Maitreya, the Buddha to Come (1 of 3)
Part One: The Holy Trinity of Mahayana Buddhism
In this article we will be taking on a sizable task: to outline Mahayana Buddhism’s core doctrine of spiritual cosmology. Meaning, we are going to look at its teachings concerning the origin of the Universe, the emergence of spiritual powers and divine beings within the Universe, and the story of how these powers work together to fashion the Solar System, Earth, and Man.
The primary focus of this article is to investigate the Mahayana School’s teachings on how the spiritual hierarchy of the Universe emerges out of and unfolds within the supreme consciousness of Adi-Buddha, the One God.
At its root, the Universe is born from a simple process of Unity moving into diversity. In the earliest stages of this process, a hierarchy of spiritual beings emerges out of the One Life of Adi-Buddha (which means “First Buddha”). These spiritual beings become the creators and overseers of the lowers worlds of creation.
As we will see, mankind is destined to play a special role in the planet’s development and evolution. As a result, we hold a special bond of relationship to the Earth’s spiritual over-government (or “Hierarchy”, and Manly Hall terms it), which is working always behind the scenes (literally: from within the higher realms of the planet’s metaphysical atmosphere) to evolve man in the direction of fulfilling its noble destiny.
In this essay’s extensive exploration of Mahayana Buddhism’s doctrine of religious philosophy, three centrals aims are intended:
First, we’re seeking to build an outline of the Mahayana system’s teachings about the nature of God, the reasons for the emergence of creation within God, and the relationship between God, nature, and man.
In esoteric philosophy, God is defined in a dynamic and complex way. Understanding God as a dynamic monotheistic concept requires delving into a complex spiritual cosmogony comprised of, as they are termed in Buddhism, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats.
This spiritual Hierarchy exists within God and serves his Divine Plan as agents of his consciousness. It is our purpose on Earth to learn the organizational structure of this Hierarchy and imitate its design here on Earth so that we may form ourselves into a microcosm of it.
Doing so will lead mankind toward the fulfillment of its destiny, which is to fulfill the archetype of its own existence. Hierarchy is patterned after this same archetype, so to discover Hierarchy is to discover the macrocosmic archetype that one is to replicate within oneself on the microcosmic level.
Our second aim in this work is to gain knowledge and insight about the “esoteric anatomy” of human life in its various spiritual, psychological, and material dimensions.
By investigating the archetypal design of the spiritual Hierarchy of the Cosmos, as depicted in Mahayana Buddhism, we’re seeking to understand the archetypal design of mankind’s own being. This knowledge allows us to develop a strategic map that will guide us toward the goal of eventually achieve the design of our own archetype.
The idea here is that, in its ideal form, human civilization is to be patterned according to an ideal or archetype that is already established for it in the heavenly or spiritual dimension of reality. Our task is to discover this archetype and bring it into realization here on Earth as an objective state of reality. In so doing, we will create the New Atlantis long pursued by the esoteric schools.
The third aim of this work is to investigate Mahayana Buddhism’s teachings about the Heart Doctrine, which represents its core doctrine of spiritual teachings and disciplines developed around the concept of salvation and its relation to the afterlife state.
Part of this doctrine concerns the mysteries of the Bodhisattva, part concerns the mastery of yoga and meditation, and part concerns the prophecy of a coming Messiah - a great Teacher whose incarnation will herald the salvation of the World.
We live in an age of tremendous ignorance and suffering and Mahayana Buddhism, like mystic Christianity and other religious philosophies to originally emerge out of the ancient Mysteries, reveals a doctrine that prophesies a Messiah-to-Come: a Human Buddha that is awaiting incarnation.
In this article, we’re going to investigate how this idea fits into the larger spiritual cosmology of the Mahayana Doctrine and consider what it means for the immediate future of mankind.
With these three aims in mind, let’s begin our investigation of Mahayana Buddhism’s religious philosophy by considering the First Principles that it uses to define and explain the existence of God and the creation and evolution of the Universe within God’s Consciousness.
