Different Meanings of Words
This essay relies and builds upon the metaphysical
world view discussed elsewhere and it is closely related to the
essays:
Systemic Health,
The
Akashic Field,
The Two
Perspectives Empirical / Transcendent,
The
Akashic Field and Systemic Health,
Survey
of Ancient Traditions regarding systemic health and the two
perspectives
The words 'virtue', 'love', 'fear', 'devotion', 'worship' and so on are used throughout many ancient sayings and people normally have fairly simple yet vague notions of what these words mean so they are usually not queried to any depth. However these are often the most pivotal words in many ancient sayings, they are like code words for very subtle and obscure substances, forces, strategies or states of being. They are like handles that permeate the empirical world and through which we take part within the transcendent operations that give rise to the whole of creation. Different interpretations of these words lead to completely different sayings; a saying may be a exhortation to worship a particular deity and thereby join a particular religion or it may be an exact yet cryptic description of how to modulate ones state of mind so as to attain higher states of being; such a discussion is beyond all concepts of deity, worship and religion, yet it is clothed within those analogies.
Furthermore, our whole language has arisen within the mechanistic delusion and all of its concepts are tainted by mechanistic interpretations or associations. Thus it is very difficult to speak without sounding as if one is speaking from within the delusion. As one comes to see the meaning as well as the form of ancient sayings one perceives the subtleties of expression that are used. Much of the problem of translation revolves around the idea of a doer and of conscious deliberate action, these are always implied by the nature of language yet they have no foundation in Truth; thus language is permeated by the egoic I-thought and always implies an egoic agent where there is none. Hence there is always a mechanistic interpretation of any ancient saying, and this will often be bizarre and outlandish as well as naïve and highly improbable, since the truth lies in a subtle interpretation of the mechanistic analogy and a discernment of the transcendent truth that is veiled thereby.
I will here explore a few quotes to draw out the subtle meanings of some key words. I will not analyse this in any depth and no attempt is made to be comprehensive, these are just indications to assist in the contemplation of these meanings and also to encourage open minded enquiry into the likely meanings of other words.
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Below is a quote below from the Bhagavadgita and the accompanying commentary taken from the book (“The Bhagavadgita”, trans and commented by S. Radhakrishnan, Blackie & Son Publishers Bombay, 1982). I would recommend this book to any who are seeking a profound and enlightening commentary on the Bhagavadgita.
“On Me fix thy mind; to Me be devoted; worship Me; revere Me; thus having disciplined thyself, with Me as thy goal, to Me shalt thou come.” (Bhagavadgita: chpt 9:34)
The accompanying comment by Radhakrishnan is:
“It is not
the personal Krishna to whom we have to give ourselves up utterly but
the Unborn, Beginningless, Eternal who speaks through Krishna. The
way to rise out of our ego-centred consciousness to the divine plane
is through the focusing of all our energies, intellectual, emotional
and volitional on God. Then our whole being is transformed and lifted
up into the unity and universality of spirit. Knowledge, love and
power get fused in a supreme unification. Joy and peace are the
result of self-oblivion, of utter abandonment, of absolute
acceptance.”
If we perceive the mechanistic illusion of separation and we look out into that mirage and we project our energies into that phenomenal world then we invest it with reality, thus giving it power over us. By our interaction with it our energies become bound within that plane of being; the flow of our psychic energies determines our experiences and thereby our plane of existence. If we turn all our out flowing energies inward, toward the center and the source, that point of stillness where all opposing forces are balanced, then these energies no longer flow outward and entangle us in the world illusion. We are no longer trapped in the experience of egoic isolated existence since all our cognitive energies flow internally and do not pass through the tainted filter of the mechanistic delusion. Although our energies are constrained within, this doesn't isolate us from reality since all concepts of inner and outer are a part of the mechanistic delusion, hence we contain the whole of reality within us and without us and beyond all such concepts. We are no longer seduced into delusion and we remain firmly centred in our true essence; that essence that is One and Whole, that state of primal unity. Thus we remain focused on truth and reality and we thereby have unswerving devotion to God, which means awe and reverence for the Truth of Reality, it means focusing our energies, minds and lives on reality rather than on illusion, it means dwelling in our true nature, as God, as That Which Is, rather than as a fictional egoic character in a shallow mechanistic story line.
