Psychosis or Spiritual Awakening? (video)

Phil Borges; Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Dhr. Seven (eds.) Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

TED Talk: "Psychosis or Spiritual Awakening" by speaker Phil Borges at TEDxUMKC

Filmmaker and photographer Phil Borges has been documenting indigenous and tribal cultures for over 25 years. His work is exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide and his award-winning books have been published in four languages. His recent project, "Inner Worlds," explores cultural differences with respect to consciousness and mental illness.
 

The strange case of Milarepa

Bhutanese Vajrayana thanka of Milarepa (1052-1135), Dhodeydrag Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan

 

You just don't get Vajrayana. Ask His Holiness!

There once was a Chinese Mahayana Buddhist nun who wrote a book on Milarepa's crimes and Monastic Code violations. This was meant to counter the Tibetan Vajrayana (a Mahayana school) adoration of this "spiritual madman." There's a crazy wisdom* (divine madness) that is often confused with holiness, sainthood, or enlightenment.

It seems clear that Milarepa was not enlightened, nowhere near actual Buddhist enlightenment, but try to tell that to a follower of Tibetan Buddhism and watch the eyes roll.

He was something, touched perhaps, and very wise. He may well have been "enlightened" in Brahmanism or Hindu terms. That is not the same as Buddhist enlightenment called bodhi. There are different definitions for the same concepts and words across religious traditions and even between Buddhist schools.

Depression and spiritual awakening -- two sides of one door (Lisa Miller)

Crazy Wisdom

Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

So what if I talk to animals? I'm a fool for God.

Divine madness, also known as theia mania, refers to unconventional, outrageous, unexpected, or unpredictable antinomian behavior linked to religious or spiritual pursuits. Examples of divine madness can be found in Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, and shamanism.

The way of the shaman is wyrd, very weird.

It is usually explained as a manifestation of enlightened behavior by persons who have transcended societal norms, or as a means of spiritual practice or teaching among mendicants and teachers. These behaviors may seem to be symptoms of mental illness to mainstream society, but are a form of religious ecstasy, or deliberate "strategic, purposeful activity" (DiValerio 2011, p. ii.), "by highly self-aware individuals making strategic use of the theme of madness in the construction of their public personas" (Ibid., p. iii.). More