Chapter 9 - Evil Conduct
"If you do what is evil, do not repeat it or take pleasure in making it a habit. An evil habit will cause nothing but suffering. If you do what is good, keep repeating it and take pleasure in making it a habit. A good habit will cause nothing but joy." -lines 117-118

AL I:42-44, "So with thy all; thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that, and no other shall say nay. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect."

In Thelema, "evil" is that which impedes the Will and "good" is that which facilitates the Going of the Will - "thou hast no right but to do thy will." One must eliminate obstacles to the Will, which include habits that cause division of the Will and suffering. An example of a "good" habit in Thelema might be (for "good" can never be absolute) self-control & self-discipline, for these help the Will function with the least amount of resistance or friction possible.

In De Lege Libellum, Crowley clearly writes, "For see, what hindereth you? It is either from without or from within, or both. It may be easy for the strong-minded seeker to put his heel upon public opinion, or to tear from his heart the objects which he loves, in a sense: but there will always remain in himself many discordant affections, as also the bond of habit, and these also must he conquer." Also, "Search yourselves cunningly, I pray you, analysing your inmost thoughts. And first you shall discard all those gross obvious hindrances to your Will: idleness, foolish friendships, waste employments or enjoyments, I will not enumerate the conspirators against the welfare of your State." Essentially, one must conquer habit and discard all hindrances to the Will - all things including friendships, thoughts, & enjoyments."

Chapter 10 - Punishment

"Everyone fears punishment; everyone fears death, just as you do. Therefore do not kill or cause to kill. Everyone fears punishment; everyone loves life, as you do. Therefore do not kill or cause to kill." -lines 129-130

AL I:41. There is no bond that can unite the divided but love: all else is a curse.
AL I:57. Love is the law, love under will.
AL II:24. Love one another with burning hearts
AL III:60. There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.

Buddha recommends harmlessness but Thelema does not explicitly. In Thelema, it is said that "there is no bond that can unite the divded but love" and that we should "love one another with burning hearts" - Indeed, "Love is the law, love under will" but "There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt." Words should be of Love, but the final rule is the Will - if it be the true Will of someone to kill or harm another, "no other will say nay."

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"Going about with matted hair, without food or bath, sleeping on the ground smeared with dust, or sitting motionless - no amount of penance can help a person whose mind is not purified. But one whose mind is serene and chaste, whose senses are controlled and whose life is nonviolent - such a one is a true brahmin, a true monk, even if he wears fine clothes." - lines 141-142

The mind must be under perfect control in the Buddhist system. In the Thelemic system, the Ruach (the mind) and the Nephesh (the body & senses) are understood to be vehicles of the true Self above the Abyss in the Supernal Triangle. Therefore, self-control & discipline is needed for these organs to perform their duty perfectly with as little friction as possible.

Crowley writes of the control of the mind in De Lege Libellum, "At first the habit of attention is hard to acquire. Persevere, and you will have spasms of revulsion periodically. Reason itself will attack you, saying: how can so strict a bondage be the Path of Freedom? Persevere. You have never yet known Liberty. When the temptations are overcome, the voice of Reason silenced, then will your soul bound forward unhampered upon its chosen course, and for the first time will you experience the extreme delight of being Master of Yourself, and therefore of the Universe. When this is fully attained, when you sit securely in the saddle, then you may enjoy also all those distractions which first pleased you and then angered you. Now then will do neither any more: for they are your slaves and toys. Until you have reached this point, you are not wholly free. You must kill out desire, and kill out fear. The end of all is the power to live according to your own nature, without danger that one part may develop to the detriment of the whole, or concern lest that danger should arise."

Chapter 11 - Age

"The body is a painted image, subject to disease, decay and death, activated by thoughts that come and go. What joy can there be for him who sees that his white bones will be cast away like gourds in the autumn?" -lines 147-149

AL II:9. Remember all ye that existence is pure joy; that all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass & are done; but there is that which remains.
AL II:21. We have nothing with the outcast and the unfit: let them die in their misery. For they feel not. 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. Think not, o king, upon that lie: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shalt not die, but live. Now let it be understood: If the body of the King dissolve, he shall remain in pure ecstasy for ever. Nuit! Hadit! Ra-Hoor-Khuit! The Sun, Strength & Sight, Light; these are for the servants of the Star & the Snake.

