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International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Volume 30 Article 15 Iss. 1-2 (2011)

1-1-2011 Jung at the Foot of : A Transpersonal Synthesis of Depth Psychology, Tibetan , and the Sacred Mythic Imagery of East and West Judson Davis California Institute of Integral Studies

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Recommended Citation Davis, J. (2011). Davis, J. (2011). Jung at the foot of Mount Kailash: A transpersonal synthesis of depth psychology, Tibetan tantra, and the sacred mythic imagery of East and West. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 30(1-2), 148–164.. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 30 (1). http://dx.doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2011.30.1-2.148

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. This Special Topic Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals and Newsletters at Digital Commons @ CIIS. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Journal of Transpersonal Studies by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ CIIS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Jung at the Foot of Mount Kailash: A Transpersonal Synthesis of Depth Psychology, Tibetan Tantra, and the Sacred Mythic Imagery of East and West

Judson Davis California Institute of Integral Studies San Francisco, CA, USA

Tibetan Buddhist Tantra and Jungian depth psychology represent two of the world’s more dynamic psycho-spiritual traditions. This comparative study explores their respective insights, cosmologies, and often striking similarities, with particular emphasis on the manner in which mythic imagery is employed in both disciplines as a powerful agent of healing and transformation. The ontological status of Tibetan deities and archetypal entities is also given careful consideration, especially in relation to the phenomena of psychic projection and autonomous spiritual dimensions.

Keywords: Jungian psychology, Tibetan Tantra, integral scholarship, transpersonal, archetypal dimension, , participatory event

ungian psychology and Tibetan Tantra share a own distinctive characteristics and include sometimes number of characteristics and methodologies that widely varying notions of a higher spiritual order or have as their primary focus the treatment of human ultimate reality (the apparent incongruity between the J suffering and the elicitation of spiritual awakening. Jungian Self and the Buddhist “no-Self” being a primary Each tradition arose in a very different historical period example), but an in-depth explication concerning their and socio-cultural context, which makes these various respective metaphysical postulations is not the purpose overlapping aspects all the more compelling. of this study. Rather, it is my intention to examine how These two transformative disciplines—one mythic imagery is used in both traditions as a means revealing the wisdom of an ancient Eastern spiritual of inducing transpersonal experience, and how such tradition and the other the insights of a contemporary experiences affect and transform human consciousness. Western psychological framework—are linked most In this sense, regardless of the differences in ontological readily through their shared emphasis on the creative or epistemological pronouncements, it can be said that use of mythic imagery as a dynamic means of effecting both systems are committed to the treating and healing spiritual development. With transcendence acting as their of human suffering as well as the inducement of spiritual primary focus, both traditions emphasize the mind, or awakening through transformative methodologies that psyche, as the foundational basis of existence and the share a number of intriguing characteristics. In addition, primary means through which liberation (in the tantric each discipline emphasizes a radical shift away from the tradition) and psychic wholeness (in Jungian psychology) ego as the center of one‘s identity toward the realization of is pursued. Each emphasizes the realm of (e.g., an inseparable interrelationship with a boundless and all- dream analysis in depth psychology and in encompassing psychic matrix. And within this context, Tibetan Tantra), meditative visualizations (such as the it is essential to understand that in each tradition “the focus on wisdom figures in both disciplines), and an psyche or mind of the individual—the only instrument assortment of other practices that, at their very essence, through which one experiences reality—is the sole are designed to effect a reconciliation of opposites and the authority” (Moacanin, 2003, pp. 102-103). attendant union of masculine and feminine elements. In the spirit of integral scholarship, Western and It should be noted that both of these disciplines Eastern accounts of numinous states of consciousness, represent complex psychological systems that possess their findings from modern transpersonal research, and

148 International Journal of Transpersonal Studies , 30(1-2), 2011, pp. 148-164 Davis elements of my own personal, therapeutic, and mystical Jungian Depth Psychology experience are integrated in this study, especially when ungian psychology grew out of the depth psychological these aspects serve to enhance a given example or Jmovement that was initiated by Sigmund Freud in theoretical component. This is done in recognition of late nineteenth-century Europe. In contrast to Freud’s the need for spiritually reductionist psychoanalysis, Jung (1963) came to understand the human psyche as possessing a religious a scholarship that realizes that these religious worlds function whereby archetypal symbols—as revealed are not dead corpses that we can dissect and analyze through the unconscious and as manifested through from a safe distance, but rather are vital, living bodies dreams, myth, and creative expression—inform and of knowledge and practice that have the potential to guide human spiritual development on both a personal change completely our taken-for-granted notions of and collective level. who we are, why we are here and what we could or Jung was also fascinated by and readily should become. (Gunnlaugson, 2005, pp. 333-334) acknowledged what he viewed as the superior develop­ The importance of integrating one’s own ment of various ancient Eastern spiritual traditions, and deeply transformative experiences into any related was especially intrigued with what he described as “the course of study is highlighted in Jeffrey Kripal’s self-liberating power of the introverted mind” (1992a, (2001) emphasis upon a mystical hermeneutic, as “the p. 56). He wrote a number of essays on various aspects modern, and now post-modern, study of mysticism . . . of Asian esotericism, including The Psychology of Eastern has been largely inspired, sustained, and rhetorically Meditation, psychological commentaries on The Tibetan formed by the unitive, ecstatic, visionary, and mystico- Book of Great Liberation and The Tibetan Book of the hermeneutical experiences of the scholars themselves” Dead, and a foreword to D. T. Suzuki’s Introduction (p. 3). Accordingly, in this study, for example, one of to . Jung was particularly drawn to the my own highly transformative mystical experiences manner in which certain Eastern disciplines emphasize serves as the starting point for an exploration of the the reconciliation of opposites and the union of male ontological status of autonomous dimensions and and female aspects. He also saw in these traditions a psychic projections. direct link to a primary component in his own evolving The integration of such material presents both psychological theory—the notion of unus mundus. potential benefits (e.g., the elucidation of theory through This term, which derives from his studies of medieval direct experience) and pitfalls (e.g., the potential for philosophy, translates as “one unitary world” and personal projection and cultural appropriation), and represents the original, inseparable union of all things, these important considerations can be approached the non-differentiated essence out of which all things with greater clarity when considered through Hans- arise and are given individual form (Jung, 1963). Georg Gadamer’s (1989) notion of a horizon, which The of unus mundus was conceived as he described as “the range of vision that includes manifesting into separate parts such as subject and object everything that can be seen from a particular vantage in order to bring forth a condition of actuality from the point” (p. 271). The spiritual and theoretical horizons potentiality inherent in the original, non-differentiated of both disciplines are thus explored in relation to their essence. Jung (1963) applied this concept to his study of respective vantage points, a process that inevitably the human psyche, and conceived that the differentiation unfolds within the context of one’s own particular of the conscious and unconscious contents of the psyche insights and experience. In this sense, understanding (i.e., separate parts or opposites) is necessary for the sake is not conceived as a final or fixed truth, but rather of growth and adaptation, but ultimately these aspects as an enhanced, deepened, and fluid perspective that must be reunited in order to achieve a state of psychic reflects the fruits of such a dialogical inquiry—and its wholeness. Central to this course of development (i.e., fusion of horizons—between observer, lens, and texts. the individuation process) and its circuitous return to This is precisely the spirit in which this comparative the origin of one’s being (i.e., the Self) is the concept of study unfolds, and as such it is intended as a concerted archetypes, the primordial psychic structures that guide form of cross-fertilization, or creative dialogical human development and serve as the basis of humanity’s hermeneutics. inherent religious instinct.

