Yeah, you go understands that if it ever slow down long enough, if it ever really came to a full stop, you know, one of my two, definitely two definitions of Dharma to hold the seats the stop, ego disappears. You go really only survives in motion and relentless kind of distraction and activity. And so when everything comes to a screeching halt, you notice as a meditation, what happens you die, ego disappears. exactly what's going to happen at the end of life when you literally dropped out, so this is I'm writing this book. I think it's like number four in the queue of books I'm writing now. Instead of essays called Lessons from a corpse. I'm excited I want to write this book just because the title is so cool. What can you learn from dead people? Well, one of the things you can learn from dead people, you know, allegedly not allegedly, according to these these teachings. When a person dropped dead and they're dead, still the nature of reality is laid bare. Well, what can we learn from ultimate stability? Ultimate stasis ultimate immovability ultimate silence. We can learn a lot. So we should let our cadavers TJs so I'm gonna write this book just because I love the title. It's going to be series of essays. People tend to skip over this material ie the part of Dharma Tom the same way they'll skip over these Bardot's when they experience some because it's too concentrated. It's too bright. It's too intense. I remember very clearly so clearly, the first time I read The Tibetan Book of the Dead. WTF, I had no idea what they were talking about. I mean, this is the most cryptic self secret book imaginable, but I've read it now probably 15 times and all the different. Here's a dozen translations. I read all of them. So I read this book probably 2030 times, and over and over and over and over, it slowly starts to kind of drip trickle in. So it takes a while to settle into the concentrated in nature because the dark, the burden of Dharma TA is like reality concentrate, right? This is just everything that we see here, in fact, is just the delusion, dis distraction, the diminution of the reality concentrate that's revealed that the borrowed Amitabha gave us it's so it's so bright, it's so brilliant. It's so it's like a supernova. So much so nothing from the ego point of view, the ego contracts out of fear runs out of the bar of damata as if it's life depended on it because it does ego cannot experience the Durmitor.
FedEx itself into the Bardo, becoming and then we continue to FedEx ourselves moment to moment. And we end up here that part's good. By taking the time to become familiar with the very definition of meditation G O M, to become familiar with taking the time to become familiar with these Bartles. Now with the level of the map, this allows us to recognize them later, increasing our chances for enlightenment. That's the whole idea behind Bartow yoga, until you actually do full blown Bardo yoga practice like dark retreat. Part of the yoga practice is mostly it's a this is a contemplation. bardiya Yoga is a contemplative practice. It's all about reflecting contemplating deeply, deeply deeply these truths. In Sanskrit, the term is should have a copper, the copper literally means thought construct should have a copper means a thought construct that is in resonance with reality. And so the idea here, just like a CO on is or deep contemplation is you contemplate very, very, very deeply and because the reflection that contemplation is in harmony with reality, it collapses into reality. So you're really working on it, you're massaging it into your tissues, you're reflecting, reflecting, and then poof, mind goes into a non conceptual Kensho, Satori. And now you get it. So you make this immediate translation or transformation from the second wisdom tool prajna of contemplation of that collapses into the final yogic direct valid cognition, the highest form of knowing when when you know this Gnostic Lee within your Soma within your body, but this is important to understand about bharta yoga until you do dark retreat. The rest of it is just very deep, very, very deep reflective contemplation over and over and over. You study this stuff. Yes, yes, there's all these meditations to support it, for sure. But the heart of Berta yoga is actually what we're doing here contemplating. Each stage is accomp a company with signs Wait a second that I missed something here? Oh, yes, I did. Yes, by taking taking the time to become familiar with these Bartles now allows us to recognize them later, but it could be or say what is found now is Ahmed recognition and liberation are simultaneous as it says in the Book of the Dead, but you won't recognize something you've never met. Working with these baffling teachings now, work with these baffling teachings now, so you won't be baffled later. Right. The teachings are unequivocal relate to it. Now or be forced to relate to it when you die. Like this. This is like this is like Buddhist fire and brimstone right? I love this right? You can't pound the pulpit and put the fear of God or creator principle into you because you know, using Occam's Razor the Principle of Parsimony. You can explain reality without recourse to a creator principle. You don't need one. I mean, there are many, many gods for sure. But there's no one central anthropomorphic creation, creation God, this is the other thing that really needs to be changed. Get rid of the silly notion of creation, which makes it feel like it's something happened in the Big Bang or the Garden of Eden. Replace it with creating. It's creating it's not creation, because creation means oh, what happens sometime way back in the Big Bang, and I'm just a hapless victim of the machinations of causality and karma. Oh, no, man. No, you're you're you have tremendous power you have power of a God right now you're you're making everything up right now. You're creating this world, co creating this world system right now. You're making up yourself sense right now. So get rid of creation and replace it with creating this is what we're doing all the time, whether we know it or not. We're the ones that bring forth this reality. And that's why like I alluded to earlier, you stop moving you stop acting. That's karma. Relate means action movement. Then this universe, everything dissolves back into emptiness. collapses unless it's you know, maintained sustained. Okay, where are we here? Oh, yes, here we go. Yeah, fire and brimstone. Yeah, so we can't put the force of Crete we I guess that's me and my microbiome. Love this languaging right. We I guess it's me, me and my microbiome. Can't put the fear of the Creator principle into into you because you don't need one. You know, you don't need God to define reality. So this is the closest we can get put the fear of habit put the fear of karma into you. This