Genuine Schools

[Jetsun]

It is written in P. D. Ouspensky's "In Search of the Miraculous":

 

"You must understand that every real religion, that is, one that has been created by learned people for a definite aim, consists of two parts. One part teaches what is to be done. This part becomes common knowledge and in the course of time is distorted and departs from the original. The other part teaches how to do what the first part teaches. This part is preserved in secret in special schools and with its help it is always possible to rectify what has been distorted in the first part or to restore what has been forgotten. Out of dozens of monasteries one is a school." (p.38)

 

For the main Abrahamic religions it seems clear that they have two parts, Islam > Sufism, Christianity > Gnosticism, Judaism > Kabbalah, but most of the general public seem not to be aware that they need the second part of the religion to know what is to be done with the first part of the teachings.

 

Historically you can identify where some of these schools exist, for Sufism historically there were known schools in Mesopotamia around in Baghdad, and another in Khurasan which was a province that once included northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia, but with all the turmoil in that region those schools no longer exist publicly at least; the Whirling Dervishes in Turkey were also eradicated. For Christianity it is clear the builders of Chartres Catherdral in France and some of the Gothic monuments in Europe had Gnostic knowledge, but they had to go underground to avoid the Inquisition and it's not clear if they survived in any form. I don't know of any genuine schools of Kabbalah.

 

In Buddhism the split doesn't seem as clear but there were some Tibetan monasteries which produced a lot more enlightened masters than others, for example the Crazy Wisdom lineage all are linked to the Surmang monastery in Eastern Tibet, but with the Chinese invasion all that was lost in public at least and I don't know where there teachings ended up, Dharamshala perhaps or went underground. In Taoism there is talk of schools at Wudang mountain still containing real teachings, but I don't know many details.

 

So does anyone know of where the real schools still exist? or is it all just done in scattered oral teachings now?

[orb]

It is written in P. D. Ouspensky's "In Search of the Miraculous":

 

"You must understand that every real religion, that is, one that has been created by learned people for a definite aim, consists of two parts. One part teaches what is to be done. This part becomes common knowledge and in the course of time is distorted and departs from the original. The other part teaches how to do what the first part teaches. This part is preserved in secret in special schools and with its help it is always possible to rectify what has been distorted in the first part or to restore what has been forgotten. Out of dozens of monasteries one is a school." (p.38)

 

For the main Abrahamic religions it seems clear that they have two parts, Islam > Sufism, Christianity > Gnosticism, Judaism > Kabbalah, but most of the general public seem not to be aware that they need the second part of the religion to know what is to be done with the first part of the teachings.

 

Historically you can identify where some of these schools exist, for Sufism historically there were known schools in Mesopotamia around in Baghdad, and another in Khurasan which was a province that once included northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia, but with all the turmoil in that region those schools no longer exist publicly at least; the Whirling Dervishes in Turkey were also eradicated. For Christianity it is clear the builders of Chartres Catherdral in France and some of the Gothic monuments in Europe had Gnostic knowledge, but they had to go underground to avoid the Inquisition and it's not clear if they survived in any form. I don't know of any genuine schools of Kabbalah.

 

In Buddhism the split doesn't seem as clear but there were some Tibetan monasteries which produced a lot more enlightened masters than others, for example the Crazy Wisdom lineage all are linked to the Surmang monastery in Eastern Tibet, but with the Chinese invasion all that was lost in public at least and I don't know where there teachings ended up, Dharamshala perhaps or went underground. In Taoism there is talk of schools at Wudang mountain still containing real teachings, but I don't know many details.

 

So does anyone know of where the real schools still exist? or is it all just done in scattered oral teachings now?

 

 

I hope Ouspensky is quoting G when he says all that because O himself has never even seen a genuine school (besides studying with G of course).

Now according to G both Sarmoun(g) Brotherhood (Kafiristan) and Essene Brotherhood (not far from the shores of the Dead Sea) were still active in 1940s - so who know maybe they made it to this day. And supposedly Jesus have studied in both of them so there must b some cool stuff in those schools.

[Thunder_Gooch]

Maybe I am stating the obvious but mo pai is a genuine school for certain, and longmen pai probably is as well.

 

There are maybe 60 people alive on earth that represent a truly legitimate school. The odds of finding one aren't good, as they stay well hidden from the public eye.

