On Purifying the World About Us

[Guest guest]

On Purifying the World About Usby Eldon Tucker

[based upon a January 181995 posting to theos-l@....]

Comments on a Buddhist Practice

There is a Buddhist meditative practice where we are asked to take in the evil in the world about us to purify it then to release it as something good. As a statement openly made it is an exoteric truth. What could its inner meaning be?

At face value we are being asked to literally take evil in and absorb it in ourselves. But are we expected to take on evil qualities and live out degraded actions? Certainly not! But it is possible to twist words into condoning evil ways. There is always the temptation or force in that direction something that originates from those whom would have our spiritual work fail. For those looking for an excuse to do what they know in their innermost natures is wrong here is an opportunity. But no one is fooled we know when we do wrong excuses are for other people they do not truly hide anything from our eyes.

A better interpretation of the practice is to say that we are to become transparent to the evil in the world so that it simply passes through us. We are clear panes of glass the evil passes through us rather than being mirrors that reflect the harm back to its originators.

But can the evil really pass through us without leaving a trace? No. All life is interconnected. The harm cannot be done without the rest of the universe — ourselves included — feeling its effects. So how then do we respond? First we have to ask who it is that responds.

Taking the standpoint of a separate self we get the evil from the environment. We could hold it inside ourselves and deal with it internally rather than perpetrate the continuation of the evil in the world. We would for example not respond to anger with anger even if we are mad ourselves!

We can though rise about the sense of a separate self. We are not different that the other people the source of the evil. We embrace the evil or take it in by becoming at one with its source by taking on the Sukshmopadhi vesture the conscious sense of non-separation from those about us. We further rise about duality by passing in our consciousness above any sense of inside or outside. To the harmful influences in the world we " pull them in " by making inside and outside the same. (It should be noted that when we take on this state of consciousness although our experience of life has changed the world remains the same to everyone else. Our perspective has changed because we have ourselves shifted into a different mode of experiencing life others remain in whatever consciousness they already function in.)

We are unified now with the others the source of the darkness in life. We purify their consciousness by being so positive in our goodness and in higher superior qualities that through our consciousness connectedness with the others through an active alert Buddhi we change the other people as well as transform the content of their consciousness.

Our transforming effect on the others is through our karmic link with them part of the karmic web that defines both our unique personal nature in life as well as helps define them and the rest of the universe as well. All that comes to one in life is karmic. From the standpoint of a personal self we have a karmic cycles give and take an action and resulting reaction from the other people. From this standpoint we break a cycle of evil by not allowing ourselves a resulting reaction in kind of a like nature to what we have received.

A better response is to not resist evil as we see it coming. We do not separate off from the experience by feeling repelled or offended. There is no sense of horror rejection of pushing back from ourselves that which is offensive. We do not respond to what comes to us in anger nor in avoidance it simply passes by us as " water off a duck's back. "

When we've risen above any conscious sense of the other as separate from ourselves we " take within " the evil contents because we are both recipient and originator. But we still remain non-responsive to its contents and substitute in ourselves the stronger contents of our own consciousness.

And having taken in and purified the foul dark contents of the world how do we return to life the cleaned-up life energies? We simply return to the dualistic consciousness again separating back to the Nirmanakaya vesture where we are again separate from others and no longer unified with the other troubled people.

Note that the practice we are considering is described in terms of a metaphor and not as literal instruction. We are really learning to become a source of light and truth and beauty in the world. Such a practice could be described as " destroying darkness " as taking in evil and replacing it with good. It could be described as filling a void where light is missing. Or it could be described as simply being a source in the world of the brilliant diamond-like nature of our Inner God.

How this practice or any Teachings described depends on which of many ways of looking at it is being taught us. We need to see things from many stand points to keep fluidic in our understanding and not crystallize our thinking not having our thought life imprisoned in rigid molds of mind. Having shocking outrageous startling ways of expressing the inner truths is a method of teaching one that tries to awaken the student to freshly rethink the key ideas of the Philosophy. Can problems ever arise from this method of teaching? No not as long as we maintain the necessary clarity of mind and purity of heart. Whenever life shakes us or knocks us off course we simply return to what is right like a good compass once bumped returning quickly to true north.

Change settings via the Web ( ID r.

-- " Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark. " Rabindranath TagoreDownload Our Toolbar:http://.OurOrganizationToolbar.com