Eastern Wisdom Quotations
by Manly P. Hall
The Fable of the Birds
An emperor's golden bird cage (a three-fold mystery) so intricate
in its design and so perfect in its workmanship that the equal
of it could not be found among all the treasures of the earth
|
The Emperor and His Gardener
A parable highlighting the patience and skill of an emperor's gardener,
who meditates outdoors and in all changes of weather in order to
create a garden that will be an everlasting pleasure for generations
|
The Lotus of the Law - An Allegory
The Emperor (Son of Heaven) is transported to a mountainous site
to meet a mysterious lohan who sings sweet songs from the peaks,
and implores, "Reveal to me, oh sage, the very reality of the Law."
|
A Chinese Painter
"He sees the waters in eternal motion, and the sky and the trees and the rocks;
and gradually the streams become the symbol of Life, Space, and Cosmos."
"Truth is flowing, Law is flowing, in the forever flow of Eternity."
|
Tao and the Chinese Mystic
"These little bowls, with this extremely simple form, had somehow
captured the infinite. When you look at them, you suddenly feel
your heart going out into the universe."
|
The Bird of Ho:
A Fable in the Manner of the Chinese, page 9
"On the night when the Dragon had eaten up the Moon, the Lord of
Tuan, who was a Prince of the Second Class, climbed the five-hundred
steps of the Black Hat to consult the oracle of Dem Ling."
|
On the Gateless Gate
"...the door which leads from nowhere to nowhere, or the wonderful path that
leads from itself to itself." "As the phoenix perch, the torii therefore becomes
a time symbol, and time is a gate leading everywhere from everywhere."
|
On the Metaphysical Structure of the Atom
"We know we are living in a magnificent atom. We know that each one of
our personalities is a magnificent atom, and we know this tiny little
thing which we are using so foolishly is also a magnificent mystery."
|
On Solar Government
"...the whole plan and fabric of the solar system is sustained by the
law and principle governing energy which comes from the Sun."
|
Home Page
|