Guru F goes beyond the other gurus, however, in that he also rejects the value of meditation itself. "Meditation is a mistaken path," be charges. He teaches his followers that meditation is a difficult and disappointing path. Although people follow it blindly, it will not lead them to wisdom or salvation. Meditation only brings suffering from long hours of sitting, and the Buddha opposed suffering. According to Guru F, Gotama attained enlightenment under the Bo-tree only after he had given up meditating. Guru F's followers, convinced by these teachings, have ceased to follow the path of meditation. One woman follower whom I interviewed said that she used to meditate regularly but now sees that it is pointless and has "stopped wasting her time doing meditation."

　　 What has replaced the path of meditation among this group? The power of the guru to produce enlightenment directly. The followers of Guru F believe that he has great power and authority. Some say that he is a Buddha, others that he is the reincarnation of Anagarika Dharmapala and that this will be his last birth. Other followers I met said that Guru F had reached arahantship. One follower thought he was clearly in an advanced state and compared him to Ajahn Cha, the late Thai monk whom Thai Buddhists regarded as an arahant.

　　 To document his authority, Guru F and his followers recount events that occurred during a trip to India in 1992. Guru F and about 250 followers went to Bodh Gaya and there Guru F "(re)delivered the Buddha's Dhammacakka sutta" at the site of the original Bo-tree. The followers say that while Guru F was preaching miraculous cosmic phenomena occurred: first, the sky went dark, then there was a very bright light and the sounds of celestial drums. While this was happening, bright colored rays were emanating from Guru F's body. Other disciples tell of a similar event that occurred when Guru F was preaching in front of the great Bo-tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

　　 For his part, Guru F says that he has attained the ability "to see all of the powers and wisdom up to the arahant stage", although he is "currently abiding in the Sotappana stage". He acknowledges no teacher, but says that his authority comes from an experience he had where he saw the truth of the dhamma directly while witnessing a Vesak drama featuring a skeleton. He does not study the texts of Tipitaka or any

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books, but says that he has attained the true power of the Buddha and the dhamma. He has the ability to know the original suttas at "the necessary moment." Guru F claims that although he has not read any suttas or books he now has the ability to see the true dhamma perfectly. Therefore, he tells people that they should follow the dhamma that he has directly received as being more trustworthy.

　　 The dhamma that he teaches is in some ways similar to classical Buddhist dhamma in its emphasis on ideas such as impermanence and the power of cause and effect in human life. In other ways, however, the dhamma that he teaches revises the landscape of contemporary Buddhism. For example, he teaches that although the Tipitaka says that the Buddha's mother died one week after he was born, this is not correct. Through his power, Guru F can see into the past and relate what actually happened. He says that she did not die after one week, but rather she was transformed into a man at that time. This occurred because the infant Siddhartha refused to drink her milk. After becoming a man, she lived incognito for 62 years until she was taught Abhidhamma by the Buddha and has achieved liberation. In the same way he gives novel interpretations to other parts of the suttas, saying that the words as we have them now should be regarded as symbols.

　　 Instead of following the traditional path of Sila, Samadhi, and Prajna, Guru F teaches that the path consists of Prajna, Sila, and Samadhi. He says that Sila (moral conduct) is not important as a precursor to the realization of truth, but will follow automatically after one attains wisdom. Monks and nuns come to hear his talks, and he tells them that they too should abandon the focus on Sila and concentrate on Prajna (wisdom) as the path to the goal. This of course, is directly counter to the whole teaching of Theravada, classical or contemporary.

　　 The biggest change, however, comes when he discounts the value of meditation as the means to attaining Prajna. He has replaced meditation with the power of the guru. Instructing his followers not to meditate, he explains that Prajna and the goal can be realized if people simply listen to him preach the dhamma. He claims that if a person hears four dhamma sermons by him, then that person will automatically become a Streamenterer. Guru F claims to be able to preach in such a way that everyone in an audience as large as 3000 people can hear him plainly, just as if he were speaking to them alone. Accordingly, Guru F refuses to use microphones or loudspeakers to amplify his voice for this would interfere with the working of the Guru's power and his dhamma.