Yogic Perception, I.7-10
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"Gnosis in Some rN~in-ma Tantrik Sources" | Orna Almogi | 241-262 |
p. 242 considering one's body to be that of a dragon
"in S`anti[-]deva's Bodhicaryavatara [5:70], ... it is stated that a bodhisattva should view his body as being like a boat and use it to fulfill the needs of living beings. {There may be implied the act of regarding one's body to be that of a dragon (or, aequivalently, of the emperor's wearing clothing embroidered with a dragon-pattern).} | {Fed by the river S.ian (Xiang), "Dongting Lake is famous in Chinese culture as the place of origin of dragon boat racing." (W"DtL")} {"Shun ... died suddenly of an illness on the journey near the Xiang River." (W"ESh--L")} {"Shun's wives told Shun to wear a coat with a dragon pattern." (HChM, s.v. "Shun", p. 203)} |
W"DtL" = "Dongtng Lake". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongting_Lake
W"ESh--L" = "Emperor Shun --- Legends" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Shun#Legends
HChM= Lihui Yang & Deming An : Handbook of Chinese Mythology. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara (CA), 2005.
{The Vajra-yana rite of activating a depiction of a buddha by dotting the eyen is evidently intended to exemplify how ("DBT") "'Awakening the Dragon' or 'Dotting of the Eye' traditionally involves a Taoist priest dotting the protruding eyes of the dragon head carved on the boats, thus ending its slumber."}
"DBT" = "Dragon Boat Traditions". https://www.dragonboatvictoria.com.au/about/dragon-boat-traditions/
pp. 244-5 bibliographic references
p. 244, fn. 13 | Orna Almogi : Rong-zom-pa's Discourses on Buddhology : ... Presented by the Eleventh-Century Tibetan Scholar ... . STUDIA PHILOLOGIA BUDDHICA MONOGRAPH SERIES, 24. Tokyo : Internat Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2009. |
p. 245, fn. 14 | Dorji Wangchuk : The Resolve to Become a Buddha ... in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. STUDIA PHILOLOGIA BUDDHICA MONOGRAPH SERIES, 23. Tokyo : Internat Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2007. |
p. 246 tathagata-garbha ('thus-gone embryo')
"The Buddha Nature (tathagatagarbha) ... is ... the inherence and immanence of gnosis within one's body ... ." | {This tathagata-garbha is aequivalent to the hiran.ya-garbha ('golden embryo'), which is identified as one's "dreaming Self" (ISR, p.142).} | {"the pre-natal (Early Heaven) field of jing opens and an “immortal embryo” (sheng tai) is formed. This embryo is a seed of conscious Original Essence (yuan jing) that will vibrate" ("CPC").} |
ISR = O. N. Krishnan : In Search of Reality : A Layman's Journey Through Indian Philosophy. Motilal Banarsidass Publ, Delhi, 2004. https://books.google.com/books?id=FROVycG3kP8C&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&dq=
"CPC" = "The Cauldron as Portal for Communicating with Original Qi". http://yang-sheng.com/?p=7492
{Because the Taoist account is described as a type of actual ("CPC") "body-centered, continuous spiritual orgasm, a feeling of spiritual pregnancy that may last for months" (whereas the Astika and Vajra-yana accounts are not as specifically described, and thus may be merely figurative for some other undescribed experiences), it will be noted that the actually felt vibration is not a "dreaming"-based experience, but rather is a hypno-pompic experience, to be felt while one is in a state of sleep-paralysis -- and is occasioned by a state of gripping awe in the close praesence of actual praeternatural deities from outside the material universe.}
p. 247 the two methods of tantrik yoga in the rN~in-ma tradition
"the two tantric soteriological models ... in the rNying-ma tantric tradition, namely, the models of (1) "Way of Efficient Strategy" (thabs lam) and (2) "Way of Release" (grol lam) ... . ... | |
Thabs lam uses special yogic techniques ... of the physical bases (rten : adhara), namely, the channels (rtsa : nad.i), vital wind (rlung : vayu), and | |
seminal drops (thig le : bindu), | {The usual meaning of \bindu\ is 'dot (mark of coloured paint)', which is (in the context of yoga) is an envisaged "point of light" ("JBPL"), "with the point of light being the Bindu" (ShLY); for, "beyond the mind there is buddhi, that is bindu, or spot" ("BLB"). The term for 'liquid droplet (gout)' is a different word, \indu\.} |
and as a result the gnosis emerges inevitably (btsan thabs su : hat.hena). This model is subdivided into two types, involving (a) the upper aperture (steng gi sgo : urdhva[-]dvara) and (b) the lower aperture (>og gi sgo : adhodvara). | |
Grol lam, on the other hand, uses special yogic techniques ... at the core of the gnosis, so that it emerges without having to depend on the body." |
"JBPL" = "Jyoti Bindu – The Point of Light". https://shivadarshan.com/2011/11/18/jyoti-bindu-the-point-of-light/
ShLY = David Frawley : Shiva the Lord of Yoga. Lotus Pr, Twin Lakes (WI), 2015.
