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2006-02-14 06:08:46 UTC
=*= Cut ===
*/Left-Hand Path and Right-Hand Path/*
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The Baphomet, adopted symbol of some "Left-Hand Path" religions.
The terms *Left-Hand Path* and *Right-Hand Path* refer to a postulated
dichotomy between two distinct types of religion. The exact meaning of the
terms has varied over time; the most modern usage regards religions which focus
upon the worship of one or more deities and the observance of strict moral
codes as belonging to the Right-Hand Path, while religions which value the
advancement of the self over other goals are considered to belong to the
Left-Hand Path. This usage of the terms is invoked almost exclusively by
proponents of the Left-Hand Path; opponents (almost always of religions
described as "Right-Hand Path") either argue that this is a means of dividing
religions, is a mislabeled or false dichotomy, or, that much of what is called
"left hand" is in actuality satanism, or "black magic".
Contents
* 1 Origins
* 2 Usage in Tantra
* 3 Adoption by Western occultism
* 4 Usage in modern occultism
o 4.1 Left-hand path religions
* 5 Criticism
*Origins*
Throughout history, many cultures have regarded the left hand and
left-handedness as evil. This tendency can be seen in the dual meaning of the
word /left/, in the etymology of words such as /sinister/, which in Latin means
both /left/ and /unlucky/. Consequently, the left hand has often been used as a
symbol for the rejection of traditional religion. The word right as used with
hand in the Old Testament is generally the Hebrew word yamin meaning stronger,
more dextrous. The word for left is smowl meaning dark. God gives and creates
with his right hand, it is his wonderful ability to do all things. With his
left hand he punishes. Much of this has been contributed by the practice in
many cultures of using the left hand to cleanse oneself, thus making the hand
"unclean"
It should be noted that the terms "left" and "right" as applied to politics,
meaning "liberal" and "conservative" respectively, have an independent origin;
they are derived from the seating in the French Legislative Assembly in 1791.
*Usage in Tantra*
Tantra, a set of esoteric Indian traditions with roots in both Hinduism and
Buddhism, is often divided by its practitioners into two different paths:
/dakshinachara/ and /vamachara/, translated as /Right-Hand Path/ and /Left-Hand
Path/ respectively. Dakshinachara consists of traditional Hindu practices such
as asceticism and meditation, while vamachara also includes ritual practices
that go against the grain of mainstream Hinduism, including sexual rituals,
consumption of alcohol and other intoxicants, animal sacrifice, and
flesh-eating. The two paths are viewed by Tantrists as equally valid approaches
to enlightenment; vamachara, however, is considered to be the faster and more
dangerous of the two, not suitable for all practitioners. This usage of the
terms is still current in modern Tantra.
*Adoption by Western occultism*
The prevalence of these terms within the New Age movement, particularly
occultism and Satanism, is often attributed to the influence of Helena
Blavatsky, who first used the term /Left-Hand Path/ to describe "immoral"
religions.
This usage was popularized in a variant form by Aleister Crowley. He does not
use the term 'Left-Hand Path' in isolation; it is only used in the phrase
'Brother of the Left-Hand Path', otherwise known as a 'Black Brother' or failed
adept in Crowley's system. [1]
[http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/mwt/mwt_12.html]
Crowley made reference to the Left-Hand Path when describing the point at which
the Adept chooses to cross the Qabalistic Abyss, location of Choronzon and the
illusory eleventh Sephira, Da'ath or Knowledge. He must give up all that he is,
including (for the moment) the guidance of his Holy Guardian Angel and leap
into the Abyss. If his accumulated Karma is sufficient to carry him through and
he has been utterly thorough in his self-destruction, he becomes a 'babe of the
abyss', arising as a Star.
If, however, he preserves some fragment of ego or fears to cross at all, then
he becomes encysted. The layers of his self, which he could have shed in the
Abyss, ossify around him. He is then titled a 'Brother of the Left Hand Path',
who will eventually be broken up and disintegrated against his will, since he
has not chosen to disintegrate himself voluntarily.
Crowley, significantly, never presents a 'Left-Hand Path' as a matter of
conscious choice. It is the consequence of failure, not a legitimate
alternative that may be chosen. This is at odds with the use of the term in
modern occultism; those who are ignorant of the technicalities of Crowley's
system sometimes state that a magician at the brink of the Abyss may choose the
right or left hand path.
