Theos-Talk Archives (March 1995 Message tl00102)

Paul<She does mention that her Tibetan teachers were
amused and surprised by the idea of precipitation of
letters, apportation of objects, etc. being
associated with their practices, and considered the
thought an irreverent joke.>

I am not surprised by this.  I have read a lot of
Tibetan material myself over the years, and have never
once come across such a thing.  It probably isn't
Tibetan, but rather a stray occult/magic thing that the
Mahatmas picked up somewhere along the line (?).

Paul <That's the gist of it.  Interesting re HPB is
that the present Dalai Lama has called ADN the first to
bring true knowledge of Tibet to the West.>

Again, I am not surprised.  And actually, I agree with
H.H. on this one.  My reasoning is that ADN taught pure
Buddhism as she learned it in Tibet, while HPB and
Evans-Wentz also taught other philosophys and did not
teach pure Buddhism (in the sense of *only* Buddhism).
Eldon rightly has pointed out several times that
theosophy is not Buddhism.  However, I would credit HPB
with being one of the first, if not the first, to bring
the Mahayana concept to the West, which until then
associated Buddhism with the Theravadin.  Of course,
D.T. Suzuki and others expanded greatly on it, but I am
not aware of anyone before HPB's Voice of the Silence
who taught Mahayana doctrine.

Anyway, thanks for the info.  I look forward to
your book.

             Jerry S.