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CONTEMPORARY NON DUALITY

Dispelling the Myths and Misleading Teachings of

Contemporary Non-duality (Neo-Advaita and Neo-)

by Non Duality Magazine Books

Namaste ( ) Glad to see you bringing in the wisdom of the Buddha, Sankara and other sources (even down to modern perceptual psychology) in order to shed more light on authentic spirituality, free of various delusions, attachments and aversions. Sincere heart-minds all resonate in appreciation for the truly wholesome/holy life of which you write beyond mere cleverness, sophistry, apathy, callousness, or depersonalization syndromes bizarrely masquerading as "enlightenment." (Ah, "the of jivas!") May all be awake to the Self of all selves, the Life of all lives, the Openness-Emptiness-Fullness of our True Nature.

Timothy Conway. May 31st 2014.

The rest are still being edited.

Bahujanahitaya Sutta

For the Benefit of Many People

Translated from the by Thanissaro .

Sutta 140

Monks, any monks who explain not-Dhamma as not-Dhamma are practicing for the welfare of many people, for the happiness of many people, for the benefit of many people, for the welfare & happiness of human beings & devas. They amass much and help this True Dhamma to remain."

§ "Monks, any monks who explain Dhamma as Dhamma are practicing for the welfare of many people, for the happiness of many people, for the benefit of many people, for the welfare & happiness of human beings & devas. They amass much merit and help this True Dhamma to remain."

1. THE ARISING OF THE NEW ADVAITA

"If all is One, then nothing is wrong." Charles Manson.

Toward the end of the early 90s, teachers of a new approach to Advaita, now being termed Neo-Advaita,began springing up all over the world, and along with that, I began to see the same pattern play itself out over and over again, as follows:

A. The spiritual aspirant would have a glimpse.

B. He or she would mistake this for Enlightenment.

C. Then they would set up shop and begin teaching, often by writing about their personal experiences.

D. Then begin charging others for this information that often times they'd gotten for free.

E. Then the teacher would fall from grace or be exposed in some way, often by his or her student(s).[1]

F. Some would apologize, take time off, and set up shop again somewhere else, only to repeat the same pattern over again.

However, there are many who never fall from grace because disgruntled students who see through the facade just move away and are replaced by new innocent faces. That is why some contemporary non-duality teachers last so long.

So most are never exposed and those few students who do eventually see behind the mask have by that time so much of their lives, time and money invested. They may have such high status in the community that they often end up colluding with the false teacher.

But let's look at some of the reasons why modern people are so fascinated with neo-advaita. Obviously, it does fulfill some role, or it would not be so popular at a time where interest in conventional , especially in the west, is on the decline.

In terms of these contemporary non-duality teachings themselves, certain aspects can actually be quite helpful, up to a degree, like stepping-stones that may lead to legitimate insights and deeper paths or truths. Contemporary non- dual teachings can get one"s foot in the door. They may also be helpful to someone who is disgruntled, or looking for something new or fresh. To someone who may have unresolved authority issues, or who is unable to meditate, study the scriptures.

But a practice like "being in the now" or "", or "being present", or simply "aware", is nowhere near enough and also ineffective. As are other pointers that many Western contemporary teachers use. But these simple, plain English terms are much easier to grasp for Westerners than the traditional Indian, , Pali, Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan ancient scriptures. It's usually easier for a Westerner to listen to a clear contemporary and ordinary-looking enlightened Western teacher who uses simple pointers such as awareness and so on.

However, it's also easy to misunderstand crucial points based on words alone, since so many Sanskrit words are similar, such as and , which mean very different things. Kama, for example, usually means sexual desire as in the well-known kama by Vatsyayana; while karma means action. Kamma in Pali also means action.

Another reason is that it's also not easy to find or even have access to an authentic Indian guru in the West versed in the and the , where as it's so easy to find many hundreds if not thousands of Neo-Advaitin teachers advertising themselves on utube, Face book, or promoted on countless other non-duality websites. And if you do find a traditional guru, there may be other types of cultural hindrances that are not suitable for Westerners, such as bowing down, worshiping the guru, surrendering to the guru (especially if they are male, and you're female), touching the guru's feet, and so on.

There can be rites, rituals, and many kinds of unfamiliar exotic gods, goddesses, some even being elephants, monkeys. All of this and more can also cause internal conflicts, cognitive dissonance, especially for Westerners coming from a different cultural background of formal religion and ritual where anything like this can be an automatic turn off.

Though contemporary non-duality may work for some very rare or special people, like (who have done the majority of the work in many previous past lives), there are also so many stories of abuses prevalent today, with regard to Indian gurus that it's not so easy to trust someone no matter who they are or what they come from, or even what kind of reputation they have, whether they be a monk, a lay person, or otherwise.

A Western teacher may be more familiar, more accessible, even more humble in some cases, and easier to relate to on a personal level. However a problem seems to arise if the seeker gives up their traditional spiritual practice much too soon, because of being under the illusion that they have become "fully enlightened"[2] or have attained (liberation). They say Moksha is the final liberation and freedom from into the realms of samsara

Before we go any further, lets look at some of the differences and similarities with two of the main traditional schools, and Buddhism.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BUDDHISM AND TRADITIONAL VEDANTA

Traditional Vedanta advaita, non-duality, believes that everything is "one without a second" and that "pure awareness" is not dependent on anything at all. However there are some and even some teachers in the Thai Theravada tradition that sees this similarly. Mun and his disciple Ajahn Maha Bua Ajhan Chah, Ajhan Sumedho, in this . They speak about consciousness, or awareness, "the one who knows" as being permanent or indestructible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajahn_Maha_Bua. https://www.amaravati.org/dhamma-books/intuitive-awareness/

This is where it can get a little confusing because it can be understood as being no different from externalism, sassata ditthi or wrong , as with , , or non duality. Identifying with both subject and object as an eternal true self or an eternal ego. The Buddha didn't see it this way. See here. https://www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/111.htm

This is a complicated subject but Theravada Buddhism doesn't use the word 'advaita' a Sanskrit term. but the Pali word Tathagata does point to one who has realized ultimate reality - Nibbana, Pali for . Sometimes this is referred to - Tat- Sanskrit or 'That' in English.

The Theravadin Buddhists also stress that the true cause of suffering is based upon various causes and conditions, known as dependent origination, paticca samuppada.

Scripture

The Vedas are not homogeneous and often conflicting since they came from many sources. Non-dualism, qualified non-dualism. Vedanta, neo Vedanta, yoga, , , yantra and so on. Many of these schools have interpretations of the Upanishads and the various sutras.

Theravada Buddhism came from only one source, that being the Buddha and his tecahings are encapsulated in the Pali canon.

Buddhism also isn't an off shoot of Vedanta, the Upanishads or anything else, as some say it is.

Self/non-self

Traditional Vedanta believes in an ultimate Self, known as or satchitananda:being, consciousness and bliss.

The Buddha's antidote to sat chit ananda being consciousness and bliss, was dukkha -suffering, anicca- and -not self.

To illustrate how this is often misunderstood in contemporary non duality circles, there is a story about a contemporary non duality teacher who was giving a satsang (for a fee) and believed he was Brahman or satchitananda:truth, being consciousness and bliss. Then a seeker in the audience asked him for his Rolex watch and this teacher didn't know what to say.

So the next day he went and bought a cheap counterfeit five dollar Rolex watch and put it on his wrist. This time he was prepared and when this same seeker asked him for it again, he gave him the five dollar Rolex watch. However, this seeker was a very clever and then asked him for his wallet and his BMW car keys and deeds to his house.

This story points to one of the problems charging for the teachings and saying you are everything and why Theravada Buddhism doesn't have this problem with not self, anatta even though this is often misunderstood and can be very confusing.

However what the Buddha was pointing to is that any "attachment" to a permanent self, even a transcendental self, is seen as a sakkaya-ditthi, a 'personality view" or wrong view. Reason being any kind of "I Am", "I am-ness" small, or large, limited, or unlimited is seen as a form of conceit and wrong view.

God/gods

Traditional Vedanta believes that everything is God, Brahman, and you are this God; however, there are aspects of this God, such as , the creator, the destroyer and the sustainer.

Theravada Buddhism doesn"t believe in a monotheistic almighty creator God but does believe in many heavenly deities, or gods, such as Brahma, Sakka, devas, , (tempter) as well as Nagas, hungry ghosts, and demons in other realms. 31 altogether that make up samsara. 4 are lower realms and 26 are higher heavenly realms and one human realm.

Avatars

Vedanta believes in avatars, people that are born completely enlightened, or gods in human form.

Buddhism doesn't and says that when you become completely enlightened there is no possibility of rebirth because there is no more craving for this to occur. It defies paticca samupadda, or dependant origination.. Believing in avatars only indicates delusion or avijja.

Rituals

Traditional Vedanta practices chanting of the sutras, praying to mountains or gods, fire rituals and some Hindu schools/cults still practice massive animal sacrifices to appease the gods/goddesses, superstition, magic and other reasons but the school of no longer does.

Theravada Buddhists don't practice fire rituals, pray to mountains or gods, sacrifice or kill animals, practice astrology, or believe in drinking alcohol, or taking any kind of mind-altering drugs like soma; (mentioned in the Vedas) however they do practice chanting of the suttas.

Celibacy and renunciation

Traditional Vedanta believes that lay people can be liberated. attain moksha, exit samsara without being celibate and becoming a monk and they can also drink alcohol and have sex and go about their business as usual. These are some of the reasons why its so attractive in the west because life is seen as being fun and not suffering at all. Samsara is seen as a divine play, or a game created by God or the various god(s).

Theravada Buddhists believe celibacy and renunciation is required to attain Nibanna/Nirvana. "Right intention" is often mentioned first in the Noble Eight Fold Path, that means renunciation. letting go and non harm and having good will towards others.

You can be non-celibate only up to the second stage of enlightenment. , (once returner). To attain nibbana you usually have to become a monk, or be a total renunciate, stop being a hoseholder and usually live off alms because you wont have a desire to make money, conduct business as usual or have anything to do with the market place. This was a later invention by Buddhists. after the Buddha became enlightened he lived on the outskirts of society and had very little to do with it anymore. He taught then would go back to the forest.

This is why most westerners often ridicule it and want nothing to do with it and seek another way. The thought of begging to them is repulsive and any kind of renunciation is foolish.

Caste system

Traditional Vedanta believes that one is born a , or more holy/pure/superior than others at birth.

Theravada Buddhism believes one becomes a Brahmin (holy/pure) by one's actions, intentions, speech and thoughts, not by caste or birth. That Buddhism is equally available to all castes, , merchants, politicians, warriors and even the untouchables.

Karma

Traditional Vedanta practice , and fire rituals, sacrifices, use of , and and attain merit.

Karma in the Theravada Buddhist system is also based on volition of thought, speech and deed.

Killing

In Vedanta, told Arjuna its right to kill, or injure his relatives in war since he isn't the doer and the lord protects killers as long as its their , or duty to kill.

Theravada Buddhism says that killing any form of sentient beings, has serious karmic consequences and that its always wrong to intentionally kill, murder and that there is no lord, god, savior, , Mara or Brahma that can protect anyone from the fruits of their karma. Believing otherwise will result in a lower realm after death. Demon, hungry ghost, animal, or a hell realm, eight hell realms altogether. Four hot and four cold hell realms.

Rebirth and Reincarnation

Traditional Vedanta believes in reincarnation, many avatars like Krishna and various realms of existence. They believe that Buddha was the incarnation of the Hindu god and avatar, Vishnu. The Buddha himself denied that he was a god, or a reincarnation of a god and said that he was the teacher of gods and humans.

Theravada Buddhism believes in rebirth and various realms of existence, but not in avatars like Krishna. It says a Buddha will only appear in the world every few thousand years; the next one will be in another 2,500 years and not before, however some of the commentaries say the date is not fixed.

Teaching

Traditional Vedanta teaches with a guru, who is seen as being the supreme God, Lord, divine or holy: a or Supreme Being, avatar, or God on earth and of the heavens above, and everything that exists. The student also has to surrender to the guru and be subservient to them, and do as they say. Vedanta doesn't charge for the teachings, but some lay teachers do.

Theravada Buddhists teach with kalyana-mitta or a spiritual friend and takes in the Buddha dhamma and the .

Stages of Enlightenment

Traditional Vedanta believes in three stages of practice, built on a foundation of the Four Means and the Six Virtues: 1) Listening to the teachings (sravana); 2) Reflecting on those teachings (maana); and 3) Deep contemplative on those principles (niddhidhyasana).

Theravada Buddhism believes in four progressive stages of enlightenment. Stream Entry- sotapanna, once returner- sakadagami, non returner -anagami and arahant -fully enlightened. They say the last stage, arahant, is very rare, even for monastics.

Nirvana

Traditional Vedanta teaches knowledge or in order to become a jivanmukta and more or less be as you were before. This means you can behave as you see fit, or what suits your temperament, and you can still follow your inclinations, desires, which are now seen as gods desires, gods ambitions, gods enjoyment, god pleasures and doing.

Theravada Buddhism teaches one to overcome all greed, hatred and delusion in order to become an arahant and attain nibbana (Pali for nirvana).

Saint or scoundrel

Vedanta says that a jivanmukta has a "double consciousness" and can be a saint or a scoundrel, or a mixture of both and others have told me that "its ok to sin in moderation, or to sin intelligently". Meaning the idea is not to get caught.

"Yet, he may be the greatest scoundrel; he may be the most worldly- minded man with internal and external attachments...... This is integral development. This is the gist of the Bhagavad-Gita. This is the central teaching of Lord Krishna." See Jivanmukta by Swami Sivananda.

Theravada Buddhism says that you cant be a scoundrel and attain nirvana, or even the first stage of enlightenment and being one would indicate that one is still in samsara. Theravada Buddhism doesn't teach a "double consciousness", but aims at "attaining" a pure, holistic, unconditioned imperturbable type of consciousness that is rid of greed, hatred and delusion.

Practice

Traditional Vedanta teaches Chatshtaya / Shatsampat: 1) Discrimination (); 2) Non-attachment (); 3) Longing (mumukshutva); and 4) Six Virtues (shatsampat), namely: 1) Tranquility of Mind (shama); 2) Training (dama); 3) Withdrawal (); 4) Forbearance (); 5) Faith (shraddha); and 6) Focus (samadhana).

Theravada Buddhism teaches a : Right View; Right Intention; Right Speech; Right Action; Right Livelihood; Right Effort; Right Meditation; and Right Mindfulness.

Neo-Vedanta

Neo-Vedanta is different from Traditional Vedanta, in that some teach and yoga. For this reason, it is closer to Theravada Buddhism, but differs at the end. In terms of views and fetters.

Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri , Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and Sri Atmananda

Krishna Menon are all well known Neo-Vedantins and considered mystics by the Traditional Vedanta tradition; therefore, they are not authorised teachers.

Self enquiry/Atma vichara.

This only applies to Vedanta or schools of yoga popularized by the Indian advaitin Ramana Maharshi.

Theravada Buddhism see this as a wrong kind of investigation, being based on a faulty premise- (looking for a true self) even through aspects of it may be somewhat useful or a stepping stone to lead one to anatta, or see that "awareness" is also not self.

The Buddha in the suttas said its preferable to identity with the physical body than with "consciousness" or any aspect of the mind since its changes from moment to moment as the body lasts for at least 80 years.

NEO ADVAITA, THE NOW TEACHINGS AND MINDFULNESS

In the contemporary non-dual teachings of a Western teacher, most of the pointers about presence or awareness or being in the now derive from two main Indian traditions and sources: Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta. Unfortunately, many of these pointings are misunderstood, misinterpreted and only address part of the teaching from Vipassana and mindfulness practice and not the more profound aspects as taught by the Buddha in the discourses, or suttas.

The Mahasatipathana sutta, what is referred to as insight meditation, will lead one to seeing that everything is dukha, or dissatisfactory, impermanent and is not self. It is known as the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, a meditation practice where one is mindful of the breath, , the body, kayanupassana, feelings, vedananupassana, sensations, thoughts, sankharanupassana that arises in one"s awareness. This means meditating on the five aggregates, the six sense bases, the , the seven factors of enlightenment and the and 40 other meditation objects. In the Noble Eightfold Path,a principle teaching of the Buddha[3] known as right mindfulness, or right attention, or right awareness.

NOW AND VEDANTA

Even though pointing to the now is very useful, the viewpoint of Vedanta is that you are not always in the now; the now is arising in you. Every thought that you have, whether it"s about the past or the future, is always a brand new thought that arises in the present. For example, you could recall a childhood memory, but that memory occurs in the present, so you don"t need to be in the now because you are the now. It"s not about time or an experience in time.

In reality Vedanta says that you are all time and all experiences, and that true knowledge can liberate you into your natural state so that you also embody this realization, moment to moment.

NOW IN BUDDHISM

The Buddha in the Pali Canon[4] taught that one should be present, aware, and mindful of one's reactions to various types of stimuli. To pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feelings, and not to cling to any of them. This is very different from just being aware, or observing objects, internal or external. It is more proactive and disciplined, also using ones discretion. The problem is ones reactions. This is the cause of stress or making karma. For example a cow can also be in the now and eat grass all day. All animals and insects live in the now. A solider can be in the now and kill other people. This is not right attention or awareness, or what some refer to as mindfulness.

What's most important is intention and volition, cetana, and to always make the right choice, make the right effort; meaning to not act out on any thought, feeling, sensation, emotion, memory, perception or idea that might cause harm to anyone else or to one's self. This is the correct way to be present, aware, mindful of the cause and effects, and clearly comprehending, or Sampajaa in Pali. This also means knowing the consequences of all your actions, words and thoughts, perceptions, memories and not forsaking your sense of conscience with your sense of self. In fact it means cultivating your goodness as well by using effort and will power. Not being slack or lazy about this.

Not doing so can also result in the searing of the conscience or losing it altogether. Hiri-ottappa, in Pali, means having a moral sense of shame and an aversion of wrongdoing in general.

He taught an eight fold path, not a one fold path. This is the fundamental difference, so being in the now is not enough and often futile. It's also misleading and not what the Buddha taught.

Another criticism of contemporary non-duality teachers is the conveyance of concepts such as, "There is nothing you can do or need to do. "

On an absolute and theoretical level and according to the teachings of traditional Vedanta, liberation is not something that is reached. They say we are already "That"which we are searching for. This pointing to the word "That"was made popular in the book I Am That, by Sri Nisargadatta, an Advaita Indian sage.

GIVING UP THE SEARCH

The problem arises when you tell someone to give up the search.[5] This isn"t going to automatically solve the dilemma of dualism and the experience of being a separate individual encased in a body. Telling the seeker that they are already non-dual awareness can irritate or frustrate them even more, and in some cases, if this isn"t properly understood, can cause more problems. It may set them back and create a state of hopelessness, meaninglessness, or a sense of futility when their conditionings and unwholesome mind states begin to cause them grief, depression, fear, anger, and anxiety.

SATSANGS

Going to satsangs (Sanskrit for in company with truth, usually meaning a guru; and traditionally the guru would use the Upanishads, Vedas, and many other scriptures) may not bring relief either; it may even exacerbate the situation, this is why traditional Vedanta was not given to just anyone.

Like anything else, however, not every contemporary non-dual teacher is going to be the same, some are more skillful than others, and yes, there are some very skillful teachers out there. Many have backgrounds in traditional Vedanta, Buddhism, Yoga, psychology, , and other paths as well. Some have a clear way of communicating non-dual realization while others don"t. Not everyone has the same knowledge, intellect, skill, or experience to communicate the absolute truth, nor are many suited to teach this.

RADICAL NON-DUALITY AND CRAZY WISDOM

However, some nontraditional teachers seem to have an extreme way of teaching the absolute level of reality. Vedanta is traditionally taught or pointed to in some traditions as the last stage of the teachings.

It can be confusing to someone who is new to the subject, particularly when the student asks a question from a relative level and is answered from an absolute level. For example, you ask a metaphysical question about God and are answered with a mundane response about washing the laundry. The teacher may cut out crucial aspects such as conditioning, karma, dharma, or free will.

In some traditions like , the reason for doing this could be a form of shock therapy or a "Zen slap." These tactics have been called "crazy wisdom," and in some historical cases, it may have been quite effective. One way to know if it's true crazy wisdom is by the results it has. Does it bare good fruit or simply cause pain or confusion in others.

A prime example is when , a well known Tibetan teacher, hit his student on the head with a shoe. If a student is ready, this kind of shock can take the blinders off. If not, it can cause psychological chaos or other complications. This is why in some of the Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist traditions one of the precepts is to not teach emptiness unless someone is ready for it.[6] This is known as the "minister vow." The danger of the emptiness teaching is that some may misinterpret emptiness, shunyata, to mean non-existence, and as a result become nihilists, thus denying the relationship of cause and effect. The danger of this is when one does not acknowledge the cause and effect of their actions.

EMPTINESS

The true meaning of the shunya, or emptiness, is a profound teaching and can be difficult for some to understand. According to this doctrine, everything is seen as impermanent, suffering and Not-self. What really needs to be empty is the mind stream of defilements. Empty of greed, hatred and delusion. This is the true meaning of emptiness. Telling someone that their body, feelings, perceptions, thoughts and consciousness are not-self can be confusing, even frightening. Knowing this intellectually is one thing, living it day-to-day, moment-to-moment, is something else and can be difficult to truly realize.

Here"s an example: I watched a nontraditional non-duality teacher tell a confused seeker that she was nothing, "a complete fake," "a cardboard cutout," "a phony," in front of an audience of about 50 people. One of the listeners became distraught and started sobbing out of confusion, embarrassment, and misunderstanding.

Satsang is supposed to mean "association with truth." Again, this depends on the teacher's skill, the ripeness of the seeker, and other factors previously mentioned. The odds are if you are not prepared for the pointers, it's not going to work, or at best it's going to be hit or miss because having a fraction of a second of a glimpse at awareness during a satsang is not going to immediately solve your problems with craving, hatred, or other issues.

For many seekers, satsangs don't work if the teacher is speaking strictly from his or her personal experience without presenting a proven method or a path to follow.

NIHILISM / NO-DOER

Many non-dualists say, "All meditation is meaningless and has no purpose." This is simply not true and it's a perfect example of the misunderstanding of what true really is, also a misunderstanding of the two truth doctrines. On an absolute level nothing has any meaning; its only meaning is what you give to it on this relative level. On a relative level Vedanta says this is only half the message, and that it's important not to confuse the relative and the absolute when communicating this. The problem is that the nontraditional teachers cherry pick certain teachings from Advaita Vedanta and then take them out of context or negate the rest of the teachings.

Contemporary non-duality can be a form of spiritual nihilism. It's anything goes approach makes it dangerous if you do not take into consideration the relative aspects of this world.

In the Buddhist tradition, the Buddha often referred to these types of teachers as nihilist's, uccheda-ditthi, and dangerous heretics, because they distorted and misunderstood his teachings, and they did not believe in karma[7]. So it is a general understanding in most schools of Buddhism that denying karma is considered having a wrong view.

Nagajuna, an Indian mystic and one of the founders of also warned about this. He said that, the dharma taught by the Buddha perfectly relies on two truths: the ambiguous truths of the world and the truths of the sublime, or the conventional reality, the world of name and form, and the absolute reality.[8]

Nagajuna also said, "Those who do not understand the division into two truths cannot understand the profound reality of the Buddha's teaching. Without relying on the conventions, the sublime meaning cannot be taught. Without understanding the sublime meaning, one will not attain nirvana. If their view of emptiness is wrong, those of little intelligence will be hurt. Like handling a snake in the wrong way or casting a spell in the wrong way."

Some contemporary non-dualists say, "There is nothing you can do or need to do. All you have to know is that there is no one there." but you can"t really speak of "no one" there without also bringing into the equation the relative conventional reality. Also by truly understanding the doctrine of not-self which is different from saying there is, or is not a self, soul, jiva and so on.

For example, in Zen, emptiness doesn't mean empty in the traditional sense of the word. Emptiness implies clearly seeing beyond name and form, beyond feelings, perceptions, views, belief systems, speculations, opinions, and conditionings. The mind uses mental constructs, labels, and belief systems to create associations, all of which muddies one's awareness. It doesn't mean that everything doesn't exist, or that there isn't a self or not a self, but that everything is dependant on various causes and conditions known as patticca samuppada, dependent arising.

The Buddha said that suffering comes from our desires and aversions, our erroneous perceptions and our ignorance. That's why he stressed the importance of combining a practice of sila, shamata/samadhi and Vipassana meditation (actually meaning insight into seeing reality, absolute truth, and things as they really are beyond name, labels, and form, impermanent and material phenomena) and reflecting on this on a very deep level in order to see through the ignorance. Doing so will free us from all afflictions and suffering. Wrong perceptions concerning oneself, one's mind, body, feelings, emotions, sensations, concepts, and constructs, as well as those of others, are all interrelated. They are part of the misunderstanding that causes anxiety, fear of death, and aversion. The Buddha said that when you remove these misunderstandings and wrong views, cravings and aversions, you remove all suffering.

Some of these non-duality teachers view the traditional teachings as antiquated, useless, and inferior, and as a result lead seekers away from the true traditional path. Some are outspoken and mock and ridicule the dharma, the traditional teachings of Buddhism, Vedanta, and especially meditation, or any kind of practice.

This brings to mind a story about a man in who claimed to be enlightened. He was going around like the Neo-Advaita teachers of today, saying that there is no me or no world, it does not exist, there is just this, all is (illusion).[9] The humble townspeople eventually got sick of hearing him, so they grabbed him and threw him into a deep pit where he could not escape. After two days they asked him, "Is this pit also maya?" He was stubborn and said yes, so they waited another week and then went back and asked again. He was filthy, starving, and cold, pleading for mercy and forgiveness, and he replied, "No it's real, please let me out. I will never say that again or speak about enlightenment. Please let me out of this pit. It is not illusion; it's real. I'm filthy, starving, and cold." Eventually he learned to keep quiet about this.

Continue to Part 2

[1] Most of the complaints were about inappropriate sexual misconduct, anger, verbal abuse, and other forms of manipulation, often with regard to money and feelings of being "had"or conned by these teachers.

[2] "Fully enlightened" is more for the Buddhists, indicating being an arahant (saint). Advaita Vedanta does not note stages of enlightenment.

[3] The Noble Eightfold Path consists of having a right view, right intention, right conduct, right speech, right livelihood, right effort, right concentration, and right mindfulness, which results in nirvana.

[4] The Pali Canon are a collection of the Buddha's words/scriptures from the Theravada Buddhist tradition. It is believed that these scriptures originated with the Buddha and his early disciples. These Pali scriptures are considered the final authority.

[5] The view of non-doing (akiriya-ditthi), the wrong-view of nihilism, primarily denies that actions have consequences. A similar view of not being the doer/enjoyer was popularized in the 1990s by many Neo Advaitins. This view was also prevalent during the Buddha's time.

[6] The bodhisattva is someone who has a wish to attain to benefit all sentient beings, and who is also willing to put off their own complete liberation until they do so. However, the Buddha in the Pali Canon didn't teach this bodhisattva doctrine the way it's taught today, but the Buddha did say that he was an 'un-enlightened bodhisattva' himself before his attainment of nirvana.

[7] Apannaka Sutta: The Incontrovertible Teaching.

[8] 'Dharma' means the teachings that lead to truth. 'Dhamma' is the Pali word for this, but since many Westerners and Vedantins are more familiar with Sanskrit, I will use the Sanskrit word throughout this book.

[9] Maya is a term found in both Pali and Sanskrit literature. It has multiple meanings and can be translated to mean 'illusion' or 'delusion.'

[1] Dhamma and Non-duality by

www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/bps-essay_27.html

TRADITIONAL VIEWS VS NEO-ADVAITA AND NEO BUDDHISM

" There is no disappearance of the true Dhamma as long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of the true Dhamma when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has arisen in the world. Just as there is no disappearance of gold as long as a counterfeit of gold has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of gold when a counterfeit of gold has arisen in the world, in the same way there is no disappearance of the true Dhamma as long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of the true Dhamma when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has arisen in the world."

