Brief Analyze of Buddhist Path to Perfect Enlightenment

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[voidisyinyang]

Edited January 12, 2010 by drewhempel

[j.fachao]

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Thanks for the replies thus far. Drew, your response has been most interesting and shows much wisdom. It has reminded me of many things I overlooked. Personally, I am fairly new to Buddhism and have chosen it as part of my path, so I can dedicate merit in a worthy direction.

 

I am in agreeance with you. The changing conditions have played its part. Indeed, full lotus meditation is essential for enlightenment. I also do believe that certain physiological changes affect the psyche permanently.

I believe the east may be forgetting some of its roots, and the west is intrigued, and will want to carry some of it forth.

 

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[C T]

My ancestors were all Buddhists from Sri Lanka. My grandfather, father and myself are all Buddhists. Its our heritage and tradition. I have met (lost count) and spent time with many Buddhist teachers. Some sit in Full Lotus alright when they perform certain practices, but most do not - even some very senior monks and lamas i have met do not believe that Full Lotus is a prerequisite for "Enlightenment". I am amazed that Drew, a man of such intelligence, could ascribe to the mistaken view that its the only way.

 

Yes posture is crucial. That cannot be denied. But more than physical posture is the value of "posturing" the mind. Full Lotus is the symbolic representation of a disciplined mind and body, one that is stable and not easily moved by external conditions. While it does enhance the flow of subtle energies, it is not the only contributor.. there are other factors that need to be integrated during the whole process that finally leads to perfect liberation from 'self', with the final factor being that one would have to let go of all attachments to all forms, all dharmas, and even the notions of there being a 'self' that reaches enlightenment. Someone that says Full Lotus is fundamentally significant and cannot be separated from the practice is deluded, and is showing signs of strong attachment to outward forms, which is in direct contradiction to some very basic concepts that makes Buddhism unique - one of which is to rehabituate one's tendency to cling and attach strongly to things, Full Lotus being an example.

 

At the end of the day, it is not so much what one does "in meditation" that counts - it is the posture and mindset that one remains in outside of meditation that really is the key to transformation. One of the aims of practicing meditation is to unite the being to a point where the individual no longer needs to separate between formal, disciplined meditation and everyday living - in other words there will no longer be a difference whether one is "in meditation" or "out of meditation". All distractions will have been dissolved, so at that point, it really is time to let go of all kinds of practice. If one is unable to let go, then even the noblest practices become a hindrance, just like the analogy of the person who after crossing the stream on a raft continue to carry it on his back.

 

While a lot of the things Drew says are absolutely fascinating and insightful, its my view that his strong attachment to the vital import of Full Lotus is flawed, hence it is only right that this had to be pointed out lest people get the wrong picture and make the mistaken assumption that its the be-all and end-all of the path towards emancipation, with nothing else to do except sit in Full Lotus. This is definitely a wrong view.

 

It would be great to hear the opinions of other experienced meditators on this.

 

Wish you all the best in your practice TF.

Edited January 12, 2010 by CowTao

[xabir2005]

Edited January 12, 2010 by xabir2005

[lifeforce]

Anapanasati meditation can, when practiced diligently, take you all the way to realization also.

Here is a pdf excerpt of a book by Ajahn Brahm which describes the process in detail.

 

Mindfulness Bliss & Beyond

[voidisyinyang]

Gurdjieff called this problem the KUNDABUFFER -- Gurdjieff says that modern humans are controlled by the Kundabuffer. The Kundabuffer is the kundalini chakra in the small of the back.

 

There is a form to the formlessness. I call this the natural resonance revolution. The full-lotus works because of the tetrahedron made up of 8 triangles each resonating as 2:3:4 -- 2:3 is yang and 3:4 is yin.

 

So this is a nonwestern music model of meditation. It leads to the "rainbow body" which is external reality as the internal chakra holograph -- the merging of the two through a vortex which resonates as formless consciousness creating light.

 

Consider Burmese -- the language of Burmese is not based on the Indo-European Brahmin axiom: "I am that I am."

 

So when you speak Burmese with another person the personal pronouns are not referred to -- there is just action with no people doing it. No self -- the Buddhist philosophy is built into the language.

 

Recently though there was a study of perfect pitch capabilities -- or absolute pitch -- you can hear and know what a note is. People do this subconsciously -- so when people sing the Happy Birthday song it's been proven that people sing it all on the same note. So they have perfect pitch without knowing it.

 

Then it was found that East Asian speakers are more likely to have perfect pitch. But it wasn't because they spoke Mandarin -- it was because they spoke a TONAL language.

 

So even more deeply than the phonetic "meaning" of a language or philosophy is the subconscious emotional meaning of the sound actually meant by speaking. These are the "srutis" of the Vedic scriptures. Similarly the ancient Greek texts were songs -- memorization in Western Asia was capable to an amazing degree by committing words to tonal emotional meaning.

 

Sound or chanting then has this life force energy to it -- the electrochemical energy -- which can reverse time.

 

Jing is the life-force energy -- jing is the beginning and end of alchemy.

 

But the electromagnetic third eye energy is transmitted in SILENCE.

 

Buddha taught this as the "inner ear method." But in Vedic philosophy it's called the source of the I-thought.

 

So if you have a language that is not based on the I-thought then Vedic philosophy does not make much sense.

 

But ironically both TONAL language and axiomatic phonetic language secretly rely on this philosophy of complementary opposite harmonics. The small universe meditation practice is from this natural resonance -- the 12 points along the outside of the body are built from the yin-yang "infinite spiral of fifths" as 2:3:4.

 

The Hindustani issue is an example -- because the Arabic languages and Islamic philosophy are based on tonal meaning -- not phonetic meaning. So we find the same tension in Buddhism because it straddles this subconscious struggle which is repeated every time this Vedic-based philosophy is spread onto tonal indigenous cultures.

 

Even Ghandi supported the PHONETIC meaning within Hindustani -- so he had a bias towards left-brain dominance and right-hand technology -- the means of Western imperialism.

 

It's not just that the full-lotus is required -- but rather that the full-lotus is the most efficient expression of the inherent tonal resonance of reality -- the complementary opposites which can not be contained by form.

 

There is a form to the formlessness -- the tai-chi symbol -- the ohm symbol -- the Tetrad of Pythagorean -- the six-sided star -- these are all based on the concept of complementary opposites as infinite resonance.

 

In India this resonance comes from the three gunas which are found in the oldest Vedic philosophy -- and it is not orthodox. And so it is also hidden in Buddhism as the tantra practices. So the yin-yang-emptiness is the same as the three gunas.

 

When we have left-brain dominance through phonetic language along with right-hand technology expressed through axioms then this transforms shamanism into the ritual priesthood built from the sacred geometry.

 

Buddhist philosophy and meditation are based on the Vedic mind yoga of "neti neti" -- neither this, nor that.

 

Some argue that the Advaita Vedanta philosophy or jnana yoga is the same as "neti, neti." Ramana Maharshi actually stated this is not true because consciousness is to be embraced as the single goal -- it is not emptiness -- but it is formless awareness to be the end goal. So instead of a "neti, neti" approach, the source of the I-thought is supposed to be the affirmation of consciousness through logical inference.

 

But any mind yoga practice does not consciously sublimate the sex energy -- so that there has to be a caste system where the males are separated from the females. Sex is not talked about -- unless it's in the secret tantric practices.

 

The caste system relies on hierarchy so as the population increased through the technology devised by the monks enabling greater territorial spatial expansion -- there was a paradox. Only so many males can be supported to do mind labor -- devising technological cures through ritual geometry mathematics (i.e. the Pythagorean theorem for chariot technology from ritual altar construction was around 3,000 BCE, etc.).

 

So the POOR males have to be "householders" (pay taxes, being in the military, do "voluntary" physical labor, etc.) and have to use the secret tantric practices.

 

Tantra is considered dirty -- because you have to deal directly with the physical interaction with female energy -- the material realm of fluids and food. But in order for the males to have strength since they still have to do physical labor then there has to be meat eaten as well.

 

Meat and alcohol.

 

Notice how in Tibet and Nepal -- you find monks who practice this tantric path of alcohol and even meat. Because culturally it's a colder climate -- in the cold humans had to adapt technology more and more. So meat and alcohol are not considered immoral but just "polluting" in terms of occult medical concepts.

