The law of anadoché - Spiritual laws

[jsf]

From "The Mountain of Silence - A Search for Orthodox Spirituality" (Kyriacos C. Markides)
Very interesting book.

chap. 15 - Spiritual laws

[The law of cause and effect]

(...) "The elders taught that no one is immune from temptations. Both the saintly and the sinful suffer from all sorts of trials and tribulations. Suffering is an integral part of the human condition. In fact, the pain and sorrow of the great saints can be much more intense then that of the rest of us.

"You see", Father Maximos continued after taking a deep breath that sounded like a sigh, "most of us are unaware of the ways spiritual laws work in our lives. Consequently we complain and become impatient with the slightest provocation or difficulty that we encounter along our way. We become bitter and resentful, wondering why we and not others are stricken by this or that misfortune."

"It is an old question," I pointed out. "Why do tragedies happen to good people ?"

"The reason why we raise such questions is because we are ignorant of the real purpose of our existence. Had we known, as the saints do, we would welcome such temptations as opportunities for spiritual advancement," Father Maximos claimed. We remained quiet for a few seconds as we focused on our walk through a rugged turn of the footpath.

"It is very difficult to maintain such a perspective in the face of extreme grief," I suggested. "But, how do the elders explain the causes of human suffering ?"

"They identify a variety of causes," Father Maximos replied as we entered a wooded area covered with pine needles along our path. "One cause may be our past actions. This is part of the spiritual law through which God rules the Universe. It is the law of cause and effect.

"If you live by the sword you shall die by the sword", I muttered.

"No one is immune to this law," Father Maximos declared. "We are free agents. When we thing and act in ways that cut us off from God, this very estrangement prepares a fertile ground for painful episodes to happen. The powers of evil will be mobilized against us. Do you know why ? Because we have given the green light for such sorrowful episodes to come our way. If we steal, for example, the police will come after us and we will end up in jail. It is not God that punishes us but the natural outcome of our own actions."

(...)

Panagia Monastery

[The law related to spiritual growth]

"The spiritual law of cause and effect is only one possible source of such temptations. It is not the only one."

"Are there any other spiritual laws besides the law of cause and effect ?" I asked somewhat surprised.

"Of course there are. Quite often terrible things happen to good people, even to saints, for the sake of their spiritual growth or for other reasons. (...)

"Do you remember the story I told you about elder Paisios ?"

"Which one ?"

"When he prayed to God to make his heart humble in order to be able to see Him. God obliged him and created this episode with the priest who humiliated him in church as he was about to receive Holy Communion. Do you remember ?"

"Oh yes, I do recall the story."

"So if we ask for humility, then God allows an episode to unfold in our life which can help us reach that goal. God will never intervene unless we give Him permission to do so."

"I'd better be careful about what I ask for," I joked. Then Father Maximos elaborated further by saying that whay is needed under such circumstances is to perceive that event as a spiritual gift. "For if we react negatively and conclude that God has forgotten us or has not listened to our preyaers, we may lose the chance of beneficting from the very thing we have prayed for."

"What you are telling is somewhat different from the oriental notion of karma, which means that what happens to us is the inevitable result of our past actions."

"I don't know what that means. What I do know is that according to the teachings of the holy elders there may be a variety of reasons why bad things happen to people.

Stavrovouni Monastery

[The law and power of love]

In addition to the law of cause and effect and the law related to spiritual growth, people may suffer for the sake of others through the law and power of love. This applies particularly to advanced spiritual masters. In some mysterious way they often take upon themselves the burdens of those under their guidance, relieving them from the heaviness of their debt. The sorrows and temptations of the disciples are transferred onto the spiritual teacher. It is called the law of anadoché.

"I suppose it must be analogous to Christ's taking upon Himself the sins of the world ?"

"Exactly. Christ is our archetype. Therefore, spiritual masters imitating Christ may, through anadoché, lighten the burden of their people by taking much of it upon themselves. This may often lead to serious physical harm, even death."

"Well," I pointed out, "most of Christ's apostles had terrible death, by crucifixion, beheading, and the like. I have also heard of contemporary saints dying from cancer, like elder Paisios."

"In the history of the Ecclesia there are thousands of examples. (...)"

"There are no accidents," he rushed to remind me, hitting the earth with his stick to emphasis. "Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in the Universe without a deeper meanding to it. That great saint followed Christ's example. He accepted upon himself the burdens of his disciples for the spiritual progress of the monastry which he was busy setting up." (...)

"And do you want to know something else ? The law of anadoché can also work in a negative way."

"In a negative way ?"

"Yes, this is part of the mystery of how spiritual law operate in life. Just as the holy elders can assume the burdens of others in a positive, altruistic way, the rest of us, without even realizing it, we may assume the burdens of those we mistreat. If, for example, we slander or tell lies about people and they do not respond in kind, then part of their own burdens, sorrows, and temptations may be transferred on to us as the culprits who caused them harm. In such cases there is anadoché in a negative way."