Jung at the Foot of Mount Kailash International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 149 Tibetan Buddhist Tantra for which the three primary realms of desire, form, and uddhism, with its origins in the Indian formlessness constitute the most basic structure (there Bsubcontinent, arrived in in the seventh are other more thorough distinctions, such as the six century C.E. during the reign of King Songsten Gampo or thirty-one realms of the Kalacakra system; human (Pal, 1990). There it merged, sometimes contentiously, beings inhabit the , which involves existence with the native animistic and shamanistic tradition in a state of samsara). According to the present Dalai (later known as ), which it would eventually , these various dimensions are inhabited by other supersede as the primary religious discipline. The new conscious entities of widely varying characteristics: religion would retain, however, many of the existing Basically we can say there are different worlds, indigenous beliefs and practices, and through this different experiences; human life is just one of integration and development “all native already them. What we usually call spirits are some inhabiting the local , the forests, the lakes different form of life, beings who have a different and rivers, the sky, and the underworld were adopted body and mentality. Within the desire realm, and into the pantheon and made protectors of the Buddhist more specifically within the environment inhabited religion” (pp. 42-43). by human beings, there is quite a variety of other The renowned mystic and the entities . . . . And they’re all cohabitating with us right great monk Santarakshita made significant contributions here. (Varela, 1997, p. 141) toward the acceptance and expansion of this new religious system, and in about the year 779 it became The various Tibetan sects also share the notion officially indoctrinated through the founding of the first that (Skt., shunyata) is the essential truth of all great monastery at . The tantric form of Indian existence, and within this context “all four orders agree Buddhism that developed in Tibet is known in that the mind is of the nature of clear light . . . and all as , the Thunderbolt or Diamond Vehicle, agree that the most subtle and basic level of mind is of and involves the use of such contemplative practices as the nature of pure luminosity and emptiness” (Powers, meditation, creative visualization, artistic expression, 1995/2007, p. 358). This state of blissful, nondual recitation, and the enactment of (ritual emptiness is the ultimate goal of tantric practice, and poses) as a means of facilitating spiritual development and concurrent with an awakening into shunyata arise ultimate liberation. The body is regarded as an essential two vital manifestations, wisdom (Skt., prajna) and component in this process, and through the activation compassion (Skt., karuna), which are considered the two of the vital energies of the , plays a central role as most essential qualities resulting from the attainment a kind of alchemical container of inner transformation. of this fully liberated state. Humility and simplicity are These various methods, practices, and rituals all share also highly valued, and in this sense “being a Buddha one ultimate aim—the awakening to , the is not being some omnipotent spiritual superman, but ultimate nature of the fully enlightened mind. becoming at last a true human being” (Sogyal, 1994, p. Each of ’s four primary schools 54). (, , , and Gelugpa) is aligned with Comparative Analysis specific lineages, (texts), doctrines, and practices Jungian psychology and Tibetan Tantra both employ that are designed to correspond to the particular needs a variety of dynamic methodologies that foster healing and circumstances of its respective practitioners (Powers, and accentuate spiritual development and awakening. 1995/2007). Although differences exist concerning each As previously stated, both disciplines emphasize the order’s tantric practices, these four schools naturally transformative power of mythic imagery and the share many common Buddhist precepts, including an reconciliation of opposites as a means of facilitating adherence to the teachings of the School human development, and in each discipline these of and devotion to the ideal processes are understood as vital catalysts for the of Buddhism, with its emphasis on the inducement of numinous and mystical experience treatment and cessation of human suffering. Each also (Moacanin, 2003). Each also places crucial emphasis aligns itself with the precept of as well as on the union of feminine and masculine elements, as the cosmological notion of autonomous spiritual realms, revealed in the following passage:

150 International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Davis as it pertains to the psychic relationship between subject The union of masculine and feminine is central to and object, observer and observed. This is particularly much of life, both inwardly and outwardly. The well demonstrated in the texts of the Tibetan tradition, conjunctio, as Jung called this union, is equally as Clarke astutely observed regarding The Tibetan Book important to the completion stage of tantra, where of the Dead: male and female aspects of the meditator are brought into union on an inner level. (Preece, 2006, p. 215) the emphasis throughout the treatise is on the doctrine that the only reality is mind or consciousness, This emphasis on the union of opposites also and that all things, including material reality, are applies directly to the light and dark aspects of human mind-made. Furthermore, all minds, and hence all nature, and in Tibetan Tantra, as in certain primary existing things, are manifestations of the practices in depth psychotherapy, visualization plays a or One Mind. (p. 127) primary role in this process: The reading of this enigmatic Buddhist text provided In Jungian analysis one must deal with one’s Jung (1992b) with what he felt was significant validation shadow, the dark rejected part of the psyche; one for his own theories of psychic reality: must detect projections and egocentric aims . . . . For that reason the total psyche must be approached, The whole book is created out the archetypal contents its dark as well as its light aspects, personified in of the unconscious. Behind these there lie—and in tantra by peaceful and wrathful deities repeatedly this our Western reason is quite right—no physical constructed and dissolved in one’s visualization. One or metaphysical realities, but “merely” the reality of is continually facing the conflict of opposites in an psychic facts, the data of psychic experience. . . . The effort to transcend them. This is the purpose of the Thodol says no more than this, for its five sadhanas (meditation exercises), which are based on Dhyani-Buddhas are no more than psychic data. . . . a profound understanding of what Jung would call The world of gods and spirits is truly “nothing but” depth psychology. (Moacanin, 2003, pp. 88-89) the collective unconscious inside me. (p. 96) Regarding this integration of opposing psychic forces, Lama Yeshe, in referring to the process of Jung (1963) believed that the image of the Buddha was a tantric meditation, expressed a similar perspective more complete representation of the total human being when he stated that “such a deity is an archetype of because it integrated both the light and dark aspects of our own deepest nature, our most profound level of human nature, whereas in the Christian tradition the consciousness” (1987/2001, p. 30). In The Psychology of image of Christ was depicted in purely benign form, Eastern Meditation, Jung (1936/1958) again emphasized with the dark aspects being split off and assigned to the this shared principle when he expressed the following: figure of the Devil. In the meditation it is realized that the Buddha The creative engagement of -images and is really nothing other than the activating psyche other sacred symbols (e.g., the ) holds special of the yogi—the meditator himself. It is not only significance in each tradition, both as a means of facilitat­ that the image of the Buddha is produced out of ing spiritual development and as a process that points “one’s own mind and thought,” but that the psyche directly to an essential precept that lies at the foundation which produces these thought-forms is the Buddha of each system—the primacy of psychic reality. Both himself. (p. 567) the Buddhist and Jungian disciplines variously stress an empirical approach in their understanding of the human Clarke (1994) further observed that Jung’s mind, and each emphasizes the importance of a direct exposure to Eastern spiritual traditions helped him experiential comprehension of spiritual processes while to more fully develop his theory of introversion and avoiding definitive metaphysical postulations (Clarke, extroversion, and it was through such exposures that 1994). At the same time, each system posits the intimate Jung (1992a) came to understand the Asian disciplines interrelationship of all phenomena, and this notion of as possessing “a typically introverted point of , inseparable union, of the ultimate interconnectedness contrasted with the equally typical extraverted point between all things and processes, is especially relevant of view of the West” (p. 53). In Jung’s thinking,

Jung at the Foot of Mount Kailash International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 151 the extroverted tendency of the West is most readily of chakras. Jung had received an initial exposure to exemplified by its exaggerated emphasis upon this fundamental tenet of Hindu and Buddhist tantric rationalism and scientific (at the expense of practice through J. G. Woodroffe’sThe Serpent Power, and contact with the archetypal unconscious), and he was it was through tantric yoga that “Jung discovered certain greatly concerned that this imbalance had substantially symbolic parallels with his own conception of psychic diminished contemporary Western humanity’s sense of libido and with the general goal of psychic integration” inner meaning, resulting in a deeply engrained spiritual (Clarke, 1994, p. 75). This discipline, which is especially malaise. This pervasive disconnection from the core of prominent in the Tibetan tradition, appealed to Jung one’s inner world is a primary theme of many Tibetan because it represented a system that integrated psychic and masters as well, including Sogyal (1994), who somatic factors, involved the manifestation of symbolic described this condition as “perhaps the darkest and most material indicative of the stages of spiritual development disturbing aspect of modern civilization—its ignorance (as variously arising in the seven vital energy centers), and and repression of who we really are” (p. 52). was holistic in that it offered a “positive, life-affirming Both traditions are primarily concerned, then, view of the body, the passions, and the shadowy regions of with a proper understanding of the nature and workings the psyche” (p. 111). In the activation of the chakras one of the human mind, and the depth and clarity of this again finds precepts common to both disciplines, for the understanding is thought to have a direct correlation with attendant meditative techniques are designed to stimulate both spiritual development and the cessation of psychic the female principle, or kundalini, and “to raise it from suffering. It warrants mention, however, that whereas in the lowest to the highest , there to be united with the Tibetan tradition the achievement of enlightenment the male principle, a union which brings about a state of is accompanied by an end to suffering, for Jung (1963) supreme bliss beyond all dualities” (pp. 110-111). the process of individuation involves an endless course of Jung, Dreams, and development of which suffering remains an unceasing— Archetypes of the Numinous and even necessary—component. In this sense he could not aving established a basic framework of overlapping conceive of a state of complete liberation, and concurrently Hsimilarities between the two traditions, the focus could not accept the Eastern notion of an egoless, non- now turns to an outline of pertinent Jungian psychological dual, unitary state of heightened consciousness: perspectives and their emphasis upon the healing and transformative aspects of the human psyche, a process that Consciousness is inconceivable without an ego; it ultimately leads to a greater elucidation of Tibetan Tantra is equated with the relation of contents to an ego. as well. Here the relationship of numinous experience If there is no ego there is nobody to be conscious becomes especially relevant, as such experiences represent of anything. . . . The Eastern mind, however, has no breakthroughs into considerably broader, unfathomable difficulty in conceiving of a consciousness without an psychic realms that serve to greatly influence and instruct ego. Consciousness is deemed capable of transcending human spiritual development: its ego condition; indeed, in its “higher” forms, the ego disappears altogether. Such an egoless mental Numinous experience is . . . the feeling that one is condition can only be unconscious to us, for the in the grip something greater than oneself, the simple reason that there would be nobody to witness impossibility of exercising criticism, and the paralysis it. . . . I cannot imagine a conscious mental state that of the will. Under the impact of the experience reason does not relate to a subject, that is, to an ego. (Jung, evaporates and another power simultaneously takes 1992a, p. 56) control—a most singular feeling which one willy- nilly hoards up as a secret treasure no matter how Despite this incongruity with the Eastern view, Jung much one’s reason may protest. That, indeed, is the aligned his concept of the Self with Buddhism’s Universal uncomprehended purpose of the experience—to Mind, and stated that “the unconscious is the root of all make us feel the overpowering presence of a mystery. experience of oneness . . . dharmakaya” (p. 66). (Jung, 1977, pp. 154-155) Finally, no comparative study of these two disciplines would be complete without some mention of An in-depth attunement to the mythic images their mutual association with the esoteric phenomena that arise through dreams, visions, and other psychic