https://books.google.com/books?id=w5SMCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT166&lpg=PT166&dq=
"BLB" = "The Bindu That Leads To Brahma". http://religiousvisionsoflight.com/mystics3.html
pp. 248-9 the three axis-channels
p. 248 | "Commonly there are said to be three axes (srog shing : aks.a) and four or six cakras. The three axes are : |
p. 249 | 1. the central main channel, called ... dbu ma>i rtsa (madhya[-]nad.i), and referred to elsewhere as kun >dar ma (avadhuti) 2. the right main channel, called ro ma (rasana) 3. the left main channel, called rkyang ma (lalana)" |
p. 250 are there only 8 petals at the heart-centre? {or are they 12 in #?}
"there as eight pure essence channels (rtsa>i dwangs ... ma) commonly referred to in the literature as petals of channels (rtsa>i >dab ma), in the cakra of the Dharma["kaya"] in the heart." | {In Kun.d.alini Yoga, the petals at Anahita (the heart-centre) are usually reckoned as 12. If there were to be reckoned as 3 (instead of only one) channels apiece of gnosis and of qualities, then the total of 4 triads would be 12.} |
p. 251 channels, according to the gSan t>igs ('Secret Dot') of the Maya-jala ('Illusion Net') cycle
pure-essence (dwans-ma) channel (rs.a) [p. 250] | three of chos-n~id 'true reality' | three of ye-s`es 'gnosis' | one of ran-rgyud 'one's continuum' | one of yon-tan 'qualities' |
glow (>od) | yellow (ser) | blue (mthin) | red (dmar) | dark-red |
cross-section | circular | square | crescent (zla-gam) | {triangular?} |
contents | mercury & melted butter | mirage on river's surface | liquid copper with brass | "good and bad" |
hr.daya-mantra | OM | HUM | AS | {PHAT. ?} |
structure | "pitched tent made of silk brocade" | "a raised rope" {in "rope trick"?} | red silk pennon through crystal ball | ["five doors" (p. 252, fn. 38)] |
pp. 253-5 essences, according to the gSan t>igs ('Secret Drop') of the Maya-jala ('Illusion Net') cycle
__ essence | resemblance | cross-section | element | |
p. 253 | channel's | white silk thread | cobweb | [p. 254] earth |
p. 254 | blood's | cinnabar | water | |
breath's | fine grains of gold | wind | ||
warmth's | mirror in the sunshine | fire | ||
great | ze>u kha [a stone] | [p. 255] quartz | akas`a |
pp. 254-5 great pure essence; pretious quartz karketana
p. 254 | "Within this multi-coloured light exists ... the great pure essence (dwangs ma chen po). ... |
p. 255 | That which looks like a precious stone ... placed in the cavity of this liquid gold is the essence of .. method, and that which looks like the quartz karketana hanging from a rail (gdang) ... is the essence of the sphere of reality (dharma[-]dhatu[-]garbha {'law element embryo'}), the cause of all ultimate goals (don dam). ... |
In brief, the gnosis (or "awareness," as it is often referred to ...) ... abides in ... the naturally "luminous palace," which is a residence ... whose radiance flows through the eight petals in the form of the remaining pure essences, corresponding to the various kinds of gnosis." |
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Yoga ... in the Patan~jala Yoga-s`astra | Philip Andre' Maas | 263-282 |
pp. 266-7 a-vidya's deluding the vijn~ana ("consciousness") into being attracted by the citta ('mental capacity'), according to the Pat-an~jala Yoga-s`astra
p. 266 | "According to Sankhya Yoga, ... nescience (avidya) deludes the self ... . The self -- pure consciousness -- is attracted by the mental capacity like iron is attracted by a lodestone. This "attraction" is possible because of the mutual compatibility ... (yogyata) of the self and the citta. The mental capacity, which consists mainly of the luminous substance sattva, one of the constituents {gun.a-s} of primordial matter, is often called "the visible" (dr.s.ya). It displayds content to the self, which frequently is designated as "the seer" (dras.t.r.). ... Being under the attraction of mental capacity, the self identifies with it. ... | |||||
p. 267 | The aim of Sankhya Yoga in its soteriological dimension is to end the wrong identification of the self with its mental capacity once and for all, which amounts to the final liberation from the cycle of rebirths and its innate suffering. | {Not until the pertinent deities are proprely convinced of the yogin's thoroughgoing acceptance of this distinction-and-difference, will the mortal's status (of being subject to suffering) be actually eliminated, how-be-it.} [written 19 January 2019] | ||||
