Sunday, August 13, 2023

Taoism

Taoism, also known as Daoism, is a philosophical and religious tradition that emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao (or Dao). The word "Tao" translates roughly to "way" or "path" but in the context of Taoism, it refers to a sort of intrinsic order or fundamental essence of the Universe. Taoism originated in China around the 4th century BCE and is traditionally attributed to the philosopher Laozi, although it has evolved significantly over the centuries.

Taoism includes several key concepts:

- Tao: As mentioned above, the Tao is the natural, spontaneous, eternal and indescribable way everything began and took course. It's an underlying, non-dualistic principle that governs the universe.

- Yin and Yang: These are opposite and complementary principles in nature. Yin is passive, dark, and feminine, Yang is active, light, and masculine. The interplay between these two forces shapes the universe and everything in it.

- Wu-wei: This means "non-action" or "effortless action". It's a state of being in which our actions align with the ebb and flow of the natural world.

- Ziran: This translates to "naturalness" or "spontaneity". It describes the state of existing without pretense or artificiality, in harmony with the Tao.

Taoism has influenced many aspects of Chinese culture, including literature, art, medicine, martial arts, and cuisine. It's considered one of the three main pillars of traditional Chinese thought, alongside Confucianism and Buddhism.

Taoism can be seen both as a philosophy and a religion. As a philosophical system, it primarily deals with the natural philosophy and ethics, emphasizing naturalness, simplicity, spontaneity, and the Three Treasures: compassion, moderation, and humility. As a religious system, it incorporates rituals, ancestor veneration, divination, and various spiritual practices, with different sects and interpretations over time.

In terms of texts, the "Tao Te Ching" (also spelled Daodejing) and the "Zhuangzi" are two of the most significant. The former is attributed to Laozi and the latter to the philosopher Zhuangzi. Both discuss the nature of the Tao and how to live in accord with it.

Please note that understanding Taoism can be difficult, as it's often paradoxical and works more as a system of thought to be experienced rather than as a set of dogmas to be followed.

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Preamble

Chang Tao

Tao

The existence

Wu - Wei

Preamble

“The Tao that we can talk about (call it the Tao) is not the "Unchangeable Tao " (Ch'ang Tao).

The name we can give it is not "Unchangeable Name" (ch'ang ming ).

Invisible (Wu) is the name I give to the Generator of Yang and Yin.

Visible (Yeu) is the name I give to the Mother of ten thousand beings.

Truly, in Wu (“not to be”, “to have no determinations”, invisible) we will marvel at the mystery.

In the Yeu ("Being", "has determinations", visible) we will see the external phenomena.

These two (Wu and Yeu) spring from the same (Tao), but their ways are different.

This "same" (Tao), I call the Dark (Xuan).

The darkest of this darkness is the "Gate of All Mysteries" (Ch'ang Tao).

(Tao Te Ching, chapter 1).

Chang Tao

TAO is the Only Reality:

“The Tao of which we can speak (call it Tao) is not the ETERNAL UNCHANGING TAO (CHANG TAO)”, (Tao Te Ching, chapter 1).

Tao

The Tao which we can talk about is described in chapter 25.

"There was an indefinite complete,

It was, before Heaven and earth appeared.

Silent, without any identifiable substance,

Resting on nothing, Immutable,

It penetrates (and is felt) everything, pervades everything, remaining Inexhaustible.

It is the source of all things.

I don't know its real name.

Tao is a name I give to It.

Trying to define it, I should say Mega (Ta, Infinite, Immeasurable).

But "ta" also means to evolve according to its nature

And to evolve means to spread to infinity

And to stretch out to infinity is to return back to its source.

Thus, as the Tao has "this property of evolving"

And as Uranus also has this property

And as the earth has it

So, the dominant man also has this ability.

Thus, within "reality" there are four processes of evolution

And one refers to "man".

The "ways" of men adapt to those of the earth

The "ways" of earth to those of Heaven

The "ways" of Heaven to those of the Tao

And the "ways" of the Tao in those "of It who is thus of Itself" (Ch'ang Tao).

(TTK, 25).

Within the texts of Lao Tzu a clear distinction is therefore made between the Ch'ang Tao and the Tao (of which we can speak), that is, the Reality that can be perceived.

