Researched and Written

By

Joseph Dismore [Helel]

The Middle Path
The Middle Path distinguishes Buddha's teachings from other Religions. "Middle Path" - Middle meaning Neutral, Upright, and Centered. It means to investigate and penetrate the core of Life and all things with an Upright, Unbiased Attitude. In order to solve a problem, we should position ourselves on Neutral, Upright, and Unbiased Ground. We investigate the problem from various angles, analyze the findings, understand the truth thoroughly, and find a reasonable conclusion.

Buddhism is a Religion with High Moral Values. It lays great emphasis on Human Thought and Action in dealing with the Natural Environment, Society, or Individual problems. It is concerned with the Relationship between Thoughts and Behavior, and the Relationship between Behavior and it's Consequences.

Samyuktaqama, Ch. 12
The Tathatha avoids the two extremes,
And talks about the Middle Path.
What this is, That is; This arises, That arises.
Through ignorance Volitional Actions or Karmic Formations are conditioned.

Through Birth, Decay, Lamentation, Pain etc. are conditioned.
When This is not, That is not, This ceases, That ceases.
Through the complete Cessation of Ignorance,
Volitional Activity or Karmic Formations cease.
Through the Cessation of Birth, Decay, Death, Sorrow etc. Cease.

About Suffering, Buddha thought that Suffering had it's own causes, that all things exist in accordance with the Law of Cause and Effect. When there is a Cause there will be an Effect. When Causes Exist, Effects Exist. This is why Buddha says, "What this is (Cause), That is (Effect), This arising, That arises." This is the Circulation Process of the Law of Dependant Origination.
http://www.buddhanet.net/cbp2_f4.htm

Thus Buddha taught the Noble Eight Fold Path which emphasized the practitioner should Think, Speak, and Act in a Right Manner, thus doing so would negate the Karmic Actions against themselves and bring an end to their Suffering as well as Liberate them from the Cycles of Birth-Life-Death and Rebirth.

Likewise Doctor C.G.Jung a notable Psychiatrist thought of the struggles of the Conflicts of the Mind of Man due to Cause and Effect. In describing Conscious and Unconscious Conflict and the Dual Nature of the Unconscious aspect of the Mind; of that Part of the Unconscious which is Personal and Individual, and that great stream of power, Archetype and Image of which Former is only apart - The Collective Unconscious - The Anima Mundi or Soul of The World.

In The Book "The Middle Pillar" The Balance between Mind and Magic by Israel Regardie, it describes in Chapter 2, some of the components that make up the Mind. The Id, Saying of it that it is the most central core of Man, the deepest level of his Unconscious, being represented by the uppermost Sphere of the Tree of Life in the Middle Pillar which corresponds to the Sephira of Kether (Crown).

The description of the Id or Es as Dr. George Groddeck called it, is the Yechidah - A Hebrew word meaning - The Monad, the Self, the Paternal Ens-The One of Light. It is the "Essence of Mind which is Intrinsically Pure."

The Unconscious and Conscious State of man should work in a Harmony of Balance. Thus, the Conscious experiences and expressions of the Mind in order to be balanced with the Id must not be of a False Outer Sense and Comply with the Archetypes that the Inner Man in a State of Pureness experiences as Archetypes. The Inner nature of the Self reflects the Values of the Conscious Self and if these Values are not Just or do not Equal the Inner Nature and Workings of the Unconscious they become in Conflict.

It could be viewed that the Unconscious and Conscious States are in comparison to the Yang and Yin, the Masculine Active Level of Yang is the Conscious Level of Thought, while the Feminine Passive Level of Yin is viewed as the Unconscious Level of Thought. The student of the Mind would however be aware that there are both Positive and Negative Elements of the Unconscious as well as Conscious Mind, these Elements or Aspects are deemed as the Anima and Animus. The Anima - "Neshama" which is the Intuitive Aspect is in contact with the objects of the Inner Reality, The Images of the Collective Unconscious. The Animus - "Chiah" - The Will, the Life, Animal Life, this is the Creative Vehicle of the Id.

The Anima and Animus of the Unconscious are where the Collective Archetypes of our Male/Female and Female/Male Archetypes of Ancestry become Values and Images in the Collective Unconscious.

"It is in my opinion the Conflict that arises from a repressed Sense of Self to project an Ego Based Construct on the objective world or Outer Conscious State becomes in Conflict with the Inner Self or Yechida thus giving rise to Mental or Physical Ailments due to disturbances with the Mind of Man (Suffering).

Here I will list Verse #46 from Stan Rosenthal's, "Tao Te Ching," it is entitled:
Moderating Desire and Ambition:
When the Way of Nature is observed,
All things serve their function;
Horses drawing carts, and pulling at the plow.
But when the Natural Way is not observed,
Horses are bred for battle and for war.
Desire and Wanting cause Discontent,
Whilst he who knows sufficiency,
More easily has what he requires.

This verse to me indicates that there is a Way of Nature, be that the Natural Realm, or the Inner more Pure Nature of Man, that is being in Harmony with Ones Inner nature, and when the Balance is achieved, " All things serve their Functions."

Aliester Crowley speaks of a similar Natural way of coming to terms with Ones True Will and how in fact the True Will of the Magician to be effective will also follow a Natural Order of the Universe.

Magick in Theory and Practice
The Theorums VII, VIII, IX.

"Every Man and Every Woman has a course, depending partly on the Self, and partly on the Environment which is Natural and necessary for each. Anyone who is forced from his own course, either through not understanding himself, or through external opposition, comes into Conflict with the Order of the Universe, and Suffers accordingly."

"A Man whose Conscious Will is at odds with his True Will is wasting his strength. He cannot hope to influence his Environment efficiently."

"A Man who is doing his True Will has the Inertia of the Universe to Assist him."

In an end of comparing the Buddha's "Middle Path, "The Tao Te Ching", and "The Middle Pillar" by Israel Regardie, I shortly conclude that the Disfunction a person may feel whether Inwardly or as an Outward Aspect of Behavior is many times due to a Struggle of our Conscious Mind with that of our Inner Self our True Self and these conflicts lead to Ailments, Irrational Actions, and Suffering of the Individual. In order to alleviate our Disfunctional Suffering whether from the Environment of from an Inward Source of the Unconscious we must learn to Live in Balance with Proper words, Thoughts and Actions, and this therefore being geared with the Intrinsically Pure Nature of our Inner Self will bring us into a State of Balance and Equilibrium, or The Natural Way of Equilibrium.

Joseph Dismore
Helel