Apparitions of Bodhisattva Kannon and Kōbun Chino Otogawa

[bodhisattva]

Greetings,
I am Lance Carlyle Carter. Why am I at this zen forum?
I want to share some experiences and get commentary from those who might provide insight, etc. I have tried to find answers on the internet about the phenomena I recently experienced, but haven't yet. Decades ago I met Kōbun Chino Otogawa and did some zazen with him and other Bodhi teachers at Jikoji and Kannon Do, but had lost contact and was not aware that Kobun had passed on with his daughter in 2002 in a drowning accident. On March 25, 2018 I was thinking about those days when I knew Kobun decades ago and thought that I could have been a good zen student if he hadn't seemingly lost his temper with me one day back then and displayed his sword. Being a believer in non-violence I decided at that time that Kōbun wouldn't be a good teacher for me.

Anyway, on March 25, 2018, I became peeved at Kobun, but at that moment an apparition of the Bodhisattva Kannon appeared in daylight and pleaded for compassion and mercy for Kobun and all. She talked about Kobun's life and how great he was and after a few minutes she stopped and asked if I would consider giving compassion and mercy to Kobun. I said yes and she receded and then an apparition of Kōbun appeared. After that he appeared many times and took me to places beyond my imagination and made requests of me that are almost impossible. I made audio commentaries about these experiences that I sent to Bodhi members and found that Kōbun appears in many ways to those who had met him. I even sense his presence when I do zazen. Back then, I helped him with a booklet about bringing peace to the world, but I didn't believe that it should be done at the point of a sword, but he now wants it published. It is packed somewhere with a booklet I wrote about zen, which Kōbun read at the time and handed back with a wry smile.

I will present audio commentary and transcriptions of my commentary somewhere when available. Please use the Soto tradition explanations first out of the many viewpoints. Thanks.

My writings about ancient epigraphy and archeoastronomy are at:
https://independent.academia.edu/LanceCarlyleCarter

My animations about ancient epigraphy and archeoastronomy are at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSg-3f ... 7vDgsSny9g

Best regards,

Lance Carlyle Carter
(bodhisattva)

[ol' spikey]

Greetings,
I am Lance Carlyle Carter. Why am I at this zen forum?
I want to share some experiences and get commentary from those who might provide insight, etc. I have tried to find answers on the internet about the phenomena I recently experienced, but haven't yet. Decades ago I met Kōbun Chino Otogawa and did some zazen with him and other Bodhi teachers at Jikoji and Kannon Do, but had lost contact and was not aware that Kobun had passed on with his daughter in 2002 in a drowning accident. On March 25, 2018 I was thinking about those days when I knew Kobun decades ago and thought that I could have been a good zen student if he hadn't seemingly lost his temper with me one day back then and displayed his sword. Being a believer in non-violence I decided at that time that Kōbun wouldn't be a good teacher for me.

Anyway, on March 25, 2018, I became peeved at Kobun, but at that moment an apparition of the Bodhisattva Kannon appeared in daylight and pleaded for compassion and mercy for Kobun and all. She talked about Kobun's life and how great he was and after a few minutes she stopped and asked if I would consider giving compassion and mercy to Kobun. I said yes and she receded and then an apparition of Kōbun appeared. After that he appeared many times and took me to places beyond my imagination and made requests of me that are almost impossible. I made audio commentaries about these experiences that I sent to Bodhi members and found that Kōbun appears in many ways to those who had met him. I even sense his presence when I do zazen. Back then, I helped him with a booklet about bringing peace to the world, but I didn't believe that it should be done at the point of a sword, but he now wants it published. It is packed somewhere with a booklet I wrote about zen, which Kōbun read at the time and handed back with a wry smile.

I will present audio commentary and transcriptions of my commentary somewhere when available. Please use the Soto tradition explanations first out of the many viewpoints. Thanks.

My writings about ancient epigraphy and archeoastronomy are at:
https://independent.academia.edu/LanceCarlyleCarter

My animations about ancient epigraphy and archeoastronomy are at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSg-3f ... 7vDgsSny9g

Best regards,

Lance Carlyle Carter
(bodhisattva)

Hello Lance,
Welcome to the forum and thank you for your contribution. What you describe, seeing and hearing the apparitions of the Bodhisattva Kannon and your deceased former teacher Kobun, must have been very powerful. Certainly also, many readers might consider these experiences rare in the modern day, after the origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral brain.