1. Mahayana Buddhism’s Doctrine of the Four Worlds
The spiritual cosmology of Mahayana Buddhism is based off an emanationist pattern of philosophical reasoning. This is a dynamic it shares with sister systems of philosophies such as Pythagoreanism and Cabalism - the ones who, like Buddhism, have emerged branches of the larger “Cycle of the Arya” - the occult plan for world reformation that we’ve been tracking in our ongoing series.
All the great philosophical systems of world history share in common a core framework of Esoteric symbolism and reasoning. This is because all are derived from a common parent source.
Each clothes the inner teachings of this source system in different forms of language and symbolism, but at their core Buddhism, Platonism, Pythagoreanism, Cabalism, Hermeticism, Taoism, mystic Christianity, and mystic Islam all teach the same core doctrine of fundamental truths concerning the relations between God, the heavens, Earth, and man.
While all share a single parent source (the Arya) in common, Mahayana Buddhism’s version of the Aryan wisdom teachings is particularly notable for its simplicity, emphasis on compassion, and inspiring humanistic idealism.
Of all the philosophical schools that have arisen since the original Aryan revelations of long ago, the Mahayana Doctrine is notable in that its line of descent is said to be closest in tone to that which was once taught by the original caste of Indian Brahmans, who were the first outsiders raised up by the Aryan adepts to become the keepers of their wisdom tradition (see my previous article for more on this story).
By examining Mahayana Buddhism’s emanationist doctrine concerning the Universe’s birth and evolution within God (or “Adi-Buddha” as they call it), we are seeking to gain a clearer understanding of the nature of God and mankind’s relationship to it.
In the emanationist philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism, God is called “Adi-Buddha” (or “First Buddha”) and exists in a sublime state of eternal Unity.
Within this Unity a great cycle takes place, where periodically a Hierarchy of spiritual beings lead by spiritual principles termed "Buddhas”, who emerge within Adi-Buddha to become the creators of Universes. This Hierarchy performs their creative acts for a cycle of activity, and then collectively gathers together and submerges back into the Oneness from which it originated.
When diversity submerges back into Unity at the culmination of God’s creative cycle, Oneness “rests” for a cycle, before eventually again emerging back into an “awakened” state of creative activity, when once again a Hierarchy of spiritual beings or Buddhas will emerge out of its womb in order to create and evolve Universes.
Going deeper on this dynamic: from Adi-Buddha - the ultimate One Life - lesser Buddhas (each designed as a microcosm of Adi-Buddha) emerge within the Absolute Space of Adi-Buddha’s consciousness.
Adi-Buddha is the One: the single supreme Consciousness that all subsequent consciousnesses of “Buddhas” emerge from and draw their life from. It is the One Life; the Cosmic ALL.
Adi-Buddha is the Supreme Consciousness of the Universe. Manly Hall describes it as “Consciousness in the eternal state of knowing without a knower. … It is the eternal fact which remains unchanged whether it is known by anything or anyone. It is unchanging in its essential essence and ever-changing in its appearance and manifestation.”
Cosmic Creation takes place within Adi-Buddha as an act of divine meditation, implying that the Universe exists as the deliberate creation of a single divine Consciousness and Mind.
This ensouled creation is created, maintained, and ultimately dissolved by the Mind of this Divine Consciousness, who holds the created universe within its “womb” during the entirety of its lifespan.
Note the overall pattern: Adi-Buddha, as the One, is eternal. But, as eternity, it oscillates between two modes or qualities of existence: one active, one passive. Its “active” or “yang” mode is termed Adi-Buddha, while its Yin or “inactive” mode is termed “Adi-Buddhi”.
Adi-Buddha and Adi-Buddhi are two aspects of the same reality forever oscillating between each other. In this way, they relate like the Yin and Yang principles of Taoism.
Adi-Buddha, as Yang, is forever moving in a cycle that oscillates between opening and closing its Consciousness to creative activity.
When its consciousness is “closed” to creation, Adi-Buddha retires into the state of Adi-Buddhi, where it is in a Yin or inactive state. This means it is undefined; it is Unity without reference to anything else.
When the One “re-opens” its capacity to host diversity, it does so as Adi-Buddha, the Father-Mother of infinite “Buddhas” who are born, evolve, and then ultimately are re-absorbed back into the Absolute Space of its infinite Being.
