praxis
Detachment Gelassenheit
Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.
310 passages · 12 traditions
buddhism68
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter I, Section 1b
“70-75.' I do not deny that this may have been the traditional interpretation, at all events since the days of Buddhaghosa, but the very legend quoted by Buddhaghosa in illustration of this verse shows that its simpler and purely moral inter…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter I, Section 1c
“The play on the words anikkasâvo kâsâvam, or in Sanskrit anishkashâya h kâshâyam, cannot be rendered in English.
Kashâya means 'impurity,' nish-kashâya, 'free from impurity,' anish-kashâya, 'not free from impurity,' while kâshâya is the na…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter I, Section 1d
“He suffers when he thinks of the evil he has done; he suffers more when going on the evil path.
18.
The virtuous man is happy in this world, and he is happy in the next; he is happy in both.
He is happy when he thinks of the good he has…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter II, Section 1a
“p.
9 CHAPTER II.
ON EARNESTNESS [1] .
21.
Earnestness is the path of immortality (Nirvâ n a), thoughtlessness the path of death.
Those who are in earnest do not die, those who are thoughtless are as if dead already.
22.
Those who are…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter II, Section 1b
“A Bhikshu (mendicant) who delights in earnestness, who looks with fear on thoughtlessness, [25.
Childers explains this island again as the state of an Arhat (arahatta-phalam).
28.
Cf.
Childers, Dictionary, Preface, p.
xiv.
See Vinaya,…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter III, Section 1a
“p.
12 CHAPTER III.
THOUGHT.
33.
As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise man makes straight his trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to guard, difficult to hold back.
34.
As a fish taken from his watery home and th…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter III, Section 1b
“That s ru means 'to run,' and is in fact a merely dialectic variety of sru, has been proved by Burnouf, while Boehtlingk thinks the substitution of s for s is a mistake.
 s rava therefore, or âsrava, meant originally 'the running out towa…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter III, Section 1c
“I translate it therefore in a more general sense, let him not return or turn away from the battle, let him watch Mâra, even after he is vanquished, let him keep up a constant fight against the adversary, without being attached to anything o…”
Show all 68 →christian_mysticism65
◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1l
“Need is there to understand that in proper truth we do but use the elements and syllables and phrases and written terms and words as an aid to our senses; inasmuch as when our soul is moved by spiritual energies unto spiritual things, our s…”
◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1
“Aug., Transcende mundum et sape animum, transcende animum et sape Deum.
307 This shows that the Via Negativa starts from something positive.
It is a transcendence, not a mere negation.
308 Prov.
iv.
6, 8 .
309 ὁ ἐμὸς Ἔρως ἐσταύρωται&g…”
◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 5, Section 1l
“This apparent hair-splitting is really of the utmost practical importance.
D.
is attacking the irreligious attitude in science, philosophy, and life.
We must seek for all things (including our own personalities) not in themselves but in…”
◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology | Chapter Ia
“Wheat is the Divine Gloom.
T rinty, which exceedeth all Being, Deity, and Goodness!
514 514 Lit.
“Super-Essential, Supra-Divine, Super-Excellent.” Thou that instructeth Christians in Thy heavenly wisdom!
Guide us to that topmost height…”
◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology | Chapter IIa
“How it is necessary to be united with and render praise to Him Who is the cause of all and above all.
Unto this Darkness which is beyond Light we pray that we may come, and may attain unto vision through the loss of sight and knowledge, an…”
◆Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | Ib
“It is also a fellowship with the Devil, for everything hath fellowship with its like; and sin maketh the soul and Satan resemble each other.
It is also an expulsion of Christianity, for it depriveth the sinner of all the profit that comes…”
◆Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | IIIb
“The earth cannot flee from heaven: whether it flee up or down, the heaven rains its influence upon it, and stamps its impress upon it, and makes it fruitful, whether it be willing or not.
