by Jason (Rehru Gazib)
Posted to alt.magick.serious in July 2005, this essay by practitioner Jason (writing as Rehru Gazib) is a philosophical synthesis of Thelemic cosmology with Zen Buddhism and Daoist metaphysics. The central argument: that the "Double Wanded One" prophesied in the Book of the Law — Thoth, the union of Horus and Ma'at — corresponds to the Madhyamika ("Middle Way") teaching of Niu-t'ou Fa-yung and Nagarjuna, which refuses both annihilationism and eternalism. Thelema's Great Work, in this reading, is the integration of all consciousness states unto Chochmah above the Abyss — what Buddhism calls the borderland of Nirvana and what Daoism calls the Dao itself. The essay draws on Crowley's Liber Aleph, the Heart Sutra, the Ananda Sutta, and the writings of Nagarjuna to make the case that the New Aeon is not a theological departure from Asian mysticism but its Western synthesis.
"Do not abide in the extremity of the void, but illumine the non-being in the being. It is neither out of the void nor out of being. Void and being are not conceived of as two. This is called the Middle Way."
— Niu-t'ou Fa-yung, of the Madhyamika ["Middle Way"], or Shunyavada ["Voidist"] School of Buddhism (594–657 CE); found in Chang Chung-yuan's Original Teachings of Ch'an Buddhism, Vintage Books, New York, c. 1971, pp. 7 & 24.
"But your holy place shall be untouched throughout the centuries: though with fire and sword it be burnt down & shattered, yet an invisible house there standeth, and shall stand until the fall of the Great Equinox; when Hrumachis shall arise and the double-wanded one assume my throne and place."
— Liber AL vel Legis (The Book of the Law), III:34
The misunderstanding or deliberate misinterpretation of the terms used to describe processes involved in the Oedipal metaphysics of pantheonism's so-called "pagan mythologies", contrasted with monotheistic religions' verses and the ideologies stemming from a collective assimilation of those verses, has contributed to some of the darkest movements and moments in the history of human civilization. This is just as true today in the 21st Century as it had been when humans were barely evolved from clubbing others senselessly to death over the last bloody, raw meat morsel from the leg of a freshly killed deer; and if you think about it, not much concerning the human condition has changed in all of that span of time, unfortunately.
I know of no others save Aleister Crowley who took it upon themselves to bridge the gaps in metaphysical systems of key cultures in such a way that in hindsight had not been done out of selfishness or at the expense of the spiritual bondage of the people, all people, of the World.
The above quote is written from the vantage of Ra-Hoor-Khuit, describing what in the West all too often is solely seen as a progression of Zodiacal stations and their pan-culture deity personifications occurring every 2000 years. The span of time of which is termed an "Aeon."
Ra-Hoor-Khuit is a Thelemic spelling redaction of the Egyptian deity "Ra-Harakhte" — "the Sun of the two horizons." Ra-Harakhte is the title of an initiate who through meditation has integrated all altered states of consciousness and all stages of birth and death in the human and preter-human conditions; both together comprising what is known as the "Riddle of the Sphinx" par excellence.
But there is something amiss. Why, if Ra-Harakhte is the imperfect wo/man at union with the perfect "God," is there another progression? The answer is simple: it is not a progression. It is a slight regression. Hrumachis is "Horus The Elder" fused with the goddess "Hathor" to make the bi-sexual deity "Ma'at," the goddess of Justice. Ma'at also happens to be Horus' sister: the twin serpents about the caduceus or staff of "Thoth." "The Double Wanded One" is Thoth. The union of Horus and Ma'at is in Thelemic parlance the formula of "The Beast conjoined with the Woman"; which according to Aleister Crowley establishes a new incarnation of deity. That deity personification is Thoth: the initiate as an immortal deity.
The Vacchagotta Sutta and the Middle Way
Allow me to clarify by way of a seeming digression.
Stemming from the meeting between Gotama Buddha and a wandering monk named "Vacchagotta," arose many sects of Buddhism having been unable to reach a consensus as to which state of consciousness precisely was found the ultimate reality and supreme contemplative peace. The debate: annihilationism or eternalism.
Briefly:
Ananda Sutta
To Ananda (on Self, No Self, and Not-self)
"Then the wanderer Vacchagotta went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, he sat down to one side. As he was sitting there he asked the Blessed One:
"'Now then, Venerable Gotama, is there a self?'
"When this was said, the Blessed One was silent.
"'Then is there no self?'
"A second time, the Blessed One was silent.
"Then Vacchagotta the wanderer got up from his seat and left. Then, not long after Vacchagotta the wanderer had left, Venerable Ananda said to the Blessed One, 'Why, lord, did the Blessed One not answer when asked a question by Vacchagotta the wanderer?'
"'Ananda, if I — being asked by Vacchagotta the wanderer if there is a self — were to answer that there is a self, that would be conforming with those priests & contemplatives who are exponents of eternalism [the view that there is an eternal, unchanging soul]. If I — being asked by Vacchagotta the wanderer if there is no self — were to answer that there is no self, that would be conforming with those priests & contemplatives who are exponents of annihilationism [the view that death is the annihilation of consciousness]. If I — being asked by Vacchagotta the wanderer if there is a self — were to answer that there is a self, would that be in keeping with the arising of knowledge that all phenomena are not-self?'
