The Voice of the Silence:
Bringing the Heart Doctrine to the West
From Blavatsky’s
Secret Books: Twenty Years’ Research,
by David Reigle and Nancy Reigle,
San Diego: Wizards Bookshelf, 1999, pp. 139-148.
Nancy Reagle
© 2011 Online Teosofiska Kompaniet Malmö
”The Voice of the Silence: Bringing the Heart Doctrine to the West, ”a paper presented by Nancy Reigle at The Works and Influence of H. P. Blavatsky Conference, held in Edmonton, Alberta, on July 3-5, 1998, was published in The Works and Influence of H. P. Blavatsky: Conference Papers, Edmonton: Edmonton Theosophical Society, 1999, pp. 106-112.
The Bodhicaryavatara is justly famous as the foremost exposition of the Bodhisattva path in Mahayana Buddhism, the teaching of selfsacrifice for the sake of others, called in Theosophy, the Heart Doctrine. Yet it is not the Bodhicaryavatära that first brought this noble teaching to the West, it is The Voice of the Silence. This paper compares the presentation of this teaching found in these two books, and historically outlines their respective transmissions of it to the West.
While other books on the Bodhisattva path exist in Buddhism, such as the Paramita-samasa by Aryasura (famous for his Jatakamala), and the Bodhisattva-pitaka, said to have been spoken by the Buddha, these more matter-of-fact works have lacked the inspirational appeal of the Bodhicaryavatara. Similarly, the other two ”classics of the path” found in Theosophy, At the Feet of the Master, and Light on the Path, are more instructional, lacking the poetic beauty of The Voice of the Silence. They do not teach the path of compassion.
The Voice of the Silence has been criticized as unauthentic because it includes Hindu ideas, such as the limbs of raja-yoga, and is therefore not a reliable source to follow. One could as well criticize the Bodhicaryavatara for dwelling on the loathesomeness of the body, and for its attitude toward women. But suck criticisms of these books miss the point, and are hardly fitting for such books. Despite whatever flaws some may choose to see in them, humanity does not possess any loftier expositions of the ideal of self-sacrifice for the sake of others.
The corrected edition of The Voice of the Silence prepared long ago by Boris de Zirkoff, editor of Blavatsky Collected Writings, remains still unpublished. Thus the reader must overlook errors, e.g., the transposition ”narjol”for ”naljor, ”for the sake of the message. Similarly, the significant differences between the extant Sanskrit and Tibetan versions of the Bodhicaryavatara must be overlooked for the sake of the message.
The Voice of the Silence: Bringing the Heart Doctrine to the West
Among the many works that Madame Blavatsky brought before the public,
The Voice of the Silence was unique in its appeal to the heart and spirit of humanity. Throughout, it repeatedly demands the greatest compassion that one is capable of towards one’s fellow man.
According to Blavatsky, The Voice of the Silence comes from “The Book of the Golden Precepts” which “forms part of the same series as that from which the ‘Stanzas’ of the Book of Dzyan were taken, on which the Secret Doctrine is based.”[1] She says that The Book of the Golden Precepts “contains about ninety distinct little treatises,” thirty-nine of which she had memorized.[2] Three of these she translated into English for us in The Voice of the Silence, which we know as the “Three Fragments.” One can surmise that she studied these treatises under the tutelage of her Adept teachers during her stay in Little Tibet and Tibet proper which she makes reference to in her writings.[3]Boris de Zirkoff, in preparing an edition of
The Voice of the Silence, yet unpublished, wrote an informative Introductory titled “How The Voice of the Silence Was Written,” which has been published in two places.[4] Here he cites some interesting accounts given by several people who visited H.P.B. at some point during her writing of The Voice, much of which took place in Fontainebleau, France during July of 1889. Several visitors were asked by Blavatsky to read portions of The Voice while the manuscript was in progress, and they all had a similar reaction: they were deeply moved by the beauty and depth of compassion this work evoked.[5] When asked by H.P.B. what he thought of it, G. R. S. Mead said, “it was the grandest thing in all our theosophical literature.”[6]In their Foreword to the Peking edition of
The Voice of the Silence, Alice Cleather and Basil Crump convey the Panchen Lama’s endorsement of this work as the “only true exposition in English of the Heart Doctrine of the Mahayana and its noble ideal of self-sacrifice for humanity.”[7]What is the Heart Doctrine spoken of by the Panchen Lama? In the
Voice of the Silence H.P.B. distinguishes between the Head Doctrine and the Heart Doctrine in Fragment Two titled “The Two Paths” where she says:[8]Learn above all to separate Head-learning from Soul-
Wisdom, the “Eye” from the “Heart” doctrine. . . . even
ignorance is better than Head-learning with no Soul wisdom
to illuminate and guide it. . . .“Great Sifter” is the name of the “Heart Doctrine,”
[9]
O disciple. . . . True knowledge is the flour, false learning
is the husk. . . .
