7.1 – FORBIDDEN CAVES (10.31.14)

ENLIGHTENMENT ^[2d]

Shikoku Island, Japan. The 8th-century AD. A young monk named Saeki Mao was deep in the mountains doing his spiritual training when he decided to enter a small cave called Mikurodo and meditate. While inside, he had an encounter that he would later credit with bringing him enlightenment, and he emerged from the cave as Kukai a high priest who would become one of Japan’s most important historical figures.

“Many Buddhists have reported enlightening experiences in caves. And one of the most famous stories involved the monk Kukai. He is the individual who brought esoteric Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism, to Japan from China, and according to his autobiography, he was meditating in a cave at Cape Muroto. And he had fixed his eyes on the morning star. The morning star flew towards him, entered his mouth and in front of him he saw an image of the Bodhisattva Akasagarbha. And Akasagarbha, in Japanese, is known as Kokuzo Bosatsu. So, we have this spiritual being, surrounded by light. Perhaps he even used the light to travel there.” – Ken Jeremiah (Author, Eternal Remains)

After this encounter, Kukai suddenly had great wisdom, including the ability to comprehend 85,000 Buddhist texts. But what happened inside Mikurodo Cave that allowed Kukai to enter this enlightened state?

“Kokuzo appeared to Kukai in the cave when he was in his trance and basically informed him that he was a conduit to the Universe. And it channeled through his body and he could tell you anything about the stars, the planets. It’s almost as if he were tapped into a database.” – Wm. Michael Mott (Author, Caverns, Cauldrons, & Concealed Creatures, 3rd Ed.)

“Some even perceive that the cave is similar to a womb. So, a human being enters as a normal mortal. They engage in ascetic or meditative discipline within the cave. And when they exit the cave, they’re no longer a typical mortal, but they’re more akin to a saint. Or even a Buddha.” – Ken Jeremiah (Author, Eternal Remains)

But could the enlightenment found inside caves be coming from an extraterrestrial source inside the earth? Some Ancient Astronaut Theorists say yes and suggest evidence of this might be found in the fabled nirvana known as Shambhala and the Sky Caves of Mustang in Nepal.

“Some say Shambhala is a mythical city that’s located somewhere in the mountains in the Himalayas. Its inhabitants are supposed to be fully enlightened beings who have access to a great amount of technology, which comes from the enlightenment itself.” – Ken Jeremiah (Author, Eternal Remains)

“Buddhism has always seen caves as more or less a conduit to altered states of consciousness. To other civilizations that may exist inside the earth.” – Wm. Michael Mott (Author, Caverns, Cauldrons, & Concealed Creatures, 3rd Ed.)

“The Sky Caves in Mustang are interesting because they’re a hundred or so man-made caves carved into the faces of cliffs. And are only accessible by these huge vertical shafts. And inside these caves, we have, huge statues of Buddhas, bodhisattvas.” – Ken Jeremiah (Author, Eternal Remains)

And Buddhists are not alone in this belief. Hindus also revere caves as places where monks can go to find wisdom.

“The Sadhu are Indian holy men who, basically, lead a life of depravation, self-imposed exile in caves so that they can enter these altered states of consciousness. They definitely believe that caves are a conduit to communicating with non-human entities.” – Wm. Michael Mott (Author, Caverns, Cauldrons, & Concealed Creatures, 3rd Ed.)

“It’s almost as though they’re opening a doorway into a spiritual consciousness in which they are able to communicate with these divine beings and hopefully become divine themselves.” – Ken Jeremiah (Author, Eternal Remains)

Other important figures throughout history also attribute their life-altering epiphanies to mysterious encounters that happened in caves.

“In the life of the great artist and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci, he had some unusual but important experience at the mouth of a cave. Right after that, he disappeared for two years. And right after that, he began this spurt of creativity that was awesome. In art and in science, he invented the first self-propelled vehicle and imagined flying machines.” – Jonathan Young, Ph.D. (Founding Curator, Joseph Campbell Archives)

“Joseph Smith wrote that an angel appeared to him with the name of Moroni in the year 1827. Told to Joseph Smith he should go to a certain little hill. He should pull the stone plate away, and inside he would find a cave. And in the cave he would find unknown writings.” – Erich von Däniken (Author, Chariots of the Gods?)

“As all good Mormons know, he found the golden tablets, which contained a vast amount of data.” – Wm. Michael Mott (Author, Caverns, Cauldrons, & Concealed Creatures, 3rd Ed.)

Why are there so many accounts of humans having enlightening experiences inside caves? Is there something about caves themselves that facilitate such extraordinary experiences? Could it be that these people are coming into contact with an extraterrestrial presence? Ancient Astronaut Theorists suggest that cosmic knowledge may be stored in the very walls of these caves themselves, and that the proof can be found in Central America…1,000 feet underground.

Previous: Ritualistic Practices | Next: The Crystal Cave

References:

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