The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme · 31 of 159 · tr. Franz Hartmann
Chapter 4 (part 2)
91 "Christ never said, 'I, in my human selfhood, am the voice of God, I am speaking as God, in or with God,' &c.; but He said, 'The words which I speak are the Father's, who lives in me '—that is to say, who lives in my human or natural self." ( Stief ., i.
94.) To the blind reasoner God is an universal blind and unconscious power; the god existing within the imagination of the narrow-minded sectarian is equally narrow; but to the enlightened, God is a personal (individual) God and all-loving Father, residing within His own holy omnipotence, superior to all that can be conceived.
"Do not imagine God to be a blind power, existing and moving in, or beyond, or above heaven, having neither reason nor knowledge, comparable to the sun, who runs around in his orbit, sending out light and heat regardless whether it benefits or harms the earth and her creatures.
No!
Not thus is the Father; but He is an omnipotent, all-wise, and all-knowing God, in Himself good, kind, and merciful, joyful, and even joy itself." ( Aurora , iii.
11.) "If you consider the depth of heaven, the stars, the elements, and the earth, you will, of course, not grasp with your eyes the pure and clear Godhead, although God is there and within it; but if you rise up in your thoughts and direct your mind to God, who in His holiness rules within the All, you are then penetrating through heaven and grasping the very sacred heart of God Himself." ( Aurora , xxiii.
11.) God is not subject to the law of evolution, but the law has its foundation in Him.
God as a Spirit, eternally perfected within Himself, did not need to create for the purpose of perfecting Himself.
There is no being who can perfect itself by its own power, or give to itself anything which is not within its reach.
The growth of a plant and the unfoldment of the human soul requires the presence of a superior power.
A God capable to grow p.
92 would presuppose the presence of a superior God from which to draw power.
Only that which descends from above can rise again upwards, as is symbolised by the double interlaced triangle.
"Before the time of the creation of heaven, the stars, the elements, and also before the creation of the angels, there was nothing but Deity, reproducing itself for ever sweetly and lovely, and conceiving of its own image." ( Aurora , xxiii.
15.) "God did not create for the purpose of perfecting Himself, but to reveal Himself to Himself in great joy and magnificence.
This joy did not begin with the beginning of creation, but it has been from all eternity a subjective state in God." ( Signature , xvi.
2.) God did not make the world out of something intellectually conceivable or out of something that was not Himself; neither does a man create the images which constitute his thoughts out of anything outside of his own mind.
Before creation took place it was resting (subjectively) like a seed in His own completion and perfection, comparable to the imagination of a marl whose mind rests in a peaceful slumber, while for all that the divine spirit in him is self-conscious.
"We cannot truly say that this world has been made out of something." ( Signature , xiv.
Themes
◆Active Contemplationpraxis
A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.
The text encourages directing the mind to God and rising in thoughts rather than passive observation.
All passages →◆Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
God is described as 'superior to all that can be conceived' and defined by negation of being a 'blind power'.
All passages →◆Birth Of Word In Soulanthropology
Eckhart's signature doctrine that the Father eternally begets the Son in the ground of the soul; the human interior as the actual site of the divine generative act, distinct from inner_light's static indwelling.
Christ says the Father lives in him and his words are the Father's, echoing the begetting of the word within.
All passages →◆Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
It notes that one cannot grasp the pure Godhead with eyes and describes God as resting like a seed before creation.
All passages →◆Divine Providencetheology
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
God is described as ruling within the All and being the foundation of law, implying active ordering.
All passages →◆Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
It contrasts the 'blind reasoner' with the 'enlightened' who grasp God through thought and inner vision.
All passages →◆Inner Lightanthropology
The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.
The text mentions the 'divine spirit in him is self-conscious' and that God resides within the human or natural self.
All passages →◆Logoscosmology
The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.
Christ speaks 'the Father's words'—suggesting divine Word/reason as mediating principle between transcendent God and human expression.
All passages →◆Meditationpraxis
Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.
The instruction to direct the mind and rise in thoughts constitutes disciplined inward attention.
All passages →◆Pneumatic Electsoteriology
A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons.
It distinguishes between the 'blind reasoner' and the 'enlightened' who perceive God correctly.