is wholesome fear. This is really this is really good fear. Really healthy fear to realize that your habit patterns are what are creating you now and your habit patterns are what are going to create your journey after you die. So pay attention to your habits. What is it that reincarnates your habits makes so much sense. The painful part of dying begins with the outer dissolution which is the five stages of the death of the body, which we're going to explore in some detail. This is followed by the three stages of the inner dissolution which is the death of consciousness. Yeah, so this is a slight us refinement separates Buddhism from Hinduism. In Buddhism, consciousness is a pejorative term is set in contradistinction to awareness consciousness is always not dual in this tradition and so when you went even when my dear friend ALAN WALLACE talks about pristine consciousness, to me, that's an oxymoron. Why there's no such thing as pristine consciousness just talked about awareness. So consciousness is going to die in three stages, and then it's going to reveal non dual awareness. rigpa that's what happens at the moment of death in the entrance into the Bardo. domitor Each stage is accompanied with outer inner and secret signs. They can help a dying person and those around them will orient themselves to like wtf is happening here. Right? What's going on? Well, these signs are orienting generalizations, the GPS, they can help you help you see what's going on. These signs help us recognize where we are, where we're going, and then what we should do. When someone stops eating, for example, that can be a sign that the fire element is dissolving and death is imminent. The fire element is involved in digestion, the burning up of food. If a seriously ill one stops eating, it's time to get on a plane. Go see them if you want to be there before they die, usually within a couple of days. Those of you who work in this field, you know, they're gone. The other thing of course, after that you're going from Earth water fire wind space. respiration is the next thing right? If you were dying people you've seen this the Shane Stokes Respiratory Syndrome people get really exaggerated the breathing does all kinds of really fascinating and sometimes disconcerting things. That's that's when you know, death is imminent. There'll be breathing breathing, either like my father, he went through this for like 24 hours. It was really tough to watch. You know, just labor labor. It's like it is like he was just returning the element of wind back to the universe. It was it was challenging. But I knew I said, Wow, this is really eminent it's really, really close. And it was just, you know, within hours he was gone. So these signs can really they can they can really help you understand what's happening from your side. And if you're a caregiver, they can help you understand where a person could very well be. When they're dying. I play I wouldn't say it's a game because that's somewhat too dismissive. But when I'm working with DYING PEOPLE IN hospices, and hospitals and whatnot, I often ask the caretakers, palliative physicians and whatnot, how much time they think they have left and so I do this kind of to compare, like, Well, my intuition what I'm perceiving from these outer signs to what they tell me and I cannot tell you how often my understanding of these outer inerrancy mostly outer inner signs are more accurate. They really helped me understand. So that's why it's worth going through this stuff. Not everyone will experience all stages eight stages clearly, or in the following order for sure. Thinking that death will unfold in such a systematic and predictable fashion can hinder our experience instead of enhancing it. These stages are orienting generalizations, not immutable and definitive signs. And remind me I can't remember please remind me that I read that short riff from Evan Thompson about the eight stages as ritualized phenomenology. Do you guys remember that? From a couple of weeks ago that I share that in the class? I'm not seeing any nodding heads coming up. Yeah, probably not. Maybe you want to take a I can take a 32nd I'm in my study. In my other study by Ken randonneur. Evan Thompson wrote his dazzling book, waking, dreaming being you've heard me references self and consciousness and neuroscience meditation and philosophy. It's a really amazing book. And then his Bartel section he has a really interesting riff about it. This is not his name. naming this comes from another scholar. But this whole notion of ritualized phenomenology there's a big philosophic philosophers like their terms more than scientists, you know, 50 sign words to talk about the kind of ritual enactment of these particular stages take them seriously but don't necessarily take them literally. That's it that's an important point.
Well, yes, here we go. often asked hospitals, doctors, doctors, and nurses how much time they think a person has. And compare that to my own intuition based on the five outer stages. The guidance provided by the five stages is usually more accurate than the professional predictions. Yeah, when my father stopped eating and drinking, I could see the dissolution of the Father Father, although of fire and water elements. When he entered a period of labored breathing, followed by a rapid decrease in respiration, I knew he was losing the wind element and death was there. Because of the size I was able to be there when he took his last breath. Yeah, if you ever had this experience, especially with a loved one, oh boy. Is that a potent moment, right? It's really, really even a pet. But let alone a human being or a loved one. You know, you're with them and one second, they're breathing. And then the next second, just this rapid you thought I froze didn't yet cessation stop breathing silence, deafening silence. are gone. If you've been there, you know is this stunning moment. It's just like, wow. The outer signs are visible to caretakers. That means you they relate to experiences of the body. Inner signs are visible to the dying person. So this is from their side, right? And sometimes the caretakers they relate to experiences of the mind, phenomenology or cognitive function. Secret signs are only visible to practitioners. These are meditation, meditation signs, and correlate to the experience of the impro approaching luminosity. So the secret signs are only available to practitioners is they again, develop this micro phenomenology, this refined capacity to actually discern what their mind's eye yogic direct valid cognition, the approaching luminosity, they're actually heading towards the blinding light of the Dharma Aha. And a meditator can see this they can from their side they can see oh my gosh, you know, auto commentary. Wow, I'm getting close to the light. And so this