When Consciousness re-absorbs itself back into the state of Adi-Buddhi, a “Cosmic Night” commences. But this Cosmic Night is not considered lacking, or empty, or incomplete in any way. Rather, this Cosmic Night is a state of total completeness, fulfillment, and non-action.
Between the two states of existence, the state of Adi-Buddhi is considered superior, implying that when Adi-Buddha awakens out of its condition of cosmic rest, it does so by “stepping down” or “lessening” itself (in an abstract spiritual sense).
In terms of Brahmanic philosophy, the difference between Adi-Buddhi and Adi-Buddha is identical to the difference between Brahman and Brahma: Brahman is the ultimate reality and the cyclic emergence and re-emergence of Brahma within Brahman represents the beginning of a move within Consciousness to limit and place boundaries upon its own inherent boundlessness for the sake of Self-Experience.
On this abstract yet important point, Manly Hall writes: “The manifested universe is part of the sleep of Brahma, so that when he goes to sleep the objective world comes into existence, and when he awakens it disappears. Instead of creation being the handiwork of his objectivity, it is the dream or sleep life of the Power behind creation.”
He then continues, describing the cosmic creation process in meditational terms: “By entering into the state of internal awareness, Adi-Buddha (i.e. Brahma) passes slowly, by the power of Will and Yoga, through a series progressive of states which are created by its own will and sustained by its own internal visualization. Theses states are the unfolding creation we believe we know.”
Adi-Buddha, as it “awakens” from the Cosmic Night to begin a cycle of cosmic activity, does so by opening its consciousness into becoming what Manly Hall terms a “Buddha-Field”.
When the God-Consciousness of Adi-Buddha “awakens”, it does so by becoming a “Buddha-Field”: an infinite field of space filled within infinite life, light, wisdom and love.
In this All-encompassing field of Oneness, Buddhas within Buddhas are born, live out their lifespan, and are ultimately absorbed back into the Adi-Buddha. This pattern stretch to infinity, with each Buddha growing and evolving its own light as a Child of Adi-Buddha, the All-Father/All-Mother.
The Hierarchy of Buddhas manifesting within Adi-Buddha is patterned according to an archetypal design framework that the ancient Buddhists termed “Meru”.
The “Invisible Government” of the universe is comprised of this archetypal Hierarchy of spiritual entities (Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, etc.) that exist together within the Buddha-Field of Adi-Buddha.
Plato famously defined the design pattern of Meru as that representing the “archetype” of creation. What Manly P. Hall calls “Hierarchy” is a reference to how this archetype is stamped across the face of creation at its highest levels. The core idea being referenced here is that there is one common spiritual design pattern that is stamped across the face of Creation and is therefore present within every life form that comes into existence with it.
In modern astronomical terms, the evolving Buddhas within Adi-Buddha’s Buddha-Field are galaxies growing and expanding within the absolute field of Universal Space.
By implication, our galaxy - the Milky Way - is “our Buddha”: it is the One Great Consciousness that gives birth to and nourishes all subsequent life forms that emerge within the internal Space of its boundless field of awareness. In this case, Space is equivalent with Consciousness, with each Solar System being the manifestation of an idea or thought of this all-knowing field of AbsoluteSpace.
Our terrestrial world exists within this cosmic context of this greater spiritual reality. Typically, in Esoteric Philosophy, this doctrine of nesting spiritual realities is taught in terms of the “Four Worlds”, with our Earth world existing within a yet greater Solar world, which in turn exists within the Life of a yet greater Father-Star, which is in turn is a child of the consciousness of the Galaxy’s Central Sun.
From our perspective, the Four Worlds that together comprise our reality are:
The first world is that of the Galaxy. This is the kingdom of “our” Adi-Buddha.
The second world is that of the Father-Star of our solar system. In a few of his rarer works, Hall states that this Father-Star is the fixed star Vega of the constellation Lyra.
The third world is that of the Solar System; and finally,
The fourth world is that of the Earth.
These four worlds are together held within an additional “zero” world, which is the infinite Buddha-Field of Adi-Buddha.
