ruffashlar
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Lodge Milncroft No. 1515 (GLoS), Govanhill Royal Arch Chapter 523 (S.G.R.A.C.S.)
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Post by ruffashlar on Feb 7, 2005 2:58:07 GMT
The Greeks had many legends concerning Cadmus, a Phoenician who taught them the script of his land. Having come to retrieve his sister Europa, (she had been abducted by Zeus in the form of a white bull and later gave birth to the Minotaur) Cadmus stayed on and founded the city of Thebes.
The city's location was determined by Cadmus following a white bull (another one) until it fell from exhaustion. He then populated the city by sowing dragon's teeth, Jason-like, in a ploughed field until Mermydons sprang up.
The first letter of the Phoenician alphabet is Aleph (=Alpha), which means an ox or ox-plough: its shape is that of an A turned on its side, and is the source of that letter. Perhaps this is a partial survival of a myth about the order of the alphabet. The ploughed field could relate to boustrophedon, the original Greek system of writing right-to-left until the edge of the page then recommencing left-to-right.
Interestingly, the legends strongly connect Cadmus with Crete, a place he landed before sailing on to Hellas. His great-great-great-grandson Theras is thought to have returned to reclaim the island and renamed as Thera the volcanic isle we call Santorini.
Thebes in Greece is also thought to have been named after Thebes in Egypt, out of which, as a Phoenician craftsman in the employ of the Pharaoh, he is believed to have sailed. Tyrian artisans were much valued as managers in the Old Kingdom, it is said, especially the scribes based at Byblos, from which placename derives the Greek word biblios, a book.
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bod
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UGLE - MM (London), MMM RAM(Middx), OSM (London)
Posts: 1,296
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Post by bod on Mar 15, 2005 19:25:46 GMT
Meanwhile, back on topic.....
Anyone like to hazard a guess at who the author of this little piece is?
"I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the Light comes from Above, it enlightens my heart and I can see, for the Eye of my heart sees everything. The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space, wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things and through which we see Him. If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen, and if you should die in this ignorance, your soul cannot return immediately to the Great Spirit, but it must be purified by wandering about in the world. In order to know the center of the heart where the Great Spirit dwells you must be pure and good, and live in the manner that the Great Spirit has taught us. The man who is thus pure contains the Universe in the pocket of his heart."
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staffs
Administrator
Staffs
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Post by staffs on Mar 15, 2005 19:41:47 GMT
No Kieran ,please enlighten me.
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Post by leonardo on Mar 15, 2005 22:47:05 GMT
Meanwhile, back on topic..... Anyone like to hazard a guess at who the author of this little piece is? "I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the Light comes from Above, it enlightens my heart and I can see, for the Eye of my heart sees everything. The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space, wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things and through which we see Him. If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen, and if you should die in this ignorance, your soul cannot return immediately to the Great Spirit, but it must be purified by wandering about in the world. In order to know the center of the heart where the Great Spirit dwells you must be pure and good, and live in the manner that the Great Spirit has taught us. The man who is thus pure contains the Universe in the pocket of his heart." Black Elk
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Post by leonardo on Mar 15, 2005 22:51:08 GMT
For some enlightenment reading click on the link below: ENLIGHTENMENT
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bod
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UGLE - MM (London), MMM RAM(Middx), OSM (London)
Posts: 1,296
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Post by bod on Mar 16, 2005 0:29:19 GMT
Isn't Google useful at times! Glass of extra strong lemonade goes to Leo....
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Post by leonardo on Mar 18, 2005 17:58:27 GMT
Isn't Google useful at times! Glass of extra strong lemonade goes to Leo.... Cheers Bod.
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bod
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UGLE - MM (London), MMM RAM(Middx), OSM (London)
Posts: 1,296
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Post by bod on Mar 18, 2005 18:43:02 GMT
Another one to share with you:
Enlightenment is a man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's own understanding without direction from another. This immaturity is self-incurred if it's cause is not lack of understanding, but lack of resolve and courage to use it without another's guidance. Sapere aude. Dare to know! That is the motto of Enlightenment.
Another extra strong lemonade, or beer for the name of the author. (I'm secretly betting with myself that ruff gets it first - unless someone Googles him to it)
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Post by leonardo on Mar 18, 2005 19:31:46 GMT
The Buddha summed it up well when he said "There is no path to happiness, happiness is the path."
Same with "enlightenment." We don't suddenly wake up one day and find we're "enlightened." It's all a path. No rush.
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ruffashlar
Member
Lodge Milncroft No. 1515 (GLoS), Govanhill Royal Arch Chapter 523 (S.G.R.A.C.S.)
Posts: 2,184
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Post by ruffashlar on Mar 19, 2005 4:40:32 GMT
Yes, but Enlightenment itself - satori - comes suddenly, perhaps not upon waking, but usually when we are least expecting it, often at the most mundane of tasks.
The Zen student Hsiang-yen, who had been waiting and meditating and listening to sodding koans for years and years till he was blue in the face, and still didn't get it, finally decided he was going to jack it in and work as a gardener in a shrine. So he started clearing stones off a patch of earth with a stick, and then he accidentally prised a pebble out that sprang through the air and landed with a ping on a piece of bamboo. And in that moment, he got it. He was Enlightened.
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Post by leonardo on Mar 19, 2005 9:55:01 GMT
Ruff,
There is a similar story in Tibetan Buddhism about a guy who "sudenly became enlightened by looking at his Masters snot! There are many such stories. I don't believe them. I do believe, however, that certain people come to a sudden realisation about some individual thing/situation or other, but that's all.
