ANCIENT CULTURES and PANORAMIC SENSING

Some ancient cultures recognised the possibility of using the senses in their panoramic capacity. I feel there must be many more examples of this, please contact me if you know any.

Hakalau

On Hawii it is called Hakalau. There is a new page on this, as i have only just discovered it. Also there is linked connection with a form of Zen Buddhism which seems to teach the same ideas. Please see Hakalau.

Dadirri

Among the Australian aborigines it is called Dadirri : "Simply sit and look at and listen to the earth and environment that surrounds you."

However in the explanations i have read, there is always an emphasis on focusing. "Focus on something specific, such as a bird, a blade of grass, a clump of soil, cracked earth, a flower, bush or leaf, a cloud in the sky or a body of water, whatever you can see."

I believe this 'focusing on specific things' is a modern development.
Source: creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture

Buddha's Middle Way

Buddha's Middle Way is a way between the two extremes of sensual indulgence and sensory withdrawal. Panoramic sensing is a way of using the senses which fulfils these requirements perfectly.

Tao and Zen

Advanced martial arts combine focused and panoramic perception – i don't know how they cultivate their panoramic perception. Please contact me if you know about this.

It must be the original idea behind the Taoist and Zen practice of "Staring at Walls". A blank wall is ideal to focus on, as a bridge to panoramic seeing.

The Chinese and Zen idea of "seeing without looking – hearing without listening" expresses it wonderfully. (I think it's a quote from Bodhidharma but from where?).

In Taoist and Zen literature, i believe it is meant by the term 'just sensing'...

However these last two quotes are always understood as a shift in psychological perspective and higher states of consciousness; they are never associated with how animals use their everyday senses.

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Back to Chapter One : Welcome To The Panorama
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