Stephan A. Hoeller

"Art is bestowed not by prosaic rectitude, but by the freedom of intuition, a function not bound by earthly rules." Stephan A. Hoeller



Reading Stephan A. Hoeller on Hermes,I was struck by how interesting ancient Greek mythology is. I was looking up Smaragdine Tablet, because Sangharakshita mentioned it in the Survey, and that led me to the Wikipedia entry on it, also known as the Emerald Tablet. That led me to Hoeller's essay. Fascinating stuff.

The ideal student

From the Survey (9th edition, 2001), p.40:

The ideal student of Buddhism would be one who, whether scientifically trained or not, was prepared to admit the possibility of a spiritual experience which would transcend the psychical senses and rational mind, and who would be willing to give unprejudiced consideration to the Buddha's claim that he had achieved this experience himself and that by following his teaching others might achieve it for themselves too.

Ratnasambhava mantra on YouTube

Also I have a new essay on Wildmind on an excellent book. A book I had to read 3 times to review, Sangharakshita's book on Milarepa. And when I say "I", I use that loosely. Bodhi is a great editor, he really deserves the credit for it's readability and clarity in many ways.