Shoko Asahara

"For the first time I stopped and thought, "What am I living for? What must I do to overcome this sense of emptiness?" This is a feeling which we all experience from time to time, only not as intensely. In a situation like that some people will change jobs, and some people just disappear. However, I set off in a completely different direction. The desire to seek after the ultimate awoke within me, and I began groping for an answer. That meant that I had to discard everything. Yes, everything that I had. It took great courage and faith, and great resolution."

"First of all, a red-hot energy is released from the mulaadhaara chakra in the coccyx and travels up along the backbone, entering the sahasraara chakra at the top of the head After that, kundalini travels up through the sushumna channel, which connects the perineum with the sahasraara chakra Then kundalini passes through the saadhisthaana chakra (genitals) to the manipura chakra (navel), on to the anaahata chakra (chest) and then through the vishuddha chakra (throat), and a spiritual awakening occurs"

"In my previous existence, I myself have killed someone at my gurus order. When your guru orders you to take someones life, its an indication that that persons time is already up. In other words, you are killing that person exactly at the right time and thereby letting that person have his poa."

"Let me tell you straight, those who think that this world is full of pleasure are not suited for our practice. For their lives have not yet come to the dead end that provides the impetus for spiritual practice. Only after experiencing suffering are they ready to start practice. [...] when you come to the end of this process, when you run into that dead end, thats when you begin to experience suffering. Thats when you become keenly aware of the suffering of being reborn into this world, the meaningless of it all. It is because your true self has accumulated many experiences that finally you become aware of this."

"Once youve achieved satori then you realize what you need to do now, or just what this thing called life is. Then you lose all interest in money. After all, youve realized that there is something much more important than that. How can I live each day to the full? How can I live in such a way as to seek after absolute freedom, absolute happiness and joy, which is what the true self really desires? Gradually you begin to focus on these points. Then you begin training and head towards gedatsu."

"You can love all people. The ability to see all things as they are immediately brings one happiness."

"We have to prevent those of false gedatsu from wielding any influence over people. For that reason I think I will have to show you eventually the true state and power of one who has attained gedatsu, as a kind of touchstone."

"It is not wrong to presume that people today would obtain their rebirth in hell, or the realms of preta or animal, is it? The reason why is that they kill living beings, steal other peoples belongings, pursue obscenities, lie, and drink alcohol. It is better to think that there is no means to redeem them anymore."

"You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake..."

"Let us look at the situation of Aum Shinrikyo now. When did the slaying happen to Aum? It began when Aum got involved in the election and declared freedom, equality, and benevolence for every being, especially for the Japanese, spreading the hospice movement and campaigning against the consumption tax at the same time. Since then, just like a Lamb who was slain, Aum has sacrificed its honor and position in society for the sake of its teaching."

"Suppose there was someone who would accumulate bad karma and go to hell if allowed to live. And suppose an enlightened individual thought that it was better to terminate the persons life and gave the person poa ... Objectively speaking, it is a destruction of life.... However, based on the notion of Vajrayana, it is no other than respectable poa."

"... to dedicate ones bodily existence... For example, oppression from the government would be directed toward the supreme truth. Can you throw your body away? You might discard your own body. You throw it away without hesitation. This is the way of Tantra to dedicate ones body... It is the way of Tantra to abandon oneself for the sake of spiritual maturity."