[QUOTE=AmirMourad;52459]Flexpinguin,
“Also, the picture behind your head makes it look like you have horns growing out of the side of your head, and the occasional cat’s meow in the background doesn’t jive with the message”
If you had truly understood the message, you would not have been concerned with such superficial things.[/QUOTE]
My point is that sometimes the message can become distorted by the messenger. But, please do not let that hinder you in sharing yourself. Keep it coming.
FlexPenguin,
“My point is that sometimes the message can become distorted by the messenger. But, please do not let that hinder you in sharing yourself.”
Seeing, yet remaining absolutely blind, hearing, yet remaining absolutely deaf - the ox continues chasing it’s own tail for another millenia.
lotusgirl,
“Can I ask what is your intention in making the video’s?”
It is simply out of a natural desire to share one’s own direct experience and understanding with others who are also capable of coming to their liberation.
Thank you and in that light it is accepted and appreciated.
You’re welcome. But your humor is always appreciated and often times has me rolling on the floor laughing!
You really need to check yourself, pal. An enlightened person would have taken Flex’s comment as constructive criticism. What did you do? You assumed an attitude of superiority, and responded with angry and degrading remark.
Of course, my mistake. I could have sworn you were aggressively promoting your claimed buddhahood, but then again, criticism of the enlightened one couldn’t possibly have any validity, could it? I was under the mistaken impression you’ve been putting these sermons out as universal truth, but as you say, it’s just your own understanding, from your own mind. How could I have been so wrong?
More often than not, I don’t even read your posts. But sometimes your overbearing nonsense just gets to be too much.
I think you’re still dreaming, pal.
Asuri,
"but then again, criticism of the enlightened one couldn’t possibly have any validity, could it? "
Yes, it could. But that is not what I have addressed. If you are interested in seeking Truth, then rather than focusing on a cat meowing in the background, you will be far more interested in what is being said. And if your receptivity is deeper, then you will be far more receptive as to what has not been said. When coming into contact with one who is sincere in the Way, I recognize him immediately.
“You assumed an attitude of superiority, and responded with angry and degrading remark.”
I was quite calm when I had written the message.
Asuri,
“I think you’re still dreaming, pal”
Ok.
OK, so you calmly assumed an attitude of superiority and responded with a degrading remark.
I thought I was fairly specific about what I object to. Amir holds himself out as a spiritual teacher, and not just any teacher, but a buddha, an enlightened being. I’ve studied these things enough to be able to recognize a false teacher, and in my opinion, Amir is one of the worst offenders I’ve seen. It’s very unfortunate that others may not have the knowledge to see this. The real kicker is the pretentious “I am a buddha” attitude that he has adopted. I often find this so offensive that I have to turn away before I finish reading the first paragraph of one of his posts.
Asuri,
“OK, so you calmly assumed an attitude of superiority and responded with a degrading remark”
You may see it in that way, as far as I am concerned I am simply being direct and straightforward. I must admit my approach is not of a grandmotherly kind. It is my intention to provoke. Insight rarely arises by way of everything being stable and harmonious. Just as a sword is sharpened by an opposing force against it, some friction is needed to heighten one’s understanding.
Asuri,
“I’ve studied these things enough to be able to recognize a false teacher”
It is not something that can be done by simply studying. To recognize a Buddha, you yourself must come to the same space as a Buddha, there is no other way. Otherwise, one can simply believe or disbelieve, trust or doubt, but one can never know. In Zen, it is said that when two Buddhas cross each others path, it is just like two theives meeting in the middle of the night. Without saying anything, without doing anything, the recognition is instantaneous, it is impossible not to detect the fragrance of the lotus.
“The real kicker is the pretentious “I am a buddha” attitude that he has adopted”
There is not a single human being who is not a Buddha. And while different minds and bodies may express themselves differently, all beings are of one and the same original nature. One has remained either aware or unaware of it, conscious or unconscious, that is the only difference.
Amir,
I think you will find, if you trully listen and are honest with yourself, the reason you are alienating so many people is not the content of your discouses, but your “I am awakened” attitude and your claim to be without ego or assumptions, but everybody else who questions you or criticises you has an ego.
I for one will admit straight off the bat I have an ego. But so do you, sir: your ego is the “I am a Buddha” ego. If you claim otherwise, then you are most assuredly being pretentious.
Then this is your problem. You said you did not understand why I threw the paper. I responded to you by telling you why. If you did not want to know, you should not have mentioned it.
No, you never told me why. You gave me a pretentious answer that people who have reached a certain level of enlightenment have an intensity behind their actions. I then refuted you by linking you to a highly esteemed guru and mystic, who does not at all behave like you do. I cannot think of one good reason why you would throw away the paper like you did, and then stare at it, and slowly come back.
In fact more often than not the masters I have seen always have a light heartedness and humour in their discourses. This is probably because they do not have to pretend.
I am not the only one who has noted the pretentiousness in your discouses. Now either this means either all of us are suffering from an ego problem and seeing our own problems in you, or, maybe - just maybe - we are all seeing the same problem in you.
Are you enlightened enough to note valid criticism and correct your errors?
Quote:
Originally Posted by LotusGirl
And just a general question to all. What is it specifically about what he says that angers you? I’m a bit confused, honestly. Is he enlightened? I don’t know him well enough to answer that. I just don’t see what warrants this angst.
