No Designs

No Designs

After the death and burial of Hiram Abif, a distraught Master Mason approached King Solomon and asked, “King Solomon, our Grand Master Hiram Abif has been taken from us and we have been told that there are no designs upon the Trestleboard. What shall we do now?”

“There never were any designs on the Trestleboard”, answered the King.

“There never were?!?” responded the surprised Mason. “Then why did Master Hiram enter the Sanctum Sanctorum?”

“Ask instead,” continued King Solomon, “ ‘Why did he ever leave it?’”

Perplexed, the Master Mason asked, “Why did he leave it?”

“I have no idea,” answered King Solomon.

Never Again

Never Again

There once was a traveling Master Mason that helped build many temples and performed countless good deeds in the name of Masonry. Once while passing through Groton, he was received by Peter Gower. He asked, “What merit is there in my good works?”

Peter Gower replied, “None at all.”

The Master Mason then asked, “What is the essential meaning of the Lost Word?”

Peter Gower answered, “Emptiness.”

The Master Mason then queried, “Then who is this confronting me?”

“I don’t know,” was Peter Gower’s reply. Since the Master Mason did not understand, he left Peter Gower and continued on his way.

Later, the Master Mason related this conversation to the Master of a lodge he was visiting. The Master admonished him to remember that Peter Gower was a great teacher and possessed of the highest truth. The traveling Master Mason, filled with regret, said that he would send a message to ask Peter Gower if he might consult with him again. But the Master of the lodge warned, “Even if all the Masons in the land made this request on your behalf, that will never happen again.”

Not Spoken, Not Heard

Not Spoken, Not Heard

Grand Master Hiram Abif knew the True Word of a Master Mason, and was able to understand its ineffableness, that the True Word is beyond language and thought.

One day Hiram, in a mood of sublime ineffableness, was sitting under a tree. Flowers began to fall about him.

“We are praising you for your discourse on the ineffable,” the angels whispered to him.

“But I have not spoken of the ineffable,” said Hiram.

“You have not spoken of the ineffable, we have not heard the ineffable,” responded the angels. “This is the True Word.” And blossoms showered upon Hiram as rain.

No Master Masons

No Master Masons

Peter Gower addressed his lodge and said, “You are all eating the winemaker’s grapes from the vineyard. If you go on studying Masonry like that, you will never finish it. Do you know that in our entire country there is not one Master Mason?”

Then a craftsman came forward and said, “But surely there are those who teach apprentices and craftsmen and preside over lodges. What about them?”

Peter Gower said, “I did not say that there is no Masonry, just no Master Masons.”

Neither Light Nor Darkness

Neither Light Nor Darkness

Adoniram asked Hiram Abif: “What is Masonry?”

Hiram said: “Everyday life is Masonry.”

Adoniram asked: “Can it be studied?”

Hiram said: “If you try to study, you will be far away from it.”

Adoniram asked: “If I do not study, how can I know it is Masonry?”

Hiram said: “The light of Masonry does not belong to the world of the senses, neither does it belong to the world beyond the senses. Neither thinking nor not thinking can contain it. If you want to know the truth of Masonry beyond doubt, make yourself as free as the sky. You name it neither light nor darkness.”

At these words Adoniram was brought to light.