is no small thing. So then you know what to do right. Relax, open. Relax. Ultimate homecoming coming home, beautiful. The outer inner science can be the loss of connection between body and mind as well as a severance from the outside world. Yeah, this withdrawal, practice your data. The signal the end of who we think we are. The secret signs indicate our approach to our ultimate nature, luminosity. They signal our proximity to who we really are. So this is the other thing that's going to happen is all these narratives, all these storylines, all these false levels of identification. They're going to be stripped away or they're going to be taken away to fundamentally realize your ultimate identity, which is simultaneously nothing and everything. You become nothing but big you becomes everything. You know, like I mentioned this earlier, right? This is really important. Understand in terms of right view, you're gonna disappear, your body is gone. 100% But if you understand this is this is the Great, let's make a deal. I'll make this deal. If you understand that that moment that your body is going to be replaced by the universe. Hey, that's a pretty good swap. I'll take that swap. Your body disappears. You become nothing. But that's the emptiness phase. But simultaneous with that, you become everything. That's the luminosity phase. And if you understand this, it's like, hey, I'll take this deal. This is a pretty darn good deal. And so again, can you handle that much space? Can you handle being infinity? Can you handle being everything for most people, you know, it's not just too little. It's too much. Oh my gosh, I'm not that big. I can't be the universe. Right. So what do we do, you know, collide with the infinite whiplash. Contract back into form? My heart and mind aren't that big. I can't be the universe. I've just disliked Joe Blow schmuck. Why? Why do I think that? Well, because I've been practicing jobos Joe, Joe Blow schmuck my entire life. That's when I'm most familiar with. It's just this is pure causality. I practice meanness I practice contraction all the time. That's what I'm familiar with. Unless I opened up what is meditation habituation to openness. Openness is a synonym for emptiness. Unless I open up when I spill into infinity emptiness everythingness I'm not familiar with it. Why? Because I haven't meditated on it. What am I going to do? That's not me. And so he contract. It's too much. It's too bright. It's too big. I can't be that big. I can't be that powerful. I can't be the universe. So we contract Welcome to the rebirth cycle. The five stages of the outer dissolution are the elements of the body, melting from gross into subtle. Earth into water into fire into wind into consciousness. And then consciousness in three stages is going to dissolve into space space of the mind. Yeah, this is great and Sanskrit. Allegedly, it's considered impolite to say someone has died is more considered to say punch a thumb gutta. I like that. They have returned to five minutes. To the five elements. This is lovely, right? You're basically going to return your elements which had been alone from day one. You're going to return them to their primordial lender, they're going to be basically dissolved back and recycled back into Mother Earth. Isn't that lovely? It's cosmic recycling process. Fantastic. The three stages of the image are the three stages of the energy solution evolve consciousness melting into space. This isn't outer space, but the infinite space of the awakened mind Dharmakaya luminosity emptiness 50 names for that which cannot be named. They asked reveal that the enter the outer dissolution that's the very end of the battle of dying and the very beginning of the Bardo. Dermatol. The outer sides of the Bardo, dying began as we age, right. This is what's happening. If you look in the mirror lately, you're already returning your elements to the world. already happening. Don't fight it. Go with it. Wake down. Let nature teach you. Old age is nature's preliminary practice for death. It's nature's and dendro Old age is nature's preliminary practice for death. And if you really understand this, you do your practice properly. You just realize hey, I just can't run the four minute mile anymore. I can't run those sub two hour marathons anymore, right? I can't do shit anymore. Alright, well that's what nature is teaching you I can't move anymore. I can't distract anymore. I'm returning to the source. If you understand that, like remember echo. Actually, I don't think I've ever told his quote in here. You know what is lost at the level of matters gain at the level of spirit. You know, rage rage against the dying of the light, right. Dylan Thomas great poetry. Crappy advice. Don't rage against the dying of a light. Relax, open. Remember Rabindranath Tagore? My favorite quote? That is not extinguishing the light. It is only putting out the lamp because Dawn has come. That's fantastic. But as I often say, right. Dawn only comes for those who wake up earlier off to see it that the US I love this. If you don't wake up early enough in life to see it. You're not going to recognize the Great Eastern sun when it dawns. And so what we're trying to do here is wake up early enough to see the arising of the Dawn right. Does this make sense? I love it poetry. Okay, where was I? Oh, yes, there we go if we're sensitive to it, aging prepares us for death. So I like this notion. of staging. That's nice. I like it saying wake down, wake down, wake down into the wisdom of the body. Just accept it. Just relax. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be healthy and exercise. I mean, good Lord, I'm almost an exercise freak. I bought this interesting book. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche got me on this kind of riff. And so I started I got my Luna aura ring. So now I'm tracking all these biometrics because of him. It's really great. And so I picked up this book you may have heard of it outlive by Peter Attia RTR Tia. This is a pretty good site. The Magnum, everything you want to know about. slowing down the aging and death process is pretty good about diet and exercise and sleep. I highly recommend it. But I guess always remember, I'm going to write on Peter a little note and say always remember Peter health is just the slowest way to die. Remember that right? Health is just the slowest way to die. One way or the other. I got the I got a doesn't matter. Right. Sorry. Elon Musk. Sorry. You transhumanists sorry, the you know, the people that want to cryonics they want to freeze themselves. Oh my god dope. That was like the absolute worst thing you can do. Anyway. I don't want to butt heads with Elon Musk. I'm sure my opinions of him keep them up at night. Ah, okay. Nevermind. I'll keep my political and economic comments to myself.
