Rudolf Steiner's Goetheanum as an Example of Universal TAO Principles in Artistic Concrete Form

The second Goetheanum opened 1928, stands in Central Europe. The main structure is of concrete. In this picture we are viewing the west facade with it's main entrance. The building was named by Steiner to honor Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), founder of living organic science. As a guide to scale, the three doorways are about 4 meters in height (over 12 ft.).  

In this posting I hope to convey what I believe to be exemplary artworks in photos of applied universal TAO principles in artistic form. This presupposes that one views the TAO as an ever present evolving dynamic presence of interweaving cosmic and earthly forces. As above, so below... with an intermediate rhythmic-breathing dynamic which harmoniously unifies the above and below...these being the mighty heavenly forces and earthly material forces. So wouldn't it be possible that these great principles be expressed in artistic form... if mediating artists knowingly grasps the underlying principles and processes of all Divinely given creative manifestations and molds them, as in these examples, into earthly concrete form? This is the question!

    

To familiarize ourselves with the four main principles of TAO: oneness or wholeness, duality or polarity, tri-plicity and 'myriadness',

So how do we see these expressed in this example above? 

Oneness or wholeness...It should be quite evident to the viewer that from this view at least, we can discern a total oneness of intent meaning that the entire creation expresses a unity. Here all form elements including graceful gestures and corresponding surrounding spaces are in synthesis just as an open rose bloom...or if we might we say... a symphony in synchronicity.

Duality or polarity...It is also quite clear that duality is everywhere evident...left and right, up and down and also, though we can here only view this one perspective, forward and back.

Tri-plicity...The weaving, intermediate movement we may call metamorphosis where small and large gestural forms and spaces grow organically between the great polarity of above and below as in the plant world. In the single well-formed plant form, we can observe the principle of metamorphosis where every form gracefully evolves onto another.

'Myriadness'...This means multiplying diversity, where all the small details of design organically continue. And if with the awakened loving imaginative eye of the observer, a continuation of the elements could as well be...yes...seen to go on into the 'empty' surrounding space.
  

The late master architect Rex Raab (1914-2004) entitled his book on the building 'Eloquent Concrete", and in my view this is a beautiful and apt title for a book on the subject. This building is one of the first examples of modern organic architecture at the beginning of the 20th century, the first in large scale be built in reinforced concrete. And it is certainly the very first monumental organic structure built out of a unversal spiritual conception. It is believed that this building inspired LeCorbusier in his designing of Ronchamp after his visit to the Goetheanum. See this link for images of LeCorbusier's chapel in France. http://www.archdaily.com/84988/ad-classics-ronchamp-le-corbusier/

and a bio about Rex Raab  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/rex-raab-6171107.html  It is also known that the architects Frank Lloyd Wright as well as the world famous contemporary architect Frank Gehry have both visited this building and have, I believe been deeply influenced in various ways.

The awe inspiring first Goetheanum was utterly destroyed by fire on New Years Eve 1922-23. It was not completed. The fruits of voluntary labor by professionals as well as amateurs coming from 17 differing countries went up in flames in a single night. It stood on the very same ground as does now the second building. That original building was also sometimes referred to by Steiner as the "House of the Word" signifying an edifice that gives full expression to the Creative Word... or Logos ...or TAO...that which is a powerful present day full artistic creation out of the ground principles of existence. It was meant to be a well-spring-source of inspiration for modern humanity standing as in mighty counter-force to materialism for modern humanity and for many generations to come.

A building such as this which is created in the a threefold image of humanity of body, soul and spirit, could help to remind us of our origin, helps us to find meaning in the present and can only indicate a possible future... fulfillment of the TAO Spirit in it's furthest and highest manifestation... with the mediating, balancing tri-plicity principle: the human being. This is all a possibility with co-creative-community-building; humanity actively creative between heaven and earth, bridging our created origin with new and future creations.

More postings on these two Goetheanum buildings and 17 other structures designed by Steiner in future posts!

Steiner stated that the second Goetheanum  is a kind of testament or memorial to the original. This does not lessen in the least the impact and importance of the second! In some ways it 'speaks' through its presence even more emphatically and profoundly to the oncoming visitor..."Know Thyself!" These very words were in fact inscribed in Greek in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Greece. Today, in a very different time but meant with identical depth, these words call on the individual to awaken to one's true higher-self and in freedom take responsible, loving co-action in the world. "For the time is at hand!" ...from Goethe's 'Fairy Tale' for humanity The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily.