To be devoted to an object of desire is to sing that object into manifestation within ones life, it is to seek a resonance with the energies of that thing and this attracts it into ones life. If one is devoted to family or career or nation or wealth or pleasure or perhaps through fear one is devoted to ones own suffering and oppression (i.e. ones thoughts permanently dwell on these and ones heart is always in fear of these and ones actions are guided by the avoidance of these) then one will resonate with these things and this resonance binds one into the mechanistic world of things. If one is devoted to the One and the Whole, to Truth and Reality, to the essence beneath all form, if ones energies are resonating on this level, then to that level of existence will one attain, since the resonance built up with that level will draw one into that world. Thus “On Me fix thy mind ... [and] ... to Me shalt thou come.”.
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There are quotes and comments related to concepts such as sin, trespass, forgiveness and so on here regarding the Christian Lord's Prayer.
{{much more can be said}}
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The following are some quotes from “The Book of Documents” taken from the book (“Yi Jing: Book of Change”, Trans Gia Fu Feng, Sue Bailey and Bink Kun Young, Feng Books, 1986), in regards to the hexagram Constancy. These draw out subtle meanings of the word virtue in a Taoist context;
“Virtue is oneness. Then every action leads to good fortune.”
It describes virtue as a state of being real or being grounded in ones true self, which is oneness, then one acts according to ones true nature and “every action leads to good fortune” since one does not act from the false perspective of an egoic delusion, one acts from reality, from the essence of the cosmos as it flows through the cosmos. One is a harmonious gesture of the cosmic dance rather than a deluded, isolated ego that is trying to understand everything from its limited perspective and to thereby control things for its benefit, such actions always come into conflict with reality and thereby result in misfortune. When one is not the doer one is ones true Self and nothing remains undone.
“Virtue has no definite guide, let goodness be
your guide.”
“Goodness has no definite lord, it depends
on being with the one.”
There is no easy formula or objective guide to the attainment and maintenance of oneness, since there is nothing other than oneness to act as guide; All is One. The essence of reality is goodness, creativity, wholeness, completeness, love, bliss, union, growth, vitality, splendour, beauty, truth, understanding and all that fosters hope and joy and that provides strength and endurance. We each knew in our childhood that feeling of virtue, of youthful joy and exuberance, of the innocent wonder and effortless bliss of just being, that feeling of pure unadulterated goodness. All these things are the mark of virtue but these things are not virtue in themselves, i.e. beauty may be a sign of virtue but virtue cannot be conjured up by beauty alone. All these signs of goodness must arise naturally from the source for them to be signs of virtue otherwise they are just affectations or empty rituals; “it depends on being with the one”.
“One and only one, from beginning to end. Every day is a new day.”
From the perspective of reality there is only One and no other, there are no things or places or events, no ego's and power struggles, no games and conflicts, no worlds of glamour and myth woven about us and congealed into hardened dogmas and traditions, no laws or rules or expectations, no roles to fulfil, no duties to perform, no rights to possess, no possessions to protect, no possessor or ego about which such a delusional world can be woven. There is no separation, no doer and nothing that is done, but this does not mean that nothing happens, and that nothing changes. Within the oneness there is vast variety that is ever changing and forever renewing itself, it is this that underlies the illusion of the world of things. But when one does not interfere with the flow, thinking that one is the doer, then one is a harmonious gesture in the cosmic dance and the patterns of energy dance and evolve according to their nature, thus the cosmos evolves and changes according to its nature. Without interference from egos the dance progresses smoothly and harmoniously without cessation from beginning to end, we each partake in the divine procession of the creative cosmos.
“Cling to the essence, cling to the one, holding on to thy very center.”
To dwell in reality we must not slip into delusion by falling prey to the seduction of the senses and the mechanistic delusion. We can so easily be drawn back into the world of isolated egos and incessant struggle, it takes only a moments slip of awareness and the process begins whereby we lose our balance and we fall. It takes constant steady balance to not fall, just like learning to walk this becomes effortless in time but takes concentration to begin with. It is from our heart centre that we relate with the world, it is through our hearts that we sing our world into being, thus it is by “holding on to thy very center” that one stills the strident singing and lets the last echoes of song dissipate, leaving one in silence. Then one hears the cosmic symphony that is playing all around and one then realises that one is a harmonious voice in this greater song of creation.
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More on virtue. Below is a quote with its essential information extracted, it speaks of the nature of virtue, it is taken from the Da Juan or Great Commentary, Part 2, Sixth Wing, Chpt 7 from the book “Yi Jing”:
“Stepping (10) is the foundation of virtue. Humility (15) is the handle of virtue. Returning (24) is the root of virtue. Constancy (32) is the solidity of virtue. Diminishing (41) is the cultivation of virtue. Increase (42) is the enriching of virtue. Stuck (47) is the test of virtue. The Well (48) is the ground of virtue. Wind (57) is the practice of virtue.
When there is harmonious Stepping (10) there is fulfilment. When Humility (15) is honoured there is light. The power of Returning (24) is small, yet it distinguishes things. The matters of Constancy (32) are complex, yet not weary. Diminishing (41) has difficulty in the beginning and is at ease later on. Increase (42) enriches without overdoing. Stuck (47) is the penetration through the impossible. The Well (48) influences without moving. Wind (57) sway things without revealing.
Harmonious conduct comes from Stepping (10). Propriety comes from Humility (15). Self Knowledge comes from Returning (24). The virtue of oneness comes from Constancy (32). Diminishing (41) avoids harm. Increase (42) enriches prosperity. Stuck (47) lessens resentment. The Well (48) manifests goodness. Wind (57) advocates flexibility.”
Hexagrams related to Virtue
10/110111
Stepping is the foundation of virtue.
When there is harmonious
Stepping there is fulfilment.
Harmonious conduct comes from
Stepping.
15/001000
Humility is the handle of virtue.
When Humility is honoured
there is light.
Propriety comes from Humility.
24/100000
Returning is the root of virtue.
The power of Returning is
small, yet it distinguishes things.
Self Knowledge comes from
Returning.
32/011100
Constancy is the solidity of virtue.
The matters of Constancy
are complex, yet not weary.
The virtue of oneness comes from
Constancy.
41/110001
Diminishing is the cultivation of virtue.
Diminishing has
difficulty in the beginning and is at ease later on.
Diminishing
avoids harm.
42/100011
Increase is the enriching of virtue.
Increase enriches without
overdoing.
Increase enriches prosperity.
47/010110
Stuck is the test of virtue.
Stuck is the penetration through
the impossible.
Stuck lessens resentment.
48/011010
The Well is the ground of virtue.
The Well influences without
moving.
The Well manifests goodness.
57/011011
Wind is the practice of virtue.
Wind sways things without
revealing.
Wind advocates flexibility.
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Furthermore, since all things find their completion in Mountain (which represents a firm grounding in virtue) I have explored the transitions required to transform the hexagrams representing each aspect of virtue into the hexagram for Mountain; it is interesting to read the various commentaries and the lines in light of the context of virtue, of oneness and of attaining a firm grounding in oneness. I will not analyse these here but only show the various hexagrams so that people may more easily pursue this line of contemplation if they wished.
Related Discussions:
Systemic
Health,
The Akashic
Field,
The Two
Perspectives Empirical / Transcendent,
The
Akashic Field and Systemic Health,
Survey
of Ancient Traditions regarding systemic health and the two
perspectives