I like compassion

[yogiman]

Compassion is the vice of kings: stamp down the wretched & the weak: this is the law of the strong: this is our law and the joy of the world.

Seems like most western countries, U.S. not in the least, have listened to Crowley. But I am sure that there are many more crowley-fans within the anonymous movement than you will find on Wallstreet. I really like to know with whom Crowley would have sided.

 

[lilac04]

i dig compassion too lol

 

[Zephyros]

You misread the quote, as well as removed it from context. Compassion implies superiority, but if every man and woman is a star, all are superior, all have inherent deity. None deserve compassion, but reverence for who and what they are, each going on their respective orbits. The wretched and the weak are most likely those who do not follow their True Will, and are slaves to causality. To stamp them out is not to kill them, as that would curtail their execution of their Will, but to empower them to aknowledge their inherent deity, thus "stamping out" the wretched person inside them in favor of the strong.

Do not try to connect the Book of Law with worldly views, it doesn't quite work. Christianity preaches compassion, yet was the cause of things like the Inquisition. Any scripture can be interpreted in any way, and not all that the BoL espouses has direct correlation with Crowley's own views. I doubt he was an objectivist libertarian, but even if he was, that would hold little significance to the Book of Law.

 

[yogiman]

Compassion implies superiority ...

I find this a sweeping statement. Compassion is a key trait in mahayana buddhism. Compassion to me means that you don't like to see a fellow sentient being suffer.

Do not try to connect the Book of Law with worldly views, it doesn't quite work.

How do you know that some apparently unfeeling remarks don't spring from a subconcious, that is filled with material from his bourgeoisie upbringings?

 

[Zephyros]

I find this a sweeping statement. Compassion is a key trait in mahayana buddhism. Compassion to me means that you don't like to see a fellow sentient being suffer.

I think you should read the Old and New Commentaries to the Book of Law. While I agree with you in principle, taking a quote out of context and asking for it to be justified is beyond my capabilities without your having some sort of comparable Thelemic vocabulary for your question. The commentary for this verse is one of the longest, and he addresses your questions. Do your homework, go to the source.

http://hermetic.com/legis/new-comment/

 

[Richard]

.......I really like to know with whom Crowley would have sided.

Since Crowley had Buddhistic leanings, he probably had problems himself with this verse. (Aiwass and Crowley did not always see eye to eye at the time of the dictation.) Understanding it may involve the meaning of the word 'compassion'. It is not a synonym for 'caring'. Compassion is a sharing of the misery of another, putting oneself in their place. This imaginary lowering of one's state to that of someone less fortunate provides us with a pleasant, warm fuzzy feeling when we help them, because we also (vicariously) experience their relief when the help takes effect. This is an emotional thing. It is seductive because superficially it seems 'right', and it feels good, but it is just as volatile and ephemeral as any other emotion. Eliminating the weak and wretched cannot be accomplished by lowering ourselves to their state but by their own self realization that they also are gods.

As Zarathustra said to the ascetic he met in the forest: 'I give no alms. I am not poor enough for that.'

 

[Zephyros]

Crowley's politics were, on the face of it, entrenched in Thelema, or at least his own interpretation of it. This link (from an amusing site) seems to indicate Crowley had liberal economic values.

http://ac2012.com/2010/10/27/the-prophets-political-platform/

His "platform" would seem to indicate a desire for as little governmental interference in the lives of citizens as possible. However, contrary to today's mainstream Libertarian outlook, his views were not economic only, as in "profit above all." His essay Duty would seem to suggest that one could make a profit unless it would mean limiting someone else's. Hedge funds, monopolies, huge corporate bonuses, the factors that led to the 2009 crash and other Wall Stree ills may go against the Law of Liberty, as would corporate tax benifits to multi-billion dollar corporations. However, the Book of Law is a scripture and as such could probably be interpreted in many different ways.

I personally disagree with him on several key points (and can probably even quote the BoL to justify myself, proving how many interpretations are possible) most notably on the subject of abortion.

 

[yogiman]

This is an emotional thing. It is seductive because superficially it seems 'right', and it feels good, but it is just as volatile and ephemeral as any other emotion.

I find this a little bit at odds with the following statement on p.180 of BoT:

In the Buddhist doctrine of Sorrow this idea is implicit, that inertia and insensitiveness must characterize peace. The climate of India is perhaps partly responsible for this notion. The Adepts of the White School, of which the Tarot is the sacred book, cannot agree to such a simplification of existence. Every phenomenon is a sacrament.

To me the experience of having compassion is a sacrament pur sang.

 

[yogiman]

I personally disagree with him on several key points (and can probably even quote the BoL to justify myself, proving how many interpretations are possible) most notably on the subject of abortion.

What I have read is that Crowley was against abortion.

 

[Richard]

Yogiman, it depends on the spirit in which the act is undertaken. Consciously doing something as a sacramental sacrifice is different from being motivated by some sort of gratification. It does not involve demeaning of the self, but is rather a kick in the ass to the ego. Do what thou wilt, but without lust of result.