A picture here of the original Goetheanum 1913-22 viewed from the southwest, the main structure carved out of laminated wood, roof of Norwegian slate and with the foundation base of poured concrete.  The central area (under the larger dome) seated 1000 people. Read and view more about the first Goetheanum at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goetheanum

'Only the Tao proves a common law of action...'

thoughts on the Tao by C. S. Lewis, excerpts from "The Abolition of Man" 1944 

"Either we are rational spirit obliged for ever to obey the absolute values of the Tao, or else we are mere nature to be kneaded and cut into new shapes for the pleasures of masters who must, by hypothesis, have not motive but their own 'natural' impulses. Only the Tao proves a common law of action which can overarch rulers and ruled alike. A dogmatic belief in objective value is necessary to the very idea of a rule which is not tyranny or an obedience which is not slavery." 

Lewis seems to see Chinese Taoism as a universal ethical umbrella -- one that would include Christianity as well as other religions. Symbolized by the Yin Yang, the Tao would be the supreme guide to moral and ethical values:

"The Chinese also speak of a great thing (the greatest thing) called the Tao. It is the reality behind all predicates, the abyss that was before the Creator Himself. It is Nature, it is the Way, the Road. It is the Way the universe goes on, the Way in which things everlastingly emerge... into space and time. It is also the Way which every man should tread in imitation of that cosmic and super cosmic progression, conforming all activities to that great exemplar.

"This conception in all its forms, Platonic, Aristotelian, Stoic, Christian, and Oriental alike, I shall henceforth refer to for brevity simply as 'the Tao.'"

his very amazing bio I thought to include from wikipedia

Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland. He is known for both his fictional work, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy and his nonfiction, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles and The Problem of Pain.

Lewis and fellow novelist J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends. Both authors served on the English faculty at Oxford University, and both were active in the informal Oxford literary group known as the "Inklings" [which also included at times another very close friend, the great Owen Barfield]. According to his memoir Surprised by Joy, Lewis had been baptised in the Church of Ireland (part of the Anglican Communion) at birth, but fell away from his faith during his adolescence. Owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, at the age of 32 Lewis returned to the Anglican Communion, becoming "a very ordinary layman of the Church of England".[1] His faith had a profound effect on his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim.

In 1956 he married the American writer Joy Davidman, 17 years his junior, who died four years later of cancer at the age of 45. Lewis died three years after his wife, as the result of renal failure. His death came one week before his 65th birthday. Media coverage of his death was minimal; he died on 22 November 1963—the same day that U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the same day another famous author, Aldous Huxley, died.

Lewis's works have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies. The books that make up The Chronicles of Narnia have sold the most and have been popularised on stage, TV, radio and cinema.

Reincarnation According to Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism

I discovered this interesting paper posted on the net. Very unfortunately there is no author's name given!
So at least I can give the link to the actual site....this is it http://www.essays.cc/free_essays/f3/arm182.shtml
so here the article starts:

Taoism is one of the two great philosophical and religious traditions that originated in China. The other religion native to China is Confucianism. Both Taoism and Confucianism began at about the same time, around the sixth century B.C.E. China’s third great religion, Buddhism, came to China from India around the second century of the common era. Together, these three faiths have shaped Chinese life and thought for nearly twenty-five hundred years (Legge1, 124).

One dominate concept in Taoism and Buddhism is the belief in some form of reincarnation. The idea that life does not end when one dies is an integral part of these religions and the culture of the Chinese people. Reincarnation, life after death, beliefs are not standardized. Each religion has a different way of applying this concept to its beliefs. This paper will describe the reincarnation concepts as they apply to Taoism and Buddhism, and then provide a comparison of the two.