Thus doth God with men: whoever thinketh to escape…”
◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 1 (part 10)
“It is itself the most secret thing, which can be known by no one except by him who has experienced it; neither do those that live entirely within the realm of animality, or within that of the speculating intellect, believe that such a state…”
Show all 65 →taoism55
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 1
“The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a n…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 2
“All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what ugliness is; they all know the skill of the skilful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the want of skill is. So it is that existe…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 5
“Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to be benevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt with. The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; they deal with the people as the dogs of gras…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 6
“The valley spirit dies not, aye the same; The female mystery thus do we name. Its gate, from which at first they issued forth, Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth. Long and unbroken does its power remain, Used gently, and wi…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 9
“It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness. When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor canno…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 10
“When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating. When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) b…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 13
“Favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honour and great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same kind). What is meant by speaking thus of favour and disgrace? Disgrace is being in a low position (after the…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 15
“The skilful masters (of the Tao) in old times, with a subtle and exquisite penetration, comprehended its mysteries, and were deep (also) so as to elude men's knowledge. As they were thus beyond men's knowledge, I will make an effort to desc…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 16
“The (state of) vacancy should be brought to the utmost degree, and that of stillness guarded with unwearying vigour. All things alike go through their processes of activity, and (then) we see them return (to their original state). When thin…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 17
“In the highest antiquity, (the people) did not know that there were (their rulers). In the next age they loved them and praised them. In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them. Thus it was that when faith (in the Tao) was…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 19
“If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold. If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly. If we could reno…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 22
“The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray. Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of humility), and…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 23
“Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day. To whom is it that these (two) things are owing? To Heaven and E…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 24
“He who stands on his tiptoes does not stand firm; he who stretches his legs does not walk (easily). (So), he who displays himself does not shine; he who asserts his own views is not distinguished; he who vaunts himself does not find his mer…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 26
“Gravity is the root of lightness; stillness, the ruler of movement. Therefore a wise prince, marching the whole day, does not go far from his baggage waggons. Although he may have brilliant prospects to look at, he quietly remains (in his p…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 29
“If any one should wish to get the kingdom for himself, and to effect this by what he does, I see that he will not succeed. The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing. He who would so win it destroys it; he who wou…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 30
“He who would assist a lord of men in harmony with the Tao will not assert his mastery in the kingdom by force of arms. Such a course is sure to meet with its proper return. Wherever a host is stationed, briars and thorns spring up. In the s…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 31
“Now arms, however beautiful, are instruments of evil omen, hateful, it may be said, to all creatures. Therefore they who have the Tao do not like to employ them. The superior man ordinarily considers the left hand the most honourable place,…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 34
“All-pervading is the Great Tao! It may be found on the left hand and on the right. All things depend on it for their production, which it gives to them, not one refusing obedience to it. When its work is accomplished, it does not claim the…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 37
“The Tao in its regular course does nothing (for the sake of doing it), and so there is nothing which it does not do. If princes and kings were able to maintain it, all things would of themselves be transformed by them. If this transformatio…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 40
“The movement of the Tao By contraries proceeds; And weakness marks the course Of Tao's mighty deeds. All things under heaven sprang from It as existing (and named); that existence sprang from It as non-existent (and not named).…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 41
“Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao, earnestly carry it into practice. Scholars of the middle class, when they have heard about it, seem now to keep it and now to lose it. Scholars of the lowest class, when they have…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 45
“Who thinks his great achievements poor Shall find his vigour long endure. Of greatest fulness, deemed a void, Exhaustion ne'er shall stem the tide. Do thou what's straight still crooked deem; Thy greatest art still stupid seem, And eloquenc…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 46
“When the Tao prevails in the world, they send back their swift horses to (draw) the dung-carts. When the Tao is disregarded in the world, the war-horses breed in the border lands. There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no cala…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 48
