Yeshua, the Enochian Jew

Jack Kilmon wrote:

I think this is an important issue often ignored in “historical Jesus
studies.” I agree with Barker and will go further to label the historical
Jesus (sorry, mythers) as an Enochian rather than a Mosaic Jew.

Lets look at Jesus as an Enochian, like the Essenes albeit, I believe, He
differed with the Qumran folks on eschatology. Now this is lengthy but if
the hypothesis is a form of Judaism (Daniel-Enochian) from which both the
Essenes/Qumran/DSS People arose and to which Jesus also subscribed, I have
to back it up.

We have seen books depicting Jesus the sage, cynic, magicin, healer,
messiah…there is probably a book somewhere claiming he’s a Presbyterian.

He was, IMO, an apocalyptic.

If the Dead Sea Scroll corpus is a good barometer, the late 2nd temple
period saw an
emergence of Daniel-Enochian fervor. In both Daniel and the Enochian
literature, the “son of man” plays a central role.

Jesus himself, NOT ONCE, refers to himself with certainty as the Messiah
but instead refers to himself as the bar nasha/ben adam of Daniel and
Enoch…”coming on the clouds, etc.” It was Paul of Tarsus…hostile to the
Nazarenes, who conferred the name of XRISTOS on Jesus in his reconstruction
of Jesus as the Pauline “Christ Crucified.”

The cradle from which both Jewish and Christian “mysticism” arose was
Enochian apocalypticism, the same cradle from which post-destruction Ma’asei
Merkavah (which would eventually develop into Kabbala) and the Hekhalot
literature arose which deals with “mystical” ascents into heaven.

Anyone pursuing the ancient Jewish sources from which the Nazarenes arose,
should read the considerable Enochian literary corpus now available thanks
to the Qumran texts. The Books of Enoch and their related texts, Jubilees,
Giants, Weeks, Parables, Watchers, Testimonies of the 12 Patriarchs, Dreams,
etc. Enochian apocalypticism is a reflection of a Mesopotamian alternative
to Mosaic” Judaism with its focus on Enmeduranki, the 7th antediluvian king
of Sippar in the Sumerian Chronicles and a counterpart (or model) for Enoch..

There was a considerable influence by Zoroastrianism on Judaism as a result
to the Babylonian Captivity after which they brought the Enochian traditions
to Jerusalem upon the return. The Jerusalem priests at that time hated the
Enochian Jews (and it is my position that Jesus was an Enochian Jew) who
supported the Maccabees thereby gaining favor with the Hasmoneans. These
Enochian Jews became, IMO, the Essenes who subsequently developed serious
issues with the Hasmonean priest-kings. I don’t think anyonewould argue
that the Dead Sea Scrolls are not strongly Enochian.

The Jewish Nazarenes (“branchers”) were heirs, IMO, to the Enochian
traditions but Gentile Christianity imported a constellation of influences
from Graeco-Roman sources. That Enochian Judaism was an alternative to
Mosaic nomian Judaeism can explain why Paul appears anti-nomian and why
Enoch was not included in the Rabbinical canon.

Quoted in the Book of Jude:

“And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones To execute
judgement upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh
of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And
of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
(Enoch 1:9)

Other references to the SON OF MAN in Enoch:

“And there I saw One who had a head of days, And His head was white like
wool, And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of
a man, And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels. 2
And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things,
concerning that 3 Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) why he
went with the Ancient of Days? And he answered and said unto me: This
is the Son of Man who hath righteousness, With whom dwelleth righteousness,
And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden, Because the
Lord of Hosts hath chosen him, And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before
the Lord of Hosts in uprightness for ever.” (Part 8 Chapter 46:1-3)

1 And in that place I saw the fountain of righteousness Which was
inexhaustible: And around it were many fountains of wisdom: And all the
thirsty drank of them, And were filled with wisdom, And their dwellings were
with the righteous and holy and elect. 2 And at that hour that Son of Man
was named In the presence of the Lord of Hosts, And his name before the
Ancient of Days. 3 Yea, before the sun and the signs were created, Before
the stars of the heaven were made, His name
was named before the Lord of Hosts. 4 He shall be a staff to the righteous
whereon to stay themselves and not fall, And he shall be the light of the
Gentiles, And the hope of those who are troubled of heart. 5 All who dwell
on earth shall fall down and worship before him, And will praise and bless
and celebrate with song the Lord of Hosts. 6 And for this reason hath he
been chosen and hidden before Him, Before the creation of the world and for
evermore. 7 And the wisdom of the Lord of Hosts hath revealed him to the
holy and righteous; For he hath preserved the lot of the righteous, Because
they have hated and despised this world of unrighteousness, And have hated
all its works and ways in the name of the Lord of Hosts: For in his name
they are saved, And according to his good pleasure hath it been in regard to
their life. (Part 8 Chapter 48:1-7)

