issues, see Evan Thompson, “Dreamless Sleep,
263
+ the Embodied Mind, and Consciousness: The Relevance of a Classical Indian
264
+ Debate to Cognitive Science,” http://open-mind.net  /papers/dreamless-sleep-theembodied-mind-and-consciousness-the-relevance-of-a-classical-indian-debateto-cognitive-science; Jennifer M. Windt, “Just in Time — Dreamless Sleep Experience as Pure Subjective Temporality: A Commentary on Evan Thompson,” http://
265
+ open-mind.net   /papers/just-in-time-dreamless-sleep-experience-as-pure-subjectivetemporality-a-commentary-on-evan-thompson; and Evan Thompson, “Steps Toward a Neurophenomenology of Sleep: A Reply to Windt,” http://open-mind.
266
+ net  /papers/steps-toward-a-neurophenomenology-of-consciousness-in-sleep-areply-to-jennifer-m-windt.
267
+ 7    –    See Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates
268
+ to Foucault, ed. with introd. Arnold Davidson (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 1995). See especially “Part II: Spiritual Exercises.”
269
+
270
+ Evan Thompson
271
+
272
+ 933
273
+
274
+
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+
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+
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+ Tao Te Ching
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+
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+ A New English Version,
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+ with Foreword and Notes,
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+ by Stephen Mitchell
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+
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+
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+
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+ HARPERPERENNIAL
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+
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+
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+ MODERNCLASSICS
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+
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+
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+ NEW YORK • LONDON • TORONTO • SYDNEY
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+ HflH
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+
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+ HARPERPERENN
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+
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+
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+ AL^
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+
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+
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+ MODERNCLASSICS
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+
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+
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+ A hardcover edition of this book was published in 1988 by Harper & Row.
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+ P.S.™ is a trademark of HarperColiins Publishers.
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+
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+ TAO TE CHING. Translation copyright © 1988 by Stephen Mitchell. All
50
+ rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this
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+ book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without writ¬
52
+ ten permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
53
+ articles and reviews. For information address HarperColiins Publishers, 10
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+ East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.
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+
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+ HarperColiins books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales
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+ promotional use. For information please write: Special Markets Department,
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+ HarperColiins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.
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+
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+ First Harper Perennial edition published 1991.
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+
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+ First Perennial Classics edition published 2000.
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+
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+ First Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition published 2006.
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+
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+ Designed by David Bullen
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+
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+ The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows:
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+
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+ Lao-tzu.
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+
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+ Tao te ching.
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+
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+ Translation of: Tao te ching.
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+
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+ ISBN 978-0-06-016001-2
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+ I. Mitchell, Stephen.
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+
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+ II. Title.
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+
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+ BL1900.L26E5 1988 299’.51482 88-45123
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+
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+ ISBN-13: 978-0-06-114266-6 (pbk.)
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+
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+
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+ 09 RRD 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13
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+
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+
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+ TO VICKI
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+
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+
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+ Who can find a good woman?
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+
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+ She is precious beyond all things.
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+
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+
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+ PROV. 31:10
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+
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+
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+ Foreword
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+
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+
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+ Tao Te Ching (pronounced, more or less, Dow Deh Jing) can
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+ be translated as The Book of the Immanence of the Way or The
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+ Book of the Way and of How It Manifests Itself in the World or,
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+ simply, The Book of the Way. Since it is already well known
116
+ by its Chinese title, I have let that stand.
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+
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+ About Lao-tzu, its author, there is practically nothing to
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+ be said. He may have been an older contemporary of Confu¬
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+ cius (551-479 B.C.E.) and may have held the position of
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+ archive-keeper in one of the petty kingdoms of the time. But
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+ all the information that has come down to us is highly sus¬
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+ pect. Even the meaning of his name is uncertain (the most
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+ likely interpretations: “the Old Master" or, more pictur¬
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+ esquely, “the Old Boy”). Like an Iroquois woodsman, he left
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+ no traces. All he left us is his book: the classic manual on
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+ the art of living, written in style of gemlike lucidity, radiant
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+ with humor and grace and largeheartedness and deep wis¬
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+ dom: one of the wonders of the world.
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+
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+ People usually think of Lao-tzu as a hermit, a dropout
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+ from society, dwelling serenely in some mountain hut, unvis¬
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+ ited except perhaps by the occasional traveler arriving from
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+ a '60s joke to ask, “What is the meaning of life?” But it's
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+ clear from his teachings that he deeply cared about society,
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+ if society means the welfare of one’s fellow human beings;
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+ his book is, among other things, a treatise on the art of
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+ government, whether of a country or of a child. The misper¬
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+ ception may arise from his insistence on wet wu wei, literally
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+ “doing not-doing,” which has been seen as passivity. Noth¬
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+ ing could be further from the truth.
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+
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+ A good athlete can enter a state of body-awareness in
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+ which the right stroke or the right movement happens by
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+ itself, effortlessly, without any interference of the conscious
163
+ will. This is a paradigm for non-action: the purest and most
164
+ effective form of action. The game plays the game; the poem
165
+ writes the poem; we can’t tell the dancer from the dance.
166
+
167
+ Less and less do you need to force things,
168
+ until finally you arrive at non-action.
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+
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+ When nothing is done,
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+ nothing is left undone.
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+
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+ Nothing is done because the doer has wholeheartedly van¬
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+ ished into the deed; the fuel has been completely trans¬
175
+ formed into flame. This "nothing" is, in fact, everything. It
176
+ happens when we trust the intelligence of the universe in
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+ the same way that an athlete or a dancer trusts the superior
178
+ intelligence of the body. Hence Lao-tzu’s emphasis on soft¬
179
+ ness. Softness means the opposite of rigidity, and is synony¬
180
+ mous with suppleness, adaptability, endurance. Anyone who
181
+ has seen a t’ai chi or aikido master doing not-doing will
182
+ know how powerful this softness is.
183
+
184
+ Lao-tzu’s central figure is a man or woman whose life is
185
+ in perfect harmony with the way things are. This is not an
186
+ idea; it is a reality; I have seen it. The Master has mastered
187
+ Nature; not in the sense of conquering it, but of becoming
188
+ it. In surrendering to the Tao, in giving up all concepts,
189
+ judgments, and desires, her mind has grown naturally com¬
190
+ passionate. She finds deep in her own experience the central
191
+ truths of the art of living, which are paradoxical only on
192
+ the surface: that the more truly solitary we are, the more
193
+ compassionate we can be; the more we let go of what we
194
+
195
+ viii
196
+
197
+
198
+ love, the more present our love becomes; the clearer our
199
+ insight into what is beyond good and evil, the more we can
200
+ embody the good. Until finally she is able to say, in all hu¬
201
+ mility, "I am the Tao, the Truth, the Life.”
202
+
203
+ The teaching of the Tao Te Ching is moral in the deepest
204
+ sense. Unencumbered by any concept of sin, the Master
205
+ doesn’t see evil as a force to resist, but simply as an opaque¬
206
+ ness, a state of self-absorption which is in disharmony with
207
+ the universal process, so that, as with a dirty window, the
208
+ light can t shine through. This freedom from moral catego¬
209
+ ries allows him his great compassion for the wicked and the
210
+ selfish.
211
+
212
+
213
+ Thus the Master is available to all people
214
+ and doesn’t reject anyone.
215
+
216
+ He is ready to use all situations
217
+ and doesn’t waste anything.
218
+
219
+ This is called embodying the light.
220
+
221
+ What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher?
222
+
223
+ What is a bad man but a good man’s job?
224
+
225
+ If you don’t understand this, you will get lost,
226
+ however intelligent you are.
227
+
228
+ It is the great secret.
229
+
230
+ The reader will notice that in the many passages where
231
+ Lao-tzu describes the Master, I have used the pronoun "she"
232
+ at least as often as "he." The Chinese language doesn’t make
233
+ this kind of distinction; in English we have to choose. But
234
+ since we are all, potentially, the Master (since the Master is,
235
+ essentially, us), I felt it would be untrue to present a male
236
+ archetype, as other versions have, ironically, done. Ironically,
237
+ because of all the great world religions the teaching of
238
+
239
+
240
+
241
+
242
+
243
+
244
+
245
+
246
+
247
+ Lao-tzu is by far the most female. Of course, you should feel
248
+ free, throughout the book, to substitute “he” for ’’she” or
249
+ vice versa.
250
+
251
+ As to method: I worked from Paul Carus’s literal version,
252
+ which provides English equivalents (often very quaint ones)
253
+ alongside each of the Chinese ideograms. I also consulted
254
+ dozens of translations into English, German, and French.
255
+ But the most essential preparation for my work was a four¬
256
+ teen-year-long course of Zen training, which brought me
257
+ face to face with Lao-tzu and his true disciples and heirs, the
258
+ early Chinese Zen Masters.
