The Philosophical Research Soci*ty, Inc.

39t0 Lo¡ Feliz Bltd.. - Lot Angelet, Calil. 90027 - 6(¡3-2167

Iú.ANLY P. H^ALI.
P¡esident - Founder
B HENRY L. DRAKE
VicePresident

CONÎRIBIIIORS' BUTLETIN - June 1968

Dear Friend.:

First a word. about the improvements on our premises. Most of the builclings will
be completed by the time you receive this letter. They look very well. The
eonstruetion is ad.equate and. they are a functlonal- success. Ì¡rlhil-e the project
for the air eond.itÍoning of the new Library unit was in proeess, i.t seemed ad.-
visabl-e to take ad.vantage of the opportunity to install air cond.itloning in other
parts of our buildings at a time when this could be d.one most inexpensively.
Shortly after I,re announced. that our Library Exhibít for lvfay wou1d. feature a
beautiful group of Chinese Enbroid-eries, the Society received a very beautiful
gift. A friend who read. the a¡nouncement d.ecid"ed. to contribut,e tr,¡o fine examp-les
of l,4anchu Embroid.ery. One is a futl langth robe with an extensive Þattern,
incluiling fl-owers worked. in the Chinese knot teehnigue. The skirt of the coat
is beautifully embroid.ered. w"ith a wave pattern and. among the breaking sprays are
fortunate Bud.dhist and. Taoist synbols. The beautiful handwork is on a background.
of heavy black silk, and. the coat is in exeellent cond.ition. The second. example
is a shorter jacket-like garment, probably a ta.d.ies coat, v¡'ith heavy applique of
woven bord.er d.esignsand. embroÍdery, on a baekground of figured. orange-red. broca.d.e.
The cLesign in the brocad.e is also d.evoted. to fortunate sylnbols, flowers, butter-
flies and. a representation of the Phoenix bird.. We are grateful ind.eed. that these
spreniLid. garments arrived in time to be inelud.ed. i-n our Exhibit.

The Recital of Ancient Japanese Music presented.

by the Society at our Open House on Sund.ay After-
noon, April fth, proved to be a most delightfut
experienee. A large and. enthusiastic aud.ience
expressed. pleasure to the Artists after the
perfornance and. there were a nu¡ùer of requests
for record.ings. l¡h. Tanad.a, one of the greatest
living exponents of the Shakr-rhachl or Banrboo
Flute, presented. several numbers featurÍng Zen
Med.itation Music. Later in the progra¡n, three
other artists were Íntroduced. - tvlr. Nagatani,
who also played the flute, Ifrs. Kod.a, a very
famous artist, played. the Sa¡risen, and. Ifts.
Kurose, who is also a cListinguishedl artist, then
played the Koto.
Note: At right is an ol-d" Ivory Netsuke of the Komuso,
a relÍgious mend.icant eoncealing his id.entif,y und.er
a strange head.gear resembling a-n inverted. straw
wastebasket, and playing the Shakuhachi.
0f unusual interest on this occasion was that Nh. Tamad.a played" two of the
bamboo flutes simultaneously, prod.ucing a very interesting harmonic effect.
The use of music as a means of Íntensifying the mood. of worship ís practiced.
throughout the world.. It is assumed that it rnakes the IÍstener more receptive
to the religious e:rqperience, and. the Zen Masters who came from China to Japan
1n the 7th Century nade an especially scientific use of the Ba¡rboo flute.
It is one evidenee of the remarkable virtue and. versatility of ba¡nboo and. in-
d.icates wtry this plant Ís consÍd.ered. to be an especiaLly "honorable gentleman"
of the plant kÍngdorn. The tone of the ba,mboo flute Ís quite elusive and.
ttifficult to describe. Oecasionally tt sound.s very much like a stringed in-
strument, such as a violin or the viola-d.a garnba. 0n other occasions, this
flute suggests the French horn, or even a sma1l pipe organ. The religious
selections are intend.ed. to relan the mind. a.nd- to convey without word.s the
essential n¡¡stery of the Zen d.octrine. lhe flute lüas especiatly used by the
tr\ge Een Seet, which was established. as the result of the return of the
Buddhist Monk Kakushin from Korea about L25O A.D.
In recent years, many scholars in Japan have sought to revlve the old Eeclesiasti-
caI music, much as the Society for Ancient lûrsÍc has Labored. in the lrlest. As a
result of constant effort and. a most sincere d.ed.lcation, about lJO of the o1d.
flute eompositions have been restored. for the pleasure and. improvement of futr:re
generations. ¡[". Tamada's concert includ.ed. several of these conpositlons, whíeh
are seld.om, if ever, heard. in our tíme and. are comparatlvely unknorvn to ïIestern
musieologists.
The Abacus is an ancient calcuLatlng d.evice
t¡hÍch has contributed. much to the devel_opment
| ;l*#*¡ql##r{r***r*1* u x
of practical mathematics. It may have
originated a.rnong the BabyJ-onians or phoeni-
g cians, and. was known to the Greeks as early
as the Fifth Century 8.C., and. from them was
¡taaa.
1d connnunicated. to the Romans, as a eonvenient
¡ó&e and. accurate means of working out aritbneti-
at
cal problems.
At the present time, tt is
widel-y useil. in the
Mod.ern Chinese Abacus used Oniênt and midd]e East. The form of abacus
in busíness establishments. witb r¿hich lt¡e are most familiar d.eveloped. Ín
China, passed. to Korea and. Japan. practically
every merehant uses this d.evice and. it is a
farúIiar sight, not only ln smalL shops but in the cashier's d.epartment of huge
mod.ern hotels, banks, and. d.epartment stores. Every chl].d receÍves traíning on tfre
abacus: and testlng has indicated. that this sÍmpLe ancient d.evice of bead.s moving
on rod.s can eonpete favorabi-y with the add.Íng nachine and. the cash register.