 

The best bet I think any of the serious seekers (there are only a handful here on this forum) have is to meditate correctly and diligently and work with what is public knowledge, and cultivate ourselves as far as we can go on our own, work hard and save money, learn Mandarin and Bahasa and try to become the best students we can, and be ready to jump if we find a real teacher, or if we can locate one ourselves.

 

I firmly believe that the universe will open the doors we need, when we need them.

 

 

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”

 

-Buddhist Proverb

Edited March 16, 2012 by More_Pie_Guy

[Aaron]

It is written in P. D. Ouspensky's "In Search of the Miraculous":

 

"You must understand that every real religion, that is, one that has been created by learned people for a definite aim, consists of two parts. One part teaches what is to be done. This part becomes common knowledge and in the course of time is distorted and departs from the original. The other part teaches how to do what the first part teaches. This part is preserved in secret in special schools and with its help it is always possible to rectify what has been distorted in the first part or to restore what has been forgotten. Out of dozens of monasteries one is a school." (p.38)

 

For the main Abrahamic religions it seems clear that they have two parts, Islam > Sufism, Christianity > Gnosticism, Judaism > Kabbalah, but most of the general public seem not to be aware that they need the second part of the religion to know what is to be done with the first part of the teachings.

 

Historically you can identify where some of these schools exist, for Sufism historically there were known schools in Mesopotamia around in Baghdad, and another in Khurasan which was a province that once included northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia, but with all the turmoil in that region those schools no longer exist publicly at least; the Whirling Dervishes in Turkey were also eradicated. For Christianity it is clear the builders of Chartres Catherdral in France and some of the Gothic monuments in Europe had Gnostic knowledge, but they had to go underground to avoid the Inquisition and it's not clear if they survived in any form. I don't know of any genuine schools of Kabbalah.

 

In Buddhism the split doesn't seem as clear but there were some Tibetan monasteries which produced a lot more enlightened masters than others, for example the Crazy Wisdom lineage all are linked to the Surmang monastery in Eastern Tibet, but with the Chinese invasion all that was lost in public at least and I don't know where there teachings ended up, Dharamshala perhaps or went underground. In Taoism there is talk of schools at Wudang mountain still containing real teachings, but I don't know many details.

 

So does anyone know of where the real schools still exist? or is it all just done in scattered oral teachings now?

 

Hello Jetsun,

 

I think what you'll find is that most authentic schools are underground because they threaten the mainstream religion itself. The destruction of these schools almost always occurred by the same religion they occupied. The reason was that they almost always taught a reverence for the practice and not the institution. That's off topic, my point is finding these schools today is nearly impossible because most are run as secret societies and they aren't about to let the media, general public, or outsiders in, simply because if they do they risk being attacked once more.

 

If someone is offering a "genuine" school, then I would be suspicious. It doesn't mean you can't try it out, but one should invariably look deeper than just the surface. Claims are fine, but in the end those people practicing true mystic schools (which is what I believe you are after) are not going to just advertise on the internet. In this case, as Pie Guy has said, the master will always find the student and not the other way around.

 

Aaron

Edited March 16, 2012 by Twinner

[Protector]

I heard rumors that since around 2007-2008 secrets will begin to be revealed

Hey look, 2012

[Thunder_Gooch]

If I am not mistaken P.D. Ouspensky also had a 6 dimensional theory of reality, in which the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics (all possible worlds are real) was the 5th dimension.

 

I was screwing around with gamma band (42Hz) brainwave entrainment in 2005, after I read a study about master Buddhist monks and their extremely high amplitude gamma brainwaves during meditation, and I fried my brain out, and experienced something along the lines of the Quan Am Buddha (the one with a thousand arms)

 

 

I had thousands of arms and legs and bodies for that matter, each on a different layer of reality but each were equally real.

 

It led me to the idea of a 6 dimensional theory of reality that read exactly like Ouspensky's and others.

 

It may have been hallucinatory but it was absolutely as real as it gets when I was experiencing it.

 

It turned me from a staunch atheist with an interest in Buddhist/Taoist meditation and philosophy to a devout pantheist.

 

 

 

It is written in P. D. Ouspensky's "In Search of the Miraculous":

 

"You must understand that every real religion, that is, one that has been created by learned people for a definite aim, consists of two parts. One part teaches what is to be done. This part becomes common knowledge and in the course of time is distorted and departs from the original. The other part teaches how to do what the first part teaches. This part is preserved in secret in special schools and with its help it is always possible to rectify what has been distorted in the first part or to restore what has been forgotten. Out of dozens of monasteries one is a school." (p.38)

 

For the main Abrahamic religions it seems clear that they have two parts, Islam > Sufism, Christianity > Gnosticism, Judaism > Kabbalah, but most of the general public seem not to be aware that they need the second part of the religion to know what is to be done with the first part of the teachings.