259
+
260
+ With great poetry, the freest translation is sometimes the
261
+ most faithful. “We must try its effect as an English poem,”
262
+ Dr. Johnson said; “that is the way to judge of the merit of a
263
+ translation.” I have often been fairly literal—or as literal as
264
+ one can be with such a subtle, kaleidoscopic book as the Tao
265
+ Te Ching. But I have also paraphrased, expanded, con¬
266
+ tracted, interpreted, worked with the text, played with it,
267
+ until it became embodied in a language that felt genuine to
268
+ me. If 1 haven’t always translated Lao-tzu’s words, my inten¬
269
+ tion has always been to translate his mind.
270
+
271
+
272
+ TaoTe Ching
273
+
274
+
275
+
276
+
277
+
278
+
279
+
280
+
281
+
282
+
283
+
284
+
285
+
286
+ 1
287
+
288
+
289
+ The tao that can be told
290
+ is not the eternal Tao.
291
+
292
+ The name that can be named
293
+ is not the eternal Name.
294
+
295
+ The unnamable is the eternally real.
296
+
297
+ Naming is the origin
298
+ of all particular things.
299
+
300
+ Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
301
+
302
+ Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
303
+
304
+ Yet mystery and manifestations
305
+ arise from the same source.
306
+
307
+ This source is called darkness.
308
+
309
+ Darkness within darkness.
310
+
311
+ The gateway to all understanding.
312
+
313
+
314
+
315
+
316
+
317
+
318
+
319
+
320
+
321
+
322
+ 2
323
+
324
+
325
+ When people see some things as beautiful,
326
+ other things become ugly.
327
+
328
+ When people see some things as good,
329
+ other things become bad.
330
+
331
+ Being and non-being create each other.
332
+ Difficult and easy support each other.
333
+ Long and short define each other.
334
+
335
+ High and low depend on each other.
336
+ Before and after follow each other.
337
+
338
+ Therefore the Master
339
+
340
+ acts without doing anything
341
+
342
+ and teaches without saying anything.
343
+
344
+ Things arise and she lets them come;
345
+
346
+ things disappear and she lets them go.
347
+
348
+ She has but doesn’t possess,
349
+ acts but doesn’t expect.
350
+
351
+ When her work is done, she forgets it.
352
+ That is why it lasts forever.
353
+
354
+
355
+ If you overesteem great men,
356
+ people become powerless.
357
+
358
+ If you overvalue possessions,
359
+ people begin to steal.
360
+
361
+ The Master leads
362
+ by emptying people’s minds
363
+ and filling their cores,
364
+ by weakening their ambition
365
+ and toughening their resolve.
366
+
367
+ He helps people lose everything
368
+ they know, everything they desire,
369
+ and creates confusion
370
+ in those who think that they know.
371
+
372
+ Practice not-doing,
373
+
374
+ and everything will fall into place.
375
+
376
+
377
+
378
+
379
+
380
+
381
+
382
+
383
+
384
+
385
+
386
+
387
+
388
+ 4
389
+
390
+
391
+ The Tao is like a well:
392
+ used but never used up.
393
+
394
+ It is like the eternal void:
395
+ filled with infinite possibilities.
396
+
397
+ It is hidden but always present.
398
+
399
+ I don’t know who gave birth to it.
400
+ It is older than God.
401
+
402
+
403
+ 5
404
+
405
+
406
+ The Tao doesn’t take sides;
407
+ it gives birth to both good and evil.
408
+
409
+ The Master doesn’t take sides;
410
+ she welcomes both saints and sinners.
411
+
412
+ The Tao is like a bellows:
413
+
414
+ it is empty yet infinitely capable.
415
+
416
+ The more you use it, the more it produces;
417
+ the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
418
+
419
+
420
+ Hold on to the center.
421
+
422
+
423
+
424
+
425
+
426
+
427
+
428
+
429
+
430
+
431
+
432
+
433
+ 6
434
+
435
+
436
+ The Tao is called the Great Mother:
437
+ empty yet inexhaustible,
438
+ it gives birth to infinite worlds.
439
+
440
+ It is always present within you.
441
+
442
+ You can use it any way you want.
443
+
444
+
445
+ The Tao is infinite, eternal.
446
+
447
+ Why is it eternal?
448
+
449
+ It was never born;
450
+ thus it can never die.
451
+
452
+ Why is it infinite?
453
+
454
+ It has no desires for itself;
455
+ thus it is present for all beings.
456
+
457
+ The Master stays behind;
458
+ that is why she is ahead.
459
+
460
+ She is detached from all things;
461
+ that is why she is one with them.
462
+ Because she has let go of herself,
463
+ she is perfectly fulfilled.
464
+
465
+
466
+
467
+
468
+
469
+
470
+
471
+
472
+
473
+
474
+
475
+
476
+
477
+
478
+
479
+
480
+
481
+
482
+
483
+ 8
484
+
485
+
486
+ The supreme good is like water,
487
+
488
+ which nourishes all things without trying to.
489
+
490
+ It is content with the low places that people disdain.
491
+ Thus it is like the Tao.
492
+
493
+ In dwelling, live close to the ground.
494
+
495
+ In thinking, keep to the simple.
496
+
497
+ In conflict, be fair and generous.
498
+
499
+ In governing, don't try to control.
500
+
501
+ In work, do what you enjoy.
502
+
503
+ In family life, be completely present.
504
+
505
+ When you are content to be simply yourself
506
+ and don’t compare or compete,
507
+ everybody will respect you.
508
+
509
+
510
+
511
+ Fill your bowl to the brim
512
+ and it will spill.
513
+
514
+ Keep sharpening your knife
515
+ and it will blunt.
516
+
517
+ Chase after money and security
518
+ and your heart will never unclench.
519
+ Care about people’s approval
520
+ and you will be their prisoner.
521
+
522
+ Do your work, then step back.
523
+
524
+ The only path to serenity.
525
+
526
+
527
+
528
+
529
+
530
+
531
+
532
+
533
+
534
+
535
+
536
+
537
+
538
+ 10
539
+
540
+
541
+ Can you coax your mind from its wandering
542
+ and keep to the original oneness?
543
+
544
+ Can you let your body become
545
+ supple as a newborn child’s?
546
+
547
+ Can you cleanse your inner vision
548
+ until you see nothing but the light?
549
+
550
+ Can you love people and lead them
551
+ without imposing your will?
552
+
553
+ Can you deal with the most vital matters
554
+ by letting events take their course?
555
+
556
+ Can you step back from your own mind
557
+ and thus understand all things?
558
+
559
+ Giving birth and nourishing,
560
+ having without possessing,
561
+ acting with no expectations,
562
+ leading and not trying to control:
563
+ this is the supreme virtue.
564
+
565
+
566
+
567
+ We join spokes together in a wheel,
568
+ but it is the center hole
569
+ that makes the wagon move.
570
+
571
+ We shape clay into a pot,
572
+ but it is the emptiness inside
573
+ that holds whatever we want.
574
+
575
+ We hammer wood for a house,
576
+ but it is the inner space
577
+ that makes it livable.
578
+
579
+ We work with being,
580
+
581
+ but non-being is what we use.
582
+
583
+
584
+
585
+
586
+
587
+
588
+
589
+
590
+
591
+
592
+
593
+
594
+
595
+
596
+ 12
597
+
598
+
599
+ Colors blind the eye.
600
+
601
+ Sounds deafen the ear.
602
+
603
+ Flavors numb the taste.
604
+
605
+ Thoughts weaken the mind.
606
+ Desires wither the heart.
607
+
608
+ The Master observes the world
609
+ but trusts his inner vision.
610
+
611
+ He allows things to come and go.
612
+ His heart is open as the sky.
613
+
614
+
615
+ 13
616
+
617
+
618
+ Success is as dangerous as failure.
619
+
620
+ Hope is as hollow as fear.
621
+
622
+ What does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure?
623
+ Whether you go up the ladder or down it,
624
+ your position is shaky.
625
+
626
+ When you stand with your two feet on the ground,
627
+ you will always keep your balance.
628
+
629
+ What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear?
630
+
631
+ Hope and fear are both phantoms
632
+ that arise from thinking of the self.
633
+
634
+ When we don’t see the self as self,
635
+ what do we have to fear?
636
+
637
+ See the world as your self.
638
+
639
+ Have faith in the way things are.
640
+
641
+ Love the world as your self;
642
+ then you can care for all things.
643
+
644
+
645
+
646
+
647
+
648
+
649
+
650
+
651
+
652
+
653
+
654
+
655
+
656
+
657
+ 14
658
+
659
+
660
+ Look, and it can’t be seen.
661
+
662
+ Listen, and it can’t be heard.
663
+
664
+ Reach, and it can’t be grasped.
665
+
666
+ Above, it isn’t bright.
667
+
668
+ Below, it isn’t dark.
669
+
670
+ Seamless, unnamable,
671
+ it returns to the realm of nothing.
