We continue in 2012 by exploring the role of mental images and the self as we think of it as heart or center of Krishnamurti’s basic insight. We discuss the many layers and categories of mental images. Krishnamurti was referring to the limitation and also the trickiness of the thought process. Buddhism also talks about the thought process, thought as a concept, and direct perception, which are two different levels of mind that are always operating. Themes: The Self As Image, What’s in a Name?, Relative and Absolute Realities, Tibetan Monastic Training: Understanding the Mind, Identification and Confusion, Karma Is Like a Hangover, Spiritual Kindergarten and Levels and With or Without Methods.

We begin this interview by exploring "magic" and "occult" powers. Magic or black magic is simply creating illusions in the mind of the watcher or seer. In reality there’s nothing there, but the watcher can see horses or elephants or whatever it may be. In the Tibetan language, we call it migthrul. That means creating an illusion in the eye or in the ear. We call this magic. Occult powers are completely different and cannot be achieved without some spiritual background. Magic may be used in many different ways and can be used as black magic to do harm; it may even come in a violent way. But occult power, by its nature, has to be used appropriately, for positive things, for helping others. I don’t think there’s any possibility of misuse. Themes include: Magic and Black Magic, If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him, Transformation That Is Not Dependent on Knowledge or Time, Transcendent Insight, Changing World-Changing Traditions, The Monastic Experience, The Eight-Fold Path and Krishnamurti, Are the Masters Relevant?, Why Do You Remain a Buddhist?, Krishnamurti’s Mission Is to Challenge, Confusion Leads to Inquiry and Has Tibet Gone Public with Its Secrets?

We continue by exploring the place and value of methods, so called spiritual practices and why Krishnamurti negates all this, why he insists that our repeated practices and rituals do not contribute to the liberation of the mind. Themes include: Ritual Conditioning, The Method Is Not the End, Removing Misconceptions, Truth and the Absolute, Fragmentation Leads to Conflict, Two Types of Virtues, and Samsara Is the Result of Ignorance.