 

Historically you can identify where some of these schools exist, for Sufism historically there were known schools in Mesopotamia around in Baghdad, and another in Khurasan which was a province that once included northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia, but with all the turmoil in that region those schools no longer exist publicly at least; the Whirling Dervishes in Turkey were also eradicated. For Christianity it is clear the builders of Chartres Catherdral in France and some of the Gothic monuments in Europe had Gnostic knowledge, but they had to go underground to avoid the Inquisition and it's not clear if they survived in any form. I don't know of any genuine schools of Kabbalah.

 

In Buddhism the split doesn't seem as clear but there were some Tibetan monasteries which produced a lot more enlightened masters than others, for example the Crazy Wisdom lineage all are linked to the Surmang monastery in Eastern Tibet, but with the Chinese invasion all that was lost in public at least and I don't know where there teachings ended up, Dharamshala perhaps or went underground. In Taoism there is talk of schools at Wudang mountain still containing real teachings, but I don't know many details.

 

So does anyone know of where the real schools still exist? or is it all just done in scattered oral teachings now?

Edited March 16, 2012 by More_Pie_Guy

[Cheshire Cat]

For the main Abrahamic religions it seems clear that they have two parts, Islam > Sufism, Christianity > Gnosticism, Judaism > Kabbalah, but most of the general public seem not to be aware that they need the second part of the religion to know what is to be done with the first part of the teachings.

 

According to Ouspensky, it is a fact that a series of secret teachings can lead people to the higher degree of spiritual practice. The common reader assumes that extremely misterious things are passed down trough millenia by esoteric schools.

 

That's not completely true because the only true teaching that can lead you to complete enlightment is extremely simple and his method is the method of no-method of Zen.

All the other stuff like chakras works, chi mai cultivation and so forth are means to reach a minor stage of the path in very short time, but this does not mean that it's impossible to make progress without thoose things.

According to vajrayana practitioners who play hard with chi mai, chakras, etc..., dzogchen is a higher eaching which encompass the chi mai cultivation.

 

Just look at the italian saint Padre Pio. He achieved incredible results without knowing secrets method of cultivation. He had only christian means and he applied that in the proper way with high intensity.

He had no esoteric super-master like Gurdjieff.

 

So does anyone know of where the real schools still exist? or is it all just done in scattered oral teachings now?

A lot of school make all sorts of claims today, but most of them are just rituaistic voidness.

I suggest to look before anchorites and hermits of our time to learn practices that works for sure... and than work hard toward enlightment

[daojones]

I was so happy to see Ouspensky's book mentioned in this forum. I read it in the past year and honestly didn't get the metaphysics or the system he was explaining. I didn't spend much time on it, but perhaps that was because I didn't have a framework for understanding it.

 

I wonder what the definition of genuine or authentic school is? I feel like this type of labeling panders to the means by which the ineffective religions of institution work - obedience to authority. Genuity or authenticity is extremely important for authority, as it is their source of power and what they use to hold over the heads of their 'flock'. This is one reason to question the use of genuine or authentic labels. At the same time, there is something to it. Here are some ideas I have for how we could understand genuity or authenticity:

 

1) The methods work, but more specifically have been tested over a long period of time so pitfalls and obstacles are well understood by teachers.

2) The methods were devised a looong time ago, and since the ancients had superior whatever they have made great methods. This could be one step towards the institutional authoritarian ethic though.

3) The inventor of the method received it from god or some spiritual being. Again a slippery slope towards the authoritarianism thing

4) The method was created by a genuine spiritual aspirant, and was passed down.

5) While institutional schools teach crap that furthers the interests of the powers that be, genuine or authentic schools teach powerful methods for spiritual growth that actually work.

 

 

Would be curious about any other ideas or feedback.

