--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > The thing I noticed most was that NONE of the > experiences Jim talks about have anything to > do with other people. They are ALL in terms of > himself. Whenever I try to get him to even > talk about other people, he evades and dodges > the discussions. > > No one I have ever met whom I might legitimately > suspect of having really realized their enlight- > enment would do that. *Most* of the things they > say, PERIOD, are about helping other people. > They almost NEVER talk in terms of doing things > that would only benefit the individual seeker. > > THAT is probably the biggest difference I see > between the TM dogma and that of other, more > established traditions. The only real "benefit > to others" ever talked about in TM is in terms > of the awesome woo-woo rays of TMers and butt > bouncers radiating outwards and affecting those > less fortunate. Could anything BE more self- > important and ego-bound? > > Nothing about selfless service. Nothing about > actually CARING for "the least among us." Nothing > about exercising a little mindfulness in one's > daily life to try to be a little kinder and more > compassionate to others. All of these things are > seen in TM as being "side effects" of trans- > cending. Yeah, right. > > There is a fellow I met a few times whom I would > suspect of being enlightened because of the phen- > omena you spoke of yesterday. It's *not* shakti > (that's just cheap flash IMO), but something deeper, > having to do with the fact that when you are around > him, there is no need to meditate to experience > transcendence. You have no *choice* but to exper- > ience transcendence around him, eyes open or > closed; it is just one of the attributes *of* > being around him.
Good points. Parallel to the "human virtures" model. However, correlation is not necessarily, in fact often is not, causation. Its the ass-hole theory of enlightenment. Before E, chop wood, be an asshole. Post E, chop wood, be an asshole. Others, who by virtue of their nature, and cultured by family, educational and moral traditions: Before E, chop wood, help others. Post E, chop wood, help others. Grow up in an arrogant, anti-analytical, anti-intellectual tradition and guess what? Post E (or some degree of silence) one remains arrogant, anti-analytical, anti-intellectual. Grow up with the Sisters of Charity and guess what? Post E (or some degree of silence) one remains compassionate, dedicated to helping, and independent of "looking out for #1".