Posted by Asuri:
I thought I was fairly specific about what I object to. Amir holds himself out as a spiritual teacher, and not just any teacher, but a buddha, an enlightened being. I’ve studied these things enough to be able to recognize a false teacher, and in my opinion, Amir is one of the worst offenders I’ve seen. It’s very unfortunate that others may not have the knowledge to see this. The real kicker is the pretentious “I am a buddha” attitude that he has adopted. I often find this so offensive that I have to turn away before I finish reading the first paragraph of one of his posts.
Asuri,
I am referring to content, not his attitude. Forget the perceived attitude for a moment and listen to the content. I don’t think he wanted us to critique his presentation. He would have asked for an offering (better than critique) if that were so. You say he is one of the worst offenders, how so?
Surya,
It seems you are clinging to this idea that a mystic, or a yogi, or a Buddha, has suddenly become a clone of every other mystic, yogi, or Buddha. In coming to one’s transformation, one does not abandon one’s own uniqueness. And although one may have come to a direct perception of one’s original nature, there are as many different kinds of personalities as there are human beings. Gautama Buddhas was a very different personality than a man like Bodhidharma. Gautama was a gentle breeze, Bodhidharma was a fierce storm. And if you just look - you will find as many different kinds of people as one can imagine.
“I am not the only one who has noted the pretentiousness in your discouses.”
What is pretentious is, without coming to your enlightenment, projecting your own ideas and assumptions as to how one should be. That is why one has put “humbleness” high on a pedestal, as though it is some great superior quality. For one who is clinging to humbleness, it may be even far more dangerous than it’s polar opposite.
Unless one has awakened such tremendous clarity, the mind can only see everything according to it’s identifications. There are some people are clinging to the idea that for a master to be awakened, he must remain celibate. The moment he is seen as having broken his vow celibacy, he has fallen from his high status. That is a projection of those who are clinging to the idea of celibacy, just as you are clinging to the idea of humbleness. And with these kinds pf prejudices, if one wants to find imperfections, one will find them everywhere - as many as any other human being. Jiddu Krishnamurti used to become frustrated quite often in his discourses, venting out anger. Seems to be very egoistic. Master Rinzai used to strike his disciples all the time. Seems also to be very egoistic. One other Zen master used to give sermons while drunk on sake. This does not seem to be the actions of a master.
Drop all of your prejudices as to how one should or should not be, and start doing the work that is needed to come to your awakening. Once you have come to the space, then the matter will be settled for you. Otherwise, desiring to see one’s own reflection, one is bound to leap into the water.
Amir, the irony here is you started all of this by saying that when you reach a certain level of enlightenment your actions has a certain intensity after I questioned you on why you threw the paper away in such an unnatural manner. Then I refuted you by showing how mystics and masters do not behave as you did. Now you are claiming that you do not become a clone of one another.
Everytime I read your posts I read only one thing, “I am a Buddha, enlightened, awakened and you’re not” Everything you say presupposes your enlightenment. You never say anything without boasting of first your awakening and enlightenment.
How about saying something without your usual, “Once you come to my level, then you will understand” crap. Do you not realise how much you are alienating people with this kind of talk? If you do not have even this much self-awareness to realise this, then forget about super-awareness.
Surya,
“the reason you are alienating so many people”
You have felt alienated. One should not be speaking on behalf of others.
“your claim to be without ego”
I have never said that I do not have an ego. In fact, to live without an ego is an impossibility.
No, Amir, in case you have not noticed. I am not the only one in this thread who thinks you are behaving pretentiously. Either we all are projecting our ego on you, or you genuinely have an ego problem of pretentiousness.
You behave like you are immune to criticism. There is another ego problem right there. You have convinced yourself of having awakened, reaching enlightenment, realising your Buddha nature, and there is another ego problem right there.
You sound more delusional than enlightenned.
Surya,
“Amir, the irony here is you started all of this by saying that when you reach a certain level of enlightenment your actions has a certain intensity after I questioned you on why you threw the paper away in such an unnatural manner.”
What is unusual to your eyes need not be something unnatural.
"Everytime I read your posts I read only one thing, “I am a Buddha, enlightened, awakened and you’re not”
I would not have bothered to speak of such things if you had not raised the subject. From the first message, I had seen very clearly that you were speaking out of a certain agenda rather than out of clarity. I have no particular attraction towards the idea of enlightenment, as far as I am concerned it is as ordinary as anything else. Nor is it meaningful to speak about the matter either, because we are speaking of a concept rather than the reality itself. And how “enlightenment” is interpreted for one person, may be something else entirely for another. To be awake is not somehow superior, neither is being asleep inferior, it is simply that there are various different states of being which are possible for man. Some states of being create suffering. Some states of being are liberated from suffering. If one is suffering, it is not something unfortunate. Without suffering, to move beyond suffering is an impossibility.
I may have come to a certain experience which has triggered some transformation. And my work is not yet complete - just as there are various depths and intensities of meditation, there are various depths and intensities of transformation. In this sense also, what one is calling “enlightenment” is also relative.
So I do not have any particular attraction to that word, to me it is as meaningless as the concept of God.