To be transcribed.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff comments upon the production of the audio recording, “Purpose, Method, and Policy of this Work.” He considers the combination of logical development and stream of consciousness academically unacceptable, but that “it is a little interesting.”

This recording has not been transcribed. This is a Sunday session from Wolff's 1976 conference in Lone Pine, an event for which he maintained a degree of formality. The first fifteen minutes of this session feature a musical performance.

Franklin Merrell Wolff offers an extemporaneous statement on the triune nature of man, a statement that will serve as an introduction to the series of audio recordings, “Purpose, Method, and Policy of this Work.” He stresses the importance of the discipline of the animal nature, and addresses the meta-psychological problem of the asuric temptation that arises in the relationship between man and the Divine. Next he discusses the difficulty that arises in connection with the effort to “transcribe,” or formulate in conceptual terms, the noetic content of the Awakened Consciousness. He concludes by noting that the audio recordings in this series are an experiment in trying to combine directed, conceptual thought with the spontaneous, transcriptive thought that comes from the introceptive Consciousness.

Franklin Merrell Wolff offers a remark on the audio recordings, “Purpose, Method, and Policy of this Work.” He restates a maxim of Immanuel Kant’s to the effect that “perceptions without conceptions are blind and conceptions without perceptions are empty.” He then suggests a parallel maxim, which is “that pure mathematics without metaphysics is empty and that the pure metaphysical vision is unthinkable without mathematics, but by the marriage of these two the unthinkable becomes, in some measure at least, thinkable.” He asserts that by the Realization of a third order of cognition it is possible to render metaphysical knowledge possible and to make thinkable that which otherwise would remain unthinkable. Wolff proceeds by reviewing his mathematical representation of the principle of periodicity and points out that the sum of all possible phases and counter-phases is always zero. He concludes by calling attention to Shankara’s admonition to seek the permanent in the impermanent even while participating in the impermanent periodicity of life—an unthinkable proposition that becomes thinkable with the help of mathematical analysis.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff concludes this series by offering a parenthetical statement on the subject of the sense in which he is a Buddhist. He outlines the fundamental principles of Buddhism and points out the features with which he takes exception. He stresses that his own personal orientation to the rational forms of Buddhism rather than to the aesthetic forms such as Zen. He further differentiates his orientation by stating he favors the ashunya form of Buddhism rather than the shunya form, and that he disagrees with logical Buddhists by affirming that there three, not just two, faculties of cognition. He distinguishes his orientation as it pertains to the Tantric forms of Buddhism, the Advaita form of Vedanta and the forms of Buddhism that are closely allied to it, and in general, to orientations that favor the aesthetic component over the theoretic component. He concludes by affirming his acceptance of the Kwan-Yin vow and its recommendation of the renunciation of the Great Reward so that this value may be shared with all creatures.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues this series by presenting the fundamental principles of the yoga of knowledge, or jñāna yoga, which is associated with the intellectual mind sheath. He discusses Shankara’s conception of the orders of unreality and concludes that the conceptual order has a reality transcending that of the perceptual order. He goes on to outline the triune nature of man and asserts that jñāna yoga uses the powers of the conceptual aspect of man to master the animal or sensuous aspect of man, and then leads to the self-surrender of that conceptual aspect to the Realization of the transcendent, introceptual being. Wolff enters into a discussion of the discontinuity between a sensual being oriented to particulars and a conceptual being oriented to universals, and he suggests that the story of the descent of the Manasaputra, or “sons of mind,” presented in The Secret Doctrine offers an explanation of this problem. He then describes the steps in the process of self-analysis that a jñāna yogin goes through for the purpose of isolating his true identity. Wolff then affirms that by the bestowal of the transcendental component, a fifth stage of yoga, beyond the fourth stage of self-realization, may be realized wherein one transcends the duality between the universe of objects and the nirvanic withdrawal and becomes a free mover laboring to bring that freedom to all suffering creatures.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues this series by considering the Mano Kosha, or sense-mind, and the raja yoga of Patanjali that is related to it. He begins by issuing a word of warning concerning the attainment of phenomenal yogic powers and then proceeds to analyze the apparent power that the sense-mind sheath has over us. He makes a distinction between freeing oneself from bondage to the appearance of sensuous objects achieved through meditation, concentration, and sensory deprivation and the freedom from the sensible objects attained through the liberating power of pure mathematics. He go on to discuss the history of counting and the development of number theory far transcending the power of sensuous correlation to demonstrate how objects of conceptual thought may function as a yogic discipline to undercut our attachment to the world of sensible objects.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues this series by suggesting a correlation between the five koshas and the five yogas of Hindu religious philosophy; namely, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga, jñāna yoga, and the yoga of the Great Renunciation. He begins by examining the principles of karma yoga; namely, renouncing the fruits of one’s actions, maintaining an equal attitude with respect to success and failure, and, ultimately, renouncing even the actions themselves. He asserts that karma yoga affords an excellent opportunity for gaining the power of concentration and the development of will power. Wolff next considers bhakti yoga and the vital sheath that correlates with it. He points out that the qualities most strongly associated with bhakti yoga are devotion, self-giving, surrender, and sacrifice, all of which involve the surrender of determination by the personal ego and the complete acceptance of the governance of the divinity. He goes on to discuss the office and attitude of the guru and concludes by differentiating between the dualism in the bhakti yoga orientation of one’s relatedness to the Divine and the non-dualistic orientation in jñāna yoga to seek one’s ultimate identity with the Divine.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues this series with a parenthetical statement concerning the cosmology of Sri Shankaracharya. He begins by stressing the importance of type psychology in evaluating a particular method of yoga and then expresses his high regard for the philosophical work of Shankara. He goes on to posit three views of the root principles in Hinduism; namely, Purusha and Prakriti, Brahman and Maya, and Ishvara and Shakti. He proceeds by calling attention to the inadequacies of Shankara’s theory of superimposition as the means by which a universe is produced. Wolff then introduces the conception of a Root Consciousness that produces the appearance of a universe by means of the objectified transcendental thought of “builders.” He asserts that the manifestation of a universe by superimposition implies a certain degree of error and triviality, whereas a universe that is composed of transcendental thought conveys a greater seriousness of purpose. Wolff continues his critique of Shankara’s cosmology by analyzing his employment of the figure of a jar to represent the relationship between Brahman and the universe. He concludes with Shankara’s assertion that in dreamless sleep we realize Consciousness without content; Wolff suggests that one may retain the state of consciousness with content and yet isolate at the same time Consciousness itself apart from content.