re Leon and Master Jesus
Jan 02, 2004 10:27 AM
by Nisk98114
Message: 7
Date: Thu, 01 Jan 2004 16:51:05 -0500
From: Mauri <mhart@idirect.ca>
Subject: re Leon and Master Jesus
Leon wrote: << Didn't the Master Jesus
say, "The Kingdom of Heaven must be
taken with the sword?">>
How would you know, Leon, what Master
Jesus said? I'm tending to be under the
impression that whatever anybody said a
couple of thousand years ago might, at
best, have been somewhat altered over time
by a number of people.
<<And, didn't HPB say, " . . . by one's
self devised and self determined efforts?"
Doesn't effort = force -- even if
interpreted as a directed force of will
leading to "concentration" of the mind
that is the first and final rule of
meditation? In the "Ten Bulls" koan of
Zen teaching, the bull, representing the
mind, must be conquered by force. Isn't
that conquering shown in the Sixth Bull as
the boy riding his bull with a whip in his
belt and his hands on a flute? Aren't all
true students of theosophy, that boy? >>
Last time I used any kind of what might be
called "force" in my meditation, a long
time ago, the result was such an odd
sensantion on one side of my head that I
had to give up that kind of meditation.
Lately, my "just being" doesn't seem to
have given me any problems. I guess I
might be saying that how one interprets
"force" might be relevant in connection
with whatever, not that I would use that
word in relation to spirituality or
meditation, myself.
Speculatively, and best wishes,
Mauri
BUDDHA’S LAST DISCOURSE
III – The Virtue of Energetic Striving
O bhikkhus, if you strive diligently, nothing will be difficult
for you. As a little water trickling constantly can bore a hole
through a rock, so must you ever strive energetically. If the mind of
a disciple becomes idle and inattentive, he will resemble one who
tries to make fire by friction, but rests before the heat is
sufficient. However much he wants fire, he cannot get it. Such is the
meaning of energetic striving.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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