The Dawn Horse Testament: The Testament of Secrets of the Divine World-Teacher and True Heart-Master,Da Avabhasa (The Bright/ New Standard) [Paperback]

Da Free John (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 820 pages
• Publisher: Bear Creek Pub Co; Rev Sub edition (September 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918801036
• ISBN-13: 978-0918801036
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,919,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Adi Da was born in New York at the outbreak of World War II. From 1983 he lived principally in Fiji and became a Fijian citizen. The author of over sixty books on spirituality and a prolific artist, he also had profound attention for world affairs, particularly during the last decade of his life, as summarized in Not-Two Is Peace.
Adi Da was born in a unique spiritual state. As a young man, he immersed himself in the traditions of human wisdom and spirituality. His Western studies included university degrees--in philosophy from Columbia and in literature from Stanford. Following his university years, he intensively engaged both Western and Eastern forms of spiritual practice.
In 1970, at the age of thirty, Adi Da was re-established in the illumined condition he had known in his earliest life. He began to offer formal instruction in spiritual practice to those who came to him, creating (out of a free interactive participation with his devotees) what is now an unprecedented body of spiritual, philosophical, and practical writings (find the most current offerings at the Dawn Horse Press website), as well as an immense body of visual art (the website dedicated to Adi Da's art is called Daplastique). In 2007, his artwork was exhibited at the 52nd Venice Biennale, and subsequently in several other exhibitions, including in Florence, New York, and Los Angeles.
As spiritual teacher, artist, and "World Friend", Adi Da is not a conventional figure. He is not political in any ordinary sense of the word. Rather, his address to humanity comes from his lifelong communication of the truth of human existence. He is making clear the species-endangering forces of limitation in our world, the means to go beyond them, and the great urgency of this "going beyond".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the Greatest Book Ever Written, June 9, 2011

By 

Carl Armstrong - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dawn Horse Testament: The Testament of Secrets of the Divine World-Teacher and True Heart-Master, Da Avabhasa (The Bright/New Standard) (Hardcover)

Avatar Adi Da Samraj otherwise known as Da Free John or Franklin Jones had only one purpose in life.It was to show others the correct way to interpret scripture.This Dawn Horse Testament will teach you just exactly that, regardless of which religeous faith you may be.By studying this sacred text, you will then discover the true meaning of the Bhagavad Gita, the Lotus Sutra, the Koran, or whatever denomination that you may be.Adi Da reveals in his writings, that which can ONLY be understood by the HEART, and NOT by the BRAIN.As you read this book, the words will actually be your heart speaking to you, from the sea of pure consciousness that exists there.Adi Da was therefore the true Heart Master and the greatest Jnana Yogi that ever lived.(The book Lion Sutra is also a timeless masterpiece that is vital towards self realization).

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The four sublimely transcendental samadhis of Adi Da Samraj, December 23, 1999

By 

Edward Plotkin "FourYogas.com" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dawn Horse Testament: The Testament of Secrets of the Divine World-Teacher and True Heart-Master,Da Avabhasa (The Bright/ New Standard) (Paperback)

The Dawn Horse Testament is the ultimate guide to the mastery of transcendental awareness, and enlightenment. The incomparable western master Adi Da exquisitely illuminates the mystery of Who you Ultimately Are, intensifying meditative awareness through the ajna door into the incredible mastery of Divine Ignorance, Divine Realization, and Divine Being. The ultimate answers within transcendental awareness await the arrival of the newly wakened meditator's assimilation of the four samadhis of Adi Da.

The Dawn Horse Testament is an invaluable companion to anyone on the path of the mastery of awareness. Other seventh stage teachings are Self-Realization of Noble Wisdom: The Lankavatara Sutra; Mahamudra: Quintessence of Mind and Meditation; and The Four Yogas Of Enlightenment. The exploration of consciousness through the four samadhis of The Dawn Horse Testament is without parallel and sublimely transcendental.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spontaneous enlightenment experiences to be had from the last couple of chapters, February 20, 2010

By 

Spirit of Enquiry - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dawn Horse Testament: The Testament of Secrets of the Divine World-Teacher and True Heart-Master,Da Avabhasa (The Bright/ New Standard) (Paperback)

Whether someone who is 'enlightened' (or has had even many deep enlightenment EXPERIENCES) can still do 'things that harm others' is actually a very deep question.

Equally deep is the fact of different people's perceptions of the same action.

As is the whole issue around gurus doing strange things that some people interpret as something they are doing to enlighten their students, others interpret as the flow of unpremeditated enlightened freedom, and still others interpret as just a bad action, by someone probably unenlightened and possibly deranged. This is a VERY thorny area, though with teachers (as distinct from 'free spirits', who don't have quite the same responsibility - if you want to play with the fire, it's your problem if you get burnt lol!) I tend to err on the side of:

"The deeper the enlightenment --> the deeper the knowing that ultimately everyone/everything is 'just fine' + a deep respect for all beings through knowing their essential inalienable dignity and purity ---> it's definitely not necessary to harm people based on the CHANCE this might get them enlightened quicker."

Observe the Dalai Lama and Dilgo Khyentse for example. OFTEN deep realisation brings...a certain relaxation!

(Hey, Milarepa was tough and WANTED the quickest, most powerful way. We moderns are a bit more sensitive!)

***

One thing is certain though: it's possible to read the last couple of chapters of this book and fall into spontaneous enlightenment experiences. It is that good.

I have to caveat all my reviews of books on here with the fact that when I first bought THIS book, I actually threw it in the bin out of frustration.

Now, for those chapters alone, it's part of the (very small) core of my spiritual library. I had to hunt down a new copy to buy. (Opening one's mind to new information is something recommended for everyone, and *essential* for those seeking spiritual knowledge~experience!)

[Note, I am referring here to the 1985 EDITION of this book. I can't vouch for the others. I haven't read them but I know that Adi Da did change his style in many of his later works in such a way that, at the very least, the writing was not as direct.]