The Chang Tao is Te. It is identified with Te (Spontaneous Energy), contains Te, manifests through Te. When Te calms then Ch'ang Tao is Ch'ang Tao. When Te is active then Tao is revealed. Tao in this sense means "Activity", "Process", Evolutionary Course, Path, Way (and in this sense it is not distinguished from Te). From the Tao all things arise and to the Tao they return (TTK, 25).

How is this possible? Within the Tao emerge two forces, yang (represented by a solid line) and yin (represented by a dashed line) activities that complement each other and exist simultaneously both together. Yang means spiritual energy, intelligence, the mentality that grasps abstract realities, relationships, etc. Yin means the essential element, the essence. Substance can have a "spiritual texture" or more coarse (what appears as "matter"). This depends on the level of activity (as explained below).

Yang and yin exist simultaneously, always, but their action is complementary. When Yang increases, Yin decreases and vice versa. This results in a spectrum of activity starting from Pure Yang and as yin progressively increases it ends up in pure yin. In this spectrum of activity there are infinite gradations but roughly different fields of activity can be distinguished. The transition from one field of activity to another is gradual but for purely practical reasons we identify three main phases represented by three lines, (as in the trigrams K'ien and K'uen ) or by the combination of three trigrams.

So, from Chiang Tao is born the One (Tao). From the One are born the two forces Yang and Yin. From the two forces are born the three distinct phases of activity that produce all fields of activity and all phenomena. According to Lao Tzu:

"The Tao (Ch'ang Tao) gave birth to the One,

One gave birth to duality,

Then two gave birth to three,

All three gave birth to all that exists.

These ten thousand creations have yin on their backs

And they embrace Yang

And their balance is based on this combination of forces..."

(TTK, 42).

In the beginning Yang predominates and yin is potent. This state is completely abstract and there are no discernible determinations for it and it is called Unseen (Wu, "not to be", "not to have determinations"). Nevertheless, three phases, states, can be distinguished, which are represented by three continuous lines, one on top of the other (the trigram Kien). This means the complete Predominance of Yang (which is why it is called Pure Yang, or simply Yang, or Heaven), but also the three phases, the transition from Pure Yang to the strengthening and emergence of yin.

In these three purely spiritual states the Tao appears to be:

1) I, Indistinct, undistinguished, "without idioms", "empty".

2) Si, Voiceless, Silent, "without presence".

3) Wei, Intangible, Subtle, imperceptible, "non-existent".

According to Lao Tzu:

"I look with my eyes but do not see: this I therefore call the Indiscernible (I).

I listen with the ears but do not hear it: and then I call it the Silent (Si).

I feel it with my hands but I do not feel it: and so I call it the Subtle (Wei).

All three of these experiences reveal the unexplored,

Thus, I perceive nothing but an Undifferentiated Unity.

Rising it does not shine, setting it does not darken.

Infinity, chain, not specified

Because it is within the space where there is no discrimination.

Described as shapeless,

Like an image without a face

That's why they call it Inconceivable.

You stare at it, but it has no face.

You follow it, but it has no spine.

And yet if you devote yourself to the ancient Tao

You will dominate even today.

Knowing the principle

It means "to have found the essence of Tao ".

When yin is active then there are distinct differences and different fields of activity are identified. All these states are characterized as the Visible (Yeu, "being", "having determinations"). While in the higher field of activity (Invisible) existence is composed of Yang, while yin is in potential and perceived as an Undifferentiated Unity, in the lower fields of activity (Visible) existence is composed of Yang and yin and appears to break down into Subject, consciousness of ego, (hsig , of Yang nature , spiritual energy) and object (mig , of Yin nature , vital substance). In the higher realm of Vision the hsig is pure intelligence and the mig is mental in texture. In the middle field of vision the hsig is degraded and the mig is energetic in texture. In the lower realm of Vision the hsig is even more degraded and the mig is of a material texture. Thus, in the Visible existence appears fragmented (the subject perceives itself within an objective world) and multiple (there are many subjects and objects).

Within Visible, three main fields of activity emerge, each comprising three phases.

1) When Yang dominates but Yin is active.

2) When yin dominates but yang is active.

3) When yin and yang fully prevail, it exists in potential.