"But if this is the case," I reasoned, "then those who harm us are, in reality, our benefactors. One could argue that this is pretty bizarre, at least from the point of view or ordinary common sense."

"Bizarre or not bizarre, that is exactly what the elders teach. There are spiritual laws at work that most people know nothing about. So when others hurt us, our tendency is to strike back because we assume that we must defend ourselves, defend our name, our honor, our career, and so on. In reality we strike back at ourselves."

"But isn't it normal to react in such a manner ?" I asked. "Psychologists and counselors never cease to react to remind us that if we let others step all over us, then we have a problem. We lack assertiveness, we become a "doormat" to our tormentors. Isn't it normal that we should strive to protect ourselves and defend our rights ?"

"Striking back may be normal but it is not necessarily always the proper response. I do realize that this is not an easy principle to accept but that is the way spiritual law work. What we consider as justifiable defense of our rights may in reality plunge us into a vicious cycle that can undermine our very spiritual foundation. By reacting to aggression with aggression we lose the opportunity to spiritually benefit from the experience. This law also explains why saints, when hit, often would literally turn the other cheek."

(...)

Father Maximos went on to say that in addition to the law of cause and effect, the law of spiritual progress, and the law of anadoché, bad things can happen to people because of the malevolence of evil spirits. (...)

The negative way of the law of anadoché is also explained, in similar terms, by Master Li (Falun Gong) in some of his speeches.

Mountain of Silence on Amazon :
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mountain-Silence-Orthodox-Spirituality/dp/0385500920

Father Maximos's teacher was elder Paisios.

See also :

Robin Amis's Views From Mount Athos (2014) (print and pdf version)
http://praxisresearch.net/cart_product.cfm/cat/11373

On one of his early visits, Mr. Amis was also given the charge by Fr. Paisios one of the few remaining startzi (Elders), now considered a saint, to bring this teaching, called the ‘truth of the heart,’ to the English-speaking world.

and in french,

Entretiens avec un ermite de la sainte montagne sur la prière du coeur
http://www.amazon.fr/Entretiens-ermite-sainte-montagne-pri%C3%A8re/dp/2020146061

 

[edgitarra]

Thanks for sharing! Actually, if you are interested in orthodoxism, I can recommend you to search for the priest Arsenie Boca. Strange man, who had clarvoyance. He used to live 60 km away from my native town.
Here's a documentary about him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptbTap5NHqw

 

[edgitarra]

Thanks for sharing! Actually, if you are interested in orthodoxism, I can recommend you to search for the priest Arsenie Boca. Strange man, who had clarvoyance. He used to live 60 km away from my native town.
Here's a documentary about him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptbTap5NHqw

I also found this interesting clip, from Arsenie Papacioc, another priest. He has very wise words!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLC89C4D06E0BABB73&v=ANiI9-9hVoA


Edit: I posted again because the Modify option expired on the previous post.

 

[Corvus]

"If you live by the sword you shall die by the sword", I muttered.

I ve heard that saying many times but it does not hold the water because those that do not live by the sword often end up dying also from those that use sword, that is they are easy prey looking on history. Sometimes the men with swords are the only thing that is keeping other men with swords, that is if you do not want to be tortured, raped, etc... I remember that saying from LOTR when Eowen says: Women of this country learned long ago that those witout swords can still die upon them.

This law also explains why saints, when hit, often would literally turn the other cheek.

I do not think so.

 

[David]

"It is an old question," I pointed out. "Why do tragedies happen to good people ?"

... probably because the majority never learned to say ‘NO’ and were always saying yes to BS... even if they managed to get some semblance of balance and started acting in favour of a more conscious existence, the STS system would act like ones immune system when a foreign body is detected, though it would have been doing something similar since the time of ones birth, like a digestive system... stuff happens

"If you live by the sword you shall die by the sword", I muttered.

Back in the day... a saying like that would probably make the sword yielding fellow think... this guy must be real tough... I better back off or that’s so profound man... tell us more... yea tell us more

And I vaguely remember something also like...

"‘... I have not come to bring peace but the sword...’

The way of everything is impossible, stumbling blocks, vipers and wolves, a horrible journey, pain suffering, more suffering, and suffering that one didn’t even know was suffering... who knew.

All is lessons...

 

[edgitarra]

"If you live by the sword you shall die by the sword", I muttered.

Back in the day... a saying like that would probably make the sword yielding fellow think... this guy must be real tough... I better back off or that’s so profound man... tell us more... yea tell us more

It might not be profound. And surely it is related to violence. If you live with violence(you are a violent man), you can die because of this violence. That doesn't necesarily mean that one has not the right to defend himself in certain circumstances. Hence the above quote:

Striking back may be normal but it is not necessarily always the proper response.

