Heaven and Earth are linked one to the other by a pillar of Light, and it is thanks to that pillar of Light that their union is joyful, and that the joy of their union is a fruitful and bountiful joy. Heaven is the ever-luminous; its nature is to shine. But the body of the Earth is porous and jagged, that when the Light of Heavens is upon it, it may be more or less absorbed or refracted in any number of manners and directions. On top of that, the body of the Earth changes always with the passage of time, so that it cannot receive the Light of Heaven but with some inconstancy. The standpoint from which the goddess observes the countenance of the god changes necessarily in accordance with a schedule. It follows that with the scheduled decays of the Earth, and with the transformations of the forms of life whose home is the Earth, the Light of Heaven will inevitably abscond. We have seen this fatal procession underway even in our own times, in this remote and pitiful corner of the universe, this dew-like realm of ours. When the Light absconds, thick Shadow takes its place, coating the lower domains in darkness, spreading the poisonous seeds of false opinion, unbelief, impiety and yes, even madness. It is owing to this absconsion of the Light taking place in our latter age that the doctrines and theories of the Sages and about the Sage have fallen into obscurity and, once universally known among all the classes of noble retainers charged with the execution of the Sovereign's holy will, been forgotten. It is a useless endeavor indeed to attempt to trace the myriads of causes that have led our land and our people to this present pass, and at any rate any such attempt would soon devolve from godly dialectic and cerebration (and nothing less is worthy of these renowned halls of learning) to empty and directionless arguments and polemizings. The truth cannot prevail out of the wanton confusion wrought by false opinion, but being like unto the divine Light, can only be produced by it, never by its opposite.
We have designed this tract in order to explicate the Sage. As should have been intimated above, the idea of the Sage was one passed down from high antiquity, stretching into the mists of Prehistory, though primarily in an intuited--not an explicitly logical--form. No such logical form was ever needed by the ancients, because the ideas were seen by them as self-evident and thus in need of no explication, any more than we feel the need to explicate the ideas of breathing, of walking, of eating and so on. For what is the most obvious is the least present in the sensible consciousness. But owing to the absconsion of the Light discussed above, what was once obvious is now no longer so, and men's hearts have been covered up by the advancing Shadow. The need of this tract follows naturally from this state of affairs, so let us begin without any further ado, for I fear I have already laid too great a burden upon you all with this my foreword.
Who is the Sage? What are the attributes of the Sage? How does the Sage live? What are his physical and spiritual qualities? These are the questions we wish to pick up and hopefully bring back into the Light.
To begin with, the Sage is one who dwells in his ego. But to the extent that he dwells in his ego, he is at one with his Fate, for his Fate is most assuredly Heaven's commandment to him and to nobody elese, and so to the extent that he is at one with his Fate, he has internalized the commandment of Heaven above and he goes with the gods. To that extent--and no more nor less--the Sage is without ego, for he yields what is the property of the gods, what the gods originally let him borrow, back to the gods, earning their good will and support in all enterprises. In doing so the Sage makes himself into the embodiment of divine virtue and justice. He becomes a pillar that is as tall as Heaven. Hence though he may live in a corrupted and degenerate world, he is nonetheless not a stranger to Heaven, for a pillar so tall as this will always reach Heaven no matter where it is erected. Heaven is constant. The Sage merely is the one who enters into Heaven's own constancy rather than flees from it, thus he makes himself exactly like the sun, the moon, the stars and all the other turning spheres of the boundless sky. He has acclimated himself to the constant schedules of Heaven, forming himself around the dictates of the gods and making his will one and the same as the gods' wills.
