October 9, 1963
Dear Jim [Pike],
I moved to 58 Harriet St. under dramatic circumstances about which I do not wish to speak because some persons who know are involved. But the deaths of Swami Ramdas and the latest instructions from my Sufi teacher impel me to take an external “beating” regardless of losses, financial or social. There is a great difficulty here, but if one can see it from a larger context it is not so much a difficulty as a situation. So I’ll explain in bits because in see doing I can answer some of your inquiries.
My rent is higher, I have no phone, I do not have all the accommodations but there is rooms for a sojourner. I have written Bill a number of times, and I mention this to you because if you do come to S.F. you can sleep here. There is one difference—I asked Bill to bring some bed-clothes and if you come before he does I must ask you to notify me so I can buy them. My credit is good, etc. so don’t worry about that. But it does seem a general moving time. In the same mail I have a notice that Norman has moved to Berkeley. I expect to go there tomorrow on three errands which I shall also mention:
a. South Asian Studies Berkeley. This is a long and complex subject. While I have been entirely successful socially in Asia and over attempt to report has been considered as egotism, I have now met several other persons in the same boat of outcastes. As soon as an American goes to Asia and succeeds, he is unable to communicate and often loses even what little popularity he has had.
But tomorrow night I make the first interview covering not only some material for the Encyclopedia of Buddhism but also the question about willing our memoirs and diaries to this institution. We have among us a whole detail covering many years back of the forthcoming awful events particularly in S.E. Asia. True, my library was burned in 1949 but at that time I had not much connection with the Academy. Both Alan Watts and KPFA have adamantly refused to examine my paper on “Buddhism in South Vietnam”, and I no long cry because this has also happened to others.
A number of years ago I had trouble with this department as above, but it seems that the number of people on the s—list, including Sam Lewis got too large, we banded together and ousted the rejector. You never hear of his today, and he once was a pretty big shot. People who lecture on “karma” seem to think they are exempt from it—it is the other way round. In any event a number of us have enough absolutely authentic material on S.E. Vietnam and surrounding lands to make it worthwhile for some honest historian to do some easy but very real digging.
b. Walking, Dancing. I am now able to compile a complete combination of walking, dancing and esoterics which will be introduced into Asia. Because already I have been summoned at some pretty authentic levels to do this. But first I wish to give credit to those frog whom I have learned which includes one of the staff at Hearst Hall, Berkeley, a woman who is up in the fundamentals of dancing, gymnastic-and eurhythmics, and has at least an appreciation of Yoga.
The author, Paul Reps, has been here and I introduced him to the more advanced methods which he has received with gratitude. But our relation is very peculiar, as we are bound by Sufi principles to share all esoteric matters with each other without regard. He left me laughing: “I came asking you to explain mysticism to no and you show me how to walk. Wonderful, wonderful, absolutely free and easy and yet most profound.”
c. Personal. Norman moving to Berkeley and the Shekeloffs about to leave—if they have not.
Vietnam. This is so complex and the complexity has come out of the stubborn refusal of the press and State Department to accept as serious any report from simple citizens who have been there, with an exaggerated consideration of the fly-by-night commentators who take quick looks, made rapid surveys and are always given top consideration. Today many Americans who have been to Asia do not report because they consider it useless to present foots against the emotional logistics of fourth estate people and I don’t see how you can stop it.
The professors of the universities are even in a fix because they are regarded as interested whereas we are regarded as is interested parties. I have now been in conference on and off the record with all kinds of people. One of the $64,000 questions is “What is the actual religion of South Vietnam.” Both A. W. and KPFA have consistently and stubbornly refused even to examine a paper. Now we are going to have a protest against Mme. Nhu and she is not entirely wrong. To begin with Sam Lewis has stepped into four communist nests and everyone was a religious front. One Hindu orthodox, one Yoga, one Sufi and one Christian Missionary movement. It’s a synch and one of my colleagues who is a Buddhist monk (American) has the same report. But nobody is going to accept any report on Vietnam or Buddhism from an American, no matter how much he knows. And you cannot appeal to the UN because the Burmese, Ceylon and Cambodians are well aware that what is offered as “Buddhism” in most of America has been presented by “experts” and you can study fifty years with them and not know what to do when you enter a temple.
Perhaps the greatest authority an real Buddhism is another American and I hear he has been inducted to teach at San Jose State. But don’t mention Alan Watts, Christmas Humphreys or Daisetz Suzuki to him. He has studied, practiced and teaches actual Buddhism, poor chap. He ought to know better? Anyhow we have a lot of Buddhists here and as soon as you have had one lesson or somebody gives you an ordination in a foreign tongue, you have the right to teach and do and a lot of people follow you, “Isn’t he grand,” and everybody teaches something else.
Real Buddhism is growing here just the same. I am studying with Master Too Lun but it would be wrong to say he is the best. He has the five-school Buddhism which adopts the Meditation. His meditative methods are about half-way between Soto and Rinzai.
