Nicolas,

We humans have such a longing and thirst for authentic wisdom, but
unfortunately, we encounter so many along this path who are not as sincere,
and often they become very dangerous when they pretend to hold that wisdom.
The false guru is a phenomena found in almost every spiritual tradition and
is actually the opposite of wisdom because of the great harm it causes,
both to many authentic seekers and to the good intentions of the wisdom
tradition itself.

The charlatans who call themselves teachers but know themselves not to be,
are an example of great intelligence applied to the act of manipulation,
but as I said above, exemplify lack of wisdom in a most destructive way. I
experienced this with one such teacher, whom I only found out about
recently.

Many decades ago after my initial curiosity into Zen buddhism was awakened
by reading Douglas Hofstaeder’s Godel, Escher, Bach, I began dabbling in
Zen meditation at a local zen center in my then-resident city of Vancouver,
B.C., Canada. That led to sesshin retreats at the main teacher’s center at
Mount Baldy in California. I studied the philosophy of Zen and meditated
for a number of years. However, I moved on from it and after my beloved
grandmother died, my intuition led me to seek out a Tibetan lama who taught
me how to read the Bardo Thodul, also known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead
during that period of healing and letting go. I began studying in the
TIbetan tradition at that time, especially the philosophical concept of
Emptiness and the Middle Way of Nagarjuna. There were many amazing teachers
I encountered over the next few years as I deepened my knowledge. However,
I could not get used to the ritualistic aspect and the visualizations of
the deities. I was constantly trying to rationalize pyschologically what
these practices were about. I still feel to this day that there are
important pyschologically transformative processes that these practices are
attempting to enact but I feel that there is an overemphasis on the
traditional aspects, which do not translate well into a western context.
That's why I ultimately gradually left behind both religions on my search
for meaning, taking what I learned from both but aiming, as I always have,
towards a more universal, humanistic wisdom that can be accessible to all.
This is what has led to the emergence of the open protocol I'm presently
developing called "Deep Humanity". It is definitely a journey more than a
destination. I acknowledge I don't have all the answers, but having spent
many years on Peer to Peer thinking and commons projects, I feel more than
ever that the human species journey through deep history to arrive at the
present Anthropocene moment requires more than ever, a new kind of open
protocol wisdom commons where all human beings of every stripe can
contribute, and the cumulative wisdom shared freely by all without any one
single "guru" to evoke an unequal power structure. What I find is that
those power structures always offer the potential for corruption.

So here is my case-in-point. It was only a few years ago that the American
zen community was rocked by long suppressed revelations of sexual predatory
behavior of the main teacher, Joshu Sasaki. He was, incidentally, also the
late Leonard Cohen’s teacher.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nytimes.com_2014_08_05_us_joshu-2Dsasaki-2Da-2Dzen-2Dmaster-2Dtarnished-2Dby-2Dabuse-2Dclaims-2Ddies-2Dat-2D107.html-23-3A-7E-3Atext-3DSasaki-252C-2520accusing-2520him-2520of-2520engaging-2Cand-2520at-2520his-2520retreat-2520camps&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=hNYfy9SzbPraWS_TnBIjy6gsvH6wILU0MyOo3G3MHcM&s=gHmMfLpqT6hXvQO3bPFiDFWIAtyXlGGLPt5gzabf_3A&e= 
.

These cautionary tales consistently emerge in every tradition, bringing
suspicion to these ancient teaching traditions. In the Tibetan tradition,
there is the Karmapa controversy:

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__timesofindia.indiatimes.com_india_dorje-2Dno-2Dlonger-2Drecognised-2Dby-2Dindian-2Dgovt-2Das-2D17th-2Dkarmapa_articleshow_67279793.cms&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=hNYfy9SzbPraWS_TnBIjy6gsvH6wILU0MyOo3G3MHcM&s=dTJCW7AWCmy86edZEVKICaqUppi5-R15EM8aBhNTS1g&e= 

Also, not surprisingly nor coincidentally, the controversies
disproportionately involve male teachers, revealing the patriarchal nature
of these traditional wisdom systems.Religious systems are not immune to the
malady of the lust for power.

Part of my attraction to the work of Gregg, John and others here is the
idea of codeveloping an open wisdom commons for humanity. I feel there is a
need for humanity to have a central repository for wisdom, contributed to
by anyone, and allowed to be judged and experienced by all humans equally
as peers. In other words, applying a scientific peer review process to
wisdom from any current wisdom or spiritual tradition, as well as from
science and any other field. With climate chaos around the corner, of which
covid-19 is giving us a light taste of, there is more confusion,
polarization and angst than ever before. People are becoming
psychologically destabilized by the disruption that the crisis is causing
and it will likely only get worse as other large-scale climate impacts
begin to manifest in the world over the next few years. I believe humanity
is at a cultural inflection point and our collective action will determine
the course of our civilization for centuries to come. We have an
opportunity now to cocreate the conditions for a new wisdom for humanity,
and this could change the way we all think and feel, in profoundly
beneficial ways. Borrowing Jamie's "meme" idea, we could instill a new
viral meme that could become culturally entrenched that values universal
wisdom for our species as a top priority.

