Animal Magnetism

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E-mail: bdea@buddhanet.net

Web site: www.buddhanet.net

Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc.

by Francis Story

Animal Magnetism

Attraction of Spiritual Leaders

Francis Story

1997 AN INWARD JOURNEY BOOK

INWARD PATH PUBLISHER

Penang, Malaysia

AN INWARD JOURNEY BOOK

PUBLISHED BY

INWARD PATH PUBLISHER

P.O. Box 1034, 10670 Penang, Malaysia

Tel/Fax: 04 890 6696 Email: sunanda@pc.jaring.my

SPECIAL THANKS TO

BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, SRI LANKA

FOR THE KIND PERMISSION TO REPRINT THIS ESSAY.

©BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY

©Inward Path Publisher 1997

any manner without written permission from the author and

publisher. For additional information contact the publisher.

Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Story Francis

The attraction of spiritual leaders / Francis Story.

ISBN 983-9439-03-0

1. Faith (Buddhism). 2. Buddhism—Doctrines. 1. Title.

294.342

PRINTED FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION

IJ004A: 2,000 COPIES 1997 IJ004B: 2,000 COPlE5 1997

BOOK LAYOUT AND DESIGN BY LIM HOCK ENG

PRINTED IN PENANG, MALAYSIA

Introduction

Faith* is in the mental factor which inclines,

pushes the mind onto the wholesome object. If

you see a Buddha statue and you wish to put some

flowers at its feet, it is the factor of faith which

draws your mind to the statue, the representation

of the Buddha. If you read a verse of the Dhamma-

pada and experience feelings of joy and peace,

then again the faith mental factor plays the role of

lifting your mind up to the Dhamma (as a non-

Buddhist might either not read the verse at all, or

else not appreciate the Dhamma in it).

In insight meditation the wholesome object on

which faith is directed to is the understanding of

mental and physical phenomena, of their causal

relationship and their universal nature of being

impermanent, unsatisfactory and non-self. Faith

is the confidence that thrusts the investigating mind

with right understanding first onto the unique and

universal characteristics of mind and matter, and

ultimately on Nibbana.

* In Pall: saddha. According to the analysis of Buddhist psychology the

characteristic of faith is to place confidence In or to trust; its function to

clarify, as a water-clearing gem causes muddy water to become clear or it’s

function is to set forth as one might set forth to cross a flood. Faith is

manifested as non-fogginess i.e. the removal of the mind’s impurities, or as

resolution. Its proximate cause is something to place faith in.

Faith is vital in any spiritual endeavour. It is

because of faith that effort can be exerted, mind-

fulness established, concentration and under-

standing attained. Like the foundation of a build-

ing it carries all that which is above it, but is less

conspicuous, less distinguished by itself, compared

to such marvellous mental factors like mindfulness,

concentration or wisdom.

Faith has to be monitored! The agency which

controls and balances out faith is understanding,

or wisdom. Unlike mindfulness which is always

good, faith can take you onto wrong tracks if

associated with unwholesome intentions. Even if

faith is put on a wholesome object, for example

on the suttas or a capable meditation teacher, it

can be excessive and thus lead you to do all kinds

of weird things. Faith has the function to clarify

the mind. It is compared to the gem which purifies

muddied water. That is a very attractive mental

quality and sometimes taken as an end in itself.

An example: In a meditation centre a yogi is

sitting for a long time at the foot of the altar, gazing

into the beautiful face of the statue. The yogi is

enthralled by it, wrapped in blissful feelings of faith.

Although she or he has a wholesome state of mind,

it is stuck on a pleasant inner experience, unable

to observe and investigate the arising thoughts,

feelings, sensation, etc. with mindful awareness

and thus progress to an insight meditation proper.

Because understanding faculty is lacking the yogi

stagnates within a limited achievement of mental

development. True, it is better to be lost gazing at a

statue than, say, being lost in greed or despair playing

one’s fortune on the stock market.

Based on his vast experience in teaching insight

mediation Sayadaw U Pandita feels that Buddhists

in the West tend to be excessive in wisdom faculty,

while those in Asia are likely to overdo in faith

faculty. A Westerner might thus be too inquisitive

and critical to ever closely follow the instructions

of the teacher, and stick to her or him through all

ups and downs of the practice. Asians on the other

hand might get stuck on worshipping all the monks

and nuns they see, neglecting thereby their own

mental development through meditation.

And of course there can be excesses not only in

individuals but in groups too. The cases of spiritual

teachers and groups succumbing to the seduction

of cult worship are legion. There are gross cases

like the Thai monk who enjoyed posing, like a

film star and was hailed as being, an Arahant

(photographs of him hung in a thousand living

rooms) only to turn out to have had secret affairs

with his female followers.

More interesting, and I think more challeng-

ing to be detected and understood, are the subtler

aspects of personality cult, occurring right in the

midst of our community and our hearts. Can we

have a good hard look at our own idiosyncrasies,

for example our tendency to put those whom we

consider noble and good up on a pedestal? Isn’t it

absolutely fascinating to see how excessive faith

and respect can affect our natural behaviour, as it

is so often seen when meditators go to interviews

moving awkwardly and unnaturally, and experien-

cing non too often a blank and stupid mind, simply

because they are overwhelmed by feelings when

reporting to a senior monk?

Exactly what happens when faith takes over our

capacity to appraise in a healthy way a given

interaction or teacher-student relationship? Let us

use a concept from Western psychology to shed

more light into this area.

Western psychology says that the human psyche

has a powerful inherent tendency to project aspects

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