Here we have another interesting link bet¡reen East and. I.Iest a¡rd. a¡r incticatÍon
of the practieal benefits to be d.erivecl by sucb cuJ.tr:ral exehange. A special
ty¡le of abacus has been d.eveloped 1n the Unitecl States to assist blindL persons
to inprove theÍr nathenatical. ability. lhe technique of its use is now being
taWht along with braille. It ls assumed. that this fiJ.1 greatly assist the
bLfnd Ln busLness and. r11I help them to com¡lete more favorably in various
field.s of technlcal employment.
We had. a busy time in San tr?ancisco. In add.Ítion to the six lectures of our
own program at the Scottish Rite Lecture HaJ-I, vre had a number of outsid.e
actlvities. On },fay 15th ¡ue add.ressecl a joint meeting of Masonic Distriets in
the San Francisco Bay .Area. 0n tfay 21st we add.ressed. Civic Service Erryloyees
(EJ.ectric Conpany) for lunch, andl spoke again for the same group on l4ay 23rd.
on lrfay 2ûbh we adcLressecL another lfasonÍc group, the El Cerrito Lod.ge llfOf .
lüe also gave an afternoon taLk to the T?reosophical Society. It alJ. ad.cLed up
to eleven lectures in fourteen d.ays. Bverybhing ran smooth1y and.. there is an
ever greater interest in programs of self-he1p and. social orientation.
I returned. from San Francj-seo, it was my pleasure to begin the reorgani-
Ï'lhen
zation of ot¡¡ Library and. Art collection. The new spaee permits the first
general inventory of our highly d.iversified. materÍal. lfe notr have space to
file ancL store books, manuscripts, scrolls and. artífaets, and can arrange
exhibit material so that it is inuned.iately available, not only for the use of
Ínstitutions, but for scholars who nay wish to exam:ine or stud.y it on our
prernises. It l¡as an ad.venture aniL brought to light treasures lre had. not seen
for many years. I hope to enJoy this project tlrrough most of the suülmer months.
Another advantage resulting from the increased. space at our d.isposal wou1d. be
in the matter of Exhibits. It will now be possible to feature more perrnanent
d.isplays, combining our present program wÍth approvecL Library-l'firseum practice.
Þùibit space w1Il be nearl-y cloubleil and. we w1lI also be able to provid.e better
working cond.itions for those interested. ín specíal research projects. It is
most gratifying to see the flrJ.fillment of a cherished. d.ream.

