The Supreme Doctrine - neo-alchemist

THE EXISTENTIALISM OF ZEN
action, and so infinitely superior to it (every principle being immeasurably
superior to its manifestation).
Existence, seen thus as the first cause of the totality of my 'acting', first
cause of all my phenomena, is no other than the First Cause of the microcosm
which is my organism, that is to say also the First Cause of the universal
macrocosm, which is the Absolute Principle. The apparent absurdity of this
existence which wills itself and seems thus not to have any aim, is the
apparent absurdity of the Absolute Principle from the point of view of the
discursive intelligence which emanates from it and which, in emanating,
could not be able to seize and comprehend it.
My existence, seen thus as first cause of my existing organism, and
which transcends the totality of my phenomena, is entirely independent of the
continuation or of the death of my organism. It is at once mine, personally
mine, as long as I am not yet dead (immanence of the Principle), and at the
same time not mine in so far as I am distinct but only in so far as I am
universal, a link in a chain, and as such identical with every other link. Thus
my existence is not touched by the death of my organism (transcendence of
the Principle).
This allows us to understand that fear of death, a fear which dwells in
the natural man and constitutes the centre of all his psychology, is related to
the absurd contempt with which this man regards his existence. In one way
which at first sight may appear paradoxical, the egotistical man trembles lest
he lose his existence because, with regard to acting, to living, he looks upon
existing as nothing. In existence resides, as we have seen, the Absolute
Principle, this All that man does not know how to appreciate more or less,
this All that can only be, for man, zero if he does not appreciate it, or the
Infinite if he appreciates it. If man does not see any value in anonymous
existence, he does not participate consciously in the nature of the Principle,
he is consciously nothing, and in consequence incapable of supporting the
subtraction which is death (which appears to him as a negative infinity). If,
on the contrary, man sees an infinite value in anonymous existence, he
participates fully in the nature of the Principle. He is then consciously infinite
and in consequence the subtraction which is death appears to him as nothing.
One sees also the illusory character of the distressing questions which
egotistical man puts to himself on the subject of an individual after-life. For
these questions are founded on the illusory belief in the reality of the
individual living and on the ignorance of the universal existing.
36