"Tao can be spoken of, but not the eternal
Tao".
-Tao The Ching, v.1
Metaphors, similes, and other devices from the high tongue of
poetry
are the best means we have to put into words or images what we've found
out about the Way (a translation of the word "Tao") things are.
The same statement applies to other abstractions and absolutes; that
which can't be spoken of directly can be approximately described by its
effects and influences in the worlds of duality.
Duality is the nature of the manifest universe, or Teh, which (for
conversational purposes) arises from, and is a part of, Tao. Duality is
inherent in the "pairs of opposites" which generate and arise from it.
Making a distinction between Tao and Teh is, in my opinion, the first
of the pairs of opposites. Following Tao and Teh we have things
positive and negative, present and absent, dark and light, female and
male, pleasurable and painful, ad infinitum (almost).
There are a number of philosophies and religions that posit dissolution
into the ground of being as the ultimate attainment/disappearance of
the seeker, although many find the promise of a heaven or a paradise
more attractive. For those in pursuit of Tao, however, the ideal
achievement is dissolving into the Way while still in the physical
body. Life goes on, outwardly unchanged, but it's lived in the
understanding of its illusory nature, of one's own illusory nature.
When the time of death arrives, one simply steps out of the physical
body as though from a beloved but outworn garment.
Living dissolution is gained through the practices of contemplation and
simplicity, of silence and attuning oneself to the flow of Tao in all
circumstances and events. This isn't as passive a process as it
might sound, since attunement depends on understanding, and
understanding often depends on a search or a hunt that can last for
years. For some who practice Magick, Tao and Teh seem better fit for
the Mystic than for the Magickian.
Thelemic Magickians, operating on the principles of "Magick is the
Science and the Art of causing change to occur in conformity with Will"
and of "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law; love is the
law, love under will," seem to be seeking the opposite of
dissolution/disappearance. Causing and doing seem much more
externally directed than the attunement of oneself with Tao. There are
mages who emphatically disagree with the idea that the world is exactly
as it should be. From what I understand of their stance, it's by
dint of inspired effort to change things in conformity with Will that
progress happens. Anyone who says otherwise is either too lazy
for the Great Work, or they're totally unearthed from too much time
spent in the mystic realms.
The people I've heard voice this opinion are usually young in the High
Art, tend to be literalists, and are deadly serious. As William Blake
has stated, though, "If a fool persist in his folly, he would become
wise."
Magick often is doing it the hard way. For some, it's a spiritual
boot camp where experience isn't just the best teacher, it's the only
teacher. All that the Holy Books and commentaries can do is point you
in the right direction and fire up your motivation through
imagination. Magick is playing with Maya, with Teh, with
manifestation. It's refining your Art, honing your Science, and
comprehending your Will. To what end?
To perfect the totality of your sacrifice, of course. Anything less
would be mediocre theater.
There comes a time in the course of Initiation - if you persist in it
long enough - when you realize your illusory, temporary, and
polished-to perfection self is a (metaphor alert) knotted eddy in the
flow of Tao. This realization isn't a mere intellectual assent, nor an
emotional depression, but a total Aha!, bone deep, gut level, and,
essentially, hilarious.
Recovery consists of learning how to live with this stunning
realization. The old advice still seems the best: chop wood, carry
water, and tend your garden. When the time's ripe, speak your truth (as
part of the great jolly conspiracy of Teh) so that the falsehood
thereof may ensnare the souls of men. Beyond that, do without doing
whatever opportunity brings you.
