Sutra: Simile of Elephant's Footprint (MN 28)

 

Sutra Study: Middle Length Discourse, Simile of the Elephant's Footprint (MN 28) with American monk Abbot Bhante Suddhaso (Buddhist Insights @ Empty Cloud) Ven. Suddhaso translates MN 28 from the exclusively Buddhist language Pāli, while explaining the meaning of the discourse.

• READ: MN 28: Mahā Hatthipadopama Sutta—translated by American scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi (suttacentral.net)

Ego Dissolution: psychedelic toad DMT (Bufo)

S. MacFarlane (Family Guy); Ch. 4 (UK PBS); Xochitl, Pat Mac, Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Getting high on psychedelic toads in Mexico

(Unreported World, Dec. 11, 2022) Unreported World investigates the popularity of a entheogenic substance from toad venom, Bufo, which is being sold in Mexico as a possible cure for mental illness and drug addiction.

But reporter Guillermo Galdos discovers concerns are mounting around the safety and sustainability of the unregulated entheogen (psychedelic), described by some as the "God Molecule" or the "Spirit Molecule" (5-MeO-DMT).

Illegal in many countries, Mexico has become a Bufo mecca, and in tourist hotspots like Tulum numerous sanctuaries offer the psychedelic to tourists walking in off the street. And it's a lucrative business. They’re charged £130 to £3200 per ceremony.

WARNING: This film contains scenes of Bufo being inhaled, its immediate effects, and images of toad roadkill.

Producer/Director: Leila Lak. Series Producer: Andy Lee. Executive Producer: Ed Fraser. Production Company: Channel 4 News (a British public broadcast service). Subscribe to channel for more Unreported World episodes youtube.com/unreportedworld.

Meeting of the Dharmas: Ingram & Armstrong

Guru Viking, Daniel Ingram, Delson Armstrong, 2/18/22; Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Episode 136: Meeting of the Dharmas: Daniel Ingram and Delson Armstrong

(Guru Viking, premiered Feb. 18, 2022) In this episode Guru Viking hosts a dialogue between [arahants or fully enlightened beings] Daniel Ingram and Delson Armstrong.

Dr. Daniel Ingram, MD, is an independent Buddhist writer, author of Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha and co-founder of the Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium (EPRC).

Delson Armstrong is a spiritual teacher, author of A Mind Without Craving, and the star student of American Burmese Theravada teacher Bhante Vimalaramsi of Annapolis, Missouri.

Dan and Del discuss the similarities and differences between their doctrinal positions and personal experiences of the four-path model of Buddhist enlightenment (the four stages), which ranges from stream entry to arhatship.

In this collegial yet rigorous dialogue, Ingram and Armstrong engage in detailed debate on the differences in their positions that draw on personal experience, Buddhist text examples, and issues of scientific verification.

They also discuss the effect of enlightenment on psychopathy and other personality disorders, reflect on which meditation methods best fit different personality types, and conduct in-depth analysis of the phenomenon of the "cessation of feeling and perception" (nirodha samapatti).

• guruviking.com/podcast...

Also available on YouTube, iTunes, and Spotify by searching "Guru Viking Podcast."

TOPICS

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:49 - Daniel on stream entry
• 05:03 - Delson on stream entry
• 08:08 - Afterglow of stream entry and Dependent Origination
• 14:34 - Three fetters discussion
• 24:24 - Does stream entry result in moral improvement?
• 28:49 - Can you retrain a sociopath with loving-kindness meditation?
• 30:51 - Does stream entry make sociopaths and psychopaths more dangerous?
• 35:18 - Saints and psychopaths, how can we differentiate?
• 41:03 - Second path and the reduction of craving and aversion
• 47:30 - Second path vs. stream entry, which is more profound?
• 53:13 - Daniel on third path
• 56:18 - Delson on third path
• 59:23 - Daniel’s critique of the traditional third path position
• 01:03:05 - Delson and Daniel dialogue about third path
• 01:10:40 - Is it possible to completely eradicate craving and aversion?
• 01:16:00 - Scientific testing and Bhikkhu Analayo’s critique
• 01:23:39 - Delson on TWIM, the importance of method
• 01:26:18 - What is nirodha samapatti?
• 01:28:08 - Comparing Daniel and Delson’s abilities
• 01:29:33 - How to train for nirodha samapatti
• 01:32:25 - Different personalities and jhana aptitude
• 01:36:43 - Resolution training and balancing enlightenment factors
• 01:38:18 - Steve on Delson’s yoga training and the three humours
• 01:43:40 - More on matching personality types to meditation methods
• 01:53:58 - Arhatship and agency
• 01:56:20 - Agency vs. conceit
• 02:00:21 - Disagreement between Daniel and Delson about outcomes of arhatship
• 02:08:30 - Compassion vs. suffering
• 02:13:01 - Suicide and arhatship
• 02:21:17 - The dusty end of the path...