Growing old and falling apart is nature's way of teaching us how to release our obsession with form overthrowing the tyranny of a parents. It's nature's way to overthrow the tyranny of a parents don't look quite as good as he did right? Ah, geez now, just nature showing you it's not who you are men. Don't like a mirror. Look in the mirror of your heart to see who you really are. It's humiliating. Well, it's not really humiliating. I would I would amend that, I would say humbling. old age, sickness and death are the ultimate insights to your insults to your ego. Now that's true. Why? Because ego is exclusive identification with form that's what ego is. And so when that form starts to crumble, ego is getting some dance. It's literally like, hey, wait a second, man. This doesn't look so great. Well, yeah, it doesn't look so great, because you're not real. You're just the form of development, arrested formula developer. Well, their sickness and death are ultimate insults to your ego. But the best compliments to your spirit are that's nice that's a nice phrase. Oh, why do you ever occur totallys thing here Oh, cool. Wow, I forgot I had that coming up. Even before we enter the actual stages of dying, or body and even our mind starts to let go as we age. Yeah, like starting after what age 25 I think it was when we reached the apex of our kind of physical prowess. We lose our teeth, our hair our vision and hearing mobility flexibility, endurance memory, countless other things right? Loss loss loss loss loss. Have you noticed? Have you noticed? Loss loss loss loss for who loss for what is ego, the loss for materialism, its loss for these ridiculous notions that everything's based on form and matter. Because truth is being revealed. We lose control, productivity, independence, security dreams for the future and even meaning aging as a preliminary practice, none drove for the letting go that is forced upon us at death. It's so true. Yeah, so this is a good read from Eckhart. The return movement in a person's life the weakening or dissolution of form. What is ego school elusive identification with form whether through old age illness, disability loss or some kind of personal tragedy carries great potential for spiritual awakening. If you recognize what's going on right. The dis identification of consciousness from form says Death is only an abstract concept to them. Most people are totally unprepared for the dissolution of form that awaits them right when it approaches their shock. In time, incomprehension, despair and great fear. What do you mean this can't happen to me? As he goes screaming out, yes, it can and it will. But what is lost on the level of form is gain on the level of essence or spirit if related to properly old age are approaching death becomes what it is meant to be an opening into the realm of spirit I find a card that's pretty good. That's a good one. Each stage of the other disillusion is associated with the disintegration of one of the scandals so here oh my gosh, we could write Yeah, I was thinking about this. You know, I mentioned this before I helped Jerry has been working on this book right. Now that the new second addition to this book is going to be 5000 pages long. It's going to be basically a transcript of what we're doing in this course. It's gonna take us like three years to get through this damn book. And this second edition Jerry I hope you're on a man all right 5000 pages there's so much here. I mean, let me know the teachings on death are just as much about life there's just there's so much here by learning about the scandals, the heaps the aggregates, we can understand what to expect more or less as they dissolve. Each of these five skandhas corresponds to one of the five wisdoms so we can also learn about what lies ahead by studying the five wisdoms oh lordy. Like I mean, there's just like so much here even with these footnotes you could be a footnote after every word here. Each of the eight stages or the outer inner dissolution is associated with the eight consciousnesses of the yoga Chara. There is another set of footnotes. Another book many teachers actually yeah, true say the correspondence is exact. In other words, each of the eight stages is associated with each of the eight consciousnesses on the outer dissolution corresponds to the dissolution of the first five consciousnesses right sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. And the inner dissolution corresponds to the evaporation to the sixth, seventh and eighth consciousnesses respectively. Other teachers say it's not that crisp. Finally, each dissolution is associated with a dissipation of a chakra and its inner wind. Once again, learning about the function of these consciousness chakras and winds can help us understand the sequence of experiences. Iranian refugee who lives like 20 minutes down the road in his book dying with confidence says this. When we talk about the dissolution of the elements during the dying process, when we are talking about the dissolution of each elements impure aspect, which which leaves its pure wisdom aspect behind. Thus when an element dissolves, we have an enhanced capacity to abide and or experience the nature of mind. This is due to the increased pure energy or wisdom wind in the central channel as each element is purified. Yeah, so this is from a yoga Chara kind of inner yogic point of view, from absorption. Part of Dharma top point of view the elements when they dissolve what do they return to you they they return to light. Right I can't remember if I apologize, I can't remember all the crap I've talked about before but these lights these are these are our primordial ancestors. I mean, that's the world we really come from, you know, you want to talk about genealogy. You want to talk about cosmic genealogy. You talk about light again Amitabha the primordial light, that's that's our genealogy that those are ancestors. From this light. We'll see this later comes all by Buddha families, everything in the manifest world belongs to one of those families. So really, literally, everything is a manifestation of light. Not the same as is this so called physical light, but also not different. Super profound stuff. In other words, as the impure aspect of each element dissolves the pure wisdom aspect, and just the central channel. This affords affords a heightened opportunity to realize the nature of mind and you can see this in deep meditation. You may have already had this experience. You're doing really deep deep practice. You may notice your respiration start to cease. You may notice as your respiration thesis, you start to notice these little enter signs he little visions of smoke, Firefly, all this stuff. You might notice as if you're you can also notice this as you're falling asleep. That's the micro phenomenology you start to see this stuff. These are concordant expressions, but both when you're falling asleep, or when you enter a Samadhi deep absorption jhana states or when you die, winds are entering the central channel. And as they do that, in the stages, there's corresponding secret signs that you can recognize so this is another way if you plan to complete breathless Samadhi we're literally not metaphorically you're sitting in meditation. You're not breathing. I'm not exaggerating, you're not breathing. And you have the same experience. concordance because there's still prana running keeping your body alive, as you're going to have when you die. Well, it's helpful to understand each of these doctrines, we will limit our focus to the outer, inner and secret signs associated with each of the eight stages. This keeps it more practical. We're trying to install that Bardo GPS global positioning system to help us understand what's happening. Yeah, okay, so how are we doing? timewise Okay, geez, we got through. Oh, lordy. Jerry, it's gonna be more than five 5000 pages Jerry better get on it. It's gonna be more like 7000 pages. Okay, well, here's the deal. Like I've said many times, I'm gonna stop acting as an apologist. I'm just gonna take my bloody time. And you know what I think I do when we get to the sections like all the stuff, the kind of some of the practical stuff there's probably not as much commentary so we'll be able to clip faster than, but instead of just kind of racing through if it's okay with you. I like taking a more leisurely pace and just roughing out some of the stuff. So Okay. Say yes, yes. Okay, next time Okay, some questions were piped in. Let me get to those real quick and then feel free to ask away anything that comes to mind. You can either put them in the chat column and Alyssa will read them to me, or I'll find them but let me open up my other computer. And let's get to these questions. So Oh, yeah. So here's one, you know, have I considered writing a book about merit? No, I don't have enough merit to write a book about merit you know, I haven't thought about it, but it's probably not a bad idea because it's, you know, doesn't warrant a whole lot. Maybe. I, I've shared with you a little bit that you know, since I've been preparing for this
channel. And program the pure lands were created to companies created by the bearer of Dharma Cara, slash Amitabha. And so, merit is central to the puroland tradition, and it's massive in the Buddhist tradition, period. And so marriage is just a form not just it's a form of good karma. And so the minute you start talking about Mary, you start talking about karma. And so it's like, everybody knows what karma is, yet. No, it's, you know, karmic theory is among the most complex topics and all of the, in the thought period. Only a Buddha fully understands karma and therefore merit, but I've been thinking a lot about it. You know, coming up with some models with the help of some people like Bernardo, the guy interviewed the other day for three hours. He's got some really interesting things to say not directly about merit, because he doesn't roll in this world. But he brings together some information that really clicked to me. So you know, whether I write a book on it, Oh, lordy. I'm not sure that will be probably number seven on my list of books to write. But they're super interesting things to say about it. In terms of quantum field theory, and, you know, to me, I always had a hard time with merit. Because like most people, you know, it's just these like, Girl Scout badges or, like, you know, what's really happening with merit. And so as I started leading, learning a little bit more about field theory and that sort of thing. I started realizing Whoa, boy, there's some really interesting things here in quantum mechanics, that we can extrapolate to a deeper understanding of merit and how it's created, how it's propagated. How you can create so called matter out of merit. So it's a it's a kind of a nice idea, but honestly, here's the two. Here's the books I'm reading so far. So you already heard a three I'm writing two books on dark retreat. I've got this draft for lessons from a corpse that's probably going to take a while. And then I'm thinking about somewhat tongue in cheek. I'm thinking about writing actually a series of at least three books, one big book on each of these Bardot's because I've been teaching this stuff for such a long time. I realized I've accumulated a lot of stuff. So with Jerry's help, we're going to create four 500 Page volumes. And the Bardot's Hey, yeah, maybe and then after that, I'll get some merit. But I have to have enough merit. So here's what I said I don't have no merit because I'll probably be dead by them. But then what I'm going to do is I'm going to channel it Okay, so I have to look through here real quick. All right, I have to find some youngster. Oh, Chelsea. Yeah, Chelsea I'm going to channel this from Zuccotti to you. And so you can write I'm going to pipeline it into your consciousness and it's going to be your responsibility to write this book. Okay, Chelsea. So between Jerry and Chelsea, if these books aren't written, it's their fault. Okay, question. For Michelle. I have heard you speaking about horizontal and vertical development, yes. And how important they are. Yeah, the paths of waking up and growing up. Where do you draw the line when a teacher becomes the biggest troublemaker in your life? Quoting public Pema children and her quoting Trumper Rinpoche? The job of a spiritual friend is to insult you. Everything happening around a truly awakened being could be seen as a possibility to burn karma, right? How far would surrender go? Oh, Lord, what a great question. And what a hornet's nest. What a hornet's nest.
Yeah, there's so much to say here. This is where you really have to suss out stages of consciousness, structural levels and states. Of Consciousness. Vertical versus horizontal enlightenment. Waking up versus going up. This is super important to do. Because just because and I won't name names but you don't have to go too far to get it fill in the blank. You get people who are allegedly somewhat spiritually realized and I would say they're probably not even realized. I would say they're just experienced. There's a difference between experience and realization, Yom and Tonopah and Tibetan states and traits. They're not the same. So but you get the idea. You have someone who alleges some proficiency in state levels, you know, they have some level of recognition of some Bulguksa Dharmakaya levels. We're all well and good, fine. I don't think it's stable with most people, otherwise they would be Buddha's. But that aside, that's just one vector of development. And so here's where the problems come in. Unless that individual stays in Samadhi doesn't open their mouth doesn't do anything. The minute they open their mouth, the minute they do something, they have no choice but to express their experience lash realization through their structural level of development. It's there's no they have no choice. And here's the kicker. You cannot introspect these choices. These stages. They're not amenable to introspection, which is why the meditative traditions don't talk about them because you can't get this data from introspection, you have to have different data collection systems. And so this is a massive, massive blind spot in the contemplative traditions. They simply don't have the data acquisition methods to acquire this type of information. And so then what happens here you go so you have someone who has at some level of experience I'm not even saying realization. They start talking from a low lower level structure of development. They don't even know it. You don't look at these structures, you look through them, their blind spots. And so what do they do they they download and mess translate their experience through this filtered structural level of filament and pardon my French but this is where the shitshow starts. Because somebody can be relatively evolved on the vector of waking up and really developmentally arrested in the stages of growing up. How else I don't know any other model that can explain all the scandals that have happened and all the