Sacred Texts Study Group

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye (Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince, 1943)

What does it mean to say “action and in action may find room in thee”?

Why do you suppose the metaphor of the Eye and Heart are used to describe the Esoteric and Exoteric paths?

Section 3 (123-136) gave the following advice: love all beings, do not neglect your parents, non-action does not mean inaction, the lamp burns bright when wick and old are clean, one can face physical agitation and still have a tranquil mind, solitary forest asceticism is not the way to final liberation, physical punishment and conquering…[Read more]

134-The blessed ones have scorned to do so. The Lion of the Law, the Lord of Mercy,* perceiving the true cause of human woe, immediately forsook the sweet but selfish rest of quiet wilds. From Âranyaka (14) He became the Teacher of mankind. After Julai (15) had entered the Nirvâna, He preached on mount and plain, and held discourses in the c…[Read more]

130-Both action and inaction may find room in thee; thy body agitated, thy mind tranquil, thy Soul as limpid as a mountain lake.
Zazen
The moon reflected
In a mind clear
As still water:
Even the waves, breaking,
Are reflecting its light.
(Dogen. Steve Heine, transl. The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace. Tuttle…[Read more]

In Fragment 3, we have 7 virtues – but wisdom is technically not counted, because it is considered the culmination of the six, so equanimity here would be the sixth.

126-If thou art taught that sin is born of action and bliss of absolute inaction, then tell them that they err. Non-permanence of human action; deliverance of mind from thraldom by the cessation of sin and faults, are not for “Deva Egos.”* Thus saith the “Doctrine of the Heart.”
[*The reincarnating Ego.]

4. Not by abstention from works does a man…[Read more]

For the Buddhist legend see the Ratthapala Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya 82. The Majjhima Nikaya is collection of middle-length discourses, part of the Tripitaka Buddhist canon. Also see the Raṭṭhapālapadāna, tr Mabel Bode, in “The Legend of Raṭṭhapāla in the Pali Apadāna and Buddhaghosa’s Commentary.” In Melanges d’Indianisme: offerts par ses…[Read more]

And the Wheel turns, lanoos – Section two (stanzas 109-122) continued to explain the exoteric and esoteric concepts, while contrasting ignorance and wisdom, as well as humility and pride. Section three deals (stanzas 123-137) with the problems of selfishness, inaction, quietism, and isolationism on the spiritual path.

123-If thou art told that to…[Read more]

117-Shun praise, O Devotee. Praise leads to self-delusion. Thy body is not self, thy self is in itself without a body, and either praise or blame affects it not.
Because he lacks pride a man of knowledge does not like to be equated with anybody and he feels awkward if burdened with greatness and honour. He feels nervous by praise or honour or if…[Read more]

15-For mind is like a mirror; it gathers dust while it reflects (6). It needs the gentle breezes of Soul-Wisdom to brush away the dust of our illusions. Seek O Beginner, to blend thy Mind and Soul.
(6). From Shen-hsiu’s Doctrine, who teaches that the human mind is like a mirror which attracts and reflects every atom of dust, and has to be, like…[Read more]

113-But even ignorance is better than Head-learning with no Soul-wisdom to illuminate and guide it.
Avidyâ (Sk.). Opposed to Vidyâ, Knowledge. Ignorance which proceeds from, and is produced by the illusion of the Senses or Viparyaya. (The Theosophical Glossary)
One reason perhaps being if you have head-learning, you can do a lot of harm. For e…[Read more]

We have completed the first section, we are off and running – this section presents the notions of the Doctrine of the Eye and the Doctrine of the Heart, the exoteric and esoteric paths. It also presents the notion of Alaya, the World Soul, a fundamental theosophical concept. The second section, stanzas 109-119, discusses ignorance and w…[Read more]

4-Who shall approach them?
5-Who shall first enter them?
6-Who shall first hear the doctrine of two Paths in one, the truth unveiled about the Secret Heart? (3) The Law which, shunning learning, teaches Wisdom, reveals a tale of woe.
(3). “Secret Heart” is the esoteric doctrine.

These teachings were passed down orally to Dolpopa (also written…[Read more]

3-Quoth the Teacher:
The Paths are two; the great Perfections three; six are the Virtues that transform the body into the Tree of Knowledge (2).
(2). The “tree of knowledge” is a title given by the followers of the Bodhidharma (Wisdom religion) to those who have attained the height of mystic knowledge — adepts. Nâgârjuna the founder of the Mâd…[Read more]

2-The voice of the Candidates:
Shalt not thou, Master of thine own Mercy, reveal the Doctrine of the Heart? (1) Shalt thou refuse to lead thy Servants unto the Path of Liberation?
(1). The two schools of Buddha’s doctrine, the esoteric and the exoteric, are respectively called the “Heart” and the “Eye” Doctrine. Bodhidharma called them in China…[Read more]

In my eagerness, I have thoughtlessly undertaken this work. Would a firefly show its light in the presence of the sun? Just as the tithiba bird tries to sound the depth of the ocean with its tiny beak, similarly, with little knowledge I am setting out on this task. Therefore, I ask you to add whatever may be lacking and to reject whatever is…[Read more]