The Buddha Paradox We All Must Learn: Lotus Sutra by Way of the Dual Cosmos

That Buddhist Paradox is this: to attain Buddhahood, you must be a Buddha. 

Ouch, how that even possible? Here's the answer: 

Thousands of years ago, gifted sages had possessed extraordinary intuitive sensibilities with which they crossed the horizon of consciousness into unexplored territory. With their mind’s eye they saw beyond the boundaries of earthly forms and observable distances into exotic heavenly domains where deities and celestial spirits resided. The sages observed that gods governed the cosmology of Nature with a set of absolute laws. Accordingly, mortals who honored the universal precepts acquired beneficence and protection from spirit-world forces dedicated to the sustenance and perpetuation of existence. Conversely, those who disregarded the supreme sanctity of divine law were destined to suffer the chaotic consequences of their ignorance.

When the mystics returned from trance, they conveyed their findings to the residents of the mortal world in parables, metaphors and symbolism. Through richly poetic languages, they described a universe apportioned into two parallel worlds — one a mortal, physical existence and the other an immortal, spirit realm. They further concluded that two distinct entities fused to form the human being. One component was corporeal and the other metaphysical. The model of a twofold human — fusing body and soul — mirrored the duality ascribed to the large-scale cosmos.

The doctrine of duality preceded the establishment of human civilization and the institutionalization of religion. Tribal shamans already had linked the soul and creation to the will of gods. Accordingly, sentient beings lived in a god-created material world until their earthbound presence extinguished in death. Thereafter, their soul passed on to a higher spirit realm. The end of the mortal body coincided with the release of the spiritual entity into an eternal place — where deities and spirits ruled, and birth and death were unknown. Ancient sages had reasoned that before mortality began the spirit realm already existed. Therefore, they decreed that the place of beginnings and ends — was the lower world.

According to the doctrine of a dual cosmos, the initiative for the commencement of the mortal world came from the higher immortal realm where from a powerful god created the mortal world through a sudden, unprecedented, spontaneously generated event — a “first” cause — independent of any preexisting condition.

The doctrine of duality also provided early societies with the foundation for communal order. Human values came to be sanctified as divine laws envisioned as the wishes of the immortals. Moral codes and social rules were cloaked in divine significance and relevancy. The sacred laws governed the individual’s place in the family, clan, tribe and nation. Respect for the laws led to paradise in the afterlife, while their defilement conjured the specter of dire consequences. Judgment came when the soul of the dead crossed to the realm of the spirits. There, one’s eternal fate would be adjudicated from evidence gathered in a single mortal existence.

Upon a cosmic scale the mortal’s virtues would be weighed against any misdeeds. At length, an incongruity developed within the doctrine of dualism, perhaps in some measure because of the discrepancy in logic between the creation and the judgment scenarios. On the one hand, judgment in the afterlife rested solely upon the mortal defendant’s earthbound performance — accountable for his self-willed thoughts and actions. On the other hand, the doctrine of creation transcended cause and effect by relying solely on the absolute will of gods (heavenly deities). 

Ancient sages disagreed over the basis for final judgment. Those who saw deities as omnipresent imperial sovereigns deemed human will to be valid only as a confirmation of the immortal will. Conformity to the sanctified laws set the standard for judgment. Other sages preferred less imposing deities and a freer human will. Their gods judged the human soul on choices made in the mortal realm. The doctrinal deviation between the wills of gods and man eventually led to a theological divergence — characteristic of Western and Eastern religions.

The Occident preferred a creationist model founded upon the supremacy of an omnipotent, omnipresent God whose will and authority superseded natural law. By contrast the Eastern Practitioners made natural law supreme and assigned its management to a hierarchical pantheon of gods. Among them, one god had initiated the beginning of mortality by setting the great wheel of universal cause and effect into motion, while a pantheon of gods served in advancing the continuous forward rolling of existence. On a personal level each mortal being had to contend with a similar wheel. One’s fate was determined by how well the individual’s own cycle of cause and effect synchronized with the larger universal wheel of laws rolled by the gods.

Subsequently, Western and Eastern dualists crafted differing doctrines regarding the aftermath of death. The West believed in an afterlife, while the East proposed a next life. At length, two contrasting doctrines developed on the subject:

1 The Doctrine of Eternal Afterlife — Living beings experienced only a single mortal lifetime — one birth, one death. In the afterlife, the court of the immortal realm decreed judgment on their souls based upon the merits or demerits they accumulated during existence. Thereafter and forever more, their souls would reside in a dimension of the spirit realm, either damned to serve a sentence of eternal punishment in a hellish netherworld, or forever enjoying the heavenly realm in blissful peace.