672
+ Form that includes all forms,
673
+ image without an image,
674
+ subtle, beyond all conception.
675
+
676
+ Approach it and there is no beginning;
677
+ follow it and there is no end.
678
+
679
+ You can’t know it, but you can be it,
680
+ at ease in your own life.
681
+
682
+ Just realize where you come from:
683
+ this is the essence of wisdom.
684
+
685
+
686
+ 15
687
+
688
+
689
+ The ancient Masters were profound and subtle.
690
+ Their wisdom was unfathomable.
691
+
692
+ There is no way to describe it;
693
+
694
+ all we can describe is their appearance.
695
+
696
+ They were careful
697
+
698
+ as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
699
+
700
+ Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
701
+
702
+ Courteous as a guest.
703
+
704
+ Fluid as melting ice.
705
+
706
+ Shapable as a block of wood.
707
+
708
+ Receptive as a valley.
709
+
710
+ Clear as a glass of water.
711
+
712
+ Do you have the patience to wait
713
+
714
+ till your mud settles and the water is clear?
715
+
716
+ Can you remain unmoving
717
+
718
+ till the right action arises by itself?
719
+
720
+ The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment.
721
+
722
+ Not seeking, not expecting,
723
+
724
+ she is present, and can welcome all things.
725
+
726
+
727
+
728
+
729
+
730
+
731
+
732
+
733
+
734
+
735
+
736
+
737
+
738
+
739
+ 16
740
+
741
+
742
+ Empty your mind of all thoughts.
743
+
744
+ Let your heart be at peace.
745
+
746
+ Watch the turmoil of beings,
747
+ but contemplate their return.
748
+
749
+ Each separate being in the universe
750
+ returns to the common source.
751
+
752
+ Returning to the source is serenity.
753
+
754
+ If you don’t realize the source,
755
+ you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
756
+ When you realize where you come from,
757
+ you naturally become tolerant,
758
+ disinterested, amused,
759
+ kindhearted as a grandmother,
760
+ dignified as a king.
761
+
762
+ Immersed in the wonder of the Tao,
763
+ you can deal with whatever life brings you,
764
+ and when death comes, you are ready.
765
+
766
+
767
+ 17
768
+
769
+
770
+ When the Master governs, the people
771
+ are hardly aware that he exists.
772
+
773
+ Next best is a leader who is loved.
774
+ Next, one who is feared.
775
+
776
+ The worst is one who is despised.
777
+
778
+ If you don’t trust the people,
779
+ you make them untrustworthy.
780
+
781
+ The Master doesn’t talk, he acts.
782
+ When his work is done,
783
+ the people say, "Amazing:
784
+ we did it, all by ourselves!”
785
+
786
+
787
+
788
+
789
+
790
+
791
+
792
+
793
+
794
+
795
+
796
+
797
+
798
+
799
+ 18
800
+
801
+
802
+ When the great Tao is forgotten,
803
+ goodness and piety appear.
804
+
805
+ When the body’s intelligence declines,
806
+ cleverness and knowledge step forth.
807
+ When there is no peace in the family,
808
+ filial piety begins.
809
+
810
+ When the country falls into chaos,
811
+ patriotism is born.
812
+
813
+
814
+ 19
815
+
816
+
817
+ Throw away holiness and wisdom,
818
+ and people will be a hundred times happier.
819
+ Throw away morality and justice,
820
+ and people will do the right thing.
821
+
822
+ Throw away industry and profit,
823
+ and there won’t be any thieves.
824
+
825
+ If these three aren’t enough,
826
+ just stay at the center of the circle
827
+ and let all things take their course.
828
+
829
+
830
+
831
+
832
+
833
+
834
+
835
+
836
+
837
+
838
+
839
+
840
+
841
+
842
+
843
+ 20
844
+
845
+
846
+ Stop thinking, and end your problems.
847
+
848
+ What difference between yes and no?
849
+
850
+ What difference between success and failure?
851
+ Must you value what others value,
852
+ avoid what others avoid?
853
+
854
+ How ridiculous!
855
+
856
+ Other people are excited,
857
+ as though they were at a parade.
858
+
859
+ I alone don’t care,
860
+
861
+ I alone am expressionless,
862
+ like an infant before it can smile.
863
+
864
+ Other people have what they need;
865
+
866
+ I alone possess nothing.
867
+
868
+ I alone drift about,
869
+
870
+ like someone without a home.
871
+
872
+ I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty.
873
+
874
+ Other people are bright;
875
+
876
+ I alone am dark.
877
+
878
+ Other people are sharp;
879
+
880
+ 1 alone am dull.
881
+
882
+ Other people have a purpose;
883
+
884
+ I alone don’t know.
885
+
886
+ I drift like a wave on the ocean,
887
+
888
+ I blow as aimless as the wind.
889
+
890
+ I am different from ordinary people.
891
+
892
+ I drink from the Great Mother’s breasts.
893
+
894
+
895
+ 21
896
+
897
+
898
+ The Master keeps her mind
899
+ always at one with the Tao;
900
+ that is what gives her her radiance.
901
+
902
+ The Tao is ungraspable.
903
+
904
+ How can her mind be at one with it?
905
+ Because she doesn't cling to ideas.
906
+
907
+ The Tao is dark and unfathomable.
908
+ How can it make her radiant?
909
+ Because she lets it.
910
+
911
+ Since before time and space were,
912
+ the Tao is.
913
+
914
+ It is beyond is and is not .
915
+
916
+ How do I know this is true?
917
+
918
+ I look inside myself and see.
919
+
920
+
921
+
922
+
923
+
924
+
925
+
926
+
927
+
928
+
929
+
930
+
931
+
932
+
933
+
934
+
935
+
936
+ 22
937
+
938
+
939
+ If you want to become whole,
940
+ let yourself be partial.
941
+
942
+ If you want to become straight,
943
+ let yourself be crooked.
944
+
945
+ If you want to become full,
946
+ let yourself be empty.
947
+
948
+ If you want to be reborn,
949
+ let yourself die.
950
+
951
+ If you want to be given everything,
952
+ give everything up.
953
+
954
+ The Master, by residing in the Tao,
955
+ sets an example tor all beings.
956
+ Because he doesn’t display himself,
957
+ people can see his light.
958
+
959
+ Because he has nothing to prove,
960
+ people can trust his words.
961
+
962
+ Because he doesn’t know who he is,
963
+ people recognize themselves in him.
964
+ Because he has no goal in mind,
965
+ everything he does succeeds.
966
+
967
+ When the ancient Masters said,
968
+
969
+ “If you want to be given everything,
970
+ give everything up,”
971
+ they weren’t using empty phrases.
972
+ Only in being lived by the Tao
973
+ can you be truly yourself.
974
+
975
+
976
+ 23
977
+
978
+
979
+ Express yourself completely,
980
+ then keep quiet.
981
+
982
+ Be like the forces of nature:
983
+
984
+ when it blows, there is only wind;
985
+
986
+ when it rains, there is only rain;
987
+
988
+ when the clouds pass, the sun shines through.
989
+
990
+ If you open yourself to the Tao,
991
+ you are at one with the Tao
992
+ and you can embody it completely.
993
+
994
+ If you open yourself to insight,
995
+ you are at one with insight
996
+ and you can use it completely.
997
+
998
+ If you open yourself to loss,
999
+
1000
+ you are at one with loss
1001
+
1002
+ and you can accept it completely.
1003
+
1004
+ Open yourself to the Tao,
1005
+ then trust your natural responses;
1006
+ and everything will fall into place.
1007
+
1008
+
1009
+
1010
+
1011
+
1012
+
1013
+
1014
+
1015
+
1016
+
1017
+
1018
+ 24
1019
+
1020
+
1021
+ He who stands on tiptoe
1022
+ doesn’t stand firm.
1023
+
1024
+ He who rushes ahead
1025
+ doesn’t go far.
1026
+
1027
+ He who tries to shine
1028
+ dims his own light.
1029
+
1030
+ He who defines himself
1031
+ can’t know who he really is.
1032
+
1033
+ He who has power over others
1034
+ can’t empower himself.
1035
+
1036
+ He who clings to his work
1037
+ will create nothing that endures.
1038
+
1039
+ If you want to accord with the Tao,
1040
+ just do your job, then let go.
1041
+
1042
+
1043
+ 25
1044
+
1045
+
1046
+ There was something formless and perfect
1047
+ before the universe was born.
1048
+
1049
+ It is serene. Empty.
1050
+
1051
+ Solitary. Unchanging.
1052
+
1053
+ Infinite. Eternally present.
1054
+
1055
+ It is the mother of the universe.
1056
+
1057
+ For lack of a better name,
1058
+
1059
+ I call it the Tao.
1060
+
1061
+ It flows through all things,
1062
+ inside and outside, and returns
1063
+ to the origin of all things.
1064
+
1065
+ The Tao is great.