2. The Divine Trinity: Adi-Buddha, Vajradhara, and Vajrasattva
As we just covered, the Esoteric doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism teaches that creation emerges as the consequence of a series of mental contractions and unfoldments taking place within the consciousness of a Supreme Being called “Adi-Buddha”.
As the old saying goes, the Universe is created by a process of “Will and Yoga”. This means it is created as a deliberate meditational act of a divine power.
The sequence of stages that take place within Adi-Buddha during this cosmic creation process establishes an “design archetype” that is to bereplicated within the life pattern of each subsequent entity that will later be born within its space.
This design archetype is based on a pattern of Three: from one primary principle (Consciousness) is manifest a Trinity of three secondary principles. These three principles together exist as one; they are a three-as-one.
Depending on one’s perspective, these three principles can go by different names. The main point is that the pattern between the three stays the same. It works like an equation: different variables can be put in, but the mathematical geometry of the equation stays constant.
These three principles (a Trinity or Triad) emerge together within Consciousness. Each represents a different principle or quality of Consciousness in manifestation. None can exist by itself; always all three are present together.
Before going into the Buddhist names for this archetypal Trinity that emerges out of Unity, I want to start by first discussing the underlying principles that these three principle personify. In this way, I want to offer the “key” to the equation before actually going into the details of how this equation is framed in the Mahayana system.
In plain language, the three archetypal principles that emerge out of Adi-Buddha, representing is Infinite Unity, are: Consciousness, Mind, and Self.
The order of procedure of the emanation of these three principles are as follows. Consciousness is the innate attribute of Unity. From this absolute condition or principle (Consciousness) emerges a secondary power: that of Mind, which then acts upon the initial state of undefined Consciousness in order to produce a third power, the “Self”, meaning “a Self-conscious god or buddha”.
Mind is the intermediary that allows the eternally unbound and unlimited Consciousness of Adi-Buddha to become bound and limited into the experience of a divine “Self-Conscious” being - i.e. a “Divine Self”.
Self is Consciousness localized to a point. One of the old images of Deity is the dot within the circle: Self is the dot, Consciousness is the circumference, and radius that connects the two is the Mind.
Now, let’s restate this Trinity in the language of Mahayana Buddhism:
Consciousness in its supreme state as the One Consciousness is termed “Adi-Buddha”, which means “First Buddha”.
Here we find that the word “Buddha” simply means “Consciousness”. In its supreme state, as Adi-Buddha, Consciousness is unbound, unlimited, infinite, and eternal. Every subsequent Buddha that emerges within Adi-Buddha does so by binding and limiting the infinite powers of Adi-Buddha in some fashion.
In the second stage of this creation process (the first being the “awakening” of Adi-Buddha out of its passive state, Adi-Buddhi), a divine principle of Mind emerges as a power reflex or “Shakti” of Consciousness. In its most supreme condition this principle of Mind is given the term Vajradhara.
Mind is the agency that allows for creative activity to take place within Consciousness.
Adi-Buddha remains forever as infinite and eternal Consciousness, with Mind emerging within it as a creation-producing power. Mind oscillates between two states of existence: activity and passivity.
When Mind becomes latent within Adi-Buddha, Adi-Buddha is said to exist in a state of “non-existence” or “non-expression”, which in Buddhism is termed “Adi-Buddhi”.
The emergence of Mind within Consciousness marks the transition of Adi-Buddhi into Adi-Buddha. With this transition, Consciousness opens itself up for a cycle of creative activity to take place within it.
Adi-Buddhi and Adi-Buddha represent the Yin and Yang polarity of Mind. Consciousness itself is not polarized, but in relation to Mind, it appears in two states: Adi-Buddhi and Adi-Buddha.
For Mind, the supreme state of Consciousness, Adi-Buddhi, is one that represents, for it, a type of death in the form of absorption into its parent principle. And then when it re-emerges during Adi-Buddha, it does so by being symbolically reborn.
In the Esoteric Doctrine of the ancient Hindu Brahmans, this eternal oscillation of Mind within Consciousness is termed the inbreathing and outbreathing of Brahma.
In astronomical terms, Adi-Buddha is Absolute Space (an abstract concept) and Vajradhara is the emergence of Mind within Absolute Space which allows it to become the host of Universes: a garden in which infinite Buddhas are blossoming.
Each Galaxy is a Buddha. Each is therefore a Self: a Consciousness which exists as a localization of Consciousness by Mind.
The Buddha of our Galaxy is “our” Adi-Buddha: its Consciousness is the parent and host of all further consciousnesses that emerge within its space. It creates these lesser beings in the same way that it itself was first created: it draws from within itself the power of Mind (Vajradhara), which works to localize its consciousness into a focal point, which becomes a manifest Self-conscious being or God; a “Divine Self”.
In Mahayana Buddhism, this manifest Divine Self is called Vajrasattva.
The root word “Vajra” means Divine or, more literally, diamond-jeweled. Its presence in the words Vajradhara and Vajrasattva implies that these two terms are referencing the highest and most divine states that these two principles can exist in.
The true qualities of Cosmic Consciousness - “Adi-Buddha” - are undefinable. But through Mind (Vajradhara), they are made definable in the form of a Divine Self (Vajrasattva).
In Manly Hall’s words, “the Mind becomes the custodian of the original dimensionless structure.”
Mind is the mysterious power within Consciousness by means of which the experience of “a Self” may be fashioned. When it is fashioned, Consciousness remains without any of its Unity being diminished or affected, as does Mind. Self therefore exists always as the third person of a Trinity, with Mind being the 2nd person and Consciousness the 1st.
Vajrasattva is a Divine experience of Self that Vajradhara fashions within Adi-Buddha. It always takes place as one of many: each Vajrasattva is a Buddha or Galaxy within the background space of Adi-Buddha, the Universe, which hosts innumerable Divine Selves within its womb.
Manly P. Hall explores the relationship between Consciousness and Mind in his many writings. Here are a few notable quotes that summarize some of his views on the topic:
“The Mind arises as a self-apperceiving power. It is the self-knower; that which says ‘I know I exist’ and ‘I am’.”
“Mind generates a unit of Self-knowing, which creates its identity in relation to an encompassing field of Not-Self, representing all the potentials within Consciousness that are not actualized by the Self-knowing unit.”
Therefore, “instead of looking out into Space and seeing Eternal Consciousness (Adi-Buddha), Self looks out into Space and sees the Not-Self. The Self is now the focal point around which the entity cannot perceive.”
“Through Mind (Vajradhara), the universal and eternal Knower (Adi-Buddha) becomes the mortal Self-Knower (Vajrasattva). But in the process, it loses its power to know its unconditioned greater aspect. It has centralized its universal attributes and sacrificed Universal Consciousness for the emergence of an objective awareness of self-existence.”
Therefore, “in symbolism, Mind is the Eternal Mendicant paying for the knowledge of its own existence by the loss of its participation in the universal existence. It pays for life by awareness of death.”
Vajradhara is not really a Buddha but the power of Mind within Buddha. Nevertheless, this power is the first “Buddha” or “First Logos” that the Mahayana doctrine depicts in its artwork (see below), meaning it is the first power born within the infinitely unified consciousness of Adi-Buddha.
In Buddhist art, Vajradhara is often depicted as the eternal meditator. As Manly Hall notes: “Vajradhara, being the Eternal Buddha, sits meditating in the midst of Space, his immense being faintly overshadowed amid the eternal sea of the Infinite.”
In another passage, Manly Hall summarizes the circumstances around Vajradhara's emergence beautifully: “Through an eternal motion, Adi-Buddhi becomes Adi-Buddha and reaches the emergence of creation. The Being passes into internal contemplation and loses gradually, as by a sleep, the full awareness of itself and envisions or causes to rise from its own meditations (by means of Mind or Vajradhara) a series of shapes, likenesses, or shadows, which it then permits to become the custodians of its own Consciousness. In this way, the Creating Power ‘goes to sleep’ in its own creation, becoming immersed in it”.
Vajrasattva, the “Diamond Heart” or “Divine Self”, is produced as the offspring of Mind and Consciousness. Or rather, Mind acting upon Consciousness gives birth to Self and its two principle qualities of Love and Wisdom.
