Wildfire was Drake Burroughs, a student of astrophysics. While observing an experiment involving (depending on the account), anti-matter or anti-energy, Burroughs was exposed to a massive charge of energy that completely destroyed his body. Somehow, his consciousness survived; how this was possible was never explained, though in post-Crisis terms he would probably be described as a meta-human. Whatever the mechanism, Burroughs found himself transformed into a being of pure an ...

See also:

Wildfire comics, Wildfire comics - Pre-Zero Hour, Wildfire comics - Post-Zero Hour

Read more here: » Wildfire comics: Encyclopedia II - Wildfire comics - Pre-Zero Hour

Mediator An agent who stands or goes between, specifically one who acts as the conscious agent or intermediary of special spiritual power and knowledge.

Most often applied to highly-evolved characters who mediate, not only between superhuman spiritual entities and ordinary men, but who also themselves consciously unite their own spiritual nature with their merely human souls. Such people attain to this lofty state by the great sanctity and wisdom of their lives, aided by frequent interior ecstatic contemplation. They radiate a pure and beneficent atmosphere which invites, and is congenial to, exalted spiritual beings of the solar system.

Evil entities of the astral realms cannot endure their clean and highly magnetic aura, nor are they able to continue obsessing other unfortunate persons if the mediator be present and will their departure, or even approaches the sufferer.

This powerful spiritual self-consciousness of the individual who is a mediator reaching upwards to superior spiritual realms, is in sharpest possible contrast with the passive, unconscious, weak-willed medium who, through ignorance or folly, becomes the agent for the use of any astral entity that may be attracted to the entranced body. Apollonius, Iamblichus, Plotinus, and Porphyry are examples of mediators: "but if the temple is defiled by the admission of an evil passion, thought or desire, the mediator falls into the sphere of sorcery. The door is opened; the pure spirits retire and the evil ones rush in. This is still mediatorship, evil as it is; the sorcerer, like the pure magician, forms his own aura and subjects to his will congenial inferior spirits" (IU 1:487).

(See also: Mediator, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

A Theosophical definition of Dharmakaya :

Dharmakaya

(Sanskrit) This is a compound of two words meaning the "continuance body," sometimes translated equally well (or ill) the "body of the Law"  - both very inadequate expressions, for the difficulty in translating these extremely mystical terms is very great. A mere correct dictionary-translation often misses the esoteric meaning entirely, and just here is where Occidental scholars make such ludicrous errors at times.

The first word comes from the root dhri, meaning "to support," "to sustain," "to carry," "to bear," hence "to continue"; also human laws are the agencies supposed to carry, support, sustain, civilization; the second element, kaya, means "body." The noun thus formed may be rendered the "body of the Law," but this phrase does not give the idea at all. It is that spiritual body or state of a high spiritual being in which the restricted sense of soulship and egoity has vanished into a universal (hierarchical) sense, and remains only in the seed, latent  - if even so much. It is pure consciousness, pure bliss, pure intelligence, freed from all personalizing thought.

In the Buddhism of Central Asia, the dharmakaya is the third and highest of the trikaya. The trikaya consists of (1) nirmanakaya, (2) sambhogakaya, and (3) dharmakaya. We may look upon these three states, all of them lofty and sublime, as being three vestures in which the consciousness of the entity clothes itself. In the dharmakaya vesture the initiate is already on the threshold of nirvana, if not indeed already in the nirvanic state. (See also Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya)

See also: Dharmakaya, Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul)

Self Theosophical literature distinguishes between self and ego: self is a purely spiritual unit, divine in essence, the same in every being, expressed as "I am"; egos are many, different in different beings, and expressed as "I am I."

Egos are indirect or reflected consciousnesses, seeing themselves as apart from other egos, each having its own individualized characteristics. But the self or atman is the purest and strongest intuition of being as a universal principle and as the summit of the hierarchy called man. It is pure consciousness, the essential principle which gives to every person knowledge of selfhood. As it has no egoic consciousness, it seems to our reason to be unconsciousness. To become self-conscious, a vehicle is needed, so that the self may see itself reflected as in a mirror.

