medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Lama Govinda's
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lama_Anagarika_Govinda
account in his Way of the White Clouds
http://www.archive.org/details/TheWayOfTheWhiteClouds
seems to throw water on the whole "flying monks" bit as something of a
misunderstanding.
but, hey, this guy is just one of those New Age hucksters from the early '70s,
and what do those superstitious pagans know about anything anyway?
see below.
c
[p. 128]
The deeper meaning of "lung-gem" is that matter can be mastered
by the mind. This is illustrated by the fact that the preparatory exercises
are mainly spiritual, i.e, consisting in strict seclusion and mental
concentration upon certain elementary forces and their visualised symbols,
accompanied by the recitation of mantras, through which certain psychic
centres (Skt.: cakra) of the body, which are related to those forces
by their natural functions , are awakened and activated.
Just as in the "tum-mo" practices, which result in the production of [129]
"psychic heat" (for reference see pp. 159 ff. in Foundations of Tibetan
Mysticism), the adept has to concentrate upon the element "fire" in its
corresponding psychic centre and in all its phenomenal and essential
qualities and psychic implications, so in the case of "lung-gom" the adept
is required to concentrate on all the phenomena, aspects, and functions
of the vital element air.
"Gom" (sgom) means meditation, contemplation, concentration of mind and soul
upon a certain subject, as well as the gradual emptying of the mind of all
subject-object relationship, until a complete identification of subject and
object has taken place.
"Lung" (rlun) signifies both the elementary state of "air" (Skt.: vayu ) as
well as the subtle vital energy or psychic force (Skt. : ptiina}, Just as the
Greek word "pneuma" can signify "air" as well as "spirit," so "lung" can be
applied to the element "air" and to those bodily functions which represent the
material side of our vital principle, as exemplified by the process of
breathing and the faculty of movement, as well as the currents of psychic
energy resulting in various states of consciousness.
In combination with "gom," the word "lung" can only be applied to the
"prana" of various meditational practices, connected with the control of
vital functions of the human body through the finer forces of the mind.
***In other words, the "lung-gom-pa" is not a man who has the faculty to fly
through the air (a belief that has its origin in the wrong interpretation of
the word "lung"), but one who has learned to control his "prana" through the
yoga-practice of "pranayama," which starts with the simple function of
conscious breathing and makes it the basis of a profound spiritual experience,
resulting in a transformation of the whole psycho-physical organism and of the
very personality of the practitioner. Forces and faculties, which are present
in every human individual, are re-channelled and concentrated in a new
direction.
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