To summarize the process: Consciousness (Adi-Buddha), through Mind (Vajradhara), focuses itself into a fertilized region, which becomes the domain of Vajrasattva. This fertilized region creates around itself a religion of relative absence; a “Void” or domain of “Not-Self”.
Outside of the Void is the boundary of the system, where Self dissolves back into Mind, which dissolves back into Adi-Buddha, the unbound Oneness. The boundary is therefore threefold, representing the triune nature of Deity.
The fertilized center, plus the Void, plus the boundary together form the three elements of the Self or Vajrasattva. These three elements are represented in the classic symbol for deity: the dot in the circle.
Self is One Consciousness, One Mind, and One Form made from One Substance. And there is One Archetype whose design guides the whole process.
Archetype patterns creation simultaneously in terms of its space and time dimensions: each are proceeding according to one numerical, mathematical, and geometric design template.
The cosmic archetype also patterns creation in both its subjective and objective dimensions: the outer world of nature evolves according to the same set of rules and principles as our inner, psychic life.
Note the overall pattern:
In relation to Vajrasattva, Adi-Buddha is unmanifest. Meanwhile, in relation to Adi-Buddha, Vajrasattva is manifest. This is the difference between God outside of creation and God within creation.
The Mind, meanwhile, is the feminine principle is an active, creating power that works to limit and define Consciousness so that it may manifest itself as an experience of Self-Consciousness.
In esoteric philosophy, this principle of Mind is often personified as possessing a feminine or maternal quality. It “gives birth” to the Self, which, as its Child, it guides to as it evolves toward maturity.
In astronomical terms, we find that, in relation to our world:
Adi-Buddha is the Universe, Vajradhara is the Galaxy, and the Central Galactic Sun is Vajrasattva.
For all life in our galaxy, the Central Galactic Sun is the great White Light. This Light is the central flame from which all further flames are lit.
This Sun, called Vajrasattva, emerges as the One above the All. Meaning, it is born from Absolute Unity in order that it may exist as a lesser Unity which plays host over a world of diversity.
Vajrasattva exists according to the design of archetype or Law. It is born as a seed possessing the full plan of the final archetype it is to become as an unrealized potential. The task of its life is to bring this plan into realization through the process of self-evolution.
The Divine Consciousness, beginning as this cosmic seed, extends its consciousness into the Void around it and begins the process of projecting its own perfect image into this field of fertilized space-activity. This it does through the utilization of seven soul powers or “Rays”.
These Seven Rays manifest in space as seven metaphysical tiers of the World Soul and in time as the seven ages or cycles of creative activity that this World Soul goes through.
Each age manifests the predominant quality of one of the seven “Rays”, with seven sub-cycles within the age once more repeating the pattern. The space-area within which these seven Rays are moving into creative activity is organized according to seven dimensions, each embodying one of the seven qualities of Consciousness associated with the Seven Rays.
In sum: the world is made from the alchemy of Seven Rays being projected by Vajrasattva into the abstract Void created by Vajradhara at the “re-awakening” of Adi-Buddha from Adi-Buddhi.
3. The Celestial Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
Referencing back now to a point mentioned earlier: Manly P. Hall has stated in a few of his more esoteric works that Vega is the Father-Star of our Solar System: it is the local Adi-Buddha within which our Solar System is born (as its Vajrasattva).
The doctrine associated with Vega is part of the Esoteric teachings of all ages and was not spoken of publicly until relatively recently.
It is only in modern times that this type of information has become capable of being publicly revealed, with Manly P. Hall likely being one of the first esotericists to openly teach this aspect of the Doctrine. And this he does in only a few select works that are not well-known (for example, he features this teaching in his 6-part lecture manuscript series titled “The Hierarchy”, initially limited to a print of 100).
As a microcosm of its Father-Star, our solar system follows the same creation sequence within itself that Vega took in originally fashioning it.
First, it manifests from within its nature a Mind, which it then uses it to manifest a central sun, which becomes the seat of its Self-consciousness. This solar Self becomes the focal point through which the divine source consciousness of the system can be focused and made objective.
