Underling Patterns & Principles
As Utilized by the Gnostic Manichaean Teachings of the Naz-Mani
In the Living Gods, Let the hallowed Light of Transcendant Truth be praised. Let the Sweet Mystery of Miryai awaken in the heart of hearts.

The various Teachings and Practices here are organized by manifold overlapping principles and patterns. These patterns themselves have been gleaned from the underlining structure of the Five Spiritual Perceptions or Paths. These patterns have been overlaid upon the fortnight calendar, vivifying its structure and ability to affect conscious unconscious change. To name a few:
 

• The 5 graduating modes of perception and progress, accross all 5 Traditions.
• 5 stages reflect the Zhang-zhung Nyan-gyud lineage
• Jung's Shadow, Persona, Ego, Animus and Self
• 5 Ranks of Tozan in Zen.
• Kabbalah's five Worlds of Assiah, Yetzirah, Briah, Atziluth and Qadmonia and the five souls of Ari.
• The three stages of reality, locked into the three Ko or 5 day segments of each fortnight. Confessions and mantras occupying the center cluster, and altar and mental work the third.
• Base, Path, Fruit
• Hylic, Psychic and Pneumatic predispositions and Jung's Ego, Personal Unconscious and Collective unconsciousness.
• Seal of Mouth, Hand and Breast of Manichaeans.
• Shingon's Body, Speech, Mind - Mudra, Mantra and Zen's: Zazen, Koan and Satori
• Nephesh, Ruach and Nishimta.
• The 15 common levels of mythos and ritual pattern, tied to the 15 days of each fortnigh and the 15 Ko of each seasont. Categorized into five groups of three.
• Dzogchen texts (Vajrayana tantras, 8th century CE) list 14 root samaya vows for Anuyoga and Atiyoga. Chöd texts (Prajnaparamita, 11th century CE) reference 14 root samaya vows, similar to Dzogchen, including honoring dakinis and maintaining ritual purity
• Amduat (New Kingdom, 16th–11th centuries BCE) describes 15 gates in some underworld depictions
• Some texts (Manichaean Psalms) reference 15 celestial gates in the cosmic ascent (stage 6), representing barriers to the Light Realm.
• Xiuzhen Shishu (13th century CE) lists 14 alchemical phases in some Neidan lineages, including sub-stages like “gathering herbs” and “firing processes,” though not universally standardized as stages. Shingon texts (Sokushin Jobutsu Gi, 9th century CE) list 14 samaya vows, including devotion to Dainichi Nyorai, maintaining mudras, and secrecy of mantras Neidan’s 14 Phases* (Documented in Xiuzhen Shishu, 13th century CE
• Lurianic Kabbalah: Etz Chaim (16th century CE) describes 14 partzufim (divine personas) in some configurations, representing sefirotic interactions, though not stages.
• The orientation of the individual to the mindstream of thought of each Path, thru archetypal association on the first day of any one season - oft by prayer to the principle male female archetypes of that Path. Also on minor feast days of all five fortnights, celebrating the 5 divine pairs found in most traditions.
• Kuntazanghpo and Kuntazanghmo
• Father of Light and Primal Mother
• Father of Light and Mother of Life
• Fudo and Female
• Ziwa Hiya and Noorah Hiya
• The allocation of the last 2 fast days of each of the first four fortnights to near death experiences, and the last 5 day fast of the Season to post demise rise thru various planes of existence to the Source.
• 1st fast. White Fast (Nyungne) – A 1–2 day practice involving fasting, silence, and prostrations, often dedicated to Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig). Bon: 2 day Ritual Fasting for Shenlha Okar
• 2nd fast. 1–2 day fasts, often before rituals like baptism or gnostic mysteries, as described in texts like the Gospel of Philip
• 3rd fast. manichaeans: 1–2 day complete fasts weekly (Sundays and Mondays), abstaining from all food and drink, as prescribed in the Kephalaia.