Although he sympathized with some Nietzschean aspects of Nazi rhetoric (at
least, before he knew what they meant by the words), Crowley linked their
single-minded focus on racial purity and political power with the "Left-Hand
Path".
While this usage of the terms is still current in some occult circles, many
occultists now see the Left-Hand Path as encompassing all modern occult
practices, while the Right-Hand Path is considered to encompass traditional
religions, such as Christianity, though most Christians would disagree with
such a classification. Aleister Crowley half-seriously referred to the
Christian clergy as the Black Brotherhood.
New religious movements which describe themselves as followers of the Left-Hand
Path inverted much of the symbolism that they associate with the more
"traditional" Right-Hand Path, such as the following Biblical passage:
/And he shall separate them one from another,/
/as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats./
/And he shall set the sheep on his right,/
/but the goats on his left./
- /Matthew 25: 32-33/
Taking a cue from this, modern followers of the Left-Hand Path in the West
sometimes utilize the symbol of a goat or Baphomet, and sometimes refer to
followers of Right-Hand Path religions as sheep, implying that they exhibit a
"herd mentality".
*Usage in modern occultism*
Today, the terms /Left-Hand Path/ and /Right-Hand Path/ are almost exclusively
used by self-proclaimed followers of the Left-Hand Path, who hold varying
opinions of the Right-Hand Path; some see the two Paths as equally valid
approaches to truth, whose relationship is akin to the balance between Yin and
Yang, while others criticize the Right-Hand Path for being too restrictive.
According to the latter view, the Right-Hand Path's imposition of formal dogmas
and codes of behaviour upon an individual takes away one's ability to be truly
responsible for one's own life, thereby destroying a part of one's identity.
According to some, this is the main difference between the two Paths: the
Left-Hand Path preserves individuality, while the Right-Hand Path destroys it.
Conversely, some accuse Left-Hand Path religions of narcissism while praising
the Right-Hand Path for its altruism.
/Right-Hand Path/ religions are usually said to share the following properties:
* Belief in a higher power, such as a deity.
* Obedience to the will of the higher power.
* The belief that there is an absolute definition for good and evil that
applies to everyone.
* Esoteric belief in the existence of a supernatural mechanism, such as
Karma, divine retribution, or Threefold Law, which causes the moral decisions
that an individual makes to be reciprocated upon himself.
* The ultimate goal of having the individual consciousness be absorbed into
a greater or cosmic whole.
/Left-Hand Path/ religions are usually said to share the following properties:
* The belief that some people can, by attaining spiritual insight,
themselves become akin to gods.
* The belief that selfless acts do not exist. Fulfilling one's desire is
seen as a selfish act bringing the person satisfaction from accomplishing what
they want. Altruism is seen as a myth created by conventional religions.
* An exoteric understanding of concepts such as karma, divine retribution,
or Threefold Law, resulting in fluid, rather than strict, codes of morality.
* The belief that the individual self is preeminent, and that all decisions
should be made with the goal of cultivating the self (though not the ego).
* The belief that each individual is responsible for his own happiness, and
that no external force will provide salvation to reward actions which do not
advance one's happiness in this life.
* The belief that the forces of the universe can be bent to one's personal
will by magickal means, and that power gained in such a manner is an aid to
enlightenment.
* An agnostic view of the existence of deities, or a Platonic view of
deities as "first-forms." If deity is perceived as having a consciousness, then
all relationships with deity are in the form of a partnership, an alliance
which does not require subservience. The prideful deity likes prideful
partners.
Those who believe in the existence of this dichotomy usually classify most of
the established religions of the western world, as well as eastern traditions
as Confucianism, as Right-Hand Path religions, while regarding some varieties
of Vajrayana Buddhism and "alchemical" (as opposed to philosophical) Taoism as
members of the Left-Hand Path. The virtue earned by good deeds is the means by
which enlightenment may be attained. Others maintain that Mahayana and
Vajrayana are purely Right-Hand Path, at least in theory. Theravada Buddhism on
the basic level places a high emphasis on correct conventional behaviour in
society and observance of precept (for example the patimokkha). On the higher
level this basic practice is complemented with a spiritual practice which leads
to enlightenment and realization of non-self. Theravada can thus be regarded as
a mixture of left and right.
