gnostic esoterica

[Jochen Stremmel]

Around that time in LA I read in a book I just had bought:

After nine years, Bodhidharma, the first Zen patriarch, who
took Zen to China from India in the sixth century, decided that
he wished to return home. He gathered his disciples around him
to test their perception.
Dofuku said: 'In my opinion truth is beyond affirmation or
negation, for this is the way it moves.'
Bodhidharma replied: 'You have my skin.'
The nun Soji said: 'In my view, it is like Ananda's insight of the
Buddha-land -- seen once and forever.'
Bodhidharma answered: 'You have my flesh.'
Doiku said: 'The four elements of light, airiness, fluidity, and
solidity, are empty, and the five Skandhas are no-things. In my
opinion no-thing is reality.'
Bodhidharma commented: 'You have my bones.'
Finally, Eka bowed before the master and remained silent.
Bodhidharma said: 'You have my marrow.'

Found it great but didn't shut up.

2017-07-08 11:34 GMT+02:00 Monte Davis <montedavis49 at gmail.com>:

> Um, Thompson's At the Edge of History was published in 1971. Boy, did I go
> for those explain-it-all mandalas.
>
> On Fri, Jul 7, 2017 at 8:24 PM, L E Bryan <lebryan at sonic.net> wrote:
>
>> Ah yes. The good old days of 20 years ago when Pagel’s "The Gnostics”
>> came out. About the same time William Irwin Thompson’s “the Edge of
>> History” came out. It was in the latter I first came across the demiurge,
>> Ialdabaoth. Hadn’t thought about old Iald in years. The book is still
>> available on Amazon. I wonder if I would still be impressed with his
>> eruditeness.
>>
>> Lawrence
>>
>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
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