Dharma Combat

Where Spiritual Giants Duke It Out

Roy Masters
Taking Hits

Barry Long:

(Editor's Note: Barry Long has never commented directly on the message of Roy Masters; the following is a general excerpt and comparison that Long, in our opinion, probably would make if he were familiar with Masters' message. So, to be clear, if such a thing is possible, this is the LiveReal Editorial opinion of what Long would probably say about the teaching of Masters. Clear?) That said...

While Masters takes the general stance that, in general, "sex" is not always linked to "love," and even approaches a principle that, in general, "the less sex there is, the more love there is," and vice versa . . .

Long would probably agree that sex and love are rarely the same thing, and that sexuality is more often linked with "ego" and thus, conflict, pain, suffering, etc.

However, Long elaborates at length on the possibility (and practice) of sexuality without ego, something that the thought of Masters only considers briefly.

Ken Wilber:

(Editor's Note: Similar to above, Wilber has never commented directly on the message of Roy Masters; the following is a general excerpt and comparison that Wilber, in our opinion, probably would make if he were familiar with Masters' message, etc etc.)

Wilber has the position of, in addition to the "merely ascending" path, from the Many to the One which Masters advocates, but also, from the One to the Many, or the "descending" path.

 

Saniel Bonder:

(Editor's Note: Same as above)

Likely, Bonder would describe Masters' message as, do a degree, "hypermasculine."
"The masculine impulse in our natures seeks to analyze, control, govern, grasp, and penetrate. In order to do any or all of these, it must first differentiate itself from that to which it seeks to do such things . . . That dissociative urge, taken to the extreme, becomes obsessed with an absolute severance of relatedness to all that is felt to be "other," different, threatening, binding."
- from Waking Down: Beyond Hypermasculine Dharmas

 

Psychotherapeutic:

As a large part of Masters' recommendations consist of "stepping back" and "observing oneself" and on general recommendation is a beneficial practice, it can also be taken improperly. For example, one can become "too much" of an observer of oneself, at the expense of being a "participator," resulting in more a state of detached alienation from oneself than healthy detachment; often what is needed is to get in touch with needs rather than observe them. Then "the stage of becoming one's authentic self and is characterized by the patient feeling less disconnected, less self-conscious and less as an observer of himself. He begins to act more and more spontaneous and from his true present-day needs." Although Masters does address this, it remains a potential pitfall for all involved in a "self-observation" practice.

Advaidism:

(Same Editor's note as above.)

Masters' psychological system is primarily rooted in a dualism between "spirit" and "matter," or consciousness-verses-the-world, which essentially exists in a type of contrary, exclusive, or antogonistic relationship - the more "conscious" one is, the more one is free from the world, and vice-versa - the less conscious one is, the more one is bound to the world.

This assumption of dualism serves as the basis for a practical and solid psychological system, perhaps in a similar way that Newtonian physics works and is very practical and solid; yet at the same time, this line of thought does not extend into the nondual, or rather, extend into the quantum mechanics.

 

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