Hi, I just wanted to add one thing to your very beautiful email, which detailed why people act the way that they do, and the various ways in which you can work with the situation you find yourself in.
Your present is a reflection of your past mind
The teachings say that what we experience is the result of our past actions. To that end, when you ask why you experience what you do, and whether it is a reflection of one’s own mind, I guess you could say that it is in particular a reflection of your own past mind. By which I mean that your mind in the past, whether in this life, or previous lives, has acted in many ways which have resulted in the situations you now find yourself in.
So in that way, they are not the result of what currently are, more to do with your past. In that way, they are not a reason to blame yourself for what you find yourself in, despite all your good intentions and actions now. Furthermore, ultimately these things are not real, they are merely appearances to your mind, the play of mind itself.
Karma Painting by Danittza Zimic
Relative and ultimate perspectives
So speaking relatively, as we focus on doing good actions now, our experience of the world will gradually change.
And speaking ultimately, all dharmas are ‘same taste’, all the play of luminous emptiness, without ‘good’ or ‘bad.
There are many ways to ‘handle’ our experience, as your email outlined, and to which I’ve added slightly to. The trick seems to be to find the angles which work for you, and just keep on ‘doing the right thing’ …..
Very best wishes to you in the Dharma, and wishing your obstacles and difficulties dissolve before you …..
the western, scientific point of view is ignorant and impotent to deal with demonic possession … they don’t even acknowledge that such a thing could happen.
My own experience in both the East and the West is that certain experiences respond better to Exorcism, and certain ones respond better to some sort of Psychiatric treatment.
Neither seems to me to be the absolutely correct approach and the other the incorrect one. Just different in view and methods, and therefore more or less effective in different circumstances.
And a further method of dealing with some of these situations is with spiritual practice, which can also resolve the situation in appropriate ways.
how and in what way in Chod is the body offered to the demons? And how do they feast upon them?
Historical Chodpa practicing Chod
There is a limit to what I can say in response to this, as the sadhana itself is covered by Samaya, so you would need the empowerments to practice Chod, and then you would receive the instructions which would clear up your questions. However, I can talk in very general terms, and hope that that will suffice.
Well, in Chod practice the body (and other dharmas) are offered in terms of visualisation, or imagination, if you prefer that term. By which I mean that in the course of the sadhana one visualises giving away your own body in order to satisfy all the beings that you are karmically connected with.
In the process, one works with one’s attachment to your body, which is a very deep seated attachment. And, one works with one’s attachment to a sense of self, which is even more fundamental.
In practicing these acts of compassion and generosity (mentally giving one’s body to be devoured by those who wish to devour it), one develops on the path. Of course, one also maintains a view of emptiness throughout.
External and internal demons
What is actually meant here by demon? Is it some kind of a beast? Or an evil spirit?
In the context of Chod practice, as I mentioned in my original post, demons are designated in two terms, both as seemingly ‘externally’ existing beings, and in terms of seemingly ‘internal’ mental states. In both cases the demons are to be pacified.
Chod is used to exorcise places and people, to clear away harmful spirits and demons, and it is also used to develop realisation of the nature of mind.
Do evil spirits exist?
Forgive me for not answering directly, but could I ask you a question in turn? Do you exist? Perhaps you could share your response to this, as I believe it to be a useful basis from which to answer your question.
The snowball of habit and action
Of course there are people who are constantly wicked? But from Buddhist view how do they function?
Actions breed consequences. When a being commits an unskilful act, then the tendency to commit further unskilful acts becomes that little bit stronger. We are creatures of habit, as they say. It’s rather like our actions cut a groove in a turning piece on a potters wheel … each time the unskilful action is made, the groove is cut into the piece, making us more likely to follow that groove the next time a similar circumstance arises.
Speaking relatively, the Dharma path consists of replacing our constantly unskilful actions or habits with skilful or positive habits and actions. Each time we do that we set in motion a chain of events that makes it that little bit easier to do further skilful actions. Until the point where we break through the chain of habits and realising the nature of mind, we no longer act from habit, nor create future habits (karma).
Snowball Effect painting
Vomiting razor blades
Is it true that your sister-in-law vomitted razor blades? I cannot believe it because how is such a thing possible?
Well, I wasn’t personally there, but have no reason to doubt what my wife saw. When living in Malaysia, I had friends who regularly saw spirits and ghosts, as common-place as people where I live now see dogs or cats. People becoming possessed, either intentionally or not, was common-place too.
My own experience is that the East is quite different from the West in a sense, that people view the world differently and experience it differently. One’s views and experience of the world is a product of one’s karma and past experience.
Coming back to live in the UK again now, I certainly experience the world here as being what used to be called ‘Godless’ – a very much less animate and vibrant world, in terms of the inhabitancy of the same space by beings of different types.
Do you exist?
If you feel so inclined, I’d be very interested to hear your response to my question ‘do you exist’, and hope this will prove a useful basis for intestigating your experience futher. Asking questions about what exists is one of the key means to develop ones view and provide the basis for direct experience of the nature of mind.
