Chapter IId

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

The practice involves facing the sun and pausing at beautiful scenes, using imagery and nature in worship.

The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. Distinct from monotheism (single transcendent God), pantheism (one underlying substance), and emanation_hierarchy (cascading single source); animism's signature is the plurality, locality, and embodied-in-landscape character of the divine.

The passage centrally defines the worldview as recognizing 'the spirit in all creation,' treating animals as brothers with immortal parts, and attributing spiritual presence to natural phenomena like clouds and waterfalls.

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

The divine is characterized by negation and mystery as the 'Unseen and Eternal' and the 'Great Silence.'

The path of loving devotion and self-surrender to a personal deity as itself sufficient means of liberation — the Gita's 'to those constantly devoted, I come forward as their deliverer,' Kabir's and the Sant poets' love-religion, the devotional stream that parallels Sufi love-mysticism. Distinct from mystical_union (the resulting state), fana_annihilation (the ego's unmaking at the path's end), ladder_of_love (eros staged toward Beauty), and prayer (the practice of address): bhakti names devotion as the soteriological road itself.

Daily devotions are described as more necessary than food, reflecting a path of devotion central to spiritual life.

The cosmic law that manifests as each being's own duty — right order known not as abstract truth but as the specific obligation of one's nature and station (svadharma), so that maintaining the cosmos and performing one's proper work are one act; the Gita's 'one's own duty, though defective, is better than another's well performed.' Sits beside asha_cosmic_order and maat_cosmic_order as a right-order concept but is distinct in individuating the order into personal vocation; distinct from good_thought_word_deed (ethical triad) in binding duty to cosmic station.

The text identifies a singular 'inevitable duty' of prayer that defines the individual's life and station, aligning with the concept of cosmic law manifesting as personal obligation.

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

The supreme reality is referred to as the 'Unseen' and 'Great Silence,' indicating radical concealment from ordinary perception.

The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.

The practice of offering an 'unspoken orison' and meeting the 'Great Silence alone' suggests a contemplative state of stillness.

Active compassionate care for others as a central spiritual obligation or expression of divine love.

The passage describes the 'hospitality of the wigwam' and the guarantee of safety for an enemy within the camp as a mark of character.

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 'attitude of worship' and 'unspoken orison' facing the dawn constitute a disciplined inward attention practice.

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

Prayer is described as the 'only inevitable duty' and a daily necessity more important than food, performed at dawn, during hunting, and before meals.

Fire as medium of divine presence.

Fire is mentioned as the 'purest and most ethereal element' into which an old man casts a choice morsel of meat as an act of gratitude.

The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.

The text details a specific morning ritual of washing with cold water or plunging into the river before standing to offer prayer, indicating a practice of physical cleansing for spiritual encounter.

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

The text asserts that 'Spirit in all creation' is recognized, suggesting a fundamental oneness of the divine and the cosmos.