Analytically:

1) The field of activity in which Yang dominates but yin is active is called Huen . Huen means the general state of the spiritual, luminous, higher soul but also the individual spiritual soul (of Yang nature). The individual spiritual soul is composed of spiritual energy (xig , of Yang nature ), concretized into mentality (xin), and vital substance (mig , of Yin nature ), of mental texture. There are three main activities in this field represented by the three trigrams Tui, Li, Suen, which consist of two continuous lines and one broken line (top, middle, bottom, respectively). The three trigrams show (from top to bottom) the progressive strengthening of yin which slowly becomes the basis of existence. These three activities correspond to mental activities, functions, which in Western philosophy are called intellect, intelligence, perception.

2) When yin is further strengthened we pass into a field of activity qualitatively different from the previous one, the field where yin dominates but yang is active which is called p'o . Which means the general state of the "physical", dark, lower soul but also the individual "physical" soul (of the yin nature). The individual "physical" soul is composed of degraded mental activities and vital substance (mig) of energetic texture, which is gross and therefore appears as a form and is called "physical". There are three main activities represented by the three trigrams Chen, K'an, Ken which consist of two broken lines and one continuous line (bottom, middle, top, respectively). The three trigrams show (from top to bottom) the further strengthening of yin which at some point fully dominates. These three activities correspond to the animal energies, activities, consciousness, will, sense, of Western philosophy.

3) When yin is further strengthened we move into a field of activity qualitatively different from the previous one, in the field where yin fully predominates and yang exists in potential. This field is represented by the trigram K'wen consisting of three dotted lines. The three dotted lines mean the full Predominance of yin (hence called pure yin, earth), appearing as a substance of "material texture". The three lines further indicate that there are three states of material substance. Abstract energy, energy transformed into matter, and the totality of material objects.

The existence

The Chang Tao is the Only Reality From the Ch'ang Tao emerges the Tao . From Tao comes the Invisible (Wu) where Undifferentiated Unity prevails and the Visible (Yeu) with the various fields of activity where multiplicity of consciousness is manifested.

Thus, "that" which appears as "being", "existence", is the Tao manifested in the various fields of existence. In the Invisible Field there is perception of the Oneness of existence. In the Visible Fields the being also has an individual consciousness and manifests through a body of mental texture, energy texture, material texture (depending on the field in which it manifests). In the realm of pure yin, the being manifests itself through a carrier of material texture (the body).

Thus, being in the material realm is:

1) Tao.

2) Wu, Three states of conscious unity, (I, Si, Wei).

3) Yeu, (huen), three mental activities.

4) Yeu, (p'o), three animal activities.

5) Son, body.

Wu - Wei

The Chang Tao is the Only Reality. From Chiang Tao, when it is active (Te) the Tao emerges, and from the Tao everything emerges, develops and returns again to the primordial state. Return is the Way, the natural culmination of evolution. When the Activity (Te) is released it will complete its cycle and return back to the Tao (in Ch'ang Tao). So, we must not interfere in the course of things. This Action is characterized as Wu -Wei (Non-Action) because it occurs spontaneously (chu ran), without any "grab" in the activity or the phenomenon. Everything that appears emerges from the Tao and sinks back into It, it is nothing different.

“Rise to ultimate emptiness

Hold fast in the state of calmness

And you will dominate all phenomena.

I have noticed them as they come back.

See, all things come out of nothing

They return back to the source from which they came.

This return to the source is called Tranquility,

Tranquility is called adaptation to "nature".

Whatever conforms to its "nature" becomes one with the Tao.

When you know the Tao you are enlightened.

To not know it is to walk blindly towards destruction.

He who knows the Tao has understanding.

He who has understanding attains an unbiased universality.

To be so is to be majestic,

To be majestic is to have the nature of Yang,

To have the nature of Yang is to become one with the Tao.

The Tao is eternal and he who knows the Tao well

Although his body dies he is not destroyed."

(TTK, 16).

The Tao only exists, nothing else. The Tao Is the true nature of all beings. All phenomena emerge from Tao, through Te and return to It again. This happens on a global and individual level.

When Te manifests unhindered, when there is Wu-Wei (Non-Action) everything follows its natural course and reaches its natural end, the Tao. But when the Te from Wu -Wei (Non-Action) is diverted to Wei (Action), when there is rapture in the activity, the situation, the phenomenon then there is confusion and the process is complicated.

