[Buddha-l] Enneagram and Buddhism

[Curt Steinmetz]

First of all it should be noted that the original intention of the 
Enneagram was, literally, to explain everything. Therefore applying it 
to psychology is just a specific case. This was the intention of 
Gurdjieff and Ouspensky - and it was also the original intention of 
Raymond Llull.

The Enneagram has simply followed a common trajectory that it shares 
with many other originally "occult" spiritual teachings that have been 
recast as "psychological tools" of various kinds. I suppose this makes 
them appear less scary and more scientifical.

The whole notion of "personality types", btw, is inextricably tied up 
with Astrology, Sympathetic Magic, and the philosophy of Plato and 
Aristotle, among other things.

Ichazo claims to have studied with an esoteric group in Buenos Aires. 
Since he is extremely vague about this the implication is that one of 
the following is the case:
(1) he read some books and made this stuff up on his own
(2) he is bound by oaths of secrecy to not reveal more

Here is Ichazo in his own words, with snarky notes added by someone who 
is trying to insinuate that Ichazo has a connection to Carlos Castaneda:
[from here: http://tinyurl.com/857s7p *]
*

"Oscar: When I was nineteen [since Ichazo was born in Bolivia in July 
1931, that would mean 1950 or '51], a remarkable man found me in La Paz. 
He was sixty years old and when he began to teach me, I knew from the 
beginning that he was speaking the truth. This man, whose name I have 
pledged not to reveal [sound familiar?], belonged to a small group in 
Buenos Aires that met to share their knowledge of various esoteric 
consciousness-altering techniques. I became the coffee boy for this 
group. I would get up at four A.M. to make their coffee and breakfast 
and would stay around as inconspicuously as possible. Gradually they got 
used to my presence and they started using me as a guinea pig to 
demonstrate techniques to each other. To settle arguments about whether 
some particular kind of meditation or mantra worked, they would have me 
try it and report what I experienced.

Keen: What kinds of disciplines were being shared in the group?

Oscar: About two-thirds of the group were Orientals, so they were strong 
on Zen, Sufism, and Kaballah. They also used some techniques I later 
found in the Gurdjieff work.

Keen: Where does the story go from here?

Oscar: One day when I was serving coffee, an argument arose between two 
members of the group. I turned to one and said, 'You are not right. He 
is right.' Just like that. Then I explained the point until both of them 
understood. This incident changed everything. They asked me to leave, 
and I thought I was being kicked out for being pretentious. But after 
about a week, they called me back and told me they had all decided to 
teach me. They worked with me for two more years and then opened doors 
for me in the Orient. After a time of remaining at home in Chile, I 
began to travel and study in the East [starting in '56], in Hong Kong, 
India, and Tibet. I did more work in the martial arts, learned all of 
the higher yogas, studied Buddhism, and Confucianism, alchemy, and the 
wisdom of the I Ching. Then I went back to La Paz to live with my father 
and digest my learnings. After working alone for a year, I went into a 
divine coma for seven days. When I came out of it I knew that I should 
teach; it was impossible that all my good luck should be only for myself 
[also familiar?].

Curt Steinmetz

Leigh Goldstein wrote:
> According to my understanding, the popular theory of personality types based on the enneagram (type 1 through type 9) is not of Sufi or Gurdjieffian derivation but was originated by Oscar Ichazo who founded Arica, and given some professional credibility by Dr. Claudio Naranjo, a psychiatrist and spiritual teacher. Naranjo studied with Ichazo (briefly) as well as Fritz Perls, and has related the enneatypes to DSM IV in his books.
>
> There are various origina myths / rumors about how Ichaza came up with the enneagram. Gurdjieffian use of the enneagram seems, to me, to be quite different; it is usually used to describe patterns in processes, such as cooking a meal or spiritual practice.
>
> I did a workshop with Naranjo and then used his books for his recommended self-analysis for spiritual seekers. It did appear to give me a break-through insight into my own character and behavior and appropriate therapeutic/spiritual practices. 
>
> Naranjo also has studied Nyingma Buddhism himself, and eduSAT, or SAT, (his organization for teaching the enneatypes) includes teaching Buddhist meditation (Vipassana, Zazen and Tibetan according to their literature).
>
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: Richard Hayes 
>   To: BUDDHA_L Forum 
>   Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 4:22 AM
>   Subject: [Buddha-l] Enneagram and Buddhism
>
>
>   Dear denizens,
>
>   I just finished attending a four-day conference/retreat on the enneagram
>   sponsored by the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque
>   (http://cacradicalgrace.com/). The main speaker was Russ Hudson,
>   co-author with Don Riso of The Wisdom of the Enneagram. Hudson, by the
>   way, is one of the most engaging speakers I have heard on any topic. If
>   you get a chance to hear him someday, don't pass it up. He and Riso have
>   a good website, too: http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/
>
>   The Center for Action and Contemplation is a Catholic center, so most of
>   the discussion of the enneagram at this conference was focused on how it
>   could support Christian practices. While I have no aversion to Christian
>   beliefs and practices, Christianity is not the framework in which I am
>   most at home expressing my own experiences. As the conference unfolded I
>   couldn't help thinking of the enneagram as a tool that could support
>   Buddhist practices. Years ago I had a student who was both a practicing
>   Sufi and a Nyingma Buddhist. He used the enneagram extensively and gave
>   some interesting talks on the topic.
>
>   What I'm wondering is whether any of you BUDDHA-howLers have made use of
>   the enneagram as a tool in helping you choose the most effective
>   Buddhist practices for your temperament and personality type. If so, I'd
>   be interested in hearing from you off-line. Please contact me at
>   rhayes at unm.edu.
>
>   -- 
>   Richard Hayes
>   Department of Philosophy
>   University of New Mexico
>
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