2 The Doctrine of Rebirth — The spirit realm served as a between-lives court. Its justices decided the fate of mortals based on past performance. They determined where and under what circumstances a mortal would be born in the next life. The sentence could either return one to Earth as a human or animal, or cause the soul to incarnate as a tortured creature in a hellish netherworld. The destined place and circumstance of the next birth reflected the progressive stage of one’s spiritual evolution.

Bridging the two doctrines, sages of ancient India developed the concept of emancipation from the cycle of rebirth. Accordingly, mortal temptations caused one to be reborn. By severing oneself from earthly desire one could bring an end to this indeterminate recycling. They reasoned that attachment to gratification of the senses bound mortals to a fate of repeated physical forms. They resolved that rejection of earthly desire freed the spirit-self from the causal bond that drew it back to the mortal plane. A successful aspirant would in death ascend to the heavenly realms and enjoy the rest of eternity in a state of bliss. A spirit emancipated from the birth cycle joined the gods in eternal and immortal formlessness.

In the first millennium B.C.E. in India a sage of the Sakya clan (Skt Sakyamuni) succeeded in achieving a clear, unobstructed view of all existence. The Enlightened One (i.e., Buddha), a title chosen in honor of his supreme wisdom, introduced a new vision quite different from the traditional doctrine of dual dimensions and dual-natured beings. He proposed that fundamentally all states of existence were facets of one indivisible cosmology. In the Buddha’s world-system, a single identity encompassed everything — including humans, spirits, gods, universe, eternity. All existence was one Reality of Life. The purpose of his teachings was to define the scope and essence of this singularity.

 According to the Buddha, the Reality of Life was boundless, everlasting and absolute, and simultaneously finite, mortal and ever-changing. The Buddha explained that the infinitely multifaceted scope and essential singularity of Life transcended relativist thinking and comprehension. His view of Life was profoundly ironic. While it was not itself a substance, without it substance could not exist. Although it had no actual form of its own, it could not be described as nothingness.

Moreover, the singularity of Life could not be proved at all, although the existence of sentient mortal beings testified to it. Sakyamuni compared the boundless entirety of Life in the universe to an ocean, and likened individual mortal manifestations of Life to the drops that composed it.

Through this metaphor the Buddha illustrated that no actual distinction can exist between individual life and the universal life-singularity. Just as no distinction exists between the ocean and its component drops, there is no distinction between existence and death, spirit and form, person and environment, mortality and immortality. He proposed that the mortal mind creates the illusion of segmentation causing the eye of human perception to conjure a divided cognitive reality.

According to Sakyamuni’s metaphysical teachings, the physical senses caused one to discriminate. Sentient beings discerned their world through mental markers, such as substance, shape, size, color, age, origin, distance, destination, movement, speed, direction and so on. Thus, the senses triggered the perception that the external world was separate and distinct from the subjective self. As a result of this false sense of separation, Sakyamuni asserted, it would appear natural that a dual-self of body and soul co-existed. However, he declared, at the very core of both form and formlessness was one Reality.

The Buddha viewed apparent distinctions as nothing more than superficial designations — relative and temporary boundaries. By contrast he advanced a Doctrine of Non-differentiation wherein he proposed that all of existence was one indivisible singularity — a cosmic essence which all mortal entities arose from, eventually receded to and were composed of. He saw a transcendent, infinitely boundless field of Life conjuring countless objects and subjects all sharing a single inseparable quality. According to his Reality, there were no dual worlds of spirit and substance, no physical form could ever be immortal, no soul could exist as an independent entity separate from a body, and as all effects required a cause neither the universe nor any single phenomena could be born by spontaneous origination. 

The Buddha’s teaching regarding the boundless singularity of Life was the overarching theme of his Dharma — a Sanskrit word that simultaneously meant Cosmology, Reality, Truth and Law. The Buddha’s Dharma represented a single, integrated Theory of Everything. His Cosmology encompassed a view of the universe that encompassed phenomenal as well as spiritual facets. The reference of the Buddha’s Dharma to Truth meant that it revealed both the observable and hidden truths of existence. In reference to it as the “Reality of All Existence,” the Dharma included tangible, as well as intangible realities. Wherein the Dharma also meant Law, it referred to universal laws governing all natural functions affecting matter, energy, space, time, as well as the laws of life and death, and social/moral laws. Hence, the Buddha’s Law encompassed all the laws of existence, including natural, metaphysical and human laws. In all the Buddha’s Dharma interchangeably conveyed his views regarding the configuration of the universe, natural laws and forces, and the role of human beings within the grand cosmos of existence.

As the Buddha’s sutras provided the vehicle for unveiling his Dharma, the word Dharma also came to be synonymous with his teachings. In that context, Dharma referred to the Buddha’s sermons on the purpose and function of Life.