The goal in Taoism is to achieve Tao, to find the way. Tao is the ultimate reality, a presence that existed before the universe was formed and which continues to guide the world and everything in it. Tao is sometimes identified as the Mother, or the source of all things. That source is not a god or a supreme being, as Taoism is not monotheistic. The focus is not to worship one god, but instead on coming into harmony with Tao (Legge 8). Tao is the essence of everything that is right, and complications exist only because people choose to complicate their own lives. Desire, ambition, fame, and selfishness are seen as hindrances to a harmonious life. It is only when a person rids himself of all desires that Tao can be achieved. By shunning every earthly distraction, the Taoist is able to concentrate on life itself. The longer the person’s life, the more saintly the person is presumed to have become. Eventually the hope is to become immortal, to achieve Tao, to have reached the deeper life. This is the after life for a Taoist, to be in harmony with the universe, to have achieved Tao (Legge2, 65). To understand the relationship between life, and the Taoism concept of life and death, the origin of the word Tao must be understood. The Chinese character for Tao is a combination of two characters that represent the words head and foot. The character for foot represents the idea of a person’s direction or path. The character for head also suggests a beginning, and a foot, an ending. Thus the character for Tao also conveys the continuing course of the universe, the circle of heaven and earth. Finally, the character for Tao represents the Taoist idea that the eternal Tao is both moving and unmoving. The head in the character means the beginning, the source of all things, or Tao itself, which never moves or changes; the foot is the movement on the path (Cooper, 122). Taoism upholds the belief in the survival of the spirit after death. “To have attained the human form must be always a source of joy and then to undergo countless transitions, with only the infinite to look forward to, what comparable bliss is that! Therefore it is that the truly wise rejoice in, that which can never be lost, but endures always” (Leek, 190). Taoist believe that birth is not a beginning and death is not an end. There is an existence without limit. Applying reincarnation theory to Taoism is the belief that the soul never dies; a person’s soul is eternal. “You see death in contrast to life; and both are unreal – both are changing and seeming. Your soul does not glide out of a familiar sea into an unfamiliar ocean. That which is real in you, your soul, can never pass away, and this fear is no part of her” (Legge2, 199). In the writings of The Tao Te King, Tao is described as having existed before heaven and earth. Tao is formless, stands alone without change and reaches everywhere without harm. The Taoist is told to use the light that is inside to revert to the natural clearness of sight. By divesting oneself of all external distractions and desires, only then can one achieve Tao. In ancient days a Taoist that had transcended birth and death, achieved Tao, was said to have cut the Thread of Life (Cooper, 13). The soul, or spirit, in Taoism does not die at death. The soul is not reborn, it migrates to another life. This process, the Taoist version of reincarnation, is repeated until Tao is achieved. The following translation from The Tao Te King best summarizes the theory behind Tao and how a Taoist can achieve Tao. The Great Way is very smooth, but the people love the by-paths…The wearing of gay embroidered robes, the carrying of sharp swords, fastidiousness in food and drink, superabundance of property and wealth: - this I call flaunting robbery; most assuredly it is not Tao…He who acts in accordance with Tao, becomes one with Tao…Being akin to Heaven, he possesses Tao. Possessed of Tao, he endures forever…Being great (Tao) passes on; passing on, it becomes remote; having become remote, it returns (Cooper, 109).

The followers of the Buddha believe life goes on and on in many reincarnations or rebirths. The eternal hope for all followers of Buddha is that through reincarnation one comes back into successively better lives – until one achieves the goal of being free from pain and suffering and not having to come back again. This wheel of rebirth, known as samsara, goes on forever or until one achieves Nirvana. The Buddhist definition of Nirvana is “the highest state of spiritual bliss, as absolute immortality through absorption of the soul into itself, but preserving individuality” (Reat, 57). Birth is not the beginning and death is not the end. This cycle of life has no beginning and can go on forever without an end. The ultimate goal for every Buddhist, Nirvana, represents total enlightenment and liberation. Only through achieving this goal is one liberated from the never ending round of birth, death, and rebirth (Reat, 73). Transmigration, the Buddhist cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, involves not the reincarnation of a spirit but the rebirth of a consciousness containing the seeds of good and evil deeds. Buddhism’s world of transmigration encompasses three stages. The first stage is concerned with desire, which goes against the teachings of Buddha, is the lowest form and involves a rebirth into any number of hells. The second stage is one in which animals dominate. But after many reincarnations in this stage the spirit becomes more and more human, until one attains a deep spiritual understanding. At this point in the second stage the Buddhist gradually begins to abandon materialism and seek a contemplative life. The Buddhist in the third stage is ultimately able to put his ego to the side and become a pure spirit, having no perception of the material world. This stage requires one to move from perception to non-perception. And so, through many stages of spiritual evolution and numerous reincarnat6ions, the Buddhist reaches the state of Nirvana (Leek, 171). The transition from one stage to another, or the progression within a stage is based on the actions of the Buddhist. All actions are simply the display of thought, the will of man. This will is caused by character, and character is manufactured from karma. Karma means action or doing. Any kind of intentional action whether mental, verbal, or physical, is regarded as karma. All good and bad actions constitute karma. As is the karma, so is the will of the man. A person’s karma determines what he deserves and what goals can be achieved. The Buddhists past life actions determine the next life, all is determined by the Buddhist’s karma (Reat, 20). Buddha developed a doctrine known as the Four Noble Truths based on his experience and inspiration about the nature of life. These truths are the basis for all schools of Buddhism. The fourth truth describes the way to overcome personal desire through the Eightfold Path. Buddha called his path the Middle Way, because it lies between a life of luxury and a life of poverty. Not everyone can reach the goal of Nirvana, but every Buddhist is at least on the path toward enlightenment. To achieve Nirvana the Buddhist must follow the steps of the Eightfold Path:

1. Right knowledge is knowledge of what life is all about; knowledge of the Four Noble Truths is basic to any further growth as a Buddhist. 2. Right Aspiration means a clear devotion to being on the Path toward Enlightenment. 3. Right Speech involves both clarity of what is said and speaking kindly and without malice. 4. Right Behavior involves reflection on one’s behavior and the reasons for it. It also involves five basic laws of behavior for Buddhists: not to kill, steal, lie, drink intoxicants, or commit sexual offenses. 5. Right Livelihood involves choosing an occupation that keeps an individual on the Path; that is, a path that promotes life and well-being, rather than the accumulation of a lot of money. 6. Right Effort means training the will and curbing selfish passions and wants. It also means placing oneself along the Path toward Enlightenment. 7. Right Mindfulness implies continuing self-examination and awareness. 8. Right Concentration is the final goal to be absorbed into a state of Nirvana Compliance to the path does not guarantee reaching Nirvana, but it is the only path that leads to Nirvana.

Only through following this path established by Buddha does a Buddhist have a chance to reach enlightenment, to free oneself from the continuous rounds of birth, death, and rebirth, to have reached the ultimate goal – to be absorbed into a state of Nirvana.

The goal in both Taoism and Buddhism is to reach the ultimate goal, to transcend life on earth as a physical being, to achieve harmony with nature and the universe. The ultimate goal for both religions is to achieve immortality. The Taoist called this ultimate goal Tao, while the Buddhist seek Nirvana. Whatever the name, the followers of these religions believe there is an existence beyond life which can be achieved provided the right path or behavior is followed.

The paths to Tao and Nirvana are similar, yet different. Both believe there is an inner light to guide a person to achieve eternal bliss. “The teaching regarding the inner light is just as prominent in the Taoist schools as it is among the practices of Buddhism” (Reat, 36). The inner light concept is similar, but the actual path is the difference between the Taoism and Buddhism.

The path toward enlightenment for the Buddhist was defined by Buddha in his Eightfold Path. Only through following this path does the Buddhist reach Nirvana. The path to Tao is individual, it comes from within. No one can define a path for the Taoist; it must come from the inner light. “Tao means way, but in the original and succeeding manuscripts no direct path is explored or expounded. Desire, ambition, fame, and selfishness are seen as complications. That idea is consistent with Buddhist teachings; it is the personal life of each individual that gives Taoism its special form” (Leek, 188). Taoism and Buddhism perceive life, death, and rebirth as a continuous cycle. This cycle has no beginning and no end. The soul is eternal, yet the soul is not the object of reincarnation. Taoists believe the soul is not reborn, it “migrates to another life” (Legge1, 109).
Buddhist also believe the soul is not reborn, but instead a “consciousness containing the seeds of good and evil deeds” is the object of rebirth (Leek, 171).

One major difference between Taoism and Buddhism is the concept of karma to the Buddhist. This idea that all actions are the display of thought, the will of man, is known as karma. Karma determines where in the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth the consciousness return. This return can be in the form of an animal or human, and the Buddhist must progress through a hierarchy to achieve Nirvana (Leek, 171).

The Taoist has no concept similar to karma, and no mention of the soul migrating to an animal form. The determining factor to one’s life is contained in the individual behavior for the Taoist. By forsaking personal desires in life, by concentrating of the self, a longer life is prolonged. Eventually, by following the inner light, immortality can be achieved.

The similarities between Taoism and Buddhism in the belief of life after death far outweigh the differences. Both religions believe the individual must focus on the self to achieve the ultimate goal. To focus on oneself, all desires and personal ambitions must be forsaken. One must focus on the self and the proper way of life to reach immortality. The cycle of life continues indefinitely until the Thread of Life is broken. Only through proper living, by following the correct path guided by the inner light, can one achieve the ultimate goal of Tao or Nirvana.

Works Cited

1. Legge, James. The Texts of Taoism. Part One. Dover Publishing. NY. 1962. 2. Legge, James. The Texts of Taoism. Part Two. Dover Publishing. NY. 1962. 3. Reat, Noble R. Buddhism: A History. Asian Humanities Press. CA. 1951. 4. Cooper, J.C. Taoism: The Way of the Mystic. Whitstable Litho, Straker Brothers Ltd. Great Britain. 1972. 5. Leek, Sybil. Reincarnation: The Second Chance. Stein and Day Publishers, Scarborough House. Briarcliff Manor, NY. 1974.

Strain Every Nerve

'We must not listen to those who advise us "being men to think human thoughts, and being mortal to think mortal thoughts," but must put on immortality as much as possible and strain every nerve to live according to that best part of us, which, being small in bulk, yet much more in its power and honour surpasses all else."
Aristotle 384-322 B.C. student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great