Author: Monkey MindMonkey Mind Date: Feb 13, 2008 14:28
Chapter summary:
Trungpa takes us on a tour of Buddhist cosmology
the hell realms - pain and torture
the realms of the hungry ghosts - insatiable desire
the animal realm - survival, procreation
the human realm - potential for awakening
the realm of the fighting gods/titans - too ambitious for awakening
the divine realms - too blissful for awakening
His presentation is more geared towards a western, "psychological"
understanding: mind-states an individual can experience.
He also touches on the formless dhyanas (infinite space, infinite
consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor
non-perception). These high meditative attainments can be very
enticing to the ego, inflating it to boundless proportions. These
states can be mistaken for Nirvana, but they are still dualistic,
there is still "other", and the ego is using them for self-assertion.
Also, from these heights, the only way goes down, and Trungpa
illustrates the entire descent back into the hells.
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