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Swayambhu
Tuesday, 3 December 2024 at 22:03
Swayambhu
All we have is metaphor, the intervention was made, the circle was broken open, the egg was penetrated. Swayambhu, spontaneous and self-manifested being, entered the cosmic egg, Hiraṇyagarbha.And from the breaking waters a lotus flower emerged. And creation was like that lotus flower, from which shone a brilliant light. And the name of the place came to be Swayambhu, meaning self-created or self-existent. Pilgrim saints, sages and divinities venerated this transfigurative light for its power in granting enlightenment. Most holy Swayambhu, light of the lotus flower atop your wooded hill, most ancient and enigmatic of all the holy shrines in the valley of Kathmandu. Here the body of pure light was assumed, here the rainbow body achieved.
From Child of Encounter
© John Dunn.
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Unrestrained freedom
Monday, 2 December 2024 at 21:41
Unrestrained freedom
The world came into being in an act of spontaneity. There was no pre-determined reason for its creation, which was an act of total freedom. Dante likened the spontaneity of this act to a child at play who turns eagerly to what delights it. He believed that such unrestrained freedom is the foundation for our own human freedom. Because we were born out of this spontaneous action we can go on believing that there is such a freedom for us. So important did Dante believe this allegorisation of creativity and play to be that it occurs at the very centre of Purgatory (XVI) and is thus at the dead-centre of the Divine Comedy as a whole.
From Child of Encounter
© John Dunn.
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