Sunday, April 6, 2008

Thelema is Zen

Thelema is a praxis, a way of life.

Thelema is a state of mind. It is Zen, the natural uprushing and outflowing of Will unhindered by Ego or Reason.

The word of the Law is Thelema. This is the Law of Dharma, the Law of the Tao, the Law of the Way-things-are. In this Aeon, we understand It as 'Thelema.'

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that, and no other shall say nay. For there are no 'others' when absorbed in that state of Thelema, of pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from lust of result.

There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt. But who is this "thou?"... Only when the self is entirely enwrapped in the arms of its beloved does the naked child of Thelema awake, arise and come forth.

An outflowing does not necessarily imply purpose - is there not joy ineffable in this aimless winging?

Thelema contains all purposefulness and all unpurposefulness. In each setting of a goal is the possibility of attachment; in each attachment is the seed of suffering, but 'pure will' is executed without 'lust of result.' One should remember that there is joy in the setting of the goal, in the striving towards the goal, in the achievement of the goal, and in the transcending of the goal.

Thelema: bind in your soul the watchwords of Will, Strength, Naturalness, Force, Fire, and Growth. Or rather: cast away the clouds of dispersion, duality, over-thinking, and attachment to allow the natural Joy of Love under Will emanate forth from one's being in all things, even one's death.

Therefore was it given to us to "Die daily," but I say "Die momentarily." That is, every moment is death of the old, it is also the birth of the new - the crest and trough of the undulating Serpent of Life, "for every step is a death and a birth." Hold steadfast, then, on the ever-changing, flowing river of Thelema.


"We attained to be starry grains of gold dust in the sands of a slow river. Yea, and that river was the river of space and time also. We parted thence; ever to the smaller, ever to the greater, until now, O sweet God, we are ourselves, the same... The beat of my heart is the pendulum of love. The songs of me are the soft sighs: The thoughts of me are very rapture: And my deeds are the myriads of Thy children, the stars and the atoms. Let there be nothing! Let all things drop into this ocean of love!"
-Liber Liberi vel Lapidus Lazuli V:17-19, 23-28

2 comments:

Moon Face Buddha said...

'Karma', 'Enlightenment', 'Zen'... these words often get used without understanding or reference to the original meaning. They have been taken out of the original context and appropriated by many in the West.

Anonymous said...

@ Moon Face > And your point was ? (clearly this debate could span the aeons)