The Book of Daniel, like Enoch, was written originally in Aramaic. It
contains the most famous reference to the SON OF MAN.

Daniel 7:13-14 (WEB)
13 חזה הוית בחזוי ליליא וארו עם־ענני שׁמיא כבר אנשׁ אתה הוה ועד־עתיק יומיא
מטה וקדמוהי הקרבוהי׃ 14 ולה יהיב שׁלטן ויקר ומלכו וכל עממיא אמיא ולשׁניא לה
יפלחון שׁלטנה שׁלטן עלם די־לא יעדה ומלכותה פ

13 I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of
the sky one like a son of man (כבר אנש [kibar 'anash]), and he came even to
the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 There was
given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations,
and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed.

Jesus spoke of himself, just as above in Daniel, at Matthew 24:30 And
then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all
the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

……and at Matthew 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said:
nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting
on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

As you can see, Jesus refers to himself as the SON OF MAN (Aramaic bar
nasha) of Daniel and Enoch and not, IMO, as simply the bar nash/a idiom for
“just a guy.”

Now let’s see how many times Jesus calls himself the bar nasha (son of
man)…he never referred to himself with certainty or non-cryptically as
the Messiah.

Matthew 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds
of the air [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay [his]
head.

Matthew 9:6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to
forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy
bed, and go unto thine house.

Matthew 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into
another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities
of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Matthew 11:19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold
a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But
wisdom is justified of her children.

Matthew 12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Matthew 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall
be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not
be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the [world] to come.

Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s
belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth.

Matthew 13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed
is the Son of man;

Matthew 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do
iniquity;

Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked
his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with
his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Matthew 16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which
shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his
kingdom.

Matthew 17:9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them,
saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from
the dead.

Matthew 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew
him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also
the Son of man suffer of them.

Matthew 17:22 And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son
of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:

Matthew 18:11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

Matthew 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye
which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in
the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel.

Matthew 20:18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be
betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn
him to death,

Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even
unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Matthew 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:
and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son
of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (this is
right out of Enoch 7)

Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of
the Son of man be.

Matthew 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think
not the Son of man cometh.

Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour
wherein the Son of man cometh.

Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Matthew 26:2 Ye know that after two days is [the feast of] the passover,
and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Matthew 26:24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto
that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man
if he had not been born.

Matthew 26:45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep
on now, and take [your] rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of
Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Matthew 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto
you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of
power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Jesus is reported by Matthew alone to have claimed to have been the SON OF
MAN (bar nasha) of Daniel and Enoch THIRTY TIMES….so why don’t we believe
him? Why do we believe Paul of Tarsus instead? It doesn’t require pesher
interpretation, fiction, theologoumenon or midrash…just read the red
print.

An Enochian Jew, in the late second temple period, is one who believed in
the Enochian apocalyptic such as the Essenes and John the Baptist.

Jesus/Yeshua was indeed, IMO, an apocalyptic herald of the “imminent”
malkutha
d’alaha (Kingdom of God) in the Enochian tradition and, as such, outside of
“normative” Mosaic Judaism. I think there are other indicators that this
“Son of Man” from the ancient of days could be “Lord of the Sabbath” as well
as the Mosaic laws (seen in the formula “It is written” or “You have
heard”…ABC “but *I* tell you”…XYZ).

So yes, he was apocalyptic but, in his mind, just not a “sage” but THE bar
nasha that was expected by /John (Matthew 11:3), the Enochian apocalyptic
redeemer of Daniel 7:13-14.

Jack

 

Gospel of Thomas Part 32:Building the temple

(32)

Jesus said,

“ A city being built on a high mountain

and fortified cannot fall,

nor can it be hidden.”

