I found this nice explanation of Nirvana (see link below) by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, teacher and peace activist from Vietnam. As I already stated in my last post Nirvana has nothing to do with “fading away.” It’s a state of consciousness, where “there is neither coming nor going, neither birthing nor dying,” neither being nor non-being. As a chaos mystic I neither believe that Nirvana is the pre-determined endpoint of enlightenment nor that such a state of consciousness is proof for metaphysical realities. BUT: As a chaos mystic I also put the emphasis on experience. So I will tell you what I think about all that after I’ve been there. I haven’t yet. (On the other hand it’s said that Nirvana is not where you will go, but where you have always been.) Once when Clint and I talked about the Eastern teachings and our fascination with certain aspects of them, we both came to the conclusion that we are some kind of “Satanic Daoists.” Of course that was a joke, but one that contains a grain of truth. The point is that each of us values things that Buddhism and Asian spiritual philosophies in general often seem to neglect. I mean things like individualism, personal freedom, personal achievement, warriorship and the body / pleasure. (I mean, probably all Elhaz Fellows do value these things, but I had that particular conversation with Clint some months ago.) Mystics all over the world often value enlightenment over ordinary, embodied life. As a Chaos Heathen and an Initiate on the Left-Hand Path I embrace joyously the embodied life and I strive to use magic to make it better, not to look for escape roots from this world. To return from mystical peak experiences to embodied life, to use them for self-empowerment, joy and inner freedom seems to me to be the hallmark of a truely Heathen attitude. That kind of stance doesn’t really make you predisposed for becoming a Buddhist. (I’ve been there in my early twenties, but my magical interests have been too strong and I didn’t like the idea that sitting at the feet of some guru would somehow help you to improve yourself.) I am also very sceptical of Europeans that claim they are Buddhists (I have a few friends who are). Even the Dalai Lama said that we (the Westerners) have our own spiritual traditions. Certainly he mostly thought of Christianity, but we can also dig deeper to all kind of occult philosophies, alchemy, the Orphic Mysteries and, of course, the Runes. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t learn from the wise men of the East, as Godwin has put it. The meditative techniques developed in Buddhism (especially Vipassana) are very useful tools for developing the “Watcher of the watcher,” the “inner witness” or “Fourth Room, ” as deRopp called it. This is basically the ability to practise “observer consciousness,” to develop an inner observer that doesn’t become lost in one’s own thoughts, feelings and desires. It’s a kind of meta-level, a calm centre, untouched by the inconsistent, impermanent nature of the mind, a “fluid, mercurial point of view that is still there in some form, even when the sense of mundane selfhood is dismantled.” (Dave Lee, pers. comm.) Without developing that capability nothing really useful can be achieved in spiritual matters. One needs years, even decades to get there. Even then you can still loose awareness easily in certain situations. This is a constant process of self-remembering, as the mystic and spiritual teacher George Ivanovich Gurdjieff has called it.
It’s interesting to note that the Buddha attained enlightenment under a Tree. Our God of the Runes instead is Hangatýr, the God of the Hanged, as He has hung upon a Tree when He reached illumination. I come to believe that Eihwaz is the Rune of “psychological death.” Its number is 13 (a number often associated with bad luck now). Eihwaz is a very powerful Rune that I also consider to be the Rune of Enlightenment and Immortality. The Eihwaz-Rune represents the Tree, Yggdrasil, where Óðinn has won the Runes – His symbolic code that leads to enlightenment. And as I said once in a ritual I called the Elhaz Ablaze Rite: “The Tree is the World. The World is the Supreme Self. This Self is me. I Am the Tree. Tat tvam Asi.“
However, here is the link to the video where Thich Nhat Hanh explains the nature of Nirvana. Notice his calmness and clarity. Most interesting are the parts, where he explains the aim of meditative practice that is “non-fear.” I enjoyed a lot his way of looking at death, namely that death does not exist. A cloud does not die, it just changes its state of being, but it does not become nothing. Words of wisdom. Heed them well. Click here to watch the movie.
Another thought-provoking essay that leads to further reflections in different directions, all in the name of truth.
I think one reason why Thich Nhat Hanh is so popular in both East and West is that his practice is founded upon his own experiences in the Vietnam War. As far as I know, he is not trained in the martial arts, yet as a peace activist he and his friends put their lives in danger on numerous occasions as they did what they could to stop the madness of the Vietnam war, where atrocities were committed by both sides. These guys had tremendous courage. They were not even armed in their activism.
Buddhism is about awakening. Some people grow out of its organised format and find themselves exploring further. I can count myself as one of them. I headed towards what can be called Luciferian awareness: the recognition of self by self. However, near-death experience has now taught me that at death this self is surrendered, or liberated. The next step is unknown.
As to the cultural dimensions of Buddhism: it was originally Indian, but everywhere it went it became transformed into something quite different while the core teachings and practice have endured the test of time and history. In time there will be a distinctly American form of Buddhism: I say American because in the West this is where Buddhism has taken deep roots.