In humans what is called the personal self is a compound, in which the true selfhood or atmic ray shines dimly through many screens. This causes our various mental states to be regarded as pertaining to our own individuality, though they are actually influences which flow into and out of the mind, and to which we attribute a false sense of ownership, as when we say, "I am angry," instead of "I am experiencing anger." The path of liberation frees us progressively from these false selves; we abandon the heresy of separateness, and at last

See the true self within us as being identical with that self in all beings.

(See also: Self, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Samadhi (Sanskrit) [from sam with, together + a towards + the verbal root dha to place, bring]

To direct towards; to combine the mental faculties towards an object. Self-consciousness union with the spiritual monad by intense and profound spiritual contemplation or meditation.

It implies "the complete abstraction of the percipient consciousness from all worldly, or exterior, or even mental concerns or attributes, and its . . . becoming the pure unadulterate, undilute super-consciousness of the god within. . . . Samadhi is the eighth or final stage of genuine occult Yoga, and can be attained at any time by the initiate without conscious recourse to the other phases or practices of Yoga enumerated in Oriental works, and which other and inferior practices are often misleading, in some cases distinctly injurious, and at the best mere props or aids in the attaining of complete mental abstraction from worldly concerns" (OG 150-1). The seeker on attaining samadhi becomes practically omniscient for his solar universe because his consciousness is functioning in the cosmic spiritual and causal worlds.

Bodhi (enlightenment) is a particular state of samadhi, during which the subject reaches the culmination of spiritual knowledge. Samadhi is the highest state on earth that can be reached while in the body; its highest stage or degree is called turiya. To attain beyond this, the initiate must have become a nirmanakaya.

(See also: Samadhi, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Akasic Samadhi (adjective of akasa ether, space + samadhi profound meditation from sam-a-dha to hold or fix together (in abstract thought))

Used for the state of consciousness into which victims of accidental death enter: "a state of quiet slumber, a sleep full of rosy dreams, during which, they have no recollection of the accident, but move and live among their familiar friends and scenes, until their natural life-term is finished, when they find themselves born in the Deva-Chan . . ." (ML 109).

This condition of human consciousness differs from the devachanic state. As used above, akasic samadhi was applied to those individuals dying by accident who on earth had been of unusually pure character and life. It is a temporary condition, equivalent to an automatic reproduction in the victim's consciousness of the beautiful and holy thoughts that the person had had during incarnated life; in fact, a sort of preliminary to the devachanic state. Such dream state immediately succeeds the first condition of absolute unconsciousness which the shock of death brings to all human beings, good, bad, or indifferent. In the above cases there is no conscious kama-lokic experience whatsoever, because the shock of death has brought about the paralysis of all the lower parts of the human constitution.

Only adumbrations of the consciousness of the buddhi and atman, with the most spiritual portion of manas are then active (ML 131). In certain cases the condition of samadhi in the akasic portions of the human constitution may last until what would have been the natural life term on earth is completed; and then these individuals glide into the devachanic state.

(See also: Akasic Samadhi, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

samadhi: (Sanskrit) "Enstasy," which means "standing within one's Self." "Sameness; contemplation; union, wholeness; completion, accomplishment."

Samadhi is the state of true yoga, in which the meditator and the object of meditation are one. Samadhi is of two levels. The first is savikalpa samadhi ("enstasy with form or seed"), identification or oneness with the essence of an object.

Its highest form is the realization of the primal substratum or pure consciousness, Satchidananda. The second is nirvikalpa samadhi ("enstasy without form or seed"), identification with the Self, in which all modes of consciousness are transcended and Absolute Reality, Parasiva, beyond time, form and space, is experienced. This brings in its aftermath a complete transformation of consciousness. In Classical Yoga, nirvikalpa samadhi is known as asamprajnata samadhi, "supraconscious enstasy" - samadhi, or beingness, without thought or cognition, prajna. Savikalpa samadhi is also called samprajnata samadhi, "conscious enstasy."

