Thanks, Turq, both for the further response and the image of the monk provided. Fine stuff.
** --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "Marek Reavis" <reavismarek@> > wrote: > > > > Turq, yes and no, really. Except for your experiences in places of > > power that you had no prior expectation of anything special, I'd say > > no; the reason being that there was some, albeit perhaps slight, > > anticipation of something special in the other instances you > > mentioned. For instance, the museum show: right there you have both > > a formalized proscenium as your setting and the context of ritual > > and religious objects, particularly for you who as a student of > > meditation and Tibetan Buddhism, would certainly have some interest > > (and you did because that's why you went), but also even for > > the "lay" people who walked into a special place to see a special > > show. > > It's possible. But I really *wasn't* expecting > anything; I had felt anything remotely like > "darshan" emanating from an art object in a > museum setting only once before, with a statue > in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. So I wasn't > looking for it in Albuquerque, or with Tibetan > art in general. I own a great deal of Tibetan > art, and I get a real hit from only one of the > pieces. > > > And as an aside, 'artifacts' are essentially the manifest > > respository of someone's attention; the more time putting one's > > attention on something and the more fundamental the underlying > > intention underlying that attention was, the more power (I feel) > > the object can hold and radiate. > > That's it exactly. Before the Albuquerque show, > the only two ancient artifacts I ever had gotten a > real hit on darshan-wise both had that quality, > of having "captured" years or even decades of an > interesting being's aura and attention field. > > One was the statue in Amsterdam. It was in the > Asiatic Wing (which I *highly* recommend if you > haven't been there...second only to one other > Asian Art museum in the world in my experience), > Japanese, carved in wood. There is a photo of > it in the Web version of my book, which you can > look at directly here: > > http://ramalila.net/RoadTripMind/pics/art/OneOfTheTenGreatDisciplesOfB uddha.jpg > > or in context here: > > http://ramalila.net/RoadTripMind/rtm30.html > > The magic is in the subject matter, which is in > the longer URL above. The artist was a simple > monk, nameless. We will never know who he was > because spiritual artists didn't sign their names > to their art in that culture at that time. And > whoever he was, he was wise enough to know that > he really couldn't do justice to a sculpture of > a Buddha. If you're not enlightened, how can you > even *begin* to grasp what a Buddha is, much less > do a portrait of him. > > So this anonymous artist chose instead a fellow > monk, One of the Ten Great Disciples of the Buddha. > *Him*, the monk could identify with. And he put > all of that identification and a lifetime's worth > of attention into his sculpture. It survives still, > centuries later, and yes, it *radiates* that > attention big-time. IMO, of course. > > The other object that I get a hit on hangs above > my bed. It's a 17th-century high lama's robe, from > a famous Tibetan monastery. The Sixth Dalai Lama, > my favorite character in history, taught in that > monastery for many years, during the same period. > The robe would only have been worn on ceremonial > occasions, during which the high lama would dance > through the dimensions for his followers. > > I don't get a real hit on this one from merely > looking at it, although I obviously did when I ran > into it in a tiny Tibetan store that was going out > of business. The magic happens when you wear it. > Suffice it to say I do, from time to time. It's > like putting on the mindset of the man who wore > it first. > > But other than that, it's not like I'm a relic > freak. I really don't get much of a hit from objects > that many others consider holy relics. There are > sculptures of dancing Shivas in the Rijksmuseum, > right next to the statue I like, that are worth > millions of dollars, and are considered some of the > best examples of that style of art still existing > on the planet. And yet, just a few feet away from > them, unregarded and unnoticed by most of the > tourists, is a simple, 3/4-life-size statue that -- > in my opinion as a perceiver -- outshines the > dancing Shivas completely. > > So I don't think I was really "set up" for any > particular experience when I walked into the museum. > What I experienced took me completely by surprise. > > > A religious icon or murti or ritual implement, > > made first with the intensity of attention such an object demands, > > coupled with the long and fervent attention of others who have used > > or appreciated or meditated on the object over a long period of time > > builds up and carries a lot of that shakti (attention). > > Indeed. > > > As to Rama's golden glow zap, sure you didn't see it coming, but > > you've written before about his ability to tune in and turn on > > certain folks, yourself included, so that doesn't fit what I was > > asking about, either, though it sounds totally fine and wish I'd > > been there myself. > > I guess the thing in this instance was that I didn't > know he was there until he walked up and said, "Gotcha." > I didn't even know he was in town. Last I'd heard he > was in Maui, and I'd thought he was still there. It turns > out that he was standing about fifty feet behind us in > line, waiting to see the same movie, and had decided to > give us a little surprise. So he'd done whatever he did > for several minutes before he walked up to us, to the > point where we noticed it and wondered what was happen- > ing, before we actually knew he was there. Go figure. > > > The unexpected power places does fit what I was talking about, > > and I've had those experiences, too. But what I'm interested > > in is if anyone's had the experience of getting high from someone > > that they didn't know or have any reason to expect anything out > > of the ordinary from. You know, Guru Dev in a crowd, Buddha > > traveling incognito, God rummaging through the trash looking > > for something either edible or recyclable. > > Absolutely. And it's one of the things that led me to > write what I did earlier about darshan experiences. One > of the most powerful -- and surprising -- such experiences > I ever had was in Santa Fe, attending one of the Lannan > Lecture series, a reading and Q&A session with Toni Morrison > and Michael Ondaatje. They are very, very, very different > kinds of writers, and whoever thought of