Culadasa AMA is live!

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Noah D, modified 7 Years ago at 9/30/16 1:12 PM
Created 7 Years ago at 9/30/16 1:12 PM

Culadasa AMA is live!

Posts: 1211 Join Date: 9/1/16 Recent Posts
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMindIlluminated/comments/558se5/hi_i_am_upasaka_culadasa_john_yates_phd_author_of/?st=itq2ys1c&sh=796819ec

or search Reddit for "the mind illuminated" sub.
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Ward Law, modified 7 Years ago at 9/30/16 2:43 PM
Created 7 Years ago at 9/30/16 2:43 PM

RE: Culadasa AMA is live!

Posts: 123 Join Date: 9/7/15 Recent Posts
Thank you; very interesting. The number of questions amounted to a virtual tsunami of information for any one person to deal with. God save us from Copy & Paste.

I hope the content will be preserved and Culadasa will be given the time and space in which to respond. Someone who is highly motivated might even find the energy to go through it all and condense the questions for him.
T DC, modified 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 5:37 PM
Created 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 5:37 PM

RE: Culadasa AMA is live!

Posts: 516 Join Date: 9/29/11 Recent Posts
Just thought I would say, I checked out the AMA and the Mind Illuminated subreddit, which led me to look up Culadasa's ten stages of meditation, which I found here: http://www.consciouslifestylemag.com/ten-stages-of-meditation-complete-guide/

Based on the image he has come up with to explain these ten stages (here) it seems pretty obvious Culadasa based his ten stages on the Stages of Shamatha.  This is fine!  What seems somewhat disingenuis to me however is that, having read Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche's Turning the Mind into an Ally in which he describes the ten stages of Shamatha, Culadasa's ten stages seem like little more than a rehash of the Sakyongs writing using some different terms.  The terms are different, but the basic gist comes across the same, which seems a little like intellectual plagarism. 
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Pablo CEG, modified 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 5:58 PM
Created 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 5:54 PM

RE: Culadasa AMA is live!

Posts: 23 Join Date: 7/7/15 Recent Posts
T_DC you're speaking out of ignorance. If you ever have a look at his book, you'll find out that actually is Vipassana dressed up as Samatha. 
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Noah D, modified 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 6:02 PM
Created 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 6:02 PM

RE: Culadasa AMA is live!

Posts: 1211 Join Date: 9/1/16 Recent Posts
Surely Asanga's Nine Stages are easily recognized as the basis of both Mipham and Culadasa's works?
Marty G, modified 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 7:34 PM
Created 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 7:34 PM

RE: Culadasa AMA is live!

Posts: 95 Join Date: 9/3/16 Recent Posts
Culadasa makes it clear that his source is the 9 stages mentioned, 1 added. such things are based in experiential observation, not derived from another teacher ( in this case). I've found his unique observations of that structure to be remarkable and extremly detailed and quite dismilar in many respects to Miphan. No one owns those stages or observations about them. Culadasa has great integrity ( in my opinion) and would not plagarise another teacher. 
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Pablo CEG, modified 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 7:35 PM
Created 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 7:35 PM

RE: Culadasa AMA is live!

Posts: 23 Join Date: 7/7/15 Recent Posts
Yes, that's right. Culadasa quotes Asanga's "Grounds of Hearers" (Sravaka-bhumi), "Compendium of Knowledge" (Abhidharma-samuccaya) and "Ornament for the Mahayana Sutras" (Mahayana-sutralamkara-karika).
T DC, modified 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 9:41 PM
Created 7 Years ago at 10/2/16 9:41 PM

RE: Culadasa AMA is live!

Posts: 516 Join Date: 9/29/11 Recent Posts
Ok!  A quick google search of Asanga nine stages turned up a Cudalasa paper as one of the top hits, you all are correct!  Forgive my ignorance!

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