152 International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Davis phenomena represents an essential component in this features of this alchemical healing process, as it signals process, as such archetypal forms often evoke (or are “a movement out of the suspension between opposites, used to induce) the experience of numinosity (Jung, a living birth that leads to a new level of being, a new 1974). The phenomena of dreams are of particular situation . . . a quality of conjoined opposites” (Jung, importance in depth psychology “because dreams are 1960, p. 90). This phenomenon is well represented the most common and most normal expression of the through the following dream (one of my own) and the unconscious psyche . . . they provide the bulk of the process of psychic amplification that followed: material for its investigation” (p. 73). Jung also made an I am standing in a room and am engaged in a important distinction “between ‘little’ and ‘big’ dreams, conversation that reveals with great certainty that at or as we might say, ‘insignificant’ and ‘significant’ a later date I will be involved in the dissemination of dreams” (p. 76). One such dream that is of particular Jung’s theories to a wider audience. This realization relevance came to Jung in his middle years and proved to is accompanied by a strong sense of personal pride be instrumental in the creation of an expanded dialogical at the prospect of personal accomplishment and relationship with the Self: recognition in the outer world. Then I suddenly pass I had dreamed once before of the problem of the through a curtain and find myself on a football field self and the ego. . . . I was walking along a little road preparing to kick a field goal that will signify my through a hilly landscape; the sun was shining and success in this endeavor, but when I kick the ball, it I had a wide view in all directions. Then I came to hits the goal post, and falls short. Then I wake up. a small wayside chapel. The door was ajar, and I I was left with the undeniable sense that this went in. To my surprise there was no image of the dream had special significance, and at the same time virgin on the alter, and no crucifix either, but only a was confused by the seemingly contradictory messages wonderful flower arrangement. But then I saw that that it provided. So, intent upon uncovering its deeper on the floor in front of the alter, facing me, sat a meaning, I chose to engage in the practice of active yogi—in lotus posture, in deep meditation. When I imagination, an imaginal exercise created by Jung in looked at him more closely, I realized that he had my which one reenters the dream in a conscious state by face. I started in profound fright, and awoke with focusing upon a primary image and then allowing the the thought: ‘Aha, so he is the one who is meditating inner drama to unfold of its own accord. In this case, me. He has a dream, and I am it.’ I knew that when the goal post was clearly the most prominent figure, and he awakened, I would no longer be. (1963, p. 323). so, with this image firmly in mind, I proceeded to close Jung (1963) stressed that the purpose of my eyes, concentrate my focus, and then experienced the such dreams is “to effect a reversal of the relationship following: between ego-consciousness and the unconscious, and In a short time I found myself again on the football to represent the unconscious as the generator of the field, this time playing quarterback. Each time I empirical personality” (p. 324). He chose to experiment tried to pass the ball, I was quickly tackled. Finally, with various techniques designed to help manifest the I decided to keep the ball and attempt to cross the interplay between consciousness and the unconscious, goal line by my own volition, and was then able to and he viewed creative expression as an especially effective maneuver my way through the defense, ultimately means of facilitating this process. In conjunction with his being brought down as I successfully crossed the discoveries, Jung developed the process of amplification, goal line. As the football I was carrying touched a method by which the deeper spiritual meanings of the ground, it suddenly turned into an enlarged, psychic images, symbols, and dream-figures are expanded glowing blue diamond, and this was accompanied through their association with mythological, cultural, by a wordless, telepathic communication that can and religious metaphors—a process that has particular only be described as a numinous revelation, one that application within a therapeutic and developmental arose from a deeper part of myself that I rarely have context. direct access to, and yet somehow instinctively know The psyche’s direct engagement with mythic to be my true self. And what this communication imagery thus represents one of the most essential

Jung at the Foot of Mount Kailash International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 153 revealed to me was that the goal in life is not about symbols of humanity . . . and may even have existed in achieving success or status in the outer world, but Paleolithic times. . . . The used in ceremonial rather, the true meaning of this life is to reconnect, are of great significance because their centers usually to return home, to the very source of one’s being. contain one of the highest religious figures: either himself—often in the embrace of —or This experience clearly delineates Jung’s (1960) the Buddha, Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara, or one of notion of the dynamic interplay between consciousness the great Mahayana teachers, or simply the dorje, and the unconscious. It also appears to be highly suggestive symbol of all the divine forces together, whether of the existence of numinous universal archetypes, as the creative or destructive. (pp. 170-172) diamond exists as one of the primary representations of the Self (Jung, 1964), and has manifested as a sacred The above passages clearly exemplify the central symbol of spiritual radiance, purity, and indestructibility themes mentioned previously, namely the essential in an array of diverse cultural traditions, including importance of the reconciliation of opposites and the Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, or Vajrayana—the Diamond attendant union of male/female aspects, a process Vehicle. that is accompanied by the manifestation of various These psychic processes also serve to exemplify forms of universal mythic imagery that appear both in the means by which the unconscious acts in a regulatory individual spiritual development and in broader cultural capacity, compensating for the misguided direction and religious contexts. This notion is echoed by Tenzin of the ego through the spontaneous manifestation of Wangyal Rinpoche (1998), who touched upon this psychic imagery, a process that combines aspects of one’s phenomenon as follows: contemporary personal existence (i.e., the goal post) The underlying truth is that these teaching arise with the universal symbolic imagery of the collective spontaneously from humans when they reach a unconsciousness (i.e., the blue diamond), resulting in certain point in their individual development. The an experience of deep personal meaning and psychic teachings are inherent in the foundational wisdom wholeness (Jung, 1960). that any culture can eventually access. They are not Jung (1963) stated that specific archetypal only Buddhist or Bon teachings; they are teachings symbols manifest in direct correlation with one’s spiritual for all humans. (p. 71) development, and observed that as the Self increasingly assumes a central position within consciousness, the Tibetan Tantra: mandala becomes the most prominent and consistent Dreams, Sacred Imagery, and Mythic Realms symbol. An important bridge is thus established here oth Jungian psychology and Tibetan Tantra between the Western and Eastern traditions in question, Bemphasize spiritual transformation, and both especially as it pertains to the arising and manifestation engage in imaginal practices that are intended to of mythic imagery in a broader universal context: directly influence this process. Dream yoga represents one of the primary practices in the Tibetan tradition, The mandala is an archetypal image whose and reflects “how greatly dream is valued in Tibetan occurrence is attested throughout the ages. It culture . . . and how information from the unconscious is signifies the wholeness of the self. The circular image often of greater value than the information the conscious represents the wholeness of the psychic ground or, mind can provide. (Wangyal, 1998, p. 12) However, in to put it in mythic terms, the divinity incarnate in considering the manner in which the tantric tradition man. . . . which spontaneously arises in the mind as a employs such practices, an important distinction must representation of the struggle and reconciliation of be made: opposites. (pp. 334-335) There is nothing more real than dream. This statement Jung (1974) further enunciated this theme as follows: only makes sense once it is understood that normal It seems to me beyond question that these Eastern waking life is as unreal as dream, and in exactly the symbols originated in dreams and visions, and were same way. Then it can be understood that dream not invented by some Mahayana church father. On yoga applies to all experience, to the dreams of the the contrary, they are among the oldest religious day as well as the dreams of the night. (p. 23)

