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#1603 - Friday, October 31, 2003 - Editor: Gloria Lee
Diana ~ NDS
A way to tell that a people
are becoming civilized and city fit
is that they cease thinking of animals as
their equal,
and forget from which level of their hut
the power comes.
The physical world is responsible for
itself;
it is also responsible for the world of
ideas;
this could not be plainer if it were a boil
the size of Bucharest,
but the agility of human thought is such
that it can overlook features of itself. ~
Jan Cox
The shadow is the greatest teacher for how to come to the light.
-- Ram Dass in "One Liners: A Mini-Manual for a Spiritual Life"
The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) fill the southwest sky early Oct. 29 above Soldotna, Alaska.
Gill Eardley ~ Allspirit Inspiration
From: Grist for the Mill by Ram Dass
Being conscious is cutting through your own melodrama and being
right
here. Exist in no mind, be empty, here now, and trust that as a
situation
arises, out of you will come what is necessary to deal with that
situation
including the use of your intellect when appropriate. Your
intellect need
not be constantly held on to keep reassuring you that you know
where
you're at, out of fear of loss of control. Ultimately, when
you stop
identifying so much with your physical body and with your
psychological
entity, that anxiety starts to disintegrate. And your start
to define
yourself as in flow with the universe; and whatever comes along
~
death, life joy, sadness ~ is grist for the mill of awakening.
Not this
versus that but whatever.
Lee Love ~ E-Zendo
Joseph Campbell on The Meaning Of Myth
Let
me begin by explaining
the history of my impulse to place metaphor at the center of our
exploration of
Western spirituality.
When
the first volume of my
Historical Atlas of World Mythology, The Way of the Animal
Powers came out, the
publishers sent me on a publicity tour. This is the worst kind of
all possible
tours because you move unwillingly to those disc jockeys and
newspaper people,
themselves unwilling to read the book they are supposed to talk
to you about, in
order to give it public visibility.
The
first question I would be
asked was always, "What is a myth?" That is a fine
beginning for an intelligent
conversation. In one city, however, I walked into a broadcasting
station for a
live half-hour program where the interviewer was a young,
smart-looking man who
immediately warned me, "I'm tough, I put it right to you.
I've studied law."
The
red light went on and he
began argumentatively, "The word 'myth,' means 'a lie.' Myth
is a lie."
So
I replied with my
definition of myth. "No, myth is not a lie. A whole
mythology is an organization
of symbolic images and narratives, metaphorical of the
possibilities of human
experience and the fulfillment of a given culture at a given
time."
"It's
a lie," he countered.
"It's
a metaphor."
"It's
a lie."
This
went on for about twenty
minutes. Around four or five minutes before the end of the
program, I realized
that this interviewer did not really know what a metaphor was. I
decided to
treat him as he was treating me.
"No,"
I said, "I tell you
it's metaphorical. You give me an example of a metaphor."
He
replied, "You give me an
example."
I
resisted, "No, I'm asking
the question this time." I had not taught school for thirty
years for nothing.
"And I want you to give me an example of a metaphor."
The
interviewer was utterly
baffled and even went so far as to say, "Let's get in touch
with some school
teacher." Finally, with something like a minute and a half
to go, he rose to the
occasion and said, "I'll try. My friend John runs very fast.
People say he runs
like a deer. There's a metaphor."
As
the last seconds of the
interview ticked off, I replied, "That is not the metaphor.
The metaphor is:
John is a deer."
He
shot back, "That's a lie."
"No,"
I said, "That is a
metaphor."
And
the show ended. What does
that incident suggest about our common understanding of metaphor?
It
made me reflect that half
the people in the world think that the metaphors of their
religious traditions,
for example, are facts. And the other half contends that they are
not facts at
all. As a result we have people who consider themselves believers
because they
accept metaphors as facts, and we have others who classify
themselves as
atheists because they think religious metaphors are lies.
~ ~ ~
Campbell tells a story about Carl Jung's interaction with a Navaho Holy man.
Jung asked the Holyman where he thought the
mind dwelt and the
Holyman pointed to his heart and said,
"Here." He then asked Jung where he
thought the mind was and Jung pointed to the head and said that
in the West,
we believe that the mind is in the head.
The Holyman replied, "Only crazy people believe that."
Harsha ~ HarshaSatsangh
Concepts about concepts and thoughts about thoughts
The play of concepts is endless. Concepts about the body, the
mind,
spirit, universe, cosmos, big bang, small bang, how the world
came into
being, shiva, shakti, etc.
And then there are concepts about concepts, and thoughts about
the
nature of thoughts!
What to do? The questions are thoughts and the answers are
thoughts.
And thinking about questions and answers requires thoughts.
What to do?
Nothing to do.
The quicksand of concepts entangles one more and more, the more
seriously one takes them. It is the stuff of religion,
philosophy,
spirituality, great writers, great thinkers, great
teachers, great
leaders, etc.
