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KARMA - THE MECHANISM
SUTRAS
could possibly have been taught correctly by the many subsequent generations of disciples. Since only the omniscient had perfect understanding - would it not be probable that the imperfections of human nature prevented the flawless transmission of this wisdom throughout the ages? Would it not be perfectly appropriate and even necessary to doubt incorrect knowledge and those who teach it?
The answer is easy: All those who seriously apply this knowledge confirm that the path as it was charted by the omniscient is valid. They testify that their perceptions and results match what is described in the ancient scriptures.
There exists one mechanism that preserves the original purity of this knowledge: While progressing towards freedom from all karmic limitations we intuitively compare all information we receive with the latent, perfect knowledge within ourselves. This automatically eliminates and corrects all flawed information.22 The farther we progress, the more transparent this process becomes. We experience this as sudden, clear and intuitive understanding where our mind and feeling intuitively reach new levels of insight. This type of deeper understanding -pramana - does not require outside proof.
This mechanism of comparing all information with the inner perfect knowledge is one of the main reasons why the teachings of the omniscient remained unchanged for thousands of years: they correspond to the experiences of those who pursue this path - corrections were never necessary.
Furthermore the omniscient, their knowledge and its communication are pure by definition alone. Everything that deviates from correct knowledge simply fails to agree with this classification.
It is safe to assume that the original knowledge and its channels of propagation have lost nothing of their immediacy and purity. The cause for doubt and uncertainty may rather be found in our own imperfect understanding than in the omniscient, their teaching or their
22 How clearly we perceive this depends on the degree up to which we
dissolved our karmas that obscure insight and understanding.
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