U.G. Krishnamurti and the phrase “lobbing grenades” go hand in hand. He made a name for himself by bashing spiritual traditions, teachers, and seekers. He had his reasons though:
Q: You seem bent upon demolishing everything other teachers have taught….
U.G.: My interest is not to knock off what others have said (that is too easy), but to knock off what I am saying. Continue reading “U.G. Krishnamurti: The negating guru”
Category: 2 Star
This is the largest category and includes one-hit wonders, a few of the better non-duality and neo-advaita crowd, and spiritual teachers respected by someone I respect, but whose teachings I don’t find quite as deep or as useful as the Three Stars. This category features: Isaac Shapiro, Karl Renz, J. Krishnamurti, Ken Wilbur, David Deida, Sailor Bob Adamson, Nick Roach, Jed McKenna, Melvyn Wartella, Wolfgang Bernard, Metta Zetty, Hubert Benoit, John Davis II, Lama Ole Nydahl, Suzanne Segal, U.G. Krishnamurti, and Alfred Pulyan.
Alfred Pulyan: The transmission of Zen
I have little information on Alfred Pulyan of South Kent, Connecticut. While I suspect he was a valid teacher, the only record of his teaching I know of is a series of letters between him and Richard Rose. Bart Marshall published these letters in 2019 as Letters of Transmission: The Enlightenment Method of Zen Master Alfred Pulyan.
In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, Pulyan endeavored to teach students through the mail. Teach is the wrong word, really. He tried to lead them to an awakening by confronting the student’s ego. He specifically said it was not a mechanical system and his letters only helped the person for whom they were written. Continue reading “Alfred Pulyan: The transmission of Zen”