Saddhammapatirupaka Sutta: A Counterfeit of the True Dhamma translated from the Pali by

NEO BUDDHISM

This is a controversial and somewhat taboo subject in Buddhist circles and isn't usually spoken of in public, but the root of this contemporary non-duality problem may go back almost 2,350 years or so. As far as neo Buddhism is concerned, (by this I mean all latter schools) this began with a schism that was created by a monk named , 137 years after the Buddha"s death; thirty five years after the second council.

Some of the Theravadin Buddhist historians and academics say that he was the cause of this schism and partly a founder of a younger and innovative sub sect known as the Mahasamghikas, (great community) later known as the Mahayana Buddhists.

This schism was about the arahants in the Theravada sangha, (elder orthodox community). He based his attack on five points concerning the behavior of some of the elder arahant monks, who Mahadeva proclaimed were not true arahants.

He claimed that these arahants had five flaws:

1. He said that some of these arahants were prone to seminal emissions in their sleep. (The Buddha said in the monastic code this is not an issue)

2. Had nightmares and therefore subject to attacks from demons or Mara.

(Even the Buddha was pestered by Mara after his enlightenment) 3. They were still subject to doubts.

4. They were ignorant of many things. (This means outside the teachings, Dhamma)

5. And they owed their salvation to the guidance of others. (Yes, to the Buddha and the Dharma, sangha)

Another important issue was the collecting of gold and silver. Some of the monks were caught red handed asking for money, (gold and silver) from their lay followers. Some of the monks also wanted to eat more than one meal a day and store food as well. Also to be able to drink some types of fermented drinks and have sex. Also not having to do various practices because their teachers did them. This also occurred while the Buddha was alive and recorded in the , the monks code of discipline so it always seems to boil down to sex and money, or sense pleasures.

Mahadeva also disputed the belief that the Pali suttas were the ultimate authority in Buddhism. This was in direct contradiction to the Buddha who said just before his death, that his "Dharma" is the ultimate authority.

Mahadeva said that it was possible for the Buddha's insight or revelation to come anywhere at any time, to anyone, so people shouldn't have to cling to authority of the Buddhas suttas. (This is what you hear many secular Neo-Buddhists claim today.)

In some Buddhist historians say that Mahadeva spilt the sangha and developed a following, and the Theravadas denounced him as being a heretic.

Not long after this a new school formed, based on his teachings called the Mahayana school, the great or higher vehicle and they referred to the Theravadin school as the "Low Vehicle," "Lesser Vehicle". Literally meaning, "the inferior vehicle," or "the deficient vehicle." defunct vehicle", "despicable Vehicle". The arahants of the Theravadins, (the elders) were also seen by Mahayanists as being selfish and having "blunt mental faculties" and only concerned with their "personal enlightenment". Becoming an arahant is seen as being an "escapist" or how someone would jump ship. The problem with this logic of course is that the Buddha himself was an arahant as well and his teachings were entirely based on how to do this, precisely in order to attain nibbana.

However this new school of Mahayana , the so called Great Vehicle, (Maha, means all mighty, powerful, great, in Sanskrit) were for people with "bright mental faculties", or the "younger progressive, open minded, non dogmatic school", seemed to have seriously altered aspects of what the Buddha originally taught. They also created celestial and Buddhas and so much more.

From 50 BC until 800 AD, some historians say that they translated or "created" about 10,000 to 15,000 pages of their own discourses, and attributed them to the words of the Buddha.

To learn more about the differences and many similarities see a comparison chart

TIBETAN BUDDHISM

Around 150-250 CE) , a Buddhist Indian teacher and mystic founded another school based on these Theravadin, Sarvastivadin and Mahayana teachings, and other aspects that he said were channeled to him by naga devas, (dragon or snake like creatures). He referred to this as the or the . This school had a great influence on Tibetan tantric Buddhism.

Tibetan Buddhism, "" (Vajra is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond. Additionally, it is a weapon which is used as a ritual object to symbolize both the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt, (irresistible force) is a mixture of Bon shamanism, yoga, Hindu tantra, yantra, mantra, Theravada, (Sanskrit version) and Mahayana Buddhism, yet it differs in some ways and even contradicts what the Buddha taught in the Pali suttas concerning some types of practices. (See chapter on Tantra). You sometimes hear Tibetan Buddhists proclaim that their school is even greater than Mahayana Buddhism and that Nagarjuna was a second Buddha, even though the Buddha said that another Buddha wouldn't appear for 5,000 years (Maitreya) or when the Dharma was completely lost, due to degeneration and a counterfeit dharma. Others say the time isn't fixed but will not be happening any time soon.

PACCEKA BUDDHA

However the Theravada tradition do recognize the Pacceka Buddha or the lone silent Buddha and its possible that some of the Mahayana, Vajrayana Bodhisattva and mahasiddha types may fall under this category.

Here is a quote found in the book "What Buddhists Believe" by Ven. K. Sri. Dhammananda, chapter: Attainment of Buddhahood, p. 47-49:

"... Therefore, the Buddha's advice to His followers is that in order to find their salvation it is not necessary for each and every person to wait until Buddhahood is gained. Aspirants can also find their salvation by becoming Pacceka Buddhas (Silent Buddhas) or Arahanta- (Perfected Ones). Pacceka Buddhas appear in this world during the period when there is no supreme Enlightened Buddha. They are also Enlightened. Although their degree of perfection is not similar to that of the Supreme Buddha, they experience the same Nirvanic bliss. Unlike the Supreme Buddha, however, they do not preach to the masses. They lead a life of solitude.

In any case, the true dhamma like anything else is subject to change and mistranslation, misunderstanding, misinterpretation over the course of time. This is also due to the general devolution of culture and other influences, various conditions, governmental, political, climate, geography and so on.

The Buddha said that one shouldn't get attached to his teachings, even dependant origination, but to use them as a raft to cross over the river to nibbana, not to then carry the raft on your back once you have reached the other side. Meaning not to make a big deal out of it, expect or use it like displaying some type of nibbana Oscar on your mantel, or not to use it as a weapon of measurement, or conceit, being better than others and so on. The view that one school is better, greater or higher than or even lower than is another is a manifestation of concert and counter to his teachings. Because of aligning oneself with one school or another seems to inflate ones spiritual pride asmi-mana, or ego, a sense of "I am-ness" or belonging in some subtle way.

He also said the right way to investigate teachings from other schools is to carefully compare them to his original teachings, dhamma, Pali suttas and monastic code and then reject any teaching that is at odds with this.

I have spoken with quite a few teachers in the Mahayana tradition about this controversy that say "who knows what the Buddha said" as a means of dismissing the Pali canon.

John Bullitt, the founder of the Theravada website had this to say:

"No one can prove that the Tipitaka contains any of the words actually uttered by the historical Buddha. Practicing Buddhists have never found this problematic. Unlike the scriptures of many of the world's great , the Tipitaka is not regarded as gospel, as an unassailable statement of divine truth, revealed by a prophet, to be accepted purely on faith. Instead, its teachings are meant to be assessed firsthand, to be put into practice in one's life so that one can find out for oneself if they do, in fact, yield the promised results. It is the truth towards which the words in the Tipitaka point that ultimately matters, not the words themselves. Although scholars will continue to debate the authorship of passages from the Tipitaka for years to come (and thus miss the point of these teachings entirely), the Tipitaka will quietly continue to serve, as it has for centuries, as an indispensable guide for millions of followers in their quest for Awakening.[1]

SECULAR NEO BUDDHISM

Some types of radical and contemporary non-duality appears be the extreme result of what happens when a degenerative counterfeit dharma is put in its place. Today we have a new form of secular a la carte westernized Buddhism that rids itself of much of the tradition and picks and chooses the parts that are less difficult for westerners to swallow, such as karma, rebirth, renunciation and the rest. Then they take these parts out of the equation, which more or less collapses the Dharma and makes it similar to mundane existential psychology, a new age philosophy. Mahayana Buddhism, (Zen and Chan) are very orthodox in comparison to some of these new radical and hedonistic "do as thy wilt" non duality teachings that are arising in the west.

See video on .

THE GRADUAL PATH

The Theravada tradition teaches a gradual path over several lifetimes (especially if one is a ). They also purify their mind- streams by the conduct, renunciation, celibacy, right behavior, and the practice of meditation that results in the ultimate freedom.

But many of the contemporary non-dual teachers today feel that they can simply transcend all of this by taking a short cut, some even say by simply going to a weekend seminar, retreat, or a 30 minute skype video session or enlightenment courses of some kind.

This also sets up unrealistic expectations where many of the seekers expect to be instantly gratified by paying for or buying their enlightenment, or expecting to attain enlightenment and end their suffering the way you would a PhD.

SUDDEN ENLIGHTENMENT/GRADUAL CULTIVATION

Even in some traditions of Zen and Chan, after a sudden enlightenment, the spiritual aspirant spends many years, or sometimes even the rest of their lives, gradually cultivating his or her mind. Gradual cultivation is to practice the six perfections, the Paramitas,the perfection of generosity and giving freely with no expectation in return. This also means teaching and sharing freely.

As well as: Cultivating moral conduct.

Working on ones negative behavior patterns.

Developing tolerance, right speech, patience, , equanimity, diligence, meditation, loving kindness and wisdom.

Most traditions don't usually rush out there to teach like many seem to in contemporary non-dual circles today and look at it more in terms of a business. They tend to focus more on working on themselves rather than teaching others, mostly in obscurity. They spend years meditating to learn how to control their minds and how to stay awake and not to slip back into auto-pilot and negative conditionings.

VEDANTA / MIXING LEVELS

Now let's look at some of the problems with Vedanta and contemporary non duality today. One of the major problems with neo Advaita is mixing levels of reality. According to Vedanta, there are two levels to reality. One is known as mithya, which has a paradoxically strange ontological meaning, being that it is real and it is also relatively real. Mithya is the term used to describe the nature of relative reality, denoting that the world is not real. This does not mean that the world does not exist. It implies that this world is a dependent reality. It depends on , awareness, for its existence. Satya means "absolutely real." So it is said that without awareness, the world cannot exist.

So they say, it boils down to a matter of knowledge or perspective. "From the standpoint of the absolute, of awareness, the world is only relative and apparently real (mithya)." The existence of this material world should not be denied or negated as some would say. The difference is that absolute reality is permanent and never changing. It is infinite, eternal, and independent. It does not need the world of objects to exist. It does have an existence, but if we look into the nature of this phenomenal existence on a deeper, subatomic level, we cannot truly define what this phenomenal and impermanent existence is. We can call it quarks, string theory, the God particle, is-ness or nama rupa, (name and form).

For example, you can call an object made out of clay a pot, or an object made out of gold a bangle, but the problem with rupa or form is that it can be afflicted, such that the cup can break, deteriorate, be stolen, or turn back to dust. So putting any stock in something that is impermanent will often lead to dissatisfaction or stress of some kind.

The Buddhists call this impermanent existence suchness, and from the level of the absolute, it doesn't really exist because it's constantly changing. Impermanence is its only constant, and if something is continuously changing from second to second, then what is it? Or how could you call this a self?

Vedanta says that Maya equates with the illusion, or ignorance, because this relative reality, everything in this phenomenal (material) world, is like a magic show, a dream or an appearance that looks real. Everything you know through the six senses is maya a magician's trick. However, maya is neither real nor is it unreal; it depends on both knowledge and ignorance in relation to the absolute and never- changing reality. For this reason it is considered to be inexplicable because it cannot be logically understood.

In the empirical sense, the dual sense, the appearance of a world is real, but in the non-dual sense, the absolute sense, it is unreal. Paradoxically, both exist simultaneously. There is a metaphor commonly used in Vedanta, which says that one can look at a rope in dim light and perceive it as being a snake. Without the form of a rope, there wouldn't be a way of projecting the illusion of a snake upon it. This is an illusion of the senses and the mind. Now the rope physically exists, but the snake does not. It only exists in the perception of the person who believes that what they are looking at is a snake.

ABSOLUTE REALITY IN VEDANTA In deep meditation, (samadhi) a highly refined awareness can be known without the intervention of the physical body, the thoughts, feelings, perceptions and the sense of time and space. Temporal reality is created by the mind/physical organism. This physical reality is real in terms of matter, solidity, and so on, but in the timeless, infinite, absolute sense of reality, it is like an ephemeral, flickering projection of solid light waves.

Like Einstein said, "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." The absolute (awareness) is invisible; the world we live in is visible. Because the awareness is invisible, it does not mean it's not here. All it means is that it is not knowable to most people. It is like an infinite, boundless, invisible screen that a film of duality is projected upon. It cannot be seen but it is there. When the film stops, for whatever reason, it can be momentarily known.

The Vedantins say that with "self-realisation", what is known is that the rope is outside of time and space and that every "thing" is superimposed onto it. It is seen in terms of maya, the appearance of this phenomenal reality.

When there is better light and ignorance is erased, the known object, the - snake, and the knowing or awareness itself, which is the rope, are not two, it is the higher aspect of the rational human mind that makes the knowing of both realities possible, meaning that when the illusion is dropped, we can clearly see that the rope is not a snake. Only the human mind has this capacity, otherwise all sentient creatures, such as animals, would also know this.

They say a sharp mind, a mirror, is needed to know the true Self. Without this mirror, it's very difficult to know because the Self, or You is not an object. It's the only subject. This is what knows. It's like an eye trying to see its own iris, or a tongue tasting its own taste buds. It is so close, closer than one's own breath, but yet so far in terms of ignorance.

RELATIVE REALITY IN VEDANTA In most spiritual traditions, the key to enlightenment is to recognize and see beyond dualistic thinking, transcending all definitions, distinctions, and language"nama rupa"name/mind and form/matter. To truly see reality with wisdom and clear comprehension: not defining, conceptualizing, categorizing, compartmentalizing, or labeling with language. It is to see beyond words, pictures, and concepts. For example, the process of conceptualization applies to everything because when one perceives a label, what one is seeing is an abstraction of reality, since a concept, an idea, a word, is always inanimate, lifeless, and static.

Relative reality is constantly flowing, moving, and transforming. Words, ideas, thoughts, and concepts dissect, fragment, and place conditions on reality. It is like looking at a map of the globe and understanding for the first time that all of the demarcations and boundaries are artificially man-made. That country, states, and borders are man-made, and in reality neither land nor this planet Earth belong to anyone. People have wars over these so called borders, so called "countries" and mental constructs even though empires rise and fall because everything is impermanent, even diamonds are not indestructible and one day will be destroyed by the sun and reduced to ashes when this world is destroyed, as with other worlds that come and go.

Further problems arise because language itself is inherently dualistic. There is no such thing as non-dual language, because language is only meaningful when words can be defined within the context of their opposite terms, such as up versus down, black versus white, wrong versus right, and so on.

Dualism is the tendency to perceive and understand the world as being divided into two categories. For example, it is dualistic thinking when one recognizes a tree as a thing separate from everything surrounding it, or when one perceives the egoic self as distinct from the rest of the world. That's why not much can be said about non- duality. Whatever is spoken is often a misleading interpretation, since the tool we use for communication (language) is dualistic in nature.

ADI SHANKARA

Vedanta began with the secret forest teachings in the Upanishads, and this knowledge was deliberately kept away from the masses for this reason that it could be easily abused and misunderstood. In fact, the word advaita doesn't even appear in the Upanishads.

It was Adi Shankara in the eight century who took all these various teachings in the Vedas and the Upanishads that were not exactly homogenous, and at times passages would directly contradict other passages. He brilliantly synthesized them, however, bringing them all together in a new kind of perennial wisdom that included yoga, tantra, mantra, yantra, even Mahayana Buddhism, and other sources. His teacher, , also seemed to have been influenced by the Mahayana Buddhist traditions and shunya (emptiness) and ajatavada, (un born) and built his doctrine on this as well as the Vedas. The monastic system was influenced by Buddhism, and before that time, no monks existed in the Vedas.

It is generally accepted by objective non-Hindu scholars that evidence of a non-dual absolute also occurs in the Lankavatara and the Sandhinirmocana Sutra, both Mahayana, Chan, Zen Buddhist works.

Shankarsa's satyadvaya vyavahara and paramartha are both found in Nagarjuna, four centuries before, with his . This also appears in the Pali suttas, 500 years BC.

However, this type of pointing to the absolute or the kind of confusing merging of the two truths also occurs in many of the Upanishad Chandogya before sixth century BCE and even before the Buddha.

The says:

"Consciousness is everything: The world comes after consciousness; and it is here, in consciousness, that all the world is found to stand. Consciousness is all there is."

In any case what seems to have happened in contemporary time is that these teachings have been watered down and totally misunderstood by many in what we have as "Neo or Pseudo-Advaita, and Neo Buddhism."

Continue to Part 3

[1] http://www.accesstoinsight.org/theravada.html

[2] Timothy Conway is the author of the article �Neo-Advaita or Pseudo-Advaita and Real Advaita-Nonduality� www.enlightened-spirituality.org/neo-advaita.html

[3] Some I have spoken with who were influenced by Nisargadatta also tend to display characteristics of distancing themselves from their inclinations and own incongruous actions and words.

3. THE THREE TYPES OF TEACHERS

Now, Kalamas, don‘t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‗This contemplative is our teacher.‘ When you know for yourselves that, ‗These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness‘ — then you should enter & remain in them. [Kalama Sutta, AN 3.65]

NEO ADVAITA In Neo-Advaita, Non-Duality, there are no rules or requirements to become a teacher. Anyone can set up shop and call him or herself a non-dual teacher, or say that they are enlightened or liberated.

For example, one day you could be working as a shoe salesman or a plumber and the next day teaching professional non-duality with no training whatsoever. Many of those who establish themselves as teachers of non-duality believe that no prior education, practice, or learning is necessary. You could more or less learn the non-dual speak or rhetoric in a weekend seminar or a non duality workshop. This would not mean that you are liberated or enlightened in any sense of the word and you can make up any kind of teaching that you like and market it, franchise it, or even trade mark it. This is what makes it so attractive in the west.

ADVAITA VEDANTA

In this Vedanta tradition you are not meant to question the integrity of the guru, but look at the lineage they belong to and have faith. They say not having faith in the guru makes one ineligible for the teaching.

They say that one would have to find a teacher first and learn how to do teach. That would mean this teacher would have to be a brahmanishtha (knower of Brahman) and a shrotriya (someone who is well-versed in the scriptures). That usually means being a sannyasin or a renunciate, but not always.

A sannyasin is not the same as a monastic, by the way, because a renunciate is not always a part of a monastic teaching order. Ramana was a renunciate for example, but not a monastic. One could be a layperson, but they would have to know the Vedas, the scriptures, and be self-realized, though being self-realized is not always enough to teach others.

For example a brahmanishtha may know the truth but doesn‘t have the ability to teach others because they are not versed in the scriptures. It is said in the Vedas that this type can very easily mislead others; like the blind leading the blind.

Teachers can be classified into three types:

(A.) One who is self-realized and knows the scriptures. This is the best kind to learn from.

(B.) One who is self-realized only and does not know the scriptures.

(C.) One who knows the scriptures but is not self-realized.

It is said that one is better off learning from the one who isn‘t realized but knows the scriptures, than the one who is realized but doesn‘t know them. The best is the one who has the realization and also knows the scriptures, as well as the other :

1. (philosophically the word jnana means ‗technique revealing the secrets of the wisdom, the truth, and the law of the Absolute).‘

2. (the way of meditation and mindfulness, as well as the way of investigating, analyzing, and dissecting the workings of the mind in order to enable one to overcome its conditionings and karmic patterns and to liberate oneself from these patterns).

3. Yoga (the way of spiritual devotion and love directed toward God or the majesty of the universe. (In the Christian tradition this is done in a church or prayer and is very effective).

4. Karma Yoga (the art, science, and activity of self-realization through converting every action and one‘s duties and work (whether physical, mental, moral, or spiritual) into yoga through linking it up with a ceaseless consciousness of the omnipresence of the Absolute). In traditional Yoga, it is to surrender one‘s personality to God, to take a stand as an unaffected witness of the movements of the internal and external nature.

Hatha Yoga (the disciplining of the physical body in order to balance out the central nervous system as well as the energetic forces, , or Qi in Chinese).

The intention of is not just to be in good shape but rather to prepare one for the practice of the higher yogas or inner disciplines and such as Samadhi Yoga.

Kundalini or Tantra Yoga (knowing how to control these life energies, these forces of prana, qi, during one‘s meditation practice to facilitate deep states of concentration, or to be able to have a clear mind to study the scriptures).

Mantra and Yantra Yoga (other ways of generating spiritual forces through vibrations of specific sounds, as in Japa Yoga within, or ways of controlling forces without, through the symbols formulas, diagrams, and rituals).

A combination of a few types yoga may be needed to attain freedom.

THERAVADA BUDDHISM

Many ask, is there a way in the Buddhist tradition of testing a teacher to see if they are enlightened or not?

The Buddha said, ―You should examine the teachers by their words and actions to see if there is any defilement there. He said one would be able to see with one‘s eyes and with one‘s ears whether someone is still not clear or is mixed up and confused. Or, if one is clear, was this a recent development. One also needs to find out if this person is convinced of this attainment and to make sure there is no danger there. He said there are signs to look out for . . . Then he should further examine. Does the venerable one not indulge in sensuality, through destruction of greed or through fear? When examining, he knows. The venerable one does not indulge in sensuality through destruction of greed, and neither through fear.‖[1]

It is important to have faith in a teacher because without faith you will probably not go to the teacher. Without faith you will not listen to a teacher. Without hearing the message you will not reflect on what you had heard. Without reflection there will be no insight. Without insight, there will be no knowledge. Without knowledge, suffering will continue.

Teaching in the Theravada Buddhist tradition would mean becoming a renunciate or a monk and training for at least five or ten years or more with another monk, as well as receiving all monastic precepts and living by this code. Taking certain vows and precepts before one teaches.

Ajahn Suchart and his own teacher Maha Bua and his teacher Ajhan Mun say that unless one is an arahant or fully enlightened, that they shouldn't be teaching. This would disqualify almost every single teacher out there. In reality you can only teach what you know, or up to that point. It's like only knowing a part of a map, not all of it. The odds are the person you teach is bound to get lost. This is the fundamental reason for so much abuse and confusion these days.

However what is very interesting is that in the Theravadin tradition, they don't even refer to themselves as a teacher but as a spiritual friend, kalyana mitra. Some of these friends simply have more experience or knowledge than you do. Its not the same thing as a guru disciple relationship as in some other traditions. Reason being the only teacher and teachings are of the Buddha, and the spiritual friend is only supposed to pass these on, not to present themselves as being more than that.

A kalyana mitra isn't looking to be worshiped or to be seen as a new Buddha, a world teacher a "Bhagavan" or a new Christ figure out to create some kind of new earth, new planet, community or a worldly position for themselves at the head of this or has any expectations of whom they share the knowledge with. They don't see it as a conditional transaction of any kind such as Ill tell you about this if you give me that. They would have to be answerable to their peers and other teachers in their sangha (community). Theravada has very strict guidelines about all of this. They are only supposed to teach from the teaching of the Buddha, not their own teachings . However many of them today have their own idiosyncratic teaching methods. Some of these do actually deviate from what the Buddha taught and is often a problem.

FAMOUS TEACHERS

The Buddha talked quite a bit about why its not good to become a famous teacher and the pitfalls that derive from this. He mentions it in the Heartwood sutta as well as the Dung Beetle sutta where he describes it as something to reject and not to strive for.

"A fatal thing, monks, are gains, favors and fame, a bitter, harsh impediment to the attainment of the unsurpassed freedom from bondage. It is just like a beetle,feeding on dung, full of dung, gorged with dung, standing before a great dung-hill, who might despise other beetles, saying: 'I am a dung-eater, full of dung, gorged with dung, and before me is this great dung-hill!'

"In the same way, monks, if some monk is overwhelmed with gains, favors and fame so that his head is turned, so, having risen early and taken his robe and bowl and gone for alms to the village or market town, he eats his fill, gets invited again for next day, and has a full bowl. Then he goes to the monks' park, and boasts in the midst of the assembled monks: 'I have had a good meal, and I am invited again for tomorrow. My bowl is full. I have got a robe, alms, lodgings and medical requisites. But these other monks have little merit and little influence, they do not get [all these] requisites.' Thus this bhikkhu, who is so overwhelmed with gains, favors and fame that his head is turned, despises other well-behaved . But this will bring harm and sorrow to that wretched man for many a long day. That shows you, monks, how disastrous gains, favors and fame are, what a bitter, harsh impediment to the attainment of the unsurpassed freedom from bondage. Therefore monks, you should train yourselves thus: 'Whatever gains, favors and fame may come our way we will reject, lest it turn our heads.' So, monks, you should train yourselves." translated from the Pali by Maurice O'Connell Walshe

However what you find today is the opposite, spiritual fame is often strived for and embraced with open arms and is often seen in the world as mark of success, not as a mark of failure or as something to avoid as it should be. So sometimes it is best to keep away from a teacher of renown for this reason.

Continue to Part 4

[1] 47: Vimamsaka Sutta, ―The Examination.” The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya (Teachings of the Buddha) Wisdom Publications (1995)

CONDITIONINGS

To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind, this is the teaching of the Buddhas.

NEO ADVAITA

There are some Neo Advaita teachers that say you are perfect just the way you are regardless of your behavior. Some profess that you are not the doer or enjoyer.

So in a nut shell they mean that you are beyond good and evil and not responsible for your words, or past, present, or future actions.

Many also teach that there is no free will and that you are more or a less a puppet.

In Yoga and Vedanta, conditionings or bad habits are known as vasanas and samskaras.

In Vedanta, samskara refers to conditioning created by past actions (karma). These are deep psychic imprints, like memories created by acts of will or intention, which create karmic impressions that still exist after death of the physical body. Anything you see or do creates samskaras that end up in the subconscious mind. Any form of experiential sensory impression, positive or negative, will create these impressions. A good sankhara is motivated by loving kindness, generosity, compassion, and peace, whereas a bad sankhara is motivated by unwholesome conditionings such as anger, greed, and delusion.

The Vedas say that vasanas are inclinations, habit formations, and tendencies manifesting as likes and dislikes, desires, and urges, feelings that are formed from samskaras. It's like making a scratch or a groove in an old gramophone record; each time the gramophone needle goes over the scratch you hear it and it gets deeper and deeper. Another metaphor commonly used is the scent of food that is left in the cooking pot even after it is washed.

This is the reason why when you first meet someone, you notice that they have a certain vibe about them. Even if they try to cover it up, it's still there. The vasanas that one would want to get rid of are the negative ones[2] The positive vasanas are okay as long as they don't keep you stuck and attached, craving and clinging.

Traces of the old personality may remain after one becomes enlightened, but with time will loosen. The scriptures refer to this as praabdha karma,[3] likened to a spinning top that at some point will stop spinning. This is the point of physical death of the body.

Our likes and dislikes (desires and aversions), our reactions and tendencies and feelings, define parts of our personalities, so if these repetitive habits are broken and rendered non-binding, then the personality also changes. Most people that I've spoken with say this doesn't happen overnight. It can take many years, if not a lifetime(s), and for others they may be impossible to overcome. For Westerners, it can be especially difficult because of the deep conditionings brought on by Western culture. The reality is, just because you have an insight about non-dual awareness, the relative self may still need work. You are not going to become like Ramana Maharshi or some kind of saint like him. You will be the same as you were before the insight or realization. That's the problem with the direct path.[4] Unless someone is really pure, studying the scripture alone will not erase all the remaining samskaras.

What can sometimes happen before, during, and after the initial stages of the awakening process is that anything that was buried comes to the surface and has to be faced head on and seen for what it is. All the remaining ugly things about oneself have to be brought into the light of awareness. All the sophisticated ego defenses and barriers have to be examined. This is the most difficult part and there are strong temptations to turn away and not deal with it since the truth can be very painful. Each time you do this more of it is cut off or will fall away.

THERAVADA BUDDHISM

A zen monk named Shunryu Suzuki said "strictly speaking there is no such thing as an enlightened person, only enlightened activity". Which brings us to the heart of the matter being one's conditionings.

In Pali, it is called a sankhara, a very rich word that has no English equivalent but is close to a volitional formation, conditioned by ignorance and function, as a condition for consciousness. There are three types of sankharas: bodily, verbal, and mental formations. It is the sankharas, propped up by ignorance and fueled by craving, that drive the stream of consciousness onward to a new mode of rebirth.