The Tiers of Wu -Wei

Wu - wei as action (or rather as non-action) is not passive observation of phenomena but disciplined behavior aimed at raising consciousness from the lower functions of existence to the higher, as the Tao. This is done by calming the functions, starting with the lower and outer and progressing progressively to the higher and inner.

Practice consists of not getting attached to anything. The typological levels are:

1) Chiang Tao.

2) Wu, Tai -I, three states ( wu hsin )

3) Yeu, three degrees of hsin calmness.

4) Yeu, three levels of qi calming.

5) Yeu, calmness of the body.

Lao Tzu describes this path in chapter 56:

"Those who know don't talk about it,

Those who chatter know nothing.

Blocked the flow of the senses,

Close all the gates of entry and exit of the will,

Let all the turmoil of the world soften and fade away.

All entanglements, all complications are dissolved

The delusive light of intellect has dimmed,

The split mind, the dust of thought, has settled.

This is called the mystical plane (the mystical unity).

He who has attained mystical unity has neither attachments nor fears, (i.e. he becomes Wei, "non-existent"),

He is offended by nothing, flattered by nothing, (i.e. becomes Si, "without presence"),

He has no gains or losses, (i.e. it becomes I, “without idioms”, “empty”),

And for this very reason he becomes the supreme being (i.e. the Tao)

(TTK, 56).

The Radiance of the Self: From Purity to Immortality

In the soundless cathedral of consciousness, where time dissolves like morning mist and space becomes but a whispered prayer, there dwells a light that knows neither beginning nor end...

The Purification of the Soul

Within the crucible of existence, the Jiva—that luminous thread of individual consciousness—lies wrapped in veils of countless colors, each thread a memory, each hue a desire that binds it to the wheel of becoming. Yet beneath these gossamer shrouds, beneath the accumulated dust of ten thousand lifetimes, there burns an ember that no wind can extinguish, no darkness can diminish.

Like a golden chalice buried beneath layers of earthen clay, the soul awaits its moment of revelation. The fire of knowledge—kindled not by the striking of flint against stone, but by the gentle breath of understanding that comes through sacred hearing, through the whispered teachings that float like lotus petals on the still waters of the heart—begins its work of alchemy.

In this cosmic forge, where the bellows of devotion fan flames that dance between the visible and invisible realms, the Jiva surrenders its borrowed robes. Each impurity, each shadow-self that clings like morning dew to spider's silk, evaporates in the rising heat of awareness. What remains is not the absence of something, but the presence of everything—pure gold, molten and radiant, singing its eternal song of recognition.

The Sun of Knowledge

Behold! In the vast sky of the heart, where thunderclouds of doubt once gathered and storms of confusion raged, there rises a Sun that casts no shadows, knows no eclipse, requires no fuel save the recognition of its own eternal burning. This is the Atman—not the sun that travels its daily arc across the dome of heaven, but the Sun behind the sun, the Light behind all lights.

This solar consciousness does not illuminate by addition, as a torch might light a darkened chamber, but by the simple withdrawal of that which obscures. It is the darkness of ignorance that is the stranger here, the interloper in a realm where darkness has no native dwelling. When the Sun of Knowledge rises, it does not battle the night—it reveals that night was but a dream, a forgetting, a temporary closing of eyes that were always meant to see.

In its radiance, all things become transparent. The solid walls of separation dissolve like salt in an infinite ocean. The boundaries between self and cosmos, between the seeker and the sought, between the worshipper and the worshipped, become as insubstantial as the line that divides sky from space. Here, in this luminous dissolution, the paradox reveals itself: by losing everything, one gains all; by becoming nothing, one becomes everything.

The Pathless Path to Immortality

In the realm beyond time's dominion, where past and future collapse into an eternal now that breathes with the rhythm of stars, there walks one who has renounced the very concept of walking. Activities fall away like autumn leaves from the tree of being—not through force or discipline, but through the simple recognition that the tree was always bare, always winter, always spring.

Here, in this dimensionless dimension, the limitations of time reveal themselves as prison bars made of moonbeams—seemingly solid until touched by the light of understanding. Space becomes not an expanse to be traversed, but a canvas upon which consciousness paints its dreams of separation. Direction loses meaning when every path leads home, when every step is both departure and arrival, when the traveler discovers that the destination was never elsewhere but always here, always now, always within.

