The Well 11
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"You Are Worth It"
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| The words of Richard James come to mind . . . |
After years of bootlicking, you should not be surprised that your head is not clean.Earlier we swept through an often hard-hearted SRF-attacking board. We saw its moderator borrowed a lot from our site, and has also kept postings hostage there, indeletable by us. That should be nothing to worry about, as that rakshaka board - or was it rakshasa board? - has been put to sleep."When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck." - Richard James Cardinal Cushing (1895-1970).
Due efforts of others to cite and render us has to be a matter of their own choices, but we offer some guidelines here: [LINK].
A suggestion is that one can mind what is quoted calmly and verbatim, with due references given. However, no one should have a need or desire to go against fit guidance of Buddha: Stay away from associating with fools, for your own good. You are worth it, because "You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection," says Buddha. The teaching poem Dhammapada also says one should avoid the company of fools, but company with the wise is pleasure. [cf. Dhammapada 206, 207].
Riff-raff may waste much of our precious time. Buddha teaches that no one should waste time or gifts on unworthy fellows or fools, but instead make use of the precious time and opportunities we are given, if any. There will hopefully be time enough to try to help others later. This is an attitude reflected in sayings by the Tibetan saint Milarepa of the Middle Ages. [LINK]
Those who have practiced well, straight-forwardly, methodically, and masterfully. Such disciples should be worthy of gifts and respect. [Buddha, modified]One should not be over-anxious and hasty in setting out to serve others, but have the one resolve to attain Buddhahood. - Milarepa, [Tm 271]
Satyagraha: Non-cooperation with Evil, Holding to Truths
Those who speak the truth and hold to the truth are reliable, and no deceivers [With Buddha].Two Sanskrit words: Satya: truth, graha: holding. Satya also means Truth, Reality, Being, and Sublime Truth. Holding to truth (satya) is the most used meaning of the term, but there is more to it. Gandhi was inspired by David Henry Thoreau - yes, that is Thoreau's real name, but he shuffled the forenames. Thoreau spoke for civil disobedience in certain cases, as when the state was up to no good, for example aggressive war - the Mexican war.
But Gandhi was not inspired by Thoreau alone. Non-cooperation with evil may also be understood as a logical ramification of the first "commandment" in yoga, that of holding fast to satya, which is translated as 'truth' most often. Holding to truth is a basic understanding of moral that goes along with yoga training. Stop being truthful, and you may get nasty through that only. That is what yogis say.
Truth, satya, is also a designation of the ultimate Reality. So being attuned to Reality is satya too. And integrity as fits. In Soto Zen, Dogen (1200-53) delineates much in his main work Shobogenzo [Ref.] so that we may align ourselves to Reality - that may help too, and may be termed satyagraha too - holding on to truthfulness.
In Autobiography of a Yogi truth is spoken of as exact correspondence with reality [Pa 435; or Ha 476]. As long as words can carry us, that view is OK - however, it is not in the first edition of his autobiography; it has been added later.
But there is still more: Satya has also come to mean the practice of truthfulness, to refrain from lying, deception or betraying promises and confidences. And to extract promises from gullible ones, promises they are unable to keep, is not in tune with satyagraha either. Yogananda and SRF don't permit kriya yoga to be taught without such an oath. It takes away the human rights and lots of other rights, basically. That should be important to keep in mind too. Also see Yogananda's meeting with Gandhi and more on satyagraha there - [LINK]
It should help satya not to cooperate with evil, the lurking evil, for wickeness and deceits are opposite to truth and Truth. Not to support those who thrive by evil and wicked deeds, and stealthy uses of such stuff, may be vital too.
We hold that non-cooperation with evil is the method for dealing with a Badfingers Board while marching on, moving ahead (so should you).
Yogananda Study Can Help
Discussion boards and newspapers have significant features in common. Legal responsibility is one of them, and moral responsibility is another. Find the references and some springboard words for tentative board applications of older Yogananda guidelines on-site. SRF teaches that his guidelines are infallible and his wisdom faultless (sic.) (link above). [LINK]A truth-loving community should keep a strict eye on the operation of these gates [cf. discussion boards etc] ... Muddy and defiled water must not be allowed in when clean and sparkling streams are available. - Swami Yogananda
Success in Life and valuable lessons of Maharishi Yogi
The will to truth and real evidence is an asset deep inside. Be sure not to lose it. To fight against this and that, including cults, may be for some, perhaps, but it is far better to fight for things, and better still to advance tactfully instead of fighting when there is no need for being brutal. Success in life rests in no small part on the art of living, which Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has given a lot of tips on too. This suggests that in taking a stand for truth, the satyagraha thing, it may be vital to escape parodies and mock liberators - instead of learning the really valuable things in the art of living well. |
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| Literature | SECTION | First Page |
Ak: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Man's Eternal Quest. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1975.
Ap: Mieder, Wolfgang (main editor), Stewart A. Kingsbury, and Kelsie E. Harder: A Dictionary of American Proverbs. (Paperback) New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Ay: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 1st ed. New York: Theosophical, 1946. Online. [oaks.nvg.org/pv6bk12.html]
Ebu: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD. London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2006.
Ha: Yogananda, Pa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 12th ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), 1981.
Op: Simpson, John, and Jennifer Speake. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Pa: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 11th ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1971.
Saa: Mann, Felix. Scientific Aspects of Acupuncture. 2nd ed. London: Heinemann Medical Books, 1983.
Say: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Sayings of Yogananda. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1958.
Shz: Cleary, Thomas, trans. Shobogenzo: Zen Essays by Dogen. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986.
Szd: Nishijima, Gudo Wafo and Chodo Cross, trs. Master Dogen's Shobogenzo. Book 1. Woking, Surrey, 1994.
Szi: Nishijima, Gudo Wafo and Chodo Cross, trs. Master Dogen's Shobogenzo. Book 2. Windbell Publications, London: 1996.
Szm: Nishijima, Gudo Wafo and Chodo Cross, trs. Master Dogen's Shobogenzo. Book 3. Windbell Publications, London: 1997.
Szp: Nishijima, Gudo Wafo and Chodo Cross, trs. Master Dogen's Shobogenzo. Book 4. Windbell Publications, London: 1999.
Tm: Evans-Wentz, W. ed. Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1969.
CLICK on 'Literature' for the references of about 2000 works.
ANNOTATIONS: Code letters (acronyms and initial words) in square brackets in the text refer to works. Click on 'Literature' to see examples. Page references are put right after code letters. And the abbreviation cf. means "compare". [MORE].
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© 2002–2006, Tormod Kinnes. All rights reserved — September 2006.