Tibetan Buddhism, because of its tantric influence, incorporates guru yoga. Its devotionalism worked well in ancient India and subsequently in the theocratic society of Tibet, but according to my personal observation, it will not take off in Western society because of its own tradition of Enlightenment. Personally, because of my philosophical training, I find guru yoga quite difficult to follow. I have Western friends who are comfortable with it, and some become very good at it. It ultimately has to do with spiritual disposition. I think people who had a strong Catholic upbringing are more in tune with that approach. But certainly not individualists! I was once told by an advanced practitioner to choose between a guru and my PhD studies. After some intense reflections, I chose the latter and certainly do not regret it to this day. This is how my destiny worked out. With other people, it might have gone in the other direction.
Daoism (Taoism) is traditionally anti-authoritarian so in the history of China Buddhists and Daoists certainly clashed with one another. The eccentricity of Zen shows how Daoism transformed Buddhism. However, its anti-intellectualism is problematic. I know one Australian academic who recently wrote a book on how a lot of Zen Buddhists quite happily cooperated with the fascist regime of Japan in the 1930s. The intellect as conscience appears to be absent in the Zen tradition because it assumes itself to be above history. Yet in American Zen became a major force in counterculture.
The Dalai Lama’s comment about Westerners is well-known. It actually refers to trendies who become enamoured of the exoticism of Tibetan culture and miss the essence of what Buddhism is about. One famous Tibetan lama (Lama Yeshe) once remarked that there should be an Italian form of Vajrayana Buddhism, where spaghetti should be served in pujas instead of everyone trying to cook Tibetan food. Becoming integrated into Tibetan culture does not lead to enlightenment. That is the main point. For example, a Christian who wants to become involved in Tibetan Buddhism can continue to pray to Jesus and go to Mass. In America there are many Jews who are doing precisely that: being “Buddhist” and “Jewish” at the same time. This is why many scholars argue that Buddhism is not a religion like Christianity, which is founded upon conversion and spiritual exclusivity. (Although in Africa and Latin America, some Christians quite openly do the “pagan” stuff as well.) Yet like in any tradition, there are ultra-conservatives in Buddhism, who hold that tradition is more important than dharma.
Buddhism has evolved over a period of 2000 years, so its transformation in the modern world will continue generation after generation. For example, Vajrayana Buddhism is popular in Transylvania. So let us see how it will develop there in 50 years’ time! Many people forget that dakinis were originally depicted as alluring vampires on charnel grounds! They brought about enlightenment in mortals and many men pledged their own lives in order to enter into tantric congress with them. (So one can say that contemporary Vajrayana Buddhism is a more tame version of the radical practices of ancient India.)
A note on Tibetan culture: Heimlich and I went to see a Tibetan dance some months ago and we both observed Indo-European features in their art and costumes. In fact this was also noted by the Germans during World War II and special research and expeditions were funded.
When a Buddhist looks at heathenry (Asatru) objectively, he or she can say that Odin is a buddha, an enlightened one. All the other gods are part of this process, including Loki. Loki is a great teacher of emptiness. Thor is a great teacher of the overcoming of the lower self. Frey is a great teacher of the importance of peace, virtue and community to the sustenance of life and of folk. Bragi is a great teacher of the fundamental sacredness of (poetic) speech. Hel is of course a great teacher of death – how it is in fact a constant companion of life.
Hail, the wise ones!
John, these are great insights. You really have to put that into an article. Óðinn as a Buddha, Freyja as Yajrayogini, the other Gods and Goddesses as certain ‘functions’, as certain qualities needed during the transformative and initiatory process, unus mundus as yab-yum asf. – all that is highly interesting to look at in ‘technical’ terms. It’s obvious that the traditions have to be understood first on their own sets. There is a great value in studying a discipline (in this case the Runes and Vajrayana and/or Dzogchen Buddhism) deeply and entirely before engaging in comparative studies. But I’m sure you’re a rare and adequate candidate to fulfil the needed requirements for such a complicated endeavour. It’s important not to force the Runes or the Northern Mysteries into another framework. With your PhD (or at least you’re working at it) and spiritual insights such an essay could become really a beautiful reflection.
It’s interesting what you write about death and the self. Of course, it’s impossible to talk about it. Some say it’s like consciousness / awareness is “God” and they describe it as a body. First you realize you are a finger of that body, later the hand and finally the “whole body.” In the “Tibetan Book of the Dead” (actually it means “Liberation Through Hearing During The Intermediate State [= Bardo Thodol]”) it’s said the “last step” is the identification with the Primordial Clear Light, which I like to call the Inmost Light. I don’t know whether some form of “Selfhood” exists thereafter, but the question itself seems already to reflect one’s ignorance. It’s like two-dimensional geometrical figures that are talking about the appearance of balls (three-dimensional figures) in their “world” (sometimes used as a metaphor by magicians, taken from “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions” by E. A. Abbott). They are trying to make sense out of “the impossible.” It seems impossible that three dimensions exist, when you’re only used to two (in this case: either “self-annihilation” or “self-preservation”). I never was into the “Luciferian Gnosis,” at least not in the sense of “Western LHP,” because psychedelics, Vipassana and Crowley were too huge influences on me.