In this worship without object, where the devotee and the divine merge like rivers flowing into an ocean that was never separate from them, something miraculous unfolds. The destroyer of heat and cold—that which stands untouched by the endless oscillations of pleasure and pain, summer and winter, hope and despair—reveals itself as one's own true nature.

This is not the cold comfort of detachment, but the warm embrace of that which includes all while being defined by none. It is Bliss-Eternal, not because it lasts a long time, but because it exists outside the very notion of duration. It is stainless, not because nothing can touch it, but because it is the very space in which all touching occurs.

The Flowering of Omniscience

In the garden of awakened consciousness, where knowing and being cross-pollinate in an endless spring of recognition, the one who has remembered their true face becomes a mirror in which all of existence recognizes itself. This is the All-knowing—not the accumulation of facts like dust upon a shelf, but the intimate recognition of the Self that wears all forms, dreams all dreams, knows all knowing.

To be All-pervading is to discover that one was never contained within the boundaries of skin and bone, never imprisoned within the fortress of individual identity. Like space itself, which is not found in things but in which all things appear, consciousness reveals its true nature as the context within which all experience unfolds.

The wave discovers it was always ocean. The cloud remembers it was always sky. The flame realizes it was always light itself.

The Deathless Death

And so we arrive at the final paradox, the ultimate mystery that dissolves all mysteries: Immortality is achieved not through the preservation of that which was never born, but through the recognition of that which can never die. Death becomes impossible when life is understood as the play of the eternal in the costume of time.

In this recognition, the seeker dissolves into the sought, the questioner into the answer, the dreamer into the dream. What remains is neither being nor non-being, but the very possibility of both, the pregnant emptiness that gives birth to all fullness, the silent music that orchestrates the symphony of existence.

Here, in this place that is no place, in this time that is no time, the radiance of the Self shines forth—not as something achieved, but as something finally, eternally, and impossibly remembered. The gold was always gold, the sun was always shining, the Self was always radiant.

The only question that remains is not whether this is true, but whether we are ready to stop pretending it is not.

In the end, which is also the beginning, we find that there is no journey, no traveler, no destination—only the eternal recognition of what was never lost, the endless remembering of what was never forgotten, the timeless celebration of what was never born and will never die.

The Radiance of the Self shines on.

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Η Λαμπρότητα του Εαυτού: Από την Καθαρότητα στην Αθανασία

Στον αθόρυβο καθεδρικό ναό της συνείδησης, όπου ο χρόνος διαλύεται σαν πρωινή ομίχλη και ο χώρος γίνεται μια ψιθυριστή προσευχή, κατοικεί ένα φως που δεν γνωρίζει ούτε αρχή ούτε τέλος...

Ο Καθαρισμός της Ψυχής

Μέσα στο χωνευτήρι της ύπαρξης, η Τζίβα—εκείνο το φωτεινό νήμα της ατομικής συνείδησης—είναι τυλιγμένη σε πέπλα αμέτρητων χρωμάτων, κάθε νήμα μια ανάμνηση, κάθε απόχρωση μια επιθυμία που τη δένει στον τροχό της γέννησης. Ωστόσο, κάτω από αυτά τα διάφανα καλύμματα, κάτω από τη σκόνη που έχει συσσωρευτεί από δεκάδες χιλιάδες ζωές, καίει μια σπίθα που κανένας άνεμος δεν μπορεί να σβήσει, καμία σκιά δεν μπορεί να μειώσει.

Σαν χρυσό κύπελλο θαμμένο κάτω από στρώματα πήλινης γης, η ψυχή περιμένει τη στιγμή της αποκάλυψής της. Η φωτιά της γνώσης—που δεν ανάβεται με το χτύπημα πυρόλιθου σε πέτρα, αλλά με την απαλή πνοή της κατανόησης που έρχεται μέσω της ιερής ακρόασης, μέσω των ψιθυριστών διδασκαλιών που επιπλέουν σαν πέταλα λωτού στα ήρεμα νερά της καρδιάς—αρχίζει το έργο της αλχημείας.