1066
+
1067
+ The universe is great.
1068
+
1069
+ Earth is great.
1070
+
1071
+ Man is great.
1072
+
1073
+ These are the four great powers.
1074
+
1075
+ Man follows the earth.
1076
+
1077
+ Earth follows the universe.
1078
+
1079
+ The universe follows the Tao.
1080
+
1081
+ The Tao follows only itself.
1082
+
1083
+
1084
+
1085
+
1086
+
1087
+
1088
+
1089
+
1090
+
1091
+
1092
+
1093
+
1094
+
1095
+ 26
1096
+
1097
+
1098
+ The heavy is the root of the light.
1099
+
1100
+ The unmoved is the source of all movement.
1101
+
1102
+ Thus the Master travels all day
1103
+ without leaving home.
1104
+
1105
+ However splendid the views,
1106
+ she stays serenely in herself
1107
+
1108
+ Why should the lord of the country
1109
+ flit about like a fool?
1110
+
1111
+ If you let yourself be blown to and fro,
1112
+ you lose touch with your root.
1113
+
1114
+ If you let restlessness move you,
1115
+ you lose touch with who you are.
1116
+
1117
+
1118
+ _ 27 _
1119
+
1120
+ -
1121
+
1122
+ A good traveler has no fixed plans
1123
+ and is not intent upon arriving.
1124
+
1125
+ A good artist lets his intuition ,!
1126
+
1127
+ lead him wherever it wants.
1128
+
1129
+ A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
1130
+ and keeps his mind open to what is.
1131
+
1132
+ Thus the Master is available to all people
1133
+ and doesn’t reject anyone.
1134
+
1135
+ He is ready to use all situations
1136
+ and doesn’t waste anything.
1137
+
1138
+ This is called embodying the light.
1139
+
1140
+ What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher?
1141
+
1142
+ What is a bad man but a good man’s job?
1143
+
1144
+ If you don’t understand this, you will get lost,
1145
+ however intelligent you are.
1146
+
1147
+ It is the great secret.
1148
+
1149
+
1150
+
1151
+
1152
+
1153
+
1154
+
1155
+
1156
+
1157
+
1158
+
1159
+
1160
+
1161
+
1162
+
1163
+
1164
+
1165
+
1166
+
1167
+
1168
+
1169
+
1170
+
1171
+
1172
+
1173
+
1174
+
1175
+ 28
1176
+
1177
+
1178
+ Know the male,
1179
+
1180
+ yet keep to the female:
1181
+
1182
+ receive the world in your arms.
1183
+
1184
+ If you receive the world,
1185
+ the Tao will never leave you
1186
+ and you will be like a little child.
1187
+
1188
+ Know the white,
1189
+
1190
+ yet keep to the black:
1191
+
1192
+ be a pattern for the world.
1193
+
1194
+ If you are a pattern for the world,
1195
+ the Tao will be strong inside you
1196
+ and there will be nothing you can’t do.
1197
+
1198
+ Know the personal,
1199
+
1200
+ yet keep to the impersonal:
1201
+
1202
+ accept the world as it is.
1203
+
1204
+ If you accept the world,
1205
+
1206
+ the Tao will be luminous inside you
1207
+
1208
+ and you will return to your primal self.
1209
+
1210
+ The world is formed from the void,
1211
+ like utensils from a block of wood.
1212
+
1213
+ The Master knows the utensils,
1214
+ yet keeps to the block:
1215
+ thus she can use all things.
1216
+
1217
+
1218
+ 29
1219
+
1220
+
1221
+ Do you want to improve the world?
1222
+
1223
+ I don’t think it can be done.
1224
+
1225
+ The world is sacred.
1226
+
1227
+ It can’t be improved.
1228
+
1229
+ If you tamper with it, you’ll ruin it.
1230
+
1231
+ If you treat it like an object, you’ll lose it.
1232
+
1233
+ There is a time for being ahead,
1234
+ a time for being behind;
1235
+ a time for being in motion,
1236
+ a time for being at rest;
1237
+ a time for being vigorous,
1238
+ a time for being exhausted;
1239
+ a time for being safe,
1240
+ a time for being in danger.
1241
+
1242
+ The Master sees things as they are,
1243
+ without trying to control them.
1244
+
1245
+ She lets them go their own way,
1246
+ and resides at the center of the circle.
1247
+
1248
+
1249
+
1250
+
1251
+
1252
+
1253
+
1254
+
1255
+
1256
+
1257
+
1258
+
1259
+
1260
+ 30
1261
+
1262
+
1263
+ Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men
1264
+ doesn’t try to force issues
1265
+ or defeat enemies by force of arms.
1266
+
1267
+ For every force there is a counterforce.
1268
+ Violence, even well intentioned,
1269
+ always rebounds upon oneself.
1270
+
1271
+ The Master does his job
1272
+ and then stops.
1273
+
1274
+ He understands that the universe
1275
+ is forever out of control,
1276
+ and that trying to dominate events
1277
+ goes against the current of the Tao.
1278
+
1279
+ Because he believes in himself,
1280
+ he doesn’t try to convince others.
1281
+
1282
+ Because he is content with himself,
1283
+ he doesn’t need others’ approval.
1284
+
1285
+ Because he accepts himself,
1286
+ the whole world accepts him.
1287
+
1288
+
1289
+ 31
1290
+
1291
+
1292
+ Weapons are the tools of violence;
1293
+ all decent men detest them.
1294
+
1295
+ Weapons are the tools of fear;
1296
+ a decent man will avoid them
1297
+ except in the direst necessity
1298
+ and, if compelled, will use them
1299
+ only with the utmost restraint.
1300
+
1301
+ Peace is his highest value.
1302
+
1303
+ If the peace has been shattered,
1304
+ how can he be content?
1305
+
1306
+ His enemies are not demons,
1307
+ but human beings like himself.
1308
+
1309
+ He doesn’t wish them personal harm.
1310
+ Nor does he rejoice in victory.
1311
+
1312
+ How could he rejoice in victory
1313
+ and delight in the slaughter of men?
1314
+
1315
+ He enters a battle gravely,
1316
+
1317
+ with sorrow and with great compassion,
1318
+
1319
+ as if he were attending a funeral.
1320
+
1321
+
1322
+
1323
+
1324
+
1325
+
1326
+
1327
+
1328
+
1329
+
1330
+
1331
+
1332
+
1333
+ 32
1334
+
1335
+
1336
+ The Tao can’t be perceived,
1337
+
1338
+ Smaller than an electron,
1339
+ it contains uncountable galaxies.
1340
+
1341
+ If powerful men and women
1342
+ could remain centered in the Tao,
1343
+ all things would be in harmony.
1344
+
1345
+ The world would become a paradise.
1346
+
1347
+ All people would be at peace,
1348
+
1349
+ and the law would be written in their hearts.
1350
+
1351
+ When you have names and forms,
1352
+ know that they are provisional.
1353
+
1354
+ When you have institutions,
1355
+ know where their functions should end.
1356
+ Knowing when to stop,
1357
+ you can avoid any danger.
1358
+
1359
+ All things end in the Tao
1360
+ as rivers flow into the sea.
1361
+
1362
+
1363
+ 33
1364
+
1365
+
1366
+ Knowing others is intelligence;
1367
+ knowing yourself is true wisdom.
1368
+ Mastering others is strength;
1369
+ mastering yourself is true power.
1370
+
1371
+ If you realize that you have enough,
1372
+ you are truly rich.
1373
+
1374
+ If you stay in the center
1375
+
1376
+ and embrace death with your whole heart,
1377
+
1378
+ you will endure forever.
1379
+
1380
+
1381
+
1382
+
1383
+
1384
+
1385
+
1386
+
1387
+
1388
+
1389
+
1390
+
1391
+
1392
+
1393
+
1394
+
1395
+
1396
+
1397
+
1398
+ 34
1399
+
1400
+
1401
+ The great Tao flows everywhere.
1402
+ All things are born from it,
1403
+ yet it doesn’t create them.
1404
+
1405
+ It pours itself into its work,
1406
+ yet it makes no claim.
1407
+
1408
+ It nourishes infinite worlds,
1409
+ yet it doesn’t hold on to them.
1410
+ Since it is merged with all things
1411
+ and hidden in their hearts,
1412
+ it can be called humble.
1413
+
1414
+ Since all things vanish into it
1415
+ and it alone endures,
1416
+ it can be called great.
1417
+
1418
+ It isn’t aware of its greatness;
1419
+ thus it is truly great.
1420
+
1421
+
1422
+ 35
1423
+
1424
+
1425
+ She who is centered in the Tao
1426
+
1427
+ can go where she wishes, without danger.
1428
+
1429
+ She perceives the universal harmony,
1430
+
1431
+ even amid great pain,
1432
+
1433
+ because she has found peace in her heart.
1434
+
1435
+ Music or the smell of good cooking
1436
+ may make people stop and enjoy.