 

 

Matthew 5:14

“You are a light for all the world.

A town that stands on a hill cannot be hidden.”

 

Camelot is under construction

inside of you and in this world.

While under construction,

it must be protected

from those who would tear it down.

Once completed, however,

the Kingdom‘s radiance

does not allow it to be hidden

from those who seek it.

It is to be a beacon

for anyone who becomes lost,

a safe haven

where people can live

without fear.

 

 

 

Reflection for September 22, 2007: emptiness

In the name of the Living Ones!
Living waters shone forth in the splendor of their Shekinah.
The robes of the good were resplendent in their place.
The great Mana was dazzingly bright in his glory.
So too shall these living, brightly shining, steadfast and vigorous souls shine in splendor in the great Place of Light and the Ever lasting Abode.

–ancient aramaic prayer

“Kabbalah teaches that before and after any manifestation, there is emptiness, before and after any being, there is emptiness. Try this principal truth by listening to your own breathing: before inhalation, there is emptiness in your lungs, after exhalation, there is also emptiness in your lungs. Remember the name of God? Ehyeh asher Ehyeh – the sound of your breath, the sound of emptiness. Ayn Sof is the quality of Keter, the Crown and first sefira. Ayn Sof is the emptiness from which all things are born and to which all things return. Ayn Sof is the beginning and end of everything. It is thus the primordial ground of being into which the roots of the Tree of Life are sunk, roots buried in emptiness, because everything that is must go through the cycle of the ten sefirot before returning to emptiness. Ayn Sof is what comes before everything else, and it is generally drawn at the head of the Tree, a stand alone sefira from which all manifestation flows.

        Emptiness, the energy of the Crown sefira, is not a static, gray, and dull place of death. Think of this emptiness as the most fertile ground. Think of the empty darkness of a woman’s womb before impregnation. Think of the darkest night of the year, deep in winter, before the light increases to lead the natural cycle to the fullness and ripeness of spring. Think of the quiet, still place you reach in meditation, before your soul starts speaking to you and revealing the mysteries of the universe. This emptiness is eternal, outside boundaries of time, space, and events.

        Emptiness is what lies behind you, past events in your life that are but memories, but fragrances of flowers bloomed and faded. Emptiness is what lies before you, future events not yet known, lands yet to be explored. Emptiness is the present, it is you right now.”

 

- Avram Davis & Manuela Dunn Mascetti (Judaic Mysticism)

 

 

 

 

 

reflection for august 9, 2007: my every act is love

The mystery which unites two beings
is great; without it, the world would
not exist

–Plato

……………………………………….

Judaic tradition, especially in the Midrash,
maintains that a man that has not known
a woman cannot be called “human,” and
the same is true for a woman who has not
known a man. These Biblical commentators
point out that before meeting his Other, the
male is simply called Adam; after meeting
her he is referred to as ha-Adam, which
literally means “the Adam.”

Kabbalists count the numerical value
of these Hebrew letters with the
following results: the later ha-Adam gives:
hey 5 + aleph 1 + dalet 4 + mem 40 = 50;
this is the numerical equivalent of
mi: mem 40 +  yod  10 = 50, which in Hebrew
means “who.” The earlier Adam alone gives:
aleph 1 + dalet 4 + mem 40 =45,
the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word
mah: mem 40 + hey 5, which means “what.”

Hence we human beings pass from a What to a “Who,”
from object to subject, when we realize the man-woman
complimentarity in an encounter with the Other.
We become ourselves through this encounter.
We cannot be whole alone, but only through this
relation, which makes us a Who, a subject,
in the image and likeness of the subject that is
the first principle.

–Jean-Yves Leloup
(The sacred embrace of Jesus and Mary
  The sexual Mystery at the heart of the
  Christian tradition.)
……………………………………

Everthing which we do not distinguish falls
into the pleroma and is made void by its
opposite. If, therefore, we do not discern
God, then the effective fullness is cancelled
out for us. Moreover God is the pleroma itself,
as likewise each smallest point in the
created world  and uncreated world
is pleroma itself.

– Basilides ( the seven sermons to the dead)

———————————–

The companion of the Son is Miriam of Magdala,
The teacher loved her more than all the disciples;
he often kissed her on the mouth.