Σε αυτό το κοσμικό καμίνι, όπου τα φυσερά της αφοσίωσης φουντώνουν φλόγες που χορεύουν ανάμεσα στα ορατά και τα αόρατα βασίλεια, η Τζίβα παραδίδει τα δανεικά της ενδύματα. Κάθε ακαθαρσία, κάθε σκιά-εαυτός που προσκολλάται σαν πρωινή δροσιά σε ιστό αράχνης, εξατμίζεται στη θερμότητα της επίγνωσης. Αυτό που απομένει δεν είναι η απουσία κάποιου πράγματος, αλλά η παρουσία του παντός—καθαρός χρυσός, λιωμένος και λαμπερός, που τραγουδά το αιώνιο τραγούδι της αναγνώρισης.

Ο Ήλιος της Γνώσης

Ιδού! Στον απέραντο ουρανό της καρδιάς, όπου κάποτε μαζεύονταν σύννεφα αμφιβολίας και ξέσπαγαν καταιγίδες σύγχυσης, ανατέλλει ένας Ήλιος που δεν ρίχνει σκιές, δεν γνωρίζει έκλειψη, δεν χρειάζεται καύσιμο πέρα από την αναγνώριση της δικής του αιώνιας καύσης. Αυτός είναι ο Άτμαν—όχι ο ήλιος που διατρέχει το καθημερινό του τόξο στον θόλο του ουρανού, αλλά ο Ήλιος πίσω από τον ήλιο, το Φως πίσω από όλα τα φώτα.

Αυτή η ηλιακή συνείδηση δεν φωτίζει με πρόσθεση, όπως ένας πυρσός θα φώτιζε ένα σκοτεινό δωμάτιο, αλλά με την απλή απόσυρση αυτού που την καλύπτει. Είναι το σκοτάδι της άγνοιας ο ξένος εδώ, ο εισβολέας σε ένα βασίλειο όπου το σκοτάδι δεν έχει φυσική κατοικία. Όταν ο Ήλιος της Γνώσης ανατέλλει, δεν πολεμά τη νύχτα—αποκαλύπτει ότι η νύχτα ήταν μόνο ένα όνειρο, μια λήθη, ένα προσωρινό κλείσιμο ματιών που προορίζονταν πάντα να δουν.

Στη λάμψη του, όλα γίνονται διάφανα. Οι συμπαγείς τοίχοι του διαχωρισμού διαλύονται σαν αλάτι σε έναν απεριόριστο ωκεανό. Τα όρια ανάμεσα στον εαυτό και τον κόσμο, ανάμεσα στον αναζητητή και το αναζητούμενο, ανάμεσα στον λατρευτή και το λατρευόμενο, γίνονται τόσο ασήμαντα όσο η γραμμή που χωρίζει τον ουρανό από το διάστημα. Εδώ, σε αυτή τη φωτεινή διάλυση, το παράδοξο αποκαλύπτεται: χάνοντας τα πάντα, κερδίζει κανείς τα πάντα· γινόμενος τίποτα, γίνεται τα πάντα.

Η Ατραπός Χωρίς Μονοπάτι προς την Αθανασία

Στο βασίλειο πέρα από την κυριαρχία του χρόνου, όπου παρελθόν και μέλλον καταρρέουν σε ένα αιώνιο τώρα που αναπνέει με τον ρυθμό των άστρων, περπατά κάποιος που έχει απαρνηθεί την ίδια την έννοια του περπατήματος. Οι δραστηριότητες πέφτουν σαν φύλλα του φθινοπώρου από το δέντρο της ύπαρξης—όχι με βία ή πειθαρχία, αλλά με την απλή αναγνώριση ότι το δέντρο ήταν πάντα γυμνό, πάντα χειμώνας, πάντα άνοιξη.

Εδώ, σε αυτή την αδιάστατη διάσταση, οι περιορισμοί του χρόνου αποκαλύπτονται ως κάγκελα φυλακής φτιαγμένα από ακτίνες σελήνης—φαινομενικά συμπαγή μέχρι να τα αγγίξει το φως της κατανόησης. Ο χώρος δεν είναι πλέον μια έκταση που πρέπει να διασχιστεί, αλλά ένας καμβάς πάνω στον οποίο η συνείδηση ζωγραφίζει τα όνειρα του διαχωρισμού. Η κατεύθυνση χάνει το νόημά της όταν κάθε μονοπάτι οδηγεί στο σπίτι, όταν κάθε βήμα είναι ταυτόχρονα αναχώρηση και άφιξη, όταν ο ταξιδιώτης ανακαλύπτει ότι ο προορισμός δεν ήταν ποτέ αλλού, αλλά πάντα εδώ, πάντα τώρα, πάντα μέσα του.