1437
+
1438
+ But words that point to the Tao
1439
+ seem monotonous and without flavor.
1440
+
1441
+ When you look for it, there is nothing to see.
1442
+ When you listen for it, there is nothing to hear.
1443
+ When you use it, it is inexhaustible.
1444
+
1445
+
1446
+
1447
+
1448
+
1449
+
1450
+
1451
+
1452
+
1453
+
1454
+
1455
+
1456
+ 36
1457
+
1458
+
1459
+ If you want to shrink something,
1460
+ you must first allow it to expand.
1461
+
1462
+ If you want to get rid of something,
1463
+ you must first allow it to flourish.
1464
+
1465
+ If you want to take something,
1466
+ you must first allow it to be given.
1467
+ This is called the subtle perception
1468
+ of the way things are.
1469
+
1470
+ The soft overcomes the hard.
1471
+
1472
+ The slow overcomes the fast.
1473
+
1474
+ Let your workings remain a mystery.
1475
+ Just show people the results.
1476
+
1477
+
1478
+ 37 .
1479
+
1480
+
1481
+ The Tao never does anything,
1482
+ yet through it all things are done.
1483
+
1484
+ If powerful men and women
1485
+ could center themselves in it,
1486
+ the whole world would be transformed
1487
+ by itself, in its natural rhythms.
1488
+
1489
+ People would be content
1490
+ with their simple, everyday lives,
1491
+ in harmony, and free of desire.
1492
+
1493
+ When there is no desire,
1494
+ all things are at peace.
1495
+
1496
+
1497
+
1498
+
1499
+
1500
+
1501
+
1502
+
1503
+
1504
+
1505
+
1506
+
1507
+
1508
+ 38
1509
+
1510
+
1511
+ The Master doesn’t try to be powerful;
1512
+ thus he is truly powerful.
1513
+
1514
+ The ordinary man keeps reaching for power;
1515
+ thus he never has enough.
1516
+
1517
+ The Master does nothing,
1518
+ yet he leaves nothing undone.
1519
+
1520
+ The ordinary man is always doing things,
1521
+ yet many more are left to be done.
1522
+
1523
+ The kind man does something,
1524
+ yet something remains undone.
1525
+
1526
+ The just man does something,
1527
+ and leaves many things to be done.
1528
+
1529
+ The moral man does something,
1530
+
1531
+ and when no one responds
1532
+
1533
+ he rolls up his sleeves and uses force.
1534
+
1535
+ When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
1536
+ When goodness is lost, there is morality.
1537
+ When morality is lost, there is ritual.
1538
+
1539
+ Ritual is the husk of true faith,
1540
+ the beginning of chaos.
1541
+
1542
+ Therefore the Master concerns himself
1543
+ with the depths and not the surface,
1544
+ with the fruit and not the flower.
1545
+
1546
+ He has no will of his own.
1547
+
1548
+ He dwells in reality,
1549
+ and lets all illusions go.
1550
+
1551
+
1552
+ 39
1553
+
1554
+
1555
+ In harmony with the Tao,
1556
+ the sky is clear and spacious,
1557
+ the earth is solid and full,
1558
+ all creatures flourish together,
1559
+ content with the way they are,
1560
+ endlessly repeating themselves,
1561
+ endlessly renewed.
1562
+
1563
+ When man interferes with the Tao,
1564
+ the sky becomes filthy,
1565
+ the earth becomes depleted,
1566
+ the equilibrium crumbles,
1567
+ creatures become extinct.
1568
+
1569
+ The Master views the parts with compassion,
1570
+ because he understands the whole.
1571
+
1572
+ His constant practice is humility.
1573
+
1574
+ He doesn’t glitter like a jewel
1575
+
1576
+ but lets himself be shaped by the Tao,
1577
+
1578
+ as rugged and common as a stone.
1579
+
1580
+
1581
+
1582
+
1583
+
1584
+
1585
+
1586
+
1587
+
1588
+
1589
+
1590
+
1591
+ 40
1592
+
1593
+
1594
+ Return is the movement of the Tao.
1595
+ Yielding is the way of the Tao.
1596
+
1597
+
1598
+ All things are born of being.
1599
+ Being is born of non-being.
1600
+
1601
+
1602
+ 41
1603
+
1604
+
1605
+ When a superior man hears of the Tao,
1606
+ he immediately begins to embody it.
1607
+ When an average man hears of the Tao,
1608
+ he half believes it, half doubts it.
1609
+
1610
+ When a foolish man hears of the Tao,
1611
+ he laughs out loud.
1612
+
1613
+ If he didn’t laugh,
1614
+ it wouldn’t be the Tao.
1615
+
1616
+ Thus it is said:
1617
+
1618
+ The path into the light seems dark,
1619
+
1620
+ the path forward seems to go back,
1621
+
1622
+ the direct path seems long,
1623
+
1624
+ true power seems weak,
1625
+
1626
+ true purity seems tarnished,
1627
+
1628
+ true steadfastness seems changeable,
1629
+
1630
+ true clarity seems obscure,
1631
+
1632
+ the greatest art seems unsophisticated,
1633
+
1634
+ the greatest love seems indifferent,
1635
+
1636
+ the greatest wisdom seems childish.
1637
+
1638
+ The Tao is nowhere to be found.
1639
+
1640
+ Yet it nourishes and completes ail things.
1641
+
1642
+
1643
+
1644
+
1645
+
1646
+
1647
+
1648
+
1649
+
1650
+
1651
+
1652
+
1653
+
1654
+
1655
+ 42
1656
+
1657
+
1658
+ The Tao gives birth to One.
1659
+
1660
+ One gives birth to Two.
1661
+
1662
+ Two gives birth to Three.
1663
+
1664
+ Three gives birth to all things.
1665
+
1666
+ All things have their backs to the female
1667
+ and stand facing the male.
1668
+
1669
+ When male and female combine,
1670
+ all things achieve harmony.
1671
+
1672
+ Ordinary men hate solitude.
1673
+
1674
+ But the Master makes use of it,
1675
+ embracing his aloneness, realizing
1676
+ he is one with the whole universe.
1677
+
1678
+
1679
+ I
1680
+
1681
+
1682
+
1683
+
1684
+
1685
+ 43
1686
+
1687
+
1688
+ The gentlest thing in the world
1689
+ overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
1690
+ That which has no substance
1691
+ enters where there is no space.
1692
+
1693
+ This shows the value of non-action.
1694
+
1695
+ Teaching without words,
1696
+ performing without actions:
1697
+ that is the Master’s way.
1698
+
1699
+
1700
+
1701
+
1702
+
1703
+
1704
+
1705
+
1706
+
1707
+
1708
+
1709
+
1710
+
1711
+
1712
+
1713
+
1714
+
1715
+
1716
+
1717
+
1718
+ 44
1719
+
1720
+
1721
+ Fame or integrity: which is more important?
1722
+ Money or happiness: which is more valuable?
1723
+ Success or failure: which is more destructive?
1724
+
1725
+ If you look to others for fulfillment,
1726
+ you will never truly be fulfilled.
1727
+
1728
+ If your happiness depends on money,
1729
+ you will never be happy with yourself
1730
+
1731
+ Be content with what you have;
1732
+ rejoice in the way things are.
1733
+
1734
+ When you realize there is nothing lacking,
1735
+ the whole world belongs to you.
1736
+
1737
+
1738
+ 45
1739
+
1740
+
1741
+ True perfection seems imperfect,
1742
+ yet it is perfectly itself.
1743
+
1744
+ True fullness seems empty,
1745
+ yet it is fully present.
1746
+
1747
+ True straightness seems crooked.
1748
+ True wisdom seems foolish.
1749
+
1750
+ True art seems artless.
1751
+
1752
+ The Master allows things to happen.
1753
+ She shapes events as they come.
1754
+
1755
+ She steps out of the way
1756
+ and lets the Tao speak for itself.
1757
+
1758
+
1759
+
1760
+
1761
+
1762
+
1763
+
1764
+
1765
+
1766
+
1767
+
1768
+
1769
+
1770
+ 46
1771
+
1772
+
1773
+ When a country is in harmony with the Tao,
1774
+ the factories make trucks and tractors.
1775
+
1776
+ When a country goes counter to the Tao,
1777
+ warheads are stockpiled outside the cities.
1778
+
1779
+ There is no greater illusion than fear,
1780
+
1781
+ no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself,
1782
+
1783
+ no greater misfortune than having an enemy.
1784
+
1785
+ Whoever can see through all fear
1786
+ will always be safe.
1787
+
1788
+
1789
+ 47 .
1790
+
1791
+
1792
+ Without opening your door,
1793
+ you can open your heart to the world.
1794
+ Without looking out your window,
1795
+ you can see the essence of the Tao.
1796
+
1797
+ The more you know,
1798
+ the less you understand.
