I haven't seen this one before. It looks quite a few years old. No real new information, but interesting nontheless.
Oddly, Tom refers to his Higher Self as Master over and over. I hope the article hasn't been altered to sound like that small guy off of Lord of the Rings!
http://godsdirectcontact.us/sm21/enews/htm/078/m.html
Article of Tom's
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Article of Tom's
It aint about who you love but do you love?
Michael Franti/Spearhead.
Michael Franti/Spearhead.
Marcus, this post of yours shook me since only one week ago, I was searching Usenet and came across a post in alt.meditation.quanyin from 1997, containing the entire article. Hmmm, a strange coincidence to find the article simultaneously. But I am also happy that we are actively searching, not just sitting on known stuff. Congrats to you!
Those seem to be genuine words of Tom. I remember that in his book "The Joy of Perfect Health", he calls a Master one famous woman who taught him (someone please supply the name) the Quan Yin way of meditation. In the book he called her Master, but in reality she calls herself Master, too, which is not modest at all and can mislead people. The fact that "Master" is used at all, can only be explained by the fact that "The Joy of Perfect Health" was written before Tom read Michel's book (the former book was published in 1995). I'm sure he would not call "Master" any person on Earth had he read "Thiaoouba Prophecy" earlier. So Tom's first and I think all the mentions of "Master" in the article except the second, are references to this "Master" woman, not the Higher Self. There's also no way Tom could send auric garments to the master HS!
Those seem to be genuine words of Tom. I remember that in his book "The Joy of Perfect Health", he calls a Master one famous woman who taught him (someone please supply the name) the Quan Yin way of meditation. In the book he called her Master, but in reality she calls herself Master, too, which is not modest at all and can mislead people. The fact that "Master" is used at all, can only be explained by the fact that "The Joy of Perfect Health" was written before Tom read Michel's book (the former book was published in 1995). I'm sure he would not call "Master" any person on Earth had he read "Thiaoouba Prophecy" earlier. So Tom's first and I think all the mentions of "Master" in the article except the second, are references to this "Master" woman, not the Higher Self. There's also no way Tom could send auric garments to the master HS!
Do you REALLY practice meditation? If your REALLY do, do you practice a GOOD method? Are you sure this is REALLY so?
Yes I remember finding this article about a year ago. If you read TJOPH, you can see how Tom has evolved and changed in his opinions of certain things. From my communications with him, he has changed his mind slightly since TJOPH about 'Master' Ching Hai, and so this could be just another small change. I was under the impression that Tom had already read TP when he wrote TJOPH, since TP is mentioned in the references section of TJOPH.
With Love
I realize this thread is old but I'll add what I've learned on this anyway, which is similar to Meedan.
I found that article on google after searching for “Tom Chalko” in google. I assume that at that point I’ve read all books on his sites except for The Joy of Perfect Health. My initial thought was “What the ----?”
So I basically berated Tom with questions on this issue because of the obvious contradictions between TP and Ching Hai. Instead of giving me a direct answer (I should have guessed) he kept telling me to read TFoC again and said other indirect things which you could basically assume to mean that he is for TP and not Ching Hai.
What's odd, however--and remember I still don't have any direct answers on the issue as a whole--, is that he must have read TP far before his attitude changed on Master Ching Hai. This is obvious because the article talks about chakra garments (inspiration for which came from TP). Unless the article is a fabrication which I HIGHLY doubt, as he holds a very high opinion of her in The Joy of Perfect Health. That news letter, by the way, isn’t dated but it’s from ~ early 1996.
So what I noticed in TFoC is that he talks about mantras and meditation. He says a) mantras are not sacred, but people who want money or followers would have you believe as such, b) no one should know your mantra because they could be able to have some power over you. As far as I know Ching Hai’s convenient method of meditation (the beginner’s version) has you chant her name as a mantra. On the other hand he states on his forums (which ofcourse came after TFoC) that a good way to learn sound contemplation is through her organization and that he learned it there - he has been experimenting with it ever since.
Now, what I assume is that a certain event changed Tom Chalko’s mind about Ching Hai (maybe she didn’t like those shirts he sent her?
) and it wasn’t from reading TP alone. Since TP even says people shouldn’t call themselves master (I guess this includes Supreme Master ), I assume her methods do actually work because otherwise there would be no bias for Tom to have towards Ching Hai.
So I don't know really. . . I guess that Ching Hai was a part of his spiritual progress and the fine points about it -- although I'd like to hear them -- are not important.
I found that article on google after searching for “Tom Chalko” in google. I assume that at that point I’ve read all books on his sites except for The Joy of Perfect Health. My initial thought was “What the ----?”
So I basically berated Tom with questions on this issue because of the obvious contradictions between TP and Ching Hai. Instead of giving me a direct answer (I should have guessed) he kept telling me to read TFoC again and said other indirect things which you could basically assume to mean that he is for TP and not Ching Hai.
What's odd, however--and remember I still don't have any direct answers on the issue as a whole--, is that he must have read TP far before his attitude changed on Master Ching Hai. This is obvious because the article talks about chakra garments (inspiration for which came from TP). Unless the article is a fabrication which I HIGHLY doubt, as he holds a very high opinion of her in The Joy of Perfect Health. That news letter, by the way, isn’t dated but it’s from ~ early 1996.