Σε αυτή τη λατρεία χωρίς αντικείμενο, όπου ο πιστός και το θείο συγχωνεύονται σαν ποτάμια που χύνονται σε έναν ωκεανό που ποτέ δεν ήταν ξεχωριστός από αυτά, κάτι θαυμαστό ξετυλίγεται. Ο καταστροφέας της ζέστης και του κρύου—εκείνο που παραμένει ανεπηρέαστο από τις ατέλειωτες ταλαντώσεις της ευχαρίστησης και του πόνου, του καλοκαιριού και του χειμώνα, της ελπίδας και της απόγνωσης—αποκαλύπτεται ως η αληθινή φύση του ανθρώπου.

Αυτό, δεν είναι η ψυχρή παρηγοριά της αποστασιοποίησης, αλλά η ζεστή αγκαλιά αυτού που περιλαμβάνει τα πάντα χωρίς να καθορίζεται από τίποτα. Είναι η Αιώνια Ευδαιμονία, όχι επειδή διαρκεί πολύ, αλλά επειδή υπάρχει έξω από την ίδια την έννοια της διάρκειας. Είναι αμόλυντη, όχι επειδή τίποτα δεν μπορεί να την αγγίξει, αλλά επειδή είναι ο ίδιος ο χώρος μέσα στον οποίο συμβαίνει κάθε άγγιγμα.

Η Ανθοφορία της Παντογνωσίας

Στον κήπο της αφύπνισης συνείδησης, όπου η γνώση και η ύπαρξη διασταυρώνονται σε μια ατέλειωτη άνοιξη αναγνώρισης, εκείνος που έχει θυμηθεί το αληθινό του πρόσωπο γίνεται ένας καθρέφτης στον οποίο όλη η ύπαρξη αναγνωρίζει τον εαυτό της. Αυτό είναι ο Παντογνώστης—όχι η συσσώρευση γεγονότων σαν σκόνη σε ράφι, αλλά η οικεία αναγνώριση του Εαυτού που φορά όλες τις μορφές, ονειρεύεται όλα τα όνειρα, γνωρίζει κάθε γνώση.

Το να είναι κανείς Πανταχού Παρών είναι να ανακαλύπτει ότι ποτέ δεν περιοριζόταν μέσα στα όρια του δέρματος και των οστών, ποτέ δεν φυλακιζόταν μέσα στο φρούριο της ατομικής ταυτότητας. Όπως ο χώρος, που δεν βρίσκεται στα πράγματα αλλά μέσα στον οποίο εμφανίζονται όλα τα πράγματα, η συνείδηση αποκαλύπτει την αληθινή της φύση ως το πλαίσιο μέσα στο οποίο ξετυλίγεται κάθε εμπειρία.

Το κύμα ανακαλύπτει ότι ήταν πάντα ωκεανός. Το σύννεφο θυμάται ότι ήταν πάντα ουρανός. Η φλόγα συνείδησης ότι ήταν πάντα το ίδιο το φως.

Ο Αθάνατος Θάνατος

Και έτσι φτάνουμε στο τελικό παράδοξο, το απόλυτο μυστήριο που διαλύει όλα τα μυστήρια: η Αθανασία επιτυγχάνεται όχι μέσω της διατήρησης αυτού που ποτέ δεν γεννήθηκε, αλλά μέσω της αναγνώρισης αυτού που δεν μπορεί ποτέ να πεθάνει. Ο θάνατος γίνεται αδύνατος όταν η ζωή κατανοηθεί ως το παιχνίδι του αιώνιου μέσα στη στολή του χρόνου.

Σε αυτή την αναγνώριση, ο αναζητητής διαλύεται στο αναζητούμενο, ο ερωτών στην απάντηση, ο ονειροπόλος στο όνειρο. Αυτό που απομένει δεν είναι ούτε ύπαρξη ούτε ανυπαρξία, αλλά η ίδια η δυνατότητα και των δύο, η έγκυος κενότητα που γεννά κάθε πληρότητα, η σιωπηλή μουσική που οργανώνει τη συμφωνία της ύπαρξης.