The body, senses, (Nephesh) and ego/intellect (Ruach) are temporary vehicles. If one identifies with and is attached to the temporal, suffering is assured. In Thelema, we understand that although the body, senses, and ego pass away, "there is that which remains" (AL II:9). We are told in AL II:21, "Think not, o king, upon that like: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shalt not die, but live. Now let it be understood: If the body of the King dissolve, he shall remain in pure ecstacy for ever. Nuit! Hadit! Ra-Hoor-Khuit!" Crowley comments on AL II:17, "The dead and the dying, who know not Hadit, are in the Illusion of Sorrow. Not being Hadit, they are shadows, puppets, and what happens to them does not matter. If you insist upon identifying yourself with Hecuba, your tears are natural enough." In his commentary to AL II:58 he says, "... we learn the permanence of the Nature of a Star." Essentially, one must be identified with Hadit, the Atman, or the Supernal Triangle above the Abyss - the body, the senses, and intellect are temporary and ultimately illusory.

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"Those who have not practiced spiritual disciplines in their youth pine away like old cranes in a lake without fish. Like worn-out bows they lie in old age, sighing over the past." -lines 155-156

Discipline is needed to help facilitate the Will most perfectly. Crowley says in Magick Without Tears, chapter 70, "About 90 % of Thelema, at a guess, is nothing but self-discipline. One is only allowed to do anything and everything so as to have more scope for exercising that virtue." In chapter 8 he says, "What is true for every School is equally true for every individual. Success in life, on the basis of the Law of Thelema, implies severe self-discipline." This article on discipline treats the subject more fully.

Chapter 12 - Self

"If you hold yourself dear, guard yourself diligently. Keep vigil during one of the thre watches of the night." -line 157

AL III:4-9, "Choose ye an island! Fortify it! Dung it about with enginery of war! I will give you a war-engine. With it ye shall smite the peoples; and none shall stand before you. Lurk! Withdraw! Upon them! this is the Law of the Battle of Conquest: thus shall my worship be about my secret house."

Crowley comments on AL III:4-8, saying that it is describing a mental practice or meditation: "An Island = one of the Cakkrams or nerve-centres in the spine... Fortify it = concentrate the mind upon it... Prevent any impressions reaching it... I will describe a new method of meditation by which... Ye shall easily suppress invading thoughts. May mystically describe this method (e.g., Liber HHH, Section 3). But the course of history will determine the sense of the passage." Essentially, this war-like imagery describes the practice that Buddha is speaking about in the Dhammapada. One must guard oneself diligently by having control of the thoughts & the ability to concentrate on one thing to the exclusion of all other thoughts.

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"Before trying to guide others, be your own guide first. It is hard to learn to guide oneself.

Your own self is your master; who else could be? With yourself well controlled, you gain a master very hard to find." -lines 159-160

One's self must be conquered before you attempt to "teach" others. The self, meaning the body, the senses, speech, and the mind or the Nephesh and Ruach, must be controlled to be proper vehicles for the Self or the Will.

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"By oneself is evil done; by oneself one is injured. Do not do evil, and suffering will not come. Everyone has the choice to be pure or impure. No one can purify another." -line 165

The emphasis on self-reliance and the responsibility resonates well with Thelema. Evil in Thelema, as explained before, is not performing one's true Will - "So with thy all; thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that, and no other shall say nay"(AL I:42-43).

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"Don't neglect your own duty for another, however great. Know your own duty and perform it." -line 166

AL I:40. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
AL I:41. The word of Sin is Restriction.
AL I:42. Let it be that state of manyhood bound and loathing. So with thy all; thou hast no right but to do thy will.
AL I:43. Do that, and no other shall say nay.
AL I:44. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.

The law is to follow one's own Will & allow others to do the same. Understanding & manifesting the Will is our duty (dharma/dhamma) in Thelema.


Chapter 13 - The World

"Don't follow wrong laws; don't be thoughtless; don't believe false doctrines. Don't follow the way of the world." -line 167

Liber Librae, line 12, "Act passionately; think rationally; be Thyself."
AL I:10. Let my servants be few & secret: they shall rule the many & the known.
AL III:60. There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.

In Thelema, a "wrong law" would be one that contradicts "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." A "wrong law" might also be considered a law of superstition, tyranny, intolerance, and/or oppression that infringes on the wills of others. Essentially, one should not be "thoughtless" and "believe in false doctrines" - one should think for oneself because "There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt" (AL III:60). Liber Librae reminds us to "Act passionately; think rationally; be Thyself." The "many & the known" of AL I:10 may be said to be those who "follow the way of the world." The "few & secret" are those who look past the "way of the world" to union in the Divine.

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"Wake up! Don't be lazy. Follow the right path, avoid the wrong. You will be happy here as well as hereafter." -lines 168-169

AL I:42. So with thy all; thou hast no right but to do thy will.
AL I:43. Do that, and no other shall say nay.
AL I:44. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.
AL II:34. But ye, o my people, rise up & awake!