So what I noticed in TFoC is that he talks about mantras and meditation. He says a) mantras are not sacred, but people who want money or followers would have you believe as such, b) no one should know your mantra because they could be able to have some power over you. As far as I know Ching Hai’s convenient method of meditation (the beginner’s version) has you chant her name as a mantra. On the other hand he states on his forums (which ofcourse came after TFoC) that a good way to learn sound contemplation is through her organization and that he learned it there - he has been experimenting with it ever since.
Now, what I assume is that a certain event changed Tom Chalko’s mind about Ching Hai (maybe she didn’t like those shirts he sent her?
) and it wasn’t from reading TP alone. Since TP even says people shouldn’t call themselves master (I guess this includes Supreme Master ), I assume her methods do actually work because otherwise there would be no bias for Tom to have towards Ching Hai.So I don't know really. . . I guess that Ching Hai was a part of his spiritual progress and the fine points about it -- although I'd like to hear them -- are not important.
Normally the word Master refers to the duality Master-Slave, and generally points to some hierachy or whatnot. However, one can also use the word Master for 'someone who has Mastered himself'. In any case, it is not the word Master which directly points to 'trouble' but the meaning behind it.
Don't read my signature.
I didn't state otherwise. . .Alisima wrote:Normally the word Master refers to the duality Master-Slave, and generally points to some hierachy or whatnot. However, one can also use the word Master for 'someone who has Mastered himself'. In any case, it is not the word Master which directly points to 'trouble' but the meaning behind it.
His attitude changed regarding Quan Yin method of meditation basically because of his own honest introspection. In TFoC forum he mentions (I'm recalling from memory) he kept asking questions that were never properly answered and these inspired his search for alternative answers. I believe his leaving Quan Yin (pretty much like my own) was catalyzed by this!dloheb wrote:What's odd, however--and remember I still don't have any direct answers on the issue as a whole--, is that he must have read TP far before his attitude changed on Master Ching Hai. This is obvious because the article talks about chakra garments (inspiration for which came from TP). Unless the article is a fabrication which I HIGHLY doubt, as he holds a very high opinion of her in The Joy of Perfect Health. That news letter, by the way, isn’t dated but it’s from ~ early 1996.
I myself was an initiate in the Quan Yin (QY) meditation. I can say, strictly on a personal basis, that its gentle philosohy is tremendously appealing and this is the reason why I embraced its practice. At this point I should also say that Supreme Master is the name QY practioners use to address Master Ching Hai and not her about herself as some people may think. Also I can say that the Mantra taught in this method is NOT the Master's name but that's all I can say. In my case, being a westerner, there were a few things related with the Quan Yin practice and the information that was given to us that was "too hard to swallow". I attribute it to the way Master Ching Hai was indoctrinated by her previous Masters and it seems to me they were related with Buddhist traditions and legends... I mean in no way any disrespect to the Master or any of her disciples or her teachings. My passage through Quan Yin was very smooth. Since I need to know the reasons for things, and answers were not arriving, I eventually stepped down from this meditation in a natural way. The details about the meditation cannot be given and here I will not break the vows I made although I'm no longer a practitioner. But Tom explains clearly the mechanics of the Inner Sound in TFoC (although he also never broke the vows he made during QY initiation).dloheb wrote:So what I noticed in TFoC is that he talks about mantras and meditation. He says a) mantras are not sacred, but people who want money or followers would have you believe as such, b) no one should know your mantra because they could be able to have some power over you. As far as I know Ching Hai’s convenient method of meditation (the beginner’s version) has you chant her name as a mantra. On the other hand he states on his forums (which of course came after TFoC) that a good way to learn sound contemplation is through her organization and that he learned it there - he has been experimenting with it ever since.
Now, what I assume is that a certain event changed Tom Chalko’s mind about Ching Hai (maybe she didn’t like those shirts he sent her?
So I don't know really. . . I guess that Ching Hai was a part of his spiritual progress and the fine points about it -- although I'd like to hear them -- are not important.
Having tried several methods of meditation I have one important lesson learned: it's not the method that matters (they're all just concentration exercises as Tom very well refers, since meditation itself occurs naturally during absence of thought) it's your commitment, discipline, focus and intention towards your objective.
“The best portion of a good man's life is his little nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love.”
~William Wordsworth
~William Wordsworth
I agree entirely. I think we shouldn’t get hung up on the term but be mindful, as you say, of its meaning.Alisima wrote: ... it is not the word Master which directly points to 'trouble' but the meaning behind it.
I, for example, am a Reiki Master – that is a standard level within the Reiki community. It is simply a title bestowed upon those who have reached the Third Degree, signifying that they can attune people and train them in this natural science. It’s the same point that Ptex makes about Quan Yin. It’s just a title. I do not think for a second that I am a Master of any kind in the strict sense/meaning of the word. In fact, Reiki Masters will tell you that they have not mastered Reiki but it has ‘mastered them’, in that they have accepted it into their lives.
There are many people in positions of power who do not go by the name of Master but think of themselves as such. That is what I believe Thao meant – not the word but the intent behind the word.
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
~ Socrates
~ Socrates