The Risks of Eastern pointers/techniques, especially "direct paths" for self-dissolution Are Known and Warned About in Their Traditions
Tibetan & Zen Buddhist Methods including Dzogchen & Mahamudra
Tibetan Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism and Vajrayana.
Dzogchen is one of the most powerful, high level pointing out methods for ego deconstruction that many mainstream nondual teachers teach to the public, and the method that Sam Harris promotes and mainstream-ized in the popular "Waking Up" meditation app.
"On these swift paths there are more risks and pitfalls to the student...Both Dzogchen and Mahamudra work directly with the alchemy of raw emotions, energy, and mind.
There will be inner upheavals, wacky meditative experiences (nyam), and extreme highs and lows. Please take this into consideration if you have a history of mental health issues or are experiencing significant emotional distress. This practice is not for everyone."
If the Mahayana path is like hiking a trail up a mountain, then Dzogchen is like climbing a sheer rock wall – it is a direct route with many more pitfalls. THINGS CAN GO WRONG! "Source
According to the Dalai Lama (source)
"According to one Kagyu text, the method of practice of those for whom everything happens at once (i.e. direct pointers!) is powerful medicine. But it is deadly poison for those who are more suited to progress through graded stages. In other words, the method of practice of meditating solely on the nonconceptual state of the mind is suited only for those of sharpest faculties. For those who are not of their level, such practice brings only harm, no benefit. For them the medicine acts like a poison."
“Eastern teachers are often unaware of how much emotional wounding we suffer. They usually assume we have well-established, strong egos, and speak of abandoning or surrendering the ego . . . However, this teaching requires the students to have a healthy ego and sense of self-worth that has become a solid center of identity. When a Westerner becomes psychologically unstable through practicing Tantra, Eastern teachers often don’t know how to deal with it. . . Tantra requires a vessel that will remain stable and be able to contain the process.” -The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra, Rob Preece
"Many techniques are commonly said to be secret, but some Vajrayana (dzogchen/mahamudra) teachers have responded that the secrecy itself is not important but only a side-effect of the reality that the techniques have no validity outside the teacher-student lineage. When not practiced properly, the practitioner can be harmed physically and mentally. In order to avoid these kind of dangers, the practice is kept secret." (source)
"In the Tibetan Buddhist lineage I trained in, contemplating the selflessness of objects was taught as a natural introduction to contemplating the selflessness of other persons, and then finally the selflessness of one’s own self. Teachers would say that the selflessness of one’s own self was to be approached cautiously and gradually.
If it wasn’t, there could be a spectrum of unsavory results, from polyanna nihilism to outright dissociation. We might look for both these trends in the shadow cast by Eckhart Tolle, whose work focuses almost exclusively upon the mechanism of self-focus." -Matthew Remski
If it wasn’t, there could be a spectrum of unsavory results, from polyanna nihilism to outright dissociation. We might look for both these trends in the shadow cast by Eckhart Tolle, whose work focuses almost exclusively upon the mechanism of self-focus." -Matthew Remski
"Sheng Yen, a modern Chan master explains that “it is possible” for someone “to suffer from Chan/Zen Sickness” as a result of a “no-self” or emptiness experience, which may result in one developing mental problems..."
"Brad Warner adds clarity on why a slow stable practice is essential for coming to terms with emptiness, as it can push someone to a nervous breakdown: “There’s a truckload of extremely good reasons why you don’t want to rip to open the doors of your subconscious too quickly. If you’re not fully prepared for what’s behind those doors, they’re better left shut until such time that you are” (Karma 31).
Sources:
Buddhism in Progress: Ecstasy, Eternity , Eternity, and Zen Sickness
Don’t Be a Jerk: And Other Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan’s Greatest Zen Master - Brad Warner
Zen Master Hakuin, on his experience of Zen Sickness / Zen Master Han Shun's Zen Sickness
"Brad Warner adds clarity on why a slow stable practice is essential for coming to terms with emptiness, as it can push someone to a nervous breakdown: “There’s a truckload of extremely good reasons why you don’t want to rip to open the doors of your subconscious too quickly. If you’re not fully prepared for what’s behind those doors, they’re better left shut until such time that you are” (Karma 31).
Sources:
Buddhism in Progress: Ecstasy, Eternity , Eternity, and Zen Sickness
Don’t Be a Jerk: And Other Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan’s Greatest Zen Master - Brad Warner
Zen Master Hakuin, on his experience of Zen Sickness / Zen Master Han Shun's Zen Sickness
"That is, sooner or later, one will start to experience changes to one’s sense of self after realizing that the narrative of one’s life cannot adequately account for the totality of who and what one is, and these ontological disruptions can have severe and lasting effects on the psyches of those who are unprepared for them, including psychotic breaks and collapses into addiction." Source
Quotes from Research Study - Buddhist Teachers' Experience with Extreme Mental States in Western Meditators
"Because they can be dangerous and involve psychotic-like experiences, these practices require the guidance of a qualified teacher, and adequate ego strength and foundation in philosophy and meditation on the part of the practitioner."
"Traditionally, Buddhists did not deal much with extreme mental states, such as psychosis, because very troubled people were restricted from entering practice.”
“Some Zen teachers noted that samadhi and kenshocan involve a loss of functioning that can last from minutes to hours, however.”
“A period characterized by the subjective experience of dissolution is entered where traditionally solid aspects of the personality begin to break up, leaving the meditator no solid ground to stand on. This is traditionally the time of spiritual crisis, characterized by "a great terror" (Nyanamoli, 1976, p. 753), the "Great Doubt" (Leggett, 1964) in Zen.”
“Teachers may also have more frequent interviews with the student, decrease the student's sitting time, and involve the student in "grounding" physical activities.”
"Because they can be dangerous and involve psychotic-like experiences, these practices require the guidance of a qualified teacher, and adequate ego strength and foundation in philosophy and meditation on the part of the practitioner."
"Traditionally, Buddhists did not deal much with extreme mental states, such as psychosis, because very troubled people were restricted from entering practice.”
“Some Zen teachers noted that samadhi and kenshocan involve a loss of functioning that can last from minutes to hours, however.”
“A period characterized by the subjective experience of dissolution is entered where traditionally solid aspects of the personality begin to break up, leaving the meditator no solid ground to stand on. This is traditionally the time of spiritual crisis, characterized by "a great terror" (Nyanamoli, 1976, p. 753), the "Great Doubt" (Leggett, 1964) in Zen.”
“Teachers may also have more frequent interviews with the student, decrease the student's sitting time, and involve the student in "grounding" physical activities.”
Advaitic Self-inquiry
"Self-inquiry - This is considered an advanced practice and thus would be contraindicated for anyone with a history of mental disease or emotional instability." - Timothy Burgin
To be continued