The lower arts

[Michel]

My experience was much like Alexander's.  I knew if I explained my interior life to a psychiatrist, then I would be institutionalized, or medicated until I drooled.  I was fortunate that my parents knew that they had abused me criminally, so they did their best to keep me out of the psychiatrist's office.

To drool, or not to drool, that is the question. Whether it is nobler in the mind...

You were lucky, Jhanada. Psychiatrists come in all different guises and it is easy to be captivated by some of them. In my case, I was used by a psychiatrist who did not care for any of his patients. He pretended that he cared. He was a dangerous man.

[Jhanananda]

I'll just have to crack you up more often, Jhananda. LOL. Psychiatrists are good material for humour since many of them have no sense of humour. Many of them are arrogant, condescending and consider some of their patients with "mental disorders" to be less than human.

Sounds like Psychiatrists suffering from delusions of grandeur.

To drool, or not to drool, that is the question. Whether it is nobler in the mind...

You were lucky, Jhanada. Psychiatrists come in all different guises and it is easy to be captivated by some of them. In my case, I was used by a psychiatrist who did not care for any of his patients. He pretended that he cared. He was a dangerous man.

Sorry to read that.  Civilization has made a deep error when it considers Psychiatrists their holy men.

[Michel]

Sounds like Psychiatrists suffering from delusions of grandeur.

They are no different than the rest of us. But they think they are all knowing, and they have set themselves apart from mental patients by thinking it's they against the patients.

Sorry to read that.  Civilization has made a deep error when it considers Psychiatrists their holy men.

They have a nice cushy little gig going on. They are much like a clergy of priests that control the masses.

[Jhanananda]

They are no different than the rest of us. But they think they are all knowing, and they have set themselves apart from mental patients by thinking it's they against the patients.

They have a nice cushy little gig going on. They are much like a clergy of priests that control the masses.

I agree on both counts, and psychiatry reinforces its control by labeling anyone who disagrees with them as delusional, then medicating them.  And, critics of their fraud, who are not part of their priesthood, are dismissed as fools.

[Michel]

I agree on both counts, and psychiatry reinforces its control by labeling anyone who disagrees with them as delusional, then medicating them.  And, critics of their fraud, who are not part of their priesthood, are dismissed as fools.

Psychiatrist are the drug pushers of the pharmaceutical industry who have enormous financial resources and influence. They control the mainstream media, medical universities, the CDC, the FDA etc., and they have legions of lobbyist influencing senators and therefore medical policy in Washington. The same applies in my country.

[Jhanananda]

The same is true for medicine.  I think it best to stay away from the psychiatrists and medical doctors whenever possible. This is why I learned to be my own doctor.

[Cal]

Astrology is considered a lower art in the Buddhist text. I think.


I just wanted to relate this story or events that I have experienced while my god-son was alive. I don't know when but many years ago I went to visit my god-son in India. On a particular day I brought the subject of astrology and wondered that in this village is there a good astrologer that I could consult. He said yes that there is one who is very good and not necessary famous. The next day we went to consult the astrologer.
This is Indian Astrologer and from what I gather is quite different from the Western ones.

We arrive in this house where are a few people are waiting for a consultation. Finally, my turn came and we went into the house. He ask for my date of birth and etc. He went to check whatever he is supposed to be doing. He came back and told my god-son why am I consulting him, since I know everything. Quite frankly, I don't know what is going on. Then I realized that he found out that I am a yogi from the charts and indicates that I know everything and that I won't be reborn again. Then I got up from the floor (everyone sits on the floor in India) he became frightened. I wonder why.....

Dissatisfied with the consultation, I ask my god-son if there is any other astrologer that can tell me something. A few days later, we went to one and the same thing happened. This time the guy just told us to leave as he can't tell anything.

Two more occasssions with other astrologer came with the same results.

I was wondering, is Indian astrology so accurate? Why can't they predict anything about me?

How does this astrology work? What are these charts and such? As far as the stars go, I have learned that if you ask them, sometimes they answer.

Another point to consider, I believe that if I were near you, I would know there is something spiritual near me, perhaps this could be the case as well? I remember you have talked in the past about Eastern culture having a deeper-base understanding of what is religious; Indians in particular with the emphasis of the third-eye. It's hard to speak for these astrologers, but I'd think if they were "listening", they might know as well. I understand I may assume a lot here, but I'd think anyone intently focused upon something might just notice something "different" near them. 

[Jhanananda]

Another possible explanation for the reaction of Indian astrologers to Sam, is Indian village tend to be small, so there is lots of gossip, which means the astrologers are likely to have known what Sam was up to with his god-son, and are likely to have know Sam's god-son's history and mental landscape. 

It is also a fact that most Asians consider what we all here are up to, is frightening to them, because they equate it with evil.  After all, Zen calls our experiences "ma'kio" which means an "evil, dark, cave."  So, it stands to reason that they would be terrified of Sam, or any of us.  This is one reason why I have no interest in going to Asia, other than to meet Sam.

[Zack]

How does this astrology work? What are these charts and such?

It's Vedic astrology, which tends to be much more deterministic than Western, and differs in other ways, though both systems have their strengths and weaknesses. The charts are representations of the alignments and placements of celestial bodies, like Western astrological charts but with a different format.

[Michel]

It is also a fact that most Asians consider what we all here are up to, is frightening to them, because they equate it with evil.  After all, Zen calls our experiences "ma'kio" which means an "evil, dark, cave."  So, it stands to reason that they would be terrified of Sam, or any of us.  This is one reason why I have no interest in going to Asia, other than to meet Sam.

Thanks for pointing this out, jhananda.

Here is a very Interesting Wiki article on the Zen term makio:

The term makyo (魔境 makyō?) is a Zen term that means “ghost cave” or “devil’s cave.” It is a figurative reference to the kind of self-delusion that results from clinging to an experience and making a conceptual “nest” out of it for oneself. Makyo is essentially synonymous with illusion, but especially in reference to experiences that can occur within meditation practice.

In Philip Kapleau's The Three Pillars of Zen,[1] Yasutani Roshi explained the term as the combination of ma meaning devil and kyo meaning the objective world. This character for “devil” can also refer to Mara, the Buddhist “tempter” figure; and the character kyo can mean simply region, condition or place. Makyo refers to the hallucinations and perceptual distortions that can arise during the course of meditation and can be mistaken by the practitioner as "seeing the true nature" or kensho. Zen masters warn their meditating students to ignore sensory distortions. These can occur in the form of visions and perceptual distortions, but they can also be experiences of blank, trance-like absorption states. In the Zen school, it is understood that neither category of experience – however fascinating they may be – is a true and final enlightenment.

Contemplative literature contains numerous descriptions of the perceptual distortion produced by meditation. It is characterized in some schools as "going to the movies," a sign of spiritual intensity but a phenomenon that is considered distinctly inferior to the clear insight of settled practice. In some Hindu schools it is regarded as a product of the sukshma sharira, or "experience body," in its unstable state, and in that respect is seen to be another form of maya, which is the illusory nature of the world as apprehended by ordinary consciousness.

Tibetan contemplative literature uses the parallel term nyam, which fall into three categories, usually listed as clarity, bliss, and non-conceptuality. Many types of meditation phenomena can be classed under this rubric, and are generally tied to the reorganization of the body's subtle energies that can occur in meditation. See Dudjom Lingpa, (cited in Wallace, the Attention Revolution), and Padmasambhava (in Treasures from the Juniper Ridge) for more specific examples. Robert Aitken Roshi classifies speaking in tongues as "elaborate makyo" (Taking the Path of Zen).

[Jhanananda]

Thanks, Michel, for the wiki quote.  It supports my premise very well.

[Michel]

You are welcome, Jhananda.