The Tao of Gnosticism: Part two
As promised, here the next post investigating the similarities and parallels in the way of the Tao and Gnostic thought. In the first post I looked at the consensus between Gnosticism and Taoism regarding feminine aspects in the Creation, the process of the Creation and the importance of the Self. First on the agenda in this post is the body and spirit.Again, to clarify the Taoist perspective on this issue, we turn to Lao Tze's writings in the Tao Teh Ching:
"He who knows the Always-so has room in him for every thing;
He who has room in him for everything is without prejudice.
To be without prejudice is to be kingly;
To be kingly is to be of heaven;
To be of heaven is to be in Tao.
Tao is forever, and he that possesses it,
Though his body ceases, is not destroyed."
This passage speaks of knowledge of the Tao: when someone is finally at One with the Tao, his body may cease but his spirit is not destroyed. An example of this is the Yellow Emperor, one of the original practitioners of the Tao, who is said to have, at the age of 111, achieved immortality and ascended to heaven on the back of a dragon. His body is lost but what it has cultivated, the spirit, lives on and becomes one with the Tao. Spirit, shen, is one the Three Treasures of life which were created after Yin and Yang:
"The One gave birth to two things,
Then to three things..."
The Three Treasures are present in all living beings: essence (jing), energy (chee) and spirit (shen). They represent the three levels of existence present in all living beings: physical, energetic and mental. A great deal of Taoist health practices are concerned with enhancing essence which in turn enhances energy and thus spirit. The three are intrinsically linked as are most components of Taoist ideas. One method Taoists use to enhance essence is the cultivation of the External and Internal elixirs. These are achieved by a regimen of healthy nutrition, exercise, deep breathing and sexual yoga. Sexual yoga is one of the most important elements, and involves the art of ejaculation control. Man should not spend his fuel too quickly according to nearly all adepts and teachings. This fuel (semen) is highly valued in Taoists regimes and some masters such as Sun Ssu-Mo advocated, and practiced, one emission per 100 copulations! Sun Ssu-Mo lived to 101 and outlived three Tang Dynasty emperors.
Looking at some old Gnostic ideas, we come across Ephiphanus, Bishop of Salamis, who secretly joined a Gnostic sect with the intention of observersing their heretic practices so he could write about them in his book, the Panarion ('Medicine chest'.) He observed the sharing of women in sex orgies (the Yellow Emperor conincidentally kept a harem of 1,200 women) and the collection of semen which was offered to the Lord as the body of Christ. The semen, or inner essence, in this case seems to be held in very high regard, as it is in Taoist sexual yoga. The idea of the semen being the body of Christ oddly fits with a lot Gnostic thought I think. Gnostic thought greatly varies, but some believe that Logos (Word) and Sophia were the last pair of Aeons to be emanated from the transendent God. After Sophia realises what she has created in the Demiurge, she goes to Earth, penetrating the Archons control and plants the Divine Spark in everyone. Again, gnostic ideas vary, but one idea that I have come across a few times is the belief that Sophia was eventually captured after infusing the Divine Spark into everyone. Logos (in the form of Jesus) then comes to Earth and in his teachings and (human) death tries to re-ignite the Divine Spark within everyone. When his body is killed, his spirit lives on through everyone, and what part of the male human body represents this better than the essence that breathes life into this Earth?