Such classifications are, perhaps inevitably, quite controversial; there are
those who see the whole concept of classification between LHP and RHP as a
modern invention resulting from excessively dualistic thinking, and therefore
inapplicable to true religious traditions, or at the very least to explicitly
nondual ones such as Advaita Vedanta, Taoism and Buddhism.
*Left-hand path religions*
* Demonolatry
* Dragon Rouge
* Satanism
o Church of Apeiron
o Order of Nine Angles
o Order of the Left Hand Path
* Setianism /also spelled Sethianism/
o Temple of Set
* Quimbanda
* Dark Spirituality
*Criticism*
The existence of the dichotomy between the Left-Hand Path and the Right-Hand
Path is not generally accepted by scholars of religion. Critics of the
dichotomy argue that it is derived from a rather limited subset of the world's
religions and that it fails to encompass the variety of religious beliefs and
practices found throughout the world, and that the terms are too loosely
defined to be of much use in formal study and too loaded with pejorative
connotations to be useful in ordinary discourse between people holding
different religious views.[citation needed] Defenders of the dichotomy reply
that the terms may still be useful when it comes to examining the effect that
different religions have upon their adherents.
*Forms of Satanism*
LaVeyan Satanism | Luciferianism | Religious satanism | Sat/Tan Satanism |
Setianism | Traditional satanism
*Associated Organizations*
Church of Satan | First Church of Satan | First Satanic Church | Order of Mars
| Order of Nine Angles | Order of the Left Hand Path | Temple of Set
*Symbols and Figures*
Baphomet | Blanche Barton | Peggy Nadramia | Anton LaVey | Karla LaVey |
Lucifer | Satan
*Associated Concepts*
Left-Hand Path | Moral Majority | Pentagonal Revisionism | Suitheism | Survival
of the fittest
*Books and Publications*
The Black Flame | The Church of Satan | The Satanic Bible | The Satanic Rituals
*In Popular Culture*
Allegations of Satanism | Satanic artists | Satanic ritual abuse
=*= Cut ===
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Hand_Path
Ссылки на другие статьи энциклопедии я не востанавливал.
*/Left-Hand Path and Right-Hand Path/*
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Left Hand Path)
[This article or section does not cite its references or sources.
You can help Wikipedia by including appropriate citations.]
[Loading Image...
]The Baphomet, adopted symbol of some "Left-Hand Path" religions.
The terms *Left-Hand Path* and *Right-Hand Path* refer to a postulated
dichotomy between two distinct types of religion. The exact meaning of the
terms has varied over time; the most modern usage regards religions which focus
upon the worship of one or more deities and the observance of strict moral
codes as belonging to the Right-Hand Path, while religions which value the
advancement of the self over other goals are considered to belong to the
Left-Hand Path. This usage of the terms is invoked almost exclusively by
proponents of the Left-Hand Path; opponents (almost always of religions
described as "Right-Hand Path") either argue that this is a means of dividing
religions, is a mislabeled or false dichotomy, or, that much of what is called
"left hand" is in actuality satanism, or "black magic".
Contents
* 1 Origins
* 2 Usage in Tantra
* 3 Adoption by Western occultism
* 4 Usage in modern occultism
o 4.1 Left-hand path religions
* 5 Criticism
*Origins*
Throughout history, many cultures have regarded the left hand and
left-handedness as evil. This tendency can be seen in the dual meaning of the
word /left/, in the etymology of words such as /sinister/, which in Latin means
both /left/ and /unlucky/. Consequently, the left hand has often been used as a
symbol for the rejection of traditional religion. The word right as used with
hand in the Old Testament is generally the Hebrew word yamin meaning stronger,
more dextrous. The word for left is smowl meaning dark. God gives and creates
with his right hand, it is his wonderful ability to do all things. With his
left hand he punishes. Much of this has been contributed by the practice in
many cultures of using the left hand to cleanse oneself, thus making the hand
"unclean"
It should be noted that the terms "left" and "right" as applied to politics,
meaning "liberal" and "conservative" respectively, have an independent origin;
they are derived from the seating in the French Legislative Assembly in 1791.