1799
+
1800
+ The Master arrives without leaving,
1801
+ sees the light without looking,
1802
+ achieves without doing a thing.
1803
+
1804
+
1805
+
1806
+
1807
+
1808
+
1809
+
1810
+
1811
+
1812
+
1813
+
1814
+
1815
+
1816
+ 48
1817
+
1818
+
1819
+ In the pursuit of knowledge,
1820
+ every day something is added.
1821
+
1822
+ In the practice of the Tao,
1823
+ every day something is dropped.
1824
+
1825
+ Less and less do you need to force things,
1826
+ until finally you arrive at non-action.
1827
+ When nothing is done,
1828
+ nothing is left undone.
1829
+
1830
+ True mastery can be gained
1831
+ by letting things go their own way.
1832
+
1833
+ It can’t be gained by interfering.
1834
+
1835
+
1836
+ 49
1837
+
1838
+
1839
+ The Master has no mind of her own.
1840
+
1841
+ She works with the mind of the people.
1842
+
1843
+ She is good to people who are good.
1844
+
1845
+ She is also good to people who aren’t good.
1846
+ This is true goodness.
1847
+
1848
+ She trusts people who are trustworthy.
1849
+
1850
+ She also trusts people who aren't trustworthy.
1851
+ This is true trust.
1852
+
1853
+ The Master's mind is like space.
1854
+
1855
+ People don’t understand her.
1856
+
1857
+ They look to her and wait.
1858
+
1859
+ She treats them like her own children.
1860
+
1861
+
1862
+
1863
+
1864
+
1865
+
1866
+
1867
+
1868
+
1869
+
1870
+
1871
+
1872
+ 50
1873
+
1874
+
1875
+ The Master gives himself up
1876
+ to whatever the moment brings.
1877
+
1878
+ He knows that he is going to die,
1879
+ and he has nothing left to hold on to:
1880
+ no illusions in his mind,
1881
+ no resistances in his body.
1882
+
1883
+ He doesn’t think about his actions;
1884
+ they flow from the core of his being.
1885
+ He holds nothing back from life;
1886
+ therefore he is ready for death,
1887
+ as a man is ready for sleep
1888
+ after a good day’s work.
1889
+
1890
+
1891
+ 51
1892
+
1893
+
1894
+ Every being in the universe
1895
+ is an expression of the Tao.
1896
+
1897
+ It springs into existence,
1898
+ unconscious, perfect, free,
1899
+ takes on a physical body,
1900
+ lets circumstances complete it.
1901
+
1902
+ That is why every being
1903
+ spontaneously honors the Tao.
1904
+
1905
+ The Tao gives birth to all beings,
1906
+
1907
+ nourishes them, maintains them,
1908
+
1909
+ cares for them, comforts them, protects them,
1910
+
1911
+ takes them back to itself,
1912
+
1913
+ creating without possessing,
1914
+
1915
+ acting without expecting,
1916
+
1917
+ guiding without interfering.
1918
+
1919
+ That is why love of the Tao
1920
+ is in the very nature of things.
1921
+
1922
+
1923
+
1924
+
1925
+
1926
+
1927
+
1928
+
1929
+
1930
+
1931
+
1932
+
1933
+
1934
+
1935
+
1936
+
1937
+
1938
+
1939
+
1940
+ 52
1941
+
1942
+
1943
+ In the beginning was the Tao.
1944
+
1945
+ All things issue from it;
1946
+ all things return to it.
1947
+
1948
+ To find the origin,
1949
+
1950
+ trace back the manifestations.
1951
+
1952
+ When you recognize the children
1953
+ and find the mother,
1954
+ you will be free of sorrow.
1955
+
1956
+ If you close your mind in judgments
1957
+ and traffic with desires,
1958
+ your heart will be troubled.
1959
+
1960
+ If you keep your mind from judging
1961
+ and aren’t led by the senses,
1962
+ your heart will find peace.
1963
+
1964
+ Seeing into darkness is clarity.
1965
+ Knowing how to yield is strength.
1966
+ Use your own light
1967
+ and return to the source of light.
1968
+ This is called practicing eternity.
1969
+
1970
+
1971
+ 53
1972
+
1973
+
1974
+ The great Way is easy,
1975
+
1976
+ yet people prefer the side paths.
1977
+
1978
+ Be aware when things are out of balance.
1979
+
1980
+ Stay centered within the Tao.
1981
+
1982
+ When rich speculators prosper
1983
+ while farmers lose their land;
1984
+ when government officials spend money
1985
+ on weapons instead of cures;
1986
+
1987
+ when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible
1988
+ while the poor have nowhere to turn—
1989
+ all this is robbery and chaos.
1990
+
1991
+ It is not in keeping with the Tao.
1992
+
1993
+
1994
+
1995
+
1996
+
1997
+
1998
+
1999
+
2000
+
2001
+
2002
+
2003
+
2004
+
2005
+ 54
2006
+
2007
+
2008
+ Whoever is planted in the Tao
2009
+ will not be rooted up.
2010
+
2011
+ Whoever embraces the Tao
2012
+ will not slip away.
2013
+
2014
+ Her name will be held in honor
2015
+ from generation to generation.
2016
+
2017
+ Let the Tao be present in your life
2018
+ and you will become genuine.
2019
+
2020
+ Let it be present in your family
2021
+ and your family will flourish.
2022
+
2023
+ Let it be present in your country
2024
+ and your country will be an example
2025
+ to all countries in the world.
2026
+
2027
+ Let it be present in the universe
2028
+ and the universe will sing.
2029
+
2030
+ How do I know this is true?
2031
+
2032
+ By looking inside myself.
2033
+
2034
+
2035
+ 55
2036
+
2037
+
2038
+ He who is in harmony with the Tao
2039
+ is like a newborn child.
2040
+
2041
+ Its bones are soft, its muscles are weak,
2042
+ but its grip is powerful.
2043
+
2044
+ It doesn't know about the union
2045
+ of male and female,
2046
+ yet its penis can stand erect,
2047
+ so intense is its vital power.
2048
+
2049
+ It can scream its head off all day,
2050
+ yet it never becomes hoarse,
2051
+ so complete is its harmony.
2052
+
2053
+ The Master’s power is like this.
2054
+
2055
+ He lets all things come and go
2056
+ effortlessly, without desire.
2057
+
2058
+ He never expects results;
2059
+ thus he is never disappointed.
2060
+
2061
+ He is never disappointed;
2062
+ thus his spirit never grows old.
2063
+
2064
+
2065
+
2066
+
2067
+
2068
+
2069
+
2070
+
2071
+
2072
+
2073
+
2074
+
2075
+ 56
2076
+
2077
+
2078
+ Those who know don’t talk.
2079
+
2080
+ Those who talk don’t know.
2081
+
2082
+ Close your mouth,
2083
+ block off your senses,
2084
+ blunt your sharpness,
2085
+ untie your knots,
2086
+ soften your glare,
2087
+ settle your dust.
2088
+
2089
+ This is the primal identity.
2090
+
2091
+ Be like the Tao.
2092
+
2093
+ It can’t be approached or withdrawn from,
2094
+
2095
+ benefited or harmed,
2096
+
2097
+ honored or brought into disgrace.
2098
+
2099
+ It gives itself up continually.
2100
+
2101
+ That is why it endures.
2102
+
2103
+
2104
+ 57 .
2105
+
2106
+
2107
+ If you want to be a great leader,
2108
+ you must learn to follow the Tao.
2109
+
2110
+ Stop trying to control.
2111
+
2112
+ Let go of fixed plans and concepts,
2113
+ and the world will govern itself.
2114
+
2115
+ The more prohibitions you have,
2116
+ the less virtuous people will be.
2117
+
2118
+ The more weapons you have,
2119
+ the less secure people will be.
2120
+
2121
+ The more subsidies you have,
2122
+ the less self-reliant people will be.
2123
+
2124
+ Therefore the Master says:
2125
+
2126
+ I let go of the law,
2127
+
2128
+ and people become honest.
2129
+
2130
+ I let go of economics,
2131
+
2132
+ and people become prosperous.
2133
+
2134
+ I let go of religion,
2135
+ and people become serene.
2136
+
2137
+ I let go of all desire for the common good,
2138
+ and the good becomes common as grass.
2139
+
2140
+
2141
+
2142
+
2143
+
2144
+
2145
+
2146
+
2147
+
2148
+
2149
+
2150
+
2151
+
2152
+ 58
2153
+
2154
+
2155
+ If a country is governed with tolerance,
2156
+ the people are comfortable and honest.
2157
+
2158
+ If a country is governed with repression,
2159
+ the people are depressed and crafty.
2160
+
2161
+ When the will to power is in charge,
2162
+
2163
+ the higher the ideals, the lower the results.
2164
+
2165
+ Try to make people happy,
2166
+
2167
+ and you lay the groundwork for misery.
