Thomas Yeo the meditator
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A guy went to the forest for a meditation retreat, and was gone for 11 whole years! Police dogs and humans combed the area but found no trace of anything. His passport and belongings were found intact in his chalet, so he couldn't have gone abroad. Was he taken away by some spirits from the forest? Did he meditate himself to some heaven? You decide!
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There are many possibilities, and most likely not supernatural.
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like what
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Did you watch that episode of Missing?
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become buddha liao?
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If he become Buddha, then he will have to come out to teach another 49 years like Shakyamuni Buddha, because all Buddhas have great compassion to liberate sentient beings.Originally posted by NT2:become buddha liao? -
got source?
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Perhaps his disspaearance could have something to do with the fourth dimension.
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Regarding about Thomas Yeo , I hope to shed some light in understanding about self-imposed retreatOriginally posted by Suicine:A guy went to the forest for a meditation retreat, and was gone for 11 whole years! Police dogs and humans combed the area but found no trace of anything. His passport and belongings were found intact in his chalet, so he couldn't have gone abroad. Was he taken away by some spirits from the forest? Did he meditate himself to some heaven? You decide!
First , for me i am against self-imposed retreat ,because I am a person based on Family values .If one wish to practice meditation ,one should informed the family members
I Convey my condolescence to the family ,if he passed away.
In Buddhism self-imposed retreat is not that common ,and i do not feel meditation will "lead" ppl to abandon family behind
In the eyes of many master ,self-imposed retreat will only be allowed by one's teacher ,only if one attained a certain level of awareness and insight into
the universe and being able to uphold one's precepts for many years.
there have been criticism about retreats but many does not understand the real meaning of a retreat .
Because retreat is much encouraged after certain years of practice ,but it isnt the standard practice for Buddhist.
Some Buddhist carry on the practice of group meditation and chanting to strengthen the Buddhist faith
There is many dharma-door , and not just a retreat .
My views sincerely -
he might have been swallow or eaten by some animals perhaps?
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captured by demons?
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Yes, that is possible... or perhaps drowned somewhere or something.Originally posted by incredible:he might have been swallow or eaten by some animals perhaps? -
Don't be so superstitious la.Originally posted by NT2:captured by demons?
Anyway I really doubt it is anything supernatural.
There are so many cases of people gone missing in Singapore. Many of them happened recently. Some of them drowned, etc. -
I have never heard of anyone disappearing into the 4th dimension in meditation beforeOriginally posted by shade343:Perhaps his disspaearance could have something to do with the fourth dimension.
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i heard, they search, many times in the isle, even if drown, they should have found the body drifting ashore. i think they ruled out drowning.
the problem is even if die, also got a dead body, but there was no body.
for what i know in Tibetan/Vajrayana, there are high cultivator who can mediate and wang sheng (depart) leaving behind only their hair as sharira. Their entire body just turn into a beam of light and leave samsara, just like that. no physical body is left behind! but must be very very high cultivator.
if not it can be other way where deptor spirits/mara is involve. even so there should be a body...hmmm.
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Dzogchen practitioners may attain the Rainbow Body:
But it is highly unlikely that this or what Sinweiy said was the case for Thomas Yeo, because it only happens to highly attained people. -
yes.
anymore info?
btw, also heard they use search dogs to sweep the isle, also found nothing. snifing dogs also cannot find. could he left the isle? but yet his belongs, money, passport are still there. the family invited 3 'fa shi'(malay sort i think?) to help find, all 3 said, the mountain/forest spirits took him away. eaten? no bones? hmmm...
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You mean Bomohs? They asked seperately and each of them said the same things?Originally posted by sinweiy:yes. anymore info?
btw, also heard they use search dogs to sweep the isle, also found nothing. snifing dogs also cannot find. could he left the isle? but yet his belongs, money, passport are still there. the family invited 3 'fa shi'(malay sort i think?) to help find, all 3 said, the mountain/forest spirits took him away. eaten? no bones? hmmm...
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Hmm... then I think it is possible. Like in the suttas, some of the monks meditating in the forests disturbed the spirits and the spirits wanted to harm them (if memory serves?). Buddha taught them to radiate loving kindness... and they came under no harm. Perhaps that was what Thomas Yeo should have done... -
here's info on demonic realms when mediating:
51) Discussion on Demonic Realms
http://www.ymba.org/BWF/bwf73.htm#demonicrealms
As indicated above, sometimes the Buddha Recitation practitioner sees marks and forms which could actually be demonic realms. These are instances where cause and effect do not correspond. For example, while visualizing the physical features of Amitabha Buddha, a practitioner may suddenly see the features of a beautiful woman. Another cultivator, diligently reciting the Buddha's name in the hope of seeing auspicious scenes of the Pure Land, may unexpectedly see a slum area, with men, women and domestic animals running back and forth in all directions. Yet another practitioner, hoping to see precious lotus blossoms in the Pure Land, suddenly sees a small cart instead. These are demonic realms, as cause and effect do not correspond.