All passages →◆Rejection Of Hypocrisyethics
Critique of outward religious observance that lacks inner transformation; form without substance.
It critiques the 'narrow-minded sectarian' whose god is equally narrow.
All passages →◆Spiritual Ascentpraxis
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
The passage instructs the reader to 'rise up in your thoughts' and penetrate through heaven to grasp the heart of God.
All passages →◆Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
The text states 'there was nothing but Deity' and that God is within the All, suggesting a unified divine reality.
All passages →◇Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
[auto] The passage explicitly defines God as a personal, all-loving Father who is good, kind, merciful, and joyful, rejecting the notion of a blind power.
All passages →Related passages · 15 parallels · 1 contrast
◆buddhism|Vajrakkhedika (Diamond Cutter)|Section 1j
“Therefore the Tathâgata preaches: "A true idea, a true idea indeed!" 'It is no wonder to me, O Bhagavat, that I accept and believe this treatise of the Law, which has been preached.
And those beings also, O Bhagavat, [1.
Will possess mira…”
Both passages emphasize the transcendence of conventional ideas and the nature of the divine or ultimate reality beyond conceptualization. The Diamond Sutra discusses the absence of self and the transcendence of ideas, while the Christian mystical text emphasizes the personal and all-encompassing nature of God beyond human comprehension.
◆buddhism|Vajrakkhedika (Diamond Cutter)|Section 1k
“Therefore the Tathâgata preaches: "A gift should not be given by a Bodhisattva[1] who believes in anything, it should not be given by one who believes in form, sound, smell, taste, or anything that can be touched." 'And again, O Subhûti, a…”
Both passages emphasize the transcendence of conventional notions of self and being. The Diamond Sutra discusses the absence of a self or being in the context of Buddhist non-duality, while the Christian mystical text emphasizes the transcendence of God beyond human comprehension and the need to rise above material and conceptual limitations to grasp the divine.
◆buddhism|Vajrakkhedika (Diamond Cutter)|Section 1n
“This prophecy is supposed to have been addressed by Dîpankara to S âkyamuni, before he had become a Buddha.] perfect knowledge has been known, he would speak an untruth, and would slander me, O Subhûti, with some untruth that he has learned…”
Both passages explore the nature of ultimate reality and the limitations of human understanding. The Diamond Sutra emphasizes the concept of emptiness and the non-existence of inherent characteristics, while the Christian mystical text discusses the transcendence of God and the inability of human reason to fully grasp the divine nature. Both texts highlight the paradoxical nature of ultimate reality.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 347
“Section 27 27. If the earth transmits the generative soul to growing things- or retains it while allowing a vestige of it to constitute the vegetal principle in them- at once the earth is ensouled, as our flesh is, and any generative power…”
Both passages explore the nature of perception and the relationship between the divine and the physical world. Passage A discusses the soul's perception and the universe's self-awareness, while Passage B describes God's omniscience and the divine presence within creation. Both texts delve into the idea of a higher being's awareness and its interaction with the physical realm.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 439
“Section 7 7. The contemplating of God, we might answer. But to admit its knowing God is to be compelled to admit its self-knowing. It will know what it holds from God, what God has given forth or may; with this knowledge, it knows itself at…”
Both passages explore the nature of self-awareness and self-knowledge in divine or intellectual beings. Passage A discusses the self-knowledge of an uncompounded being, while Passage B describes the self-awareness and perfection of God. Both emphasize the intrinsic nature of self-knowledge within the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 451
“Section 1 1. Anything existing after The First must necessarily arise from that First, whether immediately or as tracing back to it through intervenients; there must be an order of secondaries and tertiaries, in which any second is to be re…”
Both passages explore the nature of the divine as transcending human understanding and language. They emphasize the simplicity and self-sufficiency of the divine, which cannot be fully grasped or described through human concepts or intellection.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 710 (part 1)
“Section 6 6.
In what sense, then, do we assert this Unity, and how is it to be adjusted to our mental processes?
