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Originally Posted by iamthat
There was a comment about a Buddhist man hovering about and you responded that Buddhism does not focus on the astral.
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Hm there is a lot to unpack in your statements.
First, when I said Buddhism does not focus on the astral, in my experience and understanding, no genuine and authorised Buddhist teacher teaches students to cultivate, focus, and experience the so-called astral.
If there is anything, the Buddhist teachings are for the direction of silence, truth, compassion.
I believe the "astral" can be a very interesting source of distraction and this is what I meant.
As far as you are concerned, Buddhists are no different to anyone else. And that is a very odd statement to my ears, because I don't see anyone claiming Buddhists are different. Furthermore, "Buddhists" is a very wide nomenclature of persons so yes, I imagine there would be all sorts.
And yet, Buddhism has quite specific directives, which are essentially outlined in the Buddha's Eightfold Path.
And then you talk about "Discarnate Buddhists," and that is also beyond my understanding.
Then finally you say, "Buddhism may not focus on the astral plane but Buddhists still have to deal with it."
In what way? Buddhists, whoever they are, if they are cultivating the Buddhist path, I imagine have more than enough to deal with - perhaps the astral is part of that, perhaps not. I don't know and wouldn't speak for all of them as to what is or isn't relevant and inclsuive of their experience.
Below is an excerpt by an esteemed Buddhist monk:
The questioner might then ask, "You say that all these visions are external, and that I can't yet put them to any use; if I stay stuck simply on the vision I won't make any further progress. Is it because I've been staying so long with these visions that I can't avoid them? Every time I sit down to meditate, as soon as the mind gathers together it goes straight to that level. Can you give me some advice on how to let go of visions in an effective way?"
Luang Pu would respond,
"Oh, some of these visions can be lots of fun and really absorbing, you know, but if you stay stuck right there it's a waste of time. A really simple method for letting go of them is not to look at what you see in the vision, but to look at what's doing the seeing. Then the things you don't want to see will disappear on their own."
Fom a genuine Buddhist teacher and I guess some might call, someone with some real experience in the tradition.
This is what I meant by "Buddhists do not focus on the astral," nor does any teacher teach cultivation of such, outside the core Buddhist principles and teachings.
Peace.