–Gospel of Philip
————————

Beneath the apple tree:
there I took you for my own,
there I offered you my hand,
and restored you,
where your mother was corrupted.

In the inner wine cellar
I drank of my Beloved, and, when I went abroad
through all this valley,
I no longer knew anything,
and lost the herd that I was following.

The small white dove
has returned to the ark with an olive branch;
and now the turtledove
has found its longed-for mate
by the green river banks.

Now I occupy my soul
and all my energy in his service;
I no longer tend the herd,
nor have I any other work
now that my every act is love.

–St. John of the Cross

Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim)
is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis
of a Biblical text. The term “midrash” can also refer
to a compilation of Midrashic teachings, in the form
of legal, exegetical or homiletical commentaries on
the Tanakh (Jewish Bible)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midrash

Pleroma (Greek πλήρωμα) generally refers to the
totality of divine powers. The word means fullness
from πληρόω (“fills”) comparable to πλήρης which
means “full”,and is used in Christian theological
contexts: both in Gnosticism generally, and by
Paul of Tarsus in Colossians 2.9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleroma

Pleroma: The word means “fullness,” and
the ‘All.’ It refers to ”all existence beyond matter.
Refers to the world of the Aeons, the heavens or spiritual
universe, which represents being out of the state of matter.
According to the “Gospel of Truth”
“….all the emanations from the Father are Pleromas.”
see Tractates 3, 2, Codices, I, and XII, Nag Hammadi Lib.
Pleroma can have other connotations according to
the Gnostic school of thought, some differences in
Sethian and Valentinian (other) schools can be noted.
Pleroma, is different than Logos.
(See; Logos, See aslo; Gaffney, p. 246.)

(Saunders Gnostic Glossary)

 

Reflection for June 27, 2007: Love in fact is the spiritual life

“Perform your obligatory duty, because action is indeed better than inaction.”

–Bhagavad Gita

“All through the Verba Seniorum [The Sayings of the Desert Fathers] we find a repeated insistence on the primacy of love over everything else in the spiritual life: over knowledge, gnosis, asceticism, contemplation, solitude, prayer. Love in fact is the spiritual life, and without it all the other exercises of the spirit, however lofty, are emptied of content and become mere illusions. The more lofty they are, the more dangerous the illusion.

Love, of course, means something much more then mere sentiment, much more than token favors and perfunctory almsdeeds. Love mean an interior and spiritual identification with one’s neighbor, so that she is not regarded as an “object” to “which” one “does good.” The fact is that good done to another as an object is of little or no spiritual value. Love takes one’s neighbor as one’s other self, and loves him with all the immense humility and discretion and reserve and reverence without which no one can presume to enter into the sanctuary of another’s subjectivity. From such love all authoritarian brutality, all exploitation, domineering and condescension must necessarily be absent. The saints of the desert were enemies of every subtle or gross expedient by which “the spiritual man” contrives to bully those he thinks inferior to himself, thus gratifying his own ego. They had renounced everything that savored of punishment and revenge, however hidden it might be.”

–Thomas Merton.

 

 

 

He who loves

does not think about his own life;

to love truly,

a man must forget about himself.

If you desires do not accord with your spirit,

sacrifice them,

and you will come to the end of your journey.

If the body of desire obstructs the way,

reject it; then fix your eye

in front and contemplate.

 

–Attar

 

reflection for June 26: Why did you continue jumping…?

Do not seek the truth

Only cease to cherish opinions

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the unfortunate frogs they would never get out. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit.

The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and simply gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and suffering and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs asked him, “Why did you continue jumping. Didn’t you hear us?”

The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 

An inch of time is an inch of gold: treasure it.

Appreciate its fleeting nature;

misplaced gold is easily found,

misspent time is lost forever.

–Loy Chin-Yuen

 

reflection for June 22, 2007: I now find myself again

 

I’ve been scattered in pieces,

torn by conflict,

mocked by laughter,

washed down in drink.

 

In alleyways I sweep myself up

out of garbage and broken glass…

 

It’s here in all the pieces of my shame

that I now find myself again…

I yearn to be held

in the great hands of your heart —

oh let them take me now.

Into them I place these fragments, my life,

and you, God—spend them however you want.

