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The text below is from A Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything blog. The full episode describes this all in much more detail and specifically Gnostic terms…
This episode presents two more verses from the Tao Te Ching, and mines the gnosis from them for your enlightenment. The Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, is an ancient Chinese collection of 81 wisdom verses. In Gnostic terminology, the Tao spoken of by Lao Tzu refers to the Father. The principles of organization that have informed our universe since the moment before creation refers to the Fullness of God. Non-being refers to clearing your personal Unit of Consciousness of egoic memes and karma to reveal your truest Self. Non-action refers to allowing the Fullness of God to direct your actions for the greater good.
Verse 1, the Mitchell translation
The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.
The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery. Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source. This source is called darkness. Darkness within darkness, the gateway to all understanding.
A Simple Gnostic Explanation of Verse 1
The information and principles of organization imagined in ideal form in the Pleroma are more perfect and complete than we can ever articulate.
Pure conscious awareness without time and space exists outside our universe.
Abstract thought on the part of the Pleroma defined creation prior to the Big Bang. In our universe, we are only able to recognize objects and concepts we have named.
When we set down our meme bundles we are freed from personal preference. In that clear state we may perceive the workings of the universal model and our role in it. Remaining attached to our memes obscures the inflowing Aeonic patterns and keeps us tethered to our familiar material and relational patterns.
Pure, undifferentiated consciousness dwells in the unformed darkness of the Father. The thought patterns that produce light and matter arise out of the Son and the Fullness, but the manifestations of these patterns takes place within our universe. The portal into our universe is the gateway to all understanding.
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Verse 31 Simple Explanation translation
Even the finest instruments of war cannot bring good fortune; All units of consciousness seem to detest them. Therefore, one who is aligned with the Father’s will avoids them.
Consciousness prefers the passive, the weak–the “feminine.” War gives preference to the active, the strong, the “masculine.” Instruments of war are the least fortunate of all tools, in opposition to the instruments preferred by the indwelling Lord–the Self. They should only be used when unavoidably compelled.
Detached restraint is the best policy. Even in victory there should be no boasting, but rather find beauty in the Aeonic pattern. Truly, those who find joy in killing others cannot expect to instantiate Heaven on earth!
Joyful events celebrate the feminine; Sorrow and calamity prefer the masculine.
The second-in-command occupies the masculine position on the left, the commander-in-chief takes the place on the right, or feminine side–an arrangement on par with a funeral rite. Accordingly, killing others causes all of our Selves to weep with sorrow.
Victory in battle is, therefore, an opportunity for mourning, and should be treated as one.
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This verse is most obviously about how we should react to war and the slaughter of war. Simply put, killing an “enemy” is only a last resort, one absolutely compelled by circumstances. Even then, victory is never sweet, never an occasion for boasting or celebration. For, according to Verse 31, good cannot come from it. “Heaven on Earth” will not result from war–it’s axiomatic.
Secondly, this verse talks a lot about left and right, feminine and masculine. These are references to Yin and Yang, not “women” and “men” per se. Here’s what it says about this polarity: consciousness requires a yin state of mind, whether it be your own personal Self or the Pleroma and Son with which your personal Unit of Consciousness longs to be united. To be or become conscious, one must cultivate and dwell in the passive, feminine, yin state; which is to say, “receptive.”
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| The rising yang is the white area on the left. The sinking yin is the black area on the right. |
War, conflict, and killing are evidence of passionate yang states–the masculine, “active” mode. Verse 31 is advancing the axiom that the mode of being required by war is antithetical to that required by consciousness. Lao Tzu equates beauty and joy with consciousness and being in alignment with the Pleroma. This is why he equates killing with sorrow–because to wield the sword, the gun, or the explosive vest is never the metaversal plan, or “will of God,” and will never bring the desired joyful outcome.
Lastly, here’s how I interpret the part about the second-in-command occupying the yang position and the commander occupying the yin position: when seeking enlightenment, or alignment with the Pleroma or God’s will, your personal Self needs to hold the commander’s position in your soul. If your Self is in control, rather than your “little me” mind/Ego or your emotional yang passions, you will be in the passive, yin state and able to channel the Father’s will. In that state, it is just fine for the passions and mind to be second-in-command; this is how it should be. When those roles are reversed, as they are for most people whose theatre of action is in the material world, their yang state precludes the receptivity required for enlightenment. Therefore, when, with full consciousness of the tragic consequences, the Self must preside over war, this is an occasion for mourning, as if presiding over a funeral.