The "light bulb" approach to total enlightenment is just wishful thinking.
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ruffashlar
Member
Lodge Milncroft No. 1515 (GLoS), Govanhill Royal Arch Chapter 523 (S.G.R.A.C.S.)
Posts: 2,184
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Post by ruffashlar on Mar 20, 2005 19:57:54 GMT
What is Enlightenment?
If you don't believe someone can become enlightened at the drop of a hat, you probably don't understand what being enlightened is. It's an event which occurs in the intellect, but which can't easily be tricked apart logically. It simultaneously happens in "the heart", that is, the irrational and emotional side of one's personality. It may also make you light-headed, excited, calm and nervous at once. Bursting into spontaneous laughter is quite common, too. The whole body experiences Enlightenment, there are no divisions or dichotomies, no mind/body, mind/brain, mind/soul.
It is like touching God. Indeed, being enlightened includes awareness of what religions call God, but as an enlightened being the ideas of judgement and punishment have no meaning. Likewise orthodoxy and heresy, mere arguments between the unenlightened. A convert must always face the uncertainty of losing his faith. The enlightened person is serene, even in the face of death. Nothing has changed. The world is the same as it was three minutes ago. And yet everything is changing constantly. Reality is here.
You don't get any smarter when you become enlightened. You don't become sexier, or dress cooler, or stop worrying about your waistline or your hair loss. It doesn't improve your golfing handicap, and no-one fast-tracks you through the Chair or invites you to join any groovy side order. If you had weaknesses and vices, you'll still have them after becoming enlightened. Becoming enlightened is the easy part: it lets you know where the ropebridge is, but it's still up to you to walk it.
And the lightbulb does switch on, sometimes. Take it from me.
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Post by a on Mar 20, 2005 20:56:41 GMT
Becoming enlightened is the easy part: it lets you know where the ropebridge is, but it's still up to you to walk it. Remarkably similar to Middlepillars "There is nothing more easy than to come to the gate of truth; there is nothing more difficult than to enter it. This applies to most of the wise of this world."
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ruffashlar
Member
Lodge Milncroft No. 1515 (GLoS), Govanhill Royal Arch Chapter 523 (S.G.R.A.C.S.)
Posts: 2,184
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Post by ruffashlar on Mar 20, 2005 21:05:51 GMT
He say gates, me say bridges. Whatever In fact, I believe I call it a ropebridge because I'm personally afraid of heights, hence swaying bridges and the like perfectly encapsulate my own sense of trepidation at walking the talk. If middlepillar is afraid of Gates, he must be a software engineer ;D
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Post by a on Mar 20, 2005 21:12:54 GMT
You know what I do when I realise that I have a fear. I learn about it, and I confront it as best I can, and I will keep confronting it until I no longer fear. Boy does it help.
Mind you it also helps if you view life as an experience, for you can then encapsulate what you once feared and learn from it to help you progress on your individual journey through life.
It also helps you make more sense out of what could be called religious pain.
Added: An understanding and belief in reincarnation probably also helps.
As an aside I recently had a chat with a great gentleman in his nineties about death. He tells me that he isn't a Freemason but he appeared quite annoyed with some of the things that have happened with me Masonically, so take your pick. Anyway, when I expalined my view of death to him, it was clear that he was very familiar with it, yet he clearly never quite believed it, and sort of encapsulated it when he said "do you really believe all that stuff we are taught". I do, even though I haven't been "taught" it. It does help. Actually I cant recall for certain that he said "we are taught" but I think that he did. Regardless, it does help.
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ruffashlar
Member
Lodge Milncroft No. 1515 (GLoS), Govanhill Royal Arch Chapter 523 (S.G.R.A.C.S.)
Posts: 2,184
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Post by ruffashlar on Mar 20, 2005 21:44:06 GMT
Oh, I'm not afraid of death. Just heights.
Actually hitting the ground holds no terrors for me at all.
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Post by whistler on Mar 20, 2005 21:47:46 GMT
He say gates, me say bridges. Whatever In fact, I believe I call it a ropebridge because I'm personally afraid of heights, hence swaying bridges and the like perfectly encapsulate my own sense of trepidation at walking the talk. If middlepillar is afraid of Gates, he must be a software engineer ;D I have a bumber sticker "In a world without fences - who needs GATES" ;D
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Post by a on Mar 20, 2005 21:48:48 GMT
Ruff
Let me take you absailing some time. I will share some interesting stories with you as we stand at the top of the wall before sticking our a***s out in momentary freefall before descending.
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Post by munkholt on Mar 20, 2005 21:52:22 GMT
This expression* struck a chord with me: If all you're going to do once enlightened is sit on your mountain top and smile sagely at the futile endeavours of those still in the dark, what's the point? What are you doing with your light? *) It was one of the expressions used on a seminar that I attended by an Indian who had modernized "tribal wisdom" into management courses (the concept is so cool and irreverant -- still brings a smile to my face). He linked it to a Warrior ideal: the path towards light is the hardest choice, while at the same time being the path of least resistance. He also offered these definitions of FEAR: - Fake Evidence Appearing Real - F**k Everything And Run ... both very reasonable!
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ruffashlar
Member
Lodge Milncroft No. 1515 (GLoS), Govanhill Royal Arch Chapter 523 (S.G.R.A.C.S.)
Posts: 2,184
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Post by ruffashlar on Mar 20, 2005 21:54:45 GMT
" Let me take you absailing some time. I will share some interesting stories with you as we stand at the top of the wall" Sure. On the phone. " ...before sticking our arses out in momentary freefall before descending." Why not make it really interesting, and forget about the rope? We can use Providence instead
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