However, it’s great you’re still amongst us!!!
Thanks, Matt. I am certainly putting thoughts together but it will be a slow process, as my hermeneutics is based on my personal belief that interpretation is fermentation!
I guess when I look back at my life I can say that my spiritual trait is existentialist, in that I believe that in order for one’s spirituality to really shake one to the core, it has to be founded upon the human condition. In our world at the moment and in the predictable future, the human condition is quite pronounced in both its positive and negative aspects. Where myths and traditions can help me understand this better, this is where I will be at, but I don’t think I will ever find myself becoming a member of any organised religious group again. For me personally that is Luciferian. It also means that my engagement with the divine involves critical reasoning – put in another way, an esotericism of the critique!
Just for fun…
The words Aesir and Asura are often seen as cognate, the Asuras being described as a group of power-seeking, materialistic, Hindu anti-deities.
Doesn’t that sound a bit like our boys?
As for Nirvana, I’ve yet to find any other method that’ll put me in the here-and-now as quickly and effectively as full contact fighting.
Left Hand Path, baby!
Clint, I feel you…
The connections between meditation and martial arts are well known, especially to our Asian brethren. Monotheism has fucked up our European Spirit by indoctrinating us that there’s only ONE WAY of doing things. This is not true as our experience tells us. European Paganism(s) and Indian Hinduism(s) are wiser, more flexible and multifaceted. Maybe the war, and the peace treaty that followed, between the Æsir and the Vanir is exactly about this: the balancing of “materialistic” and “spiritual” aspects in OneSelf. When the LHP is freed from its neo-satanic, more infantile overtones, there’s no doubt that we are walking in the footsteps of the more radical seekers, known as LHP adepts. The true LHP tantrikas from the East were far more radical (if not repulsive) than these nice Satanists, who use naked women as altars! They prefered to have sex with virgins on corpses in graveyards, where their ego-identity would be disintegrated in a terrifying ecstasy. So kids, don’t try this at home. :-)
Oh, and I think I should add to this that I consider the RHP and LHP to be both equally valid. The RHP is even the safer way and leading less often to desaster. It’s really a disposition thing. The weakness of the RHP is often its dogmatism. One of the great weaknesses of the LHP is arrogance.
1) Good point, Matt, every path has its weaknesses and strengths. I like the way you describe LHP and RHP. Clint, although I know near to nothing about martial arts, I can imagine that they are a form of meditation in action. The mental precision involved is beyond words.
2) Indeed the tantrikas in ancient India tried their best to be iconoclasts: the caste system there has strict rules about cleanliness and pollution which persist to this day. So you can imagine the Brahmins feeling totally outraged by Tantra! The other thing in Tantra was that many teachers were women and they used their menstrual blood to draw the mandala circle. Male students had to be invited into this circle: they could not just walk into it.
3) Vajrayana Buddhism today is pretty tame in a way. Abstractions are used so that people can practise in the comfort of their lounge room while listening to soothing Tibetan chants on iPod. There is, however, one practice called Chöd, which is a league of its own. This one has a LHP angle to it. Through shamanic drumming, the practitioner invites demonic spirits to join him. They are asked to tear up his or her ego. Mantras are said at the same time which stops these spirits from getting physical, but people have told me that after a session they sometimes find curious red marks on their bodies. When I had a session once on my own, a huge, luminescent skull appeared right in front of me, floating in mid-air, a little above my head level as I sat cross-legged. This confronting apparition lasted almost till the end of the rite.
I was supposed to receive a shamanic drum from an advanced practitioner of Chöd, öbut sadly he passed away due to a heart attack while overseas and I never got to see him again. May this man’s afterlife be filled with blessings!
4) Milarepa used a corpse as his meditation mat. He was inside a cave in the high mountains of Tibet so it was probably a partially mummified one.
5) I love runic chants.
Chöd was the rite I had in mind. Milarepa was a great man!
The “fourth room” reminds me of Jung’s essay on Daoist alchemy, “The Secret of the Golden Flower,” where he discussed the Self as that sense of immovable, yet ineffable, essence, which enables one (in my own words) to make absolute suit and pursuit of the world and its things…without being utterly absorbed and lost in that same world.
Just today I experienced a slight regression into being lost in the world, and then drew back from it. But gods it is hard! And therefore worth doing…
It’s one of the hardest things to do. We shift in and out of that consciousness every day. Also “normal” people do it. But mostly they do not recognize it. There’s nothing “special” in this. But the difference is the clarity and the calmness.
By the way, a new book is out by Jan Fries, click here.