“He who devotes himself to learning (seeks) from day to day to increase (his knowledge); he who devotes himself to the Tao (seeks) from day to day to diminish (his doing). He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing no…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 49
“The sage has no invariable mind of his own; he makes the mind of the people his mind. To those who are good (to me), I am good; and to those who are not good (to me), I am also good;--and thus (all) get to be good. To those who are sincere…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 56
“He who knows (the Tao) does not (care to) speak (about it); he who is (ever ready to) speak about it does not know it. He (who knows it) will keep his mouth shut and close the portals (of his nostrils). He will blunt his sharp points and un…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 57
“A state may be ruled by (measures of) correction; weapons of war may be used with crafty dexterity; (but) the kingdom is made one's own (only) by freedom from action and purpose. How do I know that it is so? By these facts:--In the kingdom…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 58
“The government that seems the most unwise, Oft goodness to the people best supplies; That which is meddling, touching everything, Will work but ill, and disappointment bring. Misery!--happiness is to be found by its side! Happiness!--misery…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 61
“What makes a great state is its being (like) a low-lying, down- flowing (stream);--it becomes the centre to which tend (all the small states) under heaven. (To illustrate from) the case of all females:--the female always overcomes the male…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 63
“(It is the way of the Tao) to act without (thinking of) acting; to conduct affairs without (feeling the) trouble of them; to taste without discerning any flavour; to consider what is small as great, and a few as many; and to recompense inju…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 64
“That which is at rest is easily kept hold of; before a thing has given indications of its presence, it is easy to take measures against it; that which is brittle is easily broken; that which is very small is easily dispersed. Action should…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 66
“That whereby the rivers and seas are able to receive the homage and tribute of all the valley streams, is their skill in being lower than they;--it is thus that they are the kings of them all. So it is that the sage (ruler), wishing to be a…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 67
“All the world says that, while my Tao is great, it yet appears to be inferior (to other systems of teaching). Now it is just its greatness that makes it seem to be inferior. If it were like any other (system), for long would its smallness h…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 68
“He who in (Tao's) wars has skill Assumes no martial port; He who fights with most good will To rage makes no resort. He who vanquishes yet still Keeps from his foes apart; He whose hests men most fulfil Yet humbly plies his art. Thus we say…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 69
“A master of the art of war has said, 'I do not dare to be the host (to commence the war); I prefer to be the guest (to act on the defensive). I do not dare to advance an inch; I prefer to retire a foot.' This is called marshalling the ranks…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 76
“Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle; at their death, dry and withered. Thus it is that firmness and strength are the c…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 77
“May not the Way (or Tao) of Heaven be compared to the (method of) bending a bow? The (part of the bow) which was high is brought low, and what was low is raised up. (So Heaven) diminishes where there is superabundance, and supplements where…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 79
“When a reconciliation is effected (between two parties) after a great animosity, there is sure to be a grudge remaining (in the mind of the one who was wrong). And how can this be beneficial (to the other)? Therefore (to guard against this)…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 123 (part 2)
“In the south of Khû 2 , there is the (tree) called Ming-ling 3 , whose spring is 500 years, and its autumn the same; in high antiquity there was that called Tâ-khun 4 , p.
167 whose spring was 8000 years, and its autumn the same.
And Phän…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 123 (part 4)
“Yâo ruled the people of the kingdom, and maintained a perfect government within the four seas.
Having gone to see the four (Perfect) Ones 3 on the distant hill of Kû-shih, when (he returned to his capital) on the south of the Fän water 4 ,…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 123 (part 5)
“You, Sir, have a large tree and are troubled because it is of no use;--why do you not plant it in a tract where there is nothing else, or in a wide and barren wild?
p.
175 [paragraph continues] There you might saunter idly by its side, or…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 7)
“How do you know that when I say "I know it," I really (am showing that) I do not know it, and that when I say "I do not know it," I really am showing that I do know it 1 .' And let me ask you some questions:--'If a man sleep in a damp place…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 8)
“You see the egg, and (immediately) look out for the cock (that is to be hatched from it); you see the bow, and (immediately) look out for the dove (that is to be brought down by it) being roasted.
I will try to explain the thing to you in…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 1)
“p.
203 BOOK IV.
PART I.
SECTION IV.
Zän Kien Shih, or 'Man in the World, Associated with other Men 1 .' 1.
Yen Hui 2 went to see Kung-nî 3 , and asked leave to take his departure.
'Where are you going to?' asked the Master.
'I will g…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 5)
“They know that there is no alternative to their acting as they do, and rest in it as what is appointed; and this is the highest achievement of virtue.
He who is in the position of a minister or of a son has indeed to do what he cannot but…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 8)
“'This, indeed,' said he, 'is a tree good for nothing, and it is thus that it has attained to such a size.
