The Buddhist Who Read My Face

[Wu Wei Wu]

I presently work in the bar section of a large bowling alley. There was one coworker who was spoken of almost in awe, well known among the staff members for being able to look into your heart, and read your past and future to give advice. This individual was the mechanic who was commented as being 'almost a part of the machinery', of elder age, and of vietnamese heritage and buddhist background.

My curiosity piqued I had the opportunity to talk to the man about various issues into our life. It turns out he came from a wealthy tobacco farming family in Southern Vietnam and we got into a discussion about the virtues and detriments of tobacco and the dangers of modern product. Eventually the conversation was taken towards a personal direction as the conversation wound into a more spiritual area between myself, the Buddhist, and an Atheist coworker who had been astounded by his capabilities.

The Buddhist eventually explained his very successful methodology: He claimed he could take himself out his body and into other peoples, sort of see their world. He took what he got form there and then cross checked it by reading certain bodily characteristics and minimal cues for verification. He claimed to be able to get about 90% right on very specific things.

Eventually my atheist coworker, after having the method revealed to him became disillusioned and left, being confronted with his own subjective expectations of how he THOUGHT it was done and being disturbed by the results. Me and the buddhist dove deeper into a detailed discussion and exchange of ideas in which he correctly commented on my parents illness and aspects of my nature that I do reveal and are not easy to spot (such as my lack of 'commitment/will'). It took us into a discussion on God and the idea of the future as existing but changeable within certain parameters in which we found we had almost identical ideas.

In fact, our only difference was that he supposed that all humans were basically good, while I supposed and explained that some were basically evil, an idea which interested him.

The most uncanny thing was our firm agreement. We were intellectual mirrors of each other, although he was content with his position in life and I wanted to move higher (he recommended one of the 3 ways to me, the path of the yogi). That, and his excellent accuracy of prediction of past events and nature.

Has anyone met anyone like this, or know how to do this kind of thing? I have had my uncanny moments of intuition but I have not been able to apply it like how I saw it applied by him.

 

[Turgon]

Hi Wu Wei Wu

From what you described, it doesn't sound like he was doing anything particular special other than having a very intuitive sense or 'reading' people and combining it with critical thinking, in a way likened to understanding or empathy of someone else. Although in this day and age it is a rare thing.

The Buddhist eventually explained his very successful methodology: He claimed he could take himself out his body and into other peoples, sort of see their world. He took what he got form there and then cross checked it by reading certain bodily characteristics and minimal cues for verification. He claimed to be able to get about 90% right on very specific things.

If he was solely focused on the other person and what they are going through, you could look at it as being able to take himself out of his body and concentrate on the other person. Neuro-Linguistic Programming, NLP does similar things, they put themselves into someone else's world based on physical and verbal cues although the intent usually isn't to gain understanding and empathy for another person as much as being a way of manipulating people. And Timothy Wilson talks about this in Strangers to Ourselves: The Adaptive Unconscious where bodily cues actually can say more about what is going on underneath the surface more so than what a person actually says.

Me and the buddhist dove deeper into a detailed discussion and exchange of ideas in which he correctly commented on my parents illness and aspects of my nature that I do reveal and are not easy to spot (such as my lack of 'commitment/will'). It took us into a discussion on God and the idea of the future as existing but changeable within certain parameters in which we found we had almost identical ideas.

Sounds like a fascinating conversation! From looking at what we practice and the information available on the forum and how the mirroring process occurs, more often than not how we see and perceive ourselves is different from how we are perceived. Individuals who are doing the Work and can maintain a degree of objectivity can usually see us better than we see ourselves.

 

[OpenHeartMonk]

...he was content with his position in life and I wanted to move higher (he recommended one of the 3 ways to me, the path of the yogi). That, and his excellent accuracy of prediction of past events and nature.

although gurdjieff tends to disparage the path of the yogi, it is evident he borrows deeply of their tradition in his work.

Has anyone met anyone like this, or know how to do this kind of thing? I have had my uncanny moments of intuition but I have not been able to apply it like how I saw it applied by him.

yes, i have been blessed to meet some people here and there who seem to have spiritual powers.. most of them were buddhist monks although i've encountered the odd witch and pagan also. they had two things in common; they meditated daily and practiced genuine compassion.

these siddhis are a distraction you know.. they are not goals but rather spiritual fruits one generates as a result of their discipline and practice.