This central Sun then manifests its powers of consciousness in the pattern of a septenary. These seven Lights that emerge are termed the Seven Rays: they are the seven colors that are divided from pure white light through the prism of Mind. Together, these seven Rays “shine out” from this Sun to become the source of all further creative activities.
In Buddhism, these Seven Rays are given the name Dhyani Buddhas or Celestial Buddhas. As Manly Hall describes them, these Seven Rays are the “seven rays of light that surround and adorn the head of Brahma (Adi-Buddha; Vega).
In Northern Buddhism, these ornaments are called the Dhyani Buddhas. … These spirits before the throne are the revealers, or agencies, through which Deity extends the domain of his Consciousness.”
He continues: “The Universe is composed simply of thoughts and is dependent for its existence on the directionalization of the wills of the seven Dhyani Buddhas. … (They are) seated upon their lotus thrones, where they remain forever in contemplation, deep in the eternal state of the principle which they personify. … Their Rays of Thought-Meditation are reflected into every atom of space and establish the inevitability of the septenary Law in nature.”
These Seven Rays of pure Thought (also called Soul Powers) are cast into the field of Matter that metaphorically surrounds and enmeshes the Father-Star or “Adi-Buddha” of our system: the fixed start Vega.
In astronomy, the Seven Celestial Buddhas are associated with the seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major.
The Seven Rays symbolized by the seven stars of this system become the seed-archetypes for the generation of seven Solar Systems. Together these seven systems absorb and manifest the Light of these seven Rays, bringing the innate potentials within them into complete expression and fulfillment.
Each Solar System contains all seven rays in it, but will prioritize one of the seven as its primary quality or characteristic. In this way, each Solar System works to manifest and complete the destiny of one of the Seven Rays, thereby contributing to the greater evolution and growth of the Father-Star.
Our Sun exists as one of the seven solar systems being manifest within the “Buddha-Field” of the father-start Vega.
In the Mahayana system of religious philosophy, the Seven Rays are personified as seven “Dhyani Buddhas” or “Celestial Buddhas”. Each is enthroned in the Sun as a manifestation of one of the seven qualities of its Being.
The Sun, being a microcosm of Vega, manifests within itself the seven Rays of the seven Celestial Buddhas through the life of seven spiritual beings termed Celestial Bodhisattvas. These Celestial Bodhisattvas are “Beings of Light” whose abode is within the spiritual sphere of the Sun.
These seven Celestial Bodhisattvas are the “outer faces” of the seven Celestial Buddhas: they are the Seven Rays made manifest in our Solar System, with each of the seven Bodhisattvas serving as the particular ambassador for one of the Celestial Buddhas.
At the moment, the Rays of five of the seven Celestial Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have been evolved in active manifestation in our Solar System, with two remaining for the final two cycles of the great seven-cycle arc of this round of creation. For this reason, in Buddhist art, usually only five Dhyani Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will be depicted.
Bodhisattvas are “Divine Beings” with “light bodies”: implying their form is comprised of a subtle substance of “solar matter" that exists beyond the more dense matter of the Earth.
Each Bodhisattva manifests in particular the attributes of one of the Seven Rays or “Celestial Buddhas”.
The consciousness of these Bodhisattvas is directed into the Earth to form the being of a “Human Buddha”, called in Buddhism the Manushi Buddha and in ancient Hindu teachings the “Manu”.
The Manushi Buddha exists at the intersection point between the consciousness of the solar sphere and that of the Earth sphere. He serves to focus the consciousness of the Sun into the Earth, directing it into the formation of Earth’s seven kingdoms of life.
The Manushi Buddha is the archetype of life on Earth, with the seven kingdoms of life on Earth being the seven manifest aspects of this Divine Man’s Seven Rays.
Referencing back to the terminology of the Trinity that we began this essay with: the Manushi Buddha is the Vajrasattva of Earth, with the seven kingdoms of terrestrial life existing on Earth being the product of the seven Rays of Soul Power that the Manu makes manifest within it.
4. The Manushi Buddha
The seven Celestial Bodhisattvas together fashion the “Manushi Buddha” or Human Buddha. This Buddha resides within the solar sphere at the intersection point between the Sun and Earth.