Ah!
and spirit-like men acknowledge this worthlessness (and its result) 3 .' In Sung there is the district of King-shih 4 , in which…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 127 (part 1)
“p.
223 BOOK V.
PART I.
SECTION V.
Teh Khung Fû, or 'The Seal of Virtue Complete 1 .' 1.
In Lû 2 there was a Wang Thâi 3 who had lost both his feet 4 ; while his disciples who followed and went about with him were as numerous as those o…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 127 (part 5)
“Though the realisation of this be not manifested in the person, things cannot separate themselves (from its influence).' Some days afterwards duke Âi told this conversation to Min-dze 3 , saying, 'Formerly it seemed to me the work of the so…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 5)
“Dze-sze 1 , Dze-yü 1 , Dze-1î 1 , and Dze-lâi 1 , these four men, were talking together, when some one said, 'Who can suppose the head to be made from nothing, the spine from life, and the rump-bone from death?
Who knows how death and birt…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 9)
“257 [paragraph continues] 'I have lost all thought of ceremonies and music.' 'Very well, but that is not enough., A third day, Hui again saw (the Master), and said, 'I am making progress.' 'What do you mean?' 'I sit and forget everything 1…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 13)
“See what I have said on II, par.
9.
255:1 This also is obscure; but Confucius is again made to praise the Tâoistic system.
255:2 Î- r is said by Lî Î to have been 'a worthy scholar;' but Î- r is an old name for the swallow, and there is…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 129 (part 4)
“It conducts nothing and anticipates nothing; it responds to (what is before it), but does not retain it.
Thus he is able to deal successfully with all things, and injures none.
7.
The Ruler 3 of the Southern Ocean was Shû 4 , the p.
267…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 125 (part 2)
“or from Man?' Then he added 2 , 'It must be from Heaven, and not from Man.
Heaven's making of this man caused him to have but one foot.
In the person of man, each foot has its marrow.
By this I know that his peculiarity is from Heaven, a…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 127 (part 4)
“for many months, when I was drawn to the man; and before he had been with me a full year, I had confidence in him.
The state being without a chief minister, I (was minded) to commit the government to him.
He responded to my proposal sorro…”
← Collapsewestern_esoteric29
◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Cross and the Crucifixionk
“The figure is nailed to the cross, which symbolizes the death and surrender of the self-will, and that it should not attempt to accomplish anything by its own power, but merely serve as an instrument wherein the Divine will is executed.
Ab…”
◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Faith of Islamf
“* * * They called him a Prophet, you say?
Why, he stood there face to face with them; there, not enshrined in any mystery, visibly clouting his own cloak, cobbling his own shoes, fighting, counselling, ordering in the midst of them, they m…”
◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter II (part 3)
“The thought of past ages has used the conception of a three-dimensional space, and by that means has classified many phenomena and has obtained rules for dealing with matters of great practical utility.
The path which opens immediately bef…”
◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter IV (part 7)
“In addition to all this it is necessary to remember that through the same slit through which we see the world we observe ourselves and see in ourselves changes similar to the changes in the rest of things.
2.
Why can we not extend that sl…”
◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XIV (part 6)
“And at last he will be able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him as he is in his own proper place, and not in another, and he will contemplate his nature.
Certainly.
And after this he will reas…”
◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XVIII (part 1)
“p.
213 CHAPTER XVIII Rationality and life.
Life as knowledge.
Intellect and emotions.
Emotion as an organ of knowledge.
The evolution of emotion from the standpoint of knowledge.
Pure and impure emotions.
Personal and impersonal emot…”
◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XIX (part 1)
“p.
232 CHAPTER XIX The intellectual method, objective knowledge.
The limits of objective knowledge.
The possibility of the expansion of the application of the psychological method.
New forms of knowledge.
The ideas of Plotinus.
Differ…”
◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XIX (part 7)
“In the reduction of your soul to its simplest self, its divine essence, you realize this union—this identity.
But this sublime condition is not of permanent duration.
