Sacred Texts Study Group

94-And of these modes of Truth: —
Hast thou not passed through knowledge of all misery — Truth the first?

The Chinese term for the Four Noble Truths is sìshèngdì. The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, “Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion”:
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffer…[Read more]

We are rapidly approaching the end of the first fragment. This eighth and final section (stanzas 93-100) deals with the Four Noble Truths and the Five Hindrances.

93-Thou art acquainted with the five impediments, O blessed one. Thou art their conqueror, the Master of the sixth, deliverer of the four modes of Truth (43). The light that falls upon…[Read more]

The seventh section (stanzas 82-92) is completed. A kind of sevenfold Raja Yoga system is outlined, similar to the Eightfold yoga system, beginning with the Pratyahara stage, where a process of merging the five inner senses is explained. The next three stages correspond to the to three Sanyama practices. Upon achieving accomplishment in Samadhi,…[Read more]

90- And now thy Self is lost in SELF, thyself unto THYSELF, merged in THAT SELF from which thou first didst radiate.

‘The “Master” in the Sanctuary of our souls is “the Higher Self” – the divine spirit whose consciousness is based upon and derived solely (at any rate during the mortal life of the man in whom it is captive) from the Mind, which we…[Read more]

89- And this, O Yogi of success, is what men call Dhyâna (41), the right precursor of Samâdhi (42).
(41). Dhyâna is the last stage before the final on this Earth unless one becomes a full mahatma. As said already in this state the Râja Yogi is yet spiritually conscious of Self, and the working of his higher principles. One step more, and he wil…[Read more]

88- When thou hast passed into the seventh, O happy one, thou shalt perceive no more the sacred three (38), for thou shalt have become that three thyself. Thyself and mind, like twins upon a line, the star which is thy goal, burns overhead (39). The three that dwell in glory and in bliss ineffable, now in the world of Mâyâ have lost their names. T…[Read more]

85- And in the fifth, O slayer of thy thoughts, all these again have to be killed beyond reanimation (36).
(36). This means that in the sixth stage of development which, in the occult system is Dhâranâ, every sense as an individual faculty has to be “killed” (or paralyzed) on this plane, passing into and merging with the Seventh sense, the most s…[Read more]

That makes sense to me. Everything that comes into the world (manifestation) must run its cycle. Knowing that everything naturally has a beginning, middle and end and then a new beginning suggests the need for detachment from form of any kind.

Amazingly helpful. Thank you. It brought to mind this additional passage of the Voice

” Silence thy thoughts and fix thy whole attention on thy Master whom yet thou dost not see, but whom thou feelest.” Like twilight.

gk

Saith the Great Law:—“In order to become the knower of ALL SELF,9 thou hast first of self to be the knower.” To reach the knowledge of that self, thou hast to give up Self to Non-Self, Being to Non-Being, and then thou canst repose between the wings of the GREAT BIRD. Aye, sweet is rest between the wings of that which is not born, nor dies, but i…[Read more]

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras list the Ashtanga or eight-branch system of Yoga, which is progressive:
· Yama – the five restraints or the “don’ts”
o Ahimsa – Non-violence
o Satya – Truthfulness
o Brahmacharya – Control of the senses and celibacy
o Asteya – Non-stealing
o Aparigraha – Non-covetousness and…[Read more]

79- The pupil must regain the child-state he has lost ‘ere the first sound can fall upon his ear.

2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles h…[Read more]

The next section, the seventh (stanzas 79-92) is quite difficult, the text skips and jumps somewhat and there are technical descriptions that resemble Ashtanga Yoga, but are rather cryptic. And since this fragment is more on the Hinduistic side, it could be useful to present a passage from an early esoteric discussion of Sankara’s Four Q…[Read more]

This is actually two posts merged into one; since I tend to add complementary texts, hence less stanzas, so I figured it would be good to maintain a pace of at least one stanza a day (although we made the 10 stanza quota this – I plan on posting roughly six stanzas per week, because I realized that I have too much material to fit in 10 stanzas per…[Read more]

70-Kill thy desires, Lanoo, make thy vices impotent, ere the first step is taken on the solemn journey.

For he has conquered once for all that shifting serpent in himself which turns from side to side in its constant desire of contact, in its perpetual search after pleasure and pain. (Gates of Gold 5, 2)

15. Dispassion is the having overcome…[Read more]

69-There is but one road to the Path; at its very end alone the “Voice of the Silence” can be heard. The ladder by which the candidate ascends is formed of rungs of suffering and pain; these can be silenced only by the voice of virtue. Woe, then, to thee, Disciple, if there is one single vice thou hast not left behind. For then the ladder will…[Read more]

Section 6 – Gates and Ladders (Stanzas 66-78)

66-Help Nature and work on with her; and Nature will regard thee as one of her creators and make obeisance.

Cultivate, I say, and neglect nothing. Only remember, all the while you tend and water, that you are impudently usurping the tasks of Nature herself. Having usurped her work, you must carry it…[Read more]

We’ve finished the 5th section (Stanzas 56-65) which essentially deals with the heady business of the Higher Self conquering the lower self, which in Christian mysticism is called the path of purification.
Ere thy Soul’s mind can understand, the bud of personality must be crushed out, the worm of sense destroyed past resurrection. (57)

There w…[Read more]

63-Kill out desire; but if thou killest it take heed lest from the dead it should again arise.

Kill out desire of life. (Light on the Path 1, 2)

In fact, to have lost the power to wound, implies that the snake is not only scotched, but killed. When it is merely stupefied or lulled to sleep it awakes again and the disciple uses his knowledge and…[Read more]