scandals that will continue to happen. This is not going to stop until there's some level of the recognition of the complexity of human psycho spiritual development. This is where integral theory comes in the work of John Wellwood there's hundreds of really clever people who have thought about this, it tremendous sophisticated ways that makes so much sense to me. And so, you know, who am I to say I love Pema children. She's a dear friend, I know her very well. Trungpa Rinpoche and one by root Guru amazing. But here's the deal. I would be so careful today. I cannot tell you just I would be so careful. Yes, yes, yes, it's true. You know, in theory, that the omniscient ones whatever they do is an opportunity for you to burn off karma. But I this is just me, I you know, this is just me. Boy, boy. I'm not so sure. In theory, yeah, you get somebody on the 10th boom, you're like His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, or Trungpa Rinpoche or Kimble? I mean, these are really, really great masters. Yes. But some of these other ones and again, and who am I to say, Boy, I would just be incredibly careful. So if you're in a situation, you know, here's let me let me tell you the way I rolled with this, I started asking a ton of teachers questions around this years ago, and the ones that would listen to me. That would actually give me some advice fundamentally said that said very, especially women, I really listened to the women on this one, not the patriarchal dominated male thing. I really listened to the women here. And and basically they said, you know, trust your intuition, trust yourself, the ultimate Guru is within. If something doesn't feel right, yes. Could it be your ego speaking for sure, it could be your ego speaking, but it could also be the guru within saying No way. Am I going to surrender and make myself vulnerable on all these levels, including physical levels? Yikes. Yikes. So this is a really important complex hornet's nest of an issue. It's difficult to paraphrase it and even 10 minutes of riffing on this, but it's a super important topic. You have to in my opinion, you have to be able to suss out these two vectors of waking up and growing up. Otherwise, if you just project us the other thing that happens, you can't in a certain way, you got to take some responsibility yourself. You know, psychologically, we're projecting golden shadows, dark shadows, we're projecting onto everything this world is a projection. And on top of that primordial ontological predict projection comes all the shadow work associated with the psychological crap that we throw onto the world and onto others. And so then you have that not only have waking up and growing up now you've got the issue of cleaning up dealing with your own projections, because you're, you know, very often we have golden shadows, we throw out, transference countertransference, all this really, really sophisticated, pathological psychological stuff happens. You throw all this stuff onto your teacher, you paint them in an image, and you're welcome to the scandals, the abuses and everything that takes place. So I wish I could be more succinct, but I think you get at least a taste of how complex this issue is. But in this day and age oh man, would I be careful and what I asked the tough questions, and here's the deal. When in doubt, leave it out. When in doubt, walk away and ask questions and just challenge challenge authority. I mean, the Dalai Lama wants this is interesting, and I'll stop because otherwise we'll be here for an hour this topic. A friend of mine was at lunch and with the Dalai Lama. And the conversation turned to this sort of stuff. And about in this particular community, the people having lunch with him. They were saying how they were kind of like trying to work and counsel with his male guy who was abusing students. And my friend said the Dalai Lama slammed his fist on the table like almost like knocking glasses and stuff off the table and said, Stop, this is enough. These people who do these sorts of things need to be exposed, you know, idiot compassion. So I did a little bit raffle about this sort of thing. Just because so many people have been hurt. Communities have fallen apart. It's going to continue to happen in my opinion, unless these vectors of growth, human growth and psycho spiritual development are taken into account. So this is a super important question. Probably the best I can do that without just talking for five hours, but it's a really good one. So hopefully, that's of some benefit. Super important. Trust the guru within. Don't just surrender to everything that's happening. You can get absolutely burned. You can get traumatized you can get seriously hurt. And this is this is the deepest violation. These these are traumas that are almost irreparable because of the level of openness and surrender on the victim's part. So it's like ah, this is one of the things that kind of gets my go. Okay. Oh, one last one here, and then we'll open it up. Are you aware of any people books, resources that work with death and dying and the preparation of dying from an explicitly Christian perspective? Well, sort of most of the people in my life including my immediate family of Christians, cool I'm cognizant of the inappropriateness and dangers of pushing my own beliefs. Yes, don't do that. about death and dying onto them. Good for you don't do that. Nor do I feel comfortable with dressing up these teachings and Christian garb good for you don't do that either. I'm hoping to find some solid resources rooted in their own religious tradition that I can recommend. To people who will help them through the dyeing process. Oh, boy. Yeah, you know, I study a little bit like kind of comparative religion thing. But have I really exhaustively looked at it this? I have not, I would look at the work of like Richard Rohr. Who I really respect Father Francis tea, so I hope to bring him on to interview him. I interviewed him on his book, resurrection body and rainbow, what is it called Rainbow body and resurrection. But I hope to bring him on as part of our Preparing to die program and interview him about the sorts of things from a Christian perspective. I tell you, if if father t so would have been my Catholic priests, I would still be a Catholic. This guy's amazing. I love him. And so I don't know if he's worked on this, but he probably has Richard Rohr, maybe, but you know that there's so much literature on this. I mean, I read somewhere just in Christianity alone. Check this out. Just take a wild stab. How many denominations Do you think there are in Christianity alone? And he gets 20,000.
And so now you got about Christianity. Are you talking about Gnosticism are you talking about the Essenes? I mean, you got 20,000 different variations here. So this type of exhaustive kind of cross cultural thing is way above my paygrade. I have enough challenges trying to work with it from a Buddhist perspective and then to some extent, Hindu approaches, so I wish I could be more healthier. I have received a number of kind of comparative texts, but not enough to speak with any authority I wish I could be a bigger help. So anyway, um, questions comments. I'll check the chat column if there's anything there. Well, that's weird. I don't know why. Why do you not have access to the chat column here, Alyssa.
Oh, I'm not sure. Do you have the more button at the bottom of your screen?
Oh, there it is.
There's a few questions in there. The first one came in at 621 from Patrick. I can read it.