Bill— I have a letter from him in the same mail. He says he will bring sheets and maybe bedding if he comes. He gives me a temporary address. I am not going to answer him immediately. But he sent me his reactions on Gina Cerminara and Horse Taylor. Gina is a very close friend and I have bought and admire her “Many Loves, Many Loves.” I met Renee Taylor at a lecture she gave on Humza and she proposed collaboration. I am not only working on the food problems of Pakistan (and elsewhere in Asia), one of my closest Sufis brothers (they exist you know) is a cousin of the Mir and long since has offered take me there. This involves a lot of technical matters.
Persons. You have mentioned several people and I like the news. The common problem is the inability to face fundamentals; and also to reject “wisdom” if it comes from the “wrong” source. There is no greater misleading statement than that of A.W. “If the right means comes from the wrong person, it is wrong.” Who is to decide who is and who is not the “right” person. Yes, there is a method of deciding. In a few days I shall be 67. Three years from now I shall give, or have a big dinner and even if all the criticism is sound, unless something unforeseen happens, such people will have a hard time explaining away certain obvious signs of vigor, activity and faculties. All of these come out of real disciplines in real Oriental methods from real persons within this century.
What is awkward is that after a while even a glance can inform you about others. It happened last night again when a man came into Walt Baptiste’s studio and I asked him about his sinuses. Or when I looked at the chart of Merrill Goertz and asked his about his ruptures. But no one has even looked at the exterior of Sufism here, let alone anything else. It is only we do have a real scion of real Sufis now in S.F. and you can bet that Rom Landau and he don’t see eye-to-eye or anything.
Mary Beth, you and I have certain fundamental social-psychological blockages which are too similar for me not to recognize them and recognize them almost immediately. Reacting against this solves nothing and blaming anybody selves nothing. But those impediments in life can be overcome and this without analysis. It is here that the spiritual person differs from the psychologist. It is not necessary to spend a lot of time going over histories and complexes. In the two cases noted above all one has to do is face the uses and the ruptures without blame anywhere, anyhow. Some day we may come to this but we are too much imbedded in analysis. You cannot have love and cosmic analysis together.
A minor note was in a note received from Allen Ginsberg. He has finally realized that Orientals are not peculiar Occidentals and they have reasons, but totally different reasons for opposing our culture and civilization.
Political Complexes. McNamara is right. The situation in Vietnam will be cleared by 1965 or 1966 at which time we shall be immersed in similar complexes in Sudan, Zanzibar, Somaliland as we already are in Guiana, etc., etc. Not to mention half of Africa otherwise.
Norman is, is not Norman. He is two persons at cross-purposes and it is up to him to resolve which is which. I showed him my book on California politics which he did not read and he is committing exactly the same errors—which I warned him about—that the Utopian Society committed in another day. You start to save the world and you end by integrating the barber-shop down the street.
Claude is now studying real Zen and bringing others with him. As there are more Buddhist Sanghas here than Buddhists it is impossible to keep up with them. Between the encyclopedia and “Western Buddhist” I have enough to do—I am supposed to report to Japan and Malay—it is beyond my capacity. In the section of my book I have added a chapter on “Zen in America” and attention is paid to real Zen and not to personalized-non-personal “Buddhism” (?????)
Compassion. This is my final note and almost only note. It is not understood and when it is practiced one has to be willing and able to face every kind of trial, ignominy and criticism without losing sight both of the goal and the method. There is a cosmos between a lecture on ji-ji-mu-ge and feeling another person as yourself.
Confession. I am studying the history of art at the Rudolph Schaeffer School. Seeing F. Spielberg’s name on the Board of Directors, I said: “Catholic Christian Art has been far more spiritual than Hindu art.” Evidently the teacher has not met F.S. but he supported me to the hilt and more. Anyhow when we had our meeting F.S. did not show up and there has been a lot of criticism and oppositions so I do not know if he is still there—will find out at next meeting. I never see him around. But I can never forget Corinne: “But papa was wrong, he was wrong in everything.” Ye goode old karma. I don’t mean to say I honestly believe that any religious art is more “spiritual” than any other, but don’t get any idea that you can have God without having if not the devil, a lot of imps with you. Just ask Bill.
Corresponding regularly with Prynce Hopkins. If you see Bill tell him I can’t answer now but have his letter.
Yes, there is more, but am too busy doing to write about it.
Sam
Foundation for Religious Transition
Santa Barbara CA
June 26, 1969
Mr. Samuel L. Lewis
410 Precita Avenue
San Francisco 94110, Cal.
Dear Mr. Lewis:
We have your letter written to the foundation for Religious Transition and I am responding in hope that I might be able to be of some help.
Though I am not certain why you feel your personality is not acceptable, let me assure you that it is not our interest to have people’s money at the expense of their personality. We only invite those who are interested in the same things we are interested in to share us in our quest for deeper meaning.
As to why my husband has been recognized for writing in the psi field, I can only suggest that it is probably because it is somewhat unusual for a rather well-known iconoclast and bishop of the Church to express any interest—let alone belief—in extrasensory phenomena. Sir Oliver Lodge was certainly equally recognized when he wrote—and is still referred to as one of the outstanding personalities ever to have expressed an interest and belief in psychic phenomena.