Now, back to the Three Treasures and body and spirit. Basilides, an ascetic gnostic, went against the prevailing orthodox Christian ideas of his time, dispelling the idea of ressurection of flesh. He taught that only souls were saved; bodies were meaningless. Although the Taoist would agree on the importance of the soul (although they may give it a different name), they would differ slightly on the importance of the body. In Taoism, a healthy body is important for a healthy spirit and thus there is a large focus on Taoist health practices regarding breathing, nutrition and herbal medicines.Both Taoism and Gnosticism are clear on the importance of the soul/spirit/mind, that which is free of the body, free from rational understanding. Rational understanding can only explain material origin: In Gnostic thought, one must learn through gnosis, personal experience and in Taoism one must also look into oneself for the answers, a concept which was covered in the first essay. The ideas of body and spirit embody themselves well in the discussion of Jesus Christ. It is very hard to find many Taoist references to Jesus Christ, in fact, I could find none in my lengthy Google trek. The only Taoist discussion that arrives regarding the topic of Christ is that he had little/no significance due to the fact that there is no human-like God in the first place to send him; there is only Tao. I think this view may be due to the focus on the ressurection of flesh in mainstream Christianity, which is something a Taoists would frown upon. Ebionites (a Gnostic sect) held a similar view; that Jesus was just a man. They believed in his character but not his divinity, his relationship with the transcendent God.
It is hard to relate the coming of Christ to any Taoist ideas but one simple thought springs to mind: the idea of the Taoist sage! Some Taoist writings and texts talk disapprovingly of leaders as such, but one cannot deny the importance of the contribution from Taoist sages. Without Lao Tze, we would not have the Tao Teh Ching, without Chuang Tze we would not have the wealth of materials that he wrote. There are many more examples. In this sense, a parallel can be drawn between some of the most enlightened (for lack of a better word) sages, and Jesus Christ. They were both teachers, who brought forth the word of God. Here is a quote from Plato, who's ideas supported a lot of Gnostic thought:
"The truth concerning the soul can only be established by the word of God."
From this angle, a Taoist may appreciate the sage-like ideas inherent in Jesus. Many Gnostic sect ideas agree with this thinking. For example, the Cerinthus believed that Jesus was just a man and that Christ was baptised into him and departed before the crucifixion. The Elchasaites come even closer, with their belief that Jesus (referring to the Spirit) had been made flesh many times. If one made the conclusion that Jesus was indeed a Spirit/Aeon who had been personified in various humans over time, and that he taught gnosis, special knowledge derived from knowing oneself, you have a beautiful parallel with the Taoist sages teaching the ways of the Tao.
What if Jesus was a Taoist? This is not an idea that had occured to me, but whilst searching for information on Taoist views on Jesus Christ, I found a page entitled Was Jesus a Taoist?, by Disciple Dan:
"Before beginning this article, let me say that I have been a follower of Jesus of Nazareth since I was thirteen years old. I was ordained as a minister in the Christian Religion in 1972, and have spent more than thirty years in service as a minister to that religion. I feel, therefore, that I have an established understanding of what Christianity teaches, and am able to speak candidly about that faith. Without the slightest hesitation, I can say that I love Jesus and deeply respect his teachings... but I am no longer a Christian."
DD first makes the argument that Jesus was not the founder of Christianity:
"It is clear to any honest student of the Christian religion that Paul of Tarsus was the founder of Christianity."
I don't think this is entirely relevant to our discussion, but it is something I will look into. The author goes on to point out the differences between Paul and Jesus' ideas, and the similarity between Jesus' views and the core ideas of Tao:
"What did Jesus intend to teach in his new sect? Of course, there is the obvious answer: he intended to teach the simple message of the early gospels which taught a path to peace with God that included only two elements; loving God and loving one another. One thing can be determined with certainty: he did not intend to have a set of written beliefs - a creed, if you will. Had he intended this for his sect, it is obvious that he would have written it himself. No other possibility makes any kind of logical sense at all. He was intelligent, schooled, and able to read and write. He opened the scrolls in the synagogue when it was his turn to teach and he read the Scriptures. He wanted no creed for his new sect because he wrote no creed for his new sect. He wrote nothing because nothing needed to be written. This idea of living by intuition and practical goodness without a set of written commands is Taoist to the core. Ancient Taoism had no creed and does not presume to tell a single individual how he/she must behave."
Of course this idea of living and not being told how to learn/behave is also in agreement with the idea of gnosis, special knowledge.
