Yaroslav Komarovski
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- June 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190244958
- eISBN:
- 9780190245009
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190244958.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism, World Religions
This chapter addresses mystical experience, appraising the contemporary debate between “constructivists” and “essentialists” over the issue of unmediated mystical experience and discussing benefits ...
More
This chapter addresses mystical experience, appraising the contemporary debate between “constructivists” and “essentialists” over the issue of unmediated mystical experience and discussing benefits of and problems involved in using categories like “mystical experience” when addressing experiences and realizations dealt with by Tibetan Buddhist thinkers. Treating the direct realization of ultimate reality as one of the highest expressions of mystical experience, it argues that it is one of the most challenging topics of Tibetan theories and practices, and the issues of accessing that realization, maintaining it, and providing an adequate description remain a focus of heated polemics. It shows that although many elements involved in this polemical issue are unique to the Tibetan Buddhist world, their analysis can help us achieve a better understanding of mystical experiences in general and the issue of (un)mediated mystical experience in particular. Overall, it provides a background for analysis of “mystical experiences” in Tibetan Buddhism.Less
This chapter addresses mystical experience, appraising the contemporary debate between “constructivists” and “essentialists” over the issue of unmediated mystical experience and discussing benefits of and problems involved in using categories like “mystical experience” when addressing experiences and realizations dealt with by Tibetan Buddhist thinkers. Treating the direct realization of ultimate reality as one of the highest expressions of mystical experience, it argues that it is one of the most challenging topics of Tibetan theories and practices, and the issues of accessing that realization, maintaining it, and providing an adequate description remain a focus of heated polemics. It shows that although many elements involved in this polemical issue are unique to the Tibetan Buddhist world, their analysis can help us achieve a better understanding of mystical experiences in general and the issue of (un)mediated mystical experience in particular. Overall, it provides a background for analysis of “mystical experiences” in Tibetan Buddhism.
Yaroslav Komarovski
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- June 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190244958
- eISBN:
- 9780190245009
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190244958.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism, World Religions
The conclusion says the book is not concerned with evaluating truth claims—only with analyzing some contemplative theories advocated by those who uphold those claims. It discusses the ways Tibetan ...
More
The conclusion says the book is not concerned with evaluating truth claims—only with analyzing some contemplative theories advocated by those who uphold those claims. It discusses the ways Tibetan Buddhist approaches to the process of realization of ultimate reality enrich and problematize its understanding. It reiterates that despite divergent interpretations of that process by Tsongkhapa and Gorampa, the techniques advocated by them can result in the same mystical experience. Likewise, if we shift focus from descriptions of mystical experiences by followers of different religious traditions to the conditioning processes they use in order to produce those experiences, we might discover similar elements there as well. While admitting the possibility of a meaningful inquiry into whether certain Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions also share some mystical experiences, it advocates caution, ending with an open question of applicability of the very notion of mystical experience as a useful interpretive and comparative category.Less
The conclusion says the book is not concerned with evaluating truth claims—only with analyzing some contemplative theories advocated by those who uphold those claims. It discusses the ways Tibetan Buddhist approaches to the process of realization of ultimate reality enrich and problematize its understanding. It reiterates that despite divergent interpretations of that process by Tsongkhapa and Gorampa, the techniques advocated by them can result in the same mystical experience. Likewise, if we shift focus from descriptions of mystical experiences by followers of different religious traditions to the conditioning processes they use in order to produce those experiences, we might discover similar elements there as well. While admitting the possibility of a meaningful inquiry into whether certain Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions also share some mystical experiences, it advocates caution, ending with an open question of applicability of the very notion of mystical experience as a useful interpretive and comparative category.
