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Liber Grimoiris
[This article submitted by Tagi, [email protected] -- Amythyst]
_Liber Grimoiris_
The Parallels of East and West:
Termas, Grimoires and _The Necronomicon_
By Frater I Nigris (666)
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
The word of Sin is Restriction.
EAST
In the east, especially Tibet, some sacred texts are called
'termas'. Tantric Buddhism is loaded with such references. In
fact, Mahayana Buddhism is founded upon a text called the 'Heart
of Wisdom' Sutra (scripture), transmitted by the Buddha via nagas
(water dragons) to Nagarjuna (Arjuna of the nagas), who is said to
have been a reincarnation of Ananda, Buddha's illustrious
disciple.
Here are some quotes to explain these interesting texts:
"Terma - ...Tibetan, literally 'treasure.' In Tibetan Buddhism, a
term for religious texts, which...were hidden in secret places, so
that at the right time they would be discovered and newly
expounded by qualified persons.... The preservation of religious
literature in hidden places is a practice handed down from an
earlier period in India. Thus Nagarjuna is said to have found
teachings, which he later propagated, in the realm of the serpent
spirits (naga), where they were being guarded from falling into
the wrong hands.
"The Nyingmapas possess by far the most voluminous terma
literature, of which the most important works derive from
Padmasambhava and his female companion Yeshe Tsogyel. These works
are based not only on Indian sources but also on teachings from
the land of Urgyen. According to his biography, Padmasambhava hid
his works in 108 different places in Tibet, in caves, statues,
etc. Among the best-known terma texts are just this biography of
Padmasambhava and the _Tibetan Book of the Dead_ (_Bardo thodel_).
In addition, works on astrology and the basic text on Tibetan
medicine were transmitted as terma."
_The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen_, pgs. 222-223;
1991, Shambhala Publications.
-----------------
"Yeshe Tsogyel - ...Tibetan, literally 'Princess of the Wisdom
Lake,'...; intimate companion of Padmasambhava and the most
important female figure in the tradition of the Nyingmapa
school.... Padmasambhava took her as his consort and transmitted
to her particularly the teachings of the phurba cycle. Yeshe
Tsogyel codified countless of her guru's teachings in terma texts
and also composed his biography...." Ibid, p. 253.
-------------------
"Phurba -...Tibetan, literally 'nail, wedge'; a dagger for
subduing demons introduced into the ritual of Tibetan Buddhism by
Padmasambhava. As a symbol for the direct transmutation of
negative forces, it plays a central role in a system of meditative
practice that was transmitted by Yeshe Tsogyel...
"The origin of the phurba is associated with a long Tantra
[scripture] presented by Padmasambhava at the beginning of his
journey to Tibet. A deity personified as a phurba plays an
important role as a yidam [an approximate equivalent to a
'telesmic image' - see William Gray] in the Sakyapa and Nyingmapa
schools; new transmissions, in the form of terma texts, of
teachings relating to this deity were discovered in the 19th
century...." Ibid, p. 170.
---------------------
These 'termas' were transmissions of esoteric doctrines. Their
content was deposited in hidden locations by ancient masters.
Only adept individuals, sufficiently qualified by awareness and
connected to the master, could successfully 'discover' the terma -
be it hidden in the dark recesses of a cave or in the seclusion a
mystic grove. It is said that what was discovered were not
'scripts' (i.e. written documents) but energy-patterns, transduced
through time via meditative purity. These the adepts translated
into written form.
Some adepts set out to discover these texts, while others (perhaps
like the prophet Mohammed) simply had the experience thrust upon
their secluded meditations. Yeshe Tsogyel discovered many of them
for the Tibetan Tantrics, and the phenomenon is not simply
eastern.
WEST
In the west such texts have sometimes been attributed to God or to
a person who had an experience attributed to God (_The Revelation
of St. John_, for example). In orthodox religion they are called
'revelations'. In heretical or 'occult' traditions they are
called 'grimoires'. More often than not they are said to be of
ancient or mystically powerful origin. As Richard Cavendish
explains in _The Black Arts_, 1967, Putnam:
"...the writers of old grimoires, or magical textbooks, which
instruct the reader in methods of calling up evil spirits, killing
people, causing hatred, and destruction or forcing women to submit
to him in love, did not think of themselves as black magicians.
On the contrary, the grimoires are packed with prayers to God and
the angels, fastings and self-mortifications and ostentatious
piety. The principal process in the _Grimoire of Honorius_, which
is usually considered the most diabolical of them all, overflows
with impassioned and perfectly sincere appeals to God and devout
sayings of the Mass. It also involves tearing out the eyes of a
black cock and slaughtering a lamb, and its purpose is to summon
up the Devil." p. 3.