 

[obyvatel]

although gurdjieff tends to disparage the path of the yogi, it is evident he borrows deeply of their tradition in his work.

Are you referring to any specific tradition following the Way of the Yogi in this context? Can you provide some data which show this borrowing?

The psychological side of Gurdjieff's work appears to be closest to Stoic philosophy which was practiced by people who were actively engaged in society and quite different from how G described the way of the yogi. G's cosmology has unique features along with some commonality with traditions like Sufism and esoteric Christianity (which seems to have a lot in common with what is recognizable today as Stoic and allied Greek philosophies which predate Christ to the best of our knowledge).

So I am curious about your comment.

 

[Wu Wei Wu]

Thanks for your replies.

I'll firstly comment that he absolutely was reading people and recieving intuitive information, and then confirming it and applying it via the use of his reason.

I certainly found the conversation enlightening. It cast a brighter light on areas of myself and difficult decisions that I must make.

When I say path of the yogi, I mean the path that focuses on retreating from the world and concentrating on mastering one's mind. He recommended that I spend some time abroad with some of the Tibetan Buddhists groups. Although his background was in Vietnamese Buddhism, he claimed that those temples are not open to outsiders as the temple is simultaneously their prison (as facilitated by the Vietnamese government). I have no way to confirm this though.

From the way some of the practices were described to me, I categorized the form of buddhism as a way of the yogi. The similarities between our perspectives was what drew me to make the comparison. Our ideas about how the mind works were nearly identical (Small Is vs 'not being yourself') and much of the practical methods were the same (be conscious, always watch what your doing and return to 'yourself'). I drew an immediate connection to self remembering.

I was simply pointing out the unusual similarities I found in a place where I didn't seek to find anything. I thought it was fascinating.

 

[anart]

Speaking of Buddhists, I found this event on April 22nd rather fascinating, considering the wide spread impression that Buddhists are peaceful if not pacifists. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2312807/Burma-riots-Horrifying-moment-Buddhists-set-Muslim-man.html

If you search "buddhist monk riot" on the net, there are a lot of results going back many years - apparently this one started when a Muslim woman accidentally walked into a monk's alms bowl and knocked it over (according to the NPR report that morning) - which brings to mind Gurdjieff writing that if the Buddha returned he'd not recognize one word of his followers as the ideas he taught. Of course, this is equally applicable to all religions. It's rather unrelated to this thread, other than to just reiterate the idea that's been discussed many times on this forum: that the signal to noise ratio is very important to keep in mind when considering "following" any "religion".

 

[Wu Wei Wu]

Amen to that. Corruption is everywhere, and we'll suffer the consequences of wishful thinking if we are not observant and careful.

 

[ajseph 21]

I've found it to be valuable in my life to practice the 4th way by remembering it as the way of the sly man, turning everything to benefits towards the Work since it is a balanced approach to everything in life. Anart what you said about signal reminds me of what G said about the essence of things, a very good thing to keep in mind when studying thank you. :)

 

[Wu Wei Wu]

I vanished from the forum for some time and so never updated this post. A number of things have changed since this first event. First I'm no longer in day to day contact with the man but am now a close family friend. Interesting note, his wife displayed the same capabilities although to a lesser degree and he has told me himself that it is very much a teachable skill. Indeed, he told me how he learned and invited me to acquire the skill.

I had been trying to ascertain how he gained the skill and I was right on the money: Prolonged meditation eventually opens the ability.

Just an update for those curious. He also told me that although there are less such people in Asia now, there used to be many people with the capacity to 'read' faces, if not in a way as skillful as him. It's a possibility I'd like to explore in the future if only for study and experimentation, but who knows if I'll get that chance.

 

[Palinurus]

Welcome back, Wu Wei Wu. Glad to hear from you again. Thanks for the update. Hope all is well with you. :)

 

[Wu Wei Wu]

Thank you. There's been some ups and downs but I know so much more than I did when I was last here. Hopefully this enables me to make a better contribution to the group.