154 International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Davis The above passage relates to the Tibetan in various tantric methodologies as a creative means Buddhist view (and broader Indian notion) of , of furthering one’s spiritual development. This is done which refers to the illusory nature of ordinary dualistic with the understanding that perception. Genuine clarity of mind, on the other the deity we choose to identify with represents the hand, involves the immediate, penetrating, nondual essential qualities of the fully awakened experience comprehension that “the very ground of our being is latent within us. To use the language of psychology, pervasive, self-existing, empty, primordial awareness. . . . such a deity is an archetype of our own deepest Bon-Buddhism places a great emphasis on the doctrine nature, our most profound level of consciousness. of no-self or emptiness (sunyata), which is the ultimate In tantra we focus our attention upon such an truth of all phenomena” (Wangyal, 1998, p. 200). archetypal image and identify with it in order to Within this mode of perception, all phenomena, both arouse the deepest, most profound aspects of our in the waking and dream state, are understood to be being and bring them into our present reality. lacking in any inherent existence, and as such the (Yeshe, 1987/2001, p. 30) conventional self, the separate “me” that one normally identifies with, is understood to be a projection of the Rob Preece (2006) also emphasized this important mind that is not abiding in its true nature, known distinction when he stated that in Tibetan Buddhism as the “clear light of bliss,” even though the notion of no-Self (Skt., anatma) is and in the Tibetan language as . Learning not a central tenet of Buddhism, the Buddhist tantric to falsely identify with illusory projections, which in path conceives that our potential for wholeness is Buddhism are seen as arising from one’s karmic traces personified in the symbolic form of a deity. . . . The and perpetuating the cycle of in samsara, is a deity in Tantra is understood as a gateway or bridge fundamental aspect of this discipline. Accordingly, between two aspects of reality. . . . In Buddhism we such methods as deity visualizations, dream yoga, and speak of ‘relative truth,’ the world of appearances other meditative practices are intended to dissolve the and forms, and ‘ultimate truth,’ the empty, spacious, dualistic mind into nondual nature of reality. . . . The deity stands on the the clear light and abide in it through all the threshold as the potential for creative manifestation. moments of life: waking, meditating, dreaming, (pp. 38-39) sleeping, and death. Essentially, the teaching are At the same time it is important to note that designed to help us recognize the nature of mind, Tibetan posits the existence of to understand and overcome the obstacles in our various spiritual dimensions and ethereal entities that practice, and to abide fully in rigpa. We can utilize are considered to be more than mere psychic projections. the same methods to remain in joy, to find peace in They are thought to possess their own autonomous the midst of the turmoil of the world, to live well nature and to exist in innumerable planes and universes, and to appreciate each vivid moment of our human as Thongdup wrote: existence. (p. 208) Buddhist cosmology encompasses an unimaginably To abide in the clear light, then, in the waking vast number of world systems beyond our earthly state, during meditation, in the bardo (which is given home. Outside of the mundane world, the six realms particular emphasis in dream yoga), and during of samsara, there exist innumerable pure lands dreaming itself, and to approach the phenomena that extending in all ten directions of the universe. . . . one encounters in all of these states as projections of These purified are the dwelling places of the mind while sustaining a state of calm abiding in advanced beings, including celestial buddhas and nondual awareness—this is the essential purpose of great . (2005, p. 284) tantric practice (Wangyal, 1998). And so, despite the fact that in Buddhism one’s This perspective is given further support through essential nature is understood as lacking any inherent the pioneering transpersonal findings of Stanislav Grof existence, mythic imagery and entities (e.g., Buddha (1998), whose more than forty years of research into Sakyamuni, Avalokitesvara, and ) are employed non-ordinary states of consciousness have suggested the