One false opinion regarding the Sage that has spread like weeds in recent times is that the Sage merely throws off his ego and casts the world off of his shoulders, and that if any one does the same he too can become a Sage. This false belief arises out of the inspection of the outward conduct of Sages, but it fails to penetrate into the soul of the Sage to understand its true workings. The Sage may often appear to be one who has thrown off his ego and renounced the world, but in actuality the Sage has not done so, he has merely attuned his ego to the ego of Heaven. This means he has polished and refined his ego to the point where it is not distinct from the ego of Heaven, and while this may appear in the eyes of the unenlightened to be a "throwing off" of the ego and the "resignation" of worldly existence, it is precisely the opposite. The Sage, after he has made his own ego one with the ego of Heaven, has only rediscovered the true nature of his own ego and, having found it to be as good and perfect as it can be as it is, having been fashioned by the flawless hands of the gods, dwells happily within it. This is a return to the ego, not its "throwing off", and it only appears as a "throwing off" when viewed from the standpoint of another ego that is still covered by the Shadow. The Shadow is that which obscures the true natures of things, so when an ego is still covered by the Shadow, it is unfamiliar with the true appearance of the ego, which is why it mistakenly calls an example of the true appearance a "throwing off" of the ego. As for the "resignation" of worldly existence, this is once again a misapprehension of true appearance. By analogy to the ego, the world is the ego's home or dwelling-place. If we see the Sage as one who has "thrown off" his ego, then naturally we will also be inclined to believe that he has renounced his claim to the ego's dwelling place, the world--a phenomenon which we call a "resignation" of worldly existence. But as we demonstrated above, this is an illusion with regard to the ego, hence also with regard to the world, the Sage does not "resign" the world but rather reaffirms it and dwells in it all the happier. He sees it for what it is: the home Heaven has given him. For he knows that if Heaven did not want him to be born in the world, he would not have been born in it.
It is a man's fate to be born in the world, to be born with an ego and a body. Because the Sage is one who apprehends his fate and dwells in it happily, seeing his fate as his ownmost endowment from Heaven, he does not lament the fact that he was born in the world with an ego and a body. These days many are those who hold the opinion that man's fate is an unhappy one, being as he is born in a finite world with a finite body that is at the mercy of the senses, getting dragged in every which way by affectations that lead into sin and defilement, which are hated by the gods. Add to that, they say, it is man's fate ultimately to die and pass on to some alternate sphere of existence, that we cannot take those few things in life that bring us pleasure with us to that other shore, and that man's fate is an unhappy one also on this account. If we were to accept this opinion as the true version of things, then we too would wonder how the Sage can be so insane as to regard what is unhappy as happy, and hence we would think it unwise to follow the example of Sages. But the Sage is the one who understands that between the infinite and the finite there is a mediate term, which changes everything and renders their opinions nothing but the games of children.
This mediate term is nothing other than the pillar of Light linking Heaven and Earth that we were just talking about. The Sage is the one who knows how to reflect this Light and make himself into a conduit of it. The pillar as tall as Heaven that the Sage erects is nothing other than this pillar of Light. His erecting of the pillar of Light is what propagates the Light. One might be quick to jump at us for making an error in denying the fact that, as is self-evident, Light by nature propagates itself, and hence should be in no need of a Sage to do the propagation for it. But we do not deny such, and what we have said is not at odds with something so obvious, for the Sage, as we said, has purified his own ego to the point where it is not distinct from the ego of the luminous Heaven, where all Light is begotten. So the Sage's propagation of the Light is really not distinct from the Light's propagation of itself, because the higher propagator is identical to the lower.
