so the "real" archetypes are, what?

[lorentzen-nicklaus]

 ~~~ ken wilber: "from the neoplatonic traditions in the west, to the vedanta 
and mahayana and trikayah traditions in the east, the real archetypes are subtle 
seed-forms upon which all manifestation depends. in deep states of contemplative 
awareness, one begins to understand that the entire kosmos emerges straight out 
of emptiness, out of primordial purity, out of nirguna brahman, out of the 
dharmakaya, and the first  f o r m s  that emerge out of this emptiness are the 
basic forms upon which all lesser forms depend for their being.
 those forms are the actual archetypes, a term which means 'original pattern' or 
'primary mold'. there is a light of which all lesser lights are pale shadows, 
there is a bliss of which all lesser joys are anemic copies, there is a 
consciousness of which all lesser cognitions are mere reflections, there is a 
primordial sound of which all lesser sounds are thin echoes. those are the real 
archetypes.
 when we find those types of statements in plotinus or asanga or garab dorje or 
abhinavigupta or shankara, rest assured that those are  n o t  simply 
theoretical hunches or metaphysical postulates. those are direct experiential 
disclosures issuing directly from the subtle dimension of reality, 
i n t e r p r e t e d  according to the  b a c k g r o u n d s  of those 
individuals, but  i s s u i n g  from this profound ontological reality, this 
subtle worldspace.
 and if you want to know what these men and women are actually talking about, 
then you must take up the contemplative practice or injunction or paradigm, and 
perform the experiment yourself. these archetypes, the true archetypes, are a 
meditative experience, and you cannot understand these archetypes without 
performing the experiment. they are  n o t  images existing in the mythic 
worldspace, they are  n o t  philosophical concepts existing in the rational 
worldspace; they are meditative phenomena existing in the subtle worldspace.
 so this experiment will disclose these archetypal data, and then you can help 
interpret what they mean. and by far the most commonly accepted interpretation 
is, you are looking at the basic forms and foundations of the entire manifest 
world. you are looking directly into the face of the divine. as emerson said, 
bid the intruders take the shoes of their feet, for here is the god within."

                             --- a brief history of everything, pp. 217f. ---



kfl