Its oneness must not be entitled to that of monad and point: for these the mind abstracts extension and numerical quantity an…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as beyond essence and the inability of human language to fully capture the divine reality. They also explore the idea that the divine is not subject to the same principles as created beings.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 710 (part 2)
“Unity, self-present, it has no need of self-intellection: indeed this "self-presence" were better left out, the more surely to preserve the unity; we must eliminate all knowing and all association, all intellection whether internal or exter…”
Both passages discuss the nature of God as an eternal, self-sufficient being whose essence is inseparable from His activity. They both emphasize the unity and perfection of God, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|Third Dialoguea
“.
Tansillo .
There are several varieties of enthusiasts, which may all be reduced to two kinds.
While some only display blindness, stupidity, and irrational impetuosity, which tend towards savage madness, others by divine abstraction bec…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and the relationship between the divine and human understanding. They emphasize the transcendence and immanence of God, as well as the elevated state of those who are enlightened or inspired by the divine.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 1)
“p.
176 CHAPTER XVI The phenomenal and the noumenal side of man.
"Man-in-himself." How do we know the inner side of man?
Can we know of the existence of consciousness in conditions of space not analogous to ours?
Brain and consciousness.…”
Both passages explore the nature of human consciousness and its relationship to the divine or noumenal realm. Passage A discusses the complexity of human consciousness and the limitations of our understanding, while Passage B delves into the nature of God and the human soul's relationship to the divine, highlighting the limitations of human perception and understanding.
6 more
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 3)
“______ In "man" we have found that one side of his noumenon is his psychic life, and that therefore in the psyche lies the beginning of the solution of the riddle of the functions and meanings of man which are incomprehensible from an outsi…”
Both passages explore the nature of consciousness and the limitations of human understanding. Passage A discusses the psyche as a noumenal aspect of man that cannot be fully understood through direct observation, while Passage B describes God as a personal, all-loving Father who resides within His own holy omnipotence, beyond the grasp of blind reason. Both texts emphasize the need to look beyond the physical and material to understand higher realities.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 8)
“188 So writes Schopenhauer in his Counsels and Maxims , and indeed it is very effectively expressed, but we have no foundation whatsoever for regarding man as the summit of that which nature has created.
This is only THE HIGHEST THAT WE KN…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality and the relationship between spirit and matter (or God and creation). They both argue against a purely materialistic or mechanical view of the universe, emphasizing the existence of a higher principle (spirit, thought, or God) that underlies reality.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 12)
“"The cause of all things is neither soul nor intellect; nor has it imagination, opinion, or reason, or intelligence; nor is it reason or intelligence; nor is it spoken or thought.
It is neither number, nor order, nor magnitude, nor littlen…”
Both passages explore the nature of God and the relationship between the divine and the created world. They emphasize the transcendence and immanence of God, as well as the transformative power of divine love and understanding.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXIII (part 2)
“For some strange reason men do not care to accept this answer; and they desire at all costs to receive an answer in some form that they like, refusing to recognize anything that is different from that form.
They require the solution of the…”
Both passages discuss the potential for human growth and transformation, emphasizing that humanity is not static and that a minority is capable of progress. They also touch on the idea that current perceptions of humanity are undifferentiated and that a deeper understanding is needed.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXIII (part 13)
“From our standpoint it is clearly impossible to regard a man sitting in the horse's saddle as a fact of horse evolution, but from the point of view of the scientist who knows nothing about man, this will be only logical.
Dr.
Bucke finds h…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a higher state of consciousness or being, with Passage A focusing on 'cosmic consciousness' and the emergence of a 'superman,' while Passage B describes the divine nature and the idea of God's perfection and self-revelation. Both texts explore the idea of transcending the ordinary human condition to achieve a higher understanding or existence.
◆buddhism|Vajrakkhedika (Diamond Cutter)|Section 1gCONTRASTS
“Therefore he is called an Anâgâmin.' Bhagavat said: 'What do you think, O Subhûti, does an Arhat think in this wise: The fruit of an Arhat has been obtained by me?' Subhûti said: 'Not indeed, O Bhagavat, an Arhat does not think in this wise…”
The passages contrast in their views on the nature of enlightenment and the divine. Passage A emphasizes the non-individual nature of enlightenment and the rejection of a permanent self, while Passage B emphasizes a personal, individual God and the divine nature of Christ.