The sutras described a super-cosmos. It encompassed the present large-scale universe and all mortal subjects within it . The absolute singularity they recounted spanned an infinite and eternal field, yet these teachings deemed it to be actively ever-changing relative to mortal existence. Within the framework of the Buddha’s cosmology, everything that was mortal manifested in the mortal realm repeatedly.

This applied to universes as well as human beings. It was easy to see that birth ended in death, but to propose the reverse as viable required the configuration of a cosmic dynamic that tied together a string of mortal existences. From Sakyamuni’s vantage, the True Reality of All Existence was the cosmic ocean from which the waves of mortal transmigration repeatedly arose and to which they receded.

This doctrine was deemed to be of such profound scope, nature and essence that only a Perfectly Enlightened being could fathom it. Nevertheless, the Buddha declared that those who would choose to follow his teachings in due course would accomplish Perfect Enlightenment — a state-of-being equal to his own. Thus, he set forth to describe a new cosmology in carefully crafted stages guided by the capacity of his to absorb it. As they honed their abilities to learn it, Sakyamuni advanced his Dharma. As they grasped each progressive stage of his Cosmology, they awakened within themselves a greater capacity to fathom it.

Sakyamuni’s disciples embarked on the journey toward Perfect Enlightenment — some by learning through listening, others by using exceptional intuitive and meditation skills to realize the truth of his teachings. Yet, from the start of his discourse he presented them with a seemingly irreconcilable dilemma concerning this lofty state. Accordingly, Perfect Enlightenment was infinitely profound. Hence, Perfect Enlightenment was beyond the grasp of one’s mental processes, whether it be pursued by learning or realization. Therefore, it was impossible for any of his disciples to fathom the ultimate Dharma unless they were already Buddhas.

Nevertheless, if they are to fathom that which the Buddha teaches, they must never forsake their desire for Perfect Enlightenment. The paradox of attaining Perfect Enlightenment was defined as follows: Perfect Enlightenment cannot be attained, because only a Buddha can fathom Perfect Enlightenment. Yet, the teachings of the Enlightened One cannot be fathomed unless one desires to fathom Perfect Enlightenment. The caveat appears to say that one must pursue that which one cannot hope to gain.

To the many learned and spiritually skilled disciples who chose to follow the Buddha’s course, this Paradox of Attainment placed the achievement of Buddhahood beyond reach. Awestruck by the majesty of his supernaturally august appearance they deemed Perfect Enlightenment to be the crown worn by the king of all wisdom — the Enlightened One who has deciphered all the secrets of the universe.

When asked how he had achieved such a state, Sakyamuni replied that for countless eons of past lives he selflessly devoted himself to the salvation of others. He urged his followers to similarly turn their focus away from pursuing enlightenment for their own sake. Vowing to aid the Buddha in his effort to lead people toward the liberating teachings of the Buddha’s Law, many of his disciples chose to apply the practice of Selflessness (Skt bodhisattva) by devoting their lives to aiding the welfare of others.

While the practice of Selflessness equated the path of Perfect Enlightenment with action rather than reflection, Sakyamuni still impressed upon them another version of the Paradox of Attainment. In their case he had described a lengthy journey across many existences during which a devout bodhisattva would undergo 52 stages of advancement to be climbed one step at a time. After an incalculable span of time one would reach the threshold of the summit — the fifty second stage of enlightenment. Nevertheless, the Buddha advised, it did not necessarily follow that one who reaches the fifty-first (non-regression) will be able to find that it provides access to the fifty-second step (Buddhahood). On the contrary, he cautioned, even the most selfless being would not be able to ascend the top to the level of Buddhahood from a stage below. Once again, Sakyamuni declared that only a Buddha could ascend the fifty-second step (buddhahood), as only a Buddha can know the way to Perfect Enlightenment. For the practitioners of Selflessness, he provided the following Paradox of Attainment: one who climbs the stages of Selflessness cannot reach Perfect Enlightenment, because the final rung to Perfect Enlightenment can only be ascended by one who is already a Buddha. As only a Buddha can access Buddhahood, one who ascends Perfect Enlightenment must be a Buddha who is returning to that level. Thus, through the Paradox of Attainment Sakymuni placed those who practiced Selflessness in the same quandary as the practitioners of Learning and Realization. Ironically, from the start of his teachings, Sakyamuni harbored a Dharma which would allow his followers to know the secret of Perfect Enlightenment and in so doing overcome the Paradox of Attainment. Nevertheless, until they were ready to receive this gift, the Buddha forestalled his revelation of his ultimate Cosmology wherein he would reveal the “Truth of the Reality of All Existence” — for in their ignorance they might reject it.

To protect them from premature misunderstandings, the Buddha spent over 40 years imparting the depth of his Dharma in progressive stages before leading his followers to the portal of Buddhahood. Gradually, he taught them increasingly sophisticated principles probing the theoretical underpinnings of his Cosmology.

Eventually, he completed his provisional teachings and led them into the Dharma of the Lotus Sutra wherein he resolved the enigma that stood in the way of Perfect Enlightenment. And that enlightenment was further defined by Nichiren Daishionin, The Buddha of the Later Day of Law in the form of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.  

It's really simle. 

Esoteric St. Patrick’s Day

I've written a few blogs over the years on St. Patty's Day. There was the post on how the early Irish settlers who came to the American colonies, many of whom were indentured servants, brought the Irish tradition of celebrating St. Patrick's feast day to America, and I wrote how St. Patrick Day folklore tells how statues bowed to St. Patrick. This St. Patrick Day I want to tell the dark history of St. Patrick's Day. 

Digging into the dark history of St. Patrick’s Day, we uncover genocide. St. Patrick was sent to Ireland as a missionary, and as a result of his work in Ireland, the non-Christian population was persecuted and subjected to horrific acts of violence. St. Patrick and his followers committed crimes against the pagans, such as forced conversions, destruction of sacred sites, and execution of those who refused to abandon their beliefs.

The Catholic Church’s campaign in Ireland was part of a broader strategy to spread Christianity throughout Europe and beyond. Pope Celestine I commissioned St. Patrick to convert the Irish population and during this era the Church was known to use various methods to establish its dominance over other religious practices, including the use of violence and coercion. Other regions, such as the Iberian Peninsula and Northern Europe, experienced similar campaigns of forced conversion and suppression of non-Christian beliefs. The Church’s actions in Ireland were part of a larger pattern of religious imperialism that sought to eradicate alternative spiritual systems not for the spiritual enlightenment of its people, but for control of the people. 

The stories Christians still tell about pagan's to justify their acts of violence are not true.  They claim pagans performed animals sacrificing and ate human flesh. The truth is that pagans were tolerant of other's and accepting of diverse belief system. Pagans accepted  multiple deities, nature worship, and ancestor worship. There was no centralized authority, such as the Catholic Church who were imposing their Man-God dogma in place of the feminine goddesses who sought spiritual awakening. 

The St. Patrick's Day dark history continued in America when early Irish immigrants, escaping the devastating effects of the Great Famine and political unrest, arrived in America only to face discrimination and hostility as they attempted to assert their identity and celebrate their heritage. St. Patrick’s Day was often hijacked by those who sought to mock and demean them, perpetuating stereotypes of drunkenness and disorderly conduct. This exploitation of the holiday served to further marginalize and oppress the Irish immigrant community, and reverberates through today: just go to any modern day St. Patrick's Day Parade and experience it for yourself.  

Digging even deeper, we see that the saint called Paddy/Pat/Patrick was not Irish. Historians agree that Patrick was born in 373 CE giving two possible locations – Dumbarton in Scotland or on the west coast of Roman Britain i.e. Wales. The Romans are said to have exited Britain by 410 CE. Patrick eventually retired to Glastonbury, England, where he died at the age of one hundred and eleven on the 17 March, 460 A.D. These dates do not add up; 460 – 373 = only 87 years of age, so was he 87 or 111 years old when he died? It depends on which spin you read… The man who is so well known to us as St Patrick was originally called - Maewyn Succat or Magonus Saccatus Patricius. His father Calpurnius, had been a deacon and a decurion and his grandfather was a priest, his mother was called Conchessa.
Pope Celestine gave Maewyn Succat or Magonus Saccatus the name of Patrick. The Pope gave him the mission of bringing the Catholic Faith to Ireland. He gave him many relics and other spiritual gifts, and gave him the name "Patercius" or "Patritius." This name is derived from two Latin words pater civium meaning the father of his people. The designation is like Patricus, a Latin / Roman upper class name similar to Patrician. Rome had three classes – Patrician, Plebeian and Paganus. Patrician was the ruling class, while Plebeian was the working and middle class leaving Paganus to be the name / rank for all those who did not obey the rule of Rome.

We are told that he was taken into slavery at 16 years of age and sold in Ireland where he worked as a sheepherder for 6 years but sheep did not exist back then – so he would have been a goatherder... It was during his time as a slave sheep / goat minder that he began to have religious visions. These visions reenforced (so we are told) his Catholic Faith. During one of these visions he heard voices that told him where he could find a getaway ship. He escaped, went to France where he became a priest and later on he returned to France to become a bishop.

He also burned many Druid books if his confessions are to be believed. 150 Druid Books were burned and on Tara he caused a competition with a Druid Book and the Bible to be thrown into a barrel of water – needless to say the Druid Book sank proving that the Bible was a better book. But hang on, we are repeatedly told that the Druids did not have books!

