logy—the science of the West has now proven ‘is the abode of everything that is latent’[1]) is likewise described, there is this additional passage: ‘Thus he calleth to mind the various appearances and forms of his previous births. This is the first stage of his knowledge; his ignorance [as regards prior births] hath vanished, and his knowledge [as regards prior births] hath arisen: darkness hath departed, and light hath arrived, the result due to one who liveth in meditation, subduing his passions promptly.’[2]
Nowhere, to our knowledge, are there nowadays—as there are said to have been in Buddhaghosa’s time—yogīs among Southern Buddhists who have carried this practice to a successful issue. It is only among Northern Buddhists (as among Hindus) that such yoga seems to be, according to trustworthy evidence from well-informed Tibetans and Indians, a practically applied science even until now, producing modern saints, some few of whom are believed worthy to be called perfected saints, or Arhants.
As the question, What is and is not the right interpretation of the Rebirth Doctrine? is by no means settled among the Oriental peoples who hold the Doctrine, it is necessary for us frankly to recognize the problem as highly controversial. Consequently in this Section we should try to weigh both interpretations carefully; and, if possible, arrive at a sound conclusion, in order to guide the student aright in what is the most fundamental doctrine underlying the Bardo Thödol. In doing so, it seems desirable to invoke the aid of such facts of Western Science as appear to be directly applicable.
As to the esoteric interpretation, the editor has discovered that the initiates who hold to it invariably follow the Buddha’s command as contained in the Kalama Sūtta, Anguttara Nikāya,
- ↑ William James, Varieties of Religious Experiences (New York, 1902), p. 483.
- ↑ Cf. translation by E. R. J. Gooneratne, Anguttara Nikāya, Eka Duka and Tika Nipata (Galle, Ceylon, 1913), pp. 188–9, 273–4. Passages parallel to these are contained in the Kandaraka Sūttanta and Potaliya Sūttanta of the Majjhima Nikāya (see translations by Bhikkhus Narada and Mahinda in The Blessing, Colombo, Ceylon, Jan. and Feb., 1925, vol. i, nos. 1 and 2). Buddhaghosa, in his Vissudhi Magga (i.e. ‘Path of Purity’), gives in more detail similar yogic methods for recovering (from the subconsciousness) memories of past births.
