[Buddha-l] Enneagram and Buddhism

[Curt Steinmetz]

Richard Hayes wrote:
> It may be worth noting that Riso and Hudson and Helen Palmer present the
> enneagram almost entirely as a tool for better self-understanding (of
> the sort that Socrates, the Stoics and the academic skeptics would
> admire). One will find nothing at all in their work that makes the
> enneagram resemble astrology, numerology, necromancy, geomancy or
> oneiromancy or anything having to do with the occult or oracles.
>
>   

In fact, Socrates encouraged his friends to consult and heed oracles. 
Indeed "gnothi seauton", as everyone knows, is associated with the 
oracle of Apollo at Delphi (the same oracle that declared Socrates to be 
the wisest of men).

Socrates also, according to his own account, relied heavily on guidance 
from his personal daimon - what new age type people today refer to as a 
"spirit guide".

In the words of Socrates' friend Xenophon:

"He offered sacrifices constantly, and made no secret of it, now in his 
home, now at the altars of the public Temples, and he made use of 
divination with as little secrecy. Indeed it became notorious that 
Socrates claimed to be guided by his 'little daimon' [Greek: daimonion]."

And also:

"Another way he had of dealing with intimate friends was this: if there 
was no room for doubt he advised them to act as they thought best; but 
if the consequences could not be foreseen, he sent them to the oracle to 
inquire whether the thing ought to be done."

See Xenophon's Memorabilia, Book I, section 1.

The Stoics, for their part, helped to establish the theoretical 
framework for Hellenistic Astrology - with their concepts of "Logos" 
("World-Soul"), "sumpatheia", and the inherent divinity of the sun, 
moon, planets and stars. Two of the most important Astrological 
treatises from the ancient world, Firmicus Maternus' "Mathesos Libri 
VIII" and Marcus Manlius' "Astonomica" were both written by authors from 
the Stoic school.

The most important primary source that we have for Academic Skepticism 
is Cicero's "Academica" (Cicero was a student of the Skeptical Academy - 
or is that Sceptical Akademy?). The same year that he wrote that work he 
also produced his "On the Nature of the Gods" in which he makes it very 
clear that his "skepticism" did not in any way prevent him from adhering 
to the theological/cosmological views of the Stoics - which he 
explicitly endorses in the closing sentence of De Natura Deorum.

The "Academy" itself had a shrine to the God Eros at it's entrance, and 
altars to Prometheus and Athena on it's grounds, and there were also 
prominent altars to the Muses, Hercules, and Hermes.  In Platonism, Eros 
plays a role very similar (in many ways identical) to that of 
"sumpatheia" in Stoicism - and the Stoic conception of Logos as well as 
the divinity of celestial bodies is largely derived from Plato's Timaeus.

An annual torch race began at Prometheus' shrine within the Academy - 
the racers lit their torches from that altar and then ran (in relay 
teams) to the Acropolis. The sacred flame on the altar of Athena was lit 
by the torch of whoever reached it first (any team whose torch went out 
was disqualified).

Curt