(Note that samadhi differs from samyama - the continuous meditation on a single subject or mystic key [such as a chakra] to gain revelation on a particular subject or area of consciousness. As explained by Patanjali, samyama consists of dharana, dhyana and samadhi.)

See: enstasy, kundalini, Parasiva, raja yoga, samarasa, Satchidananda, Self Realization, trance, enlightenment.

(See also: Samadhi, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

In 668, the kingdom of Silla succeeded in unifying the whole Korean peninsula, giving rise to a period of political stability that lasted for about one hundred years. This led to a high point in the scholarly studies of Buddhism in Korea. In general, the most popular areas of study were Wonyung, Yusik (Ch. 唯識; Weishi; "consciousness-only"; the East Asian form of Yogācāra), Jeongto (Pure Land), and the indigenous Korean Beopseong ("dharma-nature school"). The monk Wonhyo taught the "Pure ...

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Korean Buddhism, Korean Buddhism - Historical overview of the development of Korean Buddhism, Korean Buddhism - Buddhism in the Three Kingdoms, Korean Buddhism - Goguryeo, Korean Buddhism - Baekje, Korean Buddhism - Kaya, Korean Buddhism - Silla, Korean Buddhism - Buddhism in the Unified Silla period 668-918, Korean Buddhism - Buddhism as state religion in the Goryeo period 918-1392, Korean Buddhism - Suppression under the Joseon dynasty 1392-1910, Korean Buddhism - Buddhism during the Japanese occupation 1910-1945, Korean Buddhism - Buddhism and Westernization 1945-present, Korean Buddhism - Looking Ahead

Read more here: » Korean Buddhism: Encyclopedia II - Korean Buddhism - Buddhism in the Unified Silla period 668-918

formless: Philosophically, atattva, beyond the realm of form or substance.

Used in attempting to describe the wondersome, indescribable Absolute, which is "timeless, formless and spaceless." God Siva has form and is formless. He is the immanent Pure Consciousness or pure form. He is the Personal Lord manifesting as innumerable forms; and He is the impersonal, transcendent Absolute beyond all form. Thus we know Siva in three perfections, two of form and one formless. This use of the term formless does not mean amorphous, which implies a form that is vague or changing. Rather, it is the absence of substance, sometimes thought of as a void, an emptiness beyond existence from which comes the fullness of everything. In describing the Self as formless, the words timeless and spaceless are given also to fully indicate this totally transcendent noncondition.

See: atattva, Parasiva, Satchidananda, void.

(See also: Formless, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

A Theosophical definition of Self :

Self

Man is a sheaf or bundle of forces or energies and material elements combined; and the power controlling all and holding them together, making out of the composite aggregate a unity, is what theosophists call the Self  - not the mere ego, but the Self, a purely spiritual unit, in its essence divine, which is the same in every man and woman on earth, the same in every entity everywhere in all the boundless fields of limitless space, as we understand space. If one closely examine his own consciousness, he will very soon know that this is the pure consciousness expressed in the words, "I am"  - and this is the Self; whereas the ego is the cognition of the "I am I."

Consider the hierarchy of the human being growing from the Self as its seed  - ten stages: three on the arupa or immaterial plane; and seven (or perhaps better, six) on the planes of matter or manifestation. On each one of these seven planes (or six planes), the Self or paramatman develops a sheath or garment, the upper ones spun of spirit, or light if you will, and the lower ones spun of shadow or matter; and each such sheath or garment is a soul; and between the Self and a soul  - any soul  - is an ego.