"The rest of what Jesus intended must be inferred by the example of his living. He lived very simply. He told his followers to go about spreading their message taking no provisions for their journey. He said that while foxes had holes, he had no place to call home. He practiced simplicity to the very extreme. When he was hungry, he plucked corn in the fields to eat as he walked along the way, having brought nothing to eat for himself. This life of utter simplicity is a foundation teaching of Taoism. It is repeated over and over in Taoist thought... simplicity... simplicity... simplicity.Jesus taught humility. He told his disciples that the least among them should be counted the greatest. He told them to lead by serving and not by demanding. It grieved him when they tried to maneuver themselves to positions of higher authority or esteem. Little could he have possibly imagined that a religion would one day be established in his name whose leader would be called the "Supreme Pontiff" who would dwell in the largest, most posh palace in the entire world where people would vie for the opportunity to have audience with him and kiss his feet. Could he have dreamed of the vast treasures of wealth and art that would one day be hoarded in Vatican vaults under lock and key in his name while thousands of the people he loved so much went without the basic necessities of life? No, Jesus taught humility. Humility is a core foundation of Taoism. One of the three treasures of Taoism mentioned in the Tao Te Ching, is humility."
I think the author, in his last sentence, is referring to the Three Jewels which are the subject of Chapter 67 of the Tao teh Ching. The discussion of Jesus' teachings as being Taoist is fascinating and it's something I'd like to do more study on when I'm familiar with a few more gospels and texts.Whether you agree with the idea of Jesus being a Taoist or not, is not the issue though, and to become engrossed in proving such a point is to move into a debate of literal interpretation of ancient writings, and to move away from what's important here: the common ground in idea of the Taoist sage and Jesus Christ. Although their origins may cause debate among the two pools of thought, their purpose is clear and is none other than furthering the importance of understanding the Self, thus bringing us full circle.
Phew! That one was a little harder to write. I already have ideas for the next post! I hope to include Taoist ideas on this planet, in relation to the Gnostic ideas of the Materia and maybe some more detailed stuff on Archons and the Demiurge. If you liked this post, or have any thoughts, please post a comment!
"He who knows the Always-so has room in him for every thing;
He who has room in him for everything is without prejudice.
To be without prejudice is to be kingly;
To be kingly is to be of heaven;
To be of heaven is to be in Tao.
Tao is forever, and he that possesses it,
Though his body ceases, is not destroyed."
This passage speaks of knowledge of the Tao: when someone is finally at One with the Tao, his body may cease but his spirit is not destroyed. An example of this is the Yellow Emperor, one of the original practitioners of the Tao, who is said to have, at the age of 111, achieved immortality and ascended to heaven on the back of a dragon. His body is lost but what it has cultivated, the spirit, lives on and becomes one with the Tao. Spirit, shen, is one the Three Treasures of life which were created after Yin and Yang:
"The One gave birth to two things,
Then to three things..."
The Three Treasures are present in all living beings: essence (jing), energy (chee) and spirit (shen). They represent the three levels of existence present in all living beings: physical, energetic and mental. A great deal of Taoist health practices are concerned with enhancing essence which in turn enhances energy and thus spirit. The three are intrinsically linked as are most components of Taoist ideas. One method Taoists use to enhance essence is the cultivation of the External and Internal elixirs. These are achieved by a regimen of healthy nutrition, exercise, deep breathing and sexual yoga. Sexual yoga is one of the most important elements, and involves the art of ejaculation control. Man should not spend his fuel too quickly according to nearly all adepts and teachings. This fuel (semen) is highly valued in Taoists regimes and some masters such as Sun Ssu-Mo advocated, and practiced, one emission per 100 copulations! Sun Ssu-Mo lived to 101 and outlived three Tang Dynasty emperors.