LINKS

• Daniel Ingram Episode Playlist: youtube.com...
• Delson Armstrong Episode Playlist: youtube.com...
• To find out more about Daniel Ingram, visit: theeprc.org, integrateddaniel.info
• To find out more about Delson Armstrong, visit: suttavada.foundation... and (Bhante Vimalaramsi's) dhammasukha.org
• For more interviews, videos, and more visit: guruviking.com
• Music "Deva Dasi" by Steve James

Strange case of "arhat" Delson Armstrong

Host Viking Guru, guest Delson Armstrong, 11/5/21; Jen B., Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Episode 120: Meditation virtuoso Delson Armstrong

In this episode Viking Guru is joined by Delson Armstrong, spiritual teacher and star student of controversial American teacher Bhante Vimalaramsi, who’s senior student David Johnson has said:

"Delson Armstrong has mastered every practice we have given him. He is the most amazing student we have ever seen."

In this interview, Armstrong recalls his early life training in the Himalayan foothills, where he mastered the eightfold system of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, attaining to all of its highest states of samadhi; attained all six levels of Kriya Yoga under three different lineages; studied Sanskrit; and was exposed to practices of Shaiva Tantra through students of [scandalous sex guru Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh now called] Osho.

Armstrong shares his subsequent explorations of Buddhism, including Mahamudra, Dzogchen, and the "TWIM" practice invented by Ven. Vimalaramsi.

Armstrong recounts and contrasts his experiences accomplishing the eight jhanas (meditative absorptions), attaining the four levels of Buddhist awakening [up to and, we are told, arahantship or full enlightenment], and realizing Rigpa.

Armstrong also reveals yogic feats such as recalling past lives and entering into a type of suspended animation called nirodha-samāpatti [cessation of sixfold sense perception] for up to six days at a time.

• [NOTE: It would be instructive to read self-proclaimed arhat [fully enlightened] Daniel Ingram's Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book. If Armstrong's claims are true, and if Ven. Vimalaramsi is actually the extraordinary teacher he claims to be, then Ingram's insights gain added weight and some apparent verification.]

He also reveals his passion for neuroscience and recent participation in a study at the University of Amsterdam that examined his brain and body in this state of yogic suspension.…guruviking.com/ep120-medi...

Also available on YouTube, iTunes, and Spotify by searching "Guru Viking Podcast."

Topics include

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:17 - David Johnson’s endorsement
• 02:46 - Raised in America, return to India
• 04:57 - First encounter with yoga
• 06:16 - Leaving school to study the practices of the Yoga Sutras and Kriya Yoga in the Himalayas
• 11:07 - Return to the US and meeting Bhante Vimalaramsi
• 14:29 - How was Delson Armstrong able to master Raja Yoga, Kriya Yoga, and Buddhism so quickly?
• 15:17 - Raja Yoga [Ashtanga/Eightfol] path
• 23:56 - The Kriya Yoga path
• 26:29 - Delson Armstrong’s timeline to mastery of Raja and Kriya Yoga
• 28:51 - Brahmacharya [celibacy] and sexuality after realization
• 31:34 - Is Delson Armstrong beyond sexuality?
• 34:41 - Yogic vs. Buddhist samadhi
• 41:13 - Studies of the Yoga Vasistha
• 46:00 - Intergalactic beings
• 47:09 - Studies of Shaiva Tantra
• 51:55 - Learning from Osho’s lineage
• 52:52 - Studying Dzogchen and Mahamudra with Lama Lena
• 55:10 - Rigpa vs. TWIM
• 59:24 - Achieving all challenges set by David Johnson and Bhante Vimalaramsi
• 01:07:14 - Attaining stream entry [the first stage of enlightenment] and the other path attainments
• 01:18:22 - How to see past lives and his previous life as a sadhu
• 01:25:02 - Entering suspended animation of nirodha-samāpatti for six days
• 01:27:55 - Studied at the University of Amsterdam
• 01:30:33 - Surprising results from the study
• 01:35:09 - Conflicts between traditional accounts and the scientific data
• 01:43:06 - Is Armstrong an outlier?
• 01:51:06 - Why do so few people become enlightened if anyone can do it?
• 01:54:30 - Why do people keep enlightenment secret?
• 01:55:35 - Armstrong’s view on his future
• 02:00:25 - His upcoming book and previous publications…

Delson Armstrong Episode Playlist: youtube.com/playlist...

• Previous episode with Bhante Vimalaramsi: guruviking.com/ep112-bhan...
• To find out more about Delson Armstrong, visit: suttavada.foundation/our... and dhammasukha.org.
• For more interviews, videos, and more visit: guruviking.com
• Music: "Deva Dasi" by Steve James

Practice is the most important thing

Ajahn Chah (ajahnchah.org) via Ven. Sujato, Ellie Askew, Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Knowing the Truth of the way things are

Practice is therefore the most important thing. In my own practice [walking the path to enlightenment], I didn't spend all my time studying the theoretical descriptions of the mind and mental factors.

I watched "that which knows." When the mind had thoughts of aversion I asked, "Why is there aversion?" If there was attraction I asked, "Why is there attraction?" This is the way to practice.

I didn't know all the finer points of theory or go into a detailed analytical breakdown of the mind and mental factors. I just kept prodding at that one point in the mind, until I was able to settle the whole issue of aversion and attraction and make it completely vanish.

Whatever happened, if I could bring my mind to the point where it stopped liking and disliking, it had gone, gone beyond suffering. It had reached the point where it could remain at ease, whatever it was experiencing.

There was no craving or attachment (clinging)… it had stopped. This [release, liberation, letting go] is what you're aiming for in the practice.

Do you learn to know the Truth or to debate?

If other people want to talk a lot about the theory, that's their business. In the end, however much you talk about it, the practice has to come back to this point. Even if you don't talk much about it, the practice still comes back to this point.

Deer, when you're hungry, eat. When you're...

Whether you [mentally] proliferate a lot or a little, it all comes back to this. If there is rebirth, it comes from this. If there is extinction [of ignorance, craving, and aversion], this is where the extinction occurs.

However much the mind proliferates, it doesn't make any difference. The Buddha called this [the heart] place "that which knows."

It has the function of knowing according to the truth of the way things are. Once you have really discerned the truth, you automatically know the way the mind and mental factors are.

Sufism is Buddhism with Islam

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Mac Graham (wholelifemagazine.com), Nevit O. Ergin (Inner Traditions); Ranajit Pal; Wikipedia edits

The tomb of the great Sufi poet Rumi in Turkey, the land that bridges East and West

Sufism is the mystical school of Islam heavily influenced by Buddhism and Brahmanism. Here the famous spiritual poet Rumi is seen depicted, not accidentally, in a Buddha-like posture (art-arena.com). In Buddhism a shaman in "trance" (shramana in blissful absorption called jhana, dhyana) is an ecstatic "dervish" in Sufism.

.

Further proof that the Buddha's influence was so far ranging as to be imponderable comes in the form of the new book, The Sufi Path of Annihilation by Nevit O. Ergin.

Just as the key to Buddhist enlightenment (bodhi) is comprehending and penetrating with insight the truth of egolessness (anatta) so, too, in Sufism.

It is the illusion of "self," the "ego," "pride" that must be realized. In Buddhism the "self" (atta, atman) is the "soul," and this leads to a great deal of confusion about what no-self or no-soul means.
 
Conventionally, there is a self and soul in Buddhism, no matter what anyone says, but this "self" is not ultimately real, not eternal, not even existing for two consecutive moments. So in an ultimate sense, there is no self, no ego, no soul. How? See below. 

Early Sufi "saints" were Buddhists
Ranajit Pal, Ph.D. (ranajitpal.com)

The most famous Sufi writer of all, Rumi

The legacy of the historical Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) is clearly seen in Persian literature: The resounding humanism of Jalaluddin Rumi, Hafeez (Hafiz), Attar, Omar Khayyam, and Amir Khosrow cannot be grasped without the call of [monastic] brotherhood called for by the Buddha and echoed by Alexander [the Great] and Emperor Asoka/Diodotus [a "warrior caste" noble ksahtriya/satrap west of India]

 

Sufism is known to be a universal form of wisdom that has very ancient roots. That fanā' (annihilation) of the Sufis is almost identical to the nirvāņa (complete freedom from suffering and rebirth) of the Buddhists, moksha (a general name for "liberation") of the Hindus [and the Jains and generally all the Dharmic traditions of greater India], kephalia of the Manichaeans, and Kaivaya of the Jains is due to their common origin in Indo-Iran [proto-Persia].

 

A very large number of Sufi saints were from Khorasan and Karman-Baluchistan where Buddhism once flourished. As W. Ball realized, the caves at Chehelkhaneh and Heydari are linked to Buddhism. In fact, these may also be linked to Mitraism/Mithraism [the religion of Mithras that underpins so much of modern Christianity]. 
 

The poignant story of Ibrahim ibn Adham of Balkh (see Farooqui, the Travel of Adham to Balkh), one of the earliest Sufis, closely parallels the life history of Gautama Buddha and has been immortalized in the legend of Baarlam and Josaphat (story of the Bodhisat). This was a great religious document that highlights piety, and in many cultures it marked the beginning of literature. More

 

Dawn of Religions in Afghanistan-Gandhara-Punjab

Lands of the Indus Valley Civilization

Sir Aurel Stein found a Buddhist site at Kuh-e Khwaja in Seistan in 1916. There were many Buddhas before Siddhartha Gautama.

[How many is open to question, for while the Theravada school regularly interprets kalpa to mean an "aeon," an incomprehensible period of geological time, it also has another meaning in Pali: a normal lifespan (kappa) for the age, which at the time of the Buddha was a period of 120 years. This means that the historical Buddha was the only teacher to awaken to the utmost in millions of years, whereas Jain and other teachers spoke of being one in a series of ford finders or conquerors (tirthankaras or jinas) helping others cross over to the liberated state as defined in each dharma, the goal of Buddhism being unique but all glossed as the same, i.e., rebirth in some permanent heavenly state.]

This implies that Buddhism was as old as Zoroastrianism [and the Vedas, etc.]. Early Buddhism was closely linked to Brahmanism (there being no such thing as "Hinduism" yet), Zoroastrianism [Zoroaster/Zarathustra possibly having been a titan, who opposed the devas esteemed in Buddhist texts and the Vedas], and Judaism that originated in Afghanistan-Baluchistan-Gandhara. More

• Jalaluddin Rumi and The Lost Paradise
• Sanchi and Ajanta: windows to the Garden of Eden 
• Lost History of Buddhism Bangla[desh]
• Antecedents of "Hinduism"-Buddhism in Indus-Saraswati-Seistan
• Gautama and Zoroaster in a Non-Jonesian Frame
• The Isigili Sutra

Who was Ibrahim ibn Adham?

Forest ascetic Ibrahim bin Adham with devas (IMP)

Ibrahim ibn Adham (إبراهيم بن أدهم), circa 718-782, AH circa 100-165 [Note 1], see at left) is one of the most prominent of the early ascetic Sufi saints.
 
The story of his conversion is one of the most celebrated in Sufi legend -- a prince renouncing his throne and choosing asceticism closely echoing the legend of Gautama Buddha [2].

• 1. Richard Nelson Frye, The Cambridge History of Iran: The period from the Arab invasion to the Saljuqs (CUP, 1975, p. 450)
• 2. Muslim Saints and Mystics, Attar (trans.) A.J. Arberry intro. on Ebrahim ibn Adham; Encyclopedia of Islam, Ibrahim ibn Adham

Sufi tradition ascribes to Ibrahim countless acts of righteousness, and his humble lifestyle, which contrasted sharply with his early life as the King of Balkh (itself an earlier center of Buddhism).

As recounted by Abu Nu'aym, Ibrahim emphasized the importance of stillness [calm derived from "serenity" meditation or Buddhist samatha?] and meditation [wisdom derived from "insight" meditation or Buddhist vipassana?] for asceticism.

Rumi extensively described the legend of Ibrahim in his Masnavi. The most famous of Ibrahim's students is Shaqiq al-Balkhi (died 810). More

• Jalal al-Din Rumi (Academy of American Poets) They settled in present-day Turkey, where Rumi lived and wrote most of his life... The letters are described as having lines of poetry scattered throughout... Eventually, Rumi made peace with his loss, returning to his home believing Shams...
• Poet: Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi (PoemHunter.com) Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273, Persia)
• The biography of Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi

The concept of anatta as a doctrine is unique to Buddhism. No other teacher but a buddha teaches it. If Sufism understands it, it is because they received it from Buddhism. If it has been misunderstood or misconstrued as Annihilationism, the destruction of an existing self, then it is no Egolessness Doctrine.
 

In the Tradition of RUMI and Master Hasan...

Mac Graham (reviewer), Whole Life Times (wholelifemagazine.com, June 2014)

The Sufi Path of Annihilation (Inner Traditions)

Author Nevit O. Ergin mingles his cryptic contemporary Sufi short stories with sayings of Master Hasan Lutfï Shushud and the immortal verses of Rumi to reveal the barest essence of the Itlak Sufi path.

 

Our perceptions [saññā], we learn, are based on a lifetime’s accumulation of conditioned habit [sankhāra, mental formations such as our intentions or root motivations], primarily in eating and breathing.

Manipulation of these two functions through fasting and zikr (breath-control [yogic pranayama which was displaced by mindfulness of in and out breathing in Buddhist insight practices]), along with a steady, slow acknowledgement of life’s suffering [dukkha] and illusion [maya], brings release [moksha] from dualistic perception [Brahminical/Hindu non-dualism], annihilation [nirodha, extinction in stages] of the self [atta, atman], and revelation of essence beyond God -- that, “We are the beloved; God [Brahma/Brahman] is the lover.”

 

(wholelifemagazine.com)

This dualistic perception can be an obstacle to Itlak’s deep and slippery slope truth. Such mysteries require an oblique and indirect approach to replace the panaceas or placebos of religion and philosophy.

We can only approach our truest nature [Three Marks or Characteristics of Existence: anicca, dukkha, anatta, the truth that all things that exist are impermanent, incapable of fulfilling us, and impersonal] and meaning through annihilation of even those institutions that intend to guide us. [Compare with the Buddha's message in the Kalama Sutra].

 

Prepare to grapple with our most basic assumptions in this sweet, simple, and completely annihilating [liberating since there is no "thing" that could be annihilated other than ignorance and distress] adventure.

 

Shams al-Ma'arif (Danieliness/wiki)

Like much mid-eastern religion and mysticism, Itlak Sufism seems couched in suffering and denial [just as the Buddha approached ultimate Truth by negating our common assumptions using negating conventional language that is misleading to modern readers who may mistake it as pessimistic or nihilistic].

However, the goal -- [the realization of] nothingness [framed in later Mahayana Buddhism as "emptiness" (shunyata), the ultimate "perfection of wisdom," which is the liberating realization of ANATTA], absence -- transcends any such negation.

With annihilation of the [illusion of a] self, essence [the luminous quality of the heart/mind, primordial consciousness, which the Buddha analyzed (dissected, divided, broke down) in many ways: viññāna, citta, cetasikas, mental states (sankharas), mental factors, mana, nāma, manas, conceit, attention] expresses its hidden [timeless] being, allowing one to “die before one’s chronological death” or die to the illusory world.

Otherwise, as Rumi notes, we are just “a morsel for the ground.”

No self?
Wisdom Quarterly (ANALYSIS)

Hinduism: We are drops merging

The Buddha was not a materialist, nor was he an annihationist nor was he an eternalist. Even if these three categories seem to exhaust all possibilities, all three are nevertheless "wrong views" (miccha ditthi) based on very deep seated assumptions and errors.

To untangle this impossible situation is easy: There are two kinds of language, conventional and ultimate. Conventionally, there if of course a self; it is self evident! We can identify with and designate anything as "self," but if we examine it, we are almost always talking about one or more of these five things: our bodies, sensations, perceptions, mental formations (like our volitions), and consciousnesses (associated with these five senses with the mind as sixth).

However, ultimately, no such self is there; it falls away when analyzed (broken down and penetrated with insight). A materialist is one who believes only in matter, which includes most modern, "reasonable," scientific types. We know there's more, but we will admit no such knowledge because we think Science says that there's nothing more. (To believe this we have to ignore all of the science that says it does. See what David Wilcock, formerly Edgar Cayce, has uncovered in this regard at divinecosmos.com).

• Into the Fire of the Sweat Lodge
• BOOK: The Joyous Cosmology
• Yogananda and the Gangsters
• Nada Brahma (The Sound of God) 
• Practical Spirituality
• The Threefold Higher Knowledge
• Buddhist particles of ultimate matter
• Buddhist Classification of Phenomena (dhammas)
• Tyrant: Are there any positive media portrayals of Arabs? 
• Supreme Court limits cellphone searches after arrests
• Peacock killings: Another bird hurt in Rolling Hills Estates
• Buddhist monk Watareka Vijitha arrested in Sri Lanka
• Federal highway funding runs out this summer

A.E.'s Wisdom of Heartbreak

ART: Sarah Ost (EcoSalon.com, May 16, 2011); Wisdom Quarterly

Artist Alicia Escott’s intensely humane explorations of loss, longing, commercialism and, ultimately, love (ecosalon.com)

 

“The best way I can express this is that I have lost enough hope to find a new hope.” San Francisco-based artist Alicia Escott tells EcoSalon this over coffee at The Summit, a popular cafe in the Mission District.

 

She is talking frankly, not philosophically, with Sarah Ost about pragmatic challenges of creativity and environmental issues, specifically, how one can retain any sort of optimism, much less focus, in the face of the enormous ecological challenges we face. (There have been six great “die offs”; we are poised for another.)

“I heard an environmentalist being interviewed once,” she is saying. “The journalist asked him how he was okay with eating meat or some other destructive behavior. He answered, something like, ‘You know, you wake up in the morning, you take a shower then you walk around the corner to get coffee. It’s 9:00 a.m. and you have already walked over a mountain of skulls.’”

A trip to the corner coffee addicts' den for a morning fix (WQ)

...But to describe her as an environmental artist or to view her work as somehow ironic is to miss the point.

 

“My approach is one of a thoughtful person, not only as an environmentalist, activist, or green advocate,” Escott says. “I am very hesitant about labels. I think we are making mistakes, and I have a lot of pain around these issues…but it’s really not for me to say. Us poisoning our oceans may return us, simply, to a primordial soup. Perhaps something better can come out of it. So my approach is holistic.”

 

There are eternal, contextually unsettling and shamanistic themes in Escott’s work. ...

 

“Then came rock n roll. More than anything I wish I could show you rock n roll, you would love it, I’m sure. And there was the telephone, and then answering machines and call waiting and then caller id, and now you can have that with you always....”

 

My notebook contains this list of words I jotted down before meeting with Escott, and I share them with her.

Bereft, Buddhist, Longing, Acceptance, Human, Lonely, Heartbreak, Healing

 

I ask if the Buddhist tendency is intentional. I’m the first writer to do so, and she considers it for a long moment. More

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