You could say that the Five Chinese Brothers is a story about the deep bond of love between brothers. You could say that the Five Chinese Brothers is a story about deception. You can say whatever, but the fact is, it touches something deep inside of us.
I first read the story as a kid. It is actually the first book I remember reading on my own. I remember loving the thought of being in an ocean bottom without water. I didn't think about the boy dying in the water, or the men facing death sentences for having killed him. I do know it was better than any of the other books available to me as a five-year-old seeker. This is why I have digitized the school film of this book for my friends here on EsotericDaily.com. I think this was the first book that touched my esoteric soul. The scene where the man inhales the ocean in his lungs revealing the depth of the sea, was my inner esoteric-child crying out for something deeper than the "See Jane Run" books on the shelf with it. Maybe you are the same. Enjoy the film.
May, the fifth month of the current Gregorian calendar and the third month of Spring's rule, which derives its name from the Roman Springtime goddess Maia, whose divine powers encouraged the growth of crops.
Wooo, I have to stop here for Maia is also the mother of Hermes, and well, I have to go Hermetic on your ass now because we have invoked the name of Hermes Trismegistus which brings us to today's topic: The Holy Qabalah, Aleister Crowley, and Nursery Rhymes, for you see all nursery rhymes were holy before the Demiurge's Fake Religion of today.
So hold onto your seats boys and girls as we reveal one of the great secrets of the adepts.
Who is this ancient and venerable mother? According to Aleister Crowley she is none other than Binah of the Kabbalah, as is evident in the use of the holy letter H with which her name begins.
And to what cupboard did she go? To the most secret caverns of the Universe? And who is this dog? It is not the name of God spelt backwards (saying "not" is the only way one can share the true secrets of an Initiate without provoking the spirits of the teachings). And what is the bone? It is the master's Wand.
As Crowley said in his The Book of Lies, "This rime is the legend of the murder of Osiris by Typhon when the limbs of Osiris were scattered in the Nile, and Isis sought them in every corner of the Universe, and she found all except his sacred lingam..." which was not found until Crowley's own time, but that's another story for another time.
"Bo" is the root meaning Light, from which spring such words as Bo-tree, Bodhisattva, and Buddha. And "Peep" is Apep, the serpent Apophis. This poem therefore contains the same symbol as that in the Egyptian and Hebrew Bibles. The snake is the serpent of initiation, as the Lamb is the Savior. This ancient one, the Wisdom of Eternity, sits in its old anguish awaiting the Redeemer. And this holy verse triumphantly assures us that there is no need for anxiety. The Saviors will come one after the other, at their own good pleasure, and as they may be needed, and drag their tails, that is to say those who follow out their holy commandment, to the ultimate goal.
So get to work performing your holy commandment. I'm serious, now what is your holy commandment? Only you can know that, and believe me it is not in any church or Turkish Bathhouse -- you see, I did the extremes there.
Hickory, dickory, dock!
The mouse ran up the clock;
The clock struck one,
And the mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock!
The clock symbolizes the spinal column, and the mouse is the Ego (the Qabalistic spelling of the word "mouse" backwards). The Ego force being driven up the spine, the clock strikes one, that is, the duality of consciousness is abolished. And the force again subsides to its original level to try again. Go back into meditation and figure it out.
"Hickory, dickory, dock!" is the mantra which was use by the adept who constructed this rime, thereby hoping to fix it in the minds of men.
Humpty Dumpty is of course is the Egg of Spirit, the fertility egg, and the wall is the Abyss -- his "fall" is therefore the descent of spirit into matter; and no mere leader of men can put him back together again, it takes more, much more, such as faith. Faith in what, now that is the true question here.
So that is it for today, Initiates. Remember, after five years of silence you will begin to understand. The answer is love, but first, we must listen. Oh, and never look at your image in the mirror besides a candle. But you probably already know this.
Some keep the Sabbath going to Church – I keep it, staying at Home –
Emily wrote the above words in one of her many unnamed poems. When I read those words, at 16, I was liberated from organized religion.
Maybe I was Emily in a previous life, she calls out to me like no others.
On the night I found out I had cancer, I dreamed of Emily Dickinson, and it was the isolationist in me that marveled at her, I'm sure. I'll share her documentary at the end of this post, but she spent most of her life in her bedroom, she also died not knowing she would be immortal because of her words, or did she? Her words seem to suggest she knew she would live forever in words.
Fame is a bee. It has a song – It has a sting – Ah, too, it has a wing.
She definitely thought of fame's immortality in her poem about death:
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –
Or rather – He passed Us –
The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –
Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –
But how did she know she would be famous? Her work was mostly rejected in her lifetime. How could she have known she would live "Eternity" in words?
Regardless,
there is no doubt that Emily,
was an,
Esotericist.
~~ Eso Terry Poem to Emily.
The reason I wrote my poem calling Emily an Esotericist, is because of her own words in the following poem of hers:
’T WAS later when the summer went Than when the cricket came, And yet we knew that gentle clock Meant nought but going home.
’T was sooner when the cricket went Than when the winter came, Yet that pathetic pendulum Keeps esoteric time.
This is a 70's 16mm film I've had for years and want to share It is the letters Emily wrote T.W. Higginson, and his thoughts on the matter. As a Buddhist, I see how they are connected. Their relationship was never physical - this lifetime - they only met briefly twice, but were bounded by karma. We all have these relationships, contacts, that we know once were more and will be again, but not this lifetime.
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.
It's Christmas Time, my favorite time of the year.
And yes, Christmas has always been a Buddhist Holiday to me, especially when I hear that phrase of "Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All."
That's the one that has stayed with me as I've grown from a Christian in my childhood, to a Zen, Tibetan, and finally, at last, the answer: Nichiren Buddhist by way of the Soka Gakkai, where I chant and pray for World Peace and Good Will to All, twice a day.
Of all the Christmas songs you hear this year, the one I hope you pay most attention to is Frosty the Snowman, for it is the most blatant buddhist Christmas song ever, and here's why.
First, let me sing the song for you -- please hold onto you ears as I do, for a good singer I am not.
Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul With a corncob pipe and a button nose And two eyes made out of coal
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say He was made of snow, but the children know How he came to life one day
There must have been some magic in That old silk hat they found For when they placed it on his head He began to dance around
Oh, Frosty the snowman Was alive as he could be And the children say he could laugh and play Just the same as you and me
[Chorus] Thumpety-thump-thump Thumpety-thump-thump Look at Frosty go Thumpety-thump-thump Thumpety-thump-thump Over the hills of snow
[Verse 2] Ooh Frosty the snowman Knew the sun was hot that day So he said, "Let's run and we'll have some fun Now before I melt away."
Down to the village With a broomstick in his hand Running here and there all around the square Saying, "Catch me if you can!"
He led them down the streets of town Right to the traffic cop And he only paused a moment when He heard him holler, "Stop!"
Oh, Frosty the snowman Had to hurry on his way But he waved goodbye, saying "Don't you cry, I'll be back again someday."
Frosty, as we all remember, is “a jolly happy soul.” Born of heaven’s (Tibetan) white falling snow and seeing through his earthy black eyes of coal, his spirit is that of a child, but his foreknowledge of his own demise places him outside the realm of the purely innocent children. His crucial conflict—our crucial conflict—is this: Frosty the Snowman knew the sun was hot that day. Life is suffering, death will come, is coming. Yet, Frosty’s response is astonishing! “Let’s run and have some fun,” he says, “before I melt away.” Frosty is delivering the wisdom of the Buddha, and one can almost picture him meditating on the mantra Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as he is dashing through the snow. Frosty teaches the children that there is heaven in the present moment.
Frosty leads the children out of the pastoral forest into the town where the group faces the complications of daily life in the stern and officious police officer, who hollers, “Stop!” There is a temptation to dwell in the realm of fear, but Frosty’s stop in the town square is momentary. Time is too fleeting, too precious. The children must learn—while they can—how to play, for as we all know, nothing lasts forever and Frosty must “hurry on his way.”
As Frosty faces his own melting with the acceptance of Nichiren Daishonen, he teaches us the Buddha's most valuable lesson, that we will face death, but will return, or as Frosty says, "Don’t you cry, I’ll be back again someday." Then he fearlessly dances over the hills of snow back to the forest. Frosty shows us that our time is short, but that does not mean it has to be lived in fear and sadness.
Finally, as Second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda once said, and I paraphrase, "It's delusional to think you won't die!"
So, Happy Holiday's Brothers and Sisters, and let's be like Frosty before we melt away.
Not long ago, I came across this archaic poem that read funny to me.
On the surface, it was one of those nineteenth-century love poems
that makes little sense to us now because of its big words mixed with
our Artificially Ignorant (AI) minds from "clicking now" for anything
that we need, anytime we want. But that wasn't on my mind as I
reread those words several times searching for the correct
understanding associate with each letter. That's when the secret
meaning came to me: it's not just a well worded poem, it's an Acrostic
Poem.
