Theos-Talk Archives (March 1999 Message tt00298)

In a message dated 3/18/99 2:17:49 PM, caduceus@dial.pipex.com writes:

>And when the 'seventh birth' comes, what then?  In the eyes of onlookers
>this individual (perhaps someone like Milarepa, as you suggest) will appear
>to have reached Nirvana in a single lifetime.  From the Theosophical view
>such onlookers will be mistaken.  Theosophy would say that what is gained
>in this life for that individual is the result of many, many, lifetimes of
>effort.  Even then that individual consciousness is not entirely 'free' of
>Karma.  What is the Karma for one who enters Nirvana and leaves the rest
>of Humanity to suffer?  For the Law will call it back into rebirth at the
>appropriate stage of the ongoing cycles and call it into account for that
>which was done, or left undone, in the previous cycles.

The only reason Milarepa was said to achieve "enlightenment" in one lifetime
is because he had committed heinous crimes in that same lifetime acting as a
black magician at the instigation of his evil mother.  Actually, he had
already achieved his enlightenment in previous lifetimes, and had to finally
only learn compassion and to repent his past evil in order to transcend his
karma and attain Moksha.  It was only later in his young manhood, after he had
killed his mothers enemies, that he made his final renunciation and did
penance by teaching and saving others for many years until he became the chief
abbot of his sect.  The only difference between a high adept black or white
magician is motive and not the level of spiritual knowledge or
enlightenment--which is available to both.  In essence, had Milarepa not
changed his motivation, he would still have achieved enlightenment in that
lifetime--but as a Pratyeka Buddha who would have continued working his black
magic selfishly until his death and final Nirvana--which might last until the
end of the manvantara/pralaya.  Then, he would be reborn in the next great
cycle at the lowest end of the scale to repeat the path of pain and suffering
all over again--as an almost automatic compensation (based on the 2nd
fundamental laws of energy and cycles) for his previous unmitigated bad karma.

LHM


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