There are five criteria that can help us determine which events are real and which belong to the demonic realms.
1. Instances where cause and effect do not correspond (such as visualizing one mark but seeing another, hoping to see one realm but seeing another), as well as scenes and realms that do not resemble those described in the sutras, are all demonic realms.
2. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have pure compassion; therefore, even if they take the appearance of "demons" to test us, we still feel calm, at peace and pure. Demons, on the contrary, are inherently evil and wicked; thus, even when they take the appearance of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, we feel agitated, angry and uneasy.
3. The Buddhas' light makes us feel calm and refreshed; it has neither shadow nor a blinding effect on the eye. The light of demons, on the other hand, affects our eyes and makes us feel agitated rather than calm and peaceful; it also has shadows. The reference to the Buddhas' light in the Lankavatara Sutra illustrates this point.
4. The teachings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are in accord with the sutras and the truth. The words of demons are contrary to the truth and not in line with the sutras' teachings.
5. When an auspicious mark appears, the practitioner who wishes to test it need only concentrate on reciting the Heart Sutra with a pure mind, or reciting a mantra or the Buddha's name with one-pointedness of mind. If the mark really is auspicious, the more he recites, the clearer it becomes, because genuine gold is not harmed by fire. If it belongs to the demonic realm, it disappears as he recites, because evil can never withstand the truth.
We should judge events by all five of the above criteria, not just one or two. This is because there are many celestial demons, externalist deities and Immortals who want to lead us their way and therefore falsely take the appearance of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas preaching the Dharma. Although their cultivation is not the ultimate Way leading to liberation, they may have good karma or a fairly high level of samadhi. Thus, their "light" can also make us feel refreshed and peaceful. Moreover, their teachings at times also encourage the performance of good deeds, keeping the precepts, vegetarianism and Buddha Recitation. However, they diverge from the Buddhist sutras on certain crucial points [such as the need to escape Birth and Death]. Only by exercising careful judgement and understanding the Dharma in depth are we able to know.Ancient masters have said:
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When we see demons yet remain undisturbed, the demons self-destruct; when we see ghosts yet remain undisturbed, the ghosts are vanquished. -
yes, ask seperately, yet say the same. what's Bomohs?Originally posted by An Eternal Now:You mean Bomohs? They asked seperately and each of them said the same things?
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I think if there was a supernatural cause, it is more likely that he was disturbed by the local spirits.... just my guess.
Or else he probably left the area, which wld be strange. I have not watched the show so I do not know. -
You said they were Malay 'fa shi'?Originally posted by sinweiy:yes, ask seperately, yet say the same. what's Bomohs?
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Bomohs are like Malay Mediums who can communicate with the spirits. -
ic. yes, medium is the word.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:You said they were Malay 'fa shi'?
Bomohs are like Malay Mediums who can communicate with the spirits.
btw, Thomas Yeo also had a broken relationship with his gf. so maybe can rule out, "highly attain cultivator".
the show, a bit upside down thinking, not very good. demote the real meaning of Buddhism and especially meditation. only make people dislike and misunderstand buddhism.
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If I were to go for a meditation retreat, I would probably go with someone else.Originally posted by sinweiy:ic. yes, medium is the word.
btw, Thomas Yeo also had a broken relationship with his gf. so maybe can rule out, "highly attain cultivator".
the show, a bit upside down thinking, not very good. demote the real meaning of Buddhism and especially meditation. only make people dislike and misunderstand buddhism.
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Anyway first time I heard of such case before.
I don't really know what was shown, but like my friend Narutofu said regarding how media portray Buddhism wrongly,
I believe the authors/editors of the article had not taken the time to understand what is Buddhism before undertaking the task to write these things. I'm shockingly surprised that such shallow article which clearly shows a lack of respect towards other religions, was allowed to be published by SPH - which has the social responsibility to promote racial and religious harmony. In this times of terrorism and racial/religious sensitivity, I believe the SPH should do something to prevent this from ever happening again.
They should show some responsibility and religious sensitivity when mentioning about meditation etc. -
I doubt thomas yeo was doing buddhist meditation. The show also didn't say that. He trained under a "professor chen" or something.