 

In other words you pollute the liver and kidneys from meat and alcohol but this pollution is not immoral it just needs to be purified.

 

The same is true with shit. The secret of Asian farming -- why traditionally it was sustainable for thousands and thousands of years -- just as in Africa -- was the use of humanure -- recycling human shit.

 

So in some tantric circles human shit is literally eaten. This sounds just stupid but just as celibacy recycles the sex energy so too does the vagus nerve of tantra recycle the shit energy -- both go up into the brain.

 

This is pollution of course but it is not immoral. It must be purified through the third eye light energy.

 

And so Buddhism is actually part of imperialism from the early tantric city-state empires. It's an extension of the Vedic culture but it is "reformed" to be more democratic and to have a more sophisticated left-brain ritual philosophy.

 

Consider Thailand -- there is an old dichotomy between "city" monks and "forest" monks. The forest monks focus on meditation -- so there is less community involvement and more long-term retreats, often in solitude. The full-lotus is emphasized. The most famous monk in Thailand lived in the forests and his students had to meditate where the tigers roamed. Full-lotus was practiced with fasting and the meditation master had telepathy so he knew if the students' minds were focused or not.

 

But with spiritual power comes jealousy. The political leaders of Thailand want the forest monks' spiritual power -- so the urban political leaders then give more and more money to the forest monks.

 

You find the same struggle in Burma -- the political leaders want spiritual power. But the democracy movement emphasizes not power in meditation -- rather peacefulness through vipassana mind yoga -- and this democracy movement is from the urban centers.

 

When the nonviolent protesters get massacred by the military (who are having slaves build Buddhist meditation centers for Westerners) -- then the Buddhists practicing vipassana have to flee to the jungle where the non-Burmese indigenous tribes have military armies.

 

These are just all dialectical inversions of modern humans with left-brain dominance using right-hand technology for imperialism -- pure mind yoga is the benefit of being at the top of the political hierarchy of the caste system -- so that more military men protect you. When this doesn't work because pure mind yoga only creates spiritual power unless it's practiced in a very secluded environment -- then the military leaders turn to the more rural body full-lotus transformers. Those same "forest monks" are also considered required to CONVERT the indigenous tribes who are not yet Buddhist.

 

So then the urban Buddhists, in protest against the military controlling the monasteries, then took a more democratic control of the monasteries. For the first time in Burma -- in reaction to the military regime -- there was a growing "lay person" Buddhist movement. So now the lay people actually do not just feed the monks but tell the monks how they monks can meditate and what the monks should teach to the lay community! In other words the monks are no longer for spiritual energy practice but to do community service to build democracy against the military regime. This is part of the Westernization of Asia -- and it's a crucial role for the monasteries - albeit it dangerous as well.

 

Thanks for the replies thus far. Drew, your response has been most interesting and shows much wisdom. It has reminded me of many things I overlooked. Personally, I am fairly new to Buddhism and have chosen it as part of my path, so I can dedicate merit in a worthy direction.

 

I am in agreeance with you. The changing conditions have played its part. Indeed, full lotus meditation is essential for enlightenment. I also do believe that certain physiological changes affect the psyche permanently.

I believe the east may be forgetting some of its roots, and the west is intrigued, and will want to carry some of it forth.

 

SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE

Edited January 12, 2010 by drewhempel

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Thanks for pointing me towards direction.

I always remain in this position regarding such topics.

It seems we can debate on so many different ingredients, but what is fundamental is the meditative practice.

It seems a lot of people are naive in believing we have open access to all the advice we need to be on the path of full enlightenment! This has got to stop. Take a look around you, and tell me we are solving our personal problems and the world's? We continue to carry on going down this same path for 1000s of years, and blame it on our weakness. But, it is in fact- we do not have all the tools at every average person's disposal.

We can no longer rely on human level psychology. It is in our current unenhanced human nature to make countless mistakes.

We need to change ourselves in a literal alchemical way. This does require us "sitting." But further then that, the knowledge is hidden.

You can see the personal confusion in all of us even now. None of us know the way, and people wish to protect themselves. There is just much talk.

Another saying goes "continue down the same path, you will end up in the same place."

No more philosophical debate and scholars.

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TF

 

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