On May 20, 2009, at 10:00 AM, raunchydog wrote:
--- In [email protected], Vaj <vajradh...@...> wrote:
I would bet the vast majority of former TM folks have either gone on
to other spiritual practices or have simply taken their TM practice
to further stages of practice. Certainly in traditional mental mantra
meditation one begins meditation on the outer and then inner levels
of mantra meaning (kuta-artha). Meaning is considered very important
in the later stages as the mantra expands into finer levels of
creation. It's this grokking of meaning that's what allows the forms
to appear, it plants the seeds necessary for the form to manifest.
Then one can go beyond form.
It's interesting, early publications of the TM Org report Indians
"seeing" their mantra-deity but you rarely hear that with westerners.
Perhaps being lied to and told they are "meaningless" blocks this
awakening?
I'll take Vaj up on his bet, but first he has to prove "the vast
majority of former TM folks have either gone on to other spiritual
practices or have simply taken their TM practice to further stages
of practice."
Of course it not my intention to prove this. It would take a broad-
ranging census in order to do so. Just from observations here of
various people, it sounds like the vast majority quit. It's unclear
whether this is similar to other meditation techniques or not.
However Mindfulness Meditation taught through Jon Kabat-Zinn (MBSR)
has been studied to see how many people maintain that practice over
time, and their results are quite high (over 80% retention IIRC).
Of course this implies TM is an inferior practice and Vaj knows of
superior practices that he can't wait to tell us about.
No, that's not what it means at all. It actually would mean a large
number of different things for different people.
But if you look into what he has written about what he considers
better, superduper, practices, it will leave your head spinning in
confusion. TM is simple and Vaj can't stand it that he has
contorted his life into complex spiritual practices so he spends a
great deal of time trying to convince us of how wise and
knowledgeable he is. Yeah, right.
I don't know what "complex spiritual practices" you're talking about.
As I've observed before here, more advanced meditation forms are
often simpler.