Jung at the Foot of Mount Kailash International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 155 existence of an immense array of spiritual realms and a mythological realm that has been extensively experiential dimensions that lie beyond the perception studied by C. G. Jung and his followers. . . . Jung of ordinary waking consciousness. His findings also referred to it as the archetypal realm of the collective suggest the existence of two forms of ultimate reality, unconscious. The beings inhabiting these realms which are referred to as Absolute Consciousness and seem to be endowed with extraordinary energy and Cosmic Emptiness, or the Void. Absolute Consciousness have an aura of sacredness or numinosity. For this represents the supreme creative principle (which is reason they are usually perceived and described as responsible for the creation of manifest existence), and deities. . . . The encounters with mythological beings this creative principle is thought to co-exist with, and and visits to mythic landscapes . . . can be in every emanate from, the great Void, as outlined below: respect as real as events in our everyday life, or more so. The archetypal realm is not a figment of human When we encounter the Void, we feel that it is fantasy and imagination; it has an independent primordial emptiness of cosmic proportions and existence of its own and a high degree of autonomy. relevance. We become pure consciousness aware of At the same time, its dynamics seem to be intimately this absolute nothingness; however, at the same time, connected with material reality and with human we have a strange paradoxical sense of its essential life. (pp. 69-70) fullness. . . . While it does not contain anything in a concrete manifest form, it seems to comprise all of It is these advanced spiritual dimensions that existence in potential form. . . . The Void transcends are sometimes accessed through the creative, meditative the usual categories of space and time, and lies and dream practices emphasized in both Junigan beyond all dichotomies and polarities, such as light psychotherapy and Tibetan Tantra. There exist many and darkness, good and evil . . . agony and ecstasy, stories in Tibetan Buddhist literature, for example, that singularity and plurality, form and emptiness, and tell of “meditators who leave their bodies for days at a even existence and nonexistence. . . . This metaphysical time to travel through the invisible world” (Thongdup, vacuum, pregnant with potential for everything there 2005, p. 6). These practitioners, who are known as is, appears to be the cradle of all being, the ultimate delogs, then “come back to their bodies to record their source of existence. The creation of all phenomenal extraordinary journeys, which could span the lowest worlds is then the realization and concretization of its rungs of hell and the sublime pure lands” (p. 6). One pre-existing potentialities. (p. 30) captivating account of just such a journey—replete with sacred mythic entities and imagery—is revealed in the The above passage addresses a number of following experience of a young Tibetan woman: primary themes in Buddhist cosmology, including the Void as primordial emptiness, the reconciliation and Dawa Drolma felt that she moved through the union of all opposites (one is immediately reminded here sky, soaring like a vulture. She found herself in the of the famous Buddhist adage, form is emptiness, and manifested of Guru Rimpoche, the buddha emptiness is form), the existence of a timeless dimension, in the form a realized master. There was a boundlessly and the presence of countless world systems. It also vast field. In the center she saw a giant red rock touches upon the theme of manifest existence arising in the shape of a heart. The mountain was out of this Void, and Grof (1998) stated that some of surrounded by many sharp, sword-like mountains, these various realms and the entities that inhabit them all shining with a reddish color. The sky was adorned are understood to interact with and inform our earthly with a canopy of five colored rainbow light. All kinds dimension in ways that are consistent with aspects of of beautiful birds were singing and playing joyfully. Jungian psychology: The ground was covered with flowers of all kinds and colors. The whole atmosphere was filled with an The material realm that we inhabit and with which amazing sweet fragrance that overwhelmed all her we are intimately familiar seems to be just one of senses. There was also a blue mountain, as if made these worlds. . . . Of special interest is a domain of sapphire. These were not vague appearances, but that lies between our everyday reality and the vivid images with real presence. . . . In the middle undifferentiated Absolute Consciousness. It is of the mountain, she saw the inconceivable palace

156 International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Davis of Guru Rimpoche called the Lotus of Light. perspectives (i.e., psychic projection vs. autonomous The palace was the enlightened wisdom of Guru dimensions) presented above concerning the phenomena Rimpoche himself, spontaneously appearing in the of archetypal imagery and mythic realms, how is one form of a luminous mansion of light. . . . This pure to arrive at a distinction between where an individual’s land was filled with masters, dakas, and . . . . mythic projections end and these autonomous and often Accompanied by White Tara, Dawa Drolma entered greatly heightened realities begin? This question lies at into another inconceivably beautiful palace, made as the heart of a tremendous enigma, especially in relation if of red crystal. . . . In the middle of a great hall, Dawa to the many different psychic contexts (e.g., dreams, the Drolma saw an enormous throne—higher, it seemed bardo, near-death experience, and other non-ordinary to her, than a three-story building. . . . On that throne states of consciousness) in which these realms and she beheld the amazing presence of Guru Rimpoche, entities manifest. Padmasambhava, the embodiment of the wisdom, Thankas and other forms of sacred art that are compassion, and power of the enlightened ones. . . . used in Tibetan meditative practices depict such deities, Dawa Drolma drew closer to the throne and touched paradises, and dimensions, but in referring to these her forehead to the feet of Guru Rimpoche. . . . Guru divine entities Lama Yeshe (1987) was careful to clarify Rimpoche bestowed upon her empowerments and that blessings. With great compassion, he said . . . “Tell tantric meditational deities should not be confused people what you saw and entreat them to pursue with what different mythologies and religions might virtue”. . . . Then White Tara led Dawa Drolma to the mean when they speak of gods and goddesses. . . . hell realms. Dawa Drolma journeyed through the The deity we choose to identify with represents the experiences of the bardo. She saw the King essential qualities of the fully awakened experience of the Lords of the Dead in wrathful and terrifying latent within us. (p. 30) form in his Court of Judgment. . . . She also saw the results of karmic effects and the severity of sufferings Echoing the same perspective, Pal (1990) stated that “on of the hell realms with her naked eyes, so she would a more metaphysical level, the divine images are simply be able to teach more effectively on her return to the symbols of the Buddha. . . . They are not themselves real world of the living. . . . White. but help to define reality, and are dispensed with by the Tara then took Dawa Drolma to visit Potala, the enlightened mind and by the true yogi” (1990, p. 36). pure land of Avalokiteshvara, and Yulo Kopa, the Further, Padmasambhava’s (2005) famous instruction pure land of Tara, before returning to the human manual for liberation in the bardo state, The Tibetan world. . . . Dawa Drolma spent the rest of her life Book of the Dead, clearly delineates the forms and entities teaching Dharma based on her delog experiences and encountered in this intermediate state as projections of totally devoting her life to the service of others. . . . one’s mind. And, as previously cited, Jung (1992b), in In 1941, at the age of thirty-two, she died. . . . People his commentary on the same text, asserted that “the witnessed many miracles at the time of her death whole book is created out of the archetypal contents of and cremation. She and her delog accounts inspired the unconscious. . . . The world of gods and spirits is truly the hearts of many people in many parts of Eastern ‘nothing but’ the collective unconscious inside me” (p. Tibet to believe in the law of and rebirth. 96). That in turn awakened a kinder nature in many. And yet, as previously revealed both the Dalai (Thongdup, 2005, pp. 151-155) Lama and Grof (in an expansion upon Jung’s initial findings) havee affirmed the autonomous existence of This portrayal reveals an array of mythic other entities and dimensions, and Tulku Thongdup entities and imagery that appear to represent aspects of (2005) emphasized that in the Tibetan tradition rebirth the practitioner’s own inner spiritual processes while at into one of these paradisiacal, non-samsaric pure lands the same time revealing greatly advanced experiential (as part of one’s spiritual evolution toward ultimate dimensions. In light of the rather fantastic nature (at least liberation) stands as a principal aim of tantric practice. in modern Western terms) of this other-worldly depiction, Further, ’s (1995/2003) The Treasury and in consideration of the sometimes widely differing of Knowledge: Myriad Worlds presented a comprehensive

