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Exploring Modern Asian Mysticisms by Paul Stange, 1995

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Exploring Modern Asian Mysticisms by Paul Stange, 1995 1 Exploring Modern Asian Mysticisms by Paul Stange, 1995 CONTENTS page preface aims and limitations i mandala an analytical image ii part one Exploring mysticism ch. 1 consciousness raising practices 1 ch. 2 religion as praxis 8 ch. 3 the atomic level of social theory 24 part two Paths of union ch. 4 esoteric shamanism 34 ch. 5 charisma in sufism 42 ch. 6 spontaneous yoga 54 ch. 7 zen disciplines 61 part three Interpretative excursions ch. 8 knowledge, eroticism and the body 68 ch. 9 techniques of meditation 78 ch. 10 karma, culture and consciousness 86 ch. 11 spiritual transmission 98 ch. 12 new age spirituality 109 bibliography 122 2 PREFACE aims and limitations This text aims to establish a framework for exploration of mystical religion in the Asian context. It is not comprehensive or representative; instead of overview introduction to the range of traditions emphasis is on a selection of recent practices. Important traditions, notably Taoism and Vajrayana, are hardly touched; those dealt with are not treated in survey fashion. As this is organised around themes, even in chapters dealing with specific practices only selected aspect of it are emphasised. Part One establishes a framework for exploration through orientation to the anthropology of religion, the nature of mysticism, and issues which arise while exploring it as social practice. Part Two deals with a series of practices, focussing on representatives of major traditions. Part Three deals with themes which cross traditions and builds on the examples dealt with to explore wider issues. By dealing with concrete practices I believe these excursions come closer to the ground level social reality of consciousness raising practices, usually termed "meditation", than overviews of Asian religions would. This counterpoints philosophical introductions, giving insight into what ideals mean for those committed to their realisation. The concluding thematic explorations attend to the nature of the knowledge at the heart of mystical religion, the function of techniques of meditation practice, the place of doctrines and ideologies within religion, the function of teachers and groups as vehicles of consciousness, and finally consideration of what may be changing about the ways human beings approach mystical knowledge in the contemporary context. These excursions are preliminary, but underlying them is a systematic framework and together they introduce major traditions and analysis relevant to understanding all religious systems; insights are clearly relevant beyond the cases touched. This is "only one" approach and does not claim special priority against others. I invite you to bear with me, taking into account shortcomings which remain obvious, and applying the dictum Ram Dass suggested: "take what you can use and let the rest go by". Paul Stange May 1989 3 MANDALA a conceptual framework Mandalas are circular patterns present in the ground plan of Buddhist stupas, in Tibetan tanka paintings, in Hindu representations of correspondence between microcosm and macrocosm, and in Muslim mosaics. This image is a tool, as mandalas are in meditation, for centring attention and cultivating awareness of how the issues we deal with relate systematically to others. Each point or aspect finds its meaning as part of a whole pattern, not in itself as though defined in isolation. 4 introduction the inner life of Oz The materialistic face of Australian society is counterpointed by a diverse, however publicly marginalised, spiritual life. I speak as part of the community, a migrant engaged both in meditation practice and as a professional interpreter of religion in Asia, in this instance reflecting on my home context. Mention of the prospect of testing "the spiritual pulse of Perth", in the process of hosting a forum on the subject, brought a remarkably uniform response: "it won't take long". Reflexive assumption appears to be that a spiritual pulse is so weak as to be virtually non-existent, that preoccupations are predominantly "material. Self conscious images prioritise physical pursuits. Sporting festivals, peaking with the America's Cup in 1987, bring our wildest publicly expressed enthusiasms; morality enters public debate mainly when connected to handling of money and, indeed, at first glance we appear to be complacent lotus eaters, inhabiting a "panel-van culture" of beaches, boats and barbecues. In Western Australia the most dramatic times of population growth and public building were initiated by the Kalgoorlie gold rush of the 1880's and the boom in mineral exports from the northwest in the 1960's. European and Asian migrants alike, convict settlement aside, have been moved from the start more by the propect of material advantage than by visions of new moral or religious community. Perth has never been termed a "city of Churches", like Adelaide, and religious impetus nowhere trace into the landscape of settlement to the extent so visible in many parts of North America. Religious and cultural concerns are certainly not prominent in the ways universities carve up knowledge or politicians appeal for votes. Pragmatic utilitarianism dominates economic planning, educational restructuring and political debate. Even excellence of intellect is virtually absent as social ideal, the central purpose of learning institutions is to "prepare us to earn", implicitly to serve "the economy" rather than "people". Educational offerings to Asia are construed as marketing, constructed to assist the balance of payments. Economic values determine the complexion of relationships among ourselves and with others. 5 It is worth noting these features of our environment even though my objective is not to probe why material concerns have been so prominent or why they may be growing. If public discourses and media images phrase life in increasingly materialistic idiom then economic considerations overshadow and implicitly repress other values. This recognition provides a necessary basis for reflection on spiritual life. Spirituality and religion appear marginal on the surface, but if we pause to consider the terms of our exploration, we might reconsider it as a "mode of spirituality" rather than a distraction from it. Whether we identify with it as that is another matter. There is need to question opposition between 'material' and 'spiritual'. If it dictates a view, leading us to conclude that 'spirituality' is impoverished in our context, it is possible we are tacitly restricting ourselves to simple views of what the inner life can be, and we are likely to, as dominant public vision of spirituality is impoverished, too flat to take in the richness of an inner life only known through actively attending to nuances of experience within ourselves. Though perhaps privately holding otherwise, in public most Australians, including academics, maintain a crude reading of what religion is. They might deny the suggestion when phrased bluntly, but 'religion' usually refers only to participation in churches and acceptance of uncritical belief; 'ritual' is understood mostly in its colloquial sense, as 'meaningless' rather than charged; and 'truth' is generally understood only a relative construct of human imaginings, not a mystically knowable absolute. Even intellectual inquiry into religion within this environment finds little credence, reflecting our leading values. Politicians and vice chancellors consider the study irrelevant; students who pursue it nonetheless find that mates ask, "what for?" Close examination of 'spirituality' should lead beyond such superficial understandings, probing practices beyond those easily recognised as 'religious'. Spirituality relates to aspects of the inner life which are a facet of the human condition. Like the stomach in relation to material subsistence, the spirit is present even when ignored or unmentioned--it does not depend for existence on our belief. We need not be technical, it is enough to say 'spirit' is an aspect of 'life' in the body. Related commitments are in this sense expressed not only in established churches and newly imported religions but also through informal meditation groups and in unspoken ways in private 6 lives. We may even consider our spiritual condition as tacitly reflected through the social order--statement of materialistic conviction can be reread as a spiritual temperament. Anthropology directs us precisely this way, to read between lines when exploring cultural practices, to interpret religion through actions rather than only by professed commitment to textually defined orthodoxies. Directing the same style of reflection to our context we can ask seriously, not just tongue in cheek, whether the America's Cup represented a 'cargo cult' in Perth, as it demonstrated how people imagine their hopes will be fulfilled. With feverish anticipation business and government focussed on the creation of marinas and hotels, convinced that these preparations provided a platform for the influx of wealth. The local capitalist Alan Bond was on the crest of a wave, he was seem as an exemplar of what could be attained, a guru at the appex of the pyramid game called capitalism. Local superheroes, especially glamour capitalists, are easily read as cult figures. Bond & Co. inscribed their identity in popular imagination, through media their cohort controls, and on the physical landscape, through buildings, marinas and billboards. Ordinary people have often seemed as preoccupied with billionaires as they may once have been by royalty. Politicians vie for headlines and sports heroes
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