The means to this end is the realization of the ontological difference between the self and matter in meditative concentration, which is therefore called "knowledge of the difference" (vivekakhyati) {\viveka\ 'difference' + \khyati\ 'discernment'}." | {The means of being in an appropriately pious state of mind for having one's mind perused by mind-reading deities (who must clearly observe the fervent state of devout convincement attained by the yogin) is mentally-abstracted trance.} [written 19 January 2019] | |||||
This knowledge ... gives room for the un-eclipsed self perception of the self. The mental capacity continues to exist so long as the liberated yogin lives, due to mental impressions (samskaras) ... . {"a menu of exceptionally powerful patterns: mental, emotional, neural (related to the wiring in our brain), physical, and behavioral. In yogic terms, these patterns are known samskaras." ("YEB")} | {The eclipsing that is eliminated is the illusion that the faculties of cognition and mentation in mortals not being generated by the aeternal deities. Accurate perception (of the "self") is a fervent recognition than all one's mental capacities are being produced and provided by the deities. (This perception may be accompanied by rites.)} [written 19 January 2019] | |||||
Finally, after the physical death of the yogi, the mental capacity dissolves ... . | {More accurately (because nothing can ever be created out of nothing, nor ever vanish into nothingness), the said capacity (for sensing the material universe) is taken up by some other mortal who is obliged to undergo suffering.} | |||||
The self, on the other hand, continues to exist in isolation (kaivalya), freed from the bonds of the cycle of rebirths. {One is set free from the obligation of necessarily abiding in a material body (subject to suffering) residing in a material world (which is a residence of entities obliged to undergo suffering).} | {One's self is isolated (separated, disconnected) from the gross illusion that the material body is identical with the self. It may be that one is, furthermore, then isolated (separated, disconnected) from the material world (in the sense of not being born into a material body), being instead encased in a suks.ma ('subtle') body (in some immaterial world).} [written 19 January 2019] |
"YEB" = "Yoga for Emotional Balance". https://kripalu.org/resources/yoga-emotional-balance-what-gets-way-change
{"We have two kinds of samskaras ... ." http://www.spiritofchange.org/May-June-2004/Etching-Lightly--Releasing-Negative-Samskaras/}
{The \samskara\-s are also defined as 'the household-rites pleasing to the deities (and ordained by those deities, as recorded in the dharma-s`astra litterature)'.} Rajbali Pandey : Hindu Samskara : Socio-Religious Study Of The Hindu Sacraments. 2nd edn. Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass, 1969.
{\Kaivalya\ is apparently from \Kaya\ (signifying, according to Pan.ini 4-2 , 25, 'relating or devoted to the god Ka [Who?]') + \val\ ('to turn around, to return home'), thus 'devoted to returning to inquiry concerning identity of household-deities'. [written 20 January 2019]} {\Kaivalya\ is better defined [as per M-W:S-ED] as 'beatitude' (i.e., as "communion of the saints") than as 'isolation'. Postmortem kaivalya cannot involve isolation from the consciousnesses of other entities. Consciousness is incapable of functioning in total social isolation; without consciousness, life cannot be sustained; and without life, one is carried into forced incarnation in undesirable circumstances. [written 13 January 2019]}
p. 272 "key words"
"Four key words sketch the development of the mental capacity ... : | ||||
Thinking (vitarka), | {FALSE definition! According to M-W:S-ED, the meaning of \vitarka\ is "conjecture , supposition , guess" in the MBh, but "doubt , uncertainty" in the Yoga Sutra.} | |||
evaluation (vicara), | {According to M-W:S-ED, the meaning of \vicara\ is "pondering , deliberation , consideration , reflection , examination , investigation".} | |||
joy (ananda), and individuality (asmita). | {\Asmita\ (from \asmi\ 'I am') would naturally mean relaying on an authoritative pronouncement involving "I am".} | |||
Each keyword is characteristic of one phase in the development ... ." | {These phases are : (1) uncertainty as to how to proceed, (2) pondering how to proceed, (3) joy at recognizing that the procedure can be straightforward and simple, and (4) recognizing that the divine utterance "I AM THAT I AM" could mean that one's own quaestion (expressed to one's self) "Who am I?" is answered by and in the deity Ka ('Who?'), viz., in that one's own capacity for consciousness is inhaerent in that very deity (who is, by divine grace, supplying that capacity to one's self). [written 20 January 2019]} |
