Tao Te Ching

The Power of Goodness, the Wisdom Beyond Words
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Zarathushtra زرتشت‎‎

(Zoroaster)

628 – 551 BCE

Said to have laughed out loud the day he was born and considered a true prophet by Islam, an important influence on Judaism, the Greek philosophers, and on philosophy in general, Zarathushtra founded Zoroastrianism, the official religion of Persia from 600 BCE until 650 CE when Islam took over. A shaman called inventor of astrology, he based his teachings on what we now call the Golden Rule, founded the Magi tradition and opposed the oppressive caste system of his time. Although against polytheism and emphasizing belief, his religion taught the meaningfulness of each small action increasing goodness or evil. From it we inherit common symbols like magic, heaven and hell, purgatory, Satan, the 3 Wise Men, angels, Christmas, and the Last Judgment.

Lineages
Shamanistic

Eras

Sources

Avesta

Quotes by Zarathushtra (8 quotes)

“Since, O Mazda, from the beginning, Thou didst create soul and body […] you wished that everyone should choose his or her own faith and path freely .”

from Avesta

Themes: Pluralism Freedom

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“That nature alone is good which shall not do unto another whatever is not not good unto itself.”

from Avesta

Themes: Golden Rule

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“Man’s duty is three-fold: To make him who is an enemy a friend, to make him who is wicked righteous; and to make him who is ignorant learned.”

from Avesta

Themes: Evil Virtue Enemy

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“Truth is best of all that is good.”

from Avesta

Themes: Truth

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“For a thinking man is where Wisdom is at home.”

from Avesta

Themes: Wisdom

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“A reflective, contented mind is the best possession.”

from Avesta

Themes: Wealth Meditation

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“Satisfaction linked with dishonor or with harm to others is a prison for the seeker.”

from Avesta

Themes: Slavery

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“A righteous government is of all the most to be wished for […] To effect this I shall work now and ever more.”

from Avesta

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Quotes about Zarathushtra (3 quotes)

“Zoroastrianism lived on in more or less altered form among Gnostics and Neo-Platonists—Mithraicism and Manicheism were offspring of Zoroastrian religion. Even the Mohammedans, whose persecution cause the way of the Zoroastrian creed, accepted some of its features... Again and again, the dualism of old brought forth the fruit of a vanished civilization, comparable to the ancient grain found in the tombs of the Pharaohs: planted in the earth they arise from the sleep of ages, and yield their long-delayed harvest”

Kurt Seligmann 1900 – 1962 CE
An understanding of magic brought into the modern world
from History of Magic (1948)

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“Zarathustra—who never claimed for himself to be more than a man—was transfigured retrospectively by his followers when they had come to believe that from Zarathustra's seed a superhuman savior, the Saoshyant, was to be begotten at the end of Time.”

Arnold Toynbee 1889 – 1975 CE
from An Historian's Approach to Religion (1956)

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“either under Persian influence or by a parallel development Judaism came to believe in a future life, a resurrection, a last judgment, heaven and hell, a cosmic duel between right and darkness, and a divine Savior. A cynic might even say that we owe more to Zarathustra than to Moses.”

Dean Inge 1860 – 1954 CE
Christian mystic and philosopher
from Sermon (1950)

Themes: Judaism

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