The presumption to understand, teach, and help others to improve
themselves reveals the unrelenting grip of the ego.
But the ego is not bad. It is something natural. It arises as a
natural
condition.
The wise say, that, "I am the doer" notion is bondage.
The real method to self knowledge is simple.
To go to the root of the ego or the mind, one needs to become
aware of
one's complete helplessness. That takes time. That takes
spiritual
maturity. To feel truly that not my will Lord but thy will
be done. In
doing so, the surrender can take place and one can
naturally do what
one is destined to do.
If by Grace, one can bring the awareness upon its own essence, to
see
and feel its own essential being, that is all that needs to be
one. That
is all that can be done!
In this awareness, one can stare at the originating point of
thoughts
and feelings and symbols and visions which rise in it, and see
itself as
the source, not as a thought but as a well of being that
perpetually
springs forth in itself and dissolves in itself never losing its
inherent quality of naturalness, sat-chit-ananda.
It is the essence of simplicity. Pure Being. That is what Sri
Ramana
taught. To be aware of the "I AM" as feeling/awareness.
That is the
direct practice. To be simply aware of yourself.
Spiritual practitioners seek complex and glamorous practices
leading to
rich experiences and knowledge. This is good as well. All
according to
one's inclinations.
But there are some who have consumed enough knowledge and enough
experiences and lose the desire for any of it. Spontaneously, the
directness of one's own awareness manifests as one's own self.
One's Own
Self is the Self of all. One Heart. Same Heart. All Heart.
Love to all
Harsha
Viorica Weissman ~ Million Paths
To go for a walk in the fields with the cattle and the young lambs, and in the woods with the song of birds, without a single thought in your mind, only watching the earth, the trees, the sheep and hearing the cuckoo calling and the wood pigeons; to walk without any emotion, any sentiment, to watch the trees and all the earth: when you so watch, you learn your own thinking, are aware of your own reactions and do not allow a single thought to escape you without understanding why it came, what was the cause of it. If you are watchful, never letting a thought go by, then the brain becomes very quiet. Then you watch in great silence and that silence has immense depth, a last incorruptible beauty.
.....................
from
Krishnamurti to Himself
His Last Journal
Al Larus ~ NDS
http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/fall.htm
Robert ~ NDS
Here is an interesting article that explain the power of
silent
transmission... Anyone who has been in the presence of an
enlightened master knows this intuitively. Now science
proves it.
http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/article/item_6497.html
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
Peace,
Robert
Lee Love ~ E-zendo
Buddhism is a practice, not a proof.
As I mention initially to Dave, folks who have difficulty with "the whole meatball" of the Buddha's teaching can simply follow the root teachings: the four noble truths and the 8 fold path.
It is not necessary to factually disprove traditional practice.
This is not recommended because of any deficiency in what has been handed down to us traditionally, but is rather, a product of the Buddha's admonition to use "skillful means." Let's face it. Not everyone has the same ability to understand metaphorical truth and our modern culture does everything it can to stamp these natural abilities out of us.
So, it is acceptable to just follow the 4 noble truths and the 8 fold path. But there is not necessarily any intellectual, moral or spiritual superiority in doing so. This is the attitude I address in Dave's posts.
There are "proofs" in buddhist practice, but they are directly empirical. We test belief in practice. We judge belief, as my late teacher Dainin Katagiri used to say, "by their effects upon human life."
If you have a mind, you have beliefs. The is the greatest fallacy of modern thought is that we can be free of our beliefs. We can see that modern life without belief leads to dis-ease.
I just posted this to another list:
"From the Buddhist perspective, beliefs are not
factual. Their job is to help us organize our
thought processes. Once this is grasped,
it is easier to understand why people do what they
do. Beliefs tell us more about the mind that holds
them than they do about the "factual" world."
As the Buddha says in the beginning of the Dhammapada:
"All that we are is the result of what we have
thought: it is
founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. "
Dear Friends:
The HarshaSatsangh e-magazine will include a supplement to Volume III. We are seeking submissions, in particular for the supplement, which will focus on Yoga-Tantra. We are especially interested in offerings which relate to the topics of Tantra, Yoga, the Goddess, Self Realization, and Advaita, not in that order :-)
You can view the magazine at www.harshasatsangh.com for further ideas on the subject areas which are explored in this publication. Scholarly as well as devotional articles on the subject of Tantra are part of the emphasis of the supplement. Our purpose is to educate and enlighten others on this sometimes esoteric and often misinterpreted subject, in an effort to promote understanding and appreciation of this most sacred Indic tradition. We are also seeking illustrative representations of yogic poses and mudras. Your creative efforts are appreciated and welcomed. This can include artwork or poetry. If you know of someone who you think might be interested in contributing, please forward this message to them.
Please note that all submissions should be sent to me at the following email address; shaantih@harshasatsangh.com.
We Are All Connected, One to the other, One.
Namaste,
Joyce