What Sayeth You, AI?
What is an Acrostic Poem?
Acrostic writing is a form of poetry where the first letter of each line, read vertically, spells out a word or phrase.
Expert Samples From The Experts Watching Over Us.
This poem is one of several acrostics Poe wrote for the amusement of female admirers. Here, the first letter of each line spells “Elizabeth.” In the following text, the key for the acrostic is shown in red:
Elizabethitisinvainyousay
Lovenotthousayestitinsosweetaway
InvainthosewordsfromtheeorLEL
Zantippestalentshadenforcedsowell
Ahifthatlanguagefromthyheartarise
Breatheitlessgentlyforthandveilthineeyes
EndymionrecollectwhenLunatried
Tocurehislovewascuredofallbeside
Hisfollyprideandpassionforhedied
The poem was never published during his lifetime. It was discovered by James H. Whitty, who in his 1911 edition of Poe's poems printed it with the title “From an Album.”
L. E. L. is presumably Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802-1838), a popular English poetess who typically signed her poems with those initials.
Zantippe is actually Xanthippe, the wife of the famous Greek philosopher Socrates. Poe intentionally misspelled the name for the sake of the acrostic. Xanthippe, sometimes also spelled Xantippe, was known for her quick and violent temper. Somewhat humorously, Socrates is reputed to have explained to Alcibiades that he remained married to her because “She exercises my patience, and enables me to endure all injustice I experience from others.”
If you are a reading of EsotericDaily.com, then you know the importance of dreams. And here I go again trying to relate their importance. For those not familiar with my dream history, here is an overview: I once posted a post in a dream; and don't know when, where, or how. Then I wrote about how an old friend who died some years before, came to me in a dream and asked me to lie down on futon beside him. Which I didn't, and know if I had I would have died. I told him "I'm not ready," and didn't die down beside him.
Of the hundreds of dreams I've interpreted, my favorite is Dream #689. In that dream I cross the infamous "bridge" we all come across in our dreams. If you haven't crossed you dream bridge yet, please do. In simple terms, the bridge in your dream is that person, job, or faith in your life that is holding you back. Once you awaken to that, you will live.
Today, I want to write about people who woke up from sleep with a new life. Yes, it happens.
Caedmon, (c. 657-684), wrote the oldest surviving English language poem, which wikipedia deciphers as :
Now [we] shall honour / heaven-kingdom's guardian,
the measurer's might / and his mind's plan,
the work of the father of glory / as he of each wonder,
eternal lord, / the origin established, he first created / for the children of men
heaven for a roof, / holy creator.
Then Middle-earth / mankind's guardian,
eternal Lord, / after bestowed
the lands to men, / Lord almighty.
Caedmon was an illiterate herdsman, who went to sleep one night, and in his dream a stranger appeared to him singing the “verses which he had
never heard.” When Caedmon awoke, he was a poet and wrote his very educated poems.
That's not all, a google search will given you many others, of which here are a few:
Elias Howe (inventor of the sewing machine):
Struggling to design a functional sewing machine needle, Howe
reportedly had a dream in which he was being attacked by cannibals with
spears that had holes near the tips. This image inspired him to place
the needle's eye near its point, enabling the invention of the modern
sewing machine.
Dmitri Mendeleev (creator of the Periodic Table):
After days of working on organizing the known elements, Mendeleev is
said to have fallen asleep at his desk and dreamed of a table where all
the elements fell into place according to their properties.
Friedrich August Kekulé (discoverer of the benzene ring structure): Kekulé is said to have envisioned the cyclic structure of benzene in a daydream, seeing a snake biting its own tail.
Albert Einstein (developer of the Theory of Relativity):
Legend has it that Einstein's dreaming of sledding down a mountainside
at high speeds, causing the stars to change, contributed to his
realization that the same event could be observed differently from
different perspectives, according to Reader's Digest Asia.
Frederick Banting (discoverer of insulin):
Banting's dream about an experiment with a dog's pancreas and isolating
the substance that could treat diabetes reportedly spurred the
development of insulin.
Otto Loewi (discoverer of chemical neurotransmission):
Loewi dreamed of an experiment involving a frog's heart that helped him
demonstrate the chemical transmission of nerve impulses, leading to his
Nobel Prize win.
That's all I have to share today, so dream, for life is but a dream.
