Ancient Chinese society was based on two systems of thought, Confucianism and Taoism.
In general, Confucianism governed the linguistic, ethical, legal and ritual conventions that coordinate social relations.
In other words, Confucianism was devoted to conventional knowledge, the knowledge of people conditioned en masse for the functioning of Chinese society.
On the other hand, Taoism was mainly the concern of older people, especially those who were leaving the workforce. This abandonment of social activity was a kind of testimony to an inner liberation from conventional ways of thinking and behaving.
Taoism, therefore, is the pursuit of unconventional knowledge, the direct understanding of Life.
The Chinese word Tao means <<< way, path, route >> and sometimes also <<< speak >>. When we talk about the Word in Taoism, we are talking about the Tao (Word of God expressed in Chinese form).
Do you have trouble believing it? Read these Taoist passages:
Source: Tao Te Ching, Translation by Jonathan Star, E-Book ISBN 978-1-101-65947-2, E-Book available in the KINDLE application
“Something formless, complete in itself. There before Heaven and Earth. Tranquil, vast, standing alone, unchanging. It provides for all things yet cannot be exhausted. It is the mother of the universe. I do not know its name so I call it “Tao”.”
Verse 25
“Though formless and intangible. It gives rise to form. Though vague and elusive. It gives rise to shapes. Though dark and obscure. It is the spirit, the essence, the life-breath of all things. “But is it real?” you ask─ I say its evidence is all of creation! From the first moment to the present. The Name has been sounding. It is the gate through which the universe enters. The witness by which the universe sees. How have I come to know all this? That very Name has told me, That Name which is sounding right here, right now.”
Verse 21
“A way that can be walked is not The Way. A name that can be named is not The Name. Tao is both Named and Nameless. As Nameless, it is the origin of all things. As named, it is the mother of all things.”
Verse 1
What Lao Tzu tells you is that Reality has no name and if it bears names by incarnating (its Word) in the World (in flesh, the visible) it is to make ignorant people understand the true nature of Reality.
If you are strongly attached to the Christian tradition, just read John's gospel:
“In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him. What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men; and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it.”
John 1:1-5 ─ New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
“The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14 ─ New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
The Word therefore refers to Reality, so it is enough to stop relying on what is seen. Do you now understand the importance of faith?
Reality makes the visible appear (what is seen), but Evil comes from attachment and value judgments (knowledge of good and evil) of everything that is seen by considering yourself a real subject.
Only Reality is real, everything else seem like a mirage in the desert.
It is extremely difficult to explain Reality with words when Reality is out of any word, but it has a more radical method of awakening, still available today, hidden under tons of rotten books of our modern civilization.
Indeed, the word of truth became very powerful in the sixth century AD when a certain Bodhidharma descended from India to China with an Indian sūtra, the Lankāvatāra Sūtra.
Bodhidharma is therefore the Patriarch of the fusion of Indian Buddhism and Chinese Taoism. The mixture of Indian Buddhism and Chinese Taoism made the Chán current appear in China.
This eastern fusion of truth is expressed to us today through the testimony of Zerubbabel since it is one of the aspects of the mission of the Son of Man to take from the East to bring it to the West:
“because the coming of the Son of man will be like lightning striking in the east and flashing far into the west.”
Matthew 24:27 ─ New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
Here is an excerpt from the opening of the seventh seal of the apocalypse, taken from the article << l’année sainte ─ in French only ─ >>, author: Zerubbabel:
“But at midnight there was a cry, "Look! The bridegroom! Go out and meet him." Then all those virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, "Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out." But they replied, "There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves." They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other attendants arrived later. "Lord, Lord," they said, "open the door for us." But he replied, "In truth I tell you, I do not know you."
Matthieu 25, 6-12 ─ New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
Where does the husband come from? Two quotes answer this question:
- — 1) “because the coming of the Son of man will be like lightning striking in the east and flashing far into the west.”
Matthew 24:27 ─ New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
- — 2) “Then I saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God.”
Revelation 7:2 ─ New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
- that is, with Zerubbabel, the ring with God's seal, who is also the Son of Man and the Spouse of the parable of the Ten Virgins.
- Explanation: from the East (from the rising sun) to the West, means that Zerubbabel brings the word of Truth injected east of the Indus to that which was injected west, to unite them and obtain a more powerful multivalent remedy because Daniel's Fourth Beast devoured the whole earth and idolatry is now globalized.
But this fusion has consequences for the Ten Virgins, that is, for the Christian religious who have taken a vow of chastity and who must welcome the Bridegroom when he returns... Assuming that the Angel succeeds in waking these "virgins", not all will be ready to enter the wedding hall with the Bridegroom since only those who have taken the trouble to obtain additional oil in vials will be lit.
This oil is the golden oil that comes from the two Anointed Ones who stand by the Lord of all the earth.
Reference to Zechariah 4:12-14
It represents, on the one hand, the word of Truth that comes from Jesus and, on the other hand, the word of Truth that comes from Zerubbabel. The first word comes from the injections made west of the Indus, the second from those made east because, Zerubbabel, by the guardians and curators assigned to him by the Father, rises from the rising Sun.
At first, the Ten Virgins all have in their lamps the golden oil brought by Jesus, but the wise virgins have also taken in vials the oil of oriental origin which will allow them to enter with Zerubbabel in the wedding hall....
In these vials is a concentrate of Buddhism and Taoism that allows the word of Truth to be quickly assimilated in its oriental form. In concrete terms, it consists of four books and a bonus:
- — 1) The Way of Zen, Alan Watts, E-book ISBN 9780307784346, Paperback ISBN 9780375705106, E-Book available in the KINDLE application
- — 2) Essential Dharma of mind transmission, Huangbo, translation by chintokkong, E-Book available in the KINDLE application
- — 3) The Record of Linji, translation and commentary by Ruth Fuller Sasaki, edited by Yuho Kirchner, E-book ISBN 978-0-8248-2821-9, Paperback ISBN 978-0-8248-3319-0, E-Book available in the KINDLE application
The explanations given by these two masters of Chán at the end of the first millennium (Huangbo died around 850 and Linji around 867) constitute the most successful Eastern form of the remedy against ignorance and idolatry. Yet, as in the West, this does not prevent the relapse of the year 1000 from happening, even if almost no one notices it, because the Beast kills the two testimonies without burying them, recovering them, and the Truth flows back everywhere in the world until it is totally sealed!
It is only from the beginning of the third millennium that the seals will be broken one after the other by a book that will resurrect the two witnesses:
- — 4) «The Sign of the Son of Man, opening of the first six seals, Book ISBN: 978-2-35485-189-7, E-Book ISBN: 978-235485-405-8 «─In French only─, written on the lines and between the lines. On the lines is the word of Truth injected west of the Indus; between the lines, the one injected east. http://leciel.free.fr/
And finally, the bonus... In:
- — 5) « Tch’an (Zen) Racines et floraisons » (Hermès 4, Les Deux Océans, Paris, 1985) ─In French only─, there are still a few drops of certified golden oil of oriental origin.
These works make it possible to get to the point. They are concentrates that avoid having to immerse themselves in the tedious study of a library that exceeds the volume of the Christian Bible.
Whether or not you are one of the Ten Virgins, you must read them or reread them urgently so as not to risk staying at the door of the wedding hall and hearing the Son of Man tell you: I DO NOT know YOU!
By taking this oriental oil and mixing it with the western oil you will be able to enter the wedding hall, in other words you will reach the total truth.
For those called, salvation consists in becoming elected through the knowledge of the total truth.
On the other hand, for the Virgins with a lamp, what has given you here is to give you the necessary oil to be able to bear fruit (to save the chosen ones) by being able to use the oriental testimony as well as the occidental one.
If the Spirit calls you to play the role of one of the Virgins, if you know it, if in spite of everything you do not fulfill the mission entrusted to you, this prophecy will therefore be fulfilled for you, the Son of Man will tell you: <<<Do NOT KNOW YOU >>!
Being invested with a role is not child's play, it is not to serve Reality according to your moods and when you feel like it. To serve Reality is to listen and apply consistently what he asks you to do every day of your life.
It is in this sense that you must always be vigilant, always ready to serve the Most High.
As for Bodhidharma, he was one of those people who are called Living (from the Christian point of view).
Throughout Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as a non-Chinese man with a bad character, a bearded, shaggy face, large eyes with bushy eyebrows and a dark look. He is nicknamed "The Great Traveller" and "The Light-Eyed Barbarian". (Chinese: 碧眼胡; pinyin: Bìyǎnhú) in the chán texts.
He's the kind of guy who points out the truth without having to turn around. I therefore share an extract translated into English from this book:
« Tch’an (Zen) Racines et floraisons » (Hermès 4, Les Deux Océans, Paris, 1985) ─In French only─, p.272-273.
You will soon understand where the Chán current comes from, born of the fusion of Buddhism in India and Chinese Taoism:
Bodhidharma staying in the kingdom of Liang met Emperor Wu (Xiao Yan).
Emperor Wu of Liang asked Grand Master Bodhidharma: <<< What is the ultimate principle of the Sacred Truth? >>
Bodhidharma says: <<< An unfathomable void and nothing sacred. >>
The Emperor continued: <<< But who am I looking at? >>
Bodhidharma replied: <<< I don't know. >>
See as a reference: The Way of Zen, Alan Watts, p.86, E-book ISBN 9780307784346, Paperback ISBN 9780375705106, E-Book available in the KINDLE application
See also : Bodhidharma extract, « Tch’an (Zen) Racines et floraisons » (Hermès 4, Les Deux Océans, Paris, 1985) ─In French only─, p.272-273, Translated into English here
That's it, the truth is simple. Bodhidharma knows nothing and does not define himself as something because Reality is outside of any word and therefore, he is no longer of this world, as Jesus expressed it in front of Pilate:
“Pilate said, 'So, then you are a king?' Jesus answered, 'It is you who say that I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice. 'Truth?' said Pilate. 'What is that?' And so saying he went out again to the Jews and said, 'I find no case against him.”
John 18:37-38 ─ New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
“But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders he refused to answer at all. Pilate then said to him, 'Do you not hear how many charges they have made against you?' But to the governor's amazement, he offered not a word in answer to any of the charges.”
Matthieu 27,12-14 ─ New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
This is proof that all those who believe themselves to be great and look at the little ones with a great air will never understand the Truth, this forgotten ancient Wisdom, since Reality has nothing to do with worldly intelligence and the elements of this world.
Those who believe they are intelligent reject the Truth since they believe they are superior, but are in fact blind champions enemies of Life, that they define themselves as intellectuals, religious, historians, scientists, saviors of humanity and the planet, no matter what, their vision is not real since it will never possess the nature of Reality. Everything is vanity!
“Jesus replied, 'Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. As it is, my kingdom does not belong here.”
John 18:36 ─ New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
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