Nice quotes, Vaj, thanks for posting. the following is from my intellectual understanding:
The advaitic self-inquiry approach, which I have heard from Mooji, would be( roughly ) to realize that since "I" see/feel/experience the Bliss, "I" cannot be it. the inquiry would be "Who sees/feels/experiences the Bliss?" This is before full Awakening, during the "neti-neti" phase. During this phase, it's helpful to realize that: "'I' am not my experiences." and ask "Who is the experiencer?" After full Awakening, in this phase, "There is nothing but Self ! ( which is Awareness, Bliss, God, Love, whatever ). In this "?final?" phase, "I am also my experiences." But 'I' and 'me' are no longer "personal" supposedly and neither is the Bliss ( it's of a different impersonal quality now). Some who are having "experiences" may dispute the latter. I don't know at this point. This is my 2cents understanding so far. Santi, amarnath --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On Feb 24, 2008, at 12:40 AM, Rick Archer wrote: > > > I agree with Amarnath that many people in the movement seem very > > egotistical. Back on my 6-month course, most of the "great > > experience" guys had huge egos, and were always competing with each > > other in terms of whose experience was flashiest. > > Here's that quote again :-). You hit that one right on the head: > > Bliss > > " Whenever you consider there is bliss, and the objective conditions for > bliss occur, if you fall under the control of that by becoming arrogant > or conceited, then that will fester as an obstruction to the spiritual > path. Rather than thinking about what has caused this happiness, which > most probably is the accumulation of merit or the removal of > obscurations, as soon as the bliss occurs, you think, ''That's my > nature." Based on that, you become arrogant or lazy, thinking, "Well, > I've accomplished it." This is the greatest obstacle to the spiritual > path. This is what creates the realms of deva-gods. > > Oftentimes it is said that people can handle only a little bit of > felicity, but they can handle a lot of adversity. This is because > happiness on the spiritual path is the most difficult thing to handle. > Once it arises, that's where the path stops. > > This does not mean that it is necessary to give it all up. Giving > up happiness is not the practice. The main point is not to become > mesmerized by happiness as the end result. You realize that, "Ah, now, > the good quality of this is that I am fortunate, and this is another > result of the great fortune of the path and the result of the > accumulation of merit and wholesome deeds. Even more than ever, I will > carry on with the work at hand to achieve liberation from cyclic > existence." > > So with more diligence and more courage, you continue listening to > teachings, contemplating, meditating, and appreciating this precious > human rebirth." > > --from Meditation, Transformation, and Dream Yoga > http://www.snowlionpub.com/search.php?isbn=METRDR > > by Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche, translated by Sangye Khandro and B. > Alan Wallace > >>>