Looking at some old Gnostic ideas, we come across Ephiphanus, Bishop of Salamis, who secretly joined a Gnostic sect with the intention of observersing their heretic practices so he could write about them in his book, the Panarion ('Medicine chest'.) He observed the sharing of women in sex orgies (the Yellow Emperor conincidentally kept a harem of 1,200 women) and the collection of semen which was offered to the Lord as the body of Christ. The semen, or inner essence, in this case seems to be held in very high regard, as it is in Taoist sexual yoga. The idea of the semen being the body of Christ oddly fits with a lot Gnostic thought I think. Gnostic thought greatly varies, but some believe that Logos (Word) and Sophia were the last pair of Aeons to be emanated from the transendent God. After Sophia realises what she has created in the Demiurge, she goes to Earth, penetrating the Archons control and plants the Divine Spark in everyone. Again, gnostic ideas vary, but one idea that I have come across a few times is the belief that Sophia was eventually captured after infusing the Divine Spark into everyone. Logos (in the form of Jesus) then comes to Earth and in his teachings and (human) death tries to re-ignite the Divine Spark within everyone. When his body is killed, his spirit lives on through everyone, and what part of the male human body represents this better than the essence that breathes life into this Earth?
Now, back to the Three Treasures and body and spirit. Basilides, an ascetic gnostic, went against the prevailing orthodox Christian ideas of his time, dispelling the idea of ressurection of flesh. He taught that only souls were saved; bodies were meaningless. Although the Taoist would agree on the importance of the soul (although they may give it a different name), they would differ slightly on the importance of the body. In Taoism, a healthy body is important for a healthy spirit and thus there is a large focus on Taoist health practices regarding breathing, nutrition and herbal medicines.Both Taoism and Gnosticism are clear on the importance of the soul/spirit/mind, that which is free of the body, free from rational understanding. Rational understanding can only explain material origin: In Gnostic thought, one must learn through gnosis, personal experience and in Taoism one must also look into oneself for the answers, a concept which was covered in the first essay. The ideas of body and spirit embody themselves well in the discussion of Jesus Christ. It is very hard to find many Taoist references to Jesus Christ, in fact, I could find none in my lengthy Google trek. The only Taoist discussion that arrives regarding the topic of Christ is that he had little/no significance due to the fact that there is no human-like God in the first place to send him; there is only Tao. I think this view may be due to the focus on the ressurection of flesh in mainstream Christianity, which is something a Taoists would frown upon. Ebionites (a Gnostic sect) held a similar view; that Jesus was just a man. They believed in his character but not his divinity, his relationship with the transcendent God.
It is hard to relate the coming of Christ to any Taoist ideas but one simple thought springs to mind: the idea of the Taoist sage! Some Taoist writings and texts talk disapprovingly of leaders as such, but one cannot deny the importance of the contribution from Taoist sages. Without Lao Tze, we would not have the Tao Teh Ching, without Chuang Tze we would not have the wealth of materials that he wrote. There are many more examples. In this sense, a parallel can be drawn between some of the most enlightened (for lack of a better word) sages, and Jesus Christ. They were both teachers, who brought forth the word of God. Here is a quote from Plato, who's ideas supported a lot of Gnostic thought:
"The truth concerning the soul can only be established by the word of God."
From this angle, a Taoist may appreciate the sage-like ideas inherent in Jesus. Many Gnostic sect ideas agree with this thinking. For example, the Cerinthus believed that Jesus was just a man and that Christ was baptised into him and departed before the crucifixion. The Elchasaites come even closer, with their belief that Jesus (referring to the Spirit) had been made flesh many times. If one made the conclusion that Jesus was indeed a Spirit/Aeon who had been personified in various humans over time, and that he taught gnosis, special knowledge derived from knowing oneself, you have a beautiful parallel with the Taoist sages teaching the ways of the Tao.
