-Caveat Lector-
If you compare the greatest manuals of mystical guidance of their respective
traditions, the *Dark Night of the Soul* and *Ascent of Mount Carmel* by St.
John of the Cross for the Western tradition and the *Yogasutras* of
Patanjali for the Eastern, you discover that both traditions recognize very
similar side-effects of the quest for enlightenment. At a certain point,
phenomena such as telepathy, teleportation, OBE, bilocation, levitation, and
the like emerge. John of the Cross describes these phenomena as snares of
the devil and says to ignore them; Patanjali describes the *siddhis* (lit.,
"miracles") as manifestations of maya and says to ignore them. The mystical
traditions are filled with warnings about getting stuck at this level: "If
you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." "A roshi is an arrow pointed
straight at hell." "The first shall be last and the last shall be first."
The point is that these abilities are inherent in every human being; the
physical and mental discipline imposed on the contemplative releases these
abilities. But the objective of the discipline in the first place is *not*
the *siddhis* but enlightenment, so the *siddhis* must be set aside as mere
distractions.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Saturday, October 30, 1999 8:58 AM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: [CTRL] OBE's
>
> -Caveat Lector-
>
<snip>
> In Buddhist circles, if you have an experience like this, one of the
> first things your teacher will tell you is to forget it. Fantastic
> visionary experiences are not considered conducive to real spiritual
> growth. Maybe this guy will have more to tell us when he learns to
> make that Castenadian leap.
>
<snip>
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Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
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