Buddhist Correspondence (Wisdom Quarterly)
How Cayce's mystical information corresponds to Buddhism is amazing and worthy of note. First of all, the name akashic is Buddhist. In Pali and Sanskrit akasa/akasha refers to space and sky. The beings that inhabit that region are akasa-loka devas, that is, luminous beings of the lower celestial spheres.
The "records" they keep in the akasha or astral world may in some way be related to the working out of karma. This is not carried out in the simplistic way popular Christianity uses to communicate complicated ideas. St. Peter does not open a literal paper book in front of a pearly gate and make decisions of great import on the spot. But that's as easy a way of saying what happens via complex psychological processes as most people are willing to grasp; we go wrong when we take it literally then carry it to its logical conclusions.
Older details have fallen out of favor. But devas have various functions and can be understood in terms of many mythologies. Most familiar to Americans will be the array of angels in early Christianity and demigods in Greco-Roman/Pagan pantheons. [After all, what is thought to be "Christian" today is in fact simply derivative of Sumerian, Zoroastrian, Pagan lore. Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), although thought of as "New Age," was a devout Christian who was thoroughly convinced of the Buddhist doctrine of karma.]
Karma may work as an impersonal mental process (former and present intentions ripening) bringing forth its results as opportunity allows. Nevertheless, devas are actual beings as real as humans. These "angelic beings" are, variously, guardians, watchers, aides, messengers, protectors, hearers, and so on. They are taken to be symbolic because they are not part of ordinary human experience. Yet, they are discernible through jhana-meditation (samadhi), mystical experiences, and aided altered states. Ascetics in India and shamans throughout the world have long known and spoken of their existence. Cayce, extraordinary in how ordinary he was, managed to be aware of these realities.
The vast majority of devas, like the majority of humans, probably tend to their own affairs. But legend speaks most prominently of how they intervene (or intercede) in human affairs. Famously Sakka, the "lord of lords" (Tavatimsa devas) and "king of kings" (Catumaharajika devas), keeps an eye on the world, holds back inimical forces, and attempts to keep the world moral (sila) so that the rebirth of humans will take place in the "heavens" rather than unfortunate destinations collectively known as the Downfall, which are less-than-human abodes.
It is possible that just as humans keep records on lesser creatures (animals, insects, microbes, etc.) using means incomprehensible to those creatures, some manner of more intelligent life has access to data storage that would stagger the human imagination. Karmic information is said to be carried around in one's center, aura, and mind or more holographically than any single geographic location. We are not beings limited to this visible body, although many moderns can see nothing beyond it.
In countless sutras, the Buddha does not seem to be speaking of devas and karma (information in the akashic record) in a figurative sense but as actual experience. Some say he was only employing "skillful means" (upaya) to relate to his audience: Indian culture is replete with talk of avatars, heavenly visitors, and countless "gods" (devas). For example, the Thirty-three gods were already a fixture in ancient Indian lore. Whereas meditative details are reserved almost exclusively for dense Buddhist discussions in the Abhidharma and commentaries, particularly The Path of Purification, talk of such things runs throughout the discourses. Wisdom Quarterly has access to individuals who have experienced these beings -- through meditative skill -- and can thus verify that such beings are not simply figurative. Karma really comes to fruit: actions really bear results with volition (intention) as the determining factor.
What devas (angels) and Maha Brahma (God) may look like when not in human guise
Note that the cogent argument against a belief in or literal interpretation of such beings, namely that they are described differently over time and across cultures when they should be consistent if they were true, does not hold up: These beings can manifest as humans expect to see them rather than as they usually are. Remarkably beautiful, they will adopt dense human form or more subtle, translucent form. And they have access to the karmic record recorded in individuals and in a mainframe database accessible somewhere in the sky, space, or heavens (all valid definitions of the akashic world or dimension).
No comments:
Post a Comment