On Oct 19, 2005, at 2:20 PM, anonymousff wrote:
> I had a disscusion Regarding the word 'knowledge'
> in a different group settings and we had issues in
> resolving the true meaning of the word.
>
> we are used to by now to see knowledge as constructed
> in consciousness.
>
> our consciousness stays after we drop the body, is that
> to say that the knowledge we gained stays with us or
> is it brain dependent?
>
> isn't knowledge in the common use of it in English
> is part of our brain and information we accumulated,
> then MMY expanded the term to mean something else.
> (i'm not stating it's correct or not, just trying to understand
> how the general usage of it applies vs. MMY use of the term.
>
There are a number of words which describe "knowledge" in
Sanskrit--"vidya" which describes "pure knowledge" would seem to be a
good one.
But actually what you seem to be describing what tantric Buddhist
theory would call "ascertaining consciousness". Depending on what we
ascertain *with* determines how he perceive and if we truly perceive.
In other words we have moments of "non-ascertaining consciousness".
Forms of meditation, like TM, Shamatha or calming meditation which
works at transcending gross thought and increasing attentional
stability, increases the amount and quality of ascertaining
consciousness. The traditional metaphor is that without attentional
stability it is like trying to read by a flickering candle. In this
style of meditation one learns to achieve continual attentional
placement, which is a state where one is still subject to thought
excitation. Because of this one uses "patched placement". One,
without judging, brings attention gently back to focus, typically
some object--a mantra, a mental object of some sort, etc. Eventually
one should achieve "close attentional placement" where ones attention
does not waver for the entire session. After that we can work at
taming and pacification of the mind, eventually reaching complete
pacification of the mind and pure attentional stability. Then full
attentional vividness allows us to truly investigate consciousness.
There can be no laxity. But once one reaches this level of attention
and focus, one should be capable of meditating continuously and
uninterruptedly for several hours at a time. Once one reaches
balanced attentional placement, all we need is an initial intent or
impulse and pure attentional placement occurs for long periods of time.
At this level the nervous system begins to really refine deeply and
certain signs arise. With the achievement of pure sustained
intention, one disengages the attention from the meditative objects,
and the entire continuum of one’s attention is focused one pointedly,
non-conceptually, and internally in the very nature of consciousness;
and
the attention is withdrawn fully from the physical senses. Only at
this level are we really capable of pure knowledge. One gains a pure
sense of clarity, or a luminosity capable of manifesting as any
appearances, and also the quality of cognizance, or the event of
knowing. One groks sheer clarity and pure cognizance of experience--
the pure experiential definition of experience--rather than a subject
attending to "object".
There's more than one way to do this. Different methods work for
different people. Some people don't need objects or props of any kind
but merely cultivate non-conceptual attention as their practice,
without focusing on any. In this
method the eyes are left open, integrating everything into a unified
presence.
All experience that leaves a karmic trace will be imprinted on our
spiritual (not physical) gene. That's what transmigrates once you do
the Big Samadhi. That pattern, that karmic hologram can extrapolate
all that caused it and all it will cause. In other words, once you
have attained unimpeded omniscience, you will grok all past *and*
future lives--the future of course subtly shifting as events in the
present "change".
In unattained humans memories of previous lives are not remembered.
However once one reaches one of the higher bhumis ("stages") of the
path, one gains recognition of many past lives in intimate detail. I
met one lama who knew thousands of his lives. I was just reading
_Blazing Splendor_, a memoir of a famous yogin, there's a story of
this one student who challenges his master, having heard that he
could recall 500 lives. He haughtily asked his teacher if he could
tell him his 500 lives, to which the teacher responded "which do you
want to know, my 500 past lives or my 500 future lives?" The student
instantly, in the sense of shock, recognized the unimpeded
omniscience of his guru. And that's really what it takes, a well
established, unimpeded omniscience. Although really, someone who is
omniscient can even tell you *your* past lives and the time of your
death. It's not limited.
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page
http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/JjtolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
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/
