The Techniques of Taoists by Konstantin Serebrov

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The Techniques of Taoists

by Konstantin Serebrov

"The shadow of the Master's hand always points in the direction one should take on the Path." - Konstantin Serebrov

There are two main aspects to The Techniques of Taoists. The first is the interaction of members of the "Ship of Fools" - a mystical training school. The second is the actual teachings of the techniques of Taoists.

Serebrov has woven together the two threads with the teachings being delivered between conversations between members of the the Ship of Fools. I enjoy this style of writing and teaching, reminiscent of the works of Carlos Castaneda. The interaction between personalities is something that group work provides, and is a quintessential part of esoteric learning, whether the interaction occurs within a dedicated occult group or between people within a daily 'mundane' environment.

Serebrov is not very well known outside of parts of Europe, and only recently have his writings been translated into English. I feel I need to make clear that the translation is sometimes quite awkward, and the English not as clear as many books. In some ways this adds to the charm of the book, and I don't feel it detracted from the book, although initially it took some getting used to. An example of the non-familiar usage of English is the statement "This is the secret of the silent sphinx: cognize yourself."

For me, the actual Taoist techniques were interesting to ponder as they are something new to me, however currently I don't feel particularly drawn to practice them. For me, it is the scattered bits of "wisdom" throughout the books that resonate strongly with me, and after all, techniques are simply outer forms which have many parallels in other techniques, and aren't of themselves fundamental to learning. Rather it is the experiences through the performance of techniques that leads to knowledge, understanding and wisdom.

One of the most creative and humourous descriptions I enjoyed was that of the Russian Diesel-crew. I'm not sure if this is a common description within Eastern European mystic circles, or a creation of Serebrov's, however it is surely apt. The Russian Diesel-crew are those who seek enlightenment in a bottle (ie. Vodka), and also spend an enormous amount of energy within a group basically "puffing out smoke" - the proverbial smoke-screen for their lack of genuine understanding.

The alchemical and synthetic nature of Serebrov's teachings can be seen in the following quotes:

"There is also another idea, to unite the dark and the light, so that they won't fight with each other, but that there would be the subtlest friendly balance. But in order to solve this cosmic binary, the interference of the third power, the Divine power is required."

"...[I]t's better not to build separate male and female spiritual orders in the cosmos. Better to create combined orders but one should learn to one's sexual energy and not be afraid of the opposite."

"Though many of these spiritual streams are presently at enmity with each other, our School manages to solve all these contradictory binaries and unite them into an integrity. Our task is to find the middle Path, which any spiritual seeker can follow."

To me, the important and 'core' philosophy of how any individual can work on uniting opposites is through the alchemical analogy used by Serebrov:

"Hermes Trismegistus stated that the transformation of the disciple's soul goes in the proper way only under the constant heightened temperature kept in the retort which is sealed by the seal of Hermes. By fire under the retort, we mean an extreme situation which is regularly created for every disciple by the heightened atmosphere of the School, and which induces the inner tensions of the disciples, or inner temperature, as alchemists say. The extreme conditions are indispensable for the full transformation."

...

"The extreme situations, which cause inner temperature might have to do with heavy physical work as well as with complicated psychological situations. Then all the numerous 'selves' of the disciple clash with each other because of their contradictory wishes."

It is through a constant pressure and temperature - increased to the next level as timing requires - that allows an individual to grow. Without some kind of pressure and "heat" applied via activities there is no energy added to the process and stagnation is the result.

The Mysitcal Labyringth in Russia by Konstantin Serebrov (book review)

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