I'll read it because I Oh, here it is. Okay, nevermind. Here it is. Yeah, okay. All right. Let me scroll up here. Okay. came in at 620. Oh, yeah. Patrick. Can you riff on visions in the Bible important dreams and visions happened over a dozen times is clairvoyance, a form of minor visions or something different? Oh, yeah. Big Question, my friend. Yeah. Yeah, when you're talking about religions in the kind of the religious sense, for sure, I mean, what's called Mind hair in the Buddhist tradition. It's called Mind here. Gong ter mind karma, Vision Terumah. This stuff happens all the time with people that are open, where they have these you know, as you become a little bit more porous, translucent to yourself into others, these types of breakthroughs, visions and whatnot can happen from seemingly external agencies, for sure. So you know, Patrick, I'm not entirely sure where you want me to run with this outside of the fact that absolutely positively. Dreams and Visions Absolutely. Especially dreams go Lord I it's something I can't talk about all the time. Visions and the like. They can be cultivated, with things like active imagination for one thing from a union perspective, is clairvoyance, a form of minor visions? That depends on who you talk to you and how you define these terms. So I'm not quite sure how to run with this on Patrick. Do these things happen? Are they legitimate? Absolutely. Right. And and remember Jeffrey Craig, Paul, I love this guy's work out of Rice University. You know, the stranger something is, the truer it is. I just love that. That's just so spectacular. You know these types of visions are kind of strange, but they're also magnificent. Can they portend truths and transmit truth? Absolutely. Can they also be intimations of psychosis? Absolutely. What it already Lang say the mystic swims in the same ocean where the psychotic drowns so being able to centrifuge these things out sometimes can be somewhat interesting. Yeah, so is it a is it a lunatic? Like, Crazy Wisdom kind of person? Is it legitimate? I mean, who am I to say that this is yeah, I'm not unless you have something specific to say, Patrick. This is a wonderful, big topic I'd recommend. I read a couple books quite recently on this meaning and absurdity. I'm reading all Barnardos books. There's a dozen I think two more to go. The most recent one I read it's a short one is just bloody brilliance called meaning and absurdity. What bizarre phenomena have to tell us about the nature of reality? It's masked masterpiece, right? So cool. So he talks a little bit about this sort of thing. Geoffrey Paul writes a ton about this. My my friend Sean Espeon. Hargens. Professor writes, he is I did two interviews with him on the edge of mind. He riffs a lot on this sort of stuff. I totally groove on it. I think it's incredibly interesting stuff. But I'm just not quite sure where to run with it outside of saying yeah, these things are all they can be extraordinarily valid. But sometimes they can be just hallucinatory. They can be delusions, centrifuging that out. Sometimes not so easy, right? This is a consensual hallucination everything I want though. Everything's a hallucination because it's a construct of mine. So this is yeah, these are great questions that lead to a lot of really interesting kind of philosophical conversations in the light, but in short, visions and especially dreams. Heck, yeah. Okay, where's the other one? Alyssa?
There's another one is 643 from Michael.
Oh, yeah. The John is a dissolution states. Yes. I just got a nice big paper. I had a conversation yesterday. With my friend Matthew, Sacha, a lot of Harvard. He's leading this amazing new institution that's being crafted there and he just sent me a really cool paper on Janas. But you again, Michael, if you hear what what exactly are you asking? There's eight of these things, not including the role of some APA T which is a post Gianna state. These are fruition all states of shamatha they're not they're dissolution of ego structure. They're they're a cessation but they're not nirvana. These the jhana states this is not a criticism at all. They're just the penthouse of samsara. This is the best you can do in samsara. The if you want to be reborn as a god, you practice the jhanas but jhana states are not emphasized in Buddhism. In fact, they're actually somewhat looked at, I wouldn't say dismissively, but with suspicion. Why? Because these states are mental candy. They're absolutely delicious states of mind. You think you're enlightened when you're just totally pacified? It's at its worst. It's a kind of metaphysical value. It's an incredible form of sedation that is brought about by complete cessation of mental activity and a dissolution into these absorption states. If you want to be reborn as a god, practice jhanas they can be mistaken for enlightenment because the contrast you go from a speedy mind into a complete absorption state do you think you're awake? You're not awake? You're just sedated? You shamatha right. Mindfulness is the book coming out. My book coming out this summer. I'm mindful now what? Moving Beyond mindfulness to meet the modern world. This is an endorsement and a pretty solid critique of this kind of thing because these states a date they don't liberate. Let me say that again. These states sedate, they don't liberate. This is shamatha brought to its fruition it's not the passionate, passionate liberates. So if you take these jhana states and you use them as ultimate pacification, stability practices for a bit passionate, they're incredibly powerful. But in the Tibetan tradition, I mean, those of you who are Tibetans, how often do you hear this word? I mean, they talked about Samadhi. But the jhana states they're recognized but they're not emphasized because in the context of absorption and Mahamudra these are the these are among the most serious of all spiritual traps. You think you're enlightened when you're just sedated? And so, you know, in a world that's on fire, sedation and chilling out, it's a really good thing. But it doesn't lead to liberation. So I'm not sure what else to run with this. The rotor some apathy is super interesting to me. That's being studied. The dissolution of cessation. You know, there's a lot of literature here. I just got this paper from Matthew, I haven't read it, but he's, it was a pre pre print publication to some studies being done on this stuff. This is pretty cool. I mean, especially in the relevance of Mapa T. Yeah, this is an amazing state of mind where people can enter fundamentally suspended hibernation for like up to a week. It's out there. Listen to the interview I did with Delson Armstrong about three years ago, he couldn't do this. He can go into this state at will for up to a week. He's a rock star. I love this guy. I mean, he's a beautiful human being. So big topic, but that's what comes to mind. Okay, can we practice away there was one here can we practice dissolving each of the five elements individually before we die? Yes, you can. You can do this on a number of different ways. I suggested earlier you can get an intimation of this through deep meditative absorption states when all the winds enter the central channel. You can also do this with what's called the Maitri space practices, Mantra space awareness practices there are somewhat connected to these elements. You can get a rapid glimpse of this if you're too lazy by taking high powered psychedelics like five Meo DMT. That'll rocket you into a non dual state, but it happens so fast. Even a really sophisticated micro phenomenologist you're just gonna go flat into the Dharmakaya so fast, you're not going to see the elements dissolve but everything's going to disappear. It's pretty cool, actually. It's pretty cool five Meo DMT. Again, I have to be careful because it could ruin my political career. I'm not endorsing it. I'm just saying it's a really interesting ride. Can we practice the five elements individually before we die? Outside of that, nothing else comes to mind. You know, you can get a sense of this every night when you fall asleep. So liminal, dreaming slash, early stages of Dream Yoga will help you understand this like when you're falling asleep, you know, things are getting really heavy. That's the earth element. You can gain an intimation of that dissolution process, a microcosmic way, every night when you fall asleep. Outside of that, I'm not sure what else I can say. That's what comes to mind.
