Comments on: A god is dead

By: Mary Hill

Mary Hill — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 23:58:51 +0000

I was not aware of any misconduct accusations towards Culadasa, when he was a massage therapist. When Dharmatreasure posted the public letter, I had a relationship with my Bodhgaya TT TMI class, and other TMI teachers (both in training and certified). I also had and continue to have a relationship with Dharmatreasure. Having gone through a divorce myself, I felt very sad for both he and his wife, Nancy. Divorces and/or legal separations of financial assets turn into a she said/he said situation. Each human is unique. Each human will view any situation through his/her/their own conditioned experience of reality. I began meditation practice in 1990. To examine my own conditioned view of reality, and learn to be “present’. That’s why I couldn’t and still won’t “take sides”. I suppose my neutral stance is influenced by my study of cognitive neuroscience at age 20. Reading a lot about the differences between men’s and women’s brains, whilst raising my now 30 year old son. And deep dives into anthropology studies, during TMI TT. Dharmatreasure offered and I took a class called Dedicated Practitioner’s Training. There I learned about the 8 fold path, and the practice of Sila. From the Bible: John 8:7 So when they continued asking Him, He lifted Himself up and said unto them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Sexual urges are natural and normal mammalian functions. Different spiritual traditions, around the world, have different rules and vows. The specific agreement between John Yates and his wife, Nancy, will remain, forever, hopefully personal, and between them. Was John Yates a “sex addict”? That’s for him to know, and he has passed away, from metastatic cancer. And it’s pretty hard to not be some kind of addict, in USA society. I studied addiction extensively, because of a family member. Best work I came upon was/still is:Anne Wilson Schaef was an American clinical psychologist and author. Her book When Society Becomes an Addict, in which she compared Western culture to an active alcoholic, made the New York Times bestseller list and was nominated for Best Political Book of the Year. I still practice TMI. For me, my mundane self, it creates a simple structure that works. Thanks Gabriel, for your post. And thank you for everyone who commented. Blessings, Mary Hill

By: Greg

Greg — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 15:26:10 +0000

Perhaps it is necessary to reassess certain assumptions about morality which stem from the traditions which are the bedrock of meditation practice. The methodology may be effective and the results profound, but it could be separated from moralistic dogma which might even be simply dated.

I think it is entirely possible, hypothetically, for someone to achieve awakening and all practical outcomes associated with Buddha but also live a highly immoral life, whatever that is. This may be uncommon because meditation practice tends to go hand in hand with at least some degree of prescriptive moralising due to it’s typically inextricable link to theology; and also because it works to diminish the impact of egotistical and selfish intentions, among other factors. It is taken for granted then that a moral life is both a necessity and product of meditation practice. Perhaps the next stage in the evolution of such practices is the boldness to recognise that there are still some extraneous elements and that there might yet be an even purer truth which can be awakened to.

By: Wondering

Wondering — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 03:31:19 +0000

I was put off several years ago by the controversy over his work history and the cagey way he responded to questions on the subject. Has your view on this issue changed since the newer scandals broke or is there information I am missing that clarified the mystery of where exactly he taught?

By: Jonathan Sepulcro

Jonathan Sepulcro — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 06:54:59 +0000

Romans 3:10-12
10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”

By: John Barnes

John Barnes — Sat, 04 Jul 2020 10:56:57 +0000

Very well said

By: John Barnes

John Barnes — Sat, 04 Jul 2020 10:54:08 +0000

Very pleased to have found these posts. As with many others who believed “The mind illuminated” was the guide they had been looking for all these years, I too was disappointed to hear of Culadasa’s fall from grace. I guess like many others we are looking for spiritual guidance and can put our faith in those who seem to provide it. Many of the comments are reassuring, confirming that our quest for actualisation is of itself still a valid approach to life’s difficulties.

By: A fuller

A fuller — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 19:59:00 +0000

One cant reach enlightenment if one does not practice moral behavior in body, speech and mind. Otherwise, why would the Buddha follow the eightfold noble path? I do not believe that becoming enlightened means you’re beyond integrity!

By: Mike W.

Mike W. — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 15:27:08 +0000

I’m currently looking for a mediation teacher to guide me with my developing practice. I found someone local at the Dharma Treasure website- though I’ve not yet reached out – who is currently “in training” in the “TMI” method…..then I came across this story about John Yates. At the end of the day, he aggressively violated Sila and knowingly deceived a lot of sincere people, let alone his own family, over and over again. Though I’m a forgiving person, how can I look in the general direction of John Yates for guidance, when he himself needs so much of it. What a sad situation.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 16:32:07 +0000

How do we know how advanced Culadasa really was? My thinking on this has been that before we answer the question of how an awakened person can do bad things, we need better evidence that someone really is awakened. Right now it’s done on the basis of advertising – people make claims and write books/give talks, etc. But how do we know what their meditation is really like?

What if before we really look up to anyone as a teacher, we require them to demonstrate that they can indeed sit for long periods without distraction? That can be done through EEG machines. Set someone up with a 6-hour video and an EEG, and we can see if their brain-waves are alpha or lower and there’s no movement for all those 6-hours. Then we would know if they actually can remain sitting and free from distraction.

This isn’t a perfect measure, it doesn’t prove they’re not going to then do something harmful. But it least shows they can reach deep meditative states. Right now we really don’t know how good a meditator these people are.

By: Jan Bowman

Jan Bowman — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 19:19:00 +0000

How about words like “deception,” or “honesty?” Do they mean anything outside of the Judeo-Christian ethos? And if one chooses to observe those rituals and marries and then comes to eschew that ritual or “transcend” them,, do they have any duty to openly discuss their change of mind about them? It’s not the adultery but the dishonesty, including about the idea of “awakening” and “enlightening” that I find problematic. The lusts, the struggle, all fine, all human. The deception and double life and most important, the failure to openly own the deception in good faith, also human, disappointing, and not trivial, IMO.