What about that? Have you seen this response of the priest? Or is it here just an "all or nothing" thinking in which it feels like one is rejecting the totality of the other things just because religion is bad? Truth can be found in all sources. It depends on each persons ability to discern it. It is sad, the world nowadays, we cannot change things, but I am not sure how one can improve his ways on cultivating compassion if he is not looking deeply into the others, who live on different levels of reality, and who sometimes also ask if there is something more(quite rarely but still). In this case, I have a respect for religious people, even though they do not know much, but they are searching for something(and here I am not talking about total blindness which leads to violence and anihilation).

As an example, when I really "woke" up, I realized that I have so much anger and frustration, maybe even hate with the world, because of what it is and how myself got tricked in some ways, and I still have it, but a beginning of accepting and letting go was to really acknowledge my anger and hate. It still is very painful to see this thing in me. But slowly I started to gain more understanding of people and to accept them more, to become more detached but alert in the same time at their needs. Loving the neighbour as loving oneself is one of the most difficult things, because firstly one has to awake and see the terror of the situation. Then there is a way to gain real love for others(Gurdjieff said to Fritz Peters, one of the Prieure kids, something like -"from now on, everybody is shit, including you. You are all shit. When you will start seeing something that is good in them you have a chance for real love" - altough it is not with the exact words).

But not by being blind and totally positive which leads to a incomplete "love".

 

[Minas Tirith]

Truth can be found in all sources. It depends on each persons ability to discern it. It is sad, the world nowadays, we cannot change things, but I am not sure how one can improve his ways on cultivating compassion if he is not looking deeply into the others, who live on different levels of reality, and who sometimes also ask if there is something more(quite rarely but still).

Some situations require you to strike back, others don't. I think the most important thing in both fwiw is not to go into "martyr" mode.

M.T.

 

[Buddy]

Thanks for that posting, jsf. I enjoyed reading about anadoché, learning its meaning and tracing the etymology.

I am reminded of stories about Gurdjieff studying ancient texts in the basements of the Greek Orthodox church and how, in his teachings, he gave distinct meanings to some biblical passages. It seems to be the case that many statements categorized today as "spiritual" laws were originally psychological teachings whose essence has been long forgotten.

 

[David]

"If you live by the sword you shall die by the sword", I muttered.

Back in the day... a saying like that would probably make the sword yielding fellow think... this guy must be real tough... I better back off or that’s so profound man... tell us more... yea tell us more

It might not be profound. And surely it is related to violence. If you live with violence(you are a violent man), you can die because of this violence. That doesn't necesarily mean that one has not the right to defend himself in certain circumstances. Hence the above quote:

Perhaps there is no right... just flight or fight mode which just happens naturally... so I reckon better to stay away from (situations) guys who are pretty much always in (flight or) fight mode... less of a chance in being caught up in the dynamic of trauma, that seems like a trap. Osit

Gurdjieff said to Fritz Peters, one of the Prieure kids, something like -"from now on, everybody is shit, including you. You are all shit. When you will start seeing something that is good in them you have a chance for real love" - altough it is not with the exact words).

Though I’m half brained... and have spent most of my life dissociating in negative ways, I would not say dodo, I would say we are all in the dodo.

Though I prefers the saying Laura’s uses... something like ‘we are all in the soup’

 

[Buddy]

Gurdjieff said to Fritz Peters, one of the Prieure kids, something like -"from now on, everybody is shit, including you. You are all shit. When you will start seeing something that is good in them you have a chance for real love" - altough it is not with the exact words).

Though I’m half brained... and have spent most of my life dissociating in negative ways, I would not say dodo, I would say we are all in the dodo.

Though I prefers the saying Laura’s uses... something like ‘we are all in the soup’

To better understand what Gurdjieff meant by the above paraphrasing, you might find Fritz Peters' writings about life as 'one of the Prieure kids' interesting. G worked with kids differently than he did with adults and had an interesting work relationship with Fritz.

 

[David]

Gurdjieff said to Fritz Peters, one of the Prieure kids, something like -"from now on, everybody is shit, including you. You are all shit. When you will start seeing something that is good in them you have a chance for real love" - altough it is not with the exact words).

Though I’m half brained... and have spent most of my life dissociating in negative ways, I would not say dodo, I would say we are all in the dodo.

Though I prefers the saying Laura’s uses... something like ‘we are all in the soup’

To better understand what Gurdjieff meant by the above paraphrasing, you might find Fritz Peters' writings about life as 'one of the Prieure kids' interesting. G worked with kids differently than he did with adults and had an interesting work relationship with Fritz.

Thanks for reiterating edgitarra paraphrasing... yes better understanding now... my holy cow mooed a bit with organised (religion) faith... maybe result of long slow road perhaps... my cow pad.

And yes Fritz Peters experience with G is interesting, to say the least...