Mani-Apostle of Jesus Christ

The peacock was once a symbol of Lucifer, but here we find it
is also connected with the Manicheans:
Syrian Christians

"Incidentally it is worth mentioning that St.Thomas in Mylapore is
connected with a peacock and the Bleeding Cross itself shows carved
images of peacock. It was Mani and his disciples who knew the art of
transforming themselves into peacocks and fly in the air. Hence
Subhra-Mani (light- Mani) was always associated with a peacock .It
was Mani's chief disciple Ammon while attempting to fly as a peacock
was shot by an arrow by a hunter and he died. He was buried in
Mylapore, which in olden times was a trading centre known for export
of peacocks and peacock feathers. The Armenian merchants who used to
trade with Middle East countries were followers of Mani and had long
established trade connections with the Chettys in Tamil kingdoms,
like Chola, Chera and Pandy.Their head quarter was Kanchipuram; In
the 3rd centuryAD they had established a Church in Mylapore, which
was later destroyed due to persecution of Mani followers by Hindu and
Muslim Rulers. The Portuguese excavated this area in the 16th century
and hit history when they found remnants of an Armenian Church and a
cross. They proclaimed them as of St. Thomas origin though the
evidences unearthed clearly pointed towards Manachean origin. "

The Thomas Christians of India have long been connected with Mani it
seems. The peacock here represents the Redeemed Lucifer.

-Br.Bruce
 
Hello Fellow Travellers,
One thing missed from my account is the tradition that Mani was an artist. The Manichean books are remarkable for their beauty:

Qoco

Strict asceticism was practiced by the more advanced members. But not among the "hearers". Look at the way Augustine behaved when he was a Manichean.

Thankfully, the days of asceticism are over.

Another misunderstanding is about the Eucharist. The Manicheans did practice a Eucharist- though it was not recognised by the Church. The Manichean Communion was a water only affair (bread too, of course) - as it was in the Mysteries of Mithra; and all the ancient mysteries for that matter.

These people were known as the Aquarii:
Aquarii - LoveToKnow 1911

The Ebionites also had this kind of Communion.

Mani's relationship to the sacred abultions started when his father was among the the Mughtasilah, a Jewish ascetic group - followers of John the Baptist.

Mani's father had taken the boy at the age of four to live among this group.

'Mughtasilah' means, 'Those Who Wash Themselves'. They were Mandaeans from "manda" meaning "secret knowledge."


-Br.Bruce
 
Hi Friends,
Truly everything about us and in us is the result of spirit (not energy). Spirit is intelligent; not just mindless energy.

More from Rudolf Steiner:
"Manichaeism recognised a reality in which sense and super-sense are
blended; for it the words and concepts "matter and "spirit" have as
yet no contrasting meaning."

"In defining it, it must be pointed out that the general outlook of this philosophy is more important than what can be described as its actual content. The first and most remarkable thing about it is that the division of human experience into a spiritual and a material side had no meaning for it. The words or ideas "spirit" and "matter" convey no distinction to it. It sees the spiritual in what appears to the senses as material, and when it speaks of the spiritual it does not rise above that which manifests itself to the senses.
Click to expand...

When we look out into the Cosmos, we see the World Spirit at work:

"It is true to say of Manichaeism- much more so than the abstract and intellectual world of today can realise- that it actually saw spiritual phenomena, spiritual facts, in the stars and their courses, and that in the mystery of the Sun it saw a spiritual reality manifesting itself to us on earth. It conveys no meaning for Manichaeism to speak of matter and spirit separately, for to the Manichaean what is spiritual manifest itself in the form of matter, and that which appears as material is itself spiritual.

Therefore Manichaeism speaks quite naturally of astronomical things and world- phenomona in the same way that it would speak of moral phenomena or happenings within the evolution of the human race. Thus, the existence side by side of "light" and "darkness" which - imitating something from ancient Persia- it embodies in its philosophy is both a physical and a spiritual fact. In the same way Manichaeism speaks of the Sun in its movements in the heavens as related to the moral realities and impulses in the development of mankind. It sees the relation of this "spiritual physical" Sun to the signs of the Zodiac, as the relation of the Original Being, the source of the world's light, to the twelve Beings through whom he delegates his activities.
Click to expand...
The Redemption of Thinking Rudolf Steiner.

-Br.Bruce
 
I wanted to comment that the aim of living in the flow of life is also an aim of Zen. Even hardened forms like the koans are not really Zen in its purest form.

"The Manichaeans did not cultivate abstract ideas which divorced the world of thought from the world of reality. ...The basic principle of Manichaeism was to cultivate only those ideas which are consistent with reality. "
Click to expand...
-Steiner

Zen also seeks for the essence and not get lost in details. This is esotericism.

-Br.Bruce
 
Dear Friends,
There is one indication of Dr. Steiner's that we haven't followed up on as yet.

I posted earlier on Parzifal as a Manichaean text- and there is more to be said on that. Another story we can have a look is that of Dr. Faustus. Steiner discusses the relationship between Faust and the earlier figure of Faustus the Manichaean- opponent of Augustine.

There are the very fine literary works by Marlowe and later, Goethe- Faust though, was an historical figure. (I have a lovely little article by Emil Bock on the historical figure of Dr. Faustus.)

In Faust we have the theme of Good & Evil and a struggling Promethean man. I'd like to take this up at a later date. Does the Manichaean doctrine appear in Faust?

-Br.Bruce
 
Here is the wiki on Terebinthus
Terebinthus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Terebinthus (also Terebinthus of Turbo [1]) was the pupil of
Scythianus, during the 1st-2nd century CE, according to the early
Christian writer Cyril of Jerusalem."

Father Mani met his martyrdom in Gondeshapur (or Jundishapur). It was
the city founded by Shapur 1 in the 3rd century AD. The site of this
misdeed, where his body was hung, was known forever after as 'Mani's
Gate'.

Gondishapur was to be later the site of the most remarkable learning
center in Persia: The Academy of Gondishapur.

The Academy of Jundishapur was formally set on its way when the Roman
emperor Justinian closed the Academy in Athens in 529 AD, and the
displaced Greek scholars moved to Jundishapur in southern Persia.

A Bishop of Edessa in 545 AD enforced the decrees of the Council of
Chalcedon against the Nestorians in his diocese, and some of them
migrated to Persia. Previous purges had occurred in 487 and 489.
Nestorian scholars also formed part of the Academy.
 
Manicheism is Ming Jiao in China- a name that gave title to the famous "Ming" dynasty.
Jin Yong (Real name: Louis Cha) wrote a novel: Tales of the Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Sabre which has been turned into Kung Fu TV and movies. The story contains protagonists which belong to a Manichean cult known as Ming Gao.
Ming Gao Sect - The Condor Trilogy Zone


As the centuries passed, this Manichaean-tinged Maitreya would inspire millenarian revolts in China, one of which helped bring down the Empire of Kublai Khan in the 14th century. The leader of the successful rebel coalition rewarded his allies of the "Bright" religion by naming the new regime after their faith Ming-Jiao in Chinese. And, thus, the opulent and imperious Ming dynasty, which later inspired Enlightenment philosophers in Europe with secularizing ideas, had a bit of Jesus buried deep in its heart.
Click to expand...

Ming Gao:
www.webcom/gnosis/chinese.gnosis.academic.html

The Manicheans ceased to exist in the 14th century, but I have seen a photo of one remaining temple in China.
mani_caoan_china.jpg

Of course it remained underground. As I posted previously, it reappeared in Europe as Grail Christianity.

Apparently the Buddhist writings "Taisho Tripitaka" vol. 54 is Manichean.
 
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