 

-          Rainer Maria Rilke

 

 

 

The people of the kingdom of Sadik surrounded the palace of their king shouting in rebellion against him. And he came down the steps of the palace carrying his crown in one hand and his sceptre in the other. The majesty of his appearance silenced the multitude, and he stood before them and said, “My friends, who are no longer my subjects, here I yield my crown and sceptre unto you. I would be one of you. I am only one man, but as a man I would work together with you that our lot may be made better. There is no need for king. Let us go therefore to the fields and the vineyards and labour hand with hand. Only you must tell me to what field or vineyard I should go. All of you now are king.”

 

And the people marvelled, and stillness was upon them, for the king whom they had deemed the source of their discontent now yielding his crown and sceptre to them and became as one of them.

 

Then each and every one of them went his way, and the king walked with one man to a field.

 

But the Kingdom of Sadik fared not better without a king, and the mist of discontent was still upon the land. The people cried out in the market places saying that they have a king to rule them. And the elders and the youths said as if with one voice, “We will have our king.”

 

And they sought the king and found him toiling in the field, and they brought him to his seat, and yielded unto his crown and his sceptre. And they said, “Now rule us, with might and with justice.”

 

And he said, “I will indeed rule you with might, and may the gods of the heaven and the earth help me that I may also rule with justice.”

 

Now, there came to his presence men and women and spoke unto him of a baron who mistreated them, and to whom they were but serfs.

 

And straightway the king brought the baron before him and said, “The life of one man is as weighty in the scales of God as the life of another. And because you know not how to weigh the lives of those who work in your fiends and your vineyards, you are banished, and you shall leave this kingdom forever.”

 

The following day came another company to the king and spoke of the cruelty of a countess beyond the hills, and how she brought them down to misery. Instantly the countess was brought to court, and the king sentenced her also to banishment, saying, “Those who till our fields and care for our vineyards are nobler than we who eat the bread they prepare and drink the wine of their wine-press. And because you know not this, you shall leave this land and be afar from this kingdom.”

 

Then came men and women who said that the bishop made them bring stones and hew the stones for the cathedral, yet he gave them naught, though they knew the bishop’s coffer was full of gold and silver while they themselves were empty with hunger.

 

And the king called for the bishop, and when the bishop came the king spoke and said unto his, “That cross you wear upon your bosom should mean giving life unto life. But you have taken life from life and you have given none. Therefore you shall leave this kingdom never to return.”

 

Thus each day for a full moon men and women came to the king to tell him of the burdens laid upon them. And each and every day a full moon some oppressor was exiled from the land.

 

And the people of Sadik were amazed, and there was cheer in their heart.

 

And upon a day the elders and the youths came and surrounded the tower of the king and called for him. And he came down holding his crown with one hand and his sceptre with the other.

 

And he spoke unto and said, “Now, what would you do of me? Behold, I yield back to you that which you desired me to hold.”

 

But they cried. “Nay, nay, you are our rightful king. You have made clean the land of vipers, and you have brought the wolves to naught, and we welcome to sing our thanksgiving unto you. The crown is yours in majesty and the sceptre is yours in glory.”

 

Then the king said, “Not I, not I. You yourselves are king. When you deemed me weak and a misruler, you yourselves were weak and misruling. And now the land fares well because it is in your will. I am but a thought in the mind of you all, and I exist not save in your actions. There is no such person as governor. Only the governed exist to govern themselves.”

 

And the king re-entered his tower with his crown and his sceptre. And the elders and the youths went their various ways and they were content.

 

And each and every one thought of himself as king with a crown in one hand and a sceptre in the other.

 

–Kahlil Gibran

 

 

There is no path that leads to Zen.

How can you follow a path to where you are right now?

 

–Robert Allen

 

 

Reflection for June 21, 2007: I gained nothing at all from supreme enlightenment

The stunning paradox of human spiritual maturity is that, as we become one with all creation, we also at the same time become completely and uniquely ourselves.

–Thomas Yeomans

 

A person is born alone and also dies alone. No one else has a share in one’s agony. What is the use of loved ones who create hindrances?

 Just as one who has undertaken a journey takes lodging, so does one who travels in the cycle of existence take lodging in a rebirth.

Until one his hoisted by four men and mourned by the world, one should retire to the forest.

Without intimacy and without conflict, one dwells in physical solitude, and when one is counted as if already dead no one grieves when one actually dies.

