Turq, that's fantastic! I agree with every word. Your last point reminds me of something Nietzsche said about Wagner, that the greatest compliment a man could pay his teacher was to reject him. (Nietzsche was originally one of Wagner's biggest fans, but later rejected him completely.)
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "feste37" <feste37@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <vajradhatu@> wrote: > > > > > > On Aug 29, 2008, at 11:17 AM, feste37 wrote: > > > > > > > Ever thought of applying that to yourself, Vaj? It fits > > > > quite nicely into your rigid views of TM and MMY. You're > > > > so stuck in your negative views that you can't see beyond > > > > them, no matter what evidence is presented. > > > > > > Your observation is based on a number of false assumptions: > > > > > > --that ALL of my views of M. are negative, > > > > OK, so tell me one positive thing about MMY. Just one. > > I'm not Vaj, but I'll step up to the plate for > my last post this week. And I won't stop at one. > I'll give it exactly as much time as I gave > myself for the ten "positive" planks of my > political platform. > > -- He made meditation a household word in the West. > This is never to be discounted, and IMO should be > his legacy. > > -- He reintroduced a great number of multi-lifetime > spiritual seekers who had been reborn in the West > to the spiritual path, one that they would otherwise > not easily have found. > > -- He gave many of those multi-lifetime seekers an > opportunity that is rare and in my opinion one of > the greatest gifts a spiritual teacher can bestow > on a spiritual seeker: the right to teach basic > meditation. We weren't *ready* to teach, and he > knew it, but he let us have a go at it anyway, and > to learn from that experience. This is the thing > I am most grateful to him for. > > -- The checking procedure, as AI-based and non- > respectful of the individual as it is, is a pretty > neat thing. For the type of technique he taught, I > cannot think of one competitive tradition that has > anything nearly as effective in terms of "recentering" > effortless meditation. > > -- He gave a lot of us the opportunity to do long > meditations in a retreat setting. We called them > "courses" and called what we did "rounding," but > it is an experience that few on this planet have > had, and we should treasure it. > > -- He gave a lot of us who were about to get burned > out on the promise of the Sixties something other > than sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll to focus on in > our mind's natural tendency to seek "more." > > -- He enabled me to travel to a lot of exotic locales, > even though my memories of many of them are limited > to what the inside of my hotel room looked like. > > -- He sponsored some WAY magical moments that still > rank WAY up there in my list of cool moments. Whether > they were at a course in the mountains or in an > initiation room in Los Angeles, they were way cool > shiny moments, and I thank him for them. > > -- He provided me with a dumbed-down but remarkably > effective language and set of buzzwords with which > to describe the spiritual process, one that is easily > understood by many people, and which probably comes > as close as any language and set of buzzwords in > the biz to being able to describe the indescribable. > > -- He introduced me, through his organization, to > some of the most beautiful women in the world, some > of whom still rank up there in my list of WAY cool > moments along with the spiritual experiences. > > -- He introduced me similarly to some really neat > fellow seekers, many of whom I still treasure to this > day as friends. > > -- By allowing me to teach, he forced me the fuck > out of my self, and allowed me for brief periods of > time to experience selflessness, and putting someone > else's welfare ahead of my own. I know I said this > before, but that's a really big deal. > > -- He had an infectious laugh, and infected me with > it often. That is never to be dismissed or overlooked > in any human being, let alone a spiritual teacher. > > -- His techniques, plus probably a lot of work in > previous lives, facilitated my first clear experience > of enlightenment in this lifetime. That is also not > to be overlooked or forgotten or regarded with anything > but gratitude. > > -- In the end, he taught me one of the greatest lessons > one can possibly learn along the spiritual path. That > is, by walking away from it you are sometimes really > still following it. >
