Even the old Soviet Union (1917-1991), in its English translations of Marxist texts, used the term ‘spiritual’ to refer to ‘consciousness’, and in so doing, marked a clear separation between socialist and communist theory, with that of the theology of the established Judeo-Christian tradition that had dominated Europe with its ecclesiastical imaginations for over a thousand years.
Tag: consciousness
Carl Jung & Buddhism
Jung was not religious in the conventional sense, as through the use of psychological insight, he saw through religious structure and understood its historicity. He might be described as spiritual due to the obvious spiritual content of much of his work, but even this appellation is problematic. In reality Jung viewed religion as being a subject of much psychological interest due primarily to its obvious archetypal content. Through his developed psychological method, Jung demonstrated an often profound and startling insight into the inner structures of subjects like religion that at once swept away any unnecessary obscuration or excessive mystification, to reveal the true developmental nature of the teachings.
Ch’an Buddhist Practice: Giving Up Sleep
Many Ch’an masters, such as Ben Huan and Fo Yuan, talk of the inherent dangers for the mind whilst in the sleeping state. This is because all kinds of hellish states can be accessed when the body is dormant, but the mind remains active.
Working With The Mind.
‘Even this material plane with its apparent solidity and predictable behaviour is a manifestation of the mind itself. It is not an illusion, nor is it real. Language and concept break down when the mind reaches beyond its innate conditioning. What is seen (or perceived) is reported through the limitation of human language, which is itself the product of living within a material world. It is not designed to formulate concepts that lay beyond its normal cognitive reach. This explains why advanced science, insightful philosophy and transcendental religion appear to be expressing truth in a nonsense language that appears incomplete and often irrational. To explain that which lies just beyond the senses stretches conventional language to its limit. Logic dictates that such descriptions can not be soundly provided and that to stay true to the originating perception, the descriptions provided must be open ended – as if the open end in the logic is in fact a map pointing the way toward the truth. The material plane assumes a completeness and totality for itself that is blatantly not true. The logic based upon the observation and measurement of matter, likewise also assumes a completeness that is incorrect from the position of the multiverse. Of course, closed systems of logic are complete within their respective operational boundaries, but this completeness is highly localised and not indicative in any way of a possession of higher knowledge or wisdom. The use of enclosed (local) logic systems to explain the entirety of what exists outside of itself – is itself an error in philosophical speculation. Rigid thought patterns are reflective of the rigid material forms that they measure. The multiverse is neither rigid nor flexible and it can not be assessed or limited to a set of binary opposites, or conceptual dichotomies.’
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 