It is only now and then that we can enjoy this elevation above the limi…”
Show all 29 →renaissance_hermeticism19
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogued
“Some are called in vain to put in a ready appearance, and are chiefly those which proceed from the lower instincts, and which obey the reason either not at all, or very little; and forcing himself to prevent their actions and condemn those…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialogueb
“On the contrary, I mean that there is in these another species of foolishness and a worse.
Cic.
Who, then, is wise, if foolish is he who is content, and foolish he who is sad?
Tans.
He who is neither merry nor sad.
Cic.
Who?
He who s…”
◆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…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogueb
“It is not a fury of black bile which sends him drifting outside of judgment, reason, and acts of prudence, and tossed by the discordant tempest, like those who, having violated certain laws of the divine Adrastia, are condemned to be scourg…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguec
“Here he shows his love not to be like that of the butterfly, of the stag, and of the unicorn, who would flee away if they had knowledge of the fire, of the arrow, and of the snares, and who have no other sense than that of pleasure; but he…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguee
“Others esteem him unhappy through this appearance of an evil destiny, as being condemned to these pangs, for he will never cease from acknowledging the obligation he is under to love, nor cease from rendering thanks to him because he has pr…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguee
“She dispatches the armed thoughts, which, solicited and urged by disagreement with the inferior nature, are sent to recall the heart.
The soul instructs them how they should conduct themselves, so that, being allured and attracted by the o…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguef
“Hence it follows that not less do we desire to see things unknown and unseen than those known and seen.
And from this it does not follow that the desire does not proceed from cognition, and that we desire something that is not known; but I…”
Show all 19 →neoplatonism15
◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIII~
“But Pythagoras, as he was astronomizing, happened to meet with the Phrygian piper at an unseasonable time of night, and persuaded him to change his Phrygian for a spondaic song; through which the fury of the lad being immediately repressed,…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 38
“Section 5 5. But what of sorrows, illnesses and all else that inhibit the native activity? What of the suspension of consciousness which drugs or disease may bring about? Could either welfare or happiness be present under such conditions? A…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 40
“Section 7 7. Then why are these conditions sought and their contraries repelled by the man established in happiness? Here is our answer: These more pleasant conditions cannot, it is true, add any particle towards the Sage's felicity: but th…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 44
“Section 11 11. We shall perhaps be told that in such a state the man is no longer alive: we answer that these people show themselves equally unable to understand his inner life and his happiness. If this does not satisfy them, we must ask t…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 45
“Section 12 12. The pleasure demanded for the life cannot be in the enjoyments of the licentious or in any gratifications of the body- there is no place for these, and they stifle happiness- nor in any violent emotions- what could so move th…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 46
“Section 13 13. The characteristic activities are not hindered by outer events but merely adapt themselves, remaining always fine, and perhaps all the finer for dealing with the actual. When he has to handle particular cases and things, he m…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 48
“Section 15 15. But suppose two wise men, one of them possessing all that is supposed to be naturally welcome, while the other meets only with the very reverse: do we assert that they have an equal happiness? We do, if they are equally wise.…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 67
“Section 6 6. For, as the ancient teaching was, moral-discipline and courage and every virtue, not even excepting Wisdom itself, all is purification. Hence the Mysteries with good reason adumbrate the immersion of the unpurified in filth, ev…”
Show all 15 →gnosticism14
◆Gospel of Philip | Section 1b
“TRUTH MADE NAMES Truth made names in the world, and without them we can’t think.
Truth is one and is many, teaching one thing through the many.
RULERS The rulers wanted to fool us, since they saw we were connected with the good.
They too…”
◆Gospel of Philip | Section 1f
“When wanton women see a man sitting alone, the man is overcome.
They fondle him and pollute him.
When wanton men see a beautiful woman sitting alone, they overcome her, and she is violated and polluted.
But when spirits see a man and his…”
◆Gospel of Philip | Section 1i
“His seed was Jesus, and the plant was the cross.” The tree of life in the middle of that garden of paradise is an olive tree, and from the olive tree comes chrism, and from that oil comes the resurrection.
THE WORLD EATS BODIES The world e…”
◆Gospel of Philip | Section 1j
“In the world these are the true people.
They are the attendants of the bridal chamber.