2168
+
2169
+ Try to make people moral,
2170
+
2171
+ and you lay the groundwork for vice.
2172
+
2173
+ Thus the Master is content
2174
+ to serve as an example
2175
+ and not to impose her will.
2176
+
2177
+ She is pointed, but doesn’t pierce.
2178
+ Straightforward, but supple.
2179
+
2180
+ Radiant, but easy on the eyes.
2181
+
2182
+
2183
+ 59
2184
+
2185
+
2186
+ For governing a country well
2187
+
2188
+ there is nothing better than moderation.
2189
+
2190
+ The mark of a moderate man
2191
+ is freedom from his own ideas.
2192
+
2193
+ Tolerant like the sky,
2194
+ all-pervading like sunlight,
2195
+ firm like a mountain,
2196
+ supple like a tree in the wind,
2197
+ he has no destination in view
2198
+ and makes use of anything
2199
+ life happens to bring his way.
2200
+
2201
+ Nothing is impossible for him.
2202
+
2203
+ Because he has let go,
2204
+
2205
+ he can care for the people’s welfare
2206
+
2207
+ as a mother cares for her child.
2208
+
2209
+
2210
+
2211
+
2212
+
2213
+
2214
+
2215
+
2216
+
2217
+
2218
+
2219
+
2220
+ 60
2221
+
2222
+
2223
+ Governing a large country
2224
+ is like frying a small fish.
2225
+
2226
+ You spoil it with too much poking.
2227
+
2228
+ Center your country in the Tao
2229
+ and evil will have no power.
2230
+
2231
+ Not that it isn’t there,
2232
+
2233
+ but you’ll be able to step out of its way.
2234
+
2235
+ Give evil nothing to oppose
2236
+ and it will disappear by itself.
2237
+
2238
+
2239
+ 61
2240
+
2241
+
2242
+ When a country obtains great power,
2243
+
2244
+ it becomes like the sea:
2245
+
2246
+ all streams run downward into it.
2247
+
2248
+ The more powerful it grows,
2249
+ the greater the need for humility.
2250
+
2251
+ Humility means trusting the Tao,
2252
+ thus never needing to be defensive.
2253
+
2254
+ A great nation is like a great man:
2255
+
2256
+ When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
2257
+ Having realized it, he admits it.
2258
+
2259
+ Having admitted it, he corrects it.
2260
+
2261
+ He considers those who point out his faults
2262
+ as his most benevolent teachers.
2263
+
2264
+ He thinks of his enemy
2265
+
2266
+ as the shadow that he himself casts.
2267
+
2268
+ If a nation is centered in the Tao,
2269
+
2270
+ if it nourishes its own people
2271
+
2272
+ and doesn’t meddle in the affairs of others,
2273
+
2274
+ it will be a light to all nations in the world.
2275
+
2276
+
2277
+
2278
+
2279
+
2280
+
2281
+
2282
+
2283
+
2284
+
2285
+
2286
+
2287
+
2288
+
2289
+
2290
+
2291
+
2292
+
2293
+
2294
+
2295
+
2296
+ 62
2297
+
2298
+
2299
+ The Tao is the center of the universe,
2300
+ the good man’s treasure,
2301
+ the bad man’s refuge.
2302
+
2303
+ Honors can be bought with fine words,
2304
+ respect can be won with good deeds;
2305
+ but the Tao is beyond all value,
2306
+ and no one can achieve it.
2307
+
2308
+ Thus, when a new leader is chosen,
2309
+
2310
+ don’t offer to help him
2311
+
2312
+ with your wealth or your expertise.
2313
+
2314
+ Offer instead
2315
+
2316
+ to teach him about the Tao.
2317
+
2318
+ Why did the ancient Masters esteem the Tao?
2319
+ Because, being one with the Tao,
2320
+ when you seek, you find;
2321
+
2322
+ and when you make a mistake, you are forgiven.
2323
+ That is why everybody loves it.
2324
+
2325
+
2326
+ 63
2327
+
2328
+
2329
+ Act without doing;
2330
+ work without effort.
2331
+
2332
+ Think of the small as large
2333
+ and the few as many.
2334
+
2335
+ Confront the difficult
2336
+ while it is still easy;
2337
+ accomplish the great task
2338
+ by a series of small acts.
2339
+
2340
+ The Master never reaches for the great;
2341
+ thus she achieves greatness.
2342
+
2343
+ When she runs into a difficulty,
2344
+ she stops and gives herself to it.
2345
+
2346
+ She doesn’t cling to her own comfort;
2347
+ thus problems are no problem for her.
2348
+
2349
+
2350
+
2351
+
2352
+
2353
+
2354
+
2355
+
2356
+
2357
+
2358
+
2359
+
2360
+
2361
+
2362
+
2363
+
2364
+
2365
+ 64
2366
+
2367
+
2368
+ What is rooted is easy to nourish.
2369
+ What is recent is easy to correct.
2370
+
2371
+ What is brittle is easy to break.
2372
+
2373
+ What is small is easy to scatter.
2374
+
2375
+ Prevent trouble before it arises.
2376
+
2377
+ Put things in order before they exist.
2378
+ The giant pine tree
2379
+ grows from a tiny sprout.
2380
+
2381
+ The journey of a thousand miles
2382
+ starts from beneath your feet.
2383
+
2384
+ Rushing into action, you fail.
2385
+
2386
+ Trying to grasp things, you lose them.
2387
+ Forcing a project to completion,
2388
+ you ruin what was almost ripe.
2389
+
2390
+ Therefore the Master takes action
2391
+ by letting things take their course.
2392
+
2393
+ He remains as calm
2394
+
2395
+ at the end as at the beginning.
2396
+
2397
+ He has nothing,
2398
+
2399
+ thus has nothing to lose.
2400
+
2401
+ What he desires is non-desire;
2402
+ what he learns is to unlearn.
2403
+
2404
+ He simply reminds people
2405
+ of who they have always been.
2406
+
2407
+ He cares about nothing but the Tao.
2408
+ Thus he can care for all things.
2409
+
2410
+
2411
+ 65
2412
+
2413
+
2414
+ The ancient Masters
2415
+
2416
+ didn’t try to educate the people,
2417
+
2418
+ but kindly taught them to not-know.
2419
+
2420
+ When they think that they know the answers,
2421
+ people are difficult to guide.
2422
+
2423
+ When they know that they don’t know,
2424
+ people can find their own way.
2425
+
2426
+ Jf you want to learn how to govern,
2427
+ avoid being clever or rich.
2428
+
2429
+ The simplest pattern is the clearest.
2430
+
2431
+ Content with an ordinary life,
2432
+ you can show all people the way
2433
+ back to their own true nature.
2434
+
2435
+
2436
+
2437
+
2438
+
2439
+
2440
+
2441
+
2442
+
2443
+
2444
+
2445
+
2446
+ 66
2447
+
2448
+
2449
+ All streams flow to the sea
2450
+ because it is lower than they are.
2451
+ Humility gives it its power.
2452
+
2453
+ If you want to govern the people,
2454
+ you must place yourself below them.
2455
+ If you want to lead the people,
2456
+ you must learn how to follow them.
2457
+
2458
+ The Master is above the people,
2459
+ and no one feels oppressed.
2460
+
2461
+ She goes ahead of the people,
2462
+ and no one feels manipulated.
2463
+
2464
+ The whole world is grateful to her.
2465
+ Because she competes with no one,
2466
+ no one can compete with her.
2467
+
2468
+
2469
+ 67
2470
+
2471
+
2472
+ Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
2473
+
2474
+ Others call it lofty but impractical.
2475
+
2476
+ But to those who have looked inside themselves,
2477
+ this nonsense makes perfect sense.
2478
+
2479
+ And to those who put it into practice,
2480
+ this loftiness has roots that go deep.
2481
+
2482
+ I have just three things to teach:
2483
+ simplicity, patience, compassion.
2484
+
2485
+ These three are your greatest treasures.
2486
+
2487
+ Simple in actions and in thoughts,
2488
+ you return to the source of being.
2489
+
2490
+ Patient with both friends and enemies,
2491
+ you accord with the way things are.
2492
+ Compassionate toward yourself,
2493
+ you reconcile all beings in the world.
2494
+
2495
+
2496
+
2497
+
2498
+
2499
+
2500
+
2501
+
2502
+
2503
+
2504
+
2505
+
2506
+
2507
+
2508
+
2509
+ 68
2510
+
2511
+
2512
+ The best athlete
2513
+
2514
+ wants his opponent at his best.
2515
+
2516
+ The best general
2517
+
2518
+ enters the mind of his enemy.
2519
+
2520
+ The best businessman
2521
+ serves the communal good.
2522
+
2523
+ The best leader
2524
+
2525
+ follows the will of the people.
2526
+
2527
+ All of them embody
2528
+
2529
+ the virtue of non-competition.
2530
+
2531
+ Not that they don’t love to compete,
2532
+ but they do it in the spirit of play.