An excerpt from the book, Anicca Vata Sankharra, by Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2005: "To win complete release from suffering, not only from experiencing suffering but also from the unsatisfactory-ness intrinsic to all conditioned existence, we must gain release from sankharas. And what lies beyond the sankharas is that which is not constructed, not put together, not compounded. This is nibbana, accordingly called "The Unconditioned" or asankhata, the opposite of what is sankhata, the passive participle of sankhara. Nibbana is called The Unconditioned precisely because it's a state that is neither itself a sankhara, nor constructed by sankharas, but rather a state described as visankhara, void of formations, and as sabbasankhara-, the stilling of all formations."

The Pali Canon scripture makes it very clear that whatever we do that leads to wholesome and virtuous qualities such as generosity, kindness, patience, forbearance, compassion or improves our mindfulness and samadhi, is the correct practice. And anything that leads to an increase in unwholesome qualities such as greed, lust, or anger should be avoided. So we don't want to get rid of all sankharas, just the negative ones.

There is a difference between awakening, (stream entry) and complete liberation, or Nibbana. It is where many people get confused. They believe an awakening is the end of the line, and they don't realize that in most cases it is just the beginning. They may think that they have come to the end of the path, as described in the Heartwood Sutta simile.[5]

A saint like Mother Teresa could be likened to someone who may have overcome some of the fetters, or her sins, yet still may not know all of the truth. So, even a "saint" like her may be in heaven, but may not have attained nirvana or be out of samsara, the endless circle of life and death, and at some point will be re-birthed again when all her good karma has been exhausted in a heavenly realm for example. Vedanta and the Buddha both said that heaven is not eternal. To comprehend this reality, one has to purify the unconscious mind and all its negative habits, all aspects of the the - (greed, aversion, delusion) asavas, cankers, taints, defilements have to be brought into the light and uprooted. To know how to do this, read the book online, "Against the Defilements" by Ajahn Suchart Abhijato. www.phrasuchart.com/enbook

Carl Jung's theory of the "collective unconscious" reflected how various origins used similar language when describing awakening. The collective unconscious theory is similar to the Theravada Buddhist citta, (consciousness continuum process) or subconscious mind storehouse, - alaya vijnana in Buddhism, as well as Freud's theories on the subconscious mind.

Continue to Part 5

[1] From "Buddhavagga: The Buddha" translated from the Pali by Buddharakkhita, 1996. www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.14.budd.html

[2] Vasana also mean the fragrance, for example, left over like the scent of a pot having cooked curry. So even if someone were to have some sort of understanding this fragrance doesn't go away automatically, it sometimes lingers on.

[3] Prarabdha Karma is the parts or a collection of past karmas, actions one took, which are ready to be experienced through the present body. The reason why you have a particular type of body, male or female, short or tall, beautiful or ugly, sick or healthy, intelligent or foolish minded, gifted or not talented, is based on this.

[4] The direct path is atma vichara, meaning self-inquiry, or pointing to awareness or non-dual awareness as one's true nature, or true Self, without taking the other steps and measures as well, such as various types of practices to purify past karma.

[5] Cula Saropama Sutta: The Shorter Heartwood-Simile Discourse translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.030.than.html

THE STINK OF ENLIGHTENMENT

"There is little to choose between a man lying in the ditch heavily drunk on rice liquor, and a man heavily drunk on his own 'enlightenment' !"

Japanese Oda Sesso

DON'T SPEAK ABOUT YOUR ENLIGHTENMENT

There is a good reason why the Taoists say, "those that speak don't know, those that know don't speak".

In the Chan and Zen Buddhist tradition, the "stink of enlightenment" is sometimes referred to someone who has just had an insight, a glimpse, an awakening experience ( in Japanese), or a "oneness experience," such as merging with a sunset or the Grand Canyon. Additional terms for a more or less superficial awakening experience might be "being in the flow," or "in the now," or having a "peak experience" and then interpreting these experiences as being "fully enlightened" like an or saint and allowing this to go to their head. In other words becoming conceited about this.

Again, the main problem is this: there is much more to this awakening than meets the conscious mind. There are also the psychic imprints of one's shadow self and the unconscious mind. In Pali these are known as the latent tendencies, anusaya, asava, as well as kleshas, destructive emotions, defilements that corrupt the mind. If these have not been purified, or completely understood, they can re- emerge in a new self-deluded, "enlightened" character or a so-called "teacher," thus dropping one's older ego identification and replacing it with a brand new spiritual ego or persona. This is what is known as the "stink of enlightenment," the phrase of which comes from the Zen Buddhist tradition.

In Theravada they don't use this term but these types of misunderstandings or delusions are also known as "the ten corruptions of insight" that happen at early stages of the path and there are also references to "covering over excrement with grass", in terms of offences that have been committed in the sangha, disputes and more.

A misunderstanding that one has arrived, or gone out of samsara, become a tathagata after experiencing some experience of bliss, or a new found faith, or an arising and passing way of feelings, thoughts, or seeing lights and other types of phenomena.

Some see images of Buddha's, elephants or even saints and all sorts of things. Some may begin to feel ultra proud and happy, talking about love and things of that nature. An attachment can form or an unhealthy pride, or conceit, inflation, being puffed up like a balloon, or an unhealthy or a delusional misguided appraisal of ones attainments.

They may start feeling all sorts of emotions and ideas and having ambitions about enlightenment and want to "share" and teach these with others, start a holy business, a non for profit, even change their name to something sounding Indian, and start dressing in robes, wearing beads and so on when the person isn't even a renunciate, or a monk but still has a girl friend, wife, husband. Its almost if they begin playing dress up for a part, or a role in a play. Many of them begin to act hyper religious. These are all clues and signs to look out for.

These feelings may be actually very sincere and why its so tricky because the person may feel that they know it all and no more need to listen to any kind of teacher.

The belief that one knows it all is the problem, or having this attitude is sometimes impossible for someone else to reach or penetrate and the only chance you may have is when they fall from grace.

SUBCONSCIOUS GREED

What can happen is that lingering and festering habits, conditioning, ambition, greed, and desires hijacks the early stages of insight, even after the first stage of enlightenment and attempts to make a big deal out of it. This is usually for the egos 'own profit, reputation, and personal gain. It begins thinking in terms of "How can I use and benefit from this knowledge? How can I reinvent or reshape these ancient teachings and make these teachings mine? How can I market and make a living from this? Write a book and so on. Stepping out of the frying pan and into the fire."

This way of thinking, "What's in it for me?"can happen when desire and greed are still binding, and when the clarity and understanding are not fully there. The spiritual ego will co-opt this newly "enlightened" persona and find ways to justify its lingering cravings and bindings to this world to money and to sensory objects. The unconscious or shadow self will rush in and claim it for itself, while one remains only partially free and enlightened, and unconscious cravings, ignorance, and aversions continue to run the show.

The problem is you can't easily get rid of your defilements, unwholesome mental dispositions and deep psychic imprints, unconscious propensities, habit energies, by ignoring them. And neither can you get rid of your unconscious shadow self by repressing it or denying it or giving it a conceptual non-dual label, a self with a capital S. It's just semantics and word play. You can even call yourself Mr. Oneness, but you can't get rid of your spiritual ego. The spiritual ego will rear its head as the new enlightened persona.

According to the Buddha the only way to eradicate these defilements once and for all is with the right practice of vipassana and jhana, having the right insights and eradicating. greed, aversion and delusion, no other way will work.

NISARGADATTA SYNDROME

I have spoken with some who were influenced by Nisargadatta Maharaj, who also tend to display characteristics of distancing themselves from their inclinations and own incongruous actions and words, and do this primarily by non-dual double speak.

In other words, they say one thing and do another and call this a "paradox" or a non-dual enigma, and claim that they have no sense of self and say they are the "absolute" or Brahman. Everything they say is from this absolute perspective. Many of them may sound like robots or some kind of alien out of space.

As with the time when Krishnamurti screamed at an old woman "cant you see I don't have an ego"

When recently speaking with Timothy Conway about this issue, he said "both Nisargadatta and his teacher Siddharameshvar were very clear about how an authentic sage does not misbehave in a licentious way. As Siddharameshvar not infrequently urged, "Realize the Self and behave accordingly!" When people came to Nisargadatta and claimed some sort of "enlightenment," often the first thing he asked them was, "What are you doing about fears and desires?"

THE NEO ADVAITA BIBLE

The neo-advaitins Bible is also the gita. Thomas Byrom, creator of a translation of the Ashtavakra Gita entitled "The Heart of Awareness," also gives a warning for those who read it without adequate practice or meditation.

From the translation:

"It would be perverse and humorless to suppose that just because Ashtavakra, with his irreducible nondualism, considers meditation merely a distracting habit, he means us to abandon our practice. Of course, from the perspective of unconditional freedom, where nothing makes any difference, meditation seems a comically self-important waste of time. But Ashtavakra makes it plain. The moment a fool gives up his spiritual practices, he falls prey to fancies and desires.

God help the seeker who presumes that since he is already and always fulfilled, he can give up trying. It is all a matter of knowing. We are all indeed already perfect, but until we know it, we had better deal with our ignorance, and that can't be done just by listening to words. It requires sadhana, effort and doing what we do not wish to do. It means long, hard, self-effacing work.

The heart of Ashtavakra's advice is not to give up our practice, but to abandon our strenuous indolence."[1]

THE RAMANA ARGUMENT

The 'Ramana argument"is also what many of the neo-advaitins use, which is the perception that Ramana Marahshi was a lay person, not a monk, who attained self-realization, so then they can as well by simply asking "Who Am I?" and nothing else. The problem is, what they usually end up with is what they ask for and it doesn't end their suffering at all.

You will discover that there still remain unresolved, unconscious desires, cravings, and motives, fetters, or defilements, so to speak. What seems to happen is that a glimpse of truth, an insight, or an experience of some kind carries the person away while unanswered questions and confusion persist. The new enlightened ego wants to share this with others, but what is communicated is often truth muddled with ignorance. The impression created is that one is enlightened in a personal sense. Meaning the "person" is enlightened, while not understanding that a person cannot be enlightened. There is no such thing. It's a subtle and clever sort of co-optive mind trick, a hijacking of the ego from one identification to another. If one is not careful, one can end up believing they have intellectually transcended the ego and its fetters and defilements, but in actuality the ego has only transformed itself into an enlightened ego, unaware that a spiritual ego still exists. It is a mental blind spot, a subtle form of self-denial and suppression, and this blind spot itself becomes an affirmation or mantra to convince oneself that "there is no sense of separate small self." Thus, this delusion and denial can have the adverse effect by actually sustaining a spiritual ego in the process.

THE INTERMEDIATE ZONE.

In yoga, this is known as the intermediate zone. "All these experiences are of the same nature and what applies to one applies to another. Apart from some experiences of a personal character, the rest are either idea-truths, such as pour down into the consciousness from above when one gets into touch with certain planes of being, or strong formations from the larger mental and vital worlds which, when one is directly open to these worlds, rush in and want to use the sadhak for their fulfilment.

These things, when they pour down or come in, present themselves with a great force, a vivid sense of inspiration or illumination, much sensation of light and joy, an impression of widening and power. The sadhak feels himself freed from the normal limits, projected into a wonderful new world of experience, filled and enlarged and exalted;what comes associates itself, besides, with his aspirations, ambitions, notions of spiritual fulfilment and yogic ; it is represented even as itself that realisation and fulfilment. Very easily he is carried away by the splendour and the rush, and thinks that he has realised more than he has truly done, something final or at least something sovereignly true. At this stage the necessary knowledge and experience are usually lacking which would tell him that this is only a very uncertain and mixed beginning; he may not realise at once that he is still in the cosmic Ignorance, not in the cosmic Truth, much less in the Transcendental Truth, and that whatever formative or dynamic idea-truths may have come down into him are partial only and yet further diminished by their presentation to him by a still mixed consciousness. He may fail to realise also that if he rushes to apply what he is realising or receiving as if it were something definitive, he may either fall into confusion and error or else get shut up in some partial formation in which there may be an element of spiritual Truth but it is likely to be outweighted by more dubious mental and vital accretions that deform it altogether"

DEBATES AND

At this stage it's very easy to get dogmatic, or only believe that you, or your school, sect, or tradition are enlightened and, everyone else is not. Then this advocacy of, or defending your school, sect, or wrong view, will only strengthen your ego: "I'm right you are wrong, I'm enlightened, you are not." "I'm more non dual than you are."

"My non duality is more non dual than your non duality"

So it's best not to get into any debates with others about this and keep your views to yourself. This type of attitude can lead to religious fundamentalism, fanaticism, partisanships and quarreling.

Some unfortunately never get past this phase and go about bashing others. You find this especially on the Internet forums, (facebook especially) or even Vedanta and Buddhist forums, many of which are preoccupied with playing one up-manship and doctrinal controversy. AMBITIONS AND FAME

At this point, certain temptations arise. This newly enlightened person may think they are special or superior to others in some way. You will know this when the first thing they do is begin "sharing" (for money), or teaching instead of taking their time to get clarity. You will see that most of what they say is simply parroting others: "I'm not the doer, I am That, you are awareness, there is no sense of a person," and all the rest of the non-dual clich's. Starting up an 501c 3 non for profit organization is often a clear sign one has sensual attachment.

There may be the temptation to spread the news or make a Broadway extravaganza or career out of it by traveling around the world, and charging for meetings and satsangs and wanting to become a renowned teacher. They immediately fall into the dung beetle trap

The problem is that if you were already ambitious, you will carry these ambitious traits over into your spiritual arena. Being a spiritual teacher is very appealing for ego gratification. The downfall to it is that one could end up causing more harm than good, no matter what one's intentions are.

So, if you think you are enlightened and are filled with great excitement over zealousness and wanting to share it with others, this is a probably a clear sign to hold off from teaching. First of all, it can alienate friends and family, because if you're not careful you will begin to look delusional or even deranged. You should keep it to yourself and not spread it or try to convert or save others with "your" enlightenment. Instead, during this stage, use it to meditate, practice mindfulness, study scripture, or find a competent traditional teacher who will guide you about all the elements and many stages of enlightenment in order to put you back on track, and bring you back down to earth.

COMPARING AND COMPETING WITH OTHERS

Another thing you often see is the person comparing or assessing, validating or measuring themselves against others. They may compete with other enlightened teachers, or you may see them resorting to one-upmanship and debates in order to invalidate others while raising themselves up.

If the stink of conceit is there, it means the person is oblivious to it. It's like having bad breath or body odor, you may not be aware of it but others around you are.

If you do see it in others, the odds are it is because you have this in yourself and it could be a projection of sorts. So don't be quick to judge or criticize others when you smell it. Doing so will not get you anywhere. What it may do is create more egoic defenses. It may set you back even more than you already were. Explaining this to someone who thinks they are enlightened may raise their defenses, and they may attack you out of fear in an attempt to make you go away or shut up.

WAYS TO DEAL WITH IT However, if you see this odor of conceit and corruption in yourself and not just in others, observe it, investigate it, and witness it. Meditate on it. Don't identify with it. See it for what it is.

If the spiritual pride pops up, don't try to suppress it, deny it, . Be gentle with it. Use it as your practice.

Another method the Buddhists use is to cease watering it, feeding it, or giving it sunlight. The problem that arises is that the spiritual pride of a person will do anything to sustain itself. It will disguise itself using false humility, piety, holiness, false enlightenment, flattery, ingenuity, sincerity, lies, jokes, humor, manipulations, intellect, self- delusions, and even honesty and truth. Just keep watching it at all times. Observe it and pay close attention to it when you interact with other people.

Notice when someone flatters you, how does it make you feel? How do you respond? Ask yourself what is it that is feeling and responding?

How do you feel when you call your self a Thervavdin Buddhist, a Tibetan Buddhist, a Mahayana Zen or Chan Buddhist, dose it make you feel higher or better, or lower than the other schools in some subtle way?

When someone reprimands you, how do you react? How does this make you feel? Do you feel wounded, hurt, ashamed, defensive, belittled, patronized? Ask yourself what is this "I" that is feeling these emotions?

TESTING IT These are perfect times and tests to find out where and what your ego is. You can use almost anything to gauge it during the day. Measure it and see if you can trace yourself back to it. Once you are able to see this, you have the leverage to observe it without blinders on, because now you see it for what it is.

What you see is how it was mistakenly and innocently formed in the first place out of ignorance how it was born, what sustains it (through one's cravings and actions), and how it defiles the mind. Also, how it plants seeds to keep itself renewed to do the same over and over again.

SOCIETAL CONDITIONING

You begin to see clearly how you were led to believe that this is who you are, how you came to misidentify with it, and how this conditioning and hypnosis took place over time. How your parents shaped it from the time you were about two and a half years old by the way they spoke to you, mirrored you, loved you, disciplined you, and told you who you were. How your interactions with your siblings and early childhood friends also shaped it. How school indoctrinated you. How society and peer pressure shaped you by approving certain types of behaviors and beliefs and disapproving others.

You begin to understand and see that much of what you think about yourself was imposed on you externally and drummed into you like a false mantra; a form of societal voodoo through the power of persuasion, suggestion, and hypnosis. Whatever you think about yourself is also a self-delusion. You realize that in essence you have been barking up the wrong tree, watering the wrong plant.

You will begin to see that all of these things are there to nurture and stroke the ego; to keep this ego inflated and puffed up or to create walls and defenses around it. To construct barriers and obstacles so that the ego hears only what it wants to hear and whatever will make it feel good. To block out anything that brings the egoic sense of self down, threaten it, question it, depress it, or deflate it. You begin to see that it is like an automatic thermostat that regulates itself, but also has built-in defense mechanisms to hinder anyone from getting anywhere near it, especially since getting too close to it could mean shutting it off, and this would mean death.

SELF DECEPTION

If you practice enough meditation properly, in time you begin to see all of the self-deception, the dishonest behavior, the stupidity, and the sheer nakedness of how you were unconscious. You see the falseness in your words and actions. You notice the reasons and stimuli for your behavior. You see the hidden motivations and the ulterior motives that you could not even admit to yourself existed. You see the ugliness of this false person. You see all the masks that you wear.

And you can't just let go of the ego, because there is no one there to let go of it, nor any "thing" to let go of other then delusion, or a wrong view. Something that is impermanent trying to let go of something that doesn't truly exist and is also impermanent will have you spinning in circles, chasing a phantom that doesn't exist except in your mind.

FALSE HUMILITY AND HUMOUR

The self-identified mind is sometimes cunning and subtle. It will pretend to you that it has let go of itself. It will act as if it is now humble and pure. It will put on an act of false humility that will reveal itself in self-deprecation, such as Hollywood actors who poke fun at themselves when winning an Academy Award. All it is doing is hiding out and waiting for the first opportunity to rear its ugly head.

Humor is also often used as an egoic defense or a way of deflecting or a shield. The danger of using humor is that it can hurt others as it is usually at someone else's expense.

A way to test this is to see if you are think you are humble; then you know the ego, asmi-mana (conceit) is there. If you are think you are being holy, you should know the spiritual ego may be there. If you think you are some kind of saint, the enlightened ego may be there.

"This purity is clung to and attached to, is regarded as this and that, is worshipped, is used for show and competition, is for boasting all over how pure "I am." See the prison of life by Ajarn

Continue to Part 7

[1] "The Heart of Awareness," a translation of the Ashtavakra Gita, http://bhagavan- ramana.org/ashtavakragita2.html

THE PRICE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

"There's a common saying in India that if a teacher charges money for "the dharma" (loosely translated, "teachings about the truth") he or she will go to a special section of hell set aside for spiritual entrepreneurs, an area cornered off and designed to be much nastier than the areas for axe murderers, rapists, and the like." Arjuna Adagh

Vedanta

This is also quite a complicated and sometimes a sensitive subject and conducted many interviews to help shed some light on whether someone charges or not, accepts dana, or suggested donations, or by any other means. See 42 interviews here from many traditions and non traditions.

When I asked Swami Dayanada about this.

NDM: Modern advaita teachers today charge money for sitting with the teacher. Like to sit with a teacher like this it would cost maybe $35 for an hour. So maybe they get 100 or 150 people together in a group. Then each person gives the teacher money. Traditionally, how do you do that?

Swamiji: (Laughs). You know, they have to survive, and this is India's contribution to that fellow's life. And so, for his livelihood, India has contributed something some words, which are useful for him to earn his livelihood. And he earns his livelihood, and there are always blokes to subscribe to all that. And therefore, that's fine. There is nothing wrong in it. He has to live his life. He has to pay his bills, and therefore he charges what he needs to take care. So teaching becomes his profession. He is an advaita professional. (Laughter).

What I say is that there is nothing wrong in it as long as he teaches properly. If the teaching is alright, what he does is fine, it's okay. But if the teaching is not alright, then I don't know what people pay money for.

But generally teachers don't deny people teachers in India, they don't deny people who want to know. They don't bring money in-between. Money is required perhaps, but money is never brought in between a true student and a teacher, no.

NDM: Why not?

Swamiji: "You give me this much money and I will give you" .... Then you are trading ĕtmĕ and you are not giving anything to that fellow. What you are giving is himself -for a price - and it's not quantifiable. What is involved here is infinite. For infinite, you have to charge infinite. Therefore the value of this knowledge is not understood. If the value of this knowledge is understood, you will not trade. You will not make it a commodity - a tradable commodity.

When you teach a discipline of knowledge like astrology or yoga or something, you can charge. There is something you are giving, and so you can charge. But everything will pass if the teaching is proper.

The truth is - if the teaching is proper, you won't charge. Now you can figure out what's going on. (Laughter) End of quote.

What is very interesting is that most of the famous Indian Advaita teachers such as Ramana Maharshi, Papaji, Atmananda Krishna Menon never charged their western disciples and Krisha Menon stipulated his direct path teachings were not to be franchised, commercialized or marketed in any way.

However I was told by two of Papajis disciples that he told them that its alright if they charge in the west, since its not the same set up over here as it is in India. People do not understand dana, or the way that it works and will abuse it.

One of them who told me was this very high profile teacher but wished to remain anonymous.

Theravada Buddhism

While I was conducting my research, I came across a very old Buddhist magazine from the 1950s that had an article about a serious problem in , at the turn of the century, (a hundred years ago) As a result of the poverty and economy, many lay people began saying that they had attained sottapana "stream entry" the first stage of enlightenment in order to be given money for the teachings. It got out of control and the government had to step in and threaten anyone doing this would have their hands cut off. This put an immediate end to it.

The same thing would happen in the Zen tradition, people would want to become monks, but not to become enlightened, but to escape their harsh jobs. However they soon would discover that living as a Zen monk was even more difficult, because they also had to meditate and work as well and after some time many of them would get up and leave and say its torture.

Today, in New York city, some crafty people will dress up as monks and ask for money in the streets for this same reason. Again its due to the same reasons and people are desperately looking to ways to get around this painful samsara.

The Buddhist tradition, the Pali Canon, clearly says that generosity (dana) was the first virtue the Buddha mentioned, since it is the opposite of one of the three main obstacles to nibbana, nirvana in Sanskrit. These three main obstacles are greed, hatred, and delusion. Generosity or giving unconditionally is the opposite and is a way and a test to overcoming greed or stinginess, tightfistedness, attachment and more.

Giving is a counter-intuitive instinct, since the first instinct that generally arises is to get. The attitude of "what's in it for me? "this teaching is mine" "I own it, therefore I can sell it" and is a very difficult obstacle for many people to overcome. For example, in the Anguttara Nikaya V.159, Udayi Sutra, the Buddha said, "The Dhamma should be taught with the thought, I will speak not for the purpose of material reward."

The rule about a bhikkhu not accepting money came to be made when Ven. Upananda went to visit his regular supporters on alms round. The meat that had been set aside for him that morning had instead been given to the family's hungry son. The householder wished to give something else to make up for it and asked what he could offer to the value of a kahaapana coin. Ven. Upananda inquired if he was making a gift of a kahaapana coin to him, and then took the money away. Lay people were disgusted with this, saying, "Just as we lay people accept money, so too do these Buddhist monks!."

This Rule has been variously translated:

"Should any bhikkhu take gold and silver, or have it taken, or consent to its being deposited (near him), it is to be forfeited and confessed."(Nis. Paac. 18; BMC p.214)

"Should any bhikkhu pick up, or cause to be picked up or consent to the deposit of gold or silver, this entails Confession with Forfeiture." (Nis. Paac. 18; Paat. 1966 Ed. p.42)

"A monk, who accepts gold or money or gets another to accept for him, or acquiesces in its being put near him, commits [an offence requiring Confession with Forfeiture.]" (Nis. Paac. 18; BBC p.116)

"If a bhikkhu himself receives gold and silver (money) or gets someone else to receive it, or if he is glad about money that is being kept for him, it is [an offence of Confession with Forfeiture.]"(Nis. Paac. 18; Nv p.11)

Technically this does not apply to lay teachers outside of the sangha, but it does for the monastics and just as well to his teachings.

However there are no rules for lay people if they want to teach outside the traditional sangha. There is no authority over a lay teacher. They can split off from the sangha and go off on their own and charge or not charge, or ask for suggested donation or dana, or plain cash, credit card or check. See No Strings Attached. The Buddha's Culture of Generosity by Thanissaro Bhikkhu for details.

This is what seems to happen a lot in the west, some people tend to break away in order to do this and set up shop or their own sect, cult or new age religion because they know they cant if they belong to a traditional community since it wont be endorsed by the elders so easily.

SUGGESTED DONATIONS

"Suggested donations" seem to be a relatively recent invention and more of a Westernized method of lay Buddhism. This may seem fair, logical, and reasonable, for a lay teacher in the west, but I have spoken with Theravadin monks about this, and some of them say it is dana, a donation, but that it's more of a distortion of dana, not exactly pure dana.

This is why most Theravada Buddhists don't ask for suggested donations, yet other kinds of Buddhists do. I have seen this mostly with Tibetan and Zen Buddhists and Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, but not so much in the Theravada tradition, though some lay teachers in the Theravada tradition do ask for suggested donations.

The "suggested donation" model of dana seems to work in the West, but only in some not-for-profit meditation centers run by very skillful lay people and teachers. These seem to be the times when its most useful, since its very difficult to have access to monastics at times who can teach the jhanas/vipassana and more.

However, I've heard that some often misunderstand and abuse this dana or suggested donations model. Some lay teachers say that the problem they have experienced in giving something for free is can be seen as unprofessional or foolish to others, or that you have low self- esteem or that you are inexperienced or proselytizing. These are some of the obstacles that they have run into.

They say that some people will abuse this generosity and will not respect you for being so generous with your time. They also say that there are some jaded people out there who find it hard to believe in altruistic joy, genuine compassion that there is no such thing as a free lunch or sharing without some kind of hidden agenda.

The important distinction that is often made is whether someone is endorsed within a particular tradition and has the proper credentials and experience and know how to teach. Who their teachers were says a lot about the way they will probably teach others. As well as why they were drawn to them in the first place reveals what types of ambitions they may have or wish to emulate.

GURU DAKSHINA

In Vedanta they refer to this as guru dakshina. The Indian tradition of a student repaying his teacher, his guru in some way. These offerings or gifts were made in many ways , such as gold, silver, cattle, grains, clothing, a plot of land, or other material goods. It can be any amount at all, what ever feels appropriate or is within the means of the disciple. Some who are very wealthy have repaid their guru by purchasing them a house, or a car and even more.

Where it can get tricky is if this is misused, or exploited when someone's intention is wrong, and is not to help others but to turn it into a "holy business", " as U G Krishnamurti used to say , or doesn't belong to a tradition, has no oversight from a greater community, sangha, or peers to answer to and doesn't follow a traditional dharma, lineage, or makes up their own teaching.

This is where it can become cult like or even dangerous if unchecked and also what gives contemporary non duality a bad reputation.

So if looking for a teacher, if they charge in any way its wise to proceed with caution and take all this into consideration. See three types of teachers.

Also see a humorous article on some of the spiritual marketing techniques if you are looking into becoming a spiritual teacher/entrepreneur.

For more on the subject of dana, see book by Ellison Banks Findly.