I hope you have been enjoying New Focus and that in it you have found some food for thought. The response to our professional Refocus Operation has been great, and we are very hopeful about the development of the activities of our Foundation. We would be glad to have you join us in our venture and ministry if this should be your choice.
With all best wishes,
Diane K. Pike
410 Precita Ave.,
San Francisco, Calif.
June 28, 1969
Diane K. Pike
Foundation for Religious Transition
Box 5146
Santa Barbara Calif. 93103
Dear Mrs. Pike:
I greatly appreciate your letter of the 26th which I find friendly and moral. Past experiences—which there are many—support the contention that we have two cultures as Lord Snow claims, which he calls “scientific” and “literary- humanist.” The former leans on facts, testimonials and referents, the latter on the importance of the persons involved. The situation is more complex because many of the latter include the word “democratic” where it has no meaning whatsoever. While the scientists, who may not claim to be so “democratic” are always willing to listen to objective evidence and the discovery or uncover of facts, no matter what the source.
Mme. Curie was quite willing to investigate all the known chemical elements to determine whether they had radioactive properties and how much. This work has been continued, and just as “all God’s chillums got wings” so all the chemical elements have some degree or other of “miraculous” powers.
When it comes to the psi-field it is very different. The powers have not been measured and the importance of certain personalities is so great as to make honest, objective, impersonal research almost impossible. And this can be easily proven by the attitudes of many in the psi-field to each other, a situation very seldom found among true scientists.
While I was living in Pakistan the head of the new University of Islamabad (among other matters) told me that they had allotted considerable funds for what they called Ruhaniat which covers all things in both the psi-field and beyond. When I returned to this land every noted organization in this field excepting Dr. Gardner Murphy, of course, turned town the possibility of Asians having prowess in their chosen field, much less superiority. Not even money seemed to move them; each was concerned with leadership and popularity. In fact having many other projects in life. I gave it up. Presuming that it is almost impossible to get the Americans of the literary-humanist culture to associate with strangers on terms of equality, or anything like that.
The situation is more complex because you have on your board and sponsors men who have given me the public lie and been accepted without any opportunity to present any case whatsoever. And this country is full of personalities who claim to be the bridges between the Orient and Occident and are so accepted without much evidence. Consequently when the real Asians wish to establish report they are faced with personality-situations.
I have never heard of any case in western history that could compare with the faculties of my friend, Ali Mastana, a Khalandar. It is all right to have a “song of the Khalandar” in the Sheherazade Suite, but the real thing has not yet become so welcome. But behind the struggles on the campuses of the country there is a zeal for honesty, objectivity and impersonality and one after another of the younger professors and instructors one meets accept as plausible the face-to-face experiences especially when documented. So I shall keep on hoping that we can have something like the scientific objectivity of a Mme. Curie in the psi-field.
I am a strong proponent of the International outlooks of Project: Prometheus and Project: Krishna of Dr. Oliver Reiser of Pittsburg University, and on the various university campuses: or with the young people who want religion (or a substitute therefore) based on human experiences and not on personality-prowess, speculation of concepts. In fact the objective successes of the moment keep on very busy and I could send you copies of certain publications (of the young, of course)n based on hard facts.
My friend. Dr. Huston smith of M.I.T. was surprised when I placed before him:
Soma psychikos=lingua sharira
Soma pneumatikos= lingua karana
This is based not only on deep studies of the still living religions of the world but on accompanying personal experiences. But it becomes a little delicate to use these as supporting evidences when you have people on your board of Directors and sponsors who have publicly and privately opposed every report from this person, especially reports backed by objective data. And when objective data is rejected, where are we?
It is easy enough to convince Dr. Huston Smith and it has become quite easy to convince a number of professors, important and not important whom one has met recently with documentary material of the same general type required in the sciences. I am a firm believer in the possibilities of psi-sciences and long ago studied everything coming from Dr. Charles Bichet, much of which was rejected in this land, often on an a priori basis. And if psi-investigators follow the same policies there will be a further delay to universal acceptance.
I am therefore quite reticent to send in any reports on personal experiences, nor shall I until there is honest, objective exchange between fact gatherers of different lands. In my own case, one easily follows Wordsworth’s poetry on immortality, but beyond that there has been the lifting of veils and a general acceptance by different leaders, even in the top ranks of the real religions of the real world—to distinguish them from speculations, creations and concepts of a few important men and women.
I have around me quite a few disciples who have extra-sensory faculties and some of them work with Mrs. Lois Robinson of this region. I am quite aware of the work of Lottie Van Stahl but not only believe but have had experience and know directly and indirectly of the basic experiences of others.
Therefore I hope and pray and will continue to hope and pray that we have psi-sciences on the same general bases as we have geology, botany, anatomy, astronomy, etc., etc. When I am assured of that I should gladly join.
Faithfully.
Samuel L. Lewis