• 4th fast. Zen: 1-day fasts on new and full moon days, inherited from Theravada Buddhism. Zen monks may abstain from food after noon, focusing on zazen (seated meditation).
• 4-5 Days fmd end of season extended fast and ascent thru 33 heavens. 1–2 day fasts before major baptisms, abstaining from various foods, sometimes all food, as described in the Ginza Rabba.
• 5 Day fasting traditions across the seasons:
• Dzogchen practitioners undertake 4–5 day fasts during solitary retreats or group practices, combining fasting with trekchö or thögal meditations. Partial fasts (e.g., one meal daily) are common, with full fasts rare.Fasting mirrors the ascent through Bon’s 33 heavens, detaching from earthly planes.
• Extended 4–5 day fasts for initiates in Valentinian or Sethian communities, preparing for esoteric rituals or visionary experiences (e.g., Pistis Sophia’s mysteries).
• Extended Bema fasting by followers of Mani.While traditionally 40 days, some Sufi orders practice 4–5 day intensive retreats with partial fasting (e.g., one meal daily) and dhikr (remembrance of God).
• Zen: 4–5 day retreats involving near-continuous zazen, minimal food (e.g., rice gruel), and silence. Shugendo incorporates five-day mountain ascetic retreats (4–5 days, Shugendo almanacs), involving fasting and misogi, timed with pentads (e.g., autumn pentads) Fasting: 5-day bigu fasts align with pentads
• Mandaean: 4–5 day partial fasts during the annual Parwanaya festival, involving minimal food and frequent baptisms to honor the Lightworld. Luria: 4–5 day fasts by Kabbalistic mystics (e.g., Safed school, 16th century CE) during meditation on the sefirot or tikkun (rectification) rituals.
• The structure of the 33 worlds, associated with each of the Seasons five fortnights and refocused upon on the last 5 days of the Season during the extended fast. The 32/33 pattern is coded in the 25 phase alphabet sequence, which on the calendar occurs by each fortnight containing five letters allotted to the first and second Ko, and the first 3 days of the third Ko, followed by a letter assigned to each of the two fast days. (This is earthly time, on Mars all five Ko each have a letter idependent of the fast days there.) The last Ko of the last fortnight, the five day fasting period, has a letter assigned to its first 3 days, and one each to each of its last two fast days just like in the other fortnights.
• 33 Heavens of Bon. 31 planes in standard Abhidharma, but some Tibetan texts (e.g., Kalachakra) include additional pure lands or buddha fields, bringing the count to 33 in certain interpretations. Like Buddhism, Bon divides existence into desire, form, and formless realms, with 31–33 planes:
• 33 Worlds in pistis Sophia and Brucianus. Pistis Sophia (2nd–3rd century CE), describe a complex cosmology of aeons, archons, and realms. The text does not explicitly list 32 or 33 levels but details a hierarchy of spiritual and material planes that can be interpreted as such.
• Manichaean heavens from Hanging Scroll
• 33 Buddhist and Taoist Realms. Zen adopts the standard Buddhist 31 planes (as in Dzogchen), with occasional references to 33 heavens in Mahayana sutras (e.g., Lotus Sutra’s buddha fields).
• 32 Paths of Kabbalah. Mandaean: ~12 Lightworld abodes, 7 planetary spheres, ~12 tollhouses, and 2–3 material/underworld realms yields ~33 levels, though this is speculative. 32 paths of wisdom (Sefer Yetzirah) are a standard framework, excluding Ein Sof.
• Various daily practices categorized by Chinese 5 Element theory into the five fortnights of the season.
• Fire rituals and spiritual practices. Light, fire, passion.
• Wind rituals and spiritual practices.Malas, staffs, incense, plants.
• Zephyr rituals and spiritual practices. Void, Truth, Deities.
• Earth rituals and spiritual practices. Mandalas, sand, food.
• Water rituals and spiritual practices. Pools, rivers, rain.