He also prayed for an old Druid to die – we are told that Arch-Druid Lochru was lifted up high in the air but Patrick knelt in prayer and the Druid fell and was dashed to pieces upon a rock. St Patrick is said to have caused the murders of almost eight hundred Druids. The folk tale of a she-beast called Caoranach that he banished to an island in the middle of Lough Derg in Donegal is accompanied by the tale of a woman who followed him very closely and that after he had banished the she-beast, this woman was never seen again. The list of fanciful feats goes on, but I won't bore you. 

Because there is no mention of the three-leaf clover in Patrick’s writings we can conclude that this claimed association is quite simply modern propaganda by his promoters. The first written reference to shamrocks in conjunction with St Patrick was made in 1571; over a thousand years after St. Patrick had passed over. The Seamróg became the badge of St Patrick’s Day in 1681 in America. The first written record of the shamrock being a symbol of the Catholic Trinity appears in 1727. So it can be easily understood that the myth of St Patrick had a shamrock symbol added to it only a few hundred years ago – it may be obvious to some that this was a commercialization tactic as well as displacement of native practices honoring the Spring Equinox.

The shamrock is not the official symbol of Ireland – this honor is reserved for the Celtic Harp. The shamrock now represents the culture of the Catholic Church hero of St Patrick. The shamrock became a symbol of rebellion against the oppression of Queen Victoria, who made it a capital crime (punishable by death) to wear the shamrock. This was probably the most influential reason for the worldwide adoption by Irish people and their sympathizers of the Shamrock as a symbol of Irishness.

Legend has it that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland -- that they all went into the sea and drowned. There is no reason to believe there were actually any snakes in Ireland ever. There is no archaeological proof of snakes anywhere in Ireland at any time in the past. As this knowledge becomes more available we got fed the notion into our mainstream consciousness that “this is probably an allegory for the driving out of paganism (snakes were a revered pagan symbol in some places).” But this is just not so for Ireland, there were not and are not any snakes in Ireland so adding in bits of foreign snake lore is just disinformation.

The famous mountain of Croagh Patrick or as its more commonly known in Ireland “The Reek” was a place of Pagan Pilgrimage long before the Christians became Catholic in 325ad. It is a round cone shaped mountain that looks like a pyramid from a distance. This holy mountain is quartzite with seams of gold throughout, it sits on the western seaboard overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the setting Sun.

Croagh Patrick aka the Reek was once know as Cruchan Aigli or in English; Eagle Mountain, it is 2510 feet above sea level. It has always been a holy place with pilgrimage on the last Sunday of July (during Catholic times), which is of course the wrong day as the Sun magic happens later in the month but the plan was to disconnect the people from the Sun and connect them to a foreign religion. This last Sunday of the month of July is now used because of traditional connection to Lughnasa, the harvest festival of Lugh, a bright god of the Tuatha De Dannan and in his day it may have been called Cnoc Lugh. Archaeological investigations backed up by excavations show that a hill fort with stone ramparts and dwellings and 30 hut sites are to be found on the top of the Reek. There are ancient cooking sites, megalithic tombs, standing stones, burial mounds, ringforts and today’s modern Catholic Church. I doubt that many Catholic Pilgrims know that this holy mountain was sacred to Lugh or before that to the great fertility god Crom. Its old name of Eagle Mountain may refer to the practice of de-fleshing of the dead by carrion birds before burning of the remains and finally – internment of the remaining bones in an earthen mound. This practice was not uncommon in prehistoric times.

It was on this holy mountain that St Patrick supposedly did his greatest magic – when he summoned a great host of loathsome and venomous creatures and then commanded them to cast themselves over the edge of the mountain, thus freeing the Irish countryside from all kinds of reptiles. This included dragons, snakes and all types of reptiles, none of which ever existed in Ireland. We are told that St Patrick did this by verbal command. The actual truth is that there were no snakes in Ireland and long after he was dead and his head was gone into Jesuit care somebody just added this trick to St Patrick’s name. It was as if the Pagan traditions were still so strong with the Lughnasa pilgrimage to the Reek in August that something had to be done to displace the old ways and such a fantastic story as dragon/snake banishing fitted the bill. It had to be long after St Patrick’s death or else everyone would know it was just made up fantasy.

The conclusion offered is that this legend of Patrick was fabricated because he did not bring the Catholic faith or Christian beliefs to Ireland, he wasn’t Irish, it is highly unlikely that he could live to be 111 years of age when the usual life expectancy was maybe 40/50ish; he was given immense powers of traveling the entire country building churches and digging wells, killing dragons, snakes and reptiles that did not exist, burning 150 Druid books that did not exist, praying for old Arch Druids to die, killing or causing 800 Druids to be killed, having a female follower who was close to him disappear linked to a she-beast story, causing two princesses to die by his baptism, he never mentions shamrocks in his writings and he was given the totem of a shamrock long after he was dead, his title is not recognized by the leader of his own religion because no Pope would call him a saint and his fabricated importance was set up to displace a Pagan God. His most famous place was and is sacred to the Pagan God Lugh where we can still see incredible Sun and Landscape magic as our ancestors did. The reality today is that on the 17th of March many rivers are dyed green and people wear funny green hats and drink far too much alcohol especially green beer and pretend to be Irish. Do people make drunken fools of themselves on this day because they reckon that is what St Patrick did? He has outlived his usefulness to the Church that fabricated him and has become an alcoholic embarrassment for them – he is now a champion golem to excess commercialism, this is the Esoteric St Patrick's Day. 