putting them on > the same stage together was a genius. Morrison is a bit of > a plotter, and a plodder. She researches and outlines every- > thing she writes, excruciatingly, and only starts writing > when she's sure that she has all her ducks in a row. > Ondaatje, on the other hand, is a poet. He writes when > the inspiration strikes him, without preparation and with- > out planning. The dynamic was seriously Tantric. > > And I found myself sitting in the audience high as a kite, > my state of attention shifted radically from where it was > at when I walked into the room. And I found myself sitting > there having to *deal* with that. The only times in my life > this had ever happened to me before were in spiritual set- > tings -- a satsang or a lecture with a visiting teacher or > out in the desert in the middle of the night with Rama or > Cachora, that sort of thing. And yet there was no doubt > that my attention had just been abruptly shifted in the > same way in this room. > > It was a puzzler. I'm pretty sure that Toni Morrison, as > sweet as she is and as good a writer as she is, was not up > there on stage thinking that she's "giving darshan." I'm > pretty sure that this thought never crossed Michael Ondaatje's > mind, either. And yet darshan is what happened. > > What I took away from the situation was the aspect of > "resonance" that I wrote about earlier, but also another > metaphor. As a writer myself, it was as if I had been sitting > in a room with two writers who were "firing on more cylinders" > than I had been before seeing them. Hearing their words and > sitting in the aura of their mindset and hearing and feeling > the ways that they *thought*, I was somehow "reminded" of > similar ways of thinking inside myself, ways and modes of > thought that I hadn't been using up till then. Seeing them > in someone else had somehow "awakened" them in me. > > That's how I think darshan works. > > We encounter someone or something or some place in the > world that is using more of its potential than we are, in > certain ways. We might be using more of *our* potential > in different ways, but these people or objects or places > are tapped into something *else*, something latent inside > ourselves but that we as individuals have not yet fully > activated or realized. And interestingly, just the > *recognition* of this potential in another person or object > or place seems to be enough to "awaken" it in ourselves. > > > Doesn't really much matter, I guess, but who doesn't love to be > > high, exalted, to glow from within? I feel certain that there > > are folks like that wandering around whose interior hum could > > innocently reset my own(Maughm's Larry Darrell pulling up in > > his taxi and asking "Where to?"); just never ran across one > > of them myself. > > Keep looking. They're out there. *Very* out there. :-) > > > > ** > > --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "Marek Reavis" <reavismarek@> > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > Certainly the mindset (of the darshan receiver) and the setting > > are > > > > factors which provide a fertile ground for the experience of a > > > > purported saint's darshan. Most interesting to me would be the > > > > occassion in which the darshan came from an unexpected source, > > i.e., > > > > one that neither the darshan receiver anticipated and was in no > > > > other > > > > way elevated or singled out from the background as a 'possible' > > or > > > > anticipatory source; in other words, not someone on stage or > > sitting > > > > elevated on a dias, or behind a microphone covered in garlands, > > etc. > > > > This would be the unprepossesing, humble saint type of darshan -- > > > > illumination radiating from someone shining bright in his or her > > own > > > > effulgence. Has anyone ever experienced anything like that? > > > > > > I've had many such experiences, and they all > > > contributed to the way I phrased my post on > > > this subject earlier. In terms of "unexpected > > > darshan" in the presence of objects, my strong- > > > est experience of this was at a museum in Albu- > > > qurque, New Mexico. There was an exhibit of > > > Tibetan art there, and for some reason I'd been > > > putting off checking it out, thinking, "How good > > > could an exhibition of Tibetan art be in *Albu- > > > querque*, ferchrissakes. > > > > > > Boy, was I wrong. It turns out that the show was > > > curated by the most famous curator of Tibetan art > > > on the planet. He had retired a few years earlier, > > > but was coaxed out of retirement to do this show, > > > with the challenge, "Do something you've never > > > done before." So he mounted a show of objects that > > > had never been displayed in public before. All were > > > from private collections, and had been for decades, > > > in some cases hundreds of years. > > > > > > But I didn't know any of this. I was just taking > > > some woman friend of a friend to the Albuquerque > > > airport as a favor. I hate to say this, but 1) she > > > talked incessantly, and 2) she had nothing to say > > > when she talked. And I was stuck with her during > > > this trip to the museum. Suffice it to say that I > > > was *not* in a mood-making mood or had "set myself > > > up" for any kind of spiritual experience. > > > > > > But ten feet inside the door of the museum and it > > > hit me like a ton of bricks. I literally had to > > > find a bench and sit down, the silence and light > > > were that intense. And I wasn't the only one to > > > notice. I'd see "straight" tourists stand in front > > > of a centuries-old lapis lazuli Buddha and go weak > > > in the knees and have to be supported by their > > > spouses. They just didn't know what was happening > > > to them. *Very* powerful experience, and as you > > > say, completely unexpected. > > > > > > During the times I studied with the Rama guy, I > > > had quite a few instances of "unexpected darshan" > > > with him. One night I was waiting in line for a > > > movie in Westwood with my girlfriend and suddenly > > > everything "went gold." It stopped both of us in > > > our tracks and in our conversation. The light had > > > gotten "lively" and we both felt a profound shift > > > in our states of attention. We were talking about > > > it when Rama snuck up behind us and poked me in > > > the side and said, "Gotcha." He was like that. :-) > > > > > > Lots of similar experiences in places of power that > > > I didn't *know* were places of power beforehand. > > > I'd just go there out of curiosity and find myself > > > settling into meditative or clear-witnessing states. > > > > > > Is that the sort of thing you were asking about? > > > > > >