Continue to Part 8

ENLIGHTENMENT

Attempts to wake before our time are often punished, especially by those who love us most. Because they, bless them, are asleep. They think anyone who wakes up, or who, still asleep, realizes that what is taken to be real is a dream is going crazy.

R.D. Laing

VEDANTA

Another synonym for awakening is "enlightenment," and in any tradition is a tricky, loaded, and often misunderstood word. It has some misleading connotations because it conjures up so many things. For example, if you believe that "you" as an individual person are enlightened, there may be some confusion about the relative aspect of this.

An "epiphany" is often used and usually refers to a glimpse of one's true nature. It is like a metaphor in the sutras, in which there appears a glass of water containing sediments. As long as the glass is undisturbed, the sediments remain at the bottom and the water is clear. As soon as the glass is shaken, the water becomes murky.

The same thing happens when a person has an epiphany or awakening experience. One's delusions are temporarily seen but not completely eliminated. In order to eradicate these impressions, it takes much time and effort. One must watch one's thoughts, ones intentions, one's instincts, and one's reactions. One has to be aware and alert at all times. One has to be empty of all the sediment that is in the way of the mind.

According to Vedanta, if "you," the buddhi, (intuitive intelligence or the higher mind) knows this, then it's not the same as thinking that "you" are a separate person. Without this insight, akhandakara vrritti, (formless or undivided thought form), there is no realization. Vedanta says the bottom line is that you can't have an insight without the buddhi aspect of the mind to recognize this akhandakara vrritti.

They say that if you don't have certain pre-requisites, you will never know it. The same way that a cow or a goat may have no thoughts or an unconditioned mind, but that doesn't mean it has the buddhi aspect of the mind to realize it.

So you could ask, does a cow have this enlightened nature?

They say, yes they do, but they don't have a buddhi to realize their enlightened nature, but also add to be enlightened, you have to be enlightened on an empirical day-to-day, moment-to-moment level.

Another thing you often hear them say is there is no one on an absolute level to be enlightened, no one to attain anything, and no one who can make this claim.

I know, it all sounds rather confusing because they also say awareness is enlightened because who you are, meaning non-dual awareness, was always this. Still, that doesn't mean that an apparent person does not exist, or that an apparent person doesn't have to know this.

They say the identification to this ignorant mind is the problem, and the mind is also the solution.

"Enlightenment" in Vedanta is the moment in time when you know that you are non-dual awareness or that Atman (the self), which equals Brahman or the self with a capital S. In the Vedanta tradition one understands the relationship between awareness and all other objects-subtle and gross, external and internal. The ignorance is removed to reveal what is already there and the gnosis of what has occurred.

A metaphor often used is about being like a burning corpse in a funeral pyre. The mind is like the stick that prods the corpse. At some point this stick ignites and gets consumed by the flames, and the stick and the corpse both end in the same ashes.

They say this is when the subject/object dissolves. Then comes the understanding that what is seen is paradoxically not in the seer. Subsequently, it is understanding that this level of the absolute and the everyday level of empirical reality are paradoxically one. This "one" is the absolute unchanging, timeless, infinite, ever-present reality. It is ineffable and cannot be seen or understood with the mind because the mind is finite. Only the reflection of this can be seen by the buddhi, which manifests as nothingness/everythingness.

LEVELS OF REALITY They say that what is seen is impermanent and changing; the empirical and relative reality we call existence, being, and life. This is a dependent reality. On an absolute level, it is not real (even though it is to a degree), but no more real than a dream, because it is transient and because enlightenment takes place in the mind of the person whose self-ignorance has been eradicated.

There still is a mind (thoughts, images, sounds), but it's not belonging to anyone. Then the mind becomes aware that it was ignorant, and as a result of this a kind of resignation, and surrender occurs. Acceptance happens. A sublation takes place and the struggle and fight between who you are and the seeking comes to an end.

They say that enlightenment is also knowing without a doubt that you are not your mind, your thoughts, or your body, and knowing that you are not a separate entity.

In Vedanta true liberation is referred to as "one without a second," or Brahman. They say this is a crucial part of Vedantic understanding: seeing that your sense of self (ego) is clearly a false fabrication. Usually what follows is an unfolding or a flowering. However, in either case, awakening /enlightenment /liberation is seldom static. It is more of an evolving state of inner transformation.

PROBLEMS

The problem, it seems, is that people can believe all of this, but still have conditionings that cause problems for themselves or others. They may think that they are God, on an absolute level, but on this ordinary mundane level of the relative world, they do not behave or act like God, meaning that they are free from all the worldly afflictions of greed and ill will on a relative level and not just on an absolve level.

Sri Nisargadatta, an Indian Advaita sage, (but not a traditional Vedanta teacher) suggests working on the mental purification and the cleaning of the psyche: "Just as a speck in the eye may cause inflammation and may wipe out the world, so is the mistaken idea, 'I am the body/mind.'" This, however, can take years, even a lifetime, before one is ready for self-inquiry. The knowledge will not necessarily stick if there are residual conditionings, because one will repeatedly fall back into Samsara by one's actions, thoughts, desires, aversions, and choices that are brought on by these conditionings. It would be like attempting to climb Mount Everest on a daily basis.

Two traditional ways of doing this are through the process of negation ( neti) and self-inquiry is like unraveling the layers of an onion. This is much more than simply asking the question "Who am I?" It involves paying attention and deeply watching oneself at all times from the point of the higher witness, Awareness Itself.

Sri Ramana Maharshi once said, "We are all born into this world within a physical body, but we existed long before this physical incarnation, and we will exist long after this physical body expires." In asking the question "Who am I?" one can begin to see that one is not one's cognitive sensory organs of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. That one is not the movement of the body, the location of the body, the excreting, the grasping, or the sexual procreating of the body. One is not the breath, the blood, the flesh, or the biological functions of the body. One is not the mind, the thoughts, or the impressions of the mind".

They say that one is awareness, pure consciousness, which is never born and will never die. This is the idea of Vedanta. That there is just one awareness.

For example, in deep sleep or in deep states of meditation (samadhi), there is no world. There is only pure awareness, a pure wave-less ocean. This awareness is always there. It is the one constant that never leaves.

The internal reality of arising objects-the perceptions and thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, pain, etc.-that the mind believes it sees and interprets is such-ness or is-ness. What happens is that these get distorted through one's beliefs, views, opinions, values, conditionings, education, and cognitive interpretations through one's senses and filters.

The goal of Vedanta is to see through all the filters, views, opinions, conditionings, judgments, all values, all movements of the mind and perceptions of the body, and anything else that is superimposed on awareness.

When these are all striped away, you can see reality as it clearly is: as pure awareness in every single moment throughout the day. It is seamless because in reality, there are not even moments. They say there is no past, present, or even a future. Neither is there a now. You cannot break down infinite and eternal awareness into time fragments. Awareness is outside of psychological time and space.

In actuality, this physical world that we interpret through our neurochemistry and sensory organs is in no way complete reality. For example, the reality of a bat and its use of sound for aerial navigation is not the same as the reality of a cat. A dolphin's reality is not the same as the reality of an owl with its extraordinary night vision. Scientists have discovered that robins can see the earth's magnetic field and use this for navigation. What we are able to see through our sense of sight is not all there is. There are documented cases of people with psychic abilities that have x-ray vision and can see cancer tumors growing in the bones.

Vedanta says, in order for this awareness to recognize itself, the instrument of this small mind has to be enlightened to this fact. It has to know what it is-a mistaken identity.

When one is able to see the reality that one's true nature is body-less and eternal, only then is one liberated from the distortions, illusions, and ignorance of the mechanical mind/brain and ego structure. You won't be able to see awareness with the mind, because the mind is an object, but it is all about this. Many have tried to set up all sorts of novel ways of doing this.

The Russian mystic George Gurdjieff attempted to devise methods of doing this. He synthesized strands from Buddhism, yogic, and Western alchemical views, Christian Gnosticism, as well as incorporating ideas available from science and psychology. The three traditional ways of the fakir, the monk, and the require withdrawal from worldly life in order for one to make spiritual progress. This meant a life of austere body, mind, and emotion, but according to Gurdjieff, spiritual advancement can be made while living in everyday situations and normal circumstances. "Self- remembering" was a set of principles he used to help create self- awareness and to guide one's actions. Self-remembering is based on Vipassana meditation. Satipathana more or less means the same as "self-remembering." Gurdjieff said, "To self-remember, one needs to be aware of one's actions throughout the day, including observation of one's identification with various mental habits, such as inner dialogue, imagination, daydreaming, and so on." In addition, Gurdjieff taught similar ways of creating a gap between one's mind and this awareness. For example, whenever one felt a desire to eat, sneeze, scratch oneself, or to drink, he would ask them to consider it for a moment and then to suddenly stop, to freeze and don't do it.

The intention of doing these exercises was to be in a constant state of self-awareness and to experience the witness and the higher consciousness at all times. You can do this in all activities no matter what they are.

MORE OBSTACLES OF TV AND SOCIAL MEDIA

As to the far-reaching influence of television, many are simply addicted to it. Statistics show that by the age of 18 we see an average of 200,000 violent acts on TV. An average child sees about 20,000 television commercials a year. By the age of 65, someone has seen millions of commercials, most of which sell useless and unnecessary products. Many of these advertisements use subliminal advertising to promote greed, lust, and every kind of sensual desire.

In the US, on average, most homes have their television sets on for almost seven hours per day. People watch TV while eating, and some even leave it on while sleeping, utilizing it as a companion of sorts. They see the TV set as a part of the family. They passively sit back on the couch and allow all the media to pollute their mind-streams day after day.

As a result, one becomes desensitized to all the violence after having seen so much of it for so long. A similar thing happens to soldiers serving in war zones for extended periods of time.

We now have the same situation happening with the Internet (social media) and the bombardment of online advertising, whether it be for purchasing products, for dating or sexual pleasures, or for wasting hours and hours of one's time. The mind pollution of advertising has infiltrated every aspect of our culture, including art, music, film, and dance. There is no escape. So unless you were born and raised in a remote jungle in the Amazon, the odds are your hard drive and software are highly contaminated and heavily programmed to turn you into a compulsive consumer, forever striving to keep up with the Jones.

THERAVADA BUDDHISM

In Theravada Buddhism, enlightenment (Bodhi) is not like the metaphysical description above, concerning all the levels of selves, small self and big self.[1]

Its the result of a deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eight Fold Path, dependant origination and a series of many insights (about 16) that lead to wisdom and ultimately liberation.

Continue to Part 10

[1] Theravada Buddhism doesn't see it this way because they don't believe in "Self realization" or a soul in the same way. Their way is more about letting go and seeing all conditions, the five aggregates of clinging as not self, impermanent and suffering.

LIBERATION

―Let go of the past! Let go of the future! Let go of the present and cross over to the farther shore of existence. With your mind wholly liberated, you shall come no more to birth and death.‖

Dhammapada.

NEO ADVAITA Liberation is yet another word that carries many connotations and can mean all sorts of things.

Foe example, I know of one non-dual teacher who said that now he is liberated, he can buy that Lamborghini he always wanted. Also find a younger girlfriend.

Some say that enlightenment is the event in time when they are no longer seeking.

The problem is, people ‗end seeking‘ for all sorts of reasons, and some may even sincerely believe that they have come to the end of the path.

Others may end their spiritual search because it sets them apart from ‗seekers‘.

ADVAITA VEDANTA

In Vedanta and Yoga the Sanskrit word for this is moksha.

Ramakrishna, an Indian sage and a famous mystic of 19th-century India, said that the fundamental obstacle to liberation was lust and gold. His foremost disciple, , brought his teachings to the West, which led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission. Vivekananda is known as a ‗neo Vedantin‘ in traditional Advaita Vedanta circles.

They say that the sense of a person is more like a continuous ‗I‘ thought that is present at all times. It is a backdrop or a foundation for all new thoughts to build upon and fall back in to. The ego is like the glue that takes the thoughts and binds them together with the fabricated sense of a person. The ego is the conductor of the orchestra. It thinks that it controls the show, but in reality it doesn‘t; the subconscious mind does. According to Vedanta, there is a relative level of ordinary phenomenal physical experience and an ultimate, absolute level of truth. The relative level acknowledges a world of people (you and me), the material world and such things as morality, right and wrong, justice and equality, truth and delusion, and so on.

Vedanta states that this relative world is a dependent reality. It is real, yes, however in relation to the absolute, it is not because it is ephemeral. In contrast, according to traditional Vedanta, the absolute truth is an infinite, eternal, birth-less, deathless, formless, space-less, action-less, and seamless awareness. This level has no physical attributes. That is why they say it is indescribable. To confuse and mix these two levels, the relative and the absolute, is what can cause problems and misunderstandings, like when one communicates from an absolute level when they should be communicating from a relative level.

They say the paradox is that the absolute encompasses the empirical as well as the level of ignorance that cannot know this, and the ignorance of not knowing this is at the very root of the problem, even though it is a part of the whole. So in essence, these two levels are one because they say that ultimate reality is ‗non-dual.‘ You have to speak of two levels to avoid confusion, but the reason for this is that there is an inherent veiling produced by ignorance that hinders us from seeing both realities. They say that there is an inherent projecting process that creates the phenomenal illusions (empirical reality) of maya.

Only true self-knowledge can dispel the ignorance and phenomenal illusions. So they say that it always depends on clearly understanding these two levels, but you can only understand it when you realize that you already are this non-dual truth; you are the knowledge itself.

The very essence of truth, in terms of Vedanta, is a simple equation. Vedanta states that Atman (the self) is Brahman (the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world), but to know the truth one must first find out what is false. On an absolute non-dual level, everything is arising in consciousness, including the words you are reading now. But what arises purely in consciousness also goes through a process before it is formed into language and articulated into words whereby ideas, views, opinions, and judgments are formed. Is Vedanta also saying that what is arising is on an empirical, individual, personal level of consciousness? For example, what is arising for me right now is not also arising for you and vice versa?

From the perspective of Advaita Vedanta, on an ordinary and empirical level it would be said that there may be the appearance of two people with separate minds engaging in a conversation. From an absolute perspective, this manifestation of reality of empirical form is real and not real. It is both real on an empirical level and an illusion.

What appears in thought for one person appears to be in a localized space in their head, but it‘s not what appears in the other person‘s head. One person is conscious of what is emerging in their space but not in the other‘s space. However, Vedanta states that this is not the way it is. From the point of awareness, we are simply objects, and awareness makes no distinction between you or I being separate.

In reality, they say it is just awareness having a conversation with itself. All is non-dual awareness, both subject and object. Whatever arises on the absolute level out of pure awareness is out of infinite space and timelessness. The awareness in one person‘s head is the same awareness as in the other person‘s head. There is only one awareness. This is what they say, but on a relative level it appears as if it is processed through an individual vessel (physical organism and brain) in a localized appearance of space and time. There is only one awareness, and it is all of us and everything.

They say awareness is the same but the mind streams are not. Your mind stream of thoughts is not the same as mine. There is no becoming non-dual. You have always been non-dual. It is the individual‘s ignorance of this fact that doesn‘t permit one to know this. Each person‘s individual world created by his or her individual mind keeps the illusion of separation intact, if one identifies with it, etc etc etc. However, in Vedanta they don‘t use the word ‗one‘ since it inherently implies there could be two. That‘s the reason for the phrase one without a second, or not two (Advaita).

On the ordinary level of awareness, we are not seen as being non-dual, but two or more. In Advaita Vedanta the process of how a thought, a feeling, or an emotion emerges in the separate self is often explained as whatever thought, feeling, instinct, emotion, or sensation appears to emerge on the surface of one‘s memory, conscious mind, subconscious mind, or any other mind. It is all always upon the backdrop, the substratum, of awareness. Infinite and eternal awareness feels and appears to be localized, but it isn‘t.

They say this awareness, this borderless, infinite, and eternal substratum, is who we are along with anything that is manifested in this. Whatever thought, feeling, instinct, emotion, or sensation that appears can be either witnessed like a passing cloud or intercepted and grabbed hold of like a fish caught in the ocean.

Thoughts, sensations, and emotions can be like mini whirlpools with a vacuum current that suck the person‘s attention and focus into it. When this happens, it feels like the person having the thought is restricted, compacted, and localized. Then the thought, sensation, feeling, emotion, and instinct are translated and mediated by the person‘s experiences, beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or ignorance and is communicated through the individual vessel (egoic sense of self), such as the appearance of an individual person named Jack to another individual person named Jill. This process happens in the same way that water is poured through a funnel. The purity of the funnel will determine how clear and accurate the translation is of the message that arises. On an absolute level, Jack and Jill are one and the same, because in essence they are the exact same awareness. What happens next is the root of all of the problems because the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that arise in awareness are believed to be real and to belong to the individual. When this happens, when one believes they are a separate mind, a separate person, they also believe that the thoughts arising belong to them; that they are the author of these thoughts, and thus are cemented to the thoughts like glue. It is like a radio believing it is the singer of the song that is being played on it. It is a false identification. It is wrongfully labeled in the mind as being my thought, my experience, my memory, my emotion, suffering, pain, depression, anxiety, fear, isolation, and so forth. We don‘t realize that this thought, feeling, experience, and memory does not belong to anyone at all, no more than the sky or the air that we breathe.

In "liberation", they say that it is understood that there never was a problem, except for the problem of ignorance and delusion, and that there isn‘t an ‗us‘ or any one person that the memories occur to. These memories are mental karmic images—pictures and impressions that are recorded with emotions associated and built into them. Like a picture with an emotional soundtrack engraved upon it. What happens is that these memories, with their built in emotions, get labeled by the mind as who one is. The mind believes that it is the karmic images, and as such forms an idea of who one is in the present based on these collective memories.

The root cause of the illusion of the personal sense of self is the belief that there is an ‗us‘ and an ‗I‘ or a ‗me‘ in the first place. All of these memories are built on a false belief, a false assumption, and a false foundation; a base that was externally imposed upon us through our society, our education, our conditioning, trance-inducing suggestions, our parents, our DNA, physical genetics, etc. The belief in existing as a separate individual is self-manufactured and created by our imaginations, our beliefs, and our memories, which in reality never existed. Consequently, who we think we are as a separate person is an erroneous imagined thought, a false belief.

They say that this is the original sin—sin meaning ‗mistake‘ or ‗missing the mark‘ out of ignorance. This is because the mind is the mechanism, the tool and the software by which we create, register, and store these memories (samskaras) in the brain and the body (the hard drive) as the ego self.

There are literal neural pathways created to access these memories with a big capital ‗I‘ label. This mind instrument, when operated through the ego, is unreliable as it selectively colors and taints some of these experiences to suit itself. Thus the mind takes snippets of experiences or imprints and stores them for retrieval at another time, assuming that ‗all you are‘ is your memories. When this is understood, this sandcastle in the sky known as Mr. or Mrs. So-and-So will over time collapse like a house of cards. The real substratum will be seen for the very first time as who you truly are (not your mind or your body). It will be understood that all other factors and beliefs are false, unreliable, and irrelevant.

What will become more important is the present moment, not the past memories or future imaginations. It may take a long time to make these unbinding, since these psychic imprints and memories are very powerful and have taken years, even lifetimes, to create.

THERAVADA BUDDHISM Again, in the Theravada tradition, liberation is the emancipation from ignorance and the extinction of all attachments and aversions, and this isn‘t going to happen very easily.

I recently spoke with the Abbot of a Theravada monastery who told me that one way of knowing if someone is liberated is if this person lives in a monastery. According to his views, anyone outside a monastery is probably not an arahant (completely liberated being).

The Buddha did say that it is possible for a layperson to become an anagami, a non-returner, even an arahant, but charging money indicates an indulgence in sense pleasures, so anyone who charges is still not an arahant. By these standards, in today‘s world the odds of this happening becoming an anagami or an arahant are very slim.

Yet, there are exceptions to this rule as evidenced by Dipa Ma, an Indian Theravadin Buddhist meditation master.[1] Not only did she remain a householder, but she realized ‗non-returning,‘ the third stage, which is the ideal for a layperson in that tradition.

Here is an example from a conversation Dipa Ma had with Jack Engler in Calcutta in 1977, where she was asked, ―Do you think it is possible for a human being to be completely happy in this life?‖ Dipa Ma responded, ―As long as one is not yet arahant [fully enlightened], has not yet extinguished all the ‗fetters‘ (specific types of mental activity that bind one to the wheel of existence), one is not fully happy. My journey is not over. There is still work to be done.‖

―What kind of work?‖ she was asked.

―The mind should be entirely free from greed, hatred, and delusion. I still experience some.‖ Nibbana, is the permanent and complete liberation from the negative conditioning and bad habits, which in turn allows for the expression of positive actions like compassion, patience, equanimity, joy, generosity, loving kindness, and so much more.

The first stage of enlightenment in Theravada Buddhism is attaining stream entry, sottapana.

Becoming an árhat or arahant, which is Sanskrit for ‗enlightened one, holy one‘ or ‗one worthy of .‘ An arahant is a combination of a saint and a sage, both wise and holy.

They say that the forth stage of Enlightenment, or Nibbana in Theravada Buddhism, is the imperturbable peaceful state of mind where one is free from all cravings, desires, anger, and other afflictive emotional states. There is no more craving to be reborn or to exist again in samsara.

As far as non duality is concerned, the Buddha didn't say to seek some sort of divine union with the absolute, as with yoga but said,

“In the seen, there is only the seen, [2]. in the heard, there is only the heard, in the sensed, there is only the sensed, in the cognized, there is only the cognized. Thus you should see that indeed there is no thing here; this, Bahiya, is how you should train yourself. Since, Bahiya, there is for you in the seen, only the seen, in the heard, only the heard, in the sensed, only the sensed, in the cognized, only the cognized, and you see that there is no thing here, you will therefore see that indeed there is no thing there. As you see that there is no thing there, you will see that you are therefore located neither in the world of this, nor in the world of that, nor in any place betwixt the two.

This alone is the end of suffering."

Continue to Part 11

[1] Enlightenment In This Lifetime: Meetings With A Remarkable Woman An Interview with Dipa Ma. www.tricycle.com/interview/enlightenment-lifetime-meetings-remarkable- woman.

[2] The Udana, 1- 10 the third book of the

NIRVANA/NIBBANA

He who is free from craving and attachment, is perfect in uncovering the true meaning of the Teaching, and knows the arrangement of the sacred texts in correct sequence -- he, indeed, is the bearer of his final body. He is truly called the profoundly wise one, the great man. .

TESTING NIRVANA

The Buddha said that the way to test if someone was by observing their words and actions carefully and attentively, over a long period, and under all sorts of trying circumstances. The true test is if the person's peaceful, unshakable state of mind is there at all times. To see if there is any evidence of emotional greed, hatred, and delusion.[1] That there is no more clinging to a self-identity, no more ignorance about the cause of the wheel of birth and death and the conditions that create the suffering, and ultimately that they have a genuine direct knowledge or wisdom resulting in nirvana.

According to the Buddha, Nibbana/nirvana is the culmination of the Noble Eightfold Path. It means the liberation from the asavas,[2] destruction of the taints, emotional craving for continual existence, ignorance, (false views) and emotional craving for sensuality and rebirth in any higher realms. In essence it means eradicating all 10 fetters and having an imperturbable peace of mind. "There are these ten fetters.

Which ten?

Five lower fetters & five higher fetters.

And which are the five lower fetters?

Self-identity views, uncertainty, grasping at precepts & practices. . sensual desire, & ill will. These are the five lower fetters. And which are the five higher fetters? Passion for form, passion for what is formless, conceit, restlessness, & ignorance. These are the five higher fetters. And these are the ten fetters."

These are the fourteen unwholesome mental factors according to abhidhamma,

 Four universal unwholesome mental factors (akusalasādhāra):  - delusion  Ahirika - lack of shame  Anottappa - disregard for consequence  Uddhacca - restlessness

 Three mental factors of the greed-group (lobha):  Lobha - greed  Ditthi - wrong view. ( such as atman equals Brahman etc etc etc)  Māna - conceit

 Four mental factors of the hatred-group (dosa)  Dosa - hatred  Issā - envy  Macchariya - miserliness  Kukkucca - regret

 Other unwholesome mental factors  Thīna - sloth  Middha - torpor  Vicikicchā - doubt

Today many of these non duality teachers have more than one home, more than one car, swimming pools, tennis courts, Jacuzzis, gyms, bank accounts, businesses, housekeepers, gardeners, bookkeepers, accountants, lawyers, public relations persons/managers, personal assistants, personal trainers, and the woman often have hair dressers, manicurists, botox and cosmetic assistants, plastic surgeons and more. You also find that some of them get married more than one time, or frequently change their significant others or even have secretive and simultaneous multiple relationships.

LAY ARAHANT? This is problematic on many fronts because according to the Buddha, there are things an arahant can no longer do.

AN 9.7 Sutavaa Sutta [Excerpt] translated from the Pali by Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi

"In the past, Sutavaa, and also now, I declare that a monk who is an arahant -- one with the taints destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done his task, laid down the burden, attained his own goal, destroyed the fetters of becoming and become liberated by final knowledge -- is incapable of transgression in regard to nine things:

[1] "he is incapable of destroying life, [1] "abhabbo khii.naasavo bhikkhu sa~ncicca paa.na.m jiivitaa voropetu.m,

[2] "he is incapable of committing theft, [2] "abhabbo khii.naasavo bhikkhu adinna.m theyyasa"nkhaata.m aadaatu.m,

[3] "he is incapable of engaging in the sexual act, [3] "abhabbo khii.naasavo bhikkhu methuna.m dhamma.m pa.tisevitu.m,

[4] "he is incapable of telling a deliberate lie, [4] "abhabbo khii.naasavo bhikkhu sampajaanamusaa bhaasitu.m,

[5] "he is incapable of making use of stored up enjoyments as he did in the past when he was a householder, [5] "abhabbo khii.naasavo bhikkhu sannidhikaaraka.m kaame paribhu~njitu.m seyyathaapi pubbe agaariyabhuuto,

[6] "he is incapable of taking a wrong course of action on account of desire, [6] "abhabbo khii.naasavo bhikkhu chandaagati.m gantu.m,

[7] "he is incapable of taking a wrong course of action on account of hatred, [7] "abhabbo khii.naasavo bhikkhu dosaagati.m gantu.m,

[8] "he is incapable of taking a wrong course of action on account of delusion, [8] "abhabbo khii.naasavo bhikkhu mohaagati.m gantu.m,

[9] "he is incapable of taking a wrong course of action on account of fear. [9] "abhabbo khii.naasavo bhikkhu bhayaagati.m gantu.m.

"In the past, Sutavaa, and also now I declare that a monk who is an arahant is incapable of transgression in regard to these nine things."

As I mentioned previously, when I spoke to Amaro Bhikkhu an abbot at a Buddhist monastery in the UK about this and he said that if someone were truly an arahant, he would doubt that they would want to live as a householder anymore. Ajahn Brahmali and other monks also said the same thing. I have also spoken with many former monks in the Theravada tradition. Most agree that it is possible to attain nibbanna as a lay person, but the question arises as how you do this and then what happens next. Can it sustained permanently ?

Most of the commentaries say that it cannot and that anyone who attains this must ordain soon after or they die.

Even at the third stage of Sainthood (Anagami), when a lay Buddhist becomes an Anagami, he naturally leads a celibate life because he no longer has interest in sensual desires; meaning money as well, never mind an arahant. the reason being is that this unwholesome root is cut at third path and the interest seems to dissolve or is no longer arising. There is also a distinction with once returner and non returner. See utube video here by Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRquhvbfVp4

In the Majjhima nikaya, Tevijjavacchagotta sutta,11, the Buddha is asked this point-blank question by a wonderer named Vaccahagotta. "Master Gotama, is there any householder without abandoning the of householdership, on the dissolution of the body has made an end to suffering?' The Buddha replied, "there is no householder who without abandoning the fetter of householder ship, on the dissolution of the body has made an end to suffering"

There are recorded cases in the Pali suttas where a lay person has destroyed all earthy attachments , became an arahant but passed away immediately, or left and became a monk immediately. So it seems that going by the Pali suttas and most of the commentaries that being fully enlightened,-arhant, and ramaining a householder, having possessions, family, etc etc is in most instances out of the question. Theoretically, one could still live as a non monastic, but still be a renunciate of some kind. This would mean owning nothing, or wanting nothing, or not having to make money, as well keeping all the precepts.

