Select Works of Plotinus · 39 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

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 them to keep in mind a living Sage and, under these terms, to enquire whether the man is in happiness: they must not whittle away his life and then ask whether he has the happy life; they must not take away man and then look for the happiness of a man: once they allow that the Sage lives within, they must not seek him among the outer activities, still less look to the outer world for the object of his desires. To consider the outer world to be a field to his desire, to fancy the Sage desiring any good external, would be to deny Substantial-Existence to happiness; for the Sage would like to see all men prosperous and no evil befalling anyone; but though it prove otherwise, he is still content. If it be admitted that such a desire would be against reason, since evil cannot cease to be, there is no escape from agreeing with us that the Sage's will is set always and only inward.

Themes

◆Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis

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.

The text describes the Sage's will as set inward and not seeking outer activities or external goods, reflecting a radical letting-go of external attachment.

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◇Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

[auto] The text explicitly states the Sage 'lives within' and his will is set 'always and only inward', rejecting external objects for desire.

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◇Love Of Neighbourethics

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

[auto] The Sage is described as wishing 'all men prosperous and no evil befalling anyone', indicating benevolent concern for others.

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◇Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The passage addresses the counter-claim that the Sage is 'no longer alive' to redefine life and happiness in a way that challenges ordinary understanding.

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◇Renunciation Of Wealthethics

The spiritual danger of attachment to material possessions; wealth as a spiritual obstacle.

[auto] Desiring any 'good external' is described as denying the substantial existence of happiness, implying detachment from material goods.

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◇Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

[auto] The passage emphasizes understanding the Sage's 'inner life' and locating happiness within rather than in external activities.

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Related passages · 5 parallels

◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 6)

“The human selfhood will then follow in its perceptions the Spirit of God, tremblingly and in the joy of humility, and become able to see what is contained in time and in eternity. Everything is near to a soul in that state, for the soul is…”

Both passages emphasize the inward focus and the transcendence of the outer world in achieving a state of spiritual enlightenment or union with the divine. They both highlight the idea that true happiness or knowledge comes from within, rather than from external sources.

◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 13 (part 10)

“281 "The inner man continually kills the outer one by means of the love and sweetness of God, so that the external one cannot introduce into the soul-fire his earthly poisonous desire, which is infected by the devil; but the external man ca…”

Both passages discuss the distinction between the inner and outer aspects of a person, emphasizing the importance of the inner life and the struggle against external desires and influences. They share a mystical focus on the inner self and its connection to divine or higher realities.

◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 13 (part 11)

“27.) No Christian should contemplate his own holiness, or fancy himself to be better than others; but he should rather realise his own unworthiness, and regret the perverted state of himself and of humanity as a whole. "No one should want…”

Both passages emphasize the importance of inner life and the detachment from external circumstances. Plotinus discusses the Sage's inward focus and contentment regardless of external events, while the Christian text highlights the importance of focusing on one's spiritual connection to Christ and the imperfections of the self, rather than external holiness.

◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 14 (part 8)

“, in the heavenly essentiality (Devachan)—cannot be disturbed by anybody, unless they should wish it themselves, in case that they were very favourably inclined towards some particular soul in harmony with their own. They do not trouble th…”

Both passages discuss the inner state of enlightened or sanctified individuals, emphasizing their detachment from external worldly concerns and their focus on inner happiness or spiritual connection. They both highlight the idea that true happiness or spiritual fulfillment is found within, not in external circumstances.

◆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 inner life and transformation of the individual, emphasizing the importance of inner growth and the distinction between those who are capable of spiritual development and those who are not. They share a mystical perspective on human potential and the necessity of inner focus for true happiness and understanding.