Theos-Talk Archives (January 2006 Message tt00199)

1/15/2006 4:13 AM


Re:	In a borrowed body is not the fact:


HPB in ISIS UNVEILED wrote


1/15/2006 4:16 AM

Re: In a borrowed body is not the fact:


Dear Friends:

HPB in ISIS UNVEILED wrote:


"An adept can not only project and make visible a hand, a foot, or any other
portion of his body, but the whole of it. We have seen one do this, in full
day, while his hands and feet were being held by a skeptical friend whom he
wished to surprise.* Little by little the whole astral body oozed out like a
vapory cloud, until before us stood two forms, of which the second was an
exact duplicate of the first, only slightly more shadowy...

1


A singular account of the personal interview of an English ambassador
in 1783, with a reincarnated Buddha — barely mentioned in volume I [ISIS
UNVEILED]. 

— an infant of eighteen months old at that time, is given in the Asiatic
Journal from the narrative of an eye-witness himself, Mr. Turner, the author
of The Embassy to Thibet. The cautious phraseology of a skeptic dreading
public ridicule ill conceals the amazement of the witness, who, at the same
time, desires to give facts as truthfully as possible. 

The infant lama received the ambassador and his suite with a dignity and
decorum so natural and unconstrained that they remained in a perfect maze of
wonder. The behavior of this infant, says the author, was that of an old
philosopher, grave and sedate and exceedingly courteous.

He contrived to make the young pontiff understand the inconsolable grief
into which the Governor-General of Galagata (Calcutta) the City of Palaces
and the people of India were plunged when he died, and the general rapture
when they found that he had resurrected in a young and fresh body again; at
which compliment the young lama regarded him and his suite with looks of
singular complacency, and courteously treated them to confectionery from a
golden cup. 

"The ambassador continued to express the Governor-General's hope that the
lama might long continue to illumine the world with his presence, and that
the friendship which had heretofore subsisted between them might be yet more
strongly cemented, for the benefit and advantage of the intelligent votaries
of the lama . . . all which made the little creature look steadfastly at the
speaker, and graciously bow and nod — and bow and nod — as if he understood
and approved of every word that was uttered." *
 
As if he understood! If the infant behaved in the most natural and
dignified way during the reception, and "when their cups were empty of tea
became uneasy and throwing back his head and contracting the skin of his
brow, continued making a noise till they were filled again," why could he
not understand as well what was said to him? 

2


Years ago, a small party of travellers were painfully journeying from
Kashmir to Leh, a city of Ladahk (Central Thibet). Among our guides we had a
Tartar Shaman, a very mysterious personage, who spoke Russian a little and
English not at all, and yet who managed, nevertheless, to converse with us,
and proved of great service. Having learned that some of our party were
Russians, he had imagined that our protection was all-powerful, and might
enable him to safely find his way back to his Siberian home, from which, for
reasons unknown, some twenty years before, he had fled, as he told us, via
Kiachta and the great Gobi Desert, to the land of the Tcha-gars.* 

With such an interested object in view, we believed ourselves safe under his
guard. ...Mr. K——, an ex-Lutheran minister, could not even attempt to leave
his miserable village near Leh, as from the first days he found himself
prostrated with fever, and had to return to Lahore via Kashmere. 

But one sight seen by him was as good as if he had witnessed the
reincarnation of Buddha itself. Having heard of this "miracle" from some old
Russian missionary in whom he thought he could have more faith than in Abbe
Huc, it had been for years his desire to expose the "great heathen"
jugglery, as he expressed it. K—— was a positivist, and rather prided
himself on this anti-philosophical neologism. But his positivism was doomed
to receive a death-blow. 

About four days journey from Islamabad, at an insignificant mud village,
whose only redeeming feature was its magnificent lake, we stopped for a few
days' rest. Our companions had temporarily separated from us, and the
village was to be our place of meeting. 

It was there that we were apprised by our Shaman that a large party of
Lamaic "Saints," on pilgrimage to various shrines, had taken up their abode
in an old cave-temple and established a temporary Vihara therein. He added
that, as the "Three Honorable Ones" † were said to travel along with them,
the holy Bikshu (monks) were capable of producing the greatest miracles. Mr.
K——-, fired with the prospect of exposing this humbug of the ages, proceeded
at once to pay them a visit, and from that moment the most friendly
relations were established between the two camps. 

The Vihar was in a secluded and most romantic spot secured against all
intrusion. Despite the effusive attentions, presents, and protestations of
Mr. K——, the Chief, who was Pase-Budhu (an ascetic of great sanctity),
declined to exhibit the phenomenon of the "incarnation" until a certain
talisman in possession of the writer was exhibited.* 

Upon seeing this, however, preparations were at once made, and an infant of
three or four months was procured from its mother, a poor woman of the
neighborhood. 

An oath was first of all exacted of Mr. K——, that he would not divulge what
he might see or hear, for the space of seven years. 

The talisman is a simple agate or carnelian known among the Thibetans and
others as A-yu, and naturally possessed, or had been endowed with very
mysterious properties. It has a triangle engraved upon it, within which are
contained a few mystical words.† ....


----------------------	FOOTNOTE	-----------------------------

* A Bikshu is not allowed to accept anything directly even from laymen of
his own people, least of all from a foreigner. The slightest contact with
the body and even dress of a person not belonging to their special community
is carefully avoided. Thus even the offerings brought by us and which
comprised pieces of red and yellow pou-lou, a sort of woollen fabric the
lamas generally wear, had to pass through strange ceremonies. ...

 
† These stones are highly venerated among Lamaists and Buddhists; the throne
and sceptre of Buddha are ornamented with them, and the Taley Lama wears one
on the fourth finger of the right hand. They are found in the Altai
Mountains, and near the river Yarkuh. Our talisman was a gift from the
venerable high-priest, a Heiloung, of a Kalmuck tribe... 

--------------------------------------------


On the appointed afternoon, the baby being brought to the Vihara, was
left in the vestibule or reception-room, as K—— could go no further into the
temporary sanctuary. 

The child was then placed on a bit of carpet in the middle of the floor, and
every one not belonging to the party being sent away, two "mendicants" were
placed at the entrance to keep out intruders. Then all the lamas seated
themselves on the floor, with their backs against the granite walls, so that
each was separated from the child by a space, at least, of ten feet. The
chief, having had a square piece of leather spread for him by the
desservant, seated himself at the farthest corner. 

Alone, Mr. K—— placed himself close by the infant, and watched every
movement with intense interest. The only condition exacted of us was that we
should preserve a strict silence, and patiently await further developments.
A bright sunlight streamed through the open door. 

Gradually the "Superior" fell into what seemed a state of profound
meditation, while the others, after a sotto voce short invocation, became
suddenly silent, and looked as if they had been completely petrified. It was
oppressively still, and the crowing of the child was the only sound to be
heard. After we had sat there a few moments, the movements of the infant's
limbs suddenly ceased, and his body appeared to become rigid. K—— watched
intently every motion, and both of us, by a rapid glance, became satisfied
that all present were sitting motionless. 

The superior, with his gaze fixed upon the ground, did not even look at the
infant; but, pale and motionless, he seemed rather like a bronze statue of a
Talapoin in meditation than a living being. 

Suddenly, to our great consternation, we saw the child, not raise itself,
but, as it were, violently jerked into a sitting posture! A few more jerks,
and then, like an automaton set in motion by concealed wires, the four
months' baby stood upon his feet! Fancy our consternation, and, in Mr. K——'s
case, horror. Not a hand had been outstretched, not a motion made, nor a
word spoken; and yet, here was a baby-in-arms standing erect and firm as a
man! 

The rest of the story we will quote from a copy of notes written on
this subject by Mr. K——, the same evening, and given to us, in case it
should not reach its place of destination, or the writer fail to see
anything more. 

"After a minute or two of hesitation," writes K——, "the baby turned his
head and looked at me with an expression of intelligence that was simply
awful! It sent a chill through me. I pinched my hands and bit my lips till
the blood almost came, to make sure that I did not dream. But this was only
the beginning. 

The miraculous creature, making, as I fancied, two steps toward me, resumed
his sitting posture, and, without removing his eyes from mine, repeated,
sentence by sentence, in what I supposed to be Thibetan language, the very
words, which I had been told in advance, are commonly spoken at the
incarnations of Buddha, beginning with 'I am Buddha; I am the old Lama; I am
his spirit in a new body,' etc. 

I felt a real terror; my hair rose upon my head, and my blood ran cold. For
my life I could not have spoken a word. There was no trickery here, no
ventriloquism. The infant lips moved, and the eyes seemed to search my very
soul with an expression that made me think it was the face of the Superior
himself, his eyes, his very look that I was gazing upon. It was as if his
spirit had entered the little body, and was looking at me through the
transparent mask of the baby's face. I felt my brain growing dizzy. The
infant reached toward me, and laid his little hand upon mine. I started as
if I had been touched by a hot coal; and, unable to bear the scene any
longer, covered my face with my hands. 

It was but for an instant; but when I removed them, the little actor had
become a crowing baby again, and a moment after, lying upon his back, set up
a fretful cry. The superior had resumed his normal condition, and
conversation ensued. 

"It was only after a series of similar experiments, extending over ten
days, that I realized the fact that I had seen the incredible, astounding
phenomenon described by certain travellers, but always by me denounced as an
imposture. Among a multitude of questions unanswered, despite my
cross-examination, the Superior let drop one piece of information, which
must be regarded as highly significant. 'What would have happened,' I
inquired, through the shaman, 'if, while the infant was speaking, in a
moment of insane fright, at the thought of its being the "Devil," I had
killed it?' He replied that, if the blow had not been instantly fatal, the
child alone would have been killed.' 'But,' I continued, 'suppose that it
had been as swift as a lightning-flash?' 'In such case,' was the answer,
'you would have killed me also.' " 
ISIS UNVEILED II 567 - 602

---------------------------------------------

Best wishes, 

Dallas
 

===========================================

-----Original Message-----
From: arhat_buddhism
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2006 6:18 AM
To

Subject: In a borrowed body is not the fact:

within an absorbed body is the fact. Tulku is a Buddhist nun or monk, 
incarnating another - and higher - Buddhist monk.