"'No, lord.'
"'And if I — being asked by Vacchagotta the wanderer if there is no self — were to answer that there is no self, the bewildered Vacchagotta would become even more bewildered: Does the self I used to have now not exist?'"
— Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Bodhidharma, the First Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, brought Buddhism to China from India. The Chinese at that time, while India had Buddhism, had the Classical Daoism of Laozi and Zhuangzi. The coexistence of both Buddhist and Daoist doctrines were then fused into what is now known as the Voidist School of Buddhism: "Ch'an" in China, and "Zen" in Japan. Nagarjuna had been the biggest propounder of the Voidist School in China and essentially took the annihilationism-or-eternalism debate and put it to rest. In his philosophizing he found the eternalism in annihilationism and annihilationism in eternalism and concluded that while what had been thought of as "death" is rather an integration of one state unto another, there is an ultimate state in which absolute death of consciousness occurs. This state Gotama Buddha named "Nirvana." The Daoists called the same simply "Dao." It did not make sense to Nagarjuna to have gone through a process of rational deductions to arrive at Nirvana and simply take it on faith that there is anything but extinction in Nirvana. Nirvana, after all, would then be "annihilation of annihilation." Therefore, "do not abide in the extremity of the Void" became a matter of common sense and doctrinal law.
Thelema as Synthesis
Thelema, like Daoism and Zen, is a genuine, experiential paradoxical philosophy. It is a doctrinal mixture of several metaphysical systemic components but chiefly: the Egyptian Mysteries, the redacted Babylonian Tree of Life or Kabbalah (to include Void states absent in the Judaic adaptation of same), and the Voidist School of Ch'an Buddhism — itself being a coagulation of Buddhism and Daoism.
The only idiosyncrasy I have with Aleister Crowley's framework is his shying away from the Voidist School's usage of all states within and to the center of soul states as belonging to Void — with the exception of Nirvana where, again, Void is void. This distinction alone could have completely undermined the efforts before they even began concerning the Old Aeonic infiltration in Thelemic organizations. Of which, at this juncture, none in my opinion are to be trusted.
"Old Aeon" refers to doctrines and adherents attached to eternalism of soul states and refusing to integrate into Void states, believing soul not to be impermanent but rather absolute. "New Aeon" is of course the converse. There is one instance where even a portion of New Aeonic discourse can be considered Old Aeonic.
The Bodhisattva Vow in Mahayana Buddhism essentially means that all Buddhas who at first sight of integrating soul states with that of the very initial Void states are to renounce furthering their own spiritual development and enlighten seekers who ask for such, until all life-forms on Earth are themselves Buddhas and enlightened. Modern day Zen Masters, if legitimate at all, are Buddha/Bodhisattvas. This is unfortunate in a sense because if after the death of the flesh body the Buddha/Bodhisattvas wish to incarnate willingly among the human condition, they may do so but cannot do so in such a way that is directed and controlled as to where they want to be incarnated. The Buddha/Bodhisattvas when incarnated are so with a fundamental lesson in their metaphysic that is not being taught anymore: that all in the outside World are the manifest illusions within the Buddha Nature's finite mind. In short the Bodhisattva Vow, contrary to its aim, is responsible for producing more "suffering" and "ignorance" in and among the human condition. Thelema corrects this; though Aleister Crowley is none too lenient in its correction. Consider what he stated in Liber Aleph, Part IV:
"Thus the true Will of Oedipus was toward the bed of Jocasta, but the Tabu, strong both by Inheritance and by Environment, was so attached to that Will that his Dream concerning his Destiny was a Dream of Fear and of Abhorrence, his Fulfillment thereof (even in Ignorance) a spell to stir up all the subconscious Forces of all the People about him, and his Realization of the Act a madness potent to drive him to self-inflicted Blindness and fury-haunted Exile."
The Practice
Reversing the light is the fundamental technique to integrate all altered states of consciousness. Whichever state one is in, perpetually direct the perceived manifestation to draw back on itself, and consistently hold. Patiently and contentedly abiding in this neutrality eventually brings about another integration into another state of consciousness; of which one needs to count well. Minus the initial contemplative work to bring all electromagnetic colors in the color spectrum unto white light, not including the change into the initial all-white-light state, and to include the passage from soul states to Void states, there are five changes. The sixth change by the best minds the World has ever housed and set free, agreed, is certain and permanent death. Do as thou wilt.
To conclude, an initiate as Thoth and double-wanded is one who integrates all states of consciousness unto Chochmah "above the Abyss" and resides there for an infinite Aeon to "do as thou wilt."
Colophon
Originally posted to alt.magick.serious, July 25, 2005, by Jason, writing under the handle Rehru Gazib. The same author contributed "Autogenic Training & Chaos Magic Metaprogramming" to alt.magick.chaos and "A Vision of the 18th Aire — ZEN" to alt.magick, building a consistent body of cross-traditional magical philosophy. This essay stands as one of the most philosophically sophisticated treatments of Thelema in the alt.magick.* newsgroup archives — situating Crowley's prophetic system within the living tradition of Buddhist and Daoist non-dual thought.
Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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