See also: Self, Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul)

Ammon - Descent. According to the pedigree given in Genesis xix. 37-38, the Ammonites were closely related to the Israelites and still more closely to their neighbors in the south, the Moabites. This relationship is supported by the fact that all names of Ammonitish persons show a pure Canaanite character. But the above passage indicates also the contempt and hatred for the Ammonites felt by the Hebrews (Deuteronomy xxiii. 4). The Torah excludes the progeny of Ammonites from the assembly of the Lord (but cf. Deut. ii. 19, 37, in which the consciousness of relationshi ...

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Ammon, Ammon - Territory, Ammon - In the Torah Joshua and Judges, Ammon - Descent, Ammon - Role in the Israelite Exodus, Ammon - In the time of the Judges, Ammon - During the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Ammon - Subsequent History, Ammon - Language, Ammon - Religion, Ammon - Economy, Ammon - In Jewish law, Ammon - Resources

Read more here: » Ammon: Encyclopedia II - Ammon - In the Torah Joshua and Judges

Ardhanarishvara: (Sanskrit) "Half-female Lord." Lord Siva in androgynous form, male on the right side and female on the left, indicating that: 1) Siva (like all Mahadevas) is genderless; 2) Siva is All, inseparable from His energy, Shakti; 3) in Siva the ida (feminine) and the pingala (masculine) nadis (psychic nerve currents) are balanced so that sushumna is ever active. The meditator who balances these through sadhana and yoga becomes like Siva. In the unity of Ardhanarishvara all opposites are reconciled; duality vanishes back into the one source. This icon especially represents Siva's second perfection: Pure Consciousness (Satchidananda or Parashakti). See: kundalini, nadi, Shakti, Siva.

(See also: Ardhanarishvara, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

See also: Maya_(Hinduism) In Vedic philosophy, maya (Sanskrit: ma: not, ya: this) is the illusion of a limited, purely physical and mental reality in which our everyday consciousness has become entangled, a veiling of the true, unitary Self, also known as Brahman. Maya originated in the Hindu scriptures known as the Upanishads. Many philosphies or religions seek to "pierce the veil" in order to glimpse the transcendent truth, from which the illusion of a physical reality springs, drawing from the idea that ...

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Maya illusion, Maya illusion - Maya in Hinduism, Maya illusion - Maya as Adopted And Viewed By Other Religions, Maya illusion - Maya In Sikhism, Maya illusion - Parallels To Maya In Other Religions

Read more here: » Maya illusion: Encyclopedia II - Maya illusion - Maya in Hinduism

Ammon - Descent. According to the pedigree given in Genesis xix. 37-38, the Ammonites were closely related to the Israelites and still more closely to their neighbors in the south, the Moabites. This relationship is supported by the fact that all names of Ammonitish persons show a pure Canaanite character. But the above passage indicates also the contempt and hatred for the Ammonites felt by the Hebrews (Deuteronomy xxiii. 4). The Torah excludes the progeny of Ammonites from the assembly of the Lord (but cf. Deut. ii. 19, 37, in which the consciousness of relationsh ...

See also:

Ammon, Ammon - Territory, Ammon - In the Torah, Joshua and Judges, Ammon - Descent, Ammon - Role in the Israelite Exodus, Ammon - In the time of the Judges, Ammon - During the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Ammon - Subsequent History, Ammon - Language, Ammon - Religion, Ammon - Economy, Ammon - In Jewish law, Ammon - Resources

Read more here: » Ammon: Encyclopedia II - Ammon - In the Torah, Joshua and Judges

Shikantaza is often referred to as the method of no method. While other forms of meditation often have quite clear instructions - such as focusing on the breathing process - shikantaza is held to make use of pure consciousness or mindfulness. The basic idea is that one has to transcend, go beyond, the thinking mind. While sitting one should not think about the sitting, but "really" sit, being one with the sitting. The moment one stops thinking about methods or other things, the correct way suddenly appears. From the viewpoint of Zen, ...

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Shikantaza, Shikantaza - Meditation method, Shikantaza - Empirical explanation of central Buddhist concepts, Shikantaza - Theoretical context

Read more here: » Shikantaza: Encyclopedia II - Shikantaza - Meditation method