When it comes to the historicity of Harald Fairhair, I don't know much about his specific case, but I am generally wary of recent scholarship that tries to make out influential figures as being made up or amalgamations of people. It strikes me as often taking the "trends and forces" school of historical scholarship too far by denying that there were ever important/influential individuals unless the documentation leaves us no choice but to admit they existed and yes, their decisions had impacts on the course of history.
The idea that (true) Will and Luck are tightly bound up is an intriguing one, worth meditating on.
Also, I agree with Ari above - that's a bonkers amount of meditation, but I can definitely see how it was good training for concentration. I agree on "judging the tree by its fruits" and on the usefulness of acknowledging and working to integrate the shadow/body/"lower" self.
Your entire framing of this post also points to something that I think is often lacking in western attempts to learn/practice Buddhism: mythology. Here, I'm using it in a broad meaning that includes history that might be approached like mythology, as a spiritually useful metaphor (like the Harald story above). I don't know Culadasa's system or whether it delved into the history or mythology of Buddhism, but I know that I have found an incredible depth and richness in meditating on mythological themes that I never did when treating meditation primarily as a means of developing concentration or awareness. I think one of the strengths and draws of mythology (especially northern mythology) is the inclusion of all of that earthy, shadowy, "lower" stuff in a spiritually valid context.
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When it comes to the historicity of Harald Fairhair, I don't know much about his specific case, but I am generally wary of recent scholarship that tries to make out influential figures as being made up or amalgamations of people. It strikes me as often taking the "trends and forces" school of historical scholarship too far by denying that there were ever important/influential individuals unless the documentation leaves us no choice but to admit they existed and yes, their decisions had impacts on the course of history.
The idea that (true) Will and Luck are tightly bound up is an intriguing one, worth meditating on.
Also, I agree with Ari above - that's a bonkers amount of meditation, but I can definitely see how it was good training for concentration. I agree on "judging the tree by its fruits" and on the usefulness of acknowledging and working to integrate the shadow/body/"lower" self.
Your entire framing of this post also points to something that I think is often lacking in western attempts to learn/practice Buddhism: mythology. Here, I'm using it in a broad meaning that includes history that might be approached like mythology, as a spiritually useful metaphor (like the Harald story above). I don't know Culadasa's system or whether it delved into the history or mythology of Buddhism, but I know that I have found an incredible depth and richness in meditating on mythological themes that I never did when treating meditation primarily as a means of developing concentration or awareness. I think one of the strengths and draws of mythology (especially northern mythology) is the inclusion of all of that earthy, shadowy, "lower" stuff in a spiritually valid context.