The Petrified Vision

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" It was all, quite literally, breathtaking. I seemed to stop breathing

altogether, absorbed in the Given. Here it was, this superb scene,

brightly shining in the clear air, alone and unsurpassed, mysteriously

suspended in the void, and this was the real miracle, the wonder

and delight) utterly free of " me, " unstained by any observer. Its

total presence was my total absence, body and soul. "

 

So, D. E. Harding describes the moment of his " enlightenment " in

" On Having no Head. " From this vision, he goes on to conclude

he has no head, and with this idea, the petrification of the vision

begins. From this petrification, he now assumes that the cause

of the vision was the realization that he has no head, and he

offers this shiny stone to others as a talisman to hold. A talisman

that if properly held, will bring about the same insight in others.

 

It is worth noting that at the time, he was hiking in the Himalayas

and the view itself was quite grand, and the physical exertion

intense. I have had similar visions on many occasions facing

different natural settings. In some occasions I was walking, in

others sitting, or even resting supine on the ground. Incarnating

the view, the absence of self, the sensing of voidness, all came

unsolicited, and probably uncaused, or for causes unknown to

me. Of course, I have worked with various practices for many

years, but I can't offer no particular sadhana as a cause.

 

Mind altering as such events are, we should resist the temptation

to petrify them with explanations. Not that the temptation is not

very hard to resist. Below is one of mine poetics petrification of

one of such visions.

 

 

Watching the sky last night,

someone forgot to watch.

Alone and alive was the night,

Teeming with stars.

 

Pete