Enjoy your green beer. 

~ Dr TV Boogie

Groundhog Day, Esoterically

We all know the legend of Groundhog Day, or do we? 

According to the American Philosophical Society in 1888: “If the groundhog sees his shadow on the second of February, he goes back to his hole in the ground for another six weeks’ doze, as he knows that the winter will endure so much longer; per contra, if he cannot see it, he stays out, for he knows that the severe weather is past.” 

Yeah, like that will really work, especially with Climate Change. 

In Christianity, February 2^nd marks 40 days after Christmas. In Scripture, the Evangelist St. Luke tells us that Joseph and Mary took the baby Jesus to the Temple as was the custom on the fortieth day after birth for all babies to be presented to the Temple, hence, the name “The Presentation.” In the West, it is referred to as Candlemas.

Only problem with this story is that Jesus was not born on December 24th, the Winter Solstice was the old pagan ritual that took place around December 24th when the sun appeared to die and return after three days.  

So what was February 2nd before the Christian takeover?

The roots of Groundhog Day can be traced to the Irish Celtic festival, Imbolc, which marks the beginning of spring. Celebrated on February 1 and associated with the goddess of fertility, now known as St. Brigid, Imbolc marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It is a celebration of the upcoming spring and the longer days ahead. 

Celtic fertility goddess Brighid

It was said that on the eve of Imbolc, February 1, the Celtic fertility goddess Brighid was said to travel from home to home granting blessings to virtuous inhabitants while they slept.

The people even left milk and food for Brighid as she went about her travels. The goddess was believed to have had the power to shift the season from the months of darkness to the months of light, and people would light candles to symbolize this.

The Cailleach / the witch

Fire was always a central theme in this battle between winter and spring. In Celtic myth, it was said that an old woman or witch, known as the Cailleach, gathered firewood for the rest of winter.

A dark figure the Cailleach wished winter to last longer and would ensure February 1 was bright and sunny so she could collect enough wood for the rest of the winter. If the day was dark and cloudy it means the Cailleach would sleep and be unable to gather more wood, therefore spring would surely arrive soon. 

So where did the groundhog come into this story? For this, we must look back to the ancient Romans who also believed they could predict the year's weather however in their case it was linked to soothsaying. 

The Romans looked to hedgehogs for guidance. It was said that if during hibernation, he (the hedgehog) looks out of his den on Feb 2 and sees his shadow it means there is a clear moon and six more weeks of winter so he returns to his burrow.

This tradition was carried through Europe, including in Germany, with the arrival of Germans to Pennsylvania that they took up the tradition once more. However, as hedgehogs are not native to the state they turned to the now-famous groundhog for their predictions. 

The rest is history.

Here is a video I restored for this post. 

~~ Eso Terry 

Esoteric Thoughts on Prejudices with film assignment.

Esoteric prejudices are simple, the hidden thoughts some use to define others. A.I. says this about them:

"Esoteric prejudices refer to negative biases, stereotypes, and misconceptions directed toward, or existing within, alternative spiritual, mystical, and occult movements. These beliefs are often dismissed as irrational, dangerous, or "woo-woo" by mainstream society, while some practitioners may hold their own dogmatic views on "higher knowledge" or hidden truths."

So it's thought.

Rudolf Steiner said this about thought:

What is thinking actually? What thinks within me? The materialist, who denies the supersensible world, says: The body, the brain thinks. One should ask him the question: Have you ever perceived thinking with your senses? Of course he has not. No one has ever heard, seen, felt as warmth, or anything like that. Consequently, it is not physical. For what belongs to the body is perceptible to the senses. Therefore, thinking is supernatural. And the materialist must either admit the supernatural world or abandon thinking as an absurdity—which might be a good thing.

So with our thinking we are always in the supernatural world, but in such a way that we do not experience it ourselves. It is like someone sailing out to sea but not seeing himself or his boat; so it is with human thinking. We do not experience it directly, for what we experience of it, the thoughts, are the reflections of thinking on the body. Just as someone standing in front of a mirror sees his reflection, so the thinking soul sees the reflection of its thinking. The brain is the mirror. Through esoteric training, human beings should now come to experience thinking itself, not just thoughts. Just as someone standing in front of a mirror, when they step aside, sees the mirror's surface, so the soul must come to see the body from outside as a mirroring apparatus. Then the human being knows how thoughts come into being, and experiences itself in the world from which thinking protrudes into the sensory world as thought.

According to the dude at Medium.com: "Kocku von Stuckrad presented the idea that esoteric thought is a method of exploring and analyzing the world we inhabit in a manner other than is dictated by scientific principals, as such it is a subjective exploration of the exoteric without limits, where leaps of understanding are possible, spearheading advances that science has yet to catch up with. Esoteric thought can thus be central to any one individual’s life, remote and ridiculed, considered to be fundamental to the future development of humankind or a dustbin for rejected ideas that did not stick. The exoteric is an adherence to the observable and proven with no room for conjecture. We as people are consistently influenced by an esoteric narrative in the sense that we are driven by our own subjective consciousness."

Okay, that's a lot.  Basically, what he is saying...hell, watch the film I've restored for this post.  It explains Esoteric Prejudice Exoterically.  That is to say, what people said with their mouths in the 70's now say with their hearts which can be seen with all the hate towards "foreigners" or as this film points out, "barbarians," because their speak sounds like "ba, bar, ba..." to us. 

Friday 13th and the Tarot Card

It's Friday the 13th. Finally, I wait all year for this day. I've told you before how lucky Friday the 13th is for me, so I won't repeat myself. Instead, let's look at the 13th card of the Tarot, Death. 

In the Major Arcana of the Tarot, the 13th card is Death. Contrary to popular fear, when upright this card signifies transformation, endings, and rebirth rather than literal death. When reversed, it may indicate stagnation, upheaval, decay, or resistance to change.

Despite its ominous reputation in superstition, thirteen holds a positive and powerful role in esoteric traditions. It is regarded as the number of mystical manifestation and cosmic law.

The teachings of Jesus are framed around the formula 1 + 12 (Christ plus the apostles), producing thirteen. According to Pythagorean philosophy, one added to twelve creates an unlimited number, symbolising transcendence beyond completion. Through this principle, miracles—such as the multiplication of loaves and fishes—are said to occur.

Thirteen represents an all-or-nothing law of destiny:

• Death through failure and degeneration
• Rebirth through regeneration and transformation

It is also the sacred number of the Great Goddess, reflected in the thirteen lunar cycles of the year.

Pythagors in 30 Seconds.

 

Pythagoras was born around 570 BC on the Greek island of Samos.

Pythagoras made influential contributions to philosophy and religious teachings in the late 6th century BC. 

Many mathematical and scientific discoveries were attributed to him, as well as discoveries in the field of music, astronomy, and medicine, but Pythagoras is best known for the Pythagorean Theorem which bears his name.

The Pythagorean Theorem simple stated is... well, math so we're going to skip it.  

Pythagoras and his disciples were the conceives of the "Golden Ratio" which is 1.618, the perfect analogy of the universe.  More math, so we won't go into this either.

Pythagoras started a liberal school where the students weren't allowed to talk for a year or look into a mirror beside a candle.  He taught them reincarnation, and the power of numbers.

Pythagoras and his disciples were the first to use the concept of "cosmos" and point out that the earth rotates around the sun. 

Pythagoras was a vegetarian.

And most importantly for us, Pythagoras was a number freak and taught us that numbers are everywhere and in everything....

Watch the film for the complete run down.  It's only 3 minutes.  And as we know, Pythagoras thought the three was the "perfect number!"

Esoteric vs. Exoteric (Defined Using a Boxing Analogy)

Esoteric vs. Exoteric, the fight of the century. 

Esoteric Boxer

In this corner, we have Esoteric, with her  knowledge that is meant for a small, private, or inner circle of people. She comes from the Greek word “esōterikos,” meaning “inner.” Relating to or designating knowledge that is meant for a small, private, or inner circle of people. Historically associated with secret societies, religious sects, and philosophical movements. Examples: Gnostic teachings, Kabbalah in Jewish mysticism, and Sufism within Islam. Requires a deeper, often initiatory, understanding. Often seen in specialized fields or practices where in-depth knowledge is required. Not openly shared or accessible to the general public. To maintain the purity and sanctity of certain teachings, keeping them away from those not deemed ready or worthy. 

Exoteric Boxer

Her opponent, Exoteric, pertains to outward things; suitable for the public or masses. Derived from the Greek word “exōterikos,” meaning “outer.” Often associated with public-facing religious teachings or broadly accepted cultural norms. Mainstream religious practices, public educational systems, and commonly accepted societal norms. Meant for the general public without the need for special initiation or training. Information is straightforward and doesn’t require significant prior knowledge. Accepted and understood by a broad audience. To provide knowledge and understanding that’s accessible and easily shared across a wide audience.

Let the fight begin!