The Earth sphere is held within the developing life of the Sun, evolving as the seed-embryo of a future Sun.
The Human Buddha or “Divine Man” is the Vajrasattva or Divine Self of the Earth. He is fashioned by the regents of the Sun - the seven Bodhisattvas - to become the seed-Archetype for seven kingdoms of life that are manifesting on Earth.
This Divine Man (who is androgynous, not actually a male) exists at the apex of the planetary sphere at the point where it is first born out of the Sun.
The Manushi Buddha, existing permanently at the intersection of the Sun and the developing Earth embryo, manifests from within himself seven Terrestrial Bodhisattvas, who together embody and make manifest his Seven Rays within the Earth, where they form the seven kingdoms of evolving life developing here.
The Terrestrial Bodhisattvas bring the Seven Rays to the lower kingdoms of life evolving within the Earth sphere.
The highest of these seven kingdoms created on Earth is occupied by the Manushi Buddha who is the creator of the lower six.
The second highest kingdom is that of the Terrestrial Bodhisattvas, who incarnate with the Manushi Buddha as manifestations of his Seven Rays.
The third highest kingdom is that of the Adept. The Adept is the human from the present life wave who has risen to embody the archetype first established by the Manushi Buddha and his seven Bodhisattvas. They are the custodians of the Esoteric Schools, having inherited this honor after having been initiated into Adept-hood by the Bodhisattvas who first incarnated here.
The fourth of these kingdoms is the unenlightened man, which is the majority of humanity at this stage of its evolution. Below and within man exist the lower three kingdoms: animal, vegetal, and mineral.
As we can see from the above taxonomy of kingdoms, humanity exists in a complex polarized state of existence, with its consciousness extended across all seven of Earth’s kingdoms.
There is an inner, spiritual core to the human. But there is also an outer, physical aspect that is enmeshed in the illusion of separate existence. The inner spiritual core is personified by the upper three kingdoms (Buddha, Bodhisattva, Arhat) and the lower, physical aspect by the lower four kingdoms (human, animal, vegetable, mineral).
Those human souls who have attained enlightenment in this round of evolution (a comparative few) form the Earth’s fifth kingdom of nature, becoming the Adept or “superman”). Meanwhile, the rest of us occupy the fourth kingdom still as unenlightened humans.
Together, unenlightened humanity forms the fourth kingdom of nature, with three lower kingdoms (animal, vegetal, and mineral) existing both below and within it (as the foundation for our own bodily structures). This descending hierarchy culminates in the atom, which is the nadir of nature’s mineral kingdom.
The goal of human life is to integrate the seven levels of human consciousness so that this consciousness becomes de-polarized and becomes aware of the complete state of its own existence. This involves extending a bridge of consciousness between the higher and lower polarities of the human soul.
In relation to man, the three lower three kingdoms - animal, vegetal, and mineral - exist both internally and externally:
These three lower kingdoms of nature exist outside of the body of mankind as separate kingdoms of life that we can encounter in our environment. But they also exist within the body as an internal order of life that must be wisely governed by the human being who plays host to them.
By contrast, the three higher kingdoms of life on Earth exist “above” man: meaning, above man’s physical level of existence. They exist in various degrees of being awakened and illumined by the consciousness of the Divine Self.
It is man’s evolutionary mission to synthesize and incorporate his four lower elements into his own consciousness so that the consciousness of Self will extend into all kingdoms of nature. In so doing, the human progresses themselves to evolve past the fourth kingdom up to the fifth. At this fifth stage, the human becomes the Adept or “Arhat”.
Above the level of the Adept are the Terrestrial Bodhisattvas, and above that is the Manushi Buddha or Manu.
Then, above the Manu, exists a whole spiritual Hierarchy of solar and galactic life that culminates in Vega, the Adi-Buddha of our Solar System.
Together, these elements all combine to form the Invisible Government or Spiritual Hierarchy of the Earth.
Do you see Manly Hall's work as an expansion of Helena Blavatsky' Theosophy, or as a new reformulation of the Wisdom Tradition?