Jung at the Foot of Mount Kailash International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 157 overview of world-systems and the various beings who ancient towns and medieval villages we encountered a inhabit them. In the latter years of his life even Jung, vast, ever-changing landscape of immeasurable mountain who in adherence to Kantian epistemology was always ranges and open, desolate plains that exuded a stark, careful not to draw absolute metaphysical conclusions, ominous beauty. In this environment human beings find nonetheless considered archetypal forms and other themselves in the presence of immense natural forces such numinous phenomena to be strongly suggestive that dwarf the human condition. In the midst of this of an autonomous and unfathomable force possessing a seemingly endless expanse of open, untamed wilderness, profoundly multi-dimensional nature (Edinger, 1996). It one’s usual sense of position and importance in the is also fascinating to note that Lama Govinda (1960), world is greatly diminished and one stands humbled in in his foreword to The Tibetan Book of the Dead that the presence of an environment whose indelible scope accompanies Jung’s own commentary on the same text, remains an unquenchable mystery. made a point to emphasize that Our evening at the monastery was spent attending to the practical aims of food and shelter, as we animism permeates all , wherein every had arrived well after dark and were tired and hungry tree and grove, and every locality, is held to have its after a long arduous ascent over hard and unforgiving own peculiar deities; and the Buddha is represented terrain. The guest quarters were cold, sparse, and dimly as discoursing with gods and other spiritual beings, lit, as were the kitchen conditions where we consumed inhabiting the Earth and the realms beyond, as if it in silence a simple bowl of buckwheat noodles while were a most natural procedure. Only a completely surrounded by a retinue of subdued young novice monks. intellectualized and Westernized Buddhism, Immediately after dinner I retired to my humble cot, which attempts to separate the thought-content of and was soon fast asleep. Then, sometime in the middle Buddhism from its equally profound mythological of the night I awoke and was instinctively drawn outside elements, can deny this animistic background and and up a neighboring hillside where, upon reaching the with it the metaphysical foundations of Buddhism. top, I suddenly encountered the undeniable presence of (p. lvii) an utterly vast feminine energy that seemed to blanket At first glance, then, one appears to be left with the sky above. I was awestruck by its combination of a somewhat beguiling predicament. Although I cannot depth, power, and immensity, and at that moment I felt claim to offer any definitive explanations regarding that perhaps my mother had died and that her expanded the apparent disparities in the above examples, an in- spirit was somehow visiting me. But when I expressed this depth exploration of the following experience—a very thought to the sky, this notion was in no way confirmed, mysterious encounter with a vast ethereal feminine and later I would discover that my mother was indeed presence many years ago at the base of Mt. Everest—may still alive, which draped this profound experience in help to further clarify a distinction between personal mystery. mythic projection and the presence of autonomous A few days later we arrived in the city of archetypal realms and beings. , and the next day, while strolling through the Mystical Encounter at Mt. Everest colorful, crowded side streets of this medieval metropolis, he experience in question took place in the summer I came upon an image that immediately captured my Tof 1996 and involved an overland expedition from attention and held it in a state of great attraction and the Tibetan capital of to the enigmatic city of curiosity. The image was of an ethereal female figure, Kathmandu, Nepal. The journey was scheduled to take clearly presented in the context of veneration and about a week, and would extend along what is known surrounded by a host of exotic and esoteric figures. At as the Friendship Highway, a rough, unpaved road that the time I was not well versed in the pantheon of Tibetan links these two ancient trading partners. This route and religious iconography, and as such took us through an array of small villages as well as a I was not immediately well attuned to the fact that number of important religious settlements, including this enigmatic and alluring female presence, with her the monastic centers of Gyantse and Shigatse, before undeniable air of serenity and deep green coloring, was arriving at Rongbuk Monastery near the base camp of in fact the Goddess Tara, accompanied by her cohorts Mt. Everest. Throughout this passing kaleidoscope of and astral attendants. This specific identification would