Buddha tells us to "Wake up!" The word Buddha means awakened one so he is calling each one of us Crowlto attain to the Buddha within. Crowley comments on AL II:34, 'We are not to calculate, to argue, to criticise; these things lead to division of will and to stagnation. They are shackles of our Going. They hamstring our Pegasus. We are to rise up -- to Go -- to Love -- we are to be awake, alert --'Joyous and eager, Our tresses adorning, / O let us beleaguer the City of Morning!' ... Observe that we must 'rise up' befor we 'awake!' Aspiration to the Higher is a dream -- a wish-fulfilment which remains a phantasm to wheedle us away from seeking reality -- unless we follow it up by Action. Only then do we become fully aware of ourselves, and enter into right reaction with the world in which we live." We must not be lazy, but we must put all of our energy into the task at hand, into our Will because "thou hast not right but to do thy will. Do that, and no other shall say nay" (AL I:42-43). The "right path" is following our true Will; the "wrong path" is where the true Will is not followed. By doing one's Will, one will be "happy here as well as hereafter."

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"Look on the world as a bubble, look on it as a mirage; then the King of Death cannot even see you. Come look at this world! Is it not like a painted royal chariot? The wise see through it, but not the foolish." -lines 170-171

AL II:9. Remember all ye that existence is pure joy; that all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass & are done; but there is that which remains.
AL II:21. We have nothing with the outcast and the unfit: let them die in their misery. For they feel not. 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. Think not, o king, upon that lie: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shalt not die, but live. Now let it be understood: If the body of the King dissolve, he shall remain in pure ecstasy for ever. Nuit! Hadit! Ra-Hoor-Khuit! The Sun, Strength & Sight, Light; these are for the servants of the Star & the Snake.

The material universe is understood to be illlusion in Buddhism. The physical parts of the "self" - the body, the senses, the emotions, and the intellect - are all subject to change and death, and therefore attachment to and identification with them creates suffering. In Thelema, we understand that the sorrows "pass & are done; but there is that which remains." The truest Supreme Self, beyond duality and attachments, remains unchanged - if one abides in this Self, then "the King of Death cannot even see you." Crowley comments on how the world is seen as a sort of play in AL II:9, "This verse is very thoroughly explained in Liber Aleph. "All in this kind are but shadows" says Shakespeare, referring to actors. The Universe is a Puppet-Play for the amusement of Nuit and Hadit in their Nuptials; a very Midsummer Night's Dream. So then we laugh at the mock woes of Pyramus and Thisbe, the clumsy gambols of Bottom; for we understand the Truth of Things, how all is a Dance of Ecstasy. 'Were the world understood, Ye would know it was good, a Dance to a lyrical measure!' The nature of events must be 'pure joy;' for obviously, whatever occurs is the fulfilment of the Will of its master. Sorrow thus appears as the result of any unsuccessful -- therefore, ill-judged -- struggle. Acquiescence in the order of Nature is the ultimate Wisdom." Therefore, the right view is to understand that the universe is really just a "puppet-play," or a "mirage" in Buddha's terms.

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"In this dark world, few can see. Like birds that free themselves from the net, only a few find their way to heaven. Swans fly on the path of the sun by their wonderful power; the wise rise above the world, after conquering Mara and his train." -line 174-175

AL I:10. Let my servants be few & secret: they shall rule the many & the known.

Thelema understands as well as Buddhism that "only a few find their way to heaven." Qabalistically, "heaven" is the Supernal Triangle, above the Abyss. The swan is a solar symbol, also a symbol of Samadhi - an elegant symbol of the way towards attainment. The path of the sun is the path to Tiphareth, where, Qabalistically, one attains to Knowledge & Conversation with his/her Holy Guardian Angel or Genius/True Self. The sun is also a symbol of the unified consciousness in Samadhi. Mara, or Death, must be conquered by understanding the universe as unreal in that it is temporal and subject to change & death, and also identifying the self with the supreme Self beyond the senses & the ego (Qabalistically, above the Abyss in the Supernal Triangle).


Summary
Parallels between Buddhism & Thelema include that they both recognize:

*habits (also thoughts, friendships, employments, and enjoyments) that impede the Will must be eliminated and habits that help facilitate the Will must be cultivated
*one should not kill or do harm. In Thelema this is true except under the possibility that it is one's true Will to kill or harm.
*the body, senses, and mind must be under perfect control
*one must not identify with the body, senses, and intellect which are temporal and subject to change and suffering
*discipline is necessary to help facilitate one's purpose
*one must conquer the self before one tries to change others
*the necessity of absolute control of thought
*one must take responsibility for one's own actions, speech & thoughts
*one must concentrate on performing one's own Will and leave others to do the same
*the need to think for oneself and follow one's Will instead of submitting to "wrong laws"
*one must rise up & awake, not be lazy, and perform one's Will
*the material universe is illusion, a kind of mirage or play that exists for the fulfillment of Will
*only a few attain to heaven (nirvana/nibbana)