Thanks for the response Unc. I've enjoyed reading about your experiences with him. Quite amazing stuff. -Peter
--- TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > You may have missed out. I worked with a > spiritual > > > teacher who took his students to Disneyland > often. > > > http://ramalila.net/RoadTripMind/rtm13.html > > > > Unc, how have you "come to terms (if that's the > right > > term)" with your powerful experiences with Rama > and > > his rather bizarre death and less than > "enlightened" > > behavior at times? > > -Peter > > In two words, "Shit happens." > > I had already left his study a couple of years > before > he died, and thus wasn't as affected by it as a lot > of > folks who hung in there to the end. I don't really > know > anything about the "whys" of it all; it's a koan. I > spent > some time pondered it in one of the stories I wrote, > at: > http://ramalila.net/RoadTripMind/rtm53.html > > As I suggested in a recent post, for many reasons I > do > not believe in the idea that the enlightened are > perfect > and don't make mistakes. I don't think they're any > different than anyone else, except on the level of > subjec- > tive realization. So I have no tendency to suggest > that > odd or questionable behavior means that someone > wasn't > enlightened. All it suggests to me is that they > indulge > in odd or questionable behavior. So did many > teachers > whom history regards as enlightened. Big deal. > > I'm also not a person who is terribly impressed by > the > ability to perform siddhis, and wasn't when I met > the Rama > guy. I got to see and experience some neat stuff, > and > enjoyed it, but I did not then and do not now make > any > link between being able to, say, levitate and turn > invisible > and do fascinating things with light and that > person's state > of consciousness. The main thing that impressed me > about > the guy was his ability to meditate. When you sat > with him > in the early days, it was just silence -- pure > samadhi. It > was *impossible* to have a thought. All the other > stuff > was bells and whistles, IMO. > > To be honest, not all of his students felt as I did. > They > definitely consider the enlightened perfect by > definition, > so his suicide fucked with their heads Big-Time. If > you > believe that your teacher is enlightened and that > the enlight- > ened are by definition perfect, then you have to > jump through > a lot of mental hoops to justify suicide. I'm not > much in > touch with them, so I can't tell you how they've > come to > terms with things. > > For me, it was a wild and wacky Mister Toad ride > that I shall > always be thankful for but don't spend a lot of time > missing > or even thinking about. Right here and now is too > wild and > wacky and wonderful to leave much time for that. > > Unc > > > > > > > > To subscribe, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Or go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > and click 'Join This Group!' > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail Mobile Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone. http://mobile.yahoo.com/learn/mail To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