p. 276 is`-vara
"The second yogic concentration ... in its initial stages ... has the supreme lord (is`vara) as its object." | {\Is`-vara\ 'owner-of-choice' (\is`\ 'owner' + \vara\ 'choice') hath the same significance as hath, in Neo-Platonic metaphysics, the Cosmic Intellect 'choosing among [scil., alternatives]' (\inter\ 'among' + \legere\ 'to choose').} |
p. 278 eka-grata ('one-pointedness') during dhyana
"the yogi practices a meditative vision (dhyana) ... . When ... the vision has become solid, ... the clearness of the vision ... is the only content of consciouness. | |
Then the mental capacity of the yogi attains one-pointedness." | {With one's eyen closed, via the brightening of a single point within one's visual field, the hypn-agogic universe of enormous deities is entred at high velocity. [This is, at least, our personal experience.]} |
p. 279 purus.a
"sva[-]purus.a[-]dars`ana ... he even acquires sight of his own self." | {This would better be translated 'maketh exhibition of his own personality'; for, \dars`ana\ hath (according to M-W:S-ED) the propre meaning [not 'acquring sight'] of 'shewing, exhibiting', and \purus.a\ is to be translated [not 'self' but] 'person' or 'personality'.} |
\purus.a\ http://sanskritdictionary.org/purusa
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Yaugik Perception according to Vis`is.t.a-advaita | Marcus Schmu:cker | 283-298 |
p. 296 obtaining a material body, at will, to occupy
"Meghanadarisuri {Megha-nada-arisuri} differentiates between the knowledge of souls ... : "... the liberated souls always have knowledge | |||
whose objects are beyond the senses. | {viz., beyond the senses possessed by a material body, but certainly not beyond the senses possessed by a subtle body} | ||
For them, appropriating themselves a body, senses and so on, | {This is intended to signify "appropriate for themselves and material body having senses"; these "souls" already have subtle bodies perceiving subtle events in subtle worlds.} | ||
is only a play." {\lila\ 'play[fulness]'} | {INACCURATE! They are never assigned to a material body through mere playfulness, but because they are tasked (by committees of deities) with performing, in the material universe, a particular service, usually in protecting material-bodied beings from their own poor judgement.} |
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Yogic Perception ... in the Vis.n.uitic Tradition | Marion Rastelli | 299-317 |
p. 301 laya yoga
"In the layayoga, several object are visualized in a particular order, namely in the "order of destruction." ... | |
At the time of the destruction of the world, its constituents are dissolved into each other in the reverse order of their creation ... . The layayoga imitates this process of destruction. The yogin visualizes object after object in the order of their destruction ... ." | {This is aequivalent to a meditation on the process of death, which is likewise described as a succession of withdrawals from the elements.} |
pp. 308-9 witnessing the aeternal brahman, according the Pan~ca-ratra
p. 308 | [quoted from Laks.mi Tantra 24.31c-32] "And having dissolved this fourth state into the state beyond the fourth state ..., he is to assume the divine 'I-ness' ... ." |
p. 309 | [quoted from Padma Samhita 5.24c-25] "and thinking of the eternal brahman that looks like a thousand lightning bolts[and] resembles the fire at the end of the yuga in the centre of the heart-lotus, having made his consciousness to consist in it ...". |
pp. 309-10 dissolving one's awareness into the Parama-brahman
p. 309 | [quoted from Padma Samhita 5.17-20b] "The oneness of both the personal soul and the Supreme One is to be known as ["the state of"] absorption, which accomplishes the goals of virtuous people. Performing the visualisation 'I indeed am the Supreme brahman' ..., he does not perceive objects. Just as external water ... enters the motionless ocean ..., in the same manner the personal soul of the yogin who is in absorption be- |
p. 310 | comes dissolved into the Supreme atman (paramatman) in Vaikun.t.ha." |
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Eli Franco (ed.) : Yogic Perception, Meditation, and Altered States of Consciousness. BEITRA:GE ZUR KULTUR UND GEISTESGESCHICHTE, Nr. 65 = O:STERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN, PHILOSOPHISCH-HISTORISCHE KLASSE, SITZUNGBERICHTE, 794. Band. Wien, 2009.