Εδώ, σε αυτό το μέρος που δεν είναι μέρος, σε αυτόν τον χρόνο που δεν είναι χρόνος, η λάμψη του Εαυτού λάμπει—όχι ως κάτι που επιτεύχθηκε, αλλά ως κάτι που επιτέλους, αιώνια και αδύνατα, θυμήθηκε. Ο χρυσός ήταν πάντα χρυσός, ο ήλιος έλαμπε πάντα, ο Εαυτός ήταν πάντα λαμπρός.

Η μόνη ερώτηση που απομένει δεν είναι αν αυτό είναι αληθές, αλλά αν είμαστε έτοιμοι να σταματήσουμε να προσποιούμαστε ότι δεν είναι.

Στο τέλος, που είναι επίσης η αρχή, βρίσκουμε ότι δεν υπάρχει ταξίδι, ούτε ταξιδιώτης, ούτε προορισμός—μόνο η αιώνια αναγνώριση αυτού που ποτέ δεν χάθηκε, η ατέλειωτη υπενθύμιση αυτού που ποτέ δεν ξεχάστηκε, η διαχρονική γιορτή αυτού που ποτέ δεν γεννήθηκε και δεν θα πεθάνει ποτέ.

Η Λαμπρότητα του Εαυτού λάμπει αιώνια.

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Δικαιώματα πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας

Το σύνολο του περιεχομένου του Δικτυακού μας τόπου, συμπεριλαμβανομένων, ενδεικτικά αλλά όχι περιοριστικά, των κειμένων, ειδήσεων, γραφικών, φωτογραφιών, σχεδιαγραμμάτων, απεικονίσεων, παρεχόμενων υπηρεσιών και γενικά κάθε είδους αρχείων, αποτελεί αντικείμενο πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας (copyright) και διέπεται από τις εθνικές και διεθνείς διατάξεις περί Πνευματικής Ιδιοκτησίας, με εξαίρεση τα ρητώς αναγνωρισμένα δικαιώματα τρίτων.

Συνεπώς, απαγορεύεται ρητά η αναπαραγωγή, αναδημοσίευση, αντιγραφή, αποθήκευση, πώληση, μετάδοση, διανομή, έκδοση, εκτέλεση, «λήψη» (download), μετάφραση, τροποποίηση με οποιονδήποτε τρόπο, τμηματικά η περιληπτικά χωρίς τη ρητή προηγούμενη έγγραφη συναίνεση του Ιδρύματος. Γίνεται γνωστό ότι σε περίπτωση κατά την οποία το Ίδρυμα συναινέσει, ο αιτών υποχρεούται για την ρητή παραπομπή μέσω συνδέσμων (hyperlinks) στο σχετικό περιεχόμενο του Δικτυακού τόπου του Ιδρύματος. Η υποχρέωση αυτή του αιτούντος υφίσταται ακόμα και αν δεν αναγραφεί ρητά στην έγγραφη συναίνεση του Ιδρύματος.

Κατ’ εξαίρεση, επιτρέπεται η μεμονωμένη αποθήκευση και αντιγραφή τμημάτων του περιεχομένου σε απλό προσωπικό υπολογιστή για αυστηρά προσωπική χρήση (ιδιωτική μελέτη ή έρευνα, εκπαιδευτικούς σκοπούς), χωρίς πρόθεση εμπορικής ή άλλης εκμετάλλευσης και πάντα υπό την προϋπόθεση της αναγραφής της πηγής προέλευσής του, χωρίς αυτό να σημαίνει καθ’ οιονδήποτε τρόπο παραχώρηση δικαιωμάτων πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας.

Επίσης, επιτρέπεται η αναδημοσίευση υλικού για λόγους προβολής των γεγονότων και δραστηριοτήτων του Ιδρύματος, με την προϋπόθεση ότι θα αναφέρεται η πηγή και δεν θα θίγονται δικαιώματα πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας, δεν θα τροποποιούνται, αλλοιώνονται ή διαγράφονται εμπορικά σήματα.

Ό,τι άλλο περιλαμβάνεται στις ηλεκτρονικές σελίδες του Δικτυακού μας τόπου και αποτελεί κατοχυρωμένα σήματα και προϊόντα πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας τρίτων ανάγεται στη δική τους σφαίρα ευθύνης και ουδόλως έχει να κάνει με τον Δικτυακό τόπο του Ιδρύματος.

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