On Sat, 24 Apr 2021 at 00:56, Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Many thanks for this note of caution!  I am quite ignorant about. This
> domain of inquiry.
>
> G
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Apr 23, 2021, at 6:51 PM, Nicholas Lattanzio <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>  *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click
> links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the
> content is safe.
>
> ------------------------------
> I haven't looked at this link, but I have followed Jaggi Vasudev (*A* sadhguru,
> not *the* sadhguru) for several years now, including being a participant
> in a study as an experienced Yoga practitioner, most specifically in
> reference to having completed the Isha Inner Engineering Program that ended
> this past October (https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__clinicaltrials.gov_ct2_show_NCT04498442&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=hNYfy9SzbPraWS_TnBIjy6gsvH6wILU0MyOo3G3MHcM&s=lSk7a8QbKzgK9yH_qN1asgU6G6WJyEQU0iIDD9xTjsg&e= 
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__clinicaltrials.gov_ct2_show_NCT04498442&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=6wcwSlGsZ64a4u1tlhbhxCZE9UPeLeGml1WBuYE2hTk&s=QAzxTHRuhclwNg-DDhfYUvzz7OWms18lKY5gs-uldU8&e=>).
> Vasudev is a very brilliant man, he is also quite misinformed when it comes
> to his own traditions, particularly in understanding nonduality (he
> frequently bashes Advaitists in a way that shows he doesn't understand the
> school of thought), and frankly he is quite narcissistic. I am not against
> Vasudev, but he is not who he claims to be. He is very good at making straw
> man arguments, which is how he has somehow managed to isolate himself from
> the rest of the Hindu schools of thought. He has made outlandish claims
> about things from having meditated for several hours to heal a compound
> fracture to pronouncing that in a visit with nobel laureates that he was
> able to relay shockingly advanced and novel concepts in math and physics
> which was "nobel prize winning stuff" only to go on to say that he did not
> care for such prizes. The man is more a salesman than a guru, and I
> strongly caution vigilance and scrutiny in analyzing his work.
>
> Regards,
>
> Nicholas G. Lattanzio, Psy.D.
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 5:09 PM Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Hi Folks,
>>
>>   Gien shared a talk about Sadhguru at Harvard that I thought it was
>> helpful.
>>
>> I then found this talk:
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3DsO-2D19RK9VkE&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=hNYfy9SzbPraWS_TnBIjy6gsvH6wILU0MyOo3G3MHcM&s=ZcwSLCNYLFFd1WSy4Rlr3bIIFyW-3nrZysWJUab_mA0&e= 
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3DsO-2D19RK9VkE&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=wjF8cZoiFchamTuxBdDEmw&m=Dj6GOMyW9G-tkYuIIgwgJI2VxCvE4jY0HXmR_LwLSVk&s=AaRc3401Wb5ZRrchBmxRebZofNfpY0c1f27PLl0OsWk&e=>
>>
>> I found deep resonance with this and my path through psychology into
>> psychological mindfulness and wisdom energy. I also see huge amounts of
>> neurosis in the US precisely because we almost universally fail to
>> comprehend this wisdom from 15,000 years ago…
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Gregg
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ___________________________________________
>>
>> Gregg Henriques, Ph.D.
>> Professor
>> Department of Graduate Psychology
>> 216 Johnston Hall
>> MSC 7401
>> James Madison University
>> Harrisonburg, VA 22807
>> (540) 568-7857 (phone)
>> (540) 568-4747 (fax)
>>
>>
>> *Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity.*
>>
>> Check out the Unified Theory Of Knowledge homepage at:
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.unifiedtheoryofknowledge.org_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=hNYfy9SzbPraWS_TnBIjy6gsvH6wILU0MyOo3G3MHcM&s=vQdfowVr6gw1i60iMXiHnMsRJXS_dnMiz4nO65-sUs4&e= 
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.unifiedtheoryofknowledge.org_&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=6wcwSlGsZ64a4u1tlhbhxCZE9UPeLeGml1WBuYE2hTk&s=TEH1zgse46JK8EqUfeSz-nGp2dG-Csx7bJPpQx2lt2A&e=>
>>
>>
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