Now that we have clarified that, it remains for us to demonstrate how this mediate term, the pillar of Light that the Sage erects, causes him to regard his own fate as a happy one, even if it may not seem so in the eyes of others. From the above demonstration that the Sage's propagation of the Light is actually the Light's propagation of itself, we are able to deduce an even higher spiritual truth: That Heaven is luminous is thanks to the work of Sages, and without them the world would be all dark, the Earth would never be given the chance to look upon the face of her Heavenly lord, and she would be barren as a result. For the Light is not only the seed of truth, but also of life. What animates the world, what impregnates the womb of matter, what digs the channels of form--that is Light. That in all corners of the Earth there are forests, seas and mountains teeming with life great and small, is due to the propagation of the Light there. For where there is Light the Earth is fertile. There matter is given form by the Light. Light can thus be called that which allows the world to grow into itself and to transform within the bounds of its fate. The Sage, as the conduit of the Light, thus plays an insurmountable role: He is like the farmer that plants the seeds, then nourishes them till they bear fruit. He takes the universal and makes it local, he takes the infinite and makes it finite, applying it within his own bounded world which Heaven has given him. He assists in the meting out of fate. His world then grows by his hand, it becomes definite and articulated, and its parts harmonize one another. Being thus definite, articulated and harmonized, it is alive in a truer and in a higher sense, for all things that are truly alive must exhibit definition, articulation and harmony. But this alone does not explain the Sage's happiness with his fate, only it provides the ground. They key is that the Sage's spirit now inhabits the matter he has given form to, illuminating it with his own Light, and that matter being illuminated is now sanctified, becoming lighter and rarer (and this is where our word for light comes from; light is that which travels with the most ease, hence it is the lightest). And like all things that are light and rare, it floats upward to recommune with Heaven. Thus the Sage grows taller, and as he grows taller, his shadow naturally grows longer. His shadow still bears the form of his ego, which by this mechanism remains living in the world and continues to grow in the world, even as the Sage's spirit ascends back to Heaven. This two-way motion is the cause of the Sage's happiness with his fate: it is thanks to this two-way motion that death and material insatiety are nothing to him. For thanks to this two-way motion, the Sage never starves, nor thirsts, nor feels pain, nor lack, nor does he even die; he never ceases to dwell in his sphere, he never passes out of the world, he is never made into an alien or a slave, but he is an eternal lord who has a seat at the table of the King of Heaven, where he drinks the wine of Heaven which is said to confer immortality.
But once again I anticipate that you will point out another apparent contradiction in what I have said: How can the Sage, who is a being of Light, also cast a shadow? To which I would answer with a question of my own: Does not Heaven itself also cast a shadow? Do not confuse Heaven with the daytime, for Heaven has two sides to it: day and night, and the latter is nothing but the shadow cast by the former when it is shining upon the face of the Earth. The Sage is indeed a conduit of the Light of Heaven, but the Light he conduces is Light nonetheless--it too must cast a shadow.
Hold an object up in a ray of light and check the shadow it casts. The shadow conforms to the shape of the object, and when the object is rotated or disturbed in any other way, the shadow responds automatically. From this it seems as though the shadow contains something of the object itself, that the essence of the object is in some way translated into the shadow in the act of casting it. The shadow is not a perfect copy, because light comes from one direction, only illuminating those surfaces of the object it can reach. Nevertheless the shadow is unique to the object, and to the angle of the light that strikes it. The object does not disappear in the light, it is not hidden by the light as though by a cloud; nor does the light consume it like a roaring fire, but the light preserves it in the act of bringing it into a relationship with itself. Friends, do not misunderstand the meaning of light. Light shines on everything equally--the good and bad, the great and small alike. But it does not impose itself. It introduces itself, only to compose the other. The other is not enthralled by the light, but liberated by it, and then it is no longer other, for the light moves it from the peripheries to the center. It becomes something new in the light. But it does not disappear and perish in the new thing, any more than the seed in the tree. Light is not the equalizer, it is rather the occasion of divergence. It is only under the light that things that seem similar are revealed in their more articulate guise to be different.
Every Sage is gifted with superbly keen ears and an extremely articulate tongue. With his ears, which are superbly keen, he transmits; with his tongue, from which the most articulate verbiage springs, he creates. Having both of these, the Sage is both a creator and a transmitter; but although we call one "creating" and the other "transmitting", you must remember that to the Sage they are not two but one, for he creates in transmitting and transmits in creating. In that he takes in the light, he is a transmitter, but in that he propagates the light, which at the time of propagation has become his own, he is a creator. Like the mirror, he propagates the light as he takes it in. Transmitting, he channels divine spirit and cosmic patterns, but creating, he fashions his own spirit and his own patterns, thus entire Worlds are his issue. This principle is most salient in the written word. In the most ancient times, there were no letters, but only spoken words; then the sage known as Lord Tengir, having observed Heaven above and Earth below, created letters into which he poured what he observed and what he thought and felt about what he observed. The patterns of the letters hence reflected the cosmic patterns, but these were enriched by, because integrated with, additional patterns of Lord Tengir's origination, which rather reflected his private thoughts and feelings. But, beyond that, everything you see in the World around you is the work of one Sage or another. Among men, rites, letters, adornments, music, cults, customs and houses either were erected by the hands of a Sage, or else are the lingering remnants of what was erected by the hands of Sages in ages past. Beyond men, rivers, mountains, forests, winds, kinds, habits and races were also erected by the hands of Sages: these latter are called the Divine Sages, while the former are called the Human Sages. While the Divine Sages' domain is a hundred times greater and more sublime than that of the Human Sages, they both are united in heart and equal in their dignity as the bearer of Heaven's Chain. What makes a Sage, in this more deeply unfolded sense? The Sage is the one who forges a new link in Heaven's Chain.
