Types of Useful Information on the Path

This is a subject that I have discussed a bit in the forward but I mention it again here not because I am hard set against it but because the distinction is important for the adept to be aware of.  Too often we just accept these kinds of information without thought or consideration.  So if you roll your eyes when I bring it up - well, that is ok.  But it may make you treat the subject consciously rather than without consideration.

        To my mind there are three different types of valuable information I have gotten from spiritual organizations as I have traveled on my path. The first is the set of beliefs of any given organization, those things I am to accept as given because I am told that they are true. It is the kind that you think of when someone mentions doctrine. That kind that comes with a religion, creed, sect, cult or whatever. You might call this their picture of the way things are in the universe, i.e. who is in charge, who does what, who I am to pray to, etc. These beliefs often form the basis of this or that group’s theology. They are beliefs. No matter how firmly you believe these things, no matter if they are true, they are not typically things that you know. They are things that you believe, things that you are told. There is a difference between doctrine and knowledge. The difference isn’t that important when it comes to your chosen affiliation but it is vital when it comes to your personal path. You might say that doctrine is the map that is drawn for you of the scenery up the mountain, the characters you are likely to meet or are available for you to call on as you go, all those things which are outside of you, that make up the spiritual environment of your particular religion, sect or creed.

        It is possible that you do know rather than believe some of what is handed down in a church’s doctrine. But if you do it is because you have experienced it for yourself. You have had a spiritual experience yourself that confirms what you have been told. That is different. Then it is no longer doctrine. It is knowledge that comes to you from experience, from the events of your own journey. These are invaluable for they give you great power and momentum on your path.

        The second is the instruction manual for how to progress on the spiritual path. This second assumes that the doctrine calls for that kind of effort on the part of the member. Faiths that teach that you only need to make a level of commitment to achieve the goal often don’t recognize a process for spiritual growth. For those sets of beliefs, the spiritual process is a leap rather than a journey.  In that case much of what I am talking about, rather than being part of the journey, will be part of the process of adjusting to the environment at the top of the mountain.

        The third are the laws that you must keep.  That kind of information straddles the line between the other two. 

        In the west we tend to get the first type of information, a set of beliefs, especially at the lower levels of spiritual commitment. One example is the Apostle’s Creed that is spoken at every Sunday mass. It lists out the most basic tenets of Catholic belief. In the East the word they use is Dharma. The three pillars of Buddhism are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. At their simplest they are the guru, the teachings and the followers. The teachings in both Hinduism and Buddhism are more of a mix of both beliefs as to how things are and instructions as to how to get where you want to go. Even so, in both the East and the West the instructions for walking the path are left either for the initiate to find or left to be given by a teacher if the initiate has the gumption to seek one out.

        In any event, when I use the word doctrine in this book I mean the first type of information, that information disseminated by a church to tell you what you need to believe in order to be a member of that church. You may have noticed that I am careful not to use the word dogma. For the purposes of this book I have a different definition for the word ‘dogma’.  For an explanation of the difference between my use of the word ‘dogma’ and ‘doctrine’ please see the forward. While I am not a fan of doctrine neither do I dismiss its’ importance. The acceptance of a doctrine at the beginning of your ascent up the path can give you an important grounding, a framework in which to orient yourself and to begin to experience the environment of the spiritual path. The big issue is what you do with it.