• Repetitive pattern of 5 cuisines mapped onto every 5 day Ko period, associating every Ko with the universal rthymn of the spiritual year via its five traditions and seasons.
• Tibetan/Indian/Chinese
• Mexican, Latin
• Italian
• Japanese, SE Asia Japan’s microseason calendar, inherited from China’s 24 sekki (Nihon Shoki, 8th century CE), divides seasons into five-day periods (pentads). Zen monasteries (Soto Zen texts, 13th century CE) align five-day sesshin retreats with these microseasons China’s 24 solar terms (Huainanzi, 2nd century BCE), adopted in Japan, divide seasons into five-day pentads, influencing Taoist calendars (Baopuzi, 4th century CE). Neidan texts (Xiuzhen Shishu) describe five-day meditation cycles where practitioners align qi with the 5 phases.
• Middle Eastern
• Fortnights
• Tibetan Buddhist calendar (Kalachakra Tantra, 10th century CE) uses lunar fortnights (waxing/light, waning/dark). The 15th day of the waxing fortnight (full moon) is auspicious for rituals Bon calendar, influenced by Tibetan Buddhism (Bon almanacs, 11th century CE), uses lunar fortnights. The 15th waxing (full moon) is for Shenlha Okar rituals, supporting stage 5. The 15th waning (new moon) is for purification, aiding stage 4.
• Egyptian lunar calendar (New Kingdom texts) tracks fortnights for festivals. The 15th waxing (full moon) is for Osiris festivals
• Manichaean calendar (Manichaean hymns, 3rd–5th centuries CE) emphasizes lunar cycles. The 15th waxing (full moon) is for fasting and prayer, supporting stage. Islamic lunar calendar (Quran, 7th century CE) uses fortnights. The 15th waxing (full moon) is for night prayers (Laylat al-Bara’ah)
• Zen inherits the Buddhist lunar calendar (Vinaya, 5th century BCE). The 15th waxing (full moon, Uposatha) is for meditation and precept renewal, supporting stages 3–5. The 15th waning (new moon) is less emphasized but used for retreats. Taoist calendar (Baopuzi, 4th century CE) uses lunar fortnights. The 15th waxing (full moon) is for elixir rituals,The 15th waning (new moon) is for purification, Shingon uses Japanese Buddhist lunar calendar (Kukai’s texts, 9th century CE). The 15th waxing (full moon) is for goma fire rituals
• Mandaean calendar (Mandaean ritual texts, 1st–3rd centuries CE) uses lunar months, with baptisms timed to 15th waxing (full moon) for purity, Jewish lunar calendar (Mishnah, 2nd century CE) uses fortnights.

    Gathering Herbs: Collecting jing through celibacy and dietary purity, preparing the body’s essence.
    Sealing the Cauldron: Establishing meditative focus to contain energy, often via breath control.
    Lighting the Furnace: Activating qi through dynamic exercises (e.g., qigong), warming the lower dantian.
    Refining Jing: Purifying essence into vital energy, concentrating it in the dantian.
    Circulating Qi: Guiding qi through microcosmic orbit (Ren and Du meridians).
    Condensing Qi: Stabilizing qi to prevent leakage, strengthening the energy body.
    Awakening Shen: Activating spirit through stillness meditation, focusing on the middle dantian.
    Lead-Mercury Pairing: Balancing yin (mercury) and yang (lead) energies, harmonizing heart and kidneys.
    Firing Process: Intensifying meditation to refine qi into shen, akin to alchemical heating.
    Forming the Elixir: Creating the golden elixir (immortal embryo) in the lower dantian.
    Nourishing the Embryo: Sustaining the elixir through prolonged meditation, fostering spiritual growth.
    Gestating the Fetus: Developing the immortal fetus, integrating body and spirit.
    Transmuting the Fetus: Transforming the fetus into a spiritual body, preparing for transcendence.
    Returning to the Tao: Merging the spiritual body with the Tao, achieving immortality.