And again:
[10]The Dharma of the “Eye” is the embodiment of the
external, and the nonexisting. The Dharma of the “Heart”
is the embodiment of Bodhi (True, divine Wisdom), the
Permanent and Everlasting.
In Mahayana Buddhism, the tradition of which the Panchen Lama is a major representative in Tibet,
[11] the Heart Doctrine is extremely well-developed. Here we find it in the teaching of the Bodhisattva and the Bodhisattva Path; that is, the Bodhisattva – a spiritual being dedicated to alleviating the suffering of humanity; and the Bodhisattva Path – the course of action tread by a Bodhisattva to eliminate this suffering.In fact, within the Mahayana tradition there is an entire lineage which emphasizes the culture and development of a Bodhisattva. This “compassion lineage” was inspired by the writings of Maitreya.
[12] This is complemented by a corresponding “wisdom lineage” inspired by Manjusri in which the philosophical writings of Nagarjuna are prominent. [13] These two lineages of wisdom and compassion are not intended to be developed in isolation from one another, but instead function as complementary parts of a unified whole.These two lineages have together produced entire treatises delineating 1) the course of action of a Bodhisattva, and 2) the stages of the Bodhisattva Path.
[14] Among these, the most popular and widely read is a Sanskrit work known as the Bodhicaryavatara. Its title literally means “Entrance into the Conduct of the Bodhisattva,” or “A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life.”[15] It was written by Santideva, a Buddhist monk who lived in India during the eighth century.[16]So here in Mahayana Buddhism we find works that serve as guides for our own training in the same noble ethics and compassion that H.P.B. urged us to practice in
The Voice of the Silence. As Blavatsky says,[17]Thou canst not travel on the Path before thou hast
become that Path itself.
Although there are differences in style and genre
[18] between The Voice of the Silence and the Bodhicaryavatara, they are similar in that they each serve the same function in their promotion of altruism. For comparison, let us look at some passages from each.Help Nature and work on with her; and NatureThe Voice:
Give light and comfort to the toiling pilgrim,The Voice:
The Voice:
And then, O thou pursuer of the truth, thyThe Voice:
The fearless warrior, his precious life-bloodNow bend thy head and listen well, OThe Voice:
Now we have seen some of the similarities and differences in presentation between these two works. Because
The Voice of the Silence is filled with references to the self-sacrificing nature of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as well as to the Paramitas, its Mahayana Buddhist character was easily recognized.[19]In
The Voice of the Silence 20 H.P.B. takes the spiritual seeker through the Three Halls of the Probationary Path; the choice between the Two Paths – Open and Secret, the Secret being the path of the highest altruism of a Bodhisattva; and then on through the Seven Portals, which are the Paramitas or Perfections of Mahayana Buddhism. [21]The
Bodhicaryavatara extols the virtues of Bodhicitta, which is the altruistic intention to become enlightened in order to benefit all sentient beings, encourages the spiritually-minded person to take up the path of unselfish service to others, and warns of the dangers in turning back once one has set out. Four of the Paramitas are each represented by a chapter in this work: Ksanti, Virya, Dhyana, and Prajna, by chapters 6 – 9, respectively. Throughout, the Paramitas or Perfections are cited as virtues to be cultivated, in the same way as the Seven Portals of The Voice are the gateways of virtue leading to the path of highest altruism and compassion. As H.P.B. says:[22]To live to benefit mankind is the first step. To practice the
six glorious virtues is the second.