Is the Sage a Perfect Being? Certainly not, because no Perfect Being has any business in the World, for a World is nothing but the coming-to-completion of things, and a Perfect Being is already complete. Nonetheless, every Sage is an immaculate conduit of the light of Heaven. Even though the Sage is not complete, his heart is absolutely pure, his countenance is the peak of comeliness, his demeanor is entirely without blemish, and his conduct without defect. The Sage is free of sin, either by nature or because he has secured the liquidation of his own sins. The former kind of Sage is called the Tranquil Sage, the latter is called the Fierce Sage. The Tranquil Sage is like water, essentially pure, while the Fierce Sage is like fire, that burns up sin. Contrary to the false dogmas spread by the believers of the prophets, it is not a sin to be incomplete. Certainly incompletion is an inferior state compared to Perfection, but the Sage, being sinless, is the only being with enough purity and integrity to secure the negation of the inferiority of the World. This he does by playing an active role in guiding things towards completion. Since he is able to guide the World to completion, to "walk the road from beginning to end," he forges a Circle, and once he has forged it he appends it to Heaven's Chain. But Heaven's Chain is the image of Perfection. How can it be that the image of Perfection comes about by the work of imperfect Sages? Should it not rather be the case that what is the image of Perfection must be the work of Perfect Beings? Not at all, for the sinlessness of the Sage only makes him pure enough to liberate the latent Perfection of the World: this he does by playing an active role in guiding things towards completion, for when things come to completion, then Perfection increases in articulation and purity, and the sins of things are liquidated. The Sage is able to do this as an imperfect, finite being, which allows him to mix with the finite world to get his work done. If he were perfect and infinite, he would not be able to guide things to completion, because he would not be able to resonate with the level of articulation proper to finite things.
(What is the relationship of the Sage to the Godhead? The Godhead is infinite, and is the cause of all things, the cause of the seasons' turning, the ebb and flow, the rise and fall, of everything that is inconstant. But the Godhead is perfect and constant, so how is it that what is variable and inconstant arises out of his will? The only answer is the mediate beings must stand in between to do this work for the Godhead, and these mediate beings are the Sages, though the Sage is especially pertinent to subcreators of human realms, so other terms that can work for the whole cosmos and entire Worlds include Gods, Deities, Spirits, etc.)
(Is it a sin to be incomplete? No, because everything that is incomplete is naturally destined to move towards completion, so when seen under a species of eternity, incompletion is only a momentary stage towards completion, and there is no sinfulness there. The only sinfulness is that which obtains when something alien comes to stand in between things and their naturally-ordained arrival at completion.)
Hence we arrive at one of the most profound truths of the Sage, which is this: The Sage realizes the World's Perfection. Since he realizes this, he has all the more reason to rejoice regardless of whether his fate is good or evil. The World is finite, but through Sages it becomes infinite, which is a cause for rejoicing. Man is mortal, but through Sages he becomes immortal, which is a cause for rejoicing. As long as a Sage is in the World, or as long as his presence lingers, then the World is Perfect. But Heaven's love for the World is deeper than the Primordial Well from which everything is said to have sprung; Heaven always sends Sages to the World, and even when the dark epochs where no Sage's presence can be felt roll around, Heaven promises to send them at some time in the future. Therefore even the most rotten, the most perverse and desolate realm is perfect, because Heaven loves even such a realm and so promises to one day send a Sage there to save it.