Guest guest Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 The most significant spiritual encounter in Shunyata's eyes was the one with Sri Ramana Maharshi mentioned above. Shunyata visited him at his ashram in Arunachala in 1936 and was introduced to the Maharshi by the author Paul Brunton who had noticed him as a westerner "gone native squatting along the wall" amongst the crowd. Afterwards, Brunton wrote to him to say that Ramana had said that Shunyata was "a rare born mystic." Shunyata was fond of telling this story, and also the one about his silent communion with Ramana. This happened a year after the first visit when Shunyata was sitting, along with other visitors, in front of Ramana. He had not asked a question nor made his presence known in any particular way. "We (became aware of) a special effulgence specially radiated and directed towards our form . . .five English words came suddenly upon us out of Silence. These were totally unsolicited but we took them as recognition, initiation, name and mantra: "WE ARE ALWAYS AWARE, SUNYATA." This was the origin of his name. The Chinese term for sunyata (which Shunyata defined as 'a full emptiness') is Wu. This was a word that Shunyata was particularly fond of. After his visits to Sri Ramana Maharshi, he began to write diaries and letters creating his own vocabulary which he called 'scribble', 'Viking runes' and 'Wu language'. In 1973, some members of the Alan Watts Society arrived at his door, sent there by his neighbor, Lama Anagarika Govinda, and ended up asking him to come to California. "I have nothing to teach, nothing to sell," was his reply. When they got back to Sausalito, they found that Watts had died in their absence. So they renewed their invitation -- one of them said later that they saw in him what Watts had been writing about all his life -- and in 1974 Shunyata set out on a four-month, all-expenses-paid visit to California (during which he 'gave darshan' at Esalen and Palm Springs amongst other places). Finally, in 1978, he moved to California for good -- at the age of 88 and after spending nearly half a century leading a life of the utmost simplicity in a remote corner of India. It is fair to say that most Westerners who met Shunyata in California (and elsewhere in North America) found him rather odd, voicing such comments as: "For the newcomer it could he most confusing. Here is a man who looks to me like a woman, talking in an accent I cannot place, in a voice that is sometimes too soft to hear, about subjects which are both subtly and grossly removed from any view of life I am comfortable with, and who seems to be compulsive about uttering certain word formulas. The urge to see him as just another spiritual fruitcake could be over whelming." The simple explanation of this confusion is that Shunyata did not think in a linear fashion, and thus, therefore did not communicate, in a linear fashion. Witness a letter he sent to someone while he was visiting Chicago: "In Chicago we are Mr. Nobody and Sri No-thing-ness, and certainly Sri Wuji practices the Cult of Ur rather than the physical body-cult, sensuous pleasures or so-called happiness. Nor does he identify himSelf with tools and things, concepts, precepts or percepts. Yet he seems to be on good terms with all bodies and all things, body-minds, ego-souls and even with dust and death. He awares that our identifications with tools, concepts and percepts is a fatal bar--a hindrance to our freedom, enlightenment and salvation from ego-consciousness. Ego oblivion is Self awareness, Christ-conscious ess, Grace in the integral Ghostly Whole. Self awareness is pure Grace. 'To the pure all is pure' is gospel truth. Why harrass or kill egoji, when one can be free in its play as a needed, useful tool--free in the divine Swa Lila's graceful Self-interplay, Jijimuge. Awake maturely to aware and intuit the intuitive Light that never was on land or sea, but ever IS." But for all that, he did occasionaly come up with a gnomic utterance: "Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment." "Don't give your love: Radiate it like the sun, and egojies may vanish like shadows in the Self Sun." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Just to be clear here it's my understanding that Sunyata was not refered to as Sunyata until the day the 5 words came from Ramana ""WE ARE ALWAYS AWARE, SUNYATA." He then took this to be his new name from that point on. He was earlier refered to as Emmanuel.. It can be confusing if you don't have all the facts.. Now back to the program at hand Blessings always in the now Randy , "Era" <n0ndual@w...> wrote: > > The most significant spiritual encounter in Shunyata's eyes was the one with Sri Ramana Maharshi mentioned above. Shunyata visited him at his ashram in Arunachala in 1936 and was introduced to the Maharshi by the author Paul Brunton who had noticed him as a westerner > > "gone native squatting along the wall" amongst the crowd. Afterwards, Brunton wrote to him to say that Ramana had said that Shunyata was "a rare born mystic." > > Shunyata was fond of telling this story, and also the one about his silent communion with Ramana. This happened a year after the first visit when Shunyata was sitting, along with other visitors, in front of Ramana. He had not asked a question nor made his presence known in any particular way. > > "We (became aware of) a special effulgence specially radiated and directed towards our form . . .five English words came suddenly upon us out of Silence. These were totally unsolicited but we took them as recognition, initiation, name and mantra: "WE ARE ALWAYS AWARE, SUNYATA." > > This was the origin of his name. > The Chinese term for sunyata (which Shunyata defined as 'a full emptiness') is Wu. This was a word that Shunyata was particularly fond of. After his visits to Sri Ramana Maharshi, he began to write diaries and letters creating his own vocabulary which he called 'scribble', 'Viking runes' and 'Wu language'. > > In 1973, some members of the Alan Watts Society arrived at his door, sent there by his neighbor, Lama Anagarika Govinda, and ended up asking him to come to California. > > "I have nothing to teach, nothing to sell," was his reply. When they got back to Sausalito, they found that Watts had died in their absence. > > So they renewed their invitation -- one of them said later that they saw in him what Watts had been writing about all his life -- and in 1974 Shunyata set out on a four-month, all-expenses-paid visit to California (during which he 'gave darshan' at Esalen and Palm Springs amongst other places). Finally, in 1978, he moved to California for good -- at the age of 88 and after spending nearly half a century leading a life of the utmost simplicity in a remote corner of > India. > > It is fair to say that most Westerners who met Shunyata in California (and elsewhere in North America) found him rather odd, voicing such comments as: > > "For the newcomer it could he most confusing. Here is a man who looks to me like a woman, talking in an accent I cannot place, in a voice that is sometimes too soft to hear, about subjects which are both subtly and grossly removed from any view of life I am comfortable with, and who seems to be compulsive about uttering certain word formulas. The urge to see him as just another spiritual fruitcake could be over whelming." > > The simple explanation of this confusion is that Shunyata did not think in a linear fashion, and thus, therefore did not communicate, in a linear fashion. > > Witness a letter he sent to someone while he was visiting Chicago: > > "In Chicago we are Mr. Nobody and Sri No-thing-ness, and certainly Sri Wuji practices the Cult of Ur rather than the physical body-cult, sensuous pleasures or so-called happiness. Nor does he identify himSelf with tools and things, concepts, precepts or percepts. Yet he seems to be on good terms with all bodies and all things, body-minds, ego-souls and even with dust and death. He awares that our identifications with tools, concepts and percepts is a fatal bar--a hindrance to our freedom, enlightenment and salvation from ego- consciousness. Ego oblivion is Self awareness, Christ-conscious ess, Grace in the integral Ghostly Whole. Self awareness is pure Grace. 'To the pure all is pure' is gospel truth. Why harrass or kill egoji, when one can be free in its play as a needed, useful tool-- free in the divine Swa Lila's graceful Self-interplay, Jijimuge. Awake maturely to aware and intuit the intuitive Light that never was on land or sea, but ever IS." > But for all that, he did occasionaly come up with a gnomic utterance: > > "Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment." > > "Don't give your love: Radiate it like the sun, and egojies may vanish like shadows in the Self Sun." > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 , "Era" <n0ndual@w...> wrote: > > The most significant spiritual encounter in Shunyata's eyes was the one with Sri Ramana Maharshi mentioned above. Shunyata visited him at his ashram in Arunachala in 1936 and was introduced to the Maharshi by the author Paul Brunton who had noticed him as a westerner > > "gone native squatting along the wall" amongst the crowd. Afterwards, Brunton wrote to him to say that Ramana had said that Shunyata was "a rare born mystic." > > Shunyata was fond of telling this story, and also the one about his silent communion with Ramana. This happened a year after the first visit when Shunyata was sitting, along with other visitors, in front of Ramana. He had not asked a question nor made his presence known in any particular way. > > "We (became aware of) a special effulgence specially radiated and directed towards our form . . .five English words came suddenly upon us out of Silence. These were totally unsolicited but we took them as recognition, initiation, name and mantra: "WE ARE ALWAYS AWARE, SUNYATA." > > This was the origin of his name. > The Chinese term for sunyata (which Shunyata defined as 'a full emptiness') is Wu. This was a word that Shunyata was particularly fond of. After his visits to Sri Ramana Maharshi, he began to write diaries and letters creating his own vocabulary which he called 'scribble', 'Viking runes' and 'Wu language'. > > In 1973, some members of the Alan Watts Society arrived at his door, sent there by his neighbor, Lama Anagarika Govinda, and ended up asking him to come to California. > > "I have nothing to teach, nothing to sell," was his reply. When they got back to Sausalito, they found that Watts had died in their absence. > > So they renewed their invitation -- one of them said later that they saw in him what Watts had been writing about all his life -- and in 1974 Shunyata set out on a four-month, all-expenses-paid visit to California (during which he 'gave darshan' at Esalen and Palm Springs amongst other places). Finally, in 1978, he moved to California for good -- at the age of 88 and after spending nearly half a century leading a life of the utmost simplicity in a remote corner of > India. > > It is fair to say that most Westerners who met Shunyata in California (and elsewhere in North America) found him rather odd, voicing such comments as: > > "For the newcomer it could he most confusing. Here is a man who looks to me like a woman, talking in an accent I cannot place, in a voice that is sometimes too soft to hear, about subjects which are both subtly and grossly removed from any view of life I am comfortable with, and who seems to be compulsive about uttering certain word formulas. The urge to see him as just another spiritual fruitcake could be over whelming." > > The simple explanation of this confusion is that Shunyata did not think in a linear fashion, and thus, therefore did not communicate, in a linear fashion. > > Witness a letter he sent to someone while he was visiting Chicago: > > "In Chicago we are Mr. Nobody and Sri No-thing-ness, and certainly Sri Wuji practices the Cult of Ur rather than the physical body-cult, sensuous pleasures or so-called happiness. Nor does he identify himSelf with tools and things, concepts, precepts or percepts. Yet he seems to be on good terms with all bodies and all things, body-minds, ego-souls and even with dust and death. He awares that our identifications with tools, concepts and percepts is a fatal bar--a hindrance to our freedom, enlightenment and salvation from ego-consciousness. Ego oblivion is Self awareness, Christ-conscious ess, Grace in the integral Ghostly Whole. Self awareness is pure Grace. 'To the pure all is pure' is gospel truth. Why harrass or kill egoji, when one can be free in its play as a needed, useful tool--free in the divine Swa Lila's graceful Self-interplay, Jijimuge. Awake maturely to aware and intuit the intuitive Light that never was on land or sea, but ever IS." > But for all that, he did occasionaly come up with a gnomic utterance: > > "Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment." > > "Don't give your love: Radiate it like the sun, and egojies may vanish like shadows in the Self Sun." > well, the above description seems to show someone who identified with the non-identified... a highly evolved, "naturally born mystic" as ramana said. but in no way a realized/fully awakened being like ramana, who simply was "it". without any identification. respectfully yosy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Yosy are you posting from Amsterdam NL? Just curious? :>) Randy , "yosyx" <yosyflug@i...> wrote: > > , "Era" <n0ndual@w...> wrote: > > > > The most significant spiritual encounter in Shunyata's eyes was the > one with Sri Ramana Maharshi mentioned above. Shunyata visited him at > his ashram in Arunachala in 1936 and was introduced to the Maharshi by > the author Paul Brunton who had noticed him as a westerner > > > > "gone native squatting along the wall" amongst the crowd. > Afterwards, Brunton wrote to him to say that Ramana had said that > Shunyata was "a rare born mystic." > > > > Shunyata was fond of telling this story, and also the one about his > silent communion with Ramana. This happened a year after the first > visit when Shunyata was sitting, along with other visitors, in front > of Ramana. He had not asked a question nor made his presence known in > any particular way. > > > > "We (became aware of) a special effulgence specially radiated and > directed towards our form . . .five English words came suddenly upon > us out of Silence. These were totally unsolicited but we took them as > recognition, initiation, name and mantra: "WE ARE ALWAYS AWARE, > SUNYATA." > > > > This was the origin of his name. > > The Chinese term for sunyata (which Shunyata defined as 'a full > emptiness') is Wu. This was a word that Shunyata was particularly fond > of. After his visits to Sri Ramana Maharshi, he began to write diaries > and letters creating his own vocabulary which he called 'scribble', > 'Viking runes' and 'Wu language'. > > > > In 1973, some members of the Alan Watts Society arrived at his door, > sent there by his neighbor, Lama Anagarika Govinda, and ended up > asking him to come to California. > > > > "I have nothing to teach, nothing to sell," was his reply. When they > got back to Sausalito, they found that Watts had died in their absence. > > > > So they renewed their invitation -- one of them said later that they > saw in him what Watts had been writing about all his life -- and in > 1974 Shunyata set out on a four-month, all-expenses-paid visit to > California (during which he 'gave darshan' at Esalen and Palm Springs > amongst other places). Finally, in 1978, he moved to California for > good -- at the age of 88 and after spending nearly half a century > leading a life of the utmost simplicity in a remote corner of > > India. > > > > It is fair to say that most Westerners who met Shunyata in > California (and elsewhere in North America) found him rather odd, > voicing such comments as: > > > > "For the newcomer it could he most confusing. Here is a man who > looks to me like a woman, talking in an accent I cannot place, in a > voice that is sometimes too soft to hear, about subjects which are > both subtly and grossly removed from any view of life I am comfortable > with, and who seems to be compulsive about uttering certain word > formulas. The urge to see him as just another spiritual fruitcake > could be over whelming." > > > > The simple explanation of this confusion is that Shunyata did not > think in a linear fashion, and thus, therefore did not communicate, in > a linear fashion. > > > > Witness a letter he sent to someone while he was visiting Chicago: > > > > "In Chicago we are Mr. Nobody and Sri No-thing-ness, and certainly > Sri Wuji practices the Cult of Ur rather than the physical body- cult, > sensuous pleasures or so-called happiness. Nor does he identify > himSelf with tools and things, concepts, precepts or percepts. Yet he > seems to be on good terms with all bodies and all things, body- minds, > ego-souls and even with dust and death. He awares that our > identifications with tools, concepts and percepts is a fatal bar--a > hindrance to our freedom, enlightenment and salvation from > ego-consciousness. Ego oblivion is Self awareness, Christ-conscious > ess, Grace in the integral Ghostly Whole. Self awareness is pure > Grace. 'To the pure all is pure' is gospel truth. Why harrass or kill > egoji, when one can be free in its play as a needed, useful tool-- free > in the divine Swa Lila's graceful Self-interplay, Jijimuge. Awake > maturely to aware and intuit the intuitive Light that never was on > land or sea, but ever IS." > > But for all that, he did occasionaly come up with a gnomic utterance: > > > > "Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment." > > > > "Don't give your love: Radiate it like the sun, and egojies may > vanish like shadows in the Self Sun." > > > > > well, the above description seems to show someone who identified with > the non-identified... > > a highly evolved, "naturally born mystic" as ramana said. > > but in no way a realized/fully awakened being like ramana, who simply > was "it". without any identification. > > respectfully > yosy > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 > > But for all that, he did occasionaly come up with a gnomic utterance: > > > > "Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment." Hey, that is a famous Rumi quote! Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment; Cleverness is mere opinion, bewilderment intuition. Masnavi Book 4 Story 2 http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/mysticism/islamic.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 , "panamavolcan" <panamavolcan> wrote: > > > Yosy are you posting from Amsterdam NL? > Just curious? > :>) > Randy > > no, my friend. though i had the good luck to reside there for some years (during mid to end of the seventh decade of last century), and this is one of my favorite cities on this planet, if not the favorite. i love it. i post from a small town called yahud, few km east from tel-aviv. (lol sort of amstelveen) @}->,->'-- yosy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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