Hypothetically, for a lay person to obtain nibbana, or fourth path and fruit, the majour problem to sustain this is not having the right environment, or the right support from others. From a spouse, children, friends, family, acquaintances. It boils down to having the right conditions so that you can keep up a very rigorous and serious practice without having the normal distractions or obstacles. They would have have made a vow, or practiced as a paccekabuddha in a previous life, or have practiced the (13 austerities) in previous life times as a monk. Having attained the jhanas, abhinjas and more over many lifetimes. you can't rule this out as a possibility. A paccekahabuddha doesn't ordain as a monk or die. http://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh305_Kloppenborg_Paccekabuddha- Concept-In-Pali-Canon-Commentary.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhutanga

See . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milarepa

If not, having these paramis, or practice, attainments earned over many lifetimes, it's like building your house on a weak foundation, eventually it's going to collapse or fall down.

So to even attempt this would also mean having a very quiet place to live alone or at least to have a room where you can spend as much time as you need to meditate unhindered. This could be some kind of retreat.

But to even get to this place, you first have to attain the previous paths and fruits. The most difficult maybe that from sakadagami to anagami. This means eradicating all types of habits and likes, such as food, or anything that you crave through the senses. Pleasant sights, sounds, music, entertainment, tastes, touch, aromas and anything else that you come into contact with through the five senses. The odds of doing this in one lifetime is close to impossible. To be more realistic, it's better to do this over the course of a few.

The problem is, the goal is to go from being addicted to the senses for these types of cravings to bring you happiness or pleasure to not needing any of them at all. This is not easily achieved but the way to to do this is through jhana and vipassana together.

You first need to have the paramis, cultivated usually over many life times. No one can do this in one life time. You have to have perfect sila, - ethics and moral behavior, generosity, - dana, compassion, Karuna, patience, loving kindness, metta, - sympathetic joy () and equanimity (upekkha) , being aware of everything you do at all times and then at least master the first 4 jhanas to attain a state of equanimity, and then apply this mind to insight meditation. Or what is known as vipassana. Again see book by Ajahn Suchart, "Against the Defilements". https://archive.org/stream/AgainstTheDefilements/Ag ainst%20the%20Defilements_djvu.txt

But this means taking at least 8 precepts or even better 10. Not handling money, or ever having to pay bills or even think about this. Or to think about having to work or make ends meet. This will make it impossible to do for most lay people unless they are supported or very wealthy, or willing to live very frugally.

So you need someone to support you with at least one meal a day. Just enough calories to sustain your normal weight.

But if you are very wealthy, the catch is, to have peace of mind, you will first have to give all the money and possessions away, or let someone else handle them. Give it to someone like a spouse or a close relative who can trust and will then use it to support you in return.

CAR.

Having a car would probably be out of the question because it takes upkeep and money for gas, insurance, registration, inspections. It may be better to walk, or use a bicycle. For simple things like buying the basic supplies.

COMPUTER.

If you have a computer, this is ok as long as you do not surf the internet, get distracted, by social media and only use it for listening to dhamma talks, studying the suttas.

Not reading or looking at the news, or websites is not conducive in any way. You have to be mindful of advertisements and things like this, so you always have to keep the senses guarded. You have to be very aware of any kind of negative inflow, influences or what is known as asavas. This means anything that arises in the mind stream at any time or through the physical body. Any kind of feeling, thought, or emotion,

GOING OUT

If you do have to go out and interact with others, the best way is to focus on the walking and not to look around. Just do what you have to do and then go back to your place.

SCHEDULE. It is good to make a schedule. Begin with setting a time to just sit for a while, then do some chores and then a time to eat. Keep it as simple as possible and do the same thing each day. The more time alone the better. The less talking the better it is.

SEX

This falls under one of the five hindrances and a majour obstacle in most instances. Some say that it is not but the Buddha said,

Monks, any desire-passion with regard to craving for forms is a defilement of the mind. Any desire-passion with regard to craving for sounds... craving for aromas... craving for flavors... craving for tactile sensations... craving for ideas is a defilement of the mind." [3]

"And what does it mean to unyoke from sensuality?"

"There is the case where a certain person discerns, as it actually is present, the origination, the passing away, the allure, the drawbacks, and the escape from sensuality. When he discerns, as it actually is present, the origination, the passing away, the allure, the drawbacks, and the escape from sensuality, then (with regard to sensual objects), he is not obsessed with sensual passion, sensual delight, sensual attraction, sensual infatuation, sensual thirst, sensual fever, sensual fascination, sensual craving. This is unyoking from sensuality."[4]

Vangisa: I burn with sensual desire, my mind is enflamed (with passion). Out of pity please tell me the effective extinguishing of it.

Ananda: Your mind is enflamed because of distorted perception. Shun the aspect of beauty associated with passion. See constructions as other, as painful, not as self, (and thus) extinguish strong passion; do not burn again and again. [5]

The Methuna Sutta

The Discourse on Coupling

(Anguttara Nikaya 7.47/4:54-56)

1 (In the city of Sāvatthī.)

1.2 The brahmin Jānussonī approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When this courteous and friendly exchange was concluded, the brahmin Jānussonī sat down at one side. Sitting thus at one side, the brahmin Jānūssonī said this to the Blessed One:

―Does the Blessed One profess to be a brahmachari (brahmacārī)?―

1.3 ―Brahmin, if one speaking rightly were to say of anyone, thus:

‗He lives the perfect and pure brahmachari life, unbroken, untorn [consistent], unmixed [not altering the rules], spotless, he, brahmin, would be speaking rightly of me.

For, I, brahmin, live the perfect and pure brahmachari life, unbroken, untorn [consistent], unmixed [not altering the rules], spotless.‖

1.4 ―But, master Gotama, what is the break, the tear, the mottle, the blotch of the holy life [brahma-charya]?‖

The seven faults of the false brahmachari

2 (1) Here, brahmin, a certain ascetic or brahmin, declares himself to be a total brahmachari. For, he does not indulge in coupling [in sexual intercourse] with women.

But he consents to being rubbed, massaged, bathed, and kneaded by women. He relishes it, longs for it, and savours it.

This, brahmin, is a break, and a tear, and a mottle, and a blotch of the holy life.

This, brahmin, is called one who leads the impure holy life, who is devoted to the indulgence of coupling. He is not freed from birth, decay-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, mental pain: he is not freed from suffering, I say!

3 (2) Furthermore, brahmin, a certain ascetic or brahmin, declares himself to be a total brahmachari. Nor does he indulge in coupling with women. Nor does he consent to being rubbed, massaged, bathed, and kneaded by women.

But he jokes with women, plays with them, jests with them. He relishes it, longs for it, and savours it.

This, brahmin, is a break, and a tear, and a mottle, and a blotch of the holy life.

This, brahmin, is called one who leads the impure holy life, who is devoted to the indulgence of coupling. He is not freed from birth, decay-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, mental pain: he is not freed from suffering, I say!

4 (3) Furthermore, brahmin, a certain ascetic or brahmin, declares himself to be a complete brahmachari.

For, he does not indulge in coupling with women.

Nor does he consent to being rubbed, massaged, bathed, and kneaded by women, too.

Nor does he joke, play or jest with women.

But he gazes and looks on eye to eye at women. He relishes it, longs for it, and savours it.

This, brahmin, is a break, and a tear, and a mottle, and a blotch of the holy life.

This, brahmin, is called one who leads the impure holy life, who is devoted to the indulgence of coupling ..He is not freed from birth, decay-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, mental pain: he is not freed from suffering, I say!

5 (4) Furthermore, brahmin, a certain ascetic or brahmin, declares himself to be a complete brahma-chari.

For, he does not indulge in coupling with women.

Nor does he consent to being rubbed, massaged, bathed, and kneaded by women, too.

Nor does he joke, play or jest with women.

Nor does he gaze or look on eye to eye at women.

But he listens to the sounds of women through a wall or through a fence as they laugh, or talk, or sing or weep. He relishes it, longs for it, and savours it.

This, brahmin, is a break, and a tear, and a mottle, and a blotch of the holy life.

This, brahmin, is called one who leads the impure holy life, who is devoted to the indulgence of coupling. He is not freed from birth, decay-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, mental pain: he is not freed from suffering, I say!

6 (5) Furthermore, brahmin, a certain ascetic or brahmin, declares himself to be a complete brahma-chari.

For, he does not indulge in coupling with women.

Nor does he consent to being rubbed, massaged, bathed, and kneaded by women, too.

Nor does he joke, play or jest with women.

Nor does he gaze or look on eye to eye at women.

Nor does he listen to the sounds of women through a wall or through a fence as they laugh, or talk, or sing or weep.

But he recollects his erstwhile laughing and chatting and playing with women. He relishes it, longs for it, and savours it.

This, brahmin, is a break, and a tear, and a mottle, and a blotch of the holy life.

This, brahmin, is called one who leads the impure holy life, who is devoted to the indulgence of coupling. He is not freed from birth, decay-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, mental pain: he is not freed from suffering, I say!

7 (6) Furthermore, brahmin, a certain ascetic or brahmin, declares himself to be a complete brahma-chari.

For, he does not indulge in coupling with women.

Nor does he consent to being rubbed, massaged, bathed, and kneaded by women, too.

Nor does he joke, play or jest with women.

Nor does he gaze or look on eye to eye at women.

Nor does he listen to the sounds of women through a wall or through a fence as they laugh, or talk, or sing or weep.

Nor does he recollect the previous laughing and chatting and playing with women.

But he sees a householder or the son of a householder being entertained, showered and serviced with the cords of sensual- pleasures. He relishes it, longs for it, and savours it.

This, brahmin, is a break, and a tear, and a mottle, and a blotch of the holy life.

This, brahmin, is called one who leads the impure holy life, who is devoted to the indulgence of coupling. He is not freed from birth, decay-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, mental pain: he is not freed from suffering, I say!

8 (7) Furthermore, brahmin, a certain ascetic or brahmin, declares himself to be a complete brahma-chari.

For, he does not indulge in coupling with women.

Nor does he consent to being rubbed, massaged, bathed, and kneaded by women, too.

Nor does he joke, play or jest with women.

Nor does he gaze or look on eye to eye at women.

Nor does he listen to the sounds of women through a wall or through a fence as they laugh, or talk, or sing or weep.

Nor does he recollect the previous laughing and chatting and playing with women.

Nor does he see a householder or the son of a householder being entertained, showered and serviced with the cords of sense-pleasures.

But he lives the holy life aspiring for rebirth in one of the groups of devas, thinking, ‗By this rule or vow or austerity or holy life, I shall become a deva or one amongst them.‘He relishes it, longs for it, and savours it.

This, brahmin, is a break, and a tear, and a mottle, and a blotch of the holy life.

9 This, brahmin, is called one who leads the impure holy life, who is devoted to the indulgence of coupling. He is not freed from birth, decay-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, mental pain: he is not freed from suffering, I say!

The Buddha has overcome all bondage

10 And as along as I noticed that one or other of these seven bonds of sexuality unabandoned in me, to that extent, brahmin, I did not claim to be supremely awakened in the peerless full self-awakening in this world with its gods, with its Māra, with its Brahmā, this generation with its recluses and brahmins, its rulers and people.

11 But, brahmin, when I did not notice any of these seven bonds of sexuality unabandoned in me, to that extent, brahmin, I have claimed to be supremely awakened in the peerless full self-awakening in this world with its gods, with its Māra, with its Brahmā, this generation with its recluses and brahmins, its rulers and people.

These are some problems of being a lay person today. Especially if you are not able to be in a position to live alone, or not have to see or deal with woman, in some way or another. You will constantly having to guarding the sense gates and this is not so easy.

One way of doing this is seeing every woman as either your sister, mother or daughter. So if you are married this will have to dramatically change. You will no longer be able to see them as your wife but more like your sister. And any kind of physical contact at all will not be permissible.

This is the only way to sever these ties and to undo this knot. The same is with you material possessions, you will have to give everything away, to sever this knot as well. This is the only way to be free of both. So if you do have to still live in the same house as your spouse, a clear understanding has to be established as well as new guidelines and boundaries.

LAYMAN CLAIMS OF ARAHANT ATTAINMENT Miss Rhys Davis points out in the commentaries of the [6] Theri and the that many of the poets were arahants, including former children, prostitutes, landowners, slaves, fishermen, bastards of royalty, caravan guides, and merchants. So it's not impossible for a householder to become an arahant if they then immediately become nuns and monks and leave it all behind.

There were cases of lay people becoming arahants on their deathbeds.

See article Laymen saints, http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp- content/uploads/2009/12/8.6-Laymen-saints-piya.pdf, here by , whom I have also spoke to about this matter. See below.

"These numerous qualities of the renunciant saints are connoted in the parable of ―the city of the Dharma (King Milinder 341-347). But Nāgasena makes no mention of the lay followers‘ ability at attaining sainthood.

Later on, however, he concedes that the laity can attain nirvana, but the groundwork has been done in previous lives:

"Those householders, sire, living in a house, enjoying sense-pleasures, who realize the peace and highest goal of nirvana, have all in former births completed the training, and had finished all the stages of the thirteen ascetic practices. Their conduct and progress having thus been purified, they now, even as householders, realize the peace and highest goal of nirvana."

(Milinder" 352) End of quote.

So according to Nāgasena it is possible based on the conditions of having been a monk in past lives. Brahmins at that time were also not monks but some were able to attain nibbana. As well as some of the ascetics or wanderers in the forests.

In the Dhammapada, the Buddha says. " Though well adorned [finely clad], if he fares in calmness, At peace, tamed, self- controlled, living the holy life, Having put down the rod towards all beings— He is a brahmin, he is a recluse, he is a monk.137.

He equates being a holy brahmin, or a recluse, as a monk. Some Brahmins in that day lived as householders.

"A Brahmin ought to sustain himself by following a livelihood that causes little or no harm to creatures. He should gather wealth just sufficient for his subsistence through irreproachable activities that are specific to him, without fatiguing his body. – 4.2–4.3 He must never follow a worldly occupation for the sake of livelihood, but subsist by means of a pure, upright and honest livelihood proper to a Brahmin. One who seeks happiness should become supremely content and self controlled, for happiness is rooted in contentment and its opposite is the root of unhappiness." – 4.11–4.12

— Manusmriti,

A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester". A is a recluse.

But in any case, as far as making claims of being an arhant, the question is, who or what is an arahant if one has already seen through the mind-body complex?

The problem with identifying with this arahant ideal is that it's still identifying with a concept. And why would someone also publicly make this claim?

Some say the reasons for doing so is to encourage others that it is possible, that it will inspire others to try harder.

The problem with this of course is that they could be simply being deluded or on the other hand is to bring attention to oneself, or to make an income, or a name for oneself, and to make a living.

When was asked if he were one he said, "Do not be a bodhisattva, do not be an arahant, do not be anything at all. If you are a bodhisattva, you will suffer, if you are an arahant, you will suffer, if you are anything at all, you will suffer." However today you find some lay teachers that claim to be arahants that object to and criticise these older teachings and say that its dogma and all the rest. Reason being is that they are married, have jobs or need to make a living and still be in the world. Its more or less the same arguments that some of the Mahayana Buddhists used, 2, 400 years ago. The Buddha said that being an arahant, one who has attained nirvana, means being perfected, having equipoise at all times, an imperturbable mind, thus having overcome all aspects of greed, hatred, delusion and suffering. We all know that's not an easy thing to do as a householder with a family. If most of those who made the claim that they are arahants were genuine, they probably wouldn't claim they were an arahant. It's problematic because saying so can be interpreted as an ego-assertion or a way of measuring oneself against another. The Buddha also said that there are three kinds of conceit: higher than, less than, and equal to, all a measuring of oneself or others. A true arahant would have no reason to measure themselves against others or broadcast it, because it would be revealed by their every action, their words, their knowledge, and their practice. If one were faking this, it would be reason enough for expulsion from the sangha, the spiritual community, for it is deceptive and misleading. So making public claims died out, because of the penalty being very severe. One way for them to know was by the divine eye, or mind reading. Being an arahant, one who has reached nirvana, means having overcome all the fetters, broken the link in the chain of dependant origination, including all sensual desires, and I don't know of any lay teachers like this. Most of them are in some kind of physically active relationship. They may also be making a living from teaching, or are in the world in other ways, hustling and chasing money. So let's face it, most likely none of these teachers who are out there hustling, making money and having sex are arahants. They may be first path or even second at most. Sotapanna or sakadagami. So even just making a private or a public claim of being "enlightened" can be misleading and cause confusion in people's minds. Most who make this claim publicly want to be a teacher of some kind. However this can backfire and what may result is suspicion and cynicism. Some may not believe you or say that you are lying or exaggerating to improve your reputation and social status, or that you are making these claims as a business venture. It can invite provocation, ridicule, testing, teasing, and quarreling. On the flipside, those who are gullible and listen to you may follow you blindly without question, not because of what you have realized or the quality of your teachings, but because of your claims that you say you are realized. These are all good reasons why one should keep it to oneself and not make any claims in public, or even in private.

BREAKING THE CHAINS

In any case, the Buddha said the key to liberation is to not only understand cause and effect, but to put this into daily practice; break the link in this chain and keep on doing it. One way to do this is through meditation; by not reacting to the sensation or unpleasant feelings in the body as they arise, pain in the legs, ankles, back, neck, you just observe them. Then do the same with a pleasant feeling that is triggered. By not acting out on these feelings and sensations, they will fall away. If you do this enough times, just observe these feelings, examine them as they arise and pass away, they will not lead to a reaction or craving and they will no longer bind you nor will they continue to arise. This is how you can purify the mind stream. But, this can take years of practice and will in most cases not happen overnight, or in one life time.

See an excellent video here by Punnaji on the gradual process to awakening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOgWNw9ZCuM

MAPS OF ENLIGHTENMENT

There are about three ways or maps that are used into the Theravada Buddhists tradition, one of them is knowing the 16 or more insights, knowledge's that can be very useful in terms of gauging your own practice, if you do not have teacher. The problem with his is that its very easy to over estimate where you are along this path, or misunderstanding it without speaking with some one who has been there.

Then there is the jhana model that some use, meaning attaining certain jhanas equate with stages along the path. This is probably the least accurate way to measure where you are. Some say that even if you glimpse , or the 9th jhana this makes you an anagani or arahant immediately.

The 10 fetters model is the most accurate way of estimating where you are. "There are these ten fetters. Which ten? Five lower fetters & five higher fetters. And which are the five lower fetters? Self-identity views, uncertainty, grasping at precepts & practices, sensual desire, & ill will. These are the five lower fetters. And which are the five higher fetters? Passion for form, passion for what is formless, conceit, restlessness, & ignorance. These are the five higher fetters. And these are the ten fetters."

Sanyojana Sutta: Fetters translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

If you can be very honest with yourself as well as with others, and not to present a picture of something you are not, or being vague about it, and misleading others that way. This is what many commercial teachers do, they wont say I have only attained stream entry because its not as marketable, or as valuable in the eyes of someone who thinks you are fully enlightened. Its only quarter way up the mountain and may like to give the impression that they have already reached the mountain top, and have come down to help humanity. Some call it entering the market place, or things of that nature and to not be selfish living in a cave.

FOUR STAGES OF ENLIGHTENMENT

The first stage is Stream entry. This is also the first stage of awakening, when you have overcome the problem of taking the mind/body complex as a personal identity and arrive at anatta - Not self. To get to this first stage, you also have to overcome doubt or uncertainty, especially about the teachings and the path. You have to know and understand the four noble truths on an experiential level. Meaning you have to understand the cause and the cessation of suffering. You also have to understand that everything is impermanent and that certain rites and rituals do not lead to enlightenment

In essence you have to have the "right view" of what enlightenment truly is, otherwise you will most likely end up with a wrong outcome. You also need to have the right intention which is one of letting go and harmlessness, and renunciation. This is all built on right conduct, meaning right speech, action, and right livelihood. One must have the right kind of effort, mindfulness and concentration and meditation practice for this awakening to truly take effect.

They say in Vedanta, you have to have sraddha, faith, because if you have doubt, suspicion, are cynical, jaded, mistrusting, and it's very difficult to get very far. Without this element, you are not going to listen to a teacher. You have to let go of attachment to rites and rituals. To let go of superstitions, like the belief in magic, astrology, wrong types of ascetic practices you believe will purify you, or see through all types of social conventions and beliefs. It does not mean defying social conventions, or believing you are beyond them.

This is why the first stage entails keeping the at all times. These five precepts are absolutely crucial. No wrong speech, harsh, angry, vulgar, divisive or bitter speech, no lying. Instead using kind, compassionate, inspiring and positive speech at the right times; speech that helps others about the dharma or the truth. Also generating metta or loving kindness. It means not stealing, or taking what does not belong to you. Not causing harm to others in any way, killing of animals or insects, sexual misconduct or harming yourself or others with this in any way at all. No drinking alcohol or other intoxicants of any kind.

So attaining stream entry is a major step. It means that one will have no more rebirth in the lower realms of existence, and full enlightenment is guaranteed in no more than 7 rebirths.

When many Buddhist lay people speak about being enlightened, they are speaking about stream entry; abandoning the first few fetters of a personal identity view. (self/Self). In either case this is a major accomplishment, but it still isn't "full enlightenment".

This is how they mark it more or less for someone who has attained the first stage of enlightenment.

The Buddha said that if someone offered you to make a deal, that you would attain stream entry, but only if you would have to be stabbed 100 times by spears three times a day for a 100 years, (that adds to millions of times), he said it was worth taking the deal. This is how important this attainment is.

STAGE 2

The next stage means the gradual weakening of sensual desire. This not only means to sex, but also to food, sights, sounds, (music) tastes, preferences as well as money, worldly ambition, success, fame, and all the rest. For example, if you are flying around the world teaching, having sex, or acting out inappropriately, the odds are you have not gotten to this second stage yet.

In Stage 2, negative emotions weaken at least 50 percent, as does aversion, ill will, anger and hatred. How you react to people or situations is a way of testing this; if you curse or get angry, use sarcasm or harmful speech with your students or with anyone else and so on. This stage or zone can be very difficult if you are a lay person or in a relationship, since the temptations are always there. Especially for sex and to chase after money.

If you do attain this stage, it means that you will only have to be reborn in the human realm one more time. There maybe degrees of sakadagmi as well. Some may have weakened greed and aversion more than others to the point of being very close to anagami, and almost impossible to make a distinction.

STAGE 3 is when someone like Dipa Ma has completely overcome all attachment to the senses or sensuous craving? This means not just to sex, but everything else. [7] This is much more difficult to attain for a householder, especially one who is younger or in a relationship or has not attained the jhanas which are much more pleasurable than any kind of sense pleasures.

At this stage, it means that you have no ill will, anger or aversion of any kind. That you never experience, anger, hatred, jealousy, or any kind of negative emotion. Not even for a second. Not even a glimpse. These emotions never arise anymore. You simply don't have emotions or feelings like before. The mind body complex is 100 percent calm at all times, no matter what is going on. Even if your life is in danger. This is very similar to arahant in this regard.

If you attain this stage, it means no more human birth, but one last birth in a heavenly realm and then you attain nirvana from there. Someone at this stage is very difficult to find as a lay person. See Mahavacchagotta sutta in the Majjhima nikaya for details..

STAGE 4 means having no desire for material existence or craving for any kind of rebirth. It means no lusting or desiring, no craving for immaterial existence, or craving for rebirth in a formless realm, or a heavenly realm of some kind.

It also means having no more conceit or ignorance. It means fully understanding the teachings of the Buddha and having direct attainment of this. Having no spiritual ego or any sense of I am-ness at all. no sense of ownership, possession of anything at all. No kind of pride for getting this far. No Restlessness of any kind. It means no more ignorance of the laws of karma, dharma, or dependant origination. It means cutting off he 10 main fetters, not just conceptually, or philosophically as many other traditions do.

In essence Buddhism is the path of letting go and not clinging to anything anymore so to not create anymore sankharas and rebirth or any kind of existence at all in any of the realms. None of these stages are meant to be taken as one's identity or to be seen as being better, wiser or more pure than anyone else. Again using them this way would just be another manifestation of the ego. Continue to Part 12

[1] The Dalai of Tibet has a humorous "one taste test" for anyone who claims they have this non-dual realization, and that it's ok to teach or practice , because sex, like anything else, is just an object, as the saying goes. He said, "Then let them eat a plate of sh*t to see how non-dual they really are."

[2] Inflow, or influx, influence; mental bias or the cankers that keep one bound to the world of samsara.

[3] 27.8

[4] Aṅguttara Nikĕya 4, 10

[5] Thag 21 www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/thag/thag.21.00.irel.html

[6] The Theragatha is the eighth book of the Khuddaka Nikaya and consists of 264 poems. The is the ninth book of poems by nuns.

[7] See interviews, non duality magazine . The Price of Enlightenment - The question of charging for the spiritual teachings. www.nondualitymagazine.org/nondualitymagazine.thepriceofenlightenment.contentspage.htm

GOD

"What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence."

Christopher Hitchens, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

GOD is a peculiar sounding word. It is a word that is loaded with all sorts of meaning. To some it may be misleading because of the dogma and superstition attributed to it. For instance, in many Western religions the idea of God can evoke fear of retribution, a Punisher God that judges you and then sentences you to an everlasting hell. Others speculate that the English word "God" derives from the German word to invoke or to call. It is also a version of the word "good." If GOD "the absolute" is pure un-manifested awareness, then it is beyond good and evil, because in reality the empirical laws of the natural universe are not always desirable. Take for example when bad weather happens, you have natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, etc. Therefore, good is not always a very accurate description.

Some speak about a belief in God, but say to "know" means to perceive directly, to have direct cognition of. "Belief" means to accept as true, genuine, or real. It is based on faith or arriving at this after some kind of mental cogitation or trust in someone else's experiences. They say that direct knowledge has nothing to do with belief, faith, conviction, or opinion. As with the distinction between belief and direct knowledge, such as insight attained as a result of jhana (samadhi). It's not based on secondary hearsay, doctrine, or scripture.

The Vedas say that God is an aspect of Brahman or existence, (sat), consciousness, (chit), and limitlessness, (ananda/bliss), and this is everything, both subject and object, the manifest and the un-manifest. This equation is also known as . The supreme Lord, as it is called, is the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Destroyer. Brahma means -the creator and generator. Vishnu means the pervasive operator and sustainer. Shiva symbolizes the transformation into elements through disintegration.

Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are all aspects of the one God. Shiva can be interpreted as destruction, which in turn is the preparation for a new cycle of creation that goes on infinitely. However, every Indian tradition has its interpretation of this, and they don't always agree. I once heard a tantric yoga teacher say that you could use the letters G for Generator/Creator, O for Vishnu the Operator, and D for Shiva the Destroyer, G O D.

Vedanta says that absolute truth can be known through para , higher knowledge, but cannot be described because it is beyond thoughts and senses. Only the empirical, conventional truth/reality can be described.

As far as worshiping Gods in the Theravada tradition, the Buddha was known as a teacher of gods and humans yet he never suggested worshiping or praying to a monotheistic God or gods. That's why you won't find any of this in the Theravada tradition or the Pali Canon. Buddha did speak about Gods or Deva realms of existence, so he never denied that certain types of Gods exist. Such as the Great Brahma (Maha brahma), a deity whose delusion leads him to regard himself as the all-powerful and the creator of the universe.[1] He said 'I, monk, am Brahma, the Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be.'

Maha brahma sounds identical to the God in some of the western traditions, but in any case, Buddha was more anti speculative than anti theistic. His teachings said to rid oneself of all the primitive rites and rituals, such as incantations, fire ceremonies, superstition, magic, prayers, and cruel animal sacrifices. These are seen as being one of the fetters to overcome stream entry. Stream entry' being the first stage of enlightenment on the path to nirvana.

Some traditions indicate that the Buddha realized the same truth as was understood by many of the original Brahman and maharishis before him, but this is not true since he didn't speak about Brahman or non duality.

Buddha himself was said to be karmically a descendant of one of the Seven Rishis. What's also interesting is that these mystical rishis were ascetics and and practiced samadhi and all kinds of austerities. It seems that they did variations of jhana/samadhi. However, the Pali Canon does state that the Brahmic religious traditions of his day had deviated from the ancient ways. There were certain Brahmins of his time (not all) that were not living and practicing this path properly as the Rishis before them.[2]

Some claim that in the Mahavagga, the Buddha pays respect to Vashistha and other Rishis, who by severe penances acquired the power to see with the divine eye the higher knowledges,[3] and that he declared that the Veda was true in its original form and refused to pay homage to the altered version because he said that the true Veda had been altered by the priests of his day. (This doesn't seem to be in the Pali Canon). However, he actually said the opposite when speaking about the Brahmin seeing Brahma.

Some also say that many of the Brahmin priests had been corrupted and stopped practicing the ascetic ways and did not know how to see with the "divine eye" because they had been seduced with gifts of gold, cows, land, and sacrificing of animals offered to them by their kings. To maintain their lineage, land, lifestyles, and societal statuses, they also were no longer celibate. Buddha wanted everyone to have equal access to this truth without having to belong to a Brahmin family or to understand Sanskrit. He was said one becomes a Brahmin (holy/perfected) by one's practice and actions, not by birth.

Another question that is interesting is the theory of evolution. The Vedas don't mention evolution in the same scientific context as Charles Darwin did. Some of the Upanishads do say that the hardcore evidence is all around us. Vedanta says that this universe is filled to the brim with intelligence and knowledge. The universe is the nature and manifestation of knowledge and the "designer" is existence (unlimited consciousness).

THERAVADA BUDDHISM Vedantins, like the Buddhists, say that this manifested aspect of existence destroys and creates itself (transforms itself) eternally in cycles (kalpas or eons) each of which can last for billions or trillions of years.[4] There is not a creator and a separate creation. It's one and the same. There was not one big bang, but infinite big bangs one after another. These big bangs and contractions are beginning-less and never-ending. There will never be an end because there was never a beginning. Worlds simply come and go. Universes come and go. Galaxies come and go. Vedantins and Buddhists both say that in reality there is no such thing as death; there is only transformation.

The Agganna Sutta gives a very different account of the creation of the universe, as exemplified by the Rig Veda's Hymn of Purusa, which sought to justify the social hierarchy of that time based on a creation myth.[5] Some say this was a satire of the Brahmanical culture of its time and their creation myths, but the Agganna Sutta says that when the Buddha was once asked about the beginning, he said that this universe contracts and expands and during that time of expansion, and that beings are born in the Abhassara Brahma realm.39 This is one of the heavenly angelic-type spiritual realms of the devas.[6] He said these beings that live there are "mind-made" and manifested as "thought form beings," conceptual beings, and they feed on nothing, no food at all, but delight. He says they are self-luminous, shining, and radiating light like stars, and that they gloriously move through the air and stay like that for a very long time.

From a cosmological perspective you could say that these are actually stars. And these spiritual star-like beings from the Abhassara Brahma realm, which have also died there, are reborn into this earthly realm where they also exist and feed on nothing but delight, still self- luminous and gloriously floating through the air. And at this time, there was no Moon or Sun or night and day, and these star-like beings had no names or identity as female or male. The creatures were only known as creatures. At that period, known as Vasettha, there was just one mass of water, and all was darkness . . . blinding darkness. And sooner or later, after a very long period of time, savory earth spread itself over the waters where those beings were. It looked just like the skin that forms itself over hot milk as it cools. This skin was endowed with color, smell, and taste. It was the color of fine ghee or heated butter and it was very sweet, like pure wild honey. Some of the beings of light (the Abbhasaras) were of curious nature and began to dive down and taste this earth's rich, sweet-like substance and discovered that it tasted delicious. They ate this earth's substance voraciously and called the other Abbhasaras, who were still flying above the earth, to join in the feast. As the being stuffed themselves with sweet-tasting earth, their bodies became coarser. Some of them were handsome, but others were ugly. The handsome ones despised the ugly ones and became arrogant, and as a result the sweet earth disappeared. And they were all very sorry. [7] Then a fungus, something like a mushroom, grew, and it was wonderfully sweet. So they began stuffing themselves again, and again their bodies grew coarser. And, again, the more handsome ones grew arrogant, and the fungus disappeared. After that they found sweet creepers, with the same result.[8] Over time these self-luminous creatures made from light (or awareness) became stuffed with these new types of food, other plant- like matters like rice and beans also began to grow and they would they feed on this. They then became more like a mind-made body (mano-maya-kaya) and were under the delusion that this is what they were. The mind manifested as flesh. And because you are what you eat, they literally resembled earth-like flesh, blood, gristle, and bones. Over time they evolved from being just light or self-illuminating, neither male nor female, aromatic, and asexual, into being male and female creatures as their sex organs grew, so that they could easily fit. And their lust developed, and their passion and arousal for each other increased.

This is like the Buddhist cosmological theory of evolution, from the first stardust particles of light to creatures evolving out of a sort of cosmic soup. But there is more to this. There is also a karmic or ethical psychological level that Darwinism and science do not have.

And those beings who in those days indulged in sex were not allowed into a village or town for one or two months. Accordingly, those who indulged for an excessively long period in such immoral practices began to build themselves dwellings so as to indulge under cover. [9]

Many of them as a result of all this sensual pleasure became addicted to sex, and began hording and growing more rice and food and kept it just for themselves. Before the hoarding, everything was shared. People would only take what they needed to subsist on and no more. But some started getting even more greedy and putting up fences, creating private property and hoarding and not sharing anymore the earth's natural resources that belonged to everyone equally as a birth right, while others were going without. However, when there was a shortage of food, others began stealing food from others, who had more, and evil began to grow. So then they elected leaders, to act as law enforcement, and politicians to stop this and to punish those that broke the law with sticks and stones. These were known as the , the caste of warriors who were born to enforce this law, to stop others from invading their property and rice fields and crops and having union of the flesh with one another. However, over time, these leaders, politicians and warriors also became corrupt and allowed this evil to flourish. The Buddha said, "Others chose to put aside unwholesome things and they built themselves leaf huts in the forest and engaged in meditation."[10] "Meditate" is the meaning of jhĕyaka. The Jhayaka is one who meditates. The Jhayaka did not practice the gross types of sexual union but were pure-minded and practiced celibacy instead in order to be able to meditate.

Those that weren't too good at meditation settled in villages and wrote books about religion; these were the first Brahmins. [11]

Those who do not meditate refers to Ajjhayaka. At that time, an Ajjhayaka was regarded as a low designation, but now is regarded as the higher class for the Brahmins.[12] Some of these Ajjhayaka were corrupted by pleasures, others corrupted by their minds, being envious of others and saying that they were of a higher class and so on. These types of first Brahmins were not so good at jhana, meditation, but the ones who taught only about the Vedas, or were just "repeaters" of their own private language, and of Sanskrit verses, hymns, songs, or mantras, were unable to attain nirvikalpa samadhi/jhana for themselves. Others became tradesmen, and this began the caste of , or merchants and landowners. The last group became hunters, laborers, and servants, and these became the lowest caste of Sudras.[13] These were the first slaves that the higher, wealthier classes kept and put to work for them to do all their dirty work that they did not want to do themselves. Even today the majority of the world consists of Sudras and Vaishyas. Almost 99 percent of the world's wealth and resources is owned by 1 percent of the population. This is how greedy and gross it's become, but says it will end as a result, like the kalpas before, either through fire, water, or the wind element. The Buddha said that, "Anyone from any caste might be virtuous or not. And anyone from any caste can walk the path and be liberated by insight, and such a person will attain Nirvana in this very life." However, today, the Sudras and Vaishyas, the merchants, landowners, traders, money-lenders, laborers, and business men that do have insights and see themselves as holy, do not practice meditation, nor live a life of wholesome renunciation and celibacy either. Many still engage in sexual union and go on as usual hunting and fishing, and not for food, but for more clients to teach their contemporary non-duality. Nor do they practice dana, meaning generosity, as did the Jhayaka, the meditators. As far as a creator god, Vedantins see it similar to Buddhism. Where it differs, they say that Brahma, a mind-made being, created this world. Buddha said this Brahma was the first Abharasara Brahma being. According to the Brahmajĕla Sutta (Digha Nikaya.1), a Mahĕbrahmĕ is just another light being from the Ābhĕsvara worlds and falls into a lower world through exhaustion of his karmic merits and is this time reborn alone in the Brahma-world. Forgetting his former existence as an Abharasara, he imagines himself to have come into existence without cause and then creates this world. This is why the Buddha said there were other realms of existence outside of our awareness, but you could say this origin of the universe is just a cosmological parable, but it's also a psychological parable showing how we went from being these refined beings of pure light, or awareness, to grosser beings greedily feeding on flesh and desire. In any case, this is the reason the Buddha doesn't even answer this question when asked about the origination; rather he simply says that the origin is "imponderable." He speaks of a dependent origination for rebirth and gives a way out of this that can lead to nirvana. Some say Gaudapada (Adi Shankaras teacher, the tradition holds that he was Sankara's "parama guru," the guru of his guru), borrowed this concept of ajatavada from the Buddha. This is a controversial and sensitive matter for some Vedantin scholars. He said, "No jiva ever comes into existence. There exists no cause that can produce it. The supreme truth is that nothing ever is born."[14] He of course means that the world is only "apparently" born. That in essence it is like a trick of the senses, or a mind-made maya, kind of like putting a DVD in your DVD player and taking it to be real until it plays out, all the while knowing that it was just a movie. Vedantins see this somewhat differently but also similarly and say that this universe is God or the Lord , or Lord Brahma, and so is every single atom in it and this is the world of maya, illusion and is ever-changing. "He created all this, whatever is here. Having created it, into it, indeed, he entered. Having entered it, he became both the actual and the beyond, the defined and the undefined, both the founded and the unfounded, the intelligent and the unintelligent, the true and the untrue." ( 2.6.1) However, what doesn't change is the Absolute or . By this they mean pure absolute awareness. But if you ask Advaitins to show you this invisible awareness, they will tell you that the reason you can't see it or find it is because you are "looking for what is doing the looking." Saint Francis also said that it is not a question of looking and finding; it's a question of ignorance, as in the earlier analogy of looking for your spectacles when you are already wearing them on top your head.

The Vedantins say the stream of thoughts is only the changing reality and that it depends on "awareness" to shine a light on this stream. They call this truth "Sat" (absolute reality) because it is unchanging. This independent unchanging reality doesn't need anything to exist and has always existed and was never born. They also make a clear distinction with this Ultimate Brahman and Brahma the creator god. Where it differs a little from Buddhism, is that Buddhists don't claim thisexists or call this Sat or truth, as an absolute or a higher reality, even without a world of objects, meaning thoughts, sensations, feelings, emotions, and sense perceptions.

However, no one has ever been able to see this absolute unconditioned awareness () They say that it can't be seen with the mind because it's not an object, but that it can be "known." One can ask, "How is it known? How can it be independent of all objects and thoughts? Can this be proven?" It can't, but one can be pointed to it until one "realizes" it for oneself.

Both Vedantins and and some Mahayana Buddhists (not Theravada) equate this "knowing" aspect, if purified, with absolute unconditioned consciousness, but the Buddha never said to identify with this as a big knower, a big mind. He did use a similar expression of "neti, neti," meaning "not this, not this," an expression by the . The Buddha's refrain of negation is "this is not me, this is not who I am, this is not my self/Self."

He did not go on to say you are both subject and object. He simply took the "I am-ness" part out of the equation and left you with no I am-ness at all, manifested or un-manifested, physical or metaphysical, nothing to hang your hat on or make a stake on, just this-ness, not so much a that-ness, nothing to make an ego out of.

On an absolute level, the Vedantin's state that there is not a we, you, he, she or them, that on this level, "all is God" or non-dual awareness. This differs with Theravada Buddhism. When asked about the existence of a higher God, Buddha answered in this way:

Through innumerable lives, in this vortex of rebirth, did I seek the creator of this grief-ridden world.

Never did I find this creator unknown.

It is painful to be reborn again and again.

Oh creator, I have seen you!

You will never create again!

Your structure is dismantled,

The foundation is destroyed,

The mind has stopped creating.

The emotional urge has ceased.

In the suttas, the Buddha used the neuter noun "Brahman" as a holy person in a conventional sense or in the way that the Upanishads used it.

He never specifically used the word "Para Brahman" (absolute God) but did say that there wasn't anything such as an all knowing un- conditioned cosmic witness that exists outside the five aggregates. Bhikkhu Bodhi says in his translation of the majjhima nikaya, [15]and in his book, In the Buddha's Words, [16] what the Buddha did mention brahmabhuto, which means God becoming.

This would also indicate that the Buddha didn't deny the concept of God(s); he just explained the various God(s) in a very different way and said that you can attain the God (deva) or Brahma realms after death.

So it's incorrect to assume that Buddhism is atheistic. In reality it is neither atheistic or theistic as in a western all powerful creator God like Jehovah, but rather it is a path to answer the problem of human suffering and existence. He called the Ariyan Eightfold Path Brahmayana, or path leading to the realization of the life of the divine. There is an important distinction between Brahma (Brahma,Vishnu, Shiva) and Para Brahman (absolute God). The difference being that one represents a symbolic allegorical aspect of the creator God and the other is the ineffable Para Brahman or unconditioned reality.

In the Pali Suttas, the term Bhagava (universal teacher of gods and humans/awakened one) is used many times to refer to the Buddha. Evidence suggests that the Buddha never rejected the idea of a creator type Brahma. He acknowledged a non-eternal demigod or deva known as Baka, the Brahma that lived in a higher realm.[17] Baka believed that his world was a permanent everlasting reality and that he was immortal. He also believed that there were no higher worlds than his, until the Buddha proved him wrong through a feat of his psychic abilities. One of the reasons why the Buddha never said that there wasn't a Brahma type God (omnipotent, omniscient, creator, all loving eternal being) was because if there was a God and it was all loving and all powerful, then why is there suffering?

Another misconception is if we become awakened, we will be like the historical Buddha? No, not exactly, because was considered an anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, meaning perfectly enlightened. Every human being has the potential to become awakened and even attain nirvana, but this isn't so easy to do. What happens to a Buddha after death? The Pali texts say that when he was asked this question, he remained silent. The same way he did with other metaphysical questions of this nature. He called these the "imponderables," which are:

Is there an eternal entity like the Self (Atman)?

Is the world eternal?

Is the world finite?

Is the self identified with the body? And so on . . .

The reasons why the Buddha did not want to address these questions is because for one, the answers would not lead to detachment, right conduct, purification from lust, tranquilization of the mind, knowledge, direct insight, or nirvana. Therefore he would express no opinion on these. He stated, "It's just as if a man were wounded with an arrow thickly smeared with poison. His friends and companions, kinsmen and relatives, would provide him with a surgeon, and the man would say, 'I won't have this arrow removed until I know whether the man who wounded me was a noble warrior, a priest, a merchant, or a worker.' He would say, 'I won't have this arrow removed until I know the given name and clan name of the man who wounded me... until I know whether he was tall, medium, or short... until I know whether he was dark, ruddy-brown, or golden-colored... until I know his home village, town, or city... until I know whether the bow with which I was wounded was a long bow or a crossbow... until I know whether the bowstring with which I was wounded was fiber, bamboo threads, sinew, hemp, or bark... until I know whether the shaft with which I was wounded was wild or cultivated... until I know whether the feathers of the shaft with which I was wounded were those of a vulture, a stork, a hawk, a peacock, or another bird... until I know whether the shaft with which I was wounded was bound with the sinew of an ox, a water buffalo, a langur, or a monkey.' He would say, 'I won't have this arrow removed until I know whether the shaft with which I was wounded was that of a common arrow, a curved arrow, a barbed, a calf-toothed, or an oleander arrow.' The man would die and those things would still remain unknown to him.[18]

Also, if the Buddha did answer, it would put him in the same position as the Brahmins who could not easily explain or prove this metaphysical reality.

Yet, he did briefly mention an unconditioned consciousness that some misinterpret and take it to mean that it lies beyond the six aggregates.

He said, "There is this consciousness, without distinguishing mark, infinite and shining everywhere. It is untouched by the material elements and not subject to any power." Others say that what he was really pointing to was the type of consciousness in the immaterial jhanas, or the purified awareness of the arahant, even perhaps complete cessation of consciousness, Nirodha samaapatti, where Mara's arrows could not fly or land. This sounds much more plausible than a cosmic type of awareness of the Brahmins of that time. See essay here.

In Buddha's time there were two prominent views about reality. One view was of the "eternalists" who believed in a self, a separate soul or ego. The eternalists say when the body dies the soul/self/ego will not die or be affected because the soul is by nature unchanging.

The second view was that of the "materialists," the hedonists and nihilists. They believed in the empirical physical reality and nothing more. Buddha reasoned if that's the case, then why does it matter if the actions of the body do not affect the destiny of the soul/self/ego. Then anyone can claim to have a separate eternal soul and behave exactly as they choose, like the Neo-Advaitins of today who twist this and say, "I'm not the doer/enjoyer/actor."

For instance, in the Bhagavad Gita,[19] Krishna urges Arjuna to fight and slay his own relatives, uncles, brothers, sons, and friends, father- in-laws, grandsons, and well-doers. He says to Arjuna, 'The one who knows the Self, to be indestructible, timeless, unborn and not subject to decline, how and whom does that person kill? Whom does he cause to kill? Just as a person gives up old clothes and takes up new clothes, so does the self, the one who dwells in the body give up old bodies and takes others which are new." This is also one of the controversial aspects of the Gita, cited in the Russian case against banning this book, as being "extremism," as well as inciting religious, social, and racial intolerance; calling Krishna an "evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God." Even Charles Manson used non-duality or Advaita when he said, "If all is one then everything is perfect."

I once got into a lengthy debate on this question with a Kalaripayattu, or fighting Brahmin in India. He said that the way to discover truth was by living your own dharma and no one else's. That anyone who followed someone else's dharma was like a coward. He said Buddha's first mistake was removing the arrow from the wounded swan that had been shot by his evil cousin, Prince , and he should have let it die of its wound in agony. He also said that Jesus Christ's Sermon on the Mount was another mistake for showing love, kindness, compassion, and mercy to the weak and wounded.

The Kalaripayattu stated that the reason they are weak and wounded is because they deserve it, it's due to their own wrong doing in a past life, and they should now suffer for it in pain and torment in hell on earth. Furthermore, that Buddhists were filthy low down beggars and were destroying the Indian society like parasites with their useless begging. That they were cowards and escapists and that they ought to get real work. That's why the communists and Chinese wiped out Tibet, because the Tibetan were destroying it with their tantric Buddhism. In terms of the other extreme view, the view of nonexistence of an eternal self that the self is identical with the body, then if the self dies along with the body it does not matter what the body does. If you believe that existence ends at the death of the body and there is no karma or rebirth, then there will be no ethical constraint upon one's behavior or one's actions.

There is a very interesting sociologist by the name of Greg Paul who used data that was publicly available in the United States and who discovered a negative correlation in communities where there were many "God believers." He noted high crime rates, abortions, murders, rapes, divorces, and robberies. Many would think that it would be the other way around.

This seems to be the same point that the Buddha was making: when you don't take full responsibility for your actions and blame some separate higher power, it can end up like this. You can keep on lying, cheating, and stealing from others, and then go to Church on Sunday and get those sins forgiven or erased as if they never happened. Then Monday morning, you repeat these same actions again, and the following Sunday has them erased again. This gives people a loophole to confess their sins and be given a clean slate every time.

The Theravada Buddhists say that "believing" in some kind of higher power alone is not enough to solve one's problems. Sin (negative karma) will not be eradicated just by going to confession. The only way to eradicate this is to become aware as to why you are doing what you're doing, then to stop yourself from taking action when the impulses arise.

The Buddhists say that being enlightened is not a metaphysical identity. Enlightenment does not mean you are no longer responsible for your actions on this relative and conventional level. You can't use the excuse "it's all God," or "God is the doer" if you break the law of karma (cause and effect). You can't ask Buddha or anyone else to forgive you either. In essence you have to save yourself because no one else can do this for you.

Continue to Part 14

[1] http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html#bigbrahma

[2] Rishi is Sanskrit for divine seer, one who has attained the divine knowledges through Yoga and Samadhi. Rishis were the scribes of the Vedas.

[3] The divine eye is Abhij� in Sanskrit and Abhinna in Pali, or that which knows higher knowledge. This includes worldly extrasensory abilities (such as seeing past and future lives) as well as the supra-mundane extinction of all mental intoxicants.

[4] The definition of a equaling 4.32 billion years is found in the

[5] The Agganna Sutta On Knowledge of Beginnings Of Humankind The Buddhist Cosmology www.urbandharma.org/pdf/AggannaSutta.pdf.

[6] The bhavara devas enjoy the delights of the second jhana.

[7] Agganna Sutta 27th sutta of the Dīgha Nikĕya www.columbia.edu/itc/religion/f2001/edit/docs/aggannasutta.pdf

[8] Agganna Sutta 27th sutta of the Dīgha Nikĕya

[9] Agganna Sutta. 27th sutta of the Dīgha Nikĕya www.columbia.edu/itc/religion/f2001/edit/docs/aggannasutta.pdf

[10] Agganna Sutta www.columbia.edu/itc/religion/f2001/edit/docs/aggannasutta.pdf [11] Agganna Sutta www.columbia.edu/itc/religion/f2001/edit/docs/aggannasutta.pdf

[12] Ajjhyaka Sk. adhyyaka (a Brahmin) engaged in learning the Veda.

[13] Literally, �artisans� or �craftsmen.

[14] with Gaudapada's Karika. www.swamij.com/upanishad-mandukya- karika.htm

[15] The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya (Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, 1995)

[16] In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (Teachings of the Buddha) Paperback by Bhikkhu Bodhi Wisdom Publications; 2005) [17] A deva is Sanskrit for a benevolent being; somewhat like a powerful angel in the Christian tradition.

[18] Malunkyovada Sutta: The Shorter Instructions to Malunkya� Majjhima Nikaya 63 translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.063.than.html

[19] The Bhagavad Gita is an ancient Hindu text. It presents synthesis of the various schools of yoga. The Yoga of Devotion, Bhakti, of knowledge, Jnana, of action, Karma, and of meditation, Samadhi.

SCIENCE AND NON-DUALITY

―On the philosophical level, both Buddhism and modern science share a deep suspicion of any notion of absolutes……..whether conceptualized as a transcendent being, as an eternal, unchanging principle such as soul, or as a fundamental substratum of reality.‖ — the14th

VEDANTA

Vedanta says that science, quantum physics, and non-duality do not mix, the same way that oil and water don‘t mix. That E=MC2 doesn‘t equal Om as is claimed by the Science and Non-Duality Conference. That‘s a mistake according to traditional Vedanta, it doesn‘t exactly add up as E=MC2 is only half of the equation.

Reason being is that E is energy, shatki, m is mass, rupa, and c is the speed of light, (electromagnetic rays from the sun). Additionally, all these are apparent objects, or mithya, a dependant reality that is dependent on satya, or the ‗unchangeable,‘ which depends on nothing at all. Satya is ―that which has no distortion; that which is beyond distinctions of time, space, and person.‖

Vedanta says that E=MC2 or experience, space and time, are still in the realm of apara vidya, ‗lesser knowledge.‘

They say that scientists or quantum physicists who know only the lesser knowledge may be extremely advanced in their fields but still lack para vidya, ‗higher knowledge.‘

They know of and have all sorts of information about objects, particles, elements, chemicals, quarks, photons, magnetic electricity, carbon data, big bangs etc., but according to Vedanta some of them still don‘t know anything about themselves. By ‗themselves‘ they mean Ultimate Truth, Non-Dual Reality, both form and formlessness, Subject and Object = OM.

Vedanta says that knowing about this ultimate reality in a conceptual or abstract, philosophical, or scientific way is not the same as directly knowing this. For example, they say that pure absolute awareness cannot be registered or seen in the lab because there is nothing to register and nothing to see. It‘s not an object; it‘s the only subject.

They say that it‘s similar to looking for the elusive ‗God particle‘ (also known as the Higgs particle), because as soon as you try to look at it, it disappears. The word ‗God particle,‘ in and of itself, is also misleading and barking up the wrong tree, because the scientists are looking for what is doing the looking. OM will never be found with any sort of Super-Collider Conductor, no matter how sophisticated it is, because Ultimate Truth cannot be known by perception or inference, quantum physics, or any lesser scientific knowledge.

One example in quantum physics is the Schwarzschild Proton paper,[1] in which physicist Nassim Haramein showed that each atom is a mini black hole with infinite density and infinite potential. He noted that essentially everything has a singularity at its center. The paper shows mathematically how the vacuum energy, the structure of the vacuum itself, is interlinked and entangled in all other protons—the proton being the nuclei of an atom—and that the amount of energy available and present inside the vacuum structure inside these protons equates to the mass of the universe. It shows that the vacuum connects all protons, and that the protons are attracted to each other by gravitation and not what was previously thought to be some mysterious, undefined ‗strong force.‘

Haramein‘s paper also reveals that the vacuum is not a ‗passive empty vacuum‘ but an ‗active full vacuum‘ that not only has a role to play in the creation of our material world but also is the structure that connects all things. He has created a mathematical rendering of this concept that everything is one; a conceptual rendering of unity-consciousness. He shows that there are two forces that operate in this system, gravity and electromagnetism: one being the energy moving inwards towards the center (the gravitational pull) and the other being the electromagnetic field (the vacuum structure radiating away from the center). Thus what we have is a gravitational force and a radiational force and the two are feeding back on each other. Haramein claims this process is the way that the universe learns about itself, because what it entails is a fundamental feedback in the structure of space.

He may be correct, but there remains a problem in that according to Vedanta, in that this is still in the realm of a relative dependent reality, even though Haramein states that his theory has been mathematically proven and has been reviewed by his scientific peers.

Again, what this means (according to Vedanta) is that his findings are still in the realm of lesser knowledge (apara vidya) and empirical dependent reality. Haramein‘s theory basically describes space and claims that consciousness comes from a quantum physical level; also that what this empty space is made up of is immaterial.

Vedanta would say that this is a basic misunderstanding because it is seeing the Absolute as an object. This is known as avidya or ‗not knowing.‘ Vedanta says that consciousness doesn‘t derive out of space. Space is an object that itself arises in consciousness. Consciousness, the only subject, is also what illumines space and lack thereof.

Haramein describes this vacuum (the void or abyss) as being filled with all information, such as our intentions, thoughts, and so on, which are radiated into it, and then this information is fed back to us as our experience of reality.

Traditional Vedanta say the way they realize this infinite awareness with the Akhandakara vritti; a limitless, undivided thought form. This is also not the same as experiencing this in samadhi, ‗immaterial jhana‘ for hours on end.

In any case, Haramein states that we are made of billions of cells containing trillions of atoms, which all contain mini black holes that are spinning near the speed of light, and that the way to go into the vacuum is to actually go inwards towards the absolute point of stillness where all spins cancel out. An atom is made out of 99.999999999 percent space, so in essence this space is what we are on an empirical level. However, this too is partially incorrect (according to Vedanta) because they say we are also not just 99.999999999 percent space or light, but as Vedanta says, ―The light of all lights‖ and what illumines 99.999999999 percent of space and light.

THERAVADA BUDDHISM

In Theravada Buddhism, this is also understood differently because consciousness is dependent on other conditions, supports, causes for it to arise. Consciousness is not independent, nor can exist independently of some type of sense sphere base, in the human realm that is. But in other realms such as the "immaterial realm", consciousness without form can be known and experienced in deep jhana, samadhi meditation.

The only type of consciousness that is independent is in nibbana, but that's another matter. A consciousness that is purified of greed, hatred and delusion, only then is it independent.

So, in essence you don't need a super collider conductor, or Hubble telescope to directly know and experience this type of infinite consciousness, just a good jhana teacher or Samadhi practice.

Continue to Part 15

[1] http://hiup.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/AIP_CP_SProton_Haramein.pdf

THE SIX SENSES AND BEYOND

When the Aggregates arise, decay and die, O bhikkhu, every moment you are born, decay, and die. Gautama Buddha

SHEATHS OF VEDANTA

Now let's take a look at how the traditions of Vedanta and Theravada Buddhism view the body and mind. Vedanta asserts that the true self is covered by sheaths. The outermost sheath or layer is the physical self. The problem occurs when we identify ourselves with the physical mass of skin, flesh, fat, bones, excrement, pus, urine, blood, mucus, and so on.