*Usage in Tantra*
Tantra, a set of esoteric Indian traditions with roots in both Hinduism and
Buddhism, is often divided by its practitioners into two different paths:
/dakshinachara/ and /vamachara/, translated as /Right-Hand Path/ and /Left-Hand
Path/ respectively. Dakshinachara consists of traditional Hindu practices such
as asceticism and meditation, while vamachara also includes ritual practices
that go against the grain of mainstream Hinduism, including sexual rituals,
consumption of alcohol and other intoxicants, animal sacrifice, and
flesh-eating. The two paths are viewed by Tantrists as equally valid approaches
to enlightenment; vamachara, however, is considered to be the faster and more
dangerous of the two, not suitable for all practitioners. This usage of the
terms is still current in modern Tantra.
*Adoption by Western occultism*
The prevalence of these terms within the New Age movement, particularly
occultism and Satanism, is often attributed to the influence of Helena
Blavatsky, who first used the term /Left-Hand Path/ to describe "immoral"
religions.
This usage was popularized in a variant form by Aleister Crowley. He does not
use the term 'Left-Hand Path' in isolation; it is only used in the phrase
'Brother of the Left-Hand Path', otherwise known as a 'Black Brother' or failed
adept in Crowley's system. [1]
[http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/mwt/mwt_12.html]
Crowley made reference to the Left-Hand Path when describing the point at which
the Adept chooses to cross the Qabalistic Abyss, location of Choronzon and the
illusory eleventh Sephira, Da'ath or Knowledge. He must give up all that he is,
including (for the moment) the guidance of his Holy Guardian Angel and leap
into the Abyss. If his accumulated Karma is sufficient to carry him through and
he has been utterly thorough in his self-destruction, he becomes a 'babe of the
abyss', arising as a Star.
If, however, he preserves some fragment of ego or fears to cross at all, then
he becomes encysted. The layers of his self, which he could have shed in the
Abyss, ossify around him. He is then titled a 'Brother of the Left Hand Path',
who will eventually be broken up and disintegrated against his will, since he
has not chosen to disintegrate himself voluntarily.
Crowley, significantly, never presents a 'Left-Hand Path' as a matter of
conscious choice. It is the consequence of failure, not a legitimate
alternative that may be chosen. This is at odds with the use of the term in
modern occultism; those who are ignorant of the technicalities of Crowley's
system sometimes state that a magician at the brink of the Abyss may choose the
right or left hand path.
Although he sympathized with some Nietzschean aspects of Nazi rhetoric (at
least, before he knew what they meant by the words), Crowley linked their
single-minded focus on racial purity and political power with the "Left-Hand
Path".
While this usage of the terms is still current in some occult circles, many
occultists now see the Left-Hand Path as encompassing all modern occult
practices, while the Right-Hand Path is considered to encompass traditional
religions, such as Christianity, though most Christians would disagree with
such a classification. Aleister Crowley half-seriously referred to the
Christian clergy as the Black Brotherhood.
New religious movements which describe themselves as followers of the Left-Hand
Path inverted much of the symbolism that they associate with the more
"traditional" Right-Hand Path, such as the following Biblical passage:
/And he shall separate them one from another,/
/as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats./
/And he shall set the sheep on his right,/
/but the goats on his left./
- /Matthew 25: 32-33/
Taking a cue from this, modern followers of the Left-Hand Path in the West
sometimes utilize the symbol of a goat or Baphomet, and sometimes refer to
followers of Right-Hand Path religions as sheep, implying that they exhibit a
"herd mentality".
*Usage in modern occultism*
Today, the terms /Left-Hand Path/ and /Right-Hand Path/ are almost exclusively
used by self-proclaimed followers of the Left-Hand Path, who hold varying
opinions of the Right-Hand Path; some see the two Paths as equally valid
approaches to truth, whose relationship is akin to the balance between Yin and
Yang, while others criticize the Right-Hand Path for being too restrictive.
According to the latter view, the Right-Hand Path's imposition of formal dogmas
and codes of behaviour upon an individual takes away one's ability to be truly
responsible for one's own life, thereby destroying a part of one's identity.
According to some, this is the main difference between the two Paths: the
Left-Hand Path preserves individuality, while the Right-Hand Path destroys it.
Conversely, some accuse Left-Hand Path religions of narcissism while praising
the Right-Hand Path for its altruism.
/Right-Hand Path/ religions are usually said to share the following properties:
* Belief in a higher power, such as a deity.
* Obedience to the will of the higher power.
