Breath = Spirit Was: Vajra and Vajrayana

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Dharma <deva

<>

Monday, May 21, 2001 6:59 AM

Re: Vajra and Vajrayana

 

>Hi Magne,

>

>[sorry for this silly-looking indented text... it's because I picked up

>this message from our archives at , and this is the way it looks when

>I bring it back and drop it into a Eudora message.]

>

>> In relation to the circulation of Kundalini,

>>we have the rotation of the

>> Pearl upwards and downwards the chakras, these

>>pearl as you quote is the

>> ".... the Philosopher's Stone, the precious

>>jewel (mani), the prima materia

>> of the human mind, nay, of the very faculty of

>>consciousness in whatever

>> form of life it might appear."

>>

>> These Pearl is depicted in the Yin-Yang

>>symbol: One small, white circel (the

>> pearl) within the black part (downwards

>>movement), and another small, black

>> circle (the pearl) within the white part

>>(upwards movement).

>>

>> The circulation affects the breathing process

>>with its oxygen/carbondioxyd,

>> and diamonds ARE in fact carbon. So, we can

>>look at the diamond as a symbol

>> of the transmuted breath of life.

>

>I'm reminded of something Jung said... trying to state it from memory...

>that he suspected that our archetypal symbols have a basis in physical

>reality. He referred to the symbology of the number 4. One is unity, two

>is duality, three is manifestation or creation, and four is stability, the

>stabilized creation... as in the symbolic four-square city. He suggested

>that the basis of this is the four - electrons, is it? - of the carbon

>atom, the basis of our life forms.

>

 

 

One of the "diamond" meditation techniques is to vizualise two diamond

pyramids with their apex upwards and downwards, and their bottom crossing

the head (unification of the two glands):

 

/\

/ \

/ \

------

\ /

\ /

\/

 

And two pyramids each way both gives the square (stability), the trinity

(creation), duality (Ying and Yang) and Oneness between the two glands in

the head. 4 is the completed, the manifested. It is the balance point

without any duality in it (as 5-3, 6-2 and 7-1). The fourth initiation

(manifesting why on Earth) begets the unfoldment of the understanding-Chakra

in the head. It's symbol is the crystal. And we have it in the language too,

because - what is "Crystal clear" to you?

>> In German, the word for breathing is "zu

>>atmen", a remniscence in the

>> language reflecting the fact that this

>>transmutation of breath leads to

>> Atman, the higest spiritual prinsciple in man.

>

>Very interesting! It seems that in many older languages there is a word

>meaning "breath, wind, spirit." Does "atmen" have that meaning? I wonder

>what the Indo-European root is... does anyone know? Someone walked off

>with my etymological dictionary, so I can't look it up.

 

+ + +

 

Yes, it's correct that "spirit" is connected with the "wind", and

"breath"

in many old languages. The Germanic root of German "zu atmen", is "anth".

 

In the dead Gothic language, breathing and to breath is "anthjan" and

"uz-ant";anglo-saxian "ethian" and "oroth".

 

"Uz-anan" (out-breathing) in Gothic (norwegian "utånde") means to die, "the

last breath" - just like Nirvana can be translated to "blowing out a fire".

 

"Spirit" is from french "esprit"; however in sanskrit "aaniti" means

"spirit" and is related with latin animus and anima. Furthermore, sanskrit

aanila (wind) has it's counterpart in Norwegian dialect in the word "ande"

(whizzle of the wind), old celtic irish "anaal" and "anatlaa", old slavian

"vonja" (Onja).

 

The old saxian (Frisian) "ando", "oht", "onto", "amdo" and "anado",

Anglo-saxian "anda" and old norwegian "andi", is written "ånde"

(norwegian),

"aande" (danish") and "ande" (swedish) today. In Norwegian, "ånd"

(spirit)

and "å ånde" (to breath) are related.

 

In Egyptian myhology, the spirit of breath is called "Ba", while the divine

and eternal and highest spiritual principle in us is called "Atmu".

Similarily, the spirit of intelligens - the Aureka-spirit so to speak, was

called "Putah" ---- Buddha!

 

Even when speaking about mundane things, we are touching spiritual subjects

anyway, it seems. The Pure Land Buddhist Ippen (1239-1289), who combined Zen

Buddhism with these devotional worship of the Amitabha Buddha in the West by

reciting the prayer "Namu-Amida-Butsu", stated:

 

 

 

THE MOUTH WHICH CRACKED A FLEA,

SAID - NAMU AMIDA BUTSU !