Theos-Talk Archives (February 1997 Message tl00406)

     HPB was a Buddhist, and she claimed to have been
initiated in Tibet.  Her writings do indicate a strong
understanding of Mahayana Buddhism, but the extent of
her knowledge of Buddhism as practiced in Tibet is
uncertain.  In the past, it was virtually impossible to
ascertain the closeness of her Theosophy to the
teachings of what is now called Tibetan Buddhism
(Vajrayana).  But today, with the wealth of books
on Tibetan Buddhism written and/or translated by Tibetan
Lamas, it is possible for any theosophist to reach her
own conclusion.
     Buddhism, as taught and practiced in Tibet, can
generally be grouped into a three-part philosophy with a
four-step spiritual path.  The first part is the Sutras:
a reading and studying of scriptural texts together with
the development of ethics and morals.  The second is the
Tantras:  rituals and yogic visualization exercises that
use emotions and mentality to overcome emotions and
mentality.  The third is Dzogpa Chenpo or Dzogchen:
yogic exercises intended to reach a state of non-duality
(samadhi) and maintaining this state in daily life.
     HPB and her theosophical successors generally have
emphasized the first or the sutric yanas.  Honorable
mention is sometimes given to the tantras ("The Tantras
read esoterically are as full of wisdom as the noblest
occult works." ES Instruction III, CW XII, p. 606).  But
tantric yanas are absent, and sometimes labeled as Black
Magic. There is no mention of Dzogchen at all. (The
above quote, which give Tantra equal billing to Sutra,
would not be accepted by most Tibetans who would suggest
that the Tantra yanas excel the sutric yanas by a wide
margin.)
     Training for the spiritual path as practiced in
Tibet includes what are called mudras or seals and these
are fourfold.  The first is karma (action) mudra which
uses a physical partner, jnana (wisdom) mudra which uses
an internal or imaginary partner, samaya (pledge) mudra
which includes using the nadis and chakras to generate
psychic heat and bliss, and maha (great) mudra which
accomplishes the goal directly using Zen-like
techniques.  None of these important mudras are
discussed in theosophical literature.  However, some
descriptions of the nadis and chakras were given out by
HPG near the end of her life, and this was carried
forward by C. W. Leadbeater in his classic 'The
Chakras.'  But even Leadbeater addressed only the
theoretical side, omitting discussions of any practical
applications such as the generation of psychic heat.
     What is especially unclear to us today, is whether
HPB was aware of Buddhist Tantras or of Dzogchen.  Was
she aware of the Tibetan emphasis on the need for a
qualified karma mudra?  Did she know that the Tibetans
teach many levels of bliss, and emphasize the need for
their attainment?   Or, did she deliberately omit these
subjects as possibly being too much for the puritanical
West?
     However we care to answer these questions, the wealth of
Tibetan books currently on the market suggests
that modern theosophists could benefit from a serious
study of these topics.  The spiritual path, as currently
taught in the modern Theosophical Movement, addresses
only the sutra stage, that of reading and study
coupled with ethical development.  While the need for
this stage is obvious, there may be a few theosophists
who hunger for more, who would dare to take another step
along the path, but who lack direction.  A few have
already addressed ways that we Westerners can stimulate
the chakras, but more needs to be done.  The difficulty
here is to demonstrate a viable spiritual path for
today's Westerners that embraces the theosophical world
view while going beyond the techniques currently
anctioned by the Theosophical Movement, which have
proved to be woefully inadequate.

Food for thought.

Jerry S.
Member, TI

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