01-07-2012, 10:03 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-07-2012, 10:10 PM by SomaticDreams.)
This particular channeling is of interest, as a Buddhist practitioner. There is a distortion towards a Christian understanding of Buddhism in the channeling, as Carla has been steeped in the tradition her entire life. This is evident by the channel describing first, the Christian perspective, and then describing the Buddhist perspective. The Buddhist perspective given throughout the channeling is distorted by Christian symbolism, giving an unclear picture of the Buddhist perspective. There is no intention of disparaging the view of Christians, but simply to give a clearer perspective in words of the Dharma. There is much confusion that stems from these phrases, evident in this thread. This post will simply point out the distortions in the channeling, offering a clearer picture of Buddhism.
“Thusly, as the Buddha allowed all to fall away except the seeking for the one Creator, the entity no longer was concerned with the suffering of the world except to pray that all suffering might cease.”
Buddhism does not ascribe to the idea of a creator, or of any sort of divine figure. The usage of the word “one Creator” is evidently Christian, as it implies a singular entity, with a will (towards creating). This word however, has been defined as “unconditional love” in other changelings. Jesus is known as Love, but also as manifesting as part of the trinity. It could be that the idea of “unconditional love” in Carla’s channel translates into this phrase- in which it would make a bit more sense. The Buddha sought enlightenment, that is, to be awake from the world of illusion (what Ra denotes as the veil). The awakening from the veil requires an inherent sense of compassion, and love towards all sentient beings. Awakening from the illusion requires the ‘self’ to recognize the other-self as the same.
The second part of the sentence, “the entity no longer was concerned with the suffering of the world except to pray that all suffering might cease.” is quite clearly distorted by Carla’s christian imagery. Buddhists do not pray, but meditate. Buddhists are immensely concerned with suffering, in fact the entire philosophy is based on how to develop compassion for all sentient beings to eliminate suffering (samsara) in this world. However, by translating these terms properly into their context, Buddhists do meditate in order to recognize their Buddha nature, that of loving-kindness and compassion. Buddhists do not hope that all suffering might cease, but actively work on reducing suffering in the world. The meditation practice of Tonglen (as named in the Tibetan tradition) is one of receiving suffering into the ‘self’ in order to reduce all other beings suffering in the world.
“The teachings of the one known as Jesus appeal to those who enjoy the feeling of an open heart, a heart open to love. The teachings of the one known as Siddhartha appeal to those who seek wisdom.”
This statement can be misleading as it generalizes both practitioners of each religion. Buddhism does not only seek wisdom- it in fact requires one to develop compassion and loving-kindness before any deeper understanding of the Dharma. These virtues are developed beforehand, because, as a bird cannot fly without both wings, the practitioner of the Dharma cannot take off without practice and wisdom. Wisdom and Compassion are balanced in Buddhism, and this point on balance is repeated often through out the teachings of the Dharma. One could certainly gain another perspective as a Buddhist into the Christian tradition, but Buddhism disagrees on rational grounds against many of the tenants of Christianity. The meeting point between both religions is the striving towards compassion towards others. This is, foremost, the main message of the Dalai Lama to lay-practitioners, and all human kind.
The points made are stated later in the channeling:
“Yet, the compassionate follower of Christ and the compassionate follower of Buddha meet in the middle where love and wisdom are balanced.”
“Remember that it is not to the extreme that awareness comes, but to the one who has been able to balance the energies of love and the energies of wisdom.”
Interestingly enough, the idea of a creator is not used in this next passage:
“Humble and modest, the Buddha was not led by intellect but by his hunger and his thirst for the presence of the infinite One.”
The infinite One could be understood as the Buddha mind- the open, vast, clear awareness available to all sentient beings. It is interesting to see how such terms vary through out the channeling. Is this due to Carla, or the information being received? Has the informational quality changed, has there been a ‘fine tuning’ during the channeling? In either case, it is interesting to note the change.
“The one known as the Buddha acknowledged this point with his silence. And in that silence stands the spiritually mature Buddha, that one who, just as you, had been full of desires, interested in wealth, influence and power. There was not distaste but simply a preference for not dealing with these.”
This statement is true to an extent, as there is a famous story of the Buddha teaching his followers through silence at one point. Only one disciple, Kashayapa, understood this and smiled. The Buddha recognized this ability, to transmit the teachings without words. Kashayapa established the Zen sect of Buddhism (his followers all the way down to Bodhidharma established it.) Zen is simply the Japanese word for the Chinese Chan Buddhism. Bodhidharma is the Indian monk who came to China to establish this sect of Buddhism. However this is the story of just one lineage of Buddhism. Most of the Buddha’s teachings were also in parables and stories, just as Jesus did during his teachings. In Buddhism there is the idea of “skillful means”, meaning the skill to explain to various people in different contexts the Dharma, suitable to their level. This is where the idea of relative and absolute truth are split- one must use the ‘boat’ of relative truth to cross the river towards the shore of enlightenment, or the ‘absolute truth’. There is no need to reproduce any Buddhist parables here, as there are many to be found online with a simple search or in Buddhist literature (exemplified in the paradoxical koan-structure, or one of the many sutras).
“Where there was no desire, there was no longer a use for that catalyst and with his whole heart and mind, the one known as Gautama gently and firmly said “not this” to each thing he encountered in the world.”
This phrase is also confusing, as it implies that Buddhists some how ‘reject’ things in the world. Buddhists radically accept everything within awareness. They do not say ‘not this’, but rather have no judgement at all. Pure awareness is non-categorical, nonjudgmental ‘observing’ awareness. This awareness is naturally joyful, blissful and compassionate. It is like a child’s mind, full of wonder and amazement at the illusions the mind is able to produce. Practicing meditation is to help recognize and then rest in this state at all times. A Buddha is meditating all the time, even during sleep.
“Therefore, if you wish to follow either entity, it is well to look for the source of teachings, to look for that which has been offered by these great teachers, rather than listening to the rhetoric of those who supposedly follow these teachers.
To follow either of these two men is very difficult because of the confusion that has arisen over centuries of distortion. Yet it is entirely possible to win through to a relatively undistorted grasp of that which is offered by the one known as the Buddha.”
This conception of difficultly following either men is misleading. I see the difficulty arising in Buddhism not through teachers, but the path. A person who has received transmission of the Dharma is a Buddha. This Buddha nature is realizable to all beings. Buddhism is based also off of rationality, of skepticism. The idea of faith in Buddhism is not of radical acceptance, but of radical experience with the Dharma. The experience of experiencing the truths of the Dharma, rationally thinking about it, and carefully thinking about the validity of the teachings leads one towards the faith in the teachings. There are many meditations on eliminating doubt by experiencing the Dharma- for example, Death meditation, to realize the emptiness of self, and the impermanence of life.
This is of course, not to say there are those who do not have transmission and ‘preach’ the Dharma. There are plenty of people who have their own ‘understandings’ of the Dharma, who mislead people. This is why receiving instruction from a Buddha is essential on the Path. There are many lineages with recognized Buddha’s all over the world. Many have established monasteries around the world for those who wish to learn the path of the Buddha.
The difference of course, lies in this idea of transmission of enlightenment. Even the pope does not have ‘direct transmission’- but has the highest authoritative say on what God is saying. God still, however, has the say over the pope. Buddha nature is Buddha nature. It is transmitted without hierarchy because it is without concept (non-categorical awareness), available to all beings seeking enlightenment. The will of God is unknowable in the Christian tradition, so there is much more seeking that must be done in the Christian tradition over the Buddhist one, where there are many teachers available to assist on the path (of course, as stated before, from one of the recognized lineages all over the world).
“As you avail yourself of this vibration, you become that which you are seeking to learn. And as you gradually are able to allow this understanding, shall we say, to penetrate into the very depths and roots of your mind and consciousness, you will be able to avoid the distortion that is rampant.”
This last sentence is the most undistorted, as it clearly explicates the path in Buddhism, “to penetrate into the very depths and roots of your mind and consciousness” to “avoid the distortion that is rampant”. These distortions are the aggregates that we call the ‘self’. Eliminating the aggregates is a realization of no-self, of unity with all others. This is a state of loving-kindness and compassion for all beings (“Are you not all things?”)
Hopefully, the discernment in this post has allowed a clearer understanding of Buddhism, and a critical eye towards the Q’uo channelings and the distortion they receive from the channeler (Carla). It is not a problem of the channel, but a matter of relaying accurate information for those seeking it.
“Thusly, as the Buddha allowed all to fall away except the seeking for the one Creator, the entity no longer was concerned with the suffering of the world except to pray that all suffering might cease.”
Buddhism does not ascribe to the idea of a creator, or of any sort of divine figure. The usage of the word “one Creator” is evidently Christian, as it implies a singular entity, with a will (towards creating). This word however, has been defined as “unconditional love” in other changelings. Jesus is known as Love, but also as manifesting as part of the trinity. It could be that the idea of “unconditional love” in Carla’s channel translates into this phrase- in which it would make a bit more sense. The Buddha sought enlightenment, that is, to be awake from the world of illusion (what Ra denotes as the veil). The awakening from the veil requires an inherent sense of compassion, and love towards all sentient beings. Awakening from the illusion requires the ‘self’ to recognize the other-self as the same.
The second part of the sentence, “the entity no longer was concerned with the suffering of the world except to pray that all suffering might cease.” is quite clearly distorted by Carla’s christian imagery. Buddhists do not pray, but meditate. Buddhists are immensely concerned with suffering, in fact the entire philosophy is based on how to develop compassion for all sentient beings to eliminate suffering (samsara) in this world. However, by translating these terms properly into their context, Buddhists do meditate in order to recognize their Buddha nature, that of loving-kindness and compassion. Buddhists do not hope that all suffering might cease, but actively work on reducing suffering in the world. The meditation practice of Tonglen (as named in the Tibetan tradition) is one of receiving suffering into the ‘self’ in order to reduce all other beings suffering in the world.
“The teachings of the one known as Jesus appeal to those who enjoy the feeling of an open heart, a heart open to love. The teachings of the one known as Siddhartha appeal to those who seek wisdom.”
This statement can be misleading as it generalizes both practitioners of each religion. Buddhism does not only seek wisdom- it in fact requires one to develop compassion and loving-kindness before any deeper understanding of the Dharma. These virtues are developed beforehand, because, as a bird cannot fly without both wings, the practitioner of the Dharma cannot take off without practice and wisdom. Wisdom and Compassion are balanced in Buddhism, and this point on balance is repeated often through out the teachings of the Dharma. One could certainly gain another perspective as a Buddhist into the Christian tradition, but Buddhism disagrees on rational grounds against many of the tenants of Christianity. The meeting point between both religions is the striving towards compassion towards others. This is, foremost, the main message of the Dalai Lama to lay-practitioners, and all human kind.
The points made are stated later in the channeling:
“Yet, the compassionate follower of Christ and the compassionate follower of Buddha meet in the middle where love and wisdom are balanced.”
“Remember that it is not to the extreme that awareness comes, but to the one who has been able to balance the energies of love and the energies of wisdom.”
Interestingly enough, the idea of a creator is not used in this next passage:
“Humble and modest, the Buddha was not led by intellect but by his hunger and his thirst for the presence of the infinite One.”
The infinite One could be understood as the Buddha mind- the open, vast, clear awareness available to all sentient beings. It is interesting to see how such terms vary through out the channeling. Is this due to Carla, or the information being received? Has the informational quality changed, has there been a ‘fine tuning’ during the channeling? In either case, it is interesting to note the change.
“The one known as the Buddha acknowledged this point with his silence. And in that silence stands the spiritually mature Buddha, that one who, just as you, had been full of desires, interested in wealth, influence and power. There was not distaste but simply a preference for not dealing with these.”
This statement is true to an extent, as there is a famous story of the Buddha teaching his followers through silence at one point. Only one disciple, Kashayapa, understood this and smiled. The Buddha recognized this ability, to transmit the teachings without words. Kashayapa established the Zen sect of Buddhism (his followers all the way down to Bodhidharma established it.) Zen is simply the Japanese word for the Chinese Chan Buddhism. Bodhidharma is the Indian monk who came to China to establish this sect of Buddhism. However this is the story of just one lineage of Buddhism. Most of the Buddha’s teachings were also in parables and stories, just as Jesus did during his teachings. In Buddhism there is the idea of “skillful means”, meaning the skill to explain to various people in different contexts the Dharma, suitable to their level. This is where the idea of relative and absolute truth are split- one must use the ‘boat’ of relative truth to cross the river towards the shore of enlightenment, or the ‘absolute truth’. There is no need to reproduce any Buddhist parables here, as there are many to be found online with a simple search or in Buddhist literature (exemplified in the paradoxical koan-structure, or one of the many sutras).
“Where there was no desire, there was no longer a use for that catalyst and with his whole heart and mind, the one known as Gautama gently and firmly said “not this” to each thing he encountered in the world.”
This phrase is also confusing, as it implies that Buddhists some how ‘reject’ things in the world. Buddhists radically accept everything within awareness. They do not say ‘not this’, but rather have no judgement at all. Pure awareness is non-categorical, nonjudgmental ‘observing’ awareness. This awareness is naturally joyful, blissful and compassionate. It is like a child’s mind, full of wonder and amazement at the illusions the mind is able to produce. Practicing meditation is to help recognize and then rest in this state at all times. A Buddha is meditating all the time, even during sleep.
“Therefore, if you wish to follow either entity, it is well to look for the source of teachings, to look for that which has been offered by these great teachers, rather than listening to the rhetoric of those who supposedly follow these teachers.
To follow either of these two men is very difficult because of the confusion that has arisen over centuries of distortion. Yet it is entirely possible to win through to a relatively undistorted grasp of that which is offered by the one known as the Buddha.”
This conception of difficultly following either men is misleading. I see the difficulty arising in Buddhism not through teachers, but the path. A person who has received transmission of the Dharma is a Buddha. This Buddha nature is realizable to all beings. Buddhism is based also off of rationality, of skepticism. The idea of faith in Buddhism is not of radical acceptance, but of radical experience with the Dharma. The experience of experiencing the truths of the Dharma, rationally thinking about it, and carefully thinking about the validity of the teachings leads one towards the faith in the teachings. There are many meditations on eliminating doubt by experiencing the Dharma- for example, Death meditation, to realize the emptiness of self, and the impermanence of life.
This is of course, not to say there are those who do not have transmission and ‘preach’ the Dharma. There are plenty of people who have their own ‘understandings’ of the Dharma, who mislead people. This is why receiving instruction from a Buddha is essential on the Path. There are many lineages with recognized Buddha’s all over the world. Many have established monasteries around the world for those who wish to learn the path of the Buddha.
The difference of course, lies in this idea of transmission of enlightenment. Even the pope does not have ‘direct transmission’- but has the highest authoritative say on what God is saying. God still, however, has the say over the pope. Buddha nature is Buddha nature. It is transmitted without hierarchy because it is without concept (non-categorical awareness), available to all beings seeking enlightenment. The will of God is unknowable in the Christian tradition, so there is much more seeking that must be done in the Christian tradition over the Buddhist one, where there are many teachers available to assist on the path (of course, as stated before, from one of the recognized lineages all over the world).
“As you avail yourself of this vibration, you become that which you are seeking to learn. And as you gradually are able to allow this understanding, shall we say, to penetrate into the very depths and roots of your mind and consciousness, you will be able to avoid the distortion that is rampant.”
This last sentence is the most undistorted, as it clearly explicates the path in Buddhism, “to penetrate into the very depths and roots of your mind and consciousness” to “avoid the distortion that is rampant”. These distortions are the aggregates that we call the ‘self’. Eliminating the aggregates is a realization of no-self, of unity with all others. This is a state of loving-kindness and compassion for all beings (“Are you not all things?”)
Hopefully, the discernment in this post has allowed a clearer understanding of Buddhism, and a critical eye towards the Q’uo channelings and the distortion they receive from the channeler (Carla). It is not a problem of the channel, but a matter of relaying accurate information for those seeking it.
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