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The Five Fundamentals

I. CONSCIOUSNESS ALONE IS ABSOLUTELY REAL.

 The appearance of an objective world distinguishable from a subjective self is but the imaginary form in which Consciousness Perfectly Realizes Itself.

II. IGNORANCE OF THE REAL IS THE ROOT OF SUFFERING.

 From ignorance is born the delusion of self; from the delusion of self, desire for the world; from desire for the world, attchment to worldly forms; from attachment to worldly forms, all forms of suffering.

III. THE END OF SUFFERING COMES BY WAY OF GNOSIS,

 or the Sacrifice of ignorance through the Grace of a Perfect Realization that Consciousness alone is Absolutely Real.

IV. THE WAY OF GNOSIS IS THE WAY OF SELFLESSNESS,

 cultivated on the basis of Love (boundless compassion) and Truth (profound insight). It may be seen as a path unfolding in Seven Stages:

1. Awakening of faith
2. Investigation of teachings
3. Unification of self
4. Purification of mind
5. Illumination of heart
6. Exhaustion of will (Kenosis)
7. Sacrifice of Ignorance (Gnosis)

governed by Four Principles:

1. Attention
2. Committment
3. Detachment
4. Surrender

reflecting Seven Virtues:

1. Courage
2. Humility
3. Justice
4. Patience
5. Gratitude
6. Mercy
7. Joy

and embodied in Four Disciplines:

1. Inquiry
2. Meditation
3. Morality
4. Devotion

V. THE WAY OF SELFLESSNESS IS THE VERY WAY IN WHICH CONSCIOUSNESS PERFECTLY REALIZES ITSELF.

 Thus, the Way of Selflessness constitutes not only the Perfection of human life, but of the entire world as well.

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The Center for Sacred Sciences

1430 Willamette St. #164
Eugene, OR 97401-4049