 

Jetsun, in terms of 'genuine' kabbalah, I may be able to offer some insight. It is definitely a tossed around term. I can speak about it in terms of the Jewish tradition. The most popularized form of kabbalah that is relatively easy to access is theoretical kabbalah. It's a huge head trip. Very complicated, but I think when understood properly it aligns relatively with the universality of other esoteric systems. I think there is a huge conflict between these theological and theoretical underpinnings with how the Jewish tradition is practiced as a religion generally. Nonetheless, they co-exist. I do believe knowledge and perhaps schools exist of kabbalistic methods that are useful for spiritual growth, but you need to be an insider to get in. What I mean by that is be part of the community and not only that you need to be an outstanding scholar, etc...

 

One school that I think has this tradition is the Bet El Yeshivah in Jerusalem. I believe Sephardic Jews have the most unadulterated tradition due to the fact that they were not westernized or under the same amount of persecution as Jews in European areas. Anyways, there are probably more but this is the 'biggest' one.

 

This site is probably your best bet at finding anything close to 'authentic' (whatever that may mean) kabbalah.

 

www.koshertorah.com

Edited March 16, 2012 by daojones

[寒月 Hanyue]

So does anyone know of where the real schools still exist? or is it all just done in scattered oral teachings now?

 

ALL schools are REAL.

 

That said, from what I've been taught and experienced the below occurs. That said many mistakingly view the below in ways that make it all very much 'esoteric mysterious' fantasy and not reality!

 

There are public "schools", open/withdrawn "schools" and closed/hidden "schools".

 

Public you can walk in the door any time, they'll advertise and the teachers will seek a public audience (giving lectures, releasing books, doing seminars etc).

 

Open/withdrawn you may be invited. Meaning you have to be visible, usually part of a public school. Sometimes if you do well and ask about further training you may get a referral, or if you are 'scouted' you may be invited. These 'schools' do not advertise, you may know members or teachers or live next door and never know about it.

 

I want to stress here, that the above is really no different than say starting out in sports and progressing due to ability, skill and drive. You either work you way up, or are scouted due to percieved potential. Sometimes you gain a foot in the door simply be knowing someone, but not always.

 

The percieved 'higher' level in the withdrawn school is simply due to the foundation those involved have from the previous work, menaing they can work at a 'higher' level, it isn't so much about "secret methods".

 

Closed, not likely. And I can't say anything about them. I know it is many peoples fantasy to be 'chosen' and or to run to a galaxy far far away and find yoda, but....well. If you haven't got the foundation what are you gonna do? You can't jump straight to squatting 1000lbs! you gotta start somewhere

 

But then sometimes things crack and schools that were withdrawn emerge, things do seem to be changing.

[Jetsun]

I hope Ouspensky is quoting G when he says all that because O himself has never even seen a genuine school (besides studying with G of course).

Now according to G both Sarmoun(g) Brotherhood (Kafiristan) and Essene Brotherhood (not far from the shores of the Dead Sea) were still active in 1940s - so who know maybe they made it to this day. And supposedly Jesus have studied in both of them so there must b some cool stuff in those schools.

 

Apparently many people have gone in search for the Sarmoung Brotherhood but it has never been found, or they found it but decided to keep it a secret, other esoteric writers have mentioned a school called The Great White Brotherhood which preserves a lot of the genuine teachings which could be the same thing as the Sarmoung, but it is hard to determine fact from fiction. It would be interesting to know what of the Essenes are left all I can really find is more academic accounts of them.

 

[

I heard rumors that since around 2007-2008 secrets will begin to be revealed

Hey look, 2012

 

The Internet has spread a lot of information and practises worldwide making so much of this stuff far more accessable than it has ever been before but to me it all seems fragmented and if is hard to determine the legitimate between the ones who are using this just for their own money or egoic needs.

[Jetsun]

According to Ouspensky, it is a fact that a series of secret teachings can lead people to the higher degree of spiritual practice. The common reader assumes that extremely misterious things are passed down trough millenia by esoteric schools.

 

That's not completely true because the only true teaching that can lead you to complete enlightment is extremely simple and his method is the method of no-method of Zen.

All the other stuff like chakras works, chi mai cultivation and so forth are means to reach a minor stage of the path in very short time, but this does not mean that it's impossible to make progress without thoose things.

According to vajrayana practitioners who play hard with chi mai, chakras, etc..., dzogchen is a higher eaching which encompass the chi mai cultivation.

 

Just look at the italian saint Padre Pio. He achieved incredible results without knowing secrets method of cultivation. He had only christian means and he applied that in the proper way with high intensity.

He had no esoteric super-master like Gurdjieff.

