Theos-Talk Archives (November 2000 Message tt00118)

Thanks for your note Gene!

By the way Edwin Bernbaum wrote THE WAY TO SHAMBHALA, 
A Search for the Mythical Kingdom Beyond the Himalayas, 
published twenty years ago. It's no longer in print, but he writes 
about hidden valleys, guidebooks, the terma tradition and many 
other topics in a very scholarly, well documented way. I 
recommend the book to anyone interested in Tibet. 

- Art


--- In theos-talk@egroups.com, "Eugene Carpenter" 
<Ecarpent@c...> wrote:
> Bravo!
> 
> Gene
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <arthra999@y...>
> To: <theos-talk@egroups.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2000 2:49 PM
> Subject: Theos-World Emptiness and the Void:
> 
> 
> > The practitioner of the Vajrayana sees poison as nectar 
> > because 
> > both are empty and in essence the same; for him the nature 
of 
> > all 
> > things is emptiness. But lamas point out that this emptiness 
> > cannot 
> > be pictured or defined: It is not the image of blankness or 
dead 
> > space that may come to mind. It is reality itself, the 
indescribable 
> > source of everything, yet not itself a thing. We might call it the 
> > spiritual essence of the world that cannot be named, 
grasped, or 
> > otherwise limited. Beyond all substance it pervades all 
things. 
> > We 
> > cannot perceive emptiness as something separate from us; 
we 
> > can only 
> > experience it in the ultimate depths of ourselves and the 
world 
> > around us. It resembles the wind that can be felt but not 
seen, or 
> > the invisible space in which all things are immersed like 
> > pebbles in 
> > the pool of a mountain stream. The follower of the Vajrayana 
cuts 
> > through the opaque and solid appearance of the world to find 
at 
> > its 
> > core, gleaming like a diamond, the clear and indestructible 
> > emptiness 
> > that has nothing left in it to be seen or destroyed. But all this 
is 
> > merely metaphor to suggest an experience of reality that lies 
> > beyond 
> > words and thought. . . . 
> > 
> > Though words are spoken to explain the Void, 
> > The Void as such can never be expressed.
> > 
> > EDWIN BERNBAUM
> > 
> > **************************************************
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >