--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "hugheshugo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Thanks, I've put that in my favourites. I shall have a browse > at my leisure. > > I always thought siddhi powers were an indication of approaching > enlightenment or at least a sign you're on the right track > obviously your teacher had worse things inside he had to deal with.
As do we all. I consider my time with him a marvelous education. When I first ran into him, he ran a remarkably "clean" teaching and ogranization IMO. No hierarchies, low tuitions, no bullying of students or requiring any specific behavior of them towards him, and great experiences and fun were had by all. But as time went by, I got to watch him believe more and more of his own PR. Hierarchies developed in which the more money you contributed, the "higher" you were. His word became law, and if anyone questioned his authority they were out the door and demonized forever. And then the Valium happened. I hear that it was pre- scribed for him originally because of an athletic injury, but he got to like the "buzz" of it, and at one point he was gulping handfuls of them before meet- ing with his students or with other Buddhist teachers. His behavior became erratic, his well-known sense of humor started to fade, and he didn't appear to be enjoying his life that much any more. Finally, being a classic "I can handle it" kinda guy, he decided to quit the Valium "cold turkey," even though every web- site on the subject of Valium addiction says "DON'T do this because of the high possibility of suicide." Within a week he was dead, a suicide. Like I said, a real education. Marvelous experiences that I will always treasure, both positive and negative. I learned as much about what to do "wrong" as a spir- itual teacher as I did about what to do "right" as a spiritual teacher. When he was "on," I've never encountered a teacher more gifted, and more able to convey both the intel- lectual concepts behind advanced spiritual phenomena *and* the experience of them. When he *wasn't* on, he could be a real prick. Go figure. The Wikipedia article on Lenz is actually pretty balanced. A little more pro right now than con (which probably means that some Rama TBs have been active lately...a "the neutrality of this article is under dispute" notice has appeared since yesterday), but on the whole I think it's a fairly good overview. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Lenz