 

This is true you don't necessarily need these schools, yet it increases your chances of realisation and development if you find one, life is short so it is better to find a group of people who have a track record of achievement in this area if you don't want to waste a lot of it making mistakes and wrong turns which could be avoided with the right instruction.

[3bob]

the greatest "secret" is right under our noses in plain sight...

 

btw, it can't be found anywhere else, even in the so called "highest heavenly realms" or "mystery schools".

 

Good hunting...

[Thunder_Gooch]

ALL schools are REAL.

 

You do realize that there are tons of authors who just write crap in their parents basement and sell it to newage dip#$%s looking for the next big thing.

 

Most of what is on the market is just stuff people made up.

 

Chanting mantras or spells or performing rituals or sacrificing your pet goldfish on an alter will not accomplish any #$%$ thing.

 

 

If I just make up some crazy practices and give them authentic sounding names and take on students to study in my school, it doesn't make my school equally real and equally valid to any other.

 

 

Some schools have clearly defined goals, and training results in clearly defined outcomes, and if each step is followed, exactly the way you are supposed to, you wind up where you are supposed to be for the goals of that school.

 

You can't just make up a bunch of random crap and expect it to have the same effect as any other practice. It doesn't work like that in any other area of life so why the heck would it would for spiritual practices?

 

Let's say I taught students how to throw knives professionally and had 30 years experience with the art, and some bozo down the street came up with the great idea you can become a professional knife thrower by spinning around chanting mantra's and using only spoons while blind folded. Yeah his school would be just as real and valid as mine.

Edited March 16, 2012 by More_Pie_Guy

[idquest]

I was told that cabbalists say their connection to judaism is just nominal, they just happened to live with judaists so they masked themselves as a judaic branch. Whereas cabbala has nothing to do with judaism.

[thelerner]

I was told that cabbalists say their connection to judaism is just nominal, they just happened to live with judaists so they masked themselves as a judaic branch. Whereas cabbala has nothing to do with judaism.

I don't think you can use such a generality. There's many versions and sects of Western,Christian, Islamic, even Egyptian kabbalah. It has a long history of splits and divergents. Still there's a very long tradition of Jewish Kabbalah, where being an orthodox Jew is a prerequisite. One thats been watered down in some circles as its been popularized. Still like all religious mystic practices it sits on the sidelines of the main stream, but is still a potent well of insight and direct experience that main stream draws from in order to stay fresh.

 

The greats being the ones with a foot in both worlds.

[orb]

edit

Edited March 16, 2012 by orb

[Friend]

ALL schools are REAL.

 

The percieved 'higher' level in the withdrawn school is simply due to the foundation those involved have from the previous work, menaing they can work at a 'higher' level, it isn't so much about "secret methods".

 

 

+1 I gave. This are the words I share the same view with.

It is that one learn a method how it is done in the school and when one understand what is teached one can use it in a different way on different things and expand the literal teachings into situation based solutions. One gain the "secret methods" when one really has exercise a sudden small enlightment and see the teaching in a different view.

When one has the perception of greater awareness then reading a quote of a master

is like free treasure world map with countless places to dig and gain.

 

 

You do realize that there are tons of authors who just write crap in their parents basement and sell it to newage dip#$%s looking for the next big thing.

 

 

Indeed this is also a logical argument which practical happens.

But selling Junk is something which has a nice thing that it has to appear like something precious. Remember that on the Junkyard is a chaotic place with old memories shattered in pieces. Because the whole car or ship do not work anymore some parts does, the materials are copper, aluminium and other useful metals.

There are parts that can be repaired or one find funcional parts which can be used to replace something that not work anymore in the functioning machine.

And one can learn about the history and the build of those parts to recreate what was there.

 

Confucius said something that the later goverment imitates the previous government.

When the ideas exist, they came from somewhere with a source which is real or was.

When it hasnt then it comes from other places and there is also a place where the spirits have great influence and try to put as much truth into as possible as the intent of a faker is come near the truth and as much fake as the dark beings try to avoid this to happen.

 

The great problem is to find the mistakes

to make it become genuine and more effective than that time it was created.

I am aware that there are schools over thousands of years and something that is such old and still not work is still crap and there are schools which improved and changed becoming different than their orginal source.

 

I heard a story about a guru who did sacrfices and was deep into the state to reach the deity. A women who was busy to cross the river and saw this mahaguru ask for help.Because of his busyness he harshly told her to recite: Rama Rama and cross the river (and man he was talking BS as he just say something that she stop pesky him). Well the women was grateful and did what he says and well.... she walked above the river. The guru turned red and did more sacrifice because he understand his impudence.

[mantis]

Nan Huai-Chin has been verified to be enlightened, I'm sure if you contacted Bodri on his site he could probably set something up, a few people on this forum have met him.

 

You could always join a monastery.

[Aetherous]

I think the ancient and true schools are definitely still around. The nature of our perception is that we only see what we're capable of seeing. They are hidden in plain sight.

 

Consider a person that goes grocery shopping, and needs milk. They might catch a glimpse of the bread, a few boxes of cereal, smell the coffee aisle...but they miss out on SO much since they already have an idea of what they want. Maybe they didn't catch how the floor was dirty in a certain area. They didn't see that one of the flourescent lights were out. They certainly didn't read all of the varieties of coffee grounds that were offered. They didn't notice the face of each person who was shopping with them.

 

These things are part of the same reality, but their perception isn't capable, due to the decisions they have made.

 

So it could be said that the schools are invisible...from the point of view of someone who can't even see half of what's visible.

[doc benway]

Nan Huai-Chin has been verified to be enlightened,

Out of curiosity, who is the authority in this regard?

No disrespect intended.

[Thunder_Gooch]

Most schools don't get results, a few do. Those are the only valid ones imho.

 

I'd like to quote a favorite author of mine on the topic Jed McKenna:

 

"How long has your guru been teaching?"

 

"Well, uh, over thirty years."

 

"And how many of his students have achieved enlightenment?"

 

"Well, uh..."

 

"That you know of personally?"

 

"Well, uh, I never..."

 

"That you've heard of?"

 

"It's not"

 

"That there were rumors of?"

 

"I don't think..."

 

"What is it they're doing, Martin? The recipe for enlightenment they're promoting - what is it?"

 

"Uh, well, meditation and knowledge, basically."

 

"And in thirty years they've never held someone up and said, 'Look at this guy! He's enlightened and we got him there!' In thirty years, they don't have one? Don't you think they should have, like, an entire army of enlightened guys to show off by now?"

 

"Well, it's not..."

 

"After thirty years they should have a few dozen generations of enlightened people. Even with only a quarter of them becoming teachers, they should have flooded the world by now, mathematically speaking, don't you think? I'm not asking all this as a teacher myself, mind you. I'm just asking as a consumer, or a consumer's advocate. Don't you think it's reasonable to ask to know a teacher's success rate? The proof is in the pudding, right? Didn't you ask them about the fruit of their teachings when you started with them?"

 

"Well, that's not..."

 

"Don't you think it's reasonable to ask? They're in the enlightenment business, aren't they? Or did I misunderstand you? Do they have something else going?"

 

"Nooo, but they..."

 

"If Consumer Reports magazine did a report on which spiritual organizations delivered as promised, don't you suppose that the first statistic listed under each organization would be success rating? Like, here are a hundred randomly selected people who started with the organization five years ago and here's where they are today. For instance, thirty-one have moved up in the organization, twenty-seven have moved on, thirty-nine are still with it but not deeply committed and three have entered abiding non-dual awareness. Okay, three percent - that's a number you can compare. But this organization of yours would have big fat goose egg, wouldn't they? And not just out of a hundred, but out of hundreds of thousands - millions, probably. Am I wrong?

 

- Jed McKenna - 'Spiritual Enlightenment:The Damnedest Thing'

[mantis]

Out of curiosity, who is the authority in this regard?

No disrespect intended.

 

It's not out of curiosity, this is an offensive question. Who is the authority? Some Chinese man in a garb in a mountain, probably.

[Aaron]

It's not out of curiosity, this is an offensive question. Who is the authority? Some Chinese man in a garb in a mountain, probably.

 

I don't see any disrespect in asking for validity in regards to someone's claims of enlightenment. Lighten up, or maybe I should say, "enlighten up." Hah... sorry, couldn't help myself.

 

Aaron

[寒月 Hanyue]

You do realize that there are tons of authors who just write crap in their parents basement and sell it to newage dip#$%s looking for the next big thing.

 

Er, I said schools. Not cobbled together systems marketed to twats that don't know any better.

 

Best,

[寒月 Hanyue]

Thanks for pointing that out, snowmonki.

 

You're welcome. Just the experience I've had, though I only learned to see it this way after it was pointed out. Not everyone will agree, people experience different things.

 

All the best,

Edited March 17, 2012 by snowmonki