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Home , Hegemonius, Manichaeism, Mar Ammo

THE RELIGIOSITY OF AND

Umeo SUNAGA*

1

Manichaeism is the name given to the religious taught by the Persian Manes in the third century A. D. It originated in Persia and spread relatively rapidly to eastern and western regions of the Afro-Eurasian continent. Its decline, however, was equally rapid. Branded as heretical by other churches, Manichaeism managed to survive until the 14th century in the East () and until the 13th century in western Europe (until the 19th century in the case of the Thondrakies of Armenia), but is now what one might call a "fossil ." Manichaeism remains the object of scholarly and intellectual interest in some circles, but as a dead religion it no longer exists in the form of a with practicing followers and, until recently, was largely unknown to the general public. The recent boom in things related to the , however, has led to fresh debate over claims that elements of Iranian and Zoroastrian culture can be found in the ancient and customs of Japan, as well as renewed interest in the question of whether Manichaeism or Manichaeans may have even crossed into Japan. With the discovery of Hermes texts, Coptic (the Nag- Hammadi texts), Mandaic texts, and Coptic Manichaean texts, in Europe, interest in as one of the philosophical currents forming the basis of modern European thought has enjoyed a resurgence in the 20th century and the special role that Mainchaeism occupied in the Gnostic system has finally been given due recognition.(1) This led to further scientific research by A. Stein, P. Pelliot, and others in this century resulting in the discovery and analysis of the majority of the Manichaean texts (Tun-Huang and Tur- fan's Chinese Manichaean Manuscripture and the Iranian and Persian texts). It is difficult to imagine the surprise among scholars which accompanied the realization that Manichaeism was in fact a world religion whose system

* Professor Emeritus, Niigata Seiryo Women's Junior College

302 ORIENT THE RELIGIOSITY OF MANICHAEISM AND GNOSIS of thought had a broad influence on , , , Zoro- astrianism, and many other . Particularly notable among these finds was the rediscovery among a collection of small manuscripts in the Papyri Collection at Cologne Univer- sity of the so-called Cologne - (C. M. C.), which had previously been uncovered in the Oxyhrynchus cavern in . This is apparently a 5th century Greek translation of an original Syrian work mainly describing the period of Mane's infancy and youth. Analysis of this work was carried out by A. Henrichs and L. Koenen, and publication of their research and the texts in 1970 paved the way for new research into Manichaeism.(2) It was established, for example, that the Elchasaites sect, a branch of the Judeo- Christian faith to which Manes belonged in his youth, was a Gnostic hybrid baptistic order with many elements of a heretical Jewish faith, and further that Manes, having grown up in such a religious environment, would have cultivated and molded his philospohy according to, among other things, the legends of the as interpreted in and the teachings of Saint Paul.

2

The Manichaean myths covering the period from the creation of the universe to its end are normally used in describing the characteristics of Manichaean thought. However, for the purposes of this study I would like to look at Manichaeism from a different standpoint. As a religion, Manichaeism began as a heretical offshoot of the Judeo- Christian faith. A close look at Manichaean myths suggests a salvationist faith with typical Gnostic traits, professing a dualistic and tri-periodic theo- logy (past, present, and future) in which, to borrow the terminology found in the myths themselves, the original state of the complete separation of light and darkness is followed by a period of confrontation, struggle, and con- fusion resulting in the ultimate liberation of light (atonement), and in which the follower must devote himself to seeking the Light Kingdom (paradise) in order to gain salvation. In the remainder of this paper I would like to concentrate on this Manichaean concept of human salvation. According to Manichaean teachings, gnosis (that is, intrinsic self-aware- ness) is an absolute condition for salvation, which entails making concrete

Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 303 efforts to prepare mentally for the awakening of one's memory, under the calls of the of light, to the truth that each individual has within himself the origin of holy light, or original , which is enslaved by ines- sential human flesh and matter. In other words, Manichaeism can be inter- preted as Gnosticism to this extent, and it can be said that at this stage no significant differences between Manichaeism and Gnosticism can be found. Even after the later addition of Zoroastrian dualistic, tri-periodic eschato- logy, because gnostic thinking still formed the basis of Manichaean ideas it is impossible to define beliefs which correspond to this sort of principle as peculiar to Manichaeism. Rather, the unique characteristics of Manichaeism did not appear until later. The flaw in Gnostic thinking was that the followers of Gnosticism gave insufficient consideration to the danger of sinful acts leading to self-indul gence in the stage following complete salvation. Manichaeans, however, tackled the problem of atonement head-on using gnosis without neglecting the constant dangers of degradation. This idea is made clear in a passage from Turfan's text fragment M139,(3) which states that "it is known that producing perfect Hearers is an extremely difficult task." It should be em- phasized that for both the Elect and the Hearers, a single sinful act meant that all previous deeds were erased from one's soul, with no possibili- ty of further forgiveness.

3

In Manichaeism, complete realization of gnosis itself did not amount to salvation, but was merely a necessary condition for the attainment of salvation. In other words, gnosis was merely the starting point on the road to salvation. This would be the case for a person, even if he was able to attain eternal life through gnosis, only as long as he lived within the bounds of the state of gnosis which he had reached, and in particular only as long as he committed no further sins against his soul. In the event of degrada- tion or corruption, as set forth in Turfan's text T II D162,(4) "even if he offered all the houses made of gold and pearls as alms (offerings to the Elect) for the release of his soul, he shall not be saved." Manes was constantly aware of the arrogance and danger of what might be called the "hubris" of Gnosticism. Until this stage, gnosis had been a

304 ORIENT THE RELIGIOSITY OF MANICHAEISM AND GNOSIS means to achieve salvation by one's own efforts, which was a prerequisite for realizing the liberation of light (purification of the soul). The ultimate goal was intrinsic self-awareness. But for Manes, the attainment of gnosis by one's own efforts was not the ultimate goal; rather, continuous self- improvement once having reached the state of gnosis was of greater concern. If the attainment of gnosis by one's own efforts was the point of departure, we may then deduce that for Manes, gnosis was divided into two stages the stage prior to complete attainment (remaining in the metempsychosistic universe, which I will call "A"), and the stage of complete attainment (which I will call "B"). In seeking to understand the psychological state prior to complete attainment of gnosis in Manichaean terms, it may prove helpful to look at two texts in the Parthian psalms (also called the Handam texts):(5) Real Wisdom (Huidagman)(6) and Rich Friend of the Being of Light (Angad Rosnan).(7) The former is said to have been written by , the direct disciple of Manes who played a role in the propagation of Manicha- eism in the East not unlike that of St. Paul in Christianity. According to these psalms, the human inner self contains both a soul (gryw) and a spirit (gyan), beyond which lies the essential self in the form of a twin spirit (narjamyg) and, at the very center, the intellect (manuh- med). In the process of gnosis, wisdom wakes the soul from a sleeping state and forces it to undergo reflection (enthumesis) and consideration (logismos), and the twin spirit calls on the outer layer of consciousness (the soul), which is enslaved by human flesh and matter, and forces it to answer by separating from the body (liberation). One is thus able to learn from these psalms the process by which, in answer to the call from the intellect, the soul and spirit help the self regain its original state. This concept of call (xrostag) and answer (padwaxtag) shows the im- portant role of salavation in Manichaean . But in the Handam texts one often also comes across passages which seem to indicate a relationship of the opposite kind, in other words a relationship in which the responder assumes the role of the caller.(8) Although there is a certain crudeness of terminology, it can be intepreted that, to use the labels introduced above, at some point between stage A and stage B in the process of gnosis a rever- sal of the flow of awareness, that is from stage B to stage A, takes place, a result of the responding soul assuming a position identical to that of the

Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 305 calling intellect. However, if one understands this to mean that the respon- der rises to reach a position on the same level as the caller, this is indeed a religious manifestation of a highly paradoxical nature.

4

Considering in religious terms the relationship between the state before complete attainment (A) and the state of complete attainment of gnosis (B), it is clear that there exists between the two a gap of almost insurmountable proportions. As long as one remains within the bounds of stage A, the stage of intellectual understanding achieved by one's own efforts, one cannot have the power to make the leap to stage B. Gnosis changes from an active state to a passive state, and if we think of B as appearing in the form of apocalyptic acceptance, making the leap to this stage cannot but require complete abandonment of one's own efforts with the guidance of the intel- lect. However, even given that reaching stage B is actually possible, there exists after this the continual danger of falling back into stage A. This would result in an endless cycle of moving back and forth between A and B. It is important to look closely at the gap and the leap between A and B, but for Manes, preventing the retrogression and self-indulgence involved in the movement from B to A following the complete attainment of gnosis was of much greater concern. This led to Manichaeans being burdened with an extremely strict moral code. The Elect, those who actually sought the liberation of light, were assigned five commandments, while the Hearers, who served the Elect by engaging in sacred practice, were assigned ten commandments. The five commandments include: (1) thou shalt be honset, (2) thou shalt not inflict injury (thou shalt not hinder the liberation of light scattered about the earth), (3) thou shalt be pure, (4) thou shalt remain pure in speech, and (5) thou shalt retain nothing of one's own (thou shalt retain no possessions). The Elect in particular were required to remain particularly pure in speech, action and emotion at all times, a Manichaean morality embodied in the three holy seals of (1) mouth, (2) both hands, and (3) heart. It is possible to interpret both the use of "practice" (austerities) to avoid retrogression and the efforts involved in the constant improvement of gnosis as reflecting

306 ORIENT THE RELIGIOSITY OF MANICHAEISM AND GNOSIS the anxiety Manes felt regarding the stage following complete attainment of gnosis. Furthermore, rather than concentrating on the vaulting and the meta- morphosis involved in the leap from A to B, Manes laid the emphasis on the movement from B to A, from wisdom to worldliness, on the act of co- ming down to earth with the awareness of a savior who has attained salva- tion, and on continual self-denial (self-denial as a "saved savior"). Accord- ingly, the religiosity of these "practices" exists simultaneously in two senses, one for stage A and another for stage B. Of course, reaching stage A in itself requires extreme hardships, but faced with the option of the two paths on reaching stage B, one being the retrogression following complete attainment of gnosis, the other being continuous improvement, one must conclude that Manes foresaw with despair the hopelessness of continually and unerringly choosing the latter path as long as individuals were burdened with flesh and matter.

5

So far we have looked at the two processes involved in gnosis, from A to B and from B to A, mainly from the viewpoint of atonement. But this viewpoint has been established on the basis of Manichaean texts in western languages (Iranian,(9) Coptic(10) and Greek(11)). It is interesting to note that Manichaean texts from the East, in particular the -ni Chiao Hsia-pu Tsan hymn scroll,(12) the Mo-ni Kuang-fu Chiao-fa I-lueh Compendium Vol. 1,(13) and the Po-ssu Chiao Ts'an-ching text(14) from Tun-Huang's Chinese Manichaean Manuscripture all contain subtle changes in expressions related to the mechanism of gnosis which give the works a distinctive eastern fla- vor, possibly due to a close relationship with Buddhism. Rather than stres- sing atonement for one's sins, these texts call the inner light nature Ming- hsing (light nature), the same term used to describe Buddha dhatu (Buddha nature), and urge followers to resign themselves to their afflictions. Con- cepts such as the light nature wisdom returning to the Ta-ming (Light Kingdom), forever receiving purification through our light nature, ridding oneself of all passion, and awakening one's soul all bring to mind the Buddhist idea of the awakening of the light nature through wisdom.

Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 307 Notes

(1) R. Reitzenstein, Die hellenistischen Mysterienreligionen, 3 Aufl., Leipzig, (1927). H. Jonas, The Gnostic Religion, Boston, 1958. H. Jonas, Gnosis und Spatantiker Geist, Teil 1-2, Gottingen, 1964-1966. J. Ries, Les etudes gnostiques hier et aujourd'hui, Louvain-la-Neuve, 1984. A. Bohlig, Gnosis und Synkretismus, Teil 1-2, Tubingen, 1989. (2) A. Henrichs-L. Koenen, "Ein Griechischer Mani-Codex (P. Colon. inv. nr. 4780)," ZPE, 5 (1970), pp. 97-216. (3) Double sheet, Sogd., I-II. See W. B. Henning, Ein manichaisches Bet- und Bei- chtbuch. APAW, 1936, S. 49-51 (4) Double sheet, Parth., pros, homilies. See M. Boyce, "A Reader in Manichaean and Parthian. Text with Notes," Acta Iranica 9, 1975, pp. 180-181. (5) M. Boyce, The Manichaean Hymn-Cycles in Parthian. London Oriental Series, 3, Oxford, 1954, pp. 66-173. See M. Boyce, "A Reader," pp. 160-168. (6) Huidagman I-VIIIa. See M. Boyce, The Manichaean Hymn-Cycles, pp. 66-111. (7) Angad Rosnan I-VIII. See M. Boyce, op. cit., pp. 112-173. (8) Angad Rosnan VI-7. 8. 10. See M. Boyce, op. cit., pp. 138-141. (9) Cf. W. B. Henning, Mitteliranische Manichaica aus Chinesisch-Turkestan, Von F. C. Andreas, Aus dem Nachlass herausgegeben von Dr. W. Henning. I, II, III. SPAW, 1932, 1933, 1934. (10) H. J. Polotsky, Manichaische Homilien, Band I. Manichaische Handschriften der Sammlung A. Chester Beatty, Stuttgart, 1934. C. R. C. Allberry, A Manichaean Psalm-Book, Manichaean manuscripts in the Chester Beatty Collection, Part II, Stuttgart, 1938. H. J. Polotsky-A. Bohlig, , Band I, 1 Halfte, Lieferung 1-10. Manichaische Handschriften der Staatlichen Museen Berlin, Stuttgart, 1940. (11) Cf. , Acta Archelai, herausgegeben von C. H. Beeson, GCS XVI, Leinzig, 1906. A. Henrichs-L. Koenen, "Der Kolner Mani-Kodex, 1-72, 7," ZPE 19 (1957). -, "Der Kolner Mani -Kodex, 72, 8-99, 9," ZPE 32 (1978). -, "Der Kolner Mani -Kodex, 99, 10-120," ZPE 44 (1981). -, "Der Kolner Mani -Kodex, 121-192," ZPE 48 (1982). (12) Cf. Tai-sho Shin-shu Dai-zo Kyo, Volume 54, No. 2140, pp. 1270-1279. (13) Ibid., No. 2141A, pp. 1279-1281. (14) Ibid., No. 2141B, pp. 1281-1288.

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