2533
+
2534
+ In this they are like children
2535
+ and in harmony with the Tao.
2536
+
2537
+
2538
+ 69
2539
+
2540
+
2541
+ The generals have a saying:
2542
+
2543
+ “Rather than make the first move
2544
+ it is better to wait and see.
2545
+
2546
+ Rather than advance an inch
2547
+ it is better to retreat a yard.”
2548
+
2549
+ This is called
2550
+
2551
+ going forward without advancing,
2552
+ pushing back without using weapons.
2553
+
2554
+ There is no greater misfortune
2555
+ than underestimating your enemy.
2556
+ Underestimating your enemy
2557
+ means thinking that he is evil.
2558
+
2559
+ Thus you destroy your three treasures
2560
+ and become an enemy yourself.
2561
+
2562
+ When two great forces oppose each other,
2563
+
2564
+ the victory will go
2565
+
2566
+ to the one that knows how to yield.
2567
+
2568
+
2569
+
2570
+
2571
+
2572
+
2573
+
2574
+
2575
+
2576
+
2577
+
2578
+
2579
+
2580
+ 70
2581
+
2582
+
2583
+ My teachings are easy to understand
2584
+ and easy to put into practice.
2585
+
2586
+ Yet your intellect will never grasp them,
2587
+ and if you try to practice them, you’ll fail.
2588
+
2589
+ My teachings are older than the world.
2590
+ How can you grasp their meaning?
2591
+
2592
+ If you want to know me,
2593
+ look inside your heart.
2594
+
2595
+
2596
+ 71
2597
+
2598
+
2599
+ Not-knowing is true knowledge.
2600
+ Presuming to know is a disease.
2601
+
2602
+ First realize that you are sick;
2603
+ then you can move toward health.
2604
+
2605
+ The Master is her own physician.
2606
+
2607
+ She has healed herself of all knowing.
2608
+ Thus she is truly whole.
2609
+
2610
+
2611
+
2612
+
2613
+
2614
+
2615
+
2616
+
2617
+
2618
+
2619
+
2620
+
2621
+
2622
+
2623
+
2624
+
2625
+ 72
2626
+
2627
+
2628
+ When they lose their sense of awe,
2629
+ people turn to religion.
2630
+
2631
+ When they no longer trust themselves,
2632
+ they begin to depend upon authority.
2633
+
2634
+ Therefore the Master steps back
2635
+ so that people won’t be confused.
2636
+
2637
+ He teaches without a teaching,
2638
+
2639
+ so that people will have nothing to learn.
2640
+
2641
+
2642
+ 73
2643
+
2644
+
2645
+ The Tao is always at ease.
2646
+
2647
+ It overcomes without competing,
2648
+ answers without speaking a word,
2649
+ arrives without being summoned,
2650
+ accomplishes without a plan.
2651
+
2652
+ Its net covers the whole universe.
2653
+ And though its meshes are wide,
2654
+ it doesn’t let a thing slip through.
2655
+
2656
+
2657
+
2658
+
2659
+
2660
+
2661
+
2662
+
2663
+
2664
+
2665
+
2666
+
2667
+
2668
+
2669
+
2670
+ 74
2671
+
2672
+
2673
+ If you realize that all things change,
2674
+ there is nothing you will try to hold on to.
2675
+
2676
+ If you aren’t afraid of dying,
2677
+ there is nothing you can’t achieve.
2678
+
2679
+ Trying to control the future
2680
+
2681
+ is like trying to take the master carpenter’s place.
2682
+ When you handle the master carpenter’s tools,
2683
+ chances are that you’ll cut yourself.
2684
+
2685
+
2686
+ 75
2687
+
2688
+
2689
+ When taxes are too high,
2690
+ people go hungry.
2691
+
2692
+ When the government is too intrusive,
2693
+ people lose their spirit.
2694
+
2695
+ Act for the people’s benefit.
2696
+
2697
+ Trust them; leave them alone.
2698
+
2699
+
2700
+
2701
+
2702
+
2703
+
2704
+
2705
+
2706
+
2707
+
2708
+
2709
+
2710
+
2711
+
2712
+
2713
+
2714
+
2715
+ 76
2716
+
2717
+
2718
+ Men are born soft and supple;
2719
+ dead, they are stiff and hard.
2720
+
2721
+ Plants are born tender and pliant;
2722
+ dead, they are brittle and dry.
2723
+
2724
+ Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible
2725
+ is a disciple of death.
2726
+
2727
+ Whoever is soft and yielding
2728
+ is a disciple of life.
2729
+
2730
+ The hard and stiff will be broken.
2731
+ The soft and supple will prevail.
2732
+
2733
+
2734
+ 77 .
2735
+
2736
+
2737
+ As it acts in the world, the Tao
2738
+ is like the bending of a bow.
2739
+
2740
+ The top is bent downward;
2741
+ the bottom is bent up.
2742
+
2743
+ It adjusts excess and deficiency
2744
+ so that there is perfect balance.
2745
+
2746
+ It takes from what is too much
2747
+ and gives to what isn’t enough.
2748
+
2749
+ Those who try to control,
2750
+
2751
+ who use force to protect their power,
2752
+
2753
+ go against the direction of the Tao.
2754
+
2755
+ They take from those who don’t have enough
2756
+ and give to those who have far too much.
2757
+
2758
+ The Master can keep giving
2759
+ because there is no end to her wealth.
2760
+
2761
+ She acts without expectation,
2762
+ succeeds without taking credit,
2763
+ and doesn’t think that she is better
2764
+ than anyone else.
2765
+
2766
+
2767
+
2768
+
2769
+
2770
+
2771
+
2772
+
2773
+
2774
+
2775
+
2776
+
2777
+
2778
+
2779
+
2780
+
2781
+
2782
+
2783
+
2784
+ 78
2785
+
2786
+
2787
+ Nothing in the world
2788
+
2789
+ is as soft and yielding as water.
2790
+
2791
+ Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible,
2792
+ nothing can surpass it.
2793
+
2794
+ The soft overcomes the hard;
2795
+ the gentle overcomes the rigid.
2796
+
2797
+ Everyone knows this is true,
2798
+ but few can put it into practice.
2799
+
2800
+ Therefore the Master remains
2801
+ serene in the midst of sorrow.
2802
+
2803
+ Evil cannot enter his heart.
2804
+
2805
+ Because he has given up helping,
2806
+ he is people’s greatest help.
2807
+
2808
+
2809
+ True words seem paradoxical.
2810
+
2811
+
2812
+ 79
2813
+
2814
+
2815
+ Failure is an opportunity.
2816
+
2817
+ If you blame someone else,
2818
+ there is no end to the blame.
2819
+
2820
+ Therefore the Master
2821
+ fulfills her own obligations
2822
+ and corrects her own mistakes.
2823
+ She does what she needs to do
2824
+ and demands nothing of others.
2825
+
2826
+
2827
+
2828
+
2829
+
2830
+
2831
+
2832
+
2833
+
2834
+
2835
+
2836
+
2837
+
2838
+
2839
+
2840
+
2841
+
2842
+
2843
+
2844
+ 80
2845
+
2846
+
2847
+ If a country is governed wisely,
2848
+ its inhabitants will be content.
2849
+
2850
+ They enjoy the labor of their hands
2851
+ and don’t waste time inventing
2852
+ labor-saving machines.
2853
+
2854
+ Since they dearly love their homes,
2855
+ they aren’t interested in travel.
2856
+
2857
+ There may be a few wagons and boats,
2858
+ but these don’t go anywhere.
2859
+
2860
+ There may be an arsenal of weapons,
2861
+ but nobody ever uses them.
2862
+
2863
+ People enjoy their food,
2864
+ take pleasure in being with their families,
2865
+ spend weekends working in their gardens,
2866
+ delight in the doings of the neighborhood.
2867
+ And even though the next country is so close
2868
+ that people can hear its roosters crowing and
2869
+ its dogs barking,
2870
+ they are content to die of old age
2871
+ without ever having gone to see it.
2872
+
2873
+
2874
+ 81
2875
+
2876
+
2877
+ True words aren’t eloquent;
2878
+ eloquent words aren’t true.
2879
+
2880
+ Wise men don t need to prove their point;
2881
+ men who need to prove their point aren’t wise.
2882
+
2883
+ The Master has no possessions.
2884
+
2885
+ The more he does for others,
2886
+ the happier he is.
2887
+
2888
+ The more he gives to others,
2889
+ the wealthier he is.
2890
+
2891
+ The Tao nourishes by not forcing.
2892
+
2893
+ By not dominating, the Master leads.
2894
+
2895
+
2896
+
2897
+
2898
+
2899
+
2900
+
2901
+
2902
+
2903
+
2904
+
2905
+
resources/philosophy/Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche.txt ADDED
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resources/philosophy/plato_-_the_republic.txt ADDED
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