158 International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Davis come to me at a later date; all I knew then, after first its lowest elementary phase to its supreme spiritual setting my eyes on her, was that she must return home transformation. (1955/1983, pp. 334-335) with me. Upon my return to California she was carefully And the vital role that the sacred feminine plays in the framed and subsequently began to assume a distinct process of spiritual development was revealed by Nathan visual presence in my living space. However, a deeper Katz in the following perspective: appreciation of her underlying meaning—in a broader religious context and in my own personal experience— The inspiration of the anima or the is a call for remained largely beyond my conscious awareness until one to look inward. As such, she is the link between I began to encounter writings on the sacred feminine the conscious and unconscious. In appearing to through my studies in depth psychology and Tibetan consciousness, the anima calls its attention to Buddhism. what has remained hidden; she is the door to the Through this process I began to more fully unconscious. (1992, p. 322) appreciate that within the context of the archetypal Therefore, what appears to have remained hidden feminine, one of the most prominent figures is the and unconscious in my own experience was a deep and Goddess Tara, who, as the mother of all buddhas, abiding realization of the archetypal feminine, which exemplifies compassion, enlightened activity, and “the was brought into direct conscious awareness through my totally developed wisdom that transcends reason” encounter with the Goddess entity at the base of Everest. (Moacanin, 2003, p. 63). In Jungian terms, she “represents The vital link that then resulted in the all-important the mother archetype. . . . she is the image of the mother amplification of the above experience came through who has integrated in herself all the opposites, positive my subsequent encounter with Tara’s mythic image, and negative” (p. 63). as encountered in the shop in Kathmandu. This image Tara can be viewed as belonging to a broader carried tremendous power and attraction (as a personal group of female embodiments of wisdom and divine mythic projection/association), and consequently lead power that include the dakini, which has on occasion to a much deeper attunement to my own unfolding been associated by Western scholars with one of Jung’s spiritual processes. It also profoundly evoked the key archetypes, the anima (Moacanin, 2003). Jung undeniable presence of a vast and autonomous spiritual (1963) placed great emphasis on the integration of the entity, an utterly immense and numinous mystery that feminine aspect as well as the importance of actively is symbolized by—and transcendent of—the image of embracing the natural world in a deeply spiritual and Tara itself. mythological framework, and in this context he viewed If one thus understands the deities depicted in Nature as the supreme manifestation of the archetypal mythic imagery as essentially symbolic representations of Goddess. One of Jung’s most prominent contemporaries, transcendent forces, it must also be acknowledged that Erich Neumann, outlined the significance of the sacred these symbols nonetheless possess a potent numinous feminine and its direct correlation to the Goddess Tara quality by virtue of their archetypal nature. In Tibetan as follows: Tantra they also denote—like the progressively advanced The archetypal feminine in man unfolds like stages of the chakras—heightened levels of spiritual mankind itself. At the beginning stands the primeval development to which inhabitants of this earthly goddess, resting in the materiality of her elementary dimension aspire. As previously noted, the Buddha is character, knowing nothing but the secret of her said to have interacted with otherworldly entities, and womb; at the end is Tara, in her left hand the opening indeed the very basis of the bodhisattva ideal involves lotus blossom of psychic flowering, her right hand the instruction and guidance of all sentient beings in this held out toward the world in a gesture of giving. Her earthly realm—and in innumerable other dimensions as eyes are half closed and in her meditation she turns well. toward the outward as well as the inner world: an In his book The Sacred Place, Paul Devereux eternal image of the redeeming female spirit. Both (2000) observed that the interaction of cosmic and together form the unity of the Great Goddess, who, earthly forces appears to be highly concentrated in certain in the totality of her unfolding, fills the world from physical environments, and it is especially pertinent

Jung at the Foot of Mount Kailash International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 159 to note that throughout human history mountains in 276). Here one finds a direct correspondence between the particular have been known to exist as the sacred presence of the axial mountain, the human chakras, and of the Goddess. This is precisely the belief that is held the simultaneous access to other dimensions of reality. by the native Tibetan and Nepalese inhabitants who In Tibetan Buddhism one such reality is occupy both sides of Mt. Everest. This mountain has Khacho Shing, the Pure Land of the Dakinis, “a realm long been considered a sanctified entity because an array closely related to our own, yet more subtle and more of mystical experiences and encounters with various intimately connected to the elemental forces of nature” disincarnate beings have been reported in its immediate (Preece, 2006, p. 248). In considering this relationship vicinity for millennia. With this understanding in mind, between sanctified realms and the natural world, Mircea the potential connection between Mt. Everest and the Eliade observed that “where the sacred manifests itself in Goddess in my own experience deserves further in-depth space, the real unveils itself. . . . It opens communication consideration. between the cosmic planes (between earth and ) Mountains hold a special place in the religious and makes possible ontological passage from one mode thinking and creative iconography of the , of being to another” (1957/1987, p. 63). From this and Mt. Kailash in particular (located in Western Tibet) perspective it seems quite probable that my experience ubiquitously appears on thankas and in other forms of of the Goddess was facilitated through the spiritual axis Buddhist and Hindu art. Like Everest, Kailash represents of Mt. Everest, and whether she derived from the realm the archetype of the World Mountain, and in its various of Kacho Shing, Yulo Kopa (the Pure Land of Tara), or manifestations “this cosmic mountain may be identified one of the many other exalted paradises, there can be no with a real mountain, or it can be mythic, but it is question in my experience of her utterly advanced spiritual always placed at the center of the world” (Eliade, 1992, nature and development. In this way her emergence p. 110). This sacred mountain, as a form of , served to activate a deep, on-going archetypal process represents both a physical and spiritual entity, and, as the while simultaneously revealing a wholly expanded sense outer form serves to activate the inner archetype in the of divine potential, one that points to the existence of human psyche, it is also directly linked with the union greatly heightened celestial or psychic realms that are, of opposites and the psycho-somatic dynamics of the in the Buddhist tradition, major steps forward along the chakra system: path to final liberation. The multidimensional nature of this enigmatic To Hindus and Buddhists alike Kailas is the center of experience presents an intriguing parallel to Jorge Ferrer’s the universe. It is called Meru or Sumeru, according (2002) view of transpersonal phenomena as “multilocal to the oldest Sanskrit tradition, and is regarded to participatory events” (p. 117), which he conceived as be not only the physical but metaphysical center containing the following principal components: of the world. And as our psychological organism is a microcosmic replica of the universe, Meru (1) events, in contrast to intrasubjective experiences; is represented by the spinal cord in our nervous (2) multilocal, in that they can arise in different loci, system; and just as the various centers (Skt.: cakra) of such as an individual, a relationship, a community, consciousness are supported by and connected with a collective identity, or a place; and (3) participatory, the spinal cord (Skt.: meru-danda) . . . in the same way in that they can invite the generative power and forms the axis of the various planes of dynamism of all dimensions of human nature to supramundane worlds. (Govinda, 1966, p. 273) interact with a spiritual power in the co-creation of spiritual worlds. (p. 117) This structural cosmology serves as the very basis of the all-important Buddhist , and in depth This framework has a direct application to my encounter psychology the World Mountain is one of the foremost with the Goddess entity beneath Mt. Everