tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post110868329347026887..comments2023-10-09T22:44:56.500-07:00Comments on WHAT enlightenment??!: In The Hope Of A Shared Inquiry Toward Deeper TruthUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1109729289068055772005-03-01T18:08:00.000-08:002005-03-01T18:08:00.000-08:00I once heard Andrew speak about the heart. He said...I once heard Andrew speak about the heart. He said, "In the heart of which I am speaking, the universe is a speck of dust." Pretty big heart!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1109108221763049102005-02-22T13:37:00.000-08:002005-02-22T13:37:00.000-08:00I first met Mr. Cohen back in the early 1990’s. He...I first met Mr. Cohen back in the early 1990’s. He was well-groomed on all levels. He was handsome, charming, powerful, clear and impeccably presentable on all levels. His brightness and the pristine nature of his teachings were visible and tangible. And this brightness was reflected in the eyes and demeanor of his students.<br /><br /> No more, no more.<br /><br />These entries from Craig Hamilton seem unnecessarily defensive and childishly immature. And as I read the reactive statements and zealous rebuttals, I was reminded of a very famous Zen story of the two monks.<br /><br /> Briefly, (and this is my own rendition) there were two monks traveling on the road together and they came upon a prostitute in distress overlooking a river. She was in dire need of crossing and was afraid. The one monk decided although strictly against his vow of ever touching a woman that the service of helping her across the river was a higher practice. He offered to carry her and very quickly he was wading across the waist-high water with her on his shoulders. His fellow monk and traveling companion followed along behind incredulous. The first monk placed the woman down safely on the other side. And the two continued to walk on. The second monk fumed with indignation, judgementalism and false righteousness until he felt as if he would explode. The second monk broke the silence and admonished the first monk for breaking his vows. The first monk calmly pronounced:<br /> “I put her down over an hour ago, along by the river...and You are still carrying her!”<br /><br /> Some of the people who have left Andrew seem to be clearly processing what happened and honestly working through the ‘blame game/guilt game’ that most students must confront in order to practice real spiritual work. And I was moved by their desire and hard efforts to put it down by the side of the road, take what was obviously extremely useful in their time with Mr. Cohen and go into their lives more honestly and with greater maturity.<br /><br /> So, in contrast, Craig’s responses seem petty and lacking true insight...hence not willing to really let them go. I’ve lived in spiritual communities, I know the choice one can make inside to really let people leave, of their own free will and wish them well, in some cases missing their participation deeply. It’s not unlike a divorce. It can be messy, full of hooks, resentments and anger that can fester for years. Or one can grieve over the missed opportunities, the mistakes of the other and more importantly the mistakes one has made with ruthless self-honesty and thus awaken the transforming power of remorse. Then, no matter how painful, the parting can be with some grace and dignity. It takes tremendous strength of maturity to truly let go. It is an awesome thing to witness. The drive to belittle and criticize those who choose to leave as always being a function of ‘them just not getting it’ or ‘letting their ego get the best of them’ also presumes with it that those that stay in the close proximity of their spiritual group in which they study with a teacher or a particular path, means that ego is not getting the best of one. I have observed this dynamic in myself to be a very, very dangerous assumption.<br /><br /> I used to read the magazine, “What is Enlightenment?” cover to cover. Mr. Cohen appears to be overly impressed with brilliant intelligence and genius and seems to want to equate that with an enlightened context. In fact, the word ‘enlightenment’ seems to have become an abomination in itself. In the great teachings of Mr. G. I. Gurdjieff, he describes the imbalances that can occur when there are deep mystical experiences that are not grounded in creating ‘a unified man’ as in the proper higher functioning of all three centers. That the intellectual center is functioning in the case of Mr. Cohen seems evident. Yet in regards to what may be lurking in the others?<br /><br />If any of this letter is of use to anyone, it is solely due to the blessings of my teacher and the grace of the lineage. And if it reflects immaturity and lack of understanding then the responsibility is solely mine.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1109000471373152252005-02-21T07:41:00.000-08:002005-02-21T07:41:00.000-08:00As another former, longtime and very involved stud...As another former, longtime and very involved student of Andrew Cohen, I can also say from much personal experience that Cohen definitely vetted each and every word expressed by Craig and Carter. He would never have allowed any public expressions relating to him or his publications to be made without his full involvement.<br />The unfortunate picture is that the ugliness of their letters is none other than Cohen himself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1108849058147035302005-02-19T13:37:00.000-08:002005-02-19T13:37:00.000-08:00don't for a moment think that Andrew didn't see ev...don't for a moment think that Andrew didn't see every word of Craig's (and Carter's) letter before it was posted, and likely added a few lines himself. As a former student, we know Andrew micro-manages everything including his student's public responses to such allegations as made on this blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1108780551340295832005-02-18T18:35:00.000-08:002005-02-18T18:35:00.000-08:00Bet Craig Hamilton got into some serious trouble w...Bet Craig Hamilton got into some serious trouble with Andrew for what he exposed via his comments on this blog. His comments do more to reveal the serious mental conditioning going on in the community than all the other contributions made by ex-students on this blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com