In my study of Gnosticism in its particular forms and
schools, both pre-Christian and Christian, I am struck by the fact that, when
taken literally, it leads to all profound dualities of good and evil, with
equally profound consequences. The more modern form of Calvinism led to the
concretization of the flesh-as-evil, of the woman-as-evil, of others-as-evil.
The body was sinful, the witches were burned, the Jews were “exterminated,” the
poor and sick were being “punished by God” for their sins. Of course, I am
aware that Gnosticism is surely not alone responsible for literal interpretations
and barbaric behaviors, but that when “truth” gets into the hands (and minds)
of the uneducated, the superstitious, the unenlightened, the literal
consequences are devastating. While I find the various Gnostic narratives very
interesting and containing much veracity in their own way and as a worldview, I
see why the mainstream version of Christianity “won out,” though it too is
threaded through and through with the extreme duality of Gnosticism, be it
through Paul, Augustine, the Irish Catholic Church, the African Catholic
Church, the Eastern Orthodox confessions, the “Puritan ethic,” etc. The modern
Christian ideals of “unity” and “love” as essential themes of existence are far
more attractive and of benefit to the world than the alternative.
For over fifty years I have read and worked with the
Daoist-Confucian Yijing (I Ching) as well as Buddhist and Hindu
sources. I have appreciated that, in contradistinction to the Christian and
Western emotionally-laden and judgmental narratives in which we are constantly
faced with the “daimon” of Jung, “demonic, evil forces” of Gnosticism and
Christianity, and “God” and “Devil” in hand-to-hand bloody battle, the Daoists
and Buddhists offer us the alternative of “acquired (mental) conditioning,” and
“original nature” or “Dao” in relation to Essence of Being (“God”). On LinkedIn
I half-seriously listed my “skill” as “Mindlessness Trainer,” a parody of the “Mindfulness
Trainer” fad, but also in all seriousness. Whoever heard of the “Mindless Way”?
It is the Way of the Dao. And it is NOT the Way of Gnosticism, and its overweening
parallels in Christianity. Recently I picked a book out of my library after a
few years of being unread: Cultivating
Stillness: A Taoist Manual for Transforming Body and Mind, translated by
Eva Wong. I would like to simply quote from it, noting its positing of “spirit”
and “knowledge” as opposite in nature and effect.
The spirit tends towards purity, but the mind
disturbs it. (35)
Humans are created from the descent of
heavenly breath and the ascent of earth vapor. The spirit is the original
nature in us. When humans contact earthy air, knowledge emerges in them. Opposed
to knowledge is the spirit. The spirit is formless and is incomprehensible to
mundane thoughts. It governs the life-maintaining functions of the body. Knowledge
is active, mischievous, and intelligent. It changes constantly. Spirit, on the
other hand, is the master of humankind. … In Confucianism it is called the
soul. It is never born and it never dies. When it leaves the body it becomes a
ghost. Cultivate compassion and it will become an immortal or a Buddha. (35-36)
The existence of the spirit is connected with
the existence of the body. It emerges with conception in the mother’s womb.
[When the child is born, spirit] descends into the flesh and blood of the
infant. Simultaneously, with the first breath, knowledge enters the infant’s
body to dwell with the spirit and the mind. From then on, knowledge takes
control of the human being and the spirit loses its place. The seven emotions
and the six desires arise. Day and night the spirit dissipates until it
disappears. Earth, water, fire, and wind gradually lose their strength and the
body loses vitality. Knowledge is a part of the self. When the body dies it
leaves the shell. Even if you live to over one hundred, like is still a dream. At
death the ghosts will escort the spirit to hell. There, good and evil deeds
accumulated during your lifetime are evaluated and you will be rewarded or
punished accordingly. The good will be given another lifetime on earth to enjoy
earthly happiness, or will become ghosts and receive offerings or incense. The evil
will be given another lifetime to reap the punishment allotted to them , or be
reincarnated as animals and not escape the ten thousand kalpas (lifetimes). (36)
I concur with the Anthroposophical view that after death it is we
ourselves who watch our lives pass before us and willingly choose to reincarnate so that we might right our wrongs
and fulfill our karmic responsibilities. In addition, the Purgatory of Roman
Catholicism seems to be for those who, for reasons perhaps of inability to
understand, to take action for themselves, or lack of spiritual development in
general, in the absence of the possibility of reincarnation (due to the
religious perspective of Christianity), must proceed towards Heaven through a
purging, hellish realm, relying purely on the prayers and encouragements of the
living to move them forward towards the Heaven that does await them.
The spirit tends toward purity and stillness.
Knowledge tends toward action and disturbs the mind so that it cannot be still.
As this continues, the body and mind are injured. When the spirit weakens, a
hundred illnesses arise. Therefore, we need to realize the value [my emphasis] of the human body.
we need to appreciate the fortune of being
born in the human form and the fortune of encountering the teachings of the Buddha
and the Tao. You who are born in human form should not spend your time
foolishly. You must value your original nature and your life. Recognize the
difference between spirit and knowledge. Recognize the difference between the
human mind and the mind of Tao. Do not mistake the human mind for the mind of
Tao, and knowledge for the spirit. Do not mistake the false body for the true
body. (36-37)
The various scriptures reveal extraordinary
thoughts,
Open them systematically and you will see
wonders.
Now that spring and autumn have passed,
You only wait for morning and evening to fill
the emptiness.
Rely on purity and stillness as the remedy…
(38)
There is the Gnostic-Christian view of Heaven or Earth, of Spirit versus Matter, in which the twain can never
meet and the battle must be waged until all ends. The Daoist-Buddhist view is
one of Heaven and Earth in which the
two may be balanced and in harmony, with each in its proper place, as presented,
for instance, in the Yijing with its
foundation of the yin-yang (Earth and Heaven, respectively) energies.
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