The Dawn Horse Testament of Heart-Master Da Free John

by Adi Da Samraj

Book Overview

[publisher: Bear Creek Pub Co, Montrose, Colorado, U.S.A.] 820 pp. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0913922900
• ISBN13: 9780913922903
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Dawn Horse Press
• Length: 801 Pages
• Weight: 2.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Background for "The Way of the Heart" meditation

This is an absolute necessity for anyone searching the wilderness in order to find a way to Enlightenment. The Dawn Horse Testament covers the background thinking behind the meditative approach involved with the Way of the Heart. Briefly: close your eyes, feel into the region of the Heart Chakra, become focused there and move to identify the first Onion-Skin-Layer of pain thereby encountered. Stand prior to this pain, move through it, own it and release it. That will constitute one step along the pathway. The Journey To Enlightenment

Spontaneous enlightenment experiences to be had from the last couple of chapters

Whether someone who is 'enlightened' (or has had even many deep enlightenment EXPERIENCES) can still do 'things that harm others' is actually a very deep question. Equally deep is the fact of different people's perceptions of the same action. As is the whole issue around gurus doing strange things that some people interpret as something they are doing to enlighten their students, others interpret as the flow of unpremeditated enlightened freedom, and still others interpret as just a bad action, by someone probably unenlightened and possibly deranged. This is a VERY thorny area, though with teachers (as distinct from 'free spirits', who don't have quite the same responsibility - if you want to play with the fire, it's your problem if you get burnt lol!) I tend to err on the side of: "The deeper the enlightenment --> the deeper the knowing that ultimately everyone/everything is 'just fine' + a deep respect for all beings through knowing their essential inalienable dignity and purity ---> it's definitely not necessary to harm people based on the CHANCE this might get them enlightened quicker." <br /> <br />Observe the Dalai Lama and Dilgo Khyentse for example. OFTEN deep realisation brings...a certain relaxation! <br /> <br />(Hey, Milarepa was tough and WANTED the quickest, most powerful way. We moderns are a bit more sensitive!) <br /> <br />*** <br /> <br />One thing is certain though: it's possible to read the last couple of chapters of this book and fall into spontaneous enlightenment experiences. It is that good. <br /> <br />I have to caveat all my reviews of books on here with the fact that when I first bought THIS book, I actually threw it in the bin out of frustration. <br /> <br />Now, for those chapters alone, it's part of the (very small) core of my spiritual library. I had to hunt down a new copy to buy. (Opening one's mind to new information is something recommended for everyone, and *essential* for those seeking spiritual knowledge~experience!) <br /> <br />[Note, I am referring here to the 1985 EDITION of this book. I can't vouch for the others. I haven't read them but I know that Adi Da did change his style in many of his later works in such a way that, at the very least, the writing was not as direct.]

A great buy for such a cheap price!

This older edition from "Da Free John" is a great buy. The book is chalk full of information on esoteric yoga that you won't get anywhere else. Do you lose anything for not buying one of the latest editions? No. In fact, you save $100 and are spared the never-ending boasting of Mr. Da in the added chapters at the end of his books!

Great teaching - difficult teacher

As with every book from Adi Da, if you want to buy it, consider buying the 1st edition rather than any later edition. There might be significant changes in the editions. Compare this: The 1st (paperback) edition from 1985 was sold for less than 30 dollars and contained 801 pages, whereas the 2005 (hardcover) edition contains 1410 pages and is sold for more than 100 dollars. Naturally the question arises: What the heck have they been changing, adding (or even cutting?) through all those years? And why are they keeping on doing this? But besides this, what about the book itself? Besides the real Dawn Horse Testament, the book also contains a lot more material - introductional, explanational etc. In my eyes, the Testament itself is simply a great piece written with the deep inside of a great mystic. If you however have never had contact with any of Adi Da's teachings, this book might not be a good start. It contains too much. After all, it's really a Testament, explaining the core, but many explanations about various aspects of the teachings (the 7 stages, the esoteric and/or energetic anatomy of man, the recommended practices etc.) are only to be found in further books. So the content of the testament itself would get 5 stars by me, but for the making of the book, I'll take one star away. There are numerous fotos included in the book of Adi Da himself. Which actually tell you a lot - not so much about the guy himself but about the organisation around him. Adi Da sitting, Adi Da walking, Adi Da in a meditative position, Adi Da with a mad look in his eyes, Adi Da here and there and everywhere. It's indeed a close boarder between devotion for the teacher and person cultism. However, don't get disturbed by that. The pictures can be both inspiring or quite ridiculous, depending on your own point of view.

The four sublimely transcendental samadhis of Adi Da Samraj

The Dawn Horse Testament is the ultimate guide to the mastery of transcendental awareness, and enlightenment. The incomparable western master Adi Da exquisitely illuminates the mystery of Who you Ultimately Are, intensifying meditative awareness through the ajna door into the incredible mastery of Divine Ignorance, Divine Realization, and Divine Being. The ultimate answers within transcendental awareness await the arrival of the newly wakened meditator's assimilation of the four samadhis of Adi Da. The Dawn Horse Testament is an invaluable companion to anyone on the path of the mastery of awareness. Other seventh stage teachings are Self-Realization of Noble Wisdom: The Lankavatara Sutra; Mahamudra: Quintessence of Mind and Meditation; and The Four Yogas Of Enlightenment. The exploration of consciousness through the four samadhis of The Dawn Horse Testament is without parallel and sublimely transcendental.