Gathatoulie

And of these shall I speak to those eager, That quality of wisdom that all the wise wish And call creative qualities And good creation of the mind The all-powerful truth Truly and that more & better ways are discovered Towards perfection --Zarathustra.

Friday, November 11, 2011

judeo-buddhist

I noticed some fascinating parallels between the instructions for
Buddhist meditation in the Anapanasati Sutra
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anapanasati_Sutta#Preparatory_instructions)
and the layout of the Kabbalistic tree of life.

Let me run through the "steps" in that Sutra with parallels to some
tarot cards that seem to make sense. (These can certainly be switched
around considerably for other interpretations.)  What's interesting to
me is how these steps map onto the "male" and "female" attributes of
the tree of life.

The parallels can serve as a mnemonic for remembering the various
components of a meditation practice, and for better understanding what
some mystical Kabbalistic things might "really" be about.

Contemplation of the Body / Malkuth
1. Discerning long breaths: 10 of wands, Oppression, as in a sigh
2. Discerning short breaths: 10 of coins, Wealth, as with speech or laughter
3. Experiencing the whole body: 10 of swords, Ruin, as in bodily pain and decay
4. Calming bodily formations: 10 of cups, Satiety, as in calmness

Contemplation of the Feeling / Netzach
5. Being sensitive to rapture: 7 of wands, Valour, as in being in love with an idea
6. Being sensitive to pleasure: 7 of cups, Debauch, as in taking it a bit far

Contemplation of the Feeling / Hod
7. Being sensitive to mental fabrication: 8 of swords, Interference, as in this stuff is messing with me
8. Calming mental fabrication: 8 of coins, Prudence, as in, hey, what's really going on

Contemplation of the Mind / Chesed
9. Being sensitive to the mind: 4 of cups, Luxury, as in what we cook up in fantasy
10. Satisfying the mind: 4 of coins, Completion, as in getting what you're after
(at least in fantasy)

Contemplation of the Mind / Geburah
11. Steadying the mind: 5 of wands, Strife, as in how we must be prepared for a struggle
12. Releasing the mind: 5 of swords, Defeat, as in moving on when we see that the
fantasy level doesn't really "work"

Contemplation of the Mental Objects / Chokmah
13. Focusing on impermanence: 2 of coins, Change, as in things are always changing
14. Focusing on dispassion: 2 of wands, Dominion, as in 'truth will make you free'

Contemplation of the Mental Objects / Binah
15. Focusing on cessation: 3 of swords, Sorrow, as in the the sadness of giving something up
16. Focusing on relinquishment: 3 of cups, Abundance, as in, actually there's plenty so don't worry

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words cut, pasted, and otherwise munged by joe corneli otherwise known as arided.