Theos-Talk Archives (May 1998 Message tt00322)

On May 11, Jerry Schueler wrote:
<<HPB, for reasons of her own, took what she considered the
best of all of the religions, and put them together while rejecting
ideas that she did not agree with. The main example here that
comes to my mind is reincarnation. She assures us that humans
can't retrograde to animals because the "door is closed"
and so on.  Yet Tibetans, HH the DL included, teach that
this is a very real possibility. Another disconnect is the past-
life review.  She claims we all have one after death, yet there
is no such thing found in Tibetan Buddhism.>>

    Whoa!  Jerry, I was beginning to agree with most of what you wrote,
up until this point!   I really have to differ with you here.    HPB did
not add up every idea she encountered in the world's religions, then
pick and choose which ones she decided would be called "theosophy," much
less the ones she just "agreed with for reasons of her own."  Instead,
she STARTED with the ancient wisdom teachings, and weighed the world's
religions and philosophies against that standard.   Ideas such as
reincarnation into animals, past life reviews, etc. that do not fit with
Tibetan Buddhism are not "disconnects!"    Theosophy is more than the
sum of its parts.

Best Regards,

Wes Amerman