There is on one to inflict grief and harm, nor is there any one to distract one from the recollection of the Buddha and so forth.

Thus, I shall always dwell alone in the delightful forest, which creates few problems, good cheer, and the pacification of all distraction.

Free from all other concerns and having a single-pointed mind, I shall apply myself to meditative concentration and to the subjugation of the mind.

–Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way Of Life

 

I gained nothing at all from supreme enlightenment, and for that very reason it is called supreme enlightenment

- the Buddha

 

A bag on the head

To me there are two paths

those that embrace illusion and seek to reinforce it

and those that seek to transcend it.

Those that seek to embrace live their lives with bags on their heads.
They spend their lives making their bags nice. Reinforcing what they assume is real.
In the end even if the bag is made of crocodile skin and has diamonds on, a bag on the head is a bag on the head
this kind of person, their path is one of embracing illusion. You could equate this with people that they are getting
stuff, and it will make them happier
the exoteric religious…..etc

those that seek transcendence know that no matter what they do a bag on the head is a bag on the head.  Your concepts, your truth
your religion, in the end it all a bag on the head.  They know that it is the divine that changes them, not them changing themselves.
They wait fir the fruit to ripen, prepare themselves to be given, to receive.  They do not take.  They know, even in higher conscious
states sometimes the divine may simply seem it be a higher part of them….that this is false, and is a bag on the head.
They know beyond this “self awareness” is transcendence.

This is the mystic, the Gnostic….the seeker that knows they must be naked…not clothed with a bag on their head

this to me, is how duality can exist within non duality.  And how in reality, both being concepts are bags on the head.

 

Reflection for May 12,2007

Episteme (knowledge) is like a brush.  You can paint walls with a spoon but often it is good to use a brush.

However you don’t need a brush or a spoon, you could use your hands or spray the walls.

When the walls are painted the brush is no longer of any use.

This is what knowledge, episteme, words, research are like.  They help us to reach the divine, but they must be discarded once the wall is painted.

To truly be a Gnostic one must realize painting walls is what is important, not if you have a better spoon, a brush or a spray can.

Until you realize this and embrace it you will never be a Gnostic, a passerby, you will never reject your father and mother (reject them for Christ), and you will never make the two into one. (See Gospel of Thomas)

A painting is not a bowl of fruit, a book about God, is a book about God.

You can write 1000 words on an apple. 

Or you can eat one.

To be a Gnostic, you must not be a Gnostic

 

–myself

_…………………………………………………_
Often we think that we do not know enough to be able
to teach others.  We might even become hesitant to tell
others what we know, out of fear that we won’t have anything
left to say when we are asked for more.

This mind-set makes us anxious, secretive, possessive,
and self-conscious.  But when we have the courage to share
generously with others all that we know, whenever they
ask for it, we soon discover that we know a lot more than
we thought.  It is only by giving generously from the
well of our knowledge that we discover how deep that well is.

 

–Henri Nouwen

 

 

“God’s infinite light shines in the heart.

How does one accept that light without being overwhelmed,

without reaching for grandiosity, without rebelling?

One proclaims with humility, ‘All that I know is that I know nothing.’

Then one does not seek to overwhelm one’s boundaries with the passion of knowledge;

one opens one’s arms not to encircle knowledge, but to accept light.”

 

- Reb Nathan Sternhartz (Likkutei Halachot)

 

 

Suppose you can recite a thousand holy
verses from memory.
What are you going to do
with your ego self, the true
mark of the heretic?
Every time your head touches
the ground in prayers, remember,
this was to teach you to
put down that load of ego
which bars you from entering
the chamber of the Beloved.

To your mind feed understanding,
to your heart, tolerance and compassion.
The simpler your life, the more meaningful.
The less you desire of the world,
the more room you will have in it
to fill with the Beloved.

The best use of your tongue
is to repeat the Beloved’s Name in devotion.
The best prayers are those in
the solitude of the night.
The shortest way to the Friend
is through selfless service and
generosity to His creatures.

Those with no sense of honor and dignity are best avoided.
Those who change colors constantly
are best forgotten.
The best way to be with those
bereft of the Beloved’s qualities,
is to forget them in the
joy of silence in one’s corner of solitude.

– Shaikh Abu Saeed Abil Kheir – “Nobody, Son of Nobody