The
Bodhicaryavatara, representative of the Heart Doctrine, has enjoyed a long history of popularity dating back to the eighth century when it was composed. Soon after, it was translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan and continues to the present day in an unbroken tradition. Its popularity flourishes today as it is promoted by H. H. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama in public teachings,[23] and new translations of it are produced.In comparison with its Mahayana Buddhist counterpart,
The Voice of the Silence has a relatively short public history, beginning in 1889.[24] After it was published, Blavatsky said in a letter to her sister:The Voice of the Silence, tiny book though it is, is simply becoming the Theosophists’ bible. [25]
By the 1960s the editor of the Buddhist magazine
The Middle Way had commented that The Voice of the Silence was such an exquisite work, why hadn’t the Buddhist community embraced it? [26]Unlike the
Bodhicaryavatara, a text whose Sanskrit original has a 1200-year unbroken tradition, we don’t have an original language manuscript for The Voice of the Silence. It has come to us as a translation of a “secret” work, unknown to the public. It is no doubt true that if such an original of The Voice did exist, The Voice of the Silence would reach a much greater audience, just as the Bodhicaryavatara does.Although the
Bodhicaryavatara has this longstanding tradition, and The Voice doesn’t, it was The Voice of the Silence that first brought the Heart Doctrine to the English-speaking Western public. We know that The Voice of the Silence was originally published in 1889. At about the same time, the original Sanskrit text of the Bodhicaryavatara was also first published. [27] The first English translation of the Bodhicaryavatara was published in 1909, though somewhat abridged. [28] Since 1970, when the first complete English translation of it was published, interest in the Bodhicaryavatara has greatly increased in the West. [29]In contrast,
The Voice of the Silence has not received widespread public interest. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that we have no original language manuscript for The Voice. Having one, The Voice of the Silence would gain the acceptance of scholars, and thereby the widespread attention of the public.In the meantime, it is only those who have the eyes to see, the ears to hear, and the heart to respond that can truly appreciate
The Voice of the Silence and its sublime message of compassion. And for that, we are deeply indebted to Madame Blavatsky who first brought us that treasure of the Heart Doctrine which we know as The Voice of the Silence.Notes
1.
The Voice of the Silence, by H. P. Blavatsky, London: The Theosophical Publishing Company, Ltd., 1889; New York: W. Q. Judge, 1889; Peking: The Chinese Buddhist Research Society, 1927, p. vi. The Peking edition is reprinted from the original, retaining the same pagination, with notes and comments by Alice Leighton Cleather and Basil Crump. All further references are to the Peking edition.2. Ibid., p. ix.
3.
H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings, vol. VI, ed. Boris de Zirkoff, Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1954; 2nd ed., 1975, p. 272: “. . . I have lived at different periods in Little Tibet as in Great Tibet, and that these combined periods form more than seven years. . . . ”4. Boris de Zirkoff’s “Introductory: How
The Voice of the Silence Was Written” was published in The American Theosophist 76:9 (Nov.-Dec. 1988), pp. 230-237, and as the Introduction to The Voice of the Silence, Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1992, pp. 11a-33a. A copy of Boris de Zirkoff’s manuscript edition of The Voice of the Silence with Introductory has been kindly provided by Dara Eklund. All further references to Boris’ Introductory are from this manuscript edition.5. Boris de Zirkoff, “Introductory: How
The Voice of the Silence Was Written,” pp. 6-9. Herbert Burrows and Annie Besant were among those who read portions of the manuscript of The Voice of the Silence while in progress. Of this work Annie Besant said: “It moves us, not by a statement of facts gathered from books, but by an appeal to the divinest instincts of our nature . . . ” (p. 9)6. Ibid., p. 14.
7. Editorial Foreword, May 1927, to
The Voice of the Silence, (unnumbered), Peking: The Chinese Buddhist Research Society, 1927.8.
The Voice of the Silence, p. 25.9. Ibid., pp. 27-28.
10. Ibid., p. 29.
11. The two highest representatives of the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy are the Panchen and Dalai Lamas. Buddhism flourished for a millennium in Tibet, until the Chinese takeover in 1959.
12. The writings attributed to Maitreya are said in the Tibetan tradition to be written down by Arya Asanga. See:
The Door of Liberation, by Geshe Wangyal, New York: Maurice Girodias Associates, Inc., 1973, pp. 26-27. For the story of Arya Asanga, see pp. 52-54.13. For the story of Nagarjuna see:
The Door of Liberation, pp. 44-46.14. These include the
Bodhicaryavatara and the Bodhisattvabhumi. There are several English translations of the Bodhicaryavatara, many of which are listed below. (See notes 15, 23, 28, and 29.) There is no complete English translation of the Bodhisattvabhumi.15. The latter is the title of a new translation:
A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life (Bodhicaryavatara), by Santideva, translated from the Sanskrit and Tibetan by Vesna Wallace and B. Alan Wallace, Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1997. The verses that follow are cited from this translation. The word “Bodhi” in “Bodhicaryavatara” is understood to mean “Bodhisattva,” which is spelled out in full in the title of the Tibetan translation of this work.16. There is an interesting story of how Santideva brought the
Bodhicaryavatara before the world. Thinking he was lazy, his fellow monks at Nalanda challenged Santideva to recite a text from memory. Santideva asked if he should recite an existing work or a “new” one. The monks replied, “a new one,” and Santideva then began reciting his own composition, the Bodhicaryavatara. Everyone was amazed. As he neared the end, he rose up into the sky. After disappearing, he continued to recite until the text was completed. (Adapted from Taranatha’s History of Buddhism in India as retold in: A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, p. 12.)17.
The Voice of the Silence, p. 12.18. In an interesting lecture given by Bhikshu Sangharakshita, he discusses the two broad divisions of Buddhist literature,
sutra and sastra; sutra being the words of the Buddha, and sastra their explanatory treatises by others. Here, he likens The Voice of the Silence to the sutra class of literature: “The Voice of the Silence, though it does not claim to be the utterance of a Buddha, is nevertheless akin to the sutra rather than to the sastra group of texts. Like the longer and more celebrated discourses, it seeks more to inspire than to instruct, appeals to the heart rather than to the head.” (Paradox and Poetry in “The Voice of the Silence,” by Bhikshu Sangharakshita, Bangalore: The Indian Institute of World Culture, 1958, p. 1.) In contrast, the Bodhicaryavatara, being written by Santideva and expounding the Path through reasoning, is a sastra.19. Boris de Zirkoff, “Introductory: How
The Voice of the Silence Was Written,” pp. 15–6: “Much has been said and written about the nature of the teachings contained in the ‘Voice.’ Their general trend as well as many specific thoughts and ideals contained in this work have been the basis for identifying it with the vast realm of teachings and precepts known as Mahayana Buddhism, and this can hardly be denied or set aside.”20. A. J. Hamerster has outlined the contents of
The Voice in his Introduction to the 1939 edition of The Voice of the Silence, Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1939; reprint 1953.21. The six Paramitas and their cultivation are a major featur of the Mahayana tradition. They are: dana, shila, ksanti, virya, dhyana, and prajna. In
The Voice of the Silence an additional paramita has been added to the traditional list of six, that is, viraga –“indifference to pleasure and pain, illusion conquered, truth alone perceived.” (TheVoice, p. 48.) Here, Viraga becomes the fourth Portal, making a total of seven.22.
The Voice of the Silence, p. 33.23. “It is the
Bodhicaryavatara which supplies the ideals and practice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who so frequently cites as his highest inspiration Bodhicaryavatara 10.55: As long as space abides and as long as the world abides, so long may I abide, destroying the sufferings of the world.” – From the General Introduction by Paul Williams in: The Bodhicaryavatara, trans. Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1996, p. ix.24. See: Boris de Zirkoff, “Introductory: How
The Voice of the Silence Was Written,” p. 15.25. As cited from
The Path, December 1895, in: HPB: The Extraordinary Life & Influence of Helena Blavatsky, Founder of the Modern Theosophical Movement, by Sylvia Cranston, New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1993, p. 397.26. From an entry titled “The Voice of the Silence,” in
The Middle Way, vol. XL, no. 2, August 1965, p. 90: “For reasons we have never understood Buddhists in England seem reluctant to accept this exquisite small work as part of the literature of Buddhism.”27. By I. P. Minayeff in
Zapiski Vostochnogo Otdeleniya Ruskogo Imperatorskogo Archeologicheskogo Obschestva (Transactions of the Oriental Section of the Royal Russian Archaeological Society), vol. 4, pp. 153-228. Volume 4 of this journal was published in 1890, although the individual issue containing the Bodhicaryavatara may have been published in 1889.28.
The Path of Light, trans. L. D. Barnett, London: John Murray, 1909. It was earlier translated into French: Bodhicaryavatara: Introduction a la pratique des futurs Bouddhas, Poeme de Cantideva, trans. Louis de La Vallee Poussin, Paris: Librairie Bloud et Cie., 1907; and later into German: Der Eintritt in den Wandel in Erleuchtung (Bodhicaryavatara) von Santideva, trans. Richard Schmidt, Paderborn: Ferdinand Schoningh, 1923, Dokumente der Religion, vol. 5.29.
Entering the Path of Enlightenment, trans. Marion L. Matics, New York: Macmillan, 1970, from the Sanskrit. The first English translation from the Tibetan followed shortly in 1979: Acharya ˛Santideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, trans. Stephen Batchelor, Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, 1979.[The foregoing paper was written by Nancy Reigle and presented at The Works and Influence of H. P. Blavatsky Conference, held in Edmonton, Alberta, July 3-5, 1998. It was published in
The Works and Influence of H. P. Blavatsky: Conference Papers, Edmonton: Edmonton Theosophical Society, 1999, pp. 106-112; and reprinted in Blavatsky’s Secret Books: Twenty Years’ Research, by David Reigle and Nancy Reigle, San Diego: Wizards Bookshelf, 1999, pp. 139-148. This online edition is published by Eastern Tradition Research Institute, copyright 2004.]
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