Too Much Information

[Eden]

Do you ever feel like knowing all the intricacies of cultivation could be like a hinderance to deepening in ones cultivation? Like having too much knowledge or belief systems? 

I feel like there is a point one has to forget everything they think they know about how to tread the path.. like having certain ideas of how cultivation works is actually an obstacle, cause you are constraining yourself in a way, imposing certain limits on ones self. 

 

[Cleansox]

1 minute ago, Eden said:

Do you ever feel like knowing all the intricacies of cultivation could be like a hinderance to deepening in ones cultivation? Like having too much knowledge or belief systems? 

In the beginning, I believe you have to have both knowledge and a belief system in order to focus your cultivation and to have a frame in which to put your experiences. 

1 minute ago, Eden said:

I feel like there is a point one has to forget everything they think they know about how to tread the path.. like having certain ideas of how cultivation works is actually an obstacle, cause you are constraining yourself in a way, imposing certain limits on ones self. 

Yes, later on, when working with that which cannot be put in words, words and ideas can certainly become a problem. 

 

And in both these instances, certain dogmatic ideas might be really boxing us in, if they are too ingrained in our minds. 

 

[RobB]

We dont get told very much. Just get given exercises and told to go practice. I think it's to minimise potential for projection or unhelpful 'seeking'. There are things we're supposed to come across or discover for ourselves in our own way. The (very mundane) experiences I have had of physical connection or mental stillness etc have not necessarily been what I was expecting from that particular exercise or at that time but they all fit into the same general direction of development. 

 

Edit: Probably better to say that, as a beginner, I haven't been told very much. Maybe everyone else is being told everything and I'm just on the stupid track! There is a lot on the structure of the training and the qualities that we are seeking. But there is very little of: If you do A, you will feel B and this is because of C. Experiences can be fitted into the framework retrospectively but you're supposed to go out there and get those experiences first.

Edited August 24, 2020 by RobB

[freeform]

The important part is that it has to be the right information. Meaning that your teacher, lineage and your system have to provide the right mental framework. This framework greatly assists in your practice.

 

Reading lots of books and consuming all sorts of random information from different lines may well be interesting, but it will hinder your practice.

 

Many traditional teachers won’t tell you much and just give you practices and watch how you do. If you prove yourself, and they’re actually capable, then they’ll give you a lot of theory. Theory is considered important within the ‘inner door’. But not just any theory.