* The belief that there is an absolute definition for good and evil that
applies to everyone.
* Esoteric belief in the existence of a supernatural mechanism, such as
Karma, divine retribution, or Threefold Law, which causes the moral decisions
that an individual makes to be reciprocated upon himself.
* The ultimate goal of having the individual consciousness be absorbed into
a greater or cosmic whole.
/Left-Hand Path/ religions are usually said to share the following properties:
* The belief that some people can, by attaining spiritual insight,
themselves become akin to gods.
* The belief that selfless acts do not exist. Fulfilling one's desire is
seen as a selfish act bringing the person satisfaction from accomplishing what
they want. Altruism is seen as a myth created by conventional religions.
* An exoteric understanding of concepts such as karma, divine retribution,
or Threefold Law, resulting in fluid, rather than strict, codes of morality.
* The belief that the individual self is preeminent, and that all decisions
should be made with the goal of cultivating the self (though not the ego).
* The belief that each individual is responsible for his own happiness, and
that no external force will provide salvation to reward actions which do not
advance one's happiness in this life.
* The belief that the forces of the universe can be bent to one's personal
will by magickal means, and that power gained in such a manner is an aid to
enlightenment.
* An agnostic view of the existence of deities, or a Platonic view of
deities as "first-forms." If deity is perceived as having a consciousness, then
all relationships with deity are in the form of a partnership, an alliance
which does not require subservience. The prideful deity likes prideful
partners.
Those who believe in the existence of this dichotomy usually classify most of
the established religions of the western world, as well as eastern traditions
as Confucianism, as Right-Hand Path religions, while regarding some varieties
of Vajrayana Buddhism and "alchemical" (as opposed to philosophical) Taoism as
members of the Left-Hand Path. The virtue earned by good deeds is the means by
which enlightenment may be attained. Others maintain that Mahayana and
Vajrayana are purely Right-Hand Path, at least in theory. Theravada Buddhism on
the basic level places a high emphasis on correct conventional behaviour in
society and observance of precept (for example the patimokkha). On the higher
level this basic practice is complemented with a spiritual practice which leads
to enlightenment and realization of non-self. Theravada can thus be regarded as
a mixture of left and right.
Such classifications are, perhaps inevitably, quite controversial; there are
those who see the whole concept of classification between LHP and RHP as a
modern invention resulting from excessively dualistic thinking, and therefore
inapplicable to true religious traditions, or at the very least to explicitly
nondual ones such as Advaita Vedanta, Taoism and Buddhism.
*Left-hand path religions*
* Demonolatry
* Dragon Rouge
* Satanism
o Church of Apeiron
o Order of Nine Angles
o Order of the Left Hand Path
* Setianism /also spelled Sethianism/
o Temple of Set
* Quimbanda
* Dark Spirituality
*Criticism*
The existence of the dichotomy between the Left-Hand Path and the Right-Hand
Path is not generally accepted by scholars of religion. Critics of the
dichotomy argue that it is derived from a rather limited subset of the world's
religions and that it fails to encompass the variety of religious beliefs and
practices found throughout the world, and that the terms are too loosely
defined to be of much use in formal study and too loaded with pejorative
connotations to be useful in ordinary discourse between people holding
different religious views.[citation needed] Defenders of the dichotomy reply
that the terms may still be useful when it comes to examining the effect that
different religions have upon their adherents.
*Forms of Satanism*
LaVeyan Satanism | Luciferianism | Religious satanism | Sat/Tan Satanism |
Setianism | Traditional satanism
*Associated Organizations*
Church of Satan | First Church of Satan | First Satanic Church | Order of Mars
| Order of Nine Angles | Order of the Left Hand Path | Temple of Set
*Symbols and Figures*
Baphomet | Blanche Barton | Peggy Nadramia | Anton LaVey | Karla LaVey |
Lucifer | Satan
*Associated Concepts*
Left-Hand Path | Moral Majority | Pentagonal Revisionism | Suitheism | Survival
of the fittest
*Books and Publications*
The Black Flame | The Church of Satan | The Satanic Bible | The Satanic Rituals
*In Popular Culture*
Allegations of Satanism | Satanic artists | Satanic ritual abuse
=*= Cut ===
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Hand_Path
Ссылки на другие статьи энциклопедии я не востанавливал.
