Theos-Talk Archives (November 1999 Message tl00229)

In a message dated 11/17/99 1:58:12 PM Central Standard Time,
gschueler@iximd.com writes:

> >>There is the judgment scene in Yama's court
>  which is sort of a moral self-assessment.>>
>
>  According to HH the Dali Lama, Tibetan Buddhism
>  does not recognize a life review as a part
>  of the normal death process.

In a lecture given at the TS at Wheaton in 1981, in answer to
a question, HH said two things.  One was that the whole universe
could be viewed as a life review process.  You reap karmically
what you sow.  Second that if a review of one's past deeds
takes the form of a judgment (that is really a self-judgment)
as a manifestation of them, then the Judgment Scene in Yama's
court, where one's good conscience and one's bad conscience
(both of which are beneficent and wrathful manifestations of
your own undeveloped Prajna/consort) recount all your good and bad
deeds to see how they balance out is a life-review.  That
is the original basis for my statement.

>  << First, according to Tibetan Buddhism, most ordinary
>  humans do not _have_ a "causal body."  Or at least, one
>  that is individualized.>>
>
>  Well then, here is one more difference between
>  Theosophy and Tibetan Buddhism (makes me wonder
>  why Blavatsky felt the need to go against her
>  Tibetan Teachers so much).

I don't think she did.  She, and even Taimini (who gets
much wrong), claims the higher bodies are undeveloped.
Buddhism would acknowledge that one cannot get what
one does not have virtually.
>
>  Speaking for myself, I have found from out-of-body
>  experiences that there seems to be a "body" of some
>  kind on each plane. This is in accord with the AB/CWL
>  model as well as G de Purucker. My "causal" body or
>  whatever we want to call it, is the one that I
>  seem to have when focusing on the causal plane (4th
>  plane up). I take the "causal" part mainly on faith
>  as I have no personal experience of it actually causing
>  anything.

There are two criterion, according to Tantric Buddhism, that
conclusively indicate whether or not one has contacted the
causal plane and/or have a causal body or an activated
causal body.  First, in the development of conscious presence
one can no longer be hypnotized or be susceptible to other
forms of suggestibility (psychedelic trip is mind amplifier
but amplifies that mind's on-going inner associative linkages
of suggestion).  Second, one no longer experiences dreamless
sleep.  Instead, a lucent state of awareness like a formless
samadhi is experienced.  If these two are not realized, it is
fantasy.
>
>
>  << Only Buddhas have the causal body (karana
>  sarira).  The causal body is the body of self-origination
>  or the absolute or dharmadhatu.  This is the Vajra-Body.>>
>
>  As I understand it, the Vajra-body is pretty much
>  equivalent to the subtle body of an Adept -- it is
>  created consciously and its use constitutes the
>  dreaded M word.

"Subtle body" in which system?  The Sanskrit for the
causal body in Buddhism is karana sarira.  The
Sanskrit for the subtle body is suksma sarira.
The Sanskrit for the gross body is sthula sarira.
The causal body becomes the dharmakaya, the subtle
body of a Buddha is the sambhogakaya, and
the incarnate/manifestation body of a Buddha
is the nirmana kaya (transfigured stula sarira).
The causal body of a Buddha is not "created
consciously," it IS consciousness as the creator
of all else.  I think you are confusing causal with
mental body.

More on this later...

Grigor