The physical self is nourished and comprised of that food that we eat, such as vegetables and fruit, which come from the element of the earth. Some people choose to also eat sentient life forms such as cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, fish, etc., so in essence, our physical bodies are made of the earth and the elements of water, fire, wind, and space.

This physical body is sustained by means of bio-electricity, or prana, the wind element. Prana is a vital life force that energizes the body and the mind. It pervades the entire physical organism. It's one physical manifestation is the breath.

Another sheath is that of the mind. The mind is a storeroom of impressions, arising from the mental faculties of perception, comprehension, and cognition. Then there is the ego; the sense of I-am-ness, as well as that part of the mind that decides, judges, and discriminates.

The final sheath is that which surrounds the true self. Like the darkness that is known in deep sleep, it might be described as the indescribable beginning-less ignorance. This sheath is the result of past deeds (karma). It is insentient. It is impure and can be likened to filling up a glass jar with heavy dark wine. This final sheath is known as the "seed body," or the "causal body," and is the substratum of all the other sheaths. It is difficult to penetrate if very impure. It can be correlated to Freud's theory of the unconscious mind or Carl Jung's "shadow self" or "collective unconscious." Vedanta says that this is where the seeds of past action or karma reside waiting for the right time and set of circumstances to ripen; like a seed waiting to be planted in a pot of earth, given water and sunlight for it to sprout.

The problem with identifying with any of these sheaths is what causes one to be stuck. Once you can overcome seeing the mind body complex as who you are, then you will be one step closer to enlightenment in the Vedanta tradition and will see it for what it is.

HEAPS OF THERAVADA BUDDHISM

In Theravada Buddhism, this insight above is known as knowledge, its one of the very first insight knowledge's but there are another 15 more according to the Burmese tradition so so just to get to first path. Its making the distinction with mind and matter, or subject and object, subject meaning awareness, objects everything else. In the Buddhist tradition, the mind/body complex is described in a similar manner, except that it doesn't use the word "Self," nor does it identify with anything whatsoever.

The Pali suttas (scriptures) describe five bundles or aggregates, a collection, or an assortment or heap of items that make up the sense of a physical and mental self, with real conventional boundaries.

1. The first bundle, known as "form," Rupa is the physical flesh, more or less the meat and potatoes that most people identify with as an individual sense of self. When this physical self gets afflicted or ill, transforms or dies, it creates pain, fear, and suffering.

2. The second bundle, "sensation" or "feeling," vedana involves sensing an object as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Most people personally identify with these feelings or sensations.

The problem with feeling is that most people repel anything that creates undesirable feelings or sensations and crave anything that generates pleasurable sensations or so-called positive feelings. Feelings create suffering through desire and aversion because the mind identifies them as "my" feelings rather than simply observing the feelings that arise.

3. Perception, sanna the third bundle, registers whether an object is recognized or not-the sound of a bell, the shape of a tree, a thought, a feeling, or a sensation, both internal and external. The problem with perception is that objects are usually not seen for what they are. 4. Mental formations, sankharas the fourth bundle, are all types of mental habits, thoughts, ideas, opinions, views, prejudices, compulsions, proclivities, impulses, and volitions. These mental formations take hold of what is being perceived and form views about it. Again, the problem arises when these formations are identified with a "me, myself, and I." What results is a sense that one is one's beliefs, ideas, views, and opinions, or that these belong to you, that you have a copyright or some kind of a trademark on these feelings. So if someone were to disagree with your views, you would probably take this as a personal offense. Then what makes this situation even worse if when someone then acts of on these ideas, thoughts. They create more karma based on a wrong mental formation, belief, impulse, proclivity or wrong view of some kind.

5. Consciousness Vinnana is the fifth and final bundle. When the Buddha was asked, "Why do you call it 'consciousness?" he answered, "Because it cognizes." What does it cognize? "It cognizes what is sour, bitter, pungent, sweet, alkaline, non-alkaline, salty, and unsalty. Because it cognizes, it is called consciousness." And what is consciousness? This is a bit more complicated, but he didn't speak about it in the exact same way as in Vedanta, such as a pure absolute eternal and infinite consciousness as a witness, per se.

Buddha broke it down into six bodies of divided consciousness. In Theravada Buddhism, the abhidhamma or higher doctrine actually lists many more (89/121 altogether) also many more factors, 52 that arise with consciousness, seven universal factors, and they also speak of many more forms of consciousness, meaning, types of reactions in or on the mind screen; (awareness) produced by more than interaction with the six senses - sound, sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.

The basic six types include:

1. Eye-consciousness

2. Ear-consciousness

3. Nose-consciousness.

4. Tongue-consciousness.

5. Body-consciousness.

6. Mind-consciousness.

All of these elements combined are what the Buddha termed "consciousness." The reason: imagine if you were blind, you could say that you were the witness or awareness of the blindness, the awareness of knowing that you have no eyes. However, you still wouldn't have visual awareness of objects outside your mind. You would not be able to see apples or oranges, color, shape, or form. Your awareness, as long as you were manifesting in the physical body, would be limited to the other senses of hearing, touch, smell, and taste.

Together these bundles of sense consciousness make up an individual physical and conceptual and conventional sense of a self. This is broken into two levels, a conventional level and a ultimate supra mundane level.

For example on an ultimate level, a tree is not looked at as a "tree". The name, shape, and form are broken down into elements and parts, atoms, molecules, and subatomic particles. A tree also depends on other forms of matter and energy for its existence: water, sun, earth, and space.

On a conventional level, unless you are a dendrologist, you don't say that the tree over there is comprised of the element of carbon, a degree of oxygen, and so on. You just call it a tree.

What we do is give this tree a generic name like "oak tree." We don't give it a personal name like Jack or Jane Oak to distinguish it from other oak trees in its vicinity. But we do this with ourselves or our cats, dogs, goldfish, etc. Some people even do it with their boats. They write names on the side of the boat denoting it as a male or a female vessel like the Jolly Roger or Luna Sally. But if you were to break it down, you see that it is mostly comprised of dead wood, an earth element.

Understanding these levels and bundles can lead to an experiential insight about "dependent origination," which is the seeing how one thing depends on another for its existence-clearly seeing cause and effect and knowing why something is here in the first place.

The Buddha said, When this is, that is This arising, that arises When this is not, that is not This ceasing, that ceases.[1]

Take a candle for example. In order to produce a flame, a candle requires wax and a wick. If both of these components are present, then all that is needed is a spark to ignite the flame, and the wick will begin to burn and provide light. If either of these elements is absent, then the candle will not burn. This also applies to birth. First there is birth, then aging, and finally death, and the samsara continues. In order to break this cycle, there has to be no more birth. For there to be no more birth, there has to be no more self, no more attachment or craving. The perceptions of the six senses that are generated in our brains/minds actually created the illusion of separation and individuation.

SIGHT

The eyes are burning with craving . . .

There are two kinds of "eye consciousness": internal and external. There is also the condition of having one's eyes open or having one's eyes closed. There is also the element of how much light is inside a room.

The sense of sight appears to be a simple process, but the very act of seeing happens in a sequence, and if this sequence is broken in any way, one is blinded. First of all, there has to be a degree of light. Without light, vision will not happen. But instead of talking about this traditionally as with just the Khandhas, the various sense and mind door process as described in the suttas as well as microscopically and meticulously described in the abhidhamma and so on, lets look at it in terms of modern brain science, and not just describing the mental factors and the process of the mind (citta) to hopefully make this a little easier to digest.

The process of vision begins with light photons, electromagnetic waves of energy passing through the lens of the eye where an image is refracted upside down upon the retina at the back of the eye.) This is where the visual stimuli, an object such as a flower, a dog, wallpaper, or a person's face, are turned into electrical signals.

These electrical signals are then transmitted by neurons to a tiny region near the back of the brain known as the vision center. The occipital lobe of the cerebrum. If, in any way, the organs of the eyes or pathways are compromised, the images appearing on the retina will be distorted. Even if the eyes are repaired and the pathways are not, images inside the occipital lobe will still appear to be distorted. This would be known as phassa or contact when the external object and the mind meet at the sense door/base.

I discovered this from personal experience with my own eye condition. The cornea was corrected in my left eye, but the neural pathway wasn't and would not accept the correction, so the images were still distorted. For example, if you an artist this is interesting on a few levels because it can create a disconnect or an incongruity with what you conceive in your minds eye, and then what you present to the world as two different things.

This is why awareness is conditioned first by the physical body. Electrical signals flow through the occipital lobe and are simultaneously perceived by awareness/eye consciousness as an image of a flower, a dog, wallpaper, painting, or a person's face.

At this point, a particular mind factor adverts to, makes contact and then perceives (sanna) and registers this object, labels it, and associates it through its memory banks as being pleasant or unpleasant (vedana) or even dangerous.

As a result of these feelings and emotions, reactions or views, judgments and opinions are formed (sankharas).

In essence, this sense or mental data is received, investigated and a determination is made as to what it means. The next stage of volition (cetana) is of the most importance because this is when karma is created by taking an action, and by thought, or by speech. This is where the battleground for freedom is fought.

Finally, all of these though moments get registered and stored again in the subconscious memory banks along with all the other impressions. Now all this can happen in the blink of an eye and all these factors arise together as consciousness.

This consciousness may appear to be like a blank empty canvas but its actually not, its comprised of a stream of individual , or consciousnesses, like frames in a motion picture that creates an illusion of a seamless whole.

Sometimes if the projector breaks down for a single moment, you can get to experience this and figure out how the mind really works, moment to moment. Also that it doesn't belong to anyone . You don't own your mind for example, if you did own it your could completely control it, tell it what to do, the same applies with the physical body, this may sound a little strange but its true.

The abhidhamma also says that when the inner reflective consciousness arises, the consciousness/mind is based on very subtle matter in the vicinity of the heart, not even in the brain. The heart incidentally also has brain cells. The heart/brain has its own intrinsic nervous system.

On one level, the physiological act of seeing takes place in the minds eye at the back of this clump of grey brain matter in a tiny region that is in pitch black darkness, completely insulated from light like the interior of a cave.

When we say we see, we are not actually seeing anything outside of our minds. It may appear as if we are, but in reality what we are seeing or perceiving are electrical impulses or waves of energy reaching our eyes, which then get converted into electrical waves and signals in our minds eye. What we are observing are decoded electrical signals that end up as an image in our minds eye. This part is a bit more complicated but every single image that we see throughout our lives is not only recorded on an ethereal level (mind creates matter), but also gets formed and manifested from this ethereal mind blueprint on to a biophysical level and made visible inside this heart region, or science would say in the tiny region in the back of our brains.

This center of vision is only a few centimeters in space. When you look out over the Grand Canyon or the vast Sahara Desert, the Grand Canyon or Sahara Desert is not out there in space, but rather in the few centimeters of space inside your mind's eye. What we are seeing are sankharas or mental formations that are created moment to moment. Like a jigsaw puzzle, all the pieces fit together so rapidly you cant even see it happening, then it flashes and changes again to another one.

The same applies if you look into infinite space and see the countless stars, moon, sun, or any other objects. When you look up at the sun, the perception or the image of the sun is created inside the brain, which again is in absolute pitch black darkness. Although the brain and our minds have no original contact with the sun, the bright colorful world of objects that we see all happens in the complete darkness inside our brain.

There is one more element, one more twist. It may appear that all of this is happening inside your brain, but both are actually appearing and arising simultaneously as a mind, citta(s) or awareness (s).[2] For example, just the thought of your brain, or a generic brain happens in your mind. The mind and the brain are actually two different things but are interdependent and co exist.

The brain is actually inert, its insentient, (rupa) and the mind isn't or something you can see or grasp, but its activity or waves of energy can be registered and recorded by electroencephalography, EEG machines as well as by cat scans and MRIs and other types of instruments.

Brain waves are measured in cycles per second (Hertz). There is also the "frequency" of brain wave activity.

The lower the number of Hertz, the slower the brain activity or the slower the frequency of the activity.

Researchers have discovered different types of brain waves but these fall into 4 types:

Delta waves (below 4 hertz) occur during sleep as well as in deep meditation (or none at all in arupa jhana).

Theta waves (4-7 hertz) are associated with sleep, deep relaxation (like hypnotic relaxation), visualization and meditation.

Alpha waves (8-13 hertz) occur when we are relaxed and calm.

Beta waves (13-38 hertz) occur when we are actively thinking, problem-solving, etc.

However the mind is nama, or sentient consciousness.. The brain is dependant on consciousness and its universal mental factors otherwise its more or less like a dead piece of wood. Without consciousness and its factors there is no life, sentience or brain activity which is much more than simple biophysical neurochemistry.

This same process of perception also applies to our other senses such as hearing, touch, smell, and taste. These are all transmitted as bioelectrical signals to the back of our brain/mind screen where they are decoded and perceived in the relevant sequence. TASTE

The tongue is burning with craving . . .

The same applies to the sense of taste. There are different types of chemical receptors on parts of the tongue that enable it to perceive sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. The taste receptors transform these perceptions into electrical signals that get transmitted to the parietal lobe in another part of the brain. The parietal lobe then reads and decodes these signals as different flavors. The parietal lobe is where the incoming stimuli, or data such as taste, as well as the temperature of the food, also the sense of touch on the tongue are integrated and processed automatically. For example, humans would not be able to to feel sensations of touch, if the parietal lobe was damaged, or if the tongue was missing.

Traditionally the mind factor that perceives all of the above is known as sanna, one of the seven universal factors of the mind.

So the taste you perceive when you eat an orange or anything that you like or dislike is simply your brain's/minds interpretation of electrical signals. And no matter what you do, your brain can never experience the outside object. It can never smell, see, or taste the orange itself. Here's an example to prove this: if the nerves between your tongue and your brain were cut, no further signals would reach your /mind/brain, and you would completely lose your sense of taste. Then nothing would appear on the mind screen. One is dependant on the other to form the picture in the minds eye that arises and quickly passes away. TOUCH

The hands are burning with craving . . .

Our sense of touch is no different from our other senses. When we touch an object, be it another person, a loved one, a cat, or a dog, the electrical signals and information that help us discern the object are transmitted to the brains parietal lobe, by sensitive nerves on the skin. Contrary to what most people believe, we perceive sensations of touch not at our fingertips, our bodies, or our skin, but rather in our brain's tactile center that is dependent on the mind base.

This is when feeling enters the picture, (vedana) pleasant, unpleasant or neutral that we are touching an object is formed inside our brains and displayed on the screen of the mind. The brain decodes and assesses and constructs these external electrical stimulations via the skin receptors. We then think that we are externally feeling different sensations pertaining to objects such as heat or cold, hardness or softness.

In reality we can never know the original matter or external world outside our brains/minds, nor can we ever experience it other than the jungle of electrical signals and waves of energy that then become decoded inside our brains/minds.

No two people can ever experience the same object in the same way. Each person's brain/minds will always interpret the identical external electrical signals or stimulations differently. This tells us that reality is simply an infinite sea of electrical signals and waves of energy. Our brains/minds are like receivers on television sets. We simply pick up the external signals and create an internal television with an added sense of touch, taste, and smell. Its a from of bio and cosmic electrickery, a projecting and veiling of reality.

HEARING

The ears are burning with craving . . .

The sense of hearing happens when the auricle in the outer ear picks up sound vibrations or waves of energy and then directs these sound vibrations into the middle ear. Sounds speech, words, music. The middle ear transmits these sound vibrations to the inner ear by intensifying them like an amplifier. The inner ear then translates these vibrations into electrical signals and sends them to the temporal lobe in the brain for decoding which then appears in our mind's eye.

The act of hearing takes place in the brain's auditory center. Keep in mind that the brain is completely soundproofed, insulated from sound and light by the skull, skin, and layers of flesh. Consequently, no matter how noisy it may be outside of the brain, it is always silent inside the brain. Even though you may be listening to a jumbo jet taking off, if a microphone were placed inside your brain to record the sound, it would record silence.

OFLACTORY

The nose is burning with craving . . . Our perception of smell is created in a similar way. For example, volatile molecules emitted receptors in the delicate hairs of the olfactory epithelium, which transmit electrical signals to the olfactory center of the brain that are then perceived as the exquisite scent of a rose.

In reality, everything you smell, be it pleasant or unpleasant, is simply your brain's perception of the interactions of volatile molecules transformed into electrical signals. A flower, a particular food, or any other scent that you like or dislike is perceived entirely in the brain as an electrical signal or wave of energy. The molecules themselves never actually reach the brain.

Therefore, all the sensory experiences that you have had since the day you were born until the day you die are merely electrical signals interpreted through your sense organs and decoded in your brain, which then appear on the mind's screen of awareness(s). You can never have a direct experience of the true nature of color, sound, or scent in the outside world, only an electrical sensory interpretation of it.

MIND

The mind is known as nama, or citta consciousness and what ever arises onto the mind screen without going through the sense doors and bases, (the brains physical appendages) are known as sankharas, or mental formations as well as mental feelings. These are formed by ones past activity and karma, including ideas, views, concepts, opinions beliefs and more. If you ever wonder why a thought, or a feeling suddenly pops into your head, out of the blue, this is usually what it is.

This is where the Buddhism differs with Vedanta because the citta(s) or awareness always arises with an object and then passes way. Each citta, or split second slice of awareness is always changing from one moment to the next and there isn't exactly a substratum (bhavanga) even though cittas arise so fast it may seem like there is the same way a strip of cinematic film is joined together in many frames per second. In reality there cant be such a thing as a "pure awareness" only an abstract or a conceptual one. Because for it to be "pure" there cant be anything arising in it. Even in deep sleep there is a subtle object that arises in awareness. If you practice , sleep yoga, or the jhanas you can experience this for yourself.

There are always seven mental factors of feeling, perceptions, mental formation's thoughts, and so on arising with awareness as a package deal.

In reality, this is why you cant isolate or disentangle awareness, (create a pure subject and a pure object) you can only do this in theory, conceptually or as an abstraction. One way you can know this is in the arupa jhanas because you see each factor fall away, then come back again. You see and know dependant origination. How for one factor to arise depends on another. Its sort of basic, simple when you know how to do this. You also know what happens when there are no factors there and what happens to this so called "eternal consciousness" and realize that any type of consciousness is always conditioned.

The problems with this mind or awareness is thoughts, ideas, views can trigger feelings, or emotions, and because of these feelings, one often reacts to them in some negative way. Anger, sadness, fear, remorse, greed, confusion and so on. Fear is created by the amygdala, the part of the brain that governs fight or flight response.

What exacerbates this problem is if thoughts are taken to be "my thoughts", or belong to you, this can cause a lot of suffering.

One way to get around this is to create a sense of detachment by simply noting them as they arise, as thought, thought, thought. Feeling, feeling, feeling, pain, pain, pain, pleasure, pleasure, pleasure and so on. If you do this long enough, you wont get dragged into them, or have them lead you around like a bull with a ring in its nose. You begin to see how the mind works, how things come and go and don't belong to any type of invisible person inside the brain or behind the curtain like in the Wizard of Oz.

SPACE

Space isn't one of the heaps, piles, but the perceptual sense of distance or the apparent empty space between you and any other object is only a sense of emptiness created in your brain. For example, imagine someone gazing up at the moon. This person assumes that the moon is millions of miles away, yet in reality the moon is within this person's vision center at the back of his/her brain. When you look across the room you automatically believe that you are in the room. In reality you are not inside the room. The room is inside you.

The same applies to your physical body. When you look at your body you believe that you are inside looking out at it, but the truth is you have never even seen your physical body nor have you touched it. All you have seen is an image that appears to be inside of you. In reality everything is happening inside of you.

The same applies to concepts such as size, shape, and positions such right, left, front, and back. That is, sound does not come to you from the right or from the left or from above. There is no direction from which sound comes. Sounds, shapes, and sizes happen in a tiny region inside the brain that appears in the mind's eye.

PAIN

From the point of view of awareness, citta, pain is just another object. there is both physical and mental pain but both ultimately arises in the mind, but appears as if it's happening in the body, but its broken down into mind and body to make it easier to understand. When one experiences pain in a phantom limb, the pain is taking place in the mind alone. Often, pain is experienced when an emotion gets attached or is created by a thought, so that when you think of a particular part of your body, a thought arises with an emotion piggybacking it. This sometimes results in emotional and physical pain. This is why when people get physically ill, they often also become emotional, begin crying and shedding tears and so on. Others get angry or depressed, shout, groan or complain, more or less make sounds, or make exaggerated facial expressions, or bodily movements as a means to change this condition.

One way to learn this is in sitting meditation. Seeing how the pain in the knee, back, or neck has three segments of intensity, the arising part, a middle part, (most intense) and the falling away part. If you examine these sensations very carefully without reacting, becoming emotional, moving, you will see pain has many various parts, sections, also degrees of intensity and qualities, stinging, heat, numbing, sharp, stabbing, fading, reducing and so on. There are times when this so called pain isn't there at all. You can do the same thing with emotions as well. A feeling can also be investigated mathematically, even one moment can be broken down into 17 segments if you know how.

One way to experiment with this is by making a graph or recording the pain on a scale of 1 to 10, throughout the day, also measuring the length of time from the moment of its arising, the middle section and to its falling away with a stopwatch as a sort of consciousness laboratory experiment.

On a biophysical level, pain can be psychosomatic or caused by blockages in the meridian system. Many times energy gets stuck in the muscles and irritates the nerve endings. For instance, if the brain could sustain itself without a physical body, without even a face or skull, it could still be stimulated by electrical impulses. Placing electrodes into various parts of the brain can activate certain memories. Images and sounds can be created in the same way, as can tactile sensations and even the taste of food.

The point of all of this being that this world is created inside the mind. It doesn't mean that nothing exists outside of the mind because it does, but not in the way that we see, hear, feel, or taste it. For example, the way a bat sees the world is not the same way that we see it. The dolphin sees the world in yet another way. They pick up other signals and are able to navigate the oceans using sonar.

The experience of the world is relative and no two people experience it in the same way but in approximate ways. Due to all the various factors that are arising in many types of consciousness and so there is much more than meets the eye.

Continue to Part 16

[1] Bhikkhu Thanissaro, Assutavĕ Sutta: Uninstructed (SN 12.61),

[2] As far as Vedanta is concerned, there is only one subject and that is awareness, or the witness; everything else is an inert object, including all subtle objects like thoughts, sensations, and feelings. All matter is considered gross objects, but also arising in awareness. They say that awareness is an independent reality, meaning it doesn't need objects for its own existence. It's there either way and is timeless, deathless, was never born, will never cease to exist, no matter how many worlds or universes, eons, kalpas, billions or trillions of years or big bangs come and go. Vedanta calls this God or Brahman.

non-duality magazine Aversion, Price of Celibacy Death,

Home About Enlightenment Contact Enlightenment question Rebirth, Vanity

TANTRA

"My religion is not deceiving myself." Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

To practice tantra requires even greater compassion and greater intelligence than are required on the sutra path; thus, though many persons in the degenerate era are interested in tantra, tantra is not for degenerate persons. Tantra is limited to persons whose compassion is so great that they cannot bear to spend unnecessary time in attaining Buddhahood, as they want to be a supreme source of help and happiness for others quickly. , Meditation on Emptiness

Tantra is a controversial subject. Tibetan shamanic and Tantric traditions say that the Buddha taught Tantra sixteen years after his enlightenment, in secrecy, to a king who wanted to become enlightened but could not give up his responsibilities. Others say that King Ja, also known as Kukuraja, was a mahasiddha, a great master within the lineages of Esoteric Tibetan Buddhism. He taught himself intuitively from "The Book of the Tantric Way of Secret Mantra" that "magically fell from the sky." Some say that this information was channeled from Devas, nagas, serpent like creatures that lived under the water in caves.

In any case, according to the Pali suttas, the Buddha didn't teach this. Sex yoga or any kind of use of eroticism, or sexual practices and visualizations in meditation would fall under "wrong effort" or fundamentally having a "wrong view." In fact some say this is what has given "Buddhism" in general a wrong reputation, with some faiths and western Christian religious leaders (pope) call it "auto-erotic spirituality."

VOWS AND EMPOWERMENTS

In order to practice tantra in the Tibetan tradition one has to usually take sworn vows to keep this information secret. They say this is to protect it from others who could misuse it and endanger themselves and others which is often the case. how ever the secrecy is often what is the problem and allows for all the confusion.

The reason for so much secrecy and control is often based around power and money. Some charge exorbitant fees for this knowledge today. Tantra has to be brought into the light if they wish to solve this problem of abuse in the spiritual market place. Lectures, courses, books, dvds and so much more. Its big business and many make their livelihood from this.

"The benefits of protecting the vows like this are: you will not fall to the evil-gone realms [hells, animal and hungry ghost]; temporarily you will continuously achieve the body of a deva or human, and ultimately you will easily achieve the state of liberation. Furthermore, the virtue of protecting these five vows increases constantly, even while one is asleep or unconscious, intoxicated and so forth." http://jamyangbath.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Vows- Commitments-Recommended-Practices-for-People-Vows- Commitments-for-People-who-Have-Taken-a-Highest-Yoga-Tantra- Initiation-HYT-V2-Ed-10.pdf

You also need to get the empowerments. otherwise they say it wont work. This is more or less permission and a blessing from a guru to practice, taking Bodhisattva vows and more.

An Indian mystic known as Nagarjuna and others like him, say the Buddha decided not to teach this at the time because the society was simply not ready for it, or that people at that time had blunt mental faculties, so he transmitted it in private much later on to some yogis in Tibet, India, , and also later in Tibet.

In any case, according to the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism, there are occurrences in which the Buddha said, "Three things shine openly, not in secret. What three? The orb of the moon, the orb of the sun, and the Dhamma and discipline taught by the Tathagata."[1]

Just before his passing, he reiterated the importance of not teaching in secret: "I have proclaimed the Dhamma (Pali for teachings, or truth) without any idea of a hidden and open teaching. I do not have the closed fist of the teacher who holds anything back"[2]

The practice of Tantra is fundamentally different from what the last sammasambuddha, Gautama taught. Tantra stems out of indigenous shamanism. It is one of the oldest religions, and is said to have its roots in Tantric rituals that go back to very ancient times and cultures, and not just in India and ancient traditions, aghora, varma magga, or left hand path, Kashmir , and so much more. You can find it in China with the Taoists. internal alchemy, nei gung, qi gung, in the Shaolin temple and in some of the esoteric teachings of , in Mongolia, Africa, in various shamanic traditions all across the globe. No one culture had a copy right of these practices. If you know one you will discover that they are more or less the same. They also use the same elements of earth, wind , fire and water. Plus visualizations and sexual yoga of some kind. in a nutshell. the practice of tantra is more or less kundalini yoga dressed up as Buddhism with extra toppings and different flavors. It will result in rebirth.

The Buddha himself practiced yoga with the ascetic sramanas, or homeless wanderers, from various traditions. One of the Buddha's own teachers, Udaka Ramaputta, was a teacher of yogic meditation. His other teacher, Alara Kalama, was a teacher of yogic meditation who practiced austerities or . So Buddha's education was based on aspects of yoga. He even tried (breath retention as parcticed in ) but said it was not useful and complained of pains in his head as a result of doing this. He said it was not beneficial to him, so he did not teach this or any other ascetic practice that he experimented with such as fasting. Buddha said that extreme ascetism was not the way. He claimed that even after attaining samadhi, he still had not realized full enlightenment. As a result, he created set of practices and training (for details, see The Noble Eightfold Path by Bhikhu Bodhi for the details),[3] one of which was jhana meditation, designed for reducing one's attachments and overcoming suffering, greed, aversion, and delusion in order to reach nirvana.

The Buddha also made it clear that the householder may engage in the right kind of sense pleasures (sex), as long as it is not harming oneself or anyone else, but this was not intended as a path or means to nirvana. One of the precepts is also about this. The Buddha didn't even expect householders to be able to refrain from sex, because he knew it was unrealistic so he mapped out a four-path model, comprising stages along a gradual path over several lifetimes. (Participating in sex would indicate you had at least one to seven more lifetimes to go).

Tantra sees this differently, since the ultimate goal is not to become an arhant, or to exit samsara or have no more rebirth. Their goal is to be a bodhisattva, that is the long term path towards becoming a sammasambuddha in the future, or in one of the others worlds or universes. The goal changes everything. It would be more accurate be called bodhisattvaism, not Buddhism, since the goal of Buddhism, taught by the last Buddha was to become an arahant.

In the Theravada tradition, one does not need Tantra, since Theravada promotes renunciation (for monks only) and the celibate lifestyle.

But even as a celibate layperson one can still channel this vital energy upwards and build reserves so as not to be depleted of this life force. In this practice, one meditates and harnesses these vital life force energies and refines them through meditation practices such as tummo, a meditation that can result in samadhi, the first jhana, bring forth bliss, (piti and ) through the practice of breath retention, (kumbhaka) visualizations , even sex with a consort, or even a , an actual spirit entity that exists and practice yoga, union, or non dual sex with them. Some have been successful at this like Milarepa and this can work.

A theravadin can practice this only up to the stages of sakadagami, once returner or second path and fruit. After this stage at anagami, non returner, there will be no need at all or desire to do so. But the stage between 2nd and third path is often the most difficult and this is where tantra be useful for some practitioners. If one is still having problems with the second and sexual tension and energy.

Tantra is about releasing, controlling, transforming, exhausting, and ultimately overcoming these sexual tensions, cravings, desaires, pleasurable feelings and sensations by purifying and using these sexual energies and built up tensions as a practice. Tantra is a means to channel the energy of desire and transform the experience into samadhi, or clear light of awareness, or nonduality, but without the right teacher or guidance it can be complicated since it's literally playing with desire and fanning the elements of wind and fire.[4] It is very easy for a fire to get out of control.

PROBLEMS WITH SEX

Human beings are genetically and bio-chemically programmed to procreate, to be attracted to, to fall in love with, and to pair bond. Much of this happens at a subconscious level due to neuro-chemical responses such as testosterone, dopamine, estrogen, progesterone, oxytocin, and vasopressin. and all sorts of feel good hormones outside of one's control or awareness. You also have no choice on your genetic makeup, your physical appearance, voice, scent, or body type, all of which play a significant role in your behavior and conditioning. For example, one may have high testosterone levels resulting in certain masculine traits such as more hair on the body, broader shoulders, a deeper voice, and so on.

In the West, we have been heavily conditioned to chase sensual pleasures from a very early age, including beautiful homes, cars, spouses, and so on. Our economy is based on these pursuits that get further promoted through advertising and the film industry. It's essentially about living a more or less hedonistic lifestyle of grabbing and enjoying as many sensual pleasures as one can while still in the flesh.

This behavior is still acted out by many primates. The bonapo, a close relative of the chimpanzee, seems to have evolved beyond this by using sexual activity to relieve built up tension, frustration, or aggression in the body. Sometimes humans do this as well but not always successfully. Tantric and Yogic exercises actually mimic some of our primitive ancestors through erotic pleasuring of self or others through stretches (back bends), sounds, breathing methods (fast panting), tightening muscle groups (buttocks, thighs), etc. For example, some shamanic cultures observed that the male deer would flick his tail against his testicles to stimulate sexual energy. The female deer would sleep with her hoof against her genitals. These observations of animal nature evolved into more subtle ways of stimulating the erogenous zones of humans by using the heel of the foot, sidhasana, a seated meditation position, as well as through bhandhas, locks in the perineum, abdomen, and throat, and breathing exercises and other ways of circulating the sexual energy.

The dangers of this practice, however, are that some very advanced practitioners even end up abusing their abilities. They begin to look at the opposite sex as just a form of energy they can use for selfish reasons. The Taoist, Mystical Chan, Indian and Tibetan traditions all warn of this; that you can unleash forces that will be out of your control, and that you will have to battle with your inner demons, so to speak, or even turn yourself into one if you are not careful and end up being defeated by this or seriously lose your way. It is even said that there are also other types of spirits, hungry ghosts and demons out there that prey on people who engage in these types of practices. There are also spirits that protect this practice.

Tummo, or various types of Taoist nei gong, Taoist inner alchemy, can be like rocket fuel, and can blast you into the highest recesses of your mind or right into the first stages of samadhi. Jhana 1. But if you are not prepared for this, you can easily blow your head gasket and cause all sorts of energetic and psychological problems; not just for you but also for others around you. This can make you feel like superman/superwoman, indestructible and give you all sorts of super normal abilities like meditating in the snow and so much more. Levitation, powers to heal others, telepathy etc etc.

Some Taoist schools and mahasiddha yoga meditation practices are all about attaining these abilities. They practice sleep and dream and death yoga, OBE, out of body experiences and so much more. Known as the 6 yogas of naropa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Dharmas_of_Naropa This is why they say that some of the advanced tantric meditations and practices are not always recommended, because it's extremely easy to get attached to the pleasant and blissful aspects of these exercises and to use the meditations for the wrong reasons. (As with getting stuck on first jhana and not being able to let go and progress to stages, 2, 3 and to 4 and perfect equanimity, beyond pleasure and pain). It is also very easy to get stuck or sidetracked with abhinjas, iddi, or , special psychic powers that can arise and begin to use these for the wrong reasons. you could spend lifetimes just on this alone.

However tummo for example can result in increased libido, especially for women when ovulating. There can be all types of energetic and hormonal complications involving dopamine, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, beta-endorphin, dopamine, oxytocin, and baseline vasopressin levels, also known in Yoga as "kundalini complications." These complications can seriously take one off the path. The lusting after and craving of the activation of these feel good hormones can have adverse side effects, such as aggression and monstrous over-ambition, which can lead to setbacks. So in that light, Tantra and advanced Yoga practices can be very dangerous paths for some practitioners.

It can be a dangerous is to try to exhaust these desires, simply burning them out through acting on them to the max. What one may find, however, is that they are inexhaustible. In a way it's like drinking seawater: the more you drink, the thirstier you get, in addition to experiencing a lot of diarrhea and vomiting.

Consequently, I personally would not recommend this type of excessive path to everyone unless you are clearly on the Bodhisattva path and have no fear or expect rebirth in all kinds of realms. Even possibly the lower ones. Animal even hell. Being in samsara is like playing a very risky game of snakes and ladders. You climb up to heavenly realms only to fall back down to the lowers realms if not careful.

It's much safer to simply practice mindfulness meditation and traditional as in yoga, or the jhanas and become more aware of one's inclinations, habit patterns, natural instincts, and drives. With the practice of jhanas you won't have any of these gross complications. The bliss attained in Tummo in comparison to jhana can be very often gross.

The bottom line is your goal and path has to be crystal clear and you have to be honest with yourself.

Do you wish rebirth or not and willing to accept the consequences for this decision?

Do you want to become fully enlightened and exit samsara or not?

Are you following the noble eight fold path of the last Buddha or not?

If you pick tantra the odds are your goal is taking the bodhisattva path or paccekabuddha path in a future life, or other world of existence. See article here about these paths. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/arahantsbodhisa ttvas.html

See here about paccekabuddha http://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh305_Kloppenborg_Paccekabuddha- Concept-In-Pali-Canon-Commentary.html

WAYS TO DEAL WITH COMPLICATIONS Eating only one meal a day can help to control the sexual drives, since when one is hungry the last thing on the mind is sex. The brain naturally will want to conserve energy, not deplete it by unnecessary actions or behaviors, similar to when you have the flu, gastroenteritis, diarrhea, or nausea. Vegetarian diets or juice and water fasting can lower testosterone levels. Conversely, high protein animal products like cow, pig, lamb, fish, oysters, nuts, avocado, eggs, milk, garlic, and honey tend to increase sexual drive. Additionally, because of the growth hormones and preservatives that are put into animal protein products, they may even increase sexual cravings and anger. For instance, some of these animal products have high levels of endocrine hormones such as adrenaline, epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol (fight and flight hormone), which increase in the moments just before the terrified animals are slaughtered. Subsequently, eating this contaminated meat can result in aggression or flight anxiety in some people.

BIO ENERGY, CHI, PRANA . FIRE AND WIND ELEMENTS.

You also have to know how to keep the energy in the navel chakra or circulate it as to not get stuck in the second chakra or sexual secret chakra. There are many bio energy exercise that can help do this in all the traditions, Taoism is all about this, so is mystical also have their ways of doing this. Grounding or earthing this bio energy.

TANTRA AND VEDANTA

When Swami Tapovan [5]was asked about attaining liberation through sensual pleasure and Tantra, he said it was like night and day, two opposite poles. He also said that sanyasin, celibacy for life, was the only path for "true liberation." Anything other than this is not possible.

This matches what the Buddha said as well. Most of these other traditions stem out of not being able to attain sannyasin, so they branch off and create new paths so that they can indulge in sensual pleasures, sex, drugs, alcohol and so on and today Neo-Advaita is just one more example of this. They believe they can be liberated and still have sex and make all kinds of excuses to do so. But again, the Buddha addresses this in the Alagaddupama Sutta, "The Snake Simile." [6]

"Monks, it is impossible indeed, that one can pursue sense gratification without sensual desire, without perceptions of sensual desire, without thoughts of sensual desire."

Continue to Part 17

CELIBACY

When one is familiar with jhana, and realises the origin of the bliss therein, one will come to see for oneself that all worldly pleasures of the five external senses (which includes sexuality) are merely dukkha - (suffering).

Ajhan Brahm

The word "celibacy" derives from the Latin caelebs, meaning unmarried or single. The word brahmacharya means "conduct that leads to the realization of Brahman or God." However, brahmacharya is more than just being unmarried or single; it is about purity in thought, word, and deed. Most traditions teach Brahmacharya of some kind, and it is a very important factor if you want to access jhana (deep states of samadhi meditation). It is one of the fundamental practices in Theravada Buddhism, Yoga, and Taoism; reason being, if you can temporarily transcend sexual desire and know how to sublimate this energy, it will greatly improve your meditation practice and may even result in samadhi/jhana. If you don't practice along with the other steps of the Noble Eightfold Path, the chances of attaining jhana will be very slim, because you will not be able to get past or at least be able to temporarily suppress or let go of the five hindrances mentioned previously. However, some people with powerful concentration but unwholesome conduct have been able to attain samadhi and wrongfully equate this with enlightenment, which it is not. Many schools of Taoism and yoga say the practice of celibacy will conserve and channel the life force energy through the various energy centers. It will not only help you along your spiritual path, but it will also prolong your life and both your physical and mental health. It is known that whenever the life force is conserved and reabsorbed into the system, that energy goes towards enriching the blood and, by doing so, strengthening the brain and the rest of the organs. The way that one practices Brahmacharya is to first know or to become mindful as to how the mind/body operates. For example, when a thought first arises, it might cause a pleasant feeling in the body, but then this feeling often leads to craving and eventually to acting out on the craving. One has to know how to interrupt this process by using "mindfulness" right effort and willpower and also how to direct one's energy through one-pointed concentration. Other attributes of mindfulness are knowing how to replace one thought with another or how to nip thoughts in the bud and not allow them to flower to the point of losing control. One can begin by practicing abstaining from any impulses. An effective way to do this is by guarding the "sensory doors"; meaning, all sensory contact with sights, sounds, touch, taste, and smell, and additionally, knowing clearly the patterns of your mind/body complex and then avoiding these triggers. One has to know how the mind and body react to various stimuli and that one can simply observe what is happening in the body while abandoning the impulses or instincts to react. Gurdjieff, a mystic and meditation teacher who was heavily influenced by Theravada Buddhism, used to teach an exercise of stopping oneself from sneezing just before doing so. This method of abstaining can be effectively applied to all sorts of behaviors and appetites. We are programmed to eat only what we like or at certain times of the day, and going without sex is much easier in comparison. We can live without having sex, but not without food. Much of the sexual stimuli are automatic and outside one's awareness, through the olfactory glands and the sense of smell, as well as the sex pheromones produced by both males and females. When women ovulate, they produce a pheromone called "copulance," which will not only change their behavior, their body language becoming more flirtatious through facial expressions, walk, swagger, voice, and so on, and it will also increase the libido and testosterone levels in men and make it more difficult for them to control their sexual urges. Scientific tests have been done on primates such as chimpanzees and apes that prove that when the female chimpanzee is past her reproductive period but smeared with sex pheromone, the male monkeys will not be able to control themselves. Since we share 99 percent of their DNA, the same applies to humans. Certain foods will temporarily affect sexual desire, as well as will lack of food, extensive fasting, and dieting. Fasting can actually bring gonadal hormone levels to more of a prepubescent level and dramatically reduce one's libido. Reason being is that the body will do anything to conserve energy at that point because it fears it's going into death mode and loses all interest in sex. Similar to when one is physically ill, the thought of sex can become repulsive. Abstaining from energetic impulses takes tremendous self-awareness, discipline, and willpower at first, but with time and practice it becomes easier. After not acting on these impulses a few times one realizes that they can be temporarily conquered, in order to attain deep states of meditation, Jhanas. Abstinence falls under the "right effort" category of the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism. By guarding the gates and senses of what you allow into your mind-stream, and being careful not to pollute it, you will avoid the triggers. So one needs to be aware of what one looks at until one gets more skillful at knowing how to overcome the obscurations of thoughts, feelings, or sensations when they do arise. You will begin to notice how primitive and animalistic the instincts can be and how this society thrives on the bombardment of imagery, urging one to crave after objects, to consume, to procreate. If one is not aware, then one can easily be thrown off track and seduced by it all. At some point one is able to view these things and see through the "maya/mara" of it, the illusion or appearance. This is why it's best to find the right sort of environment to practice celibacy, ideally in seclusion, without other people around. Group retreats or group energy are not good for various reasons, such as interacting with the opposite sex, the emotional baggage of others, negative energy, and so on. Practicing in a secluded environment out in nature is probably the most conducive. There are powerful meditations or "reflections on repulsiveness" that one can do with the different 32 body parts. This can enable one to see through the illusion of the body and know reality as it truly is. One way is to meditate on one segment at a time as follows: head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bone, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, membranes, spleen, lungs, bowels, intestines, gorge, excrement, brain, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, snot, spittle, oil of the joints, and urine. This practice will completely change the way you look at any organism ever again, human, animal, or otherwise. For example, you could look at a so-called "beautiful" woman or man or any other object and see bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, snot, spittle, oil of the joints, or urine. Or you could view these objects in terms of the elements only: earth, wind, fire, and water, or carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, or CHONPS for short, the six most abundant elements of life. These exact same molecular elements, along with some other trace minerals make up all biological forms on earth and the cycle of the biosphere. In deep meditation, if we look at the human being on a subatomic level, we are no different from any other object out there, and our atoms are mostly made up of empty space. When we do this, we also transform our ordinary perception and energy and convert it into something much more conducive. At the same time, trying to suppress one's sexuality and urges through force of will can cause a backlash of neurotic and energetic problems, so it's a very delicate matter. Practicing celibacy can be extremely challenging and revealing of where one is at on the path. In any case, it will clearly expose how much you crave and desire the flesh. If the cravings get too intense, other methods could involve reading scripture or meditating, working out, running, or some other form of exercise like yoga that will help to regulate the energy flow. If you are able to abstain from acting out on a particular craving and attachment, even temporarily, you will gain tremendous spiritual power. This energy can be used in all sorts of creative ways. Your mind will be bright and clear, and you will gain concentration like a laser beam. Your thinking and memory will also become very lucid, and your energy level will skyrocket. This is the reason why professional and Olympic athletes conserve their sexual energy prior to major competitions. This reserved energy will boost , insight, and intuition many times over, because when the mind/body complex is not indulging in these passions, it becomes still. One will also begin to look and feel younger.

NEO ADVAITA Some non-dualists today say that one can enjoy sensual pleasure without sensual desire or becoming attached by being non-identified, aware, and separate from the lower animal instincts.

The problem with this view of course, (even with some very advanced practitioners as with the Tibetan, Taoist and Mahasiddha traditions) that if they were so pure, or aware, this sensual craving would not arise in the first place, and even if it did, they would not act out on it, but what many contemporary non dualists teach is a form of hedonistic non-dual sex which is very different from some of the earlier teachings of Advaita Vedanta.

Traditional Vedanta also saw the benefit of curbing sensual gratification through requiring the early rishis to be married and only practice sex for no other reason than procreation. Even in this case why the need for procreation at all?

Continue to Part 18

JHANA, RIGHT AND WRONG SAMADHI

“In order to put an end to the ephemeral re-births, we should, above all, develop our (spiritual) intelligence through association with the wise, enquiry into Atman Jnana books and deep Samadhi (or Meditation).”

Yoga Vashista[1]

In Yoga, the highest attainment in meditation is nirvikalpa samadhi; in Theravada Buddhism, in terms of calming of the mind, eight plus jhanas, it‘s nirodha samapatti , number nine, but let‘s now look at how they are similar, but also differ, and why the end outlook of enlightenment may differ, i.e., Self or Brahman vis-à-vis, ‗not self‘. http://www.palikanon.com/english/wtb/n_r/nirodha_samaapatti.ht m

In ancient times, some say that the first maharishis, the great seers, such as Vasitha in the Vedanta scriptures, all attained the knowledge of liberation and nirvana through the practice of samadhi meditation. However the chances are they attained rebirth in the arupa realms meaning they are still not out of samsara. See Brahmajala sutta. This was quite common occurrence in the Buddhas day as it still is today with yogis and others who still make this fundamental error of identification with a big Self, or a big mind, in essence a massive ego. :-) https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.01.0.bodh.html

Samadhi, or the 8 jhanas is the attainment of direct knowledge, not just from divine revelation or hearing it from somebody else, but through direct experience of what is known as turiya in Vedanta, or the ‗fourth state,‘ which is beyond the states of waking, dreaming, and everyday reality.

Rupa Jhanas 1. "There is the case where a monk -- quite secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome states of mind -- enters and remains in the first Jhana which is with initial and sustainedthinking and is filled with rapture and happiness born of seclusion. He drenches, steeps, saturates, and suffuses his body with this rapture and happiness so that there is no part of his entire body not suffused with rapture and happiness.

"Just as if a skilled bath attendent or his apprentice would pour soap powder into a metal basin and knead it together, sprinkling it again and again with water, so that the ball of soap powder would be filled with mostiure, encompassed by mostiure, pervaded by mosture inside and out, yet would not drip; even so, the monk drenches, steeps, saturates, and suffuses his body with the rapture and happiness born of seclusion so that there is no part of his entire body not suffused with rapture and happiness.

2. "Further, with the stilling of initial and sustained thinking, by gaining inner tranquility and unification of mind, he enters and remains in the second Jhana which is free from initial and sustained thinking and is filled with rapture and happiness born of concentration. He drenches, steeps, saturates, and suffuses his body with this rapture and happiness so that there is no part of his entire body not suffused with rapture and happiness.

"Just like a lake with spring-water welling up from below, having no inflow from east, west, north, or south, and with the skies [not?] periodically supplying it with rain, so that the cool spring- water welling up from below would permeate and pervade, suffuse and fill that lake with cool water, there being no part of the lake not suffused with cool water; even so, the monk drenches, steeps, saturates, and suffuses his body with the rapture and happiness born of concentration so that there is no part of his entire body not suffused with rapture and happiness.

3. "Further, with the fading away of rapture, remaining imperturbable, mindful, and clearly aware, he enters the third jhana and experiences within himself the joy of which the Noble Ones declare, "Happy is he who dwells with equanimity and mindfulness." He drenches, steeps, saturates, and suffuses his body with this happiness free from rapture so that there is no part of his entire body not suffused with happiness.

"Just as in a blue-, white-, or red-lotus pond, there may be some of the lotuses which, born and growing in the water, stay immersed in the water and flourish without standing up out of the water, so that they are permeated and pervaded, suffused and filled with cool water from their roots to their tips so that no part of those lotuses is not suffused with cool water; even so, the monk drenches, steeps, saturates, and suffuses his body with this happiness free from rapture so that there is no part of his entire body not suffused with happiness.

4. "Further, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain -- as with the earlier disappearance of joy and sorrow -- he enters and remains in the fourth Jhana which is beyond pleasure and pain; and purified by equanimity and mindfulness. He sits, suffusing his body with a pure, bright awareness, so that there is nothing of his entire body not suffused by pure, bright awareness.

"Just as if a man were sitting wrapped from head to foot with a white cloth so that there would be no part of his body to which the white cloth did not extend; even so, the monk sits, suffusing his body with a pure, bright awareness so that there is no part of his entire body not suffused by pure, bright awareness."

Anguttara Nikaya 5.28

Arupa Jhanas 5. "With the complete transcending of bodily sensations, with the disappearance of all sense of resistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, thinking, 'space is infinite,' one enters and remains in the Sphere of Infinite Space.

6. "With the complete transcending of the Sphere of Infinite Space, thinking, 'consciousness is infinite,' one enters and remains in the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness.

7. "With the complete transcending of the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness, thinking, 'There is no-thing,' one enters and remains in the Sphere of No-thingness.

8. "With the complete transcending of the Sphere of No-thingness, one enters and remains in the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception."

Digha Nikaya 15

In modern times, many traditions primarily rely on atma vichara (self inquiry), including some teachers in the tradition and lineage of Adi Shankara, who was one of the most revered Indian Vedanta philosophers and theologians who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. They depend on developing their (spiritual) intelligence through association with the wise, and their jnana, or spiritual knowledge, through reading books and listening to scripture. Also by reflecting, examining and asking questions to the teacher about these scriptures and books. And finally, this knowledge must be assimilated and integrated over time and the kinks worked out.

Yet, one of the fundamental reasons that some householder Vedantins cannot attain samadhi is that for a non-celibate, samadhi is not so easy to obtain. The mind-stream of the non-celibate may be too rajasic or too tamasic [2].

The argument that is often used against the practice of samadhi by some contemporary traditional Vedantins is that it‘s very difficult to attain, and that it can take years or even lifetimes, which is valid and true in many instances.

In Shankara‘s Fifteenfold Raja Yoga practice,[3] he disbands all of these practices and transforms them into another level of samadhi yoga where the mind is constantly absorbed in non-dual awareness, directly experiencing itself at all time as both subject and object, manifested as well as un-manifested reality, which is a natural kind of samadhi or samadhi, abiding in awareness at all time but with eyes open. If one is not born pure like Adi Shankara was, it can take years of practice, if not lifetimes, so it‘s not for anyone who is used to instant gratification.

Another reason some only take the path of jnana yoga rather than that of samadhi, is that perhaps to some Brahmins samadhi is associated with the practice of Buddhism and Patanjali Yoga.

To the Vedantic priests of his day, the Buddha was considered the number one heretic. Some say Adi Shankara drove the Buddhists out of India to establish his own traditional system of teaching Jnana

Yoga, based just on the Vedas.

JHANA, SAMADHI, AND THERAVADA BUDDHISM

In some of the Theravada Buddhist commentaries, anyone who attains the supreme knowledge without samadhi (jhanas) is known as dry insight. This is why the Buddha always suggested that if one attained insight just through scripture, or intellectual book knowledge, or through mindfulness practice, then one should also attain samadhi (jhanas) as well. To balance it out like „two wheels of a chariot.‘ Most Buddhists speak of two ways the mind can gain liberation: ―unshakable deliverance of mind” liberation through understanding that comes after samadhi has been developed and perfected to its most powerful and refined level.

The practitioner first develops the ability to temporarily suppress the defilements completely through the power of appana samadhi, and then turns to the development of insight, vipassana to finally gain liberation from any remaining defilements. Kleshas of greed, hatred and delusion. https://dhammawiki.com/index.php/Appana-samadhi

There are some types of samadhi that would be considered ‗wrong samadhi,‘ such as the use of drugs, soma, as the brahmins used in the Buddhas day. Or how the mahasiddhas and tantrikas used sex - tantra, or other dangerous means. A near death experience for example may produce samadhi, but so would a coma, yet it would not produce knowledge.

In certain levels of deep samadhi meditation, (immaterial jhanas) the mind is perfectly still, silent, and ceases altogether. It is deeply restful, not even concentration is needed, as it is beyond this effort or focus. There is no quality of activeness, which means that there is nothing going on, and no insights, either, while one is in this state. Many times, the awakening (insights) happen immediately after the fact or with other types of meditations or with the right pointing by a knowledgeable teacher.

It is very difficult to communicate this to others because the later stages of jhana samadhi cannot be described - in the final stage there is a cessation of all mental activity, perception and feeling. The Buddha spoke of a nirodha samappatti, cessation of feeling and perception. In this state, there isn‘t even awareness of itself as awareness as in the previous states. It is like a total state of oblivion. So once you attain this, you can‘t even identity with awareness or Brahman as a Self in cessation, since even the knowing aspect of awareness is no longer there.

WRONG SAMADHI

However there is another state that is even spoke about in yoga, (yogic swoon) a wrong type of nirvikalpa samadhi where one attains a cessation of perception, its like being in a very deep sleep. This happens when the mind stream simply isn't pure enough and is mistaken for nirvikalpa samadhi. This is a type of samadhi that yoga practitioners in India claim to bury themselves under the ground and reemerge a few days later. " Worldly seekers as well as renunciate seekers enter this temple of yoga in order to reach the highest floor. But seekers with worldly desires cannot reach the sixth and the seventh floors because their desires do not permit them to progress. They may have to be satisfied with the experiences of the lower stages such as tandra (yogic drowsiness), nidra (yogic sleep), and murcha (yogic swoon). However, the sages lead them towards the fourth and fifth floors and encourage them to make all possible efforts to reach them."

Also see, Jhana not by the numbers Thanissaro Bhikkhu says,

"The second state was one I happened to hit one night when my concentration was extremely one-pointed, and so refined that it refused settle on or label even the most fleeting mental objects. I dropped into a state in which I lost all sense of the body, of any internal/external sounds, or of any thoughts or perceptions at all — although there was just enough tiny awareness to let me know, when I emerged, that I hadn't been asleep. I found that I could stay there for many hours, and yet time would pass very quickly. Two hours would seem like two minutes. I could also "program" myself to come out at a particular time.

After hitting this state several nights in a row, I told Ajaan Fuang about it, and his first question was, "Do you like it?" My answer was "No," because I felt a little groggy the first time I came out. "Good," he said. "As long as you don't like it, you're safe. Some people really like it and think it's nibbana or cessation. Actually, it's the state of non- perception (asaññi-). It's not even right concentration, because there's no way you can investigate anything in there to gain any sort of discernment. But it does have other uses." He then told me of the time he had undergone kidney surgery and, not trusting the anesthesiologist, had put himself in that state for the duration of the operation. "

Its similar to being in a coma but its not such a great attainment since you can end up being reborn in a asaññasatta realms of unconscious beings, who do not get the chance to attain much else for a very long time. About 500 aeons.

But in any case, even attaining any of these higher jhanic states and when the mind begins to operate again, it‘s like being suddenly reborn into a world of sense objects, with a gross material body filled with sensation, thoughts, and feelings at full maturity. But there is no one to stake a claim on this because it is absolutely empty of all conception, meaning, or objects. As the philosopher Descartes once said, ―I think therefore I am.‖ If there is no consciousness then who are you?

To be continued.

SUGGESTED READING

THERAVADA BUDDHISM

Bodhi, Bhikkhu, The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering. Publisher: Pariyatti Publishing ,2006 www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/noble8path6.pdf

Bodhi, Bhikkhu, In the Buddha‟s Words. Publisher: Wisdom Publications, 2005

Gunaratana. Henepola Ven. Mindfulness in Plain English: Wisdom Publications; 20th Anniversary Edition, 2011 www.vipassana.com/meditation/mindfulness_in_plain_english.php

TRADITIONAL VEDANTA

Maharaj, Swami Tapovan. Iswara Darshan: Central Chinmaya Mission trust. 1968 Saraswati, Swami Dayananda, Introduction to Vedanta: Orient Paperbacks 1998

Waite, Dennis, Enlightenment, Path Through the Jungle: Mantra Books, 2008

[2] Rajasic indicates too much passion, tamasic indicates too dull, heavy or dark mind.

[3] www.estudantedavedanta.net/aparoksha-anubhuti-by-sri-shankaracharya.pdf