Okay. All right, the next one came in at 701. Also from James.
Oh, here's the way here's again in a second. Here's a question from Gail. Yeah, so next time, okay, here's my nice big German Stan Steinway. Maybe next time I'll play I'll play some dead white man's music for you. Some Chopin, or maybe or maybe the second movement of the Chopin Sonata on the funeral march, right. Dun dun dun. Around it's a beautiful Chopin Sonata. Maybe I'll play that and just creep everybody out. Yeah, maybe some I'm actually love ripping up some new repertoire. So maybe. Yeah, maybe Gail. I'll play something. Maybe I just have to be reminded. So who does that? Alyssa does that. Alyssa has to remind me. Okay, I'm sorry. Alyssa, I cut you off.
Oh, it's okay. There's one at Oh, is it my 701 Okay, James.
Seven. Oh, there it is. Okay. With a waking up and growing up, correlate to what Bruce tiff calls becoming developmental approach and becoming fruition approach both necessary for growth? Not necessarily. They are somewhat related. I'm trying to remember the how Bruce writes about that in his book, which I love. I love that book. It's such a great book already three or the they completely isomorphic developmental fruition or? I don't think so. But you know, this is a good question. I have to It's been a while since I've read on Bruce's book. So I'd have to look at it. I highly recommend this book. Bruce is a good friend. I also have an interview with him on edge of mind if you haven't heard it, he's great. I love this book. But you know the actual correlation between his riffing and waking up and going up I'm sure there's some similarities, but I'd have to actually sit back and look at Bruce's stuff again to speak with any authority. I'm it's been a while since I've read that book. It's a great one, but I just don't remember. Okay, why was there so much controversy around from when? And then his son if he was a true realized teacher? Yeah, you told me Patrice, you're telling me. I don't know. I don't know my favorite answer. Really? Divine ignorance. I don't know. Really. It's a wonderful thing. Isn't isn't it's just the most delightful thing to be able to say. I don't know. And it's something so freeing about that. I I, if I did it all the time. I mean, my q&a is especially on Thursday night, nobody would show up. You know, it's like, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. You know, I probably have an audience for like a week. But that, you know, I literally don't know it stops my mind. I mean, I'm not the only one. I remember Pema children. She was asked exactly these sorts of questions. And she just says, I don't know. I can't wrap my mind around this. Was it intentional? I don't know. You know, I mean, I can tell you some really amazing things. You know, Trump Rinpoche was accused of being an alcoholic. Well, was his alcoholism a form of teaching or was he a true alcoholic? I mean, I know people who are with him in his company, when he appeared to be stone cold, drunk, and within two seconds, completely sober. Was he putting on an act? Why was he doing it? I have no idea. There is some legitimacy to the crazy Western tradition. For sure. But sometimes it's just crazy. There's no wisdom, who am I to say I am in no position to be able to assess someone like Trump Rinpoche and his mind I mean, good lord. So I like with him I just My mind just kind of freezes here because I literally just don't know. Best answer. I wish I can be more help on that.
Oh, five year
from Thea, what is your meaning of the mystic swims in the same ocean where the psychotic drowns that drums maybe drumming is a better one right? Currently drum in the same ocean brown Yeah, drown? Yeah, this is actually a good one sometimes attributed to Joseph Campbell sometimes the Trinity attributed to rd Lang but this one really speaks to me is that these waters are very, very similar. Um, the difference between psychosis and awakening is there's there's some really interesting similarities with this. And so someone who has a really healthy self set so here's, here's the way it works. And this is again, where developmental strategies really come into play. It's like Jack angler, the great psychiatrist. And Buddhist practitioner says you have to be somebody before you can be nobody. So if you try to be nobody before you're somebody, if you don't have a stable ego that you can transcend and that include, then that's not differentiation, that's dissociation and that's psychosis. So mistakes dissociate. I'm sorry, mistakes differentiate psychotics dissociate. It's very subtle difference. And so someone who is able to swim in the ocean of groundlessness and emptiness We call those mistakes, those who can't and thrash around and go down we call those psychotic. But what what is the difference here? Boy, we all have this capacity, right? It's it's a really subtle sort of deal, but this is another reason where developmental things come into play. There are a lot of people in psychiatric wards that that are probably potential shamans and potential mistakes, in my opinion, okay. Anything else? Oh, that's it. Cool. Yes, Philip Glass. Oh, I love Philip Glass, the minimalist. He's a total rock star. I don't really like his piano music, all that what much but his operas and his other stuff. I'm a big fan. Yeah, so. Okay, everybody. Hey, good to see you. I'll be back in two weeks. Nice to see the whole gang again. And remember, remember if we're what we're doing here is not a benefit to others on this planet. It's irrelevant. It's just feel good New Age strategies. So everything we do is for the benefit of others. Please don't forget that. And so with that in mind, whatever speaks to you, we dedicate the merit. Right? Send it out to all sentient beings. We have so much more power than we think. And and we just give each other a nice big hug in cyberspace. Thanks to Alyssa thanks to Chelsea. Chelsea agreed to channel my stuff. That's really cool. Jerry is still here. He's working on the transcriptions for the 5000 page volumes. Appreciate that you guys otherwise much love See you in a couple of weeks. Ciao. Ciao.