Ding, ding, ding. 

Winner by default, Exoteric! 

Has anyone seen Esoteric? Where'd she go?

Paracelsus As Seen by Academia - Film

The God-Fearing Paracelsus left us some good stories. In this college film played for students of medicine in the 60's, two things are apparent: 1. They were a lot smarter when it came to literature for they quote "Faust," and 2. Operations haven't changed much, a little more automated, but basically the setup.

~~ Eso Terry

Roger Bacon 101

Roger Bacon was rich. So we know his story. Please take a moment now and think about all the other esoterics of his day, who because they weren't rich, we know them not. Now on with the poop on this guy. 

Roger Bacon was born about 1214, and he grew up wanting to be a teacher. He went to Oxford University in England; and after obtaining his degree, he became a teacher on the staff of the University of Paris in the 1240’s.

The writings of the Greek thinker Aristotle had been lost to Europe for over ten centuries and had recently been rediscovered.  Bacon had studied Aristotle at Oxford and became very excited.  He believed that Aristotle was a great thinker, and he taught his students in Paris about Aristotle’s writings.

During this time, Bacon was also working with light rays and lens and doing many chemistry experiments.  His experiments were based on some things that Aristotle had written about, but these experiments were not working out. He discovered that on many topics the famous and honored Aristotle was wrong.  Years of hard work based on some of Aristotle’s false teachings had to be thrown away. Perhaps worse was his realization that he had sent students out into the world with false knowledge.

Bacon was very disappointed at having wasted so much effort by trusting Aristotle.  Although much of Aristotle’s writing was correct, the errors made it risky to trust anything.  Bacon began struggling with the problem of how to make knowledge trustworthy.

Bacon first decided that there was something fundamentally wrong in the way people judged what was true and false.  In Bacon’s day, people believed that arguing logically could prove the truth.  Everyone thought Aristotle’s arguments were logically correct so they judged Aristotle to be writing the truth.  But Bacon knew, from his failed laboratory work, that Aristotle was wrong about many things he had written – even though Aristotle had very good rational arguments to support his views.

Bacon also studied other respected writers and found many to be wrong.  When he tried to discover what had led these men astray in their writings, he came up with four central reasons for their errors – the four stumbling blocks to truth.

Some were wrong because they had relied on a supposed “expert” who was wrong.

Some were wrong because they relied on popular opinions or beliefs that were wrong.

Others were wrong because they just wanted things to agree with their pet ideas and to conceal their ignorance through pride.

And lastly and most dangerous, some were wrong because they had believed in a logical argument.

These four sources of error were to be avoided at all costs.  It is ironic that Aristotle had espoused these very points two thousand years earlier (and they are still taught today in courses in rhetoric) as the best strategies to use in winning a debate or in persuading an audience by oratory.  Sadly, Aristotle’s stated goal, however, was merely to persuade the listener – not to find Truth.

Bacon now set out to devise a systematic way of judging whether a statement was true or false and thereby obtain trustworthy knowledge.  Bacon believed that “seeing might be believing” for experiments in his laboratory, but he was even unsure about whether personal bias could sneak in unsuspectingly to sway one’s observations.  Therefore, Bacon said that several people (the more the better) should do the experiment separately and independently to see if they all got the same results.  If many different people in different places at different times could do the same experiment and get the same results, then personal bias should be ruled out.  What was seen and duplicated in the laboratory could be considered to be true.  He wrote up his experiments in detail and had his students try to repeat them before he would trust the results.

Bacon summarized his belief clearly:  “Neither the voice of authority nor the weight of reason and argument are as significant as experiments from which come peace to the mind.”

Bacon’s ideas threatened a number of the powerful teachers of his day, and he was forbidden to continue his experiments or work on his books. He sent a copy of his preliminary work to the Pope, Clement IV, who liked Bacon’s ideas and wanted to see more. The Pope liked Bacon’s view that by observing creation, one learned more about God. It is not clear whether Bacon had to continue his work in secret or whether Clement ordered that Bacon be allowed to continue his work.  In any case, Bacon did continue his work.

It is believed that some time after Clement died, Bacon, his protector now gone, was imprisoned for his outspoken criticisms of current beliefs because there is a complete absence of any record of Bacon’s activity from 1279 to 1289.  His last work dates from about 1292 and is incomplete.  We assume that he died then at the age of about 72.

It is difficult to accurately assess Bacon’s influence in bringing about that revolutionary period in human thought – the Renaissance – that began several hundred years after his death.  Whether his work was widely influential or whether the “scientific method” was independently rediscovered really makes no difference in judging the greatness of the man himself.  His ethical standards in science and his relentless pursuit of truth stand as a beacon to inspire us all to the utmost in keen, objective observation and scrupulous honesty in all of our undertakings.

~~ Dr TV Boogie