Drala
I just saw a point of connection between three great spiritual traditions I take interest in. They are the the Shambhala Lineage founded by Chogyam Trungpa, Rosicrucianism as interpreted through Paul Foster Case, and the Classical Yoga Tradition put forth by Patanjali. To exactly lay out the synthesis I am observing will be difficult as it will require great scholarship. I will thus leave only a quick note on it.
In Trunga Rinpoche’s work, one starts to experience magic or drala through the practice of meditation. By touching into one’s basic goodness, one begins to see things as they truly are. Even unpleasant experiences become teachers. To truly experience unpleasantness in one’s life or in other words, “evil” as a good thing due to its capacity to show where one is hooked and thus potentially be free of it looks a lot like the Grade of the Lesser Adept in Paul Foster Case’s book.
We don’t want to seek out unpleasantness necessarily but when it happens in our life we certainly want have tools for dealing with it and integrating it. It seems from what I’m reading in each of these three areas that the Shambhala Warrior and the Lesser Adept are the same fellow and the techniques employed are meditation as well as many of the practices of yoga. That is, PFC doesn’t go into much detail in his book about actual techniques but he does give a nod to Patanjali on many occasions.
I like this way of thinking. I like when many turn into one. Of course, this posting is not meant to be an exhausting synthetic academic treatise but it is a platform where I offer you dear reader my insight.