--------------------
Cavendish confines his writings about 'grimoires' here to those
which are intended to aid the adept in summoning demonic entities,
descriptions complete with bodily movements and 'barbarous names'
of evocation. It seems that many such texts are in existence,
having survived the ravages of an orthodox fear, yet not all of
them concern this subject.
When looking at the origin of grimoires and termas, what is being
cited as their 'source' (e.g. 'Abraham the Jew', the source of
_The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage_; or
'Aiwaz/Aiwass', the source/channel of _The Book of the Law_) is a
certain state of consciousness. Whether this state of
consciousness is in some way related to any historical or
extra-terrestrial figure I leave to the discernment of the reader.
Given all this, there is no reason why a text could not be
referred to ahead of time by its source, the 'intended' recipient,
or a knowledgeable or intuitive third party. The state of
consciousness is there to experience by those with the courage and
ability. The scripture will be received by the adept in any case,
and there is no reason why more than one copy of said text could
not be obtained, though individual minds being what they are it
will most likely be a different 'version'. Perhaps this is the
reason that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John differ as
much as they do.
_THE NECRONOMICON_
When we then turn to the text referred to as _The Necronomicon_ by
H.P. Lovecraft, we are hard-pressed to render a 'verdict' as to
its legitimacy. If indeed the text preceded Lovecraft, then this
does not guarantee that it has come down to us unedited. If the
idea and title were used by Lovecraft as a result of suggestions
from others without an extant text, then perhaps its 'source
consciousness' hid the text until a later time. If Lovecraft
fabricated even the IDEA of the tome along with its title, then
perhaps he was simply a 'third party' to a state of consciousness
which we may never assess.
The writing of this tome at ANY time after Lovecraft's
fabrication, in the special context of termas and grimoires, does
nothing to disprove its value or its origin. Just because
Lovecraft was perceptive enough to imagine such a text, this does
not mean that it did not exist in some fashion (be it within or
WITHOUT the dimension we call 'earth').
The ONLY means of evaluating the various versions of _The
Necronomicon_, therefore, is in comparison with Lovecraft's
writings and through personal experience of the tome in question.
Given sufficient qualification and connection, the adept may then
be able to analyze the contents of the version in question and
discern whether it represents a clear reflection of the source
consciousness.
Two points regarding even this method must be understood. First,
Lovecraft's own ideas about the text may have been faulty.
Therefore, his description in his writings regarding the text are
questionable. One can only say, given that one feels a specific
version of the text varies from Lovecraft's description yet
represents a valid grimoire, that these two 'Necronomicons' are
different and possibly of different origin.
Second, ALL such evaluations are subjective and therefore deserve
the skepticism of other students. We can not arrive at 'objective
knowledge' about this, and thus no review can be considered
absolute in its authority. Certainly some adepts' opinions may be
accepted over others by the researcher, but even this is a
personal preference and cannot constitute the final word in the
matter.
Therefore, regardless of the history or origin of _The
Necronomicon_, whether or not Lovecraft fabricated it or reflected
it in some way, all claims that writings entitled _The
Necronomicon_ are useless or based in ignorance must be taken in
context - as personal opinions. Those who pass such judgements
make a claim to adeptship themselves in order to perform such an
evaluative role. Unless we can vouch for the ability and
awareness of those who do the reviewing, it is a mistake to take
them too seriously.
The best means of evaluating grimoires and termas is personally,
and only then after taking steps to develop our mind to such an
extent that exposure to their occulted energies will not also
expose us to danger or in some way disclose that for which we are
unprepared. Some grimoires, it is said, can NEVER be prepared for
in this way and have powerful effects upon ALL those with
sufficient perception to comprehend their horrible secrets.
In the realms of consciousness, 'time' and the 'transmission of
teachings' are not the simple concepts that many would have us
believe. Be warned that some who 'approve' or 'contest' the
validity of a scripture are either myopic or have political goals
- the enslavement of your mind!
Invoke me under my stars. Love is the law, love under will.
I am I!
9208.06 e.v.
Frater I Nigris (666)
[email protected]
or [email protected]
871 Ironwood Dr.
San Jose, CA 95125
---------------------------
"Behold! the rituals of the old time are black Let the evil ones
be cast away; let the good ones be purged by the prophet! Then
shall this knowledge go aright." _Liber Al vel Legis_
-----------------------------
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