Mystical Buddhism and the West

We don’t notice the luminous Mind energizing us; giving us life.  Nor do we recognize Mind to be the very substance from which our thoughts, feelings, passions, etc., are made.  We are just aware of phenomena both external and internal.  That’s all we know as ordinary, worldly beings.

To realize or awaken to the noumenal in the likeness of the luminous Mind, or the sphere of Dharma (dharmadhatu), is an occult or mystical process.  This is something the ordinary, worldly being cannot do because such a being is deeply attached to illusory phenomena never having yet questioned it or renounced it.  But now I must pause.  

I have said something very much hated by the modern West.  Yes, the West has a strong dislike of the idea of the occult, the mystical, and anything else that can’t be perceived and labeled by sensory consciousness.  We have to keep in mind that the West, for a long time, has made an unholy alliance with matter and the transitory such that anyone who might claim insight into the immaterial and the everlasting is, by implication, attacking the very foundation of Western civilization.  Not only that, they are attacking the very concept of God which, in reality, is only a personification of temporal man, his will, love, knowledge, consciousness, and even his evil ( I bring good and create evil; I, the Lord, do all these things [ Isaiah 45:7]).   

While the West has purged mysticism from its religious values going back as far as Gnosticism, mysticism has survived—but not in the West.  Indeed, it has long survived in Buddhism which never knew anything like an Inquisition.  Not only was Indian Buddhism mystical, but it has remained so in China, Tibet, Korea, Japan and other Asian countries.   Quoting Heinrich Dumoulin, “The mystical element is an essential part of Buddhism” (History of Zen Buddhism, 5).

The Asian soul, we could say, lacks the same attitude found in the Western soul which seems guided by a demonic urge to destroy all that it can’t fully understand and/or control.  This, I hasten to inject here, is plainly evident in how the West treats UFO phenomena and so-called close encounters.  The very idea of advanced humanoids who might be far wiser and kinder than we, and certainly more technologically advanced, is an abhorrent thought to the Western mind.  But in China, a Buddhist hermit living in the mountains of Chugnan will say that she had been taught mantras that had first been taught to mankind by “beings from outer space” (Porter, Road to Heaven, 111).  These are definitely not the words of a Westerner.

The West’s contempt towards the the mystical cannot be easily glossed over or explained.  It pushes the limits of even psychology to explain such a notably hostile reaction.  The only plausible explanation I have found is that temporal Western man greatly fears to behold his own finitude such that for him it would become almost a living death.  Instead, he prefers his fantasies.  Yet, it is hard to deny the enjoyed fruits of the mystical world from philosophy, mathematics to chemistry.  Evidence, too, seems to be wanting that realized mystics are an unhappy lot.  The Buddha spoke of nirvana as being blissful and immortal.  The great Gnostic Valentinus said, “Through Gnosis, then, is redeemed the inner, spiritual man: so that to us suffices the Gnosis of universal being: and this is the true redemption.”  

I hope that in the future, Buddhism will be the thin end of the wedge that will finally reintroduce mysticism to the West.  Presently, Buddhism is having to defend itself to the physical sciences, as if the physical sciences have not, generally, produced one failed theory after another, standing on no sure foundation. 

Comments

[Frank]

The "western soul" you criticize is only a latent, FrankenSTEIN creation; actually, it is a Judiazed soul. Looking back at pre-Christian western traditions, you can find much that is mystical and in harmony with the "Tao". The pre-christian heathens in many cases were very open-minded towards their would-be Christianizers--a big mistake, as it turned out to be....

[Ted Bagley]

Minx- Lol

[Minx]

Sure, the zennist sometimes wanders off into deepest redneck, Bobbie Joe country, where the local hicks are deeply superstitious ufo/conspiracy nuts and mixes this entertaining substance into his zen soup. But that is just some spiced up stories for the present children. Much like swalloving the bad tasting medicine with some sweet juice.

[Matt]

NellaLou makes some good points. The West has its own background in spirituality and mysticism; the East, in addition to some fine spiritual traditions, also has a history of anti-spiritual behavior (Maoist China).

The religious Christians I grew up around were some of the most bigoted, stupid people imaginable, yet I realize they weren't representative of all Christians. Nonetheless, the reaction to this sort of bigotry and fundamentalism today fuels atheism and the non-mystical spin of Western Buddhism. What is the dividing line between being a nut and being a mystic?

I'd also be curious to know what your spiritual outlook is in the context of people like Sarah Palin making religious claims, as well as the nationalist ego driving the U.S. in two theaters of war.

Detached? Engaged? Category Mistake?

[NellaLou]

UFOs and other life forms is rather odd reference. These phenomenon are of a materialist category, that is the material existence of other life forms and if such exist they would be perceived and therefore labeled. They are not the same category as say, angels, demons, fairies or Santa Claus.

Statements about Asian and Western souls and their attributes is generalizing stereotypes. I take umbrage at this sort of thing since it perpetuates misunderstanding and divisiveness. And like any sort of cultural generalization it simply isn't true.

There's plenty of superstition and the like in the west.(some mentioned above) Additionally how else do things like The Secret become popular? Magical thinking. It's only spread a little thinner leaking from the religious realm into the popular culture marketplace.

And science itself is often based on "belief" that has not and cannot be verified or only verified based on relation to previous scientific discoveries, which as we have seen are sometimes disproven. As you mention, science itself is on a shaky foundation which appears to be based on "faith".