What if Jesus was a Taoist? This is not an idea that had occured to me, but whilst searching for information on Taoist views on Jesus Christ, I found a page entitled Was Jesus a Taoist?, by Disciple Dan:
"Before beginning this article, let me say that I have been a follower of Jesus of Nazareth since I was thirteen years old. I was ordained as a minister in the Christian Religion in 1972, and have spent more than thirty years in service as a minister to that religion. I feel, therefore, that I have an established understanding of what Christianity teaches, and am able to speak candidly about that faith. Without the slightest hesitation, I can say that I love Jesus and deeply respect his teachings... but I am no longer a Christian."
DD first makes the argument that Jesus was not the founder of Christianity:
"It is clear to any honest student of the Christian religion that Paul of Tarsus was the founder of Christianity."
I don't think this is entirely relevant to our discussion, but it is something I will look into. The author goes on to point out the differences between Paul and Jesus' ideas, and the similarity between Jesus' views and the core ideas of Tao:
"What did Jesus intend to teach in his new sect? Of course, there is the obvious answer: he intended to teach the simple message of the early gospels which taught a path to peace with God that included only two elements; loving God and loving one another. One thing can be determined with certainty: he did not intend to have a set of written beliefs - a creed, if you will. Had he intended this for his sect, it is obvious that he would have written it himself. No other possibility makes any kind of logical sense at all. He was intelligent, schooled, and able to read and write. He opened the scrolls in the synagogue when it was his turn to teach and he read the Scriptures. He wanted no creed for his new sect because he wrote no creed for his new sect. He wrote nothing because nothing needed to be written. This idea of living by intuition and practical goodness without a set of written commands is Taoist to the core. Ancient Taoism had no creed and does not presume to tell a single individual how he/she must behave."
Of course this idea of living and not being told how to learn/behave is also in agreement with the idea of gnosis, special knowledge.
"The rest of what Jesus intended must be inferred by the example of his living. He lived very simply. He told his followers to go about spreading their message taking no provisions for their journey. He said that while foxes had holes, he had no place to call home. He practiced simplicity to the very extreme. When he was hungry, he plucked corn in the fields to eat as he walked along the way, having brought nothing to eat for himself. This life of utter simplicity is a foundation teaching of Taoism. It is repeated over and over in Taoist thought... simplicity... simplicity... simplicity.Jesus taught humility. He told his disciples that the least among them should be counted the greatest. He told them to lead by serving and not by demanding. It grieved him when they tried to maneuver themselves to positions of higher authority or esteem. Little could he have possibly imagined that a religion would one day be established in his name whose leader would be called the "Supreme Pontiff" who would dwell in the largest, most posh palace in the entire world where people would vie for the opportunity to have audience with him and kiss his feet. Could he have dreamed of the vast treasures of wealth and art that would one day be hoarded in Vatican vaults under lock and key in his name while thousands of the people he loved so much went without the basic necessities of life? No, Jesus taught humility. Humility is a core foundation of Taoism. One of the three treasures of Taoism mentioned in the Tao Te Ching, is humility."
I think the author, in his last sentence, is referring to the Three Jewels which are the subject of Chapter 67 of the Tao teh Ching. The discussion of Jesus' teachings as being Taoist is fascinating and it's something I'd like to do more study on when I'm familiar with a few more gospels and texts.Whether you agree with the idea of Jesus being a Taoist or not, is not the issue though, and to become engrossed in proving such a point is to move into a debate of literal interpretation of ancient writings, and to move away from what's important here: the common ground in idea of the Taoist sage and Jesus Christ. Although their origins may cause debate among the two pools of thought, their purpose is clear and is none other than furthering the importance of understanding the Self, thus bringing us full circle.
Phew! That one was a little harder to write. I already have ideas for the next post! I hope to include Taoist ideas on this planet, in relation to the Gnostic ideas of the Materia and maybe some more detailed stuff on Archons and the Demiurge. If you liked this post, or have any thoughts, please post a comment!
posted by Dan at 6:02 PM
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