POWER AND WEAKNESS In this world, power and weakness mingle when man and woman have sex.
Joining is different in the eternal realm, though we use the…”
◆Gospel of Thomas | Logion 16
“Jesus said, "Men think, perhaps, that it is peace which I have come to cast upon the world. They do not know that it is dissension which I have come to cast upon the earth: fire, sword, and war. For there will be five in a house: three will…”
◆Gospel of Thomas | Logion 27
“<Jesus said,> "If you do not fast as regards the world, you will not find the kingdom. If you do not observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath, you will not see the father."…”
◆Gospel of Thomas | Logion 36
“Jesus said, "Do not be concerned from morning until evening and from evening until morning about what you will wear."…”
◆Gospel of Thomas | Logion 37
“His disciples said, "When will you become revealed to us and when shall we see you?" Jesus said, "When you disrobe without being ashamed and take up your garments and place them under your feet like little children and tread on them, then w…”
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◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn LXXV. THE MUSES (part 2)
“207 fury arises from truth, and the amatorial from beauty; so the poetic proceeds from divine symmetry, by means of which it most intimately unites the poets with the Gods.
Plato, in the Phædrus, speaking of this Fury, says that it is an o…”
◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn LXXXVI. DEATH (part 2)
“The waters of Thames, heavy laden with the wealth of merchandize, and sonorous with the din of trade, may devolve abundance in a golden tide; but we must remember that the Dæmon of commerce is at the same time advancing with giant strides,…”
◆The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 5 (part 2)
“The mortal Oath--that used amongst men--has to be reverenced as an image of the other, and as leading to the greatest strength and stability of character.
And if man would reverence the Oath, then must he do all in his power to understand…”
◆The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 5 (part 3)
“"Thou shalt not hope what thou ought'st not to hope," knowing the nature of all things, and what is possible.
55.
The Gods near at hand are virtue and truth.
p.
17 59, 60.
The fatal strife is caused by our inclination "madly to run cou…”
◆The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 7 (part 1)
“p.
29 THE PYTHAGOREAN SENTENCES OF DEMOPHILUS 1.
Request not of Divinity such things as, when obtained, you cannot preserve; for no gift of Divinity can ever be taken away; and on this account he does not confer that which you are unable…”
◆The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 7 (part 2)
“Understand that no dissimulation can be long concealed.
24.
The unjust man suffers greater evil while his soul is tormented with a consciousness of guilt, than when his body is scourged with whips.
25.
It is by no means safe to discours…”
◆The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 8 (part 1)
“p.
37 THE SIMILITUDES OF DEMOPHILUS 1.
Flattery is like painted armour, because it affords delight, but is of no use.
2.
Learning is similar to a golden crown; for it is both honourable and advantageous.
3.
Flighty men, like empty ves…”
◆The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 10 (part 1)
“p.
53 SELECT SENTENCES OF SEXTUS THE PYTHAGOREAN 1.
To neglect things of the smallest consequence, is not the least thing in human life.
2.
The wise man, and the despiser of wealth, resemble God.
3.
Do not investigate the name of God,…”
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◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | PROLOGUEa
“HEARKEN to the reed-flute, how it complains, Lamenting its banishment from its home: "Ever since they tore me from my osier bed, My plaintive notes have moved men and women to tears.
I burst my breast, striving to give vent to sighs, And t…”
◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | PROLOGUEb
“Knowest thou why thy mirror reflects not?
Because the rust has not been scoured from its face.
If it were purified from all rust and defilement, It would reflect the shining of the SUN Of GOD.6 O friends, ye have now heard this tale, Whic…”
◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY Ia
“The Prince and the Handmaid.
A prince, while engaged on a hunting excursion, espied a fair maiden, and by promises of gold induced her to accompany him.
After a time she fell sick, and the prince had her tended by divers physicians.
As,…”
◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY II
“The Oilman and his Parrot. An oilman possessed a parrot which used to amuse him with its agreeable prattle, and to watch his shop when he went out. One day, when the parrot was alone in the shop, a cat upset one of the oil-jars. When the oi…”
◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY IV
“Another Tyrannical Jewish King. A certain Jewish king, the same who is referred to in the Sura "Signs of the Zodiac," I made up his mind to utterly exterminate the Christian faith, and with that view he set up a huge idol, and issued comman…”
◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY Vc
“The skill taught by God to the silkworm Is a learning beyond the reach of the elephant.
The earthly Adam was taught of God names, 4 So that his glory reached the seventh heaven.
He laid low the name and fame of the angels, 5 Yet blind ind…”
◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY VIa
“Omar and the Ambassador.
The hare, having delivered his companions from the tyranny of the lion, in the manner just described, proceeds to improve the occasion by exhorting them to engage in a greater and more arduous warfare, viz., the st…”
◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY VIIIa
“The Harper.
In the time of the Khalifa 'Omar there lived a harper, whose voice was as sweet as that of the angel Israfil, and who was in great request at all feasts.
But he grew old, and his voice broke, and no one would employ him any lo…”
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◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1g
“And he attains to the knowledge of them in their highest purity who goes to each of them with the mind alone, not allowing when in the act of thought the intrusion or introduction of sight or any other sense in the company of reason, but wi…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1s
“The lovers of knowledge are conscious that their souls, when philosophy receives them, are simply fastened and glued to their bodies: the soul is only able to view existence through the bars of a prison, and not in her own nature; she is wa…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1{
“For example, when the body is hot and thirsty, does not the soul incline us against drinking?
and when the body is hungry, against eating?
And this is only one instance out of ten thousand of the opposition of the soul to the things of th…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1~
“I might compare him to a person who began by maintaining generally that mind is the cause of the actions of Socrates, but who, when he endeavored to explain the causes of my several actions in detail, went on to show that I sit here because…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1
“Those again who have committed crimes, which, although great, are not unpardonable-who in a moment of anger, for example, have done violence to a father or mother, and have repented for the remainder of their lives, or who have taken the li…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1
“In any way that you like; only you must get hold of me, and take care that I do not walk away from you.
Then he turned to us, and added with a smile: I cannot make Crito believe that I am the same Socrates who have been talking and conduct…”
◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1d
“But the non-lover has no such tormenting recollections; he has never neglected his affairs or quarrelled with his relations; he has no troubles to add up or excuse to invent; and being well rid of all these evils, why should he not freely d…”
◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1h
“Once upon a time there was a fair boy, or, more properly speaking, a youth; he was very fair and had a great many lovers; and there was one special cunning one, who had persuaded the youth that he did not love him, but he really loved him a…”
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◆Corpus Hermeticum 4: The Epistles | Section 1b
“And having raised themselves so far they sight the Good; and having sighted it, they look upon their sojourn here as a mischance; and in disdain of all, both things in body and the bodiless, they speed their way unto that One and Only One.…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 7: The Seven Powers | Section 1
“The Greatest Ill Among Men is Ignorance of God 1. Whither stumble ye, sots, who have sopped up the wine of ignorance and can so far not carry it that ye already even spew it forth? Stay ye, be sober, gaze upwards with the [true] eyes of the…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount | Section 1b
“For It doth will to be, and It is both Itself and most of all by reason of Itself.
Indeed, all other things beside are just bacause of It; for the distinctive feature of the Good is "that it should be known".
Such is the Good, O Tat.
Tat…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 12: The Prayer | Section 1c
“All things incorporeal when in a body are subject unto passion, and in the proper sense they are [themselves] all passions.
For every thing that moves itself is incorporeal; while every thing that's moved is body.
Incorporeals are further…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 13: The Discourse of Hermes to Tat | Section 1b
“Thou seest me with eyes, my son; but what I am thou dost not understand [even] with fullest strain of body and of sight.
4.
Tat: Into fierce frenzy and mind-fury hast thou plunged me, father, for now no longer do I see myself.
Hermes: I…”
finnic1
◆The Kalevala | Rune XXIIIa
“THE BRIDE-ADVISER Now the bride must be instructed, Who will teach the Maid of Beauty, Who instruct the Rainbow-daughter?
Osmotar, the wisdom-maiden, Kalew's fair and lovely virgin, Osmotar will give instructions To the bride of Ilmarinen,…”