to all the goocL friend.s lrho through the years

l{e are profor:nd.ly gratefi.rl
shared.in the joys and. responsibilitÍes of tryÍng to keep the flame of id.ealism
alight in thÍs materialistic generatÍon. For your wond.erful help and. co-
operationr I a¡n

-trlways most gratefully yours,

r.
rue

A NON.PROFIT ORGÂNIZATIoN, FoUNDEn TN 1934, DEDICATED To THB DISSEMINATIoN oF USEFUL KNo\TLEDGß

IN THE FTELDS OF PHTLOSOPHÍ COMPARATTVE RSLIGTO\ ÂND pSyCHOLOcy
Are You Acquainted. lfitb:
"Tm cor,l,ncrgD I¡rRrrrNGs 0F MANty p. HALL

ff ¡rou do not have this series, we would especiaJ-ly like to cal-l to your
attention Vo1ume If, which contains a serÍes of a¡ticl-es on SAGES AIüD SEERS.
The names sel-ected. are d.erived. from a list of outstancling persons of reeent
tÍmes.
llrere Ís an extensive stud.y of the life and writings of Nostrad.a¡ilus, Seer of
France. He was certainly one of the greatest prophetic spirits of all times,
ancl his adventurous and. mysterious life is most clra¡natic reading.
title Francis Baeon, the Coneealed. Poet, there Ís special emphasÍs
Und.er {ihe
upon the Bacon-Shakespeare controversy, and. the purpose behind this strange
FraternÍty of the lll-unined.
Ihere is a special section d"evotecL to the life antl teaehings of Jacob Boehme,
the God.-Enlightened. shoernaker, inelud.ing some remarkable il-lustrations from
rare books clealing with Boehme and. a special reference to some of his manuscripts.
Johann Amos Comenius has been called. the shepherd. of ehild.ren's mind.s. ComenÍus
is entitled to be recognÍzed. as one of the founders of the Rrblic School System,
but most important, he was a mystic and. set forth a wond.erful id.ealÍstic way of
bringÍng Learnlng to the young. Ivfany of his nethod.s d.eserve consideration tod.ay.
The Comte d.e St.-GermaÍn'¡ras d.escribed. by Freilerick the Great¡ King of Prussia,
as ttT'he Nfan who d.oes not d.ie". The t'Trlond.er ¡,fan" as he was known, is presented.
in light of available records and. includ.es material sel.d.om if ever seen, alnong
which may be mentioned. a Philosophical Sor¡ret, by St.-Germain, of wtrich the
only knolrn ed.ition uas published. in Pa¡is in 1795.
The great English mystic, !{illiam Blake, is better known for his art than for
his contributions in the field. of EsoterÍe Philosophy. This tribute to !{ilIiam
B1a"ke presents him as an iclealist, to whom the concept of Freed.om uas the right
to be noble, kind. and. wise.
thomas Taylor, the EngJ.ish Platonist, struggJ-eil against poverty, poor heal.th,
and eontinued. critícism throughout his l-Ífe, but he has left the fÍnest exÍsting
translations of the Platonie and. Neo-P1atonic Plrilosophers. l,Iorking in the
British Museum he ca¡ne nearer to d.iseovering the trrr¡e'eontent of the gtreat
nystery system of the Greeks tban any other scholar of the mod.ern wor1d..
The Last article is a tribute to ldahatrna Gandhi r and inelud.es a porbrait head
of this great Ind.ian leader, mod.elled by lr4arrJ.y P. IÍaIl.
This is an interesting andl. useful book, profusely íllustrated. J16 Pages,
bor¡nd. ln cloth, stam¡redt in golcl.. Price: $l+.:O. 5% Safes Tan in California.
*