I wish you best of luck publishing your booklet about bringing peace to the world. The world could definitely use learning about a path to peace. Because of the ongoing powerful and rare experiences you have described, and against a background of practicing psychotherapy as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Virginia and Maryland for ten years, I would urge you to explore your experiences with someone having similar credentials and expertise, if for no other reason than to rule out that they are problematic in any way.

I look forward to checking out your links in more detail, and I hope you will not find anything I have suggested to be other than compassionate and well-intentioned.

Yours truly,
Spike, "ordinary zenspace member"

P.S. Please feel free to private message me if you want to discuss further.

[jundocohen]

Hi Lance,

Whether it is "real" in an objective sense, or "real" only in your own mind does not matter so much, as it is real in some way to you. I am the type who is rather skeptical of an actual visitation to you from some hidden plane, but I do believe that you are feeling something. I am glad that it is a positive message and not negative or harmful.

I second what Spikey said about getting yourself checked out, just in case. Many times, a bodily health or psychological condition can trigger such experiences, so you want to rule that out.

In the past, Keizan and many of the old masters would feel that they had been visited by Kannon and others. Keizan wrote this in his diaries (from Bodiford, Soto Zen in Medieval Japan):

Keizan‟s faith in the mystical powers of spirits and of
divination was rooted in his own powers of shamanistic
communication. Keizan repeatedly conjured visions and spoke to
spirits in his mystical dreams. Shamanistic elements are not
unusual in meditative traditions such as Zen. Dōgen, for instance,
had met Chinese Ch‟an masters who relied on dreams to see the
future.Yet Keizan relied on his visions to guide every step of his
career. According to Keizan‟s own accounts, he selected the
location for the abbot‟s building at Yōkōji based on the approval
of a visiting rakan. He enshrined an image of Bishamon after
perceiving a promise of protection in a dream. He decided to
convert Sōjiji to a Zen temple only after Kannon appeared to
request him to do so. When someone questioned the proper
geomancy of the mausoleum at Gorōhō, Keizan wrote that he
thought to himself, “At this monastery, from the very beginning,
in all matters I have relied on the interpretation of my dreams”
and then decided that his next vision would determine the location
of the mausoleum.

Keizan‟s dream sequences illustrate how in medieval Japan,
the religious activity of a person reflected the sacredness of his or
her surroundings even as this same sanctified environment
authenticated one‟s religious quest. For Keizan, Zen
enlightenment entailed not just an ineffable insight into religious
truth but also involved repeated astral communion with the
spiritual guides who established the Buddhist path and guard
over it. In one remarkable dream sequence, for example, Keizan
described how he journeyed into other realms where the three
Buddhas of the past (Vipasyin), present (Sakyamuni), and future
(Maitreya) one by one confirmed his enlightenment. In other
dream episodes the native Japanese spirits of this world (kami
such as Hachiman, Inari, etc.) all praised his Zen teachings and
promised the future prosperity of Yōkōji. Visions of this type
were especially important in medieval Japan, not just to confirm
the veracity of religious experience but also as sources of political
and sectarian authority.

Dogen was rather more hesitant about such things. and required a face-to-face encounter in this world, not with the dead. I tend to be with Dogen on that. I recently had an encounter with someone else who claimed to auto-write a book dictated from an ancient Buddhist master and, well, I am rather doubtful of such things too. The quality of the book was not very good, and rather rambling, especially as purported to be from a great master. I would love to see your book however, not judging by any cover.

Gassho, Jundo

[lindama]

hi Lance,
you began by saying you would like to share your experience. As far as I can see so far, this is not the place.... neither is the internet. It's for you to sit with and go deeper. Only you can know. I don't consider your experience unusual tho it does call for some personal inquiry as to what your role is.... and whether it is a project that you feel is right and appropriate for you at this time. Whatever life brings us, there is always a choice.... even with the spirit world. It comes with the sovereignty of being human.

Intuitively, I would suggest that you find the source of this calling.... perhaps in a feeling you had when you left Kobun in your youth.... perhaps an aspect of a path not taken or a path to be taken now ... what does that mean in present day.... just a suggestion.... welcome it as a waking dream.

best wishes
linda

[Great Sage EofH]

A sword? So you were offended. That kind of makes sense in a way. I mean, since you held a view about non-violence and all. It's rather nuanced, being in one of the most violent nations on earth, believing in non-violence. I've understood our violence for what it is, I feel. Some of these Zen masters were 100% supportive of Imperial Japan, another blood-thirsty regime. I don't judge them because deep down inside we are no different. Maybe worse, since we used nuclear weapons on them. It is good to believe in non-violence in spite of all this. You were given a vision and asked to forgive. Whether it's authentic or not isn't the right question. If this vision did good by you and pointed you in the right direction, it's authentic in the sense that it worked. That's all you need to know. I don't really understand what your question is. He probably thought of you when he died and sent a fancy psychic hologram your way. It's only worth what it's worth, if it brings good into the world, more power to it. Use your own judgement.

[Crystal]

I wish you best of luck publishing your booklet about bringing peace to the world. The world could definitely use learning about a path to peace. Because of the ongoing powerful and rare experiences you have described, and against a background of practicing psychotherapy as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Virginia and Maryland for ten years, I would urge you to explore your experiences with someone having similar credentials and expertise, if for no other reason than to rule out that they are problematic in any way.

+ 1

.

[fuki]

Greetings,
I am Lance Carlyle Carter. Why am I at this zen forum?
I want to share some experiences and get commentary from those who might provide insight, etc. I have tried to find answers on the internet about the phenomena I recently experienced, but haven't yet.

Hi Lance, welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your experiences!
I have limited experience with your inquiry so I forwarded your post to a friend not on this forum, if any relevant respons will come from that I'll let you know. I'd be interested in a more detailed transcription or/and the audio commentary.

[bodhisattva]

Hi Fuki,
You commented:
" I'd be interested in a more detailed transcription or/and the audio commentary."
Yesterday I compiled about two hours of my commentary I made after each experience and am trying to make a video today, but the audio levels are troublesome and I need to provide some explanatory text and graphics. I hope to have something done soon.

[bodhisattva]

hi Lance,
you began by saying you would like to share your experience. As far as I can see so far, this is not the place.... neither is the internet. It's for you to sit with and go deeper. Only you can know. I don't consider your experience unusual tho it does call for some personal inquiry as to what your role is.... and whether it is a project that you feel is right and appropriate for you at this time. Whatever life brings us, there is always a choice.... even with the spirit world. It comes with the sovereignty of being human.

Intuitively, I would suggest that you find the source of this calling.... perhaps in a feeling you had when you left Kobun in your youth.... perhaps an aspect of a path not taken or a path to be taken now ... what does that mean in present day.... just a suggestion.... welcome it as a waking dream.

best wishes
linda

Hi lindama,
My reply,

you began by saying you would like to share your experience. As far as I can see so far, this is not the place.... neither is the internet.

I disagree that this is not the place, but if there is a consensus to throw me out, then so be it.
The internet is another place that I frequent with similar accounts, so I must disagree with you on that point as well.

It's for you to sit with and go deeper. Only you can know.

This is like saying shut up. Is that what you meant? Only you can know because what you are saying is nonsense. I have got platitudes up the yin yang and am not afraid to use them.

I don't consider your experience unusual tho it does call for some personal inquiry as to what your role is.... and whether it is a project that you feel is right and appropriate for you at this time.

I consider this to be this an appropriate observation that asks an appropriate question, and I thank you for it. I have little doubt as to what my personal role in this is as I have been instructed in those matters by the apparition of Kobun.

Whatever life brings us, there is always a choice.... even with the spirit world. It comes with the sovereignty of being human.

This statement goes beyond being a platitude because it conveys a profound message, and I must thank you again for that.

Intuitively, I would suggest that you find the source of this calling.... perhaps in a feeling you had when you left Kobun in your youth.... perhaps an aspect of a path not taken or a path to be taken now ... what does that mean in present day.... just a suggestion.... welcome it as a waking dream.

I think that the source of this calling was unfinished business, of working with someone on something important and then leaving the project unfinished. A path not taken was a path that might be taken now in some ways that are explained in the commentary I am working on. Thanks for your observations.

[fuki]

I have little doubt as to what my personal role in this is as I have been instructed in those matters by the apparition of Kobun.

Ah but then there isn't much to inquire others about or "find answers on the internet about the phenomena" right?
Sharing the experience can be nice though, whatever appears is mind and there exist no phenomena other than what arises from the mind, so regarding "phenomena" there is nothing to explain or figure out.

Here's a story you might enjoy though;

[SPOILER]

Papaji: There was some attraction to him (Ramana MAharshi), even though I may not have liked him at first. He was there again, and once again he was alone. Very few people went to see him, very few. He asked me, "Why didn't you come for so many days?" I was very proud. I said, "I have been playing with my God." "Very good, very well." He said. "You have been playing with God?" "Yes, I was. I have always been." "Do you see him now? Do you see him now?" "Not now," I said. "Not now. When I have vision I see him, sometimes in the night also. When I have vision I see him, not always. That's why I want to see him always."

Then he said, "God does not appear and disappear."

For the first time I heard this: "God is Reality itself. God doesn't disappear. He is appearance itself. So what appears and disappears is only mental, is only imagination." I didn't like this philosophy that I was hearing. "Krishna appeared and disappeared. And the seer is still here, he who has seen Krishna is still here. Find out who the seer is."

I had never been confronted at any time by anyone with this question before. Neither the living saints nor any of the past saints I had heard about could confront you like this, with this question: "Find out who the seer is. Find out who you are. That does not disappear. It is always there, whether you are awake or dreaming or asleep. This seer is always there. Now you tell me who this seer is."

No answer came for this question but I had an experience to find out the source of "I". It worked it my case. On my first trip to the Guru I found it. Actually the seer was always there; the source of "I" was always there. He simply asked me to, "Find out who the seer is." That's what he said. In his presence I experienced the seer, what it was. It was so quick. My body was vibrating and became One. I did not understand this tremendous bliss, this tremendous happiness, this beauty, in just an instant.

This teaching is the ultimate teaching, which I try to present to you every day. I don't think any other teaching is worth striving for except to discover your own Self. Later on, if you need anything else you may go in search of it. Here and now find out who you are. This is the ultimate Reality, this is the ultimate teaching. I don't think any other teaching can surpass this teaching. Know your Self and then know the rest, if it is needed. This false appearance will disappear in the recognition of your own Self. This false appearance will not show up again when the Real is revealed to you. That has no form and no name; That has no geographical location anywhere, neither inside nor outside. This is Eternal rest. Each of you is already in This. The only impediment is your preoccupation with something else, with something unreal. That is the only hindrance. Otherwise this freedom, this wisdom, this beauty, this love is always inviting you. You only have to turn your attention within your own Self and you see that you have always been free. This is your own nature.

[Meido]

Hello Lance,
Welcome to the forum and thank you for your contribution. What you describe, seeing and hearing the apparitions of the Bodhisattva Kannon and your deceased former teacher Kobun, must have been very powerful. Certainly also, many readers might consider these experiences rare in the modern day, after the origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral brain.

I wish you best of luck publishing your booklet about bringing peace to the world. The world could definitely use learning about a path to peace. Because of the ongoing powerful and rare experiences you have described, and against a background of practicing psychotherapy as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Virginia and Maryland for ten years, I would urge you to explore your experiences with someone having similar credentials and expertise, if for no other reason than to rule out that they are problematic in any way.

I look forward to checking out your links in more detail, and I hope you will not find anything I have suggested to be other than compassionate and well-intentioned.

Yours truly,
Spike, "ordinary zenspace member"

P.S. Please feel free to private message me if you want to discuss further.

This was an appropriate answer, and we can let it rest at that.

[bodhisattva]

These are my personal audio account of apparitions I saw of Bodhisattva Kannon and my former zen teacher Kōbun Chino Otogawa in early 2018. - Lance Carlyle Carter

Apparitions of Bodhisattva Kannon and Kōbun Chino Otogawa - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnBIvCHkoGU

Apparitions of Bodhisattva Kannon and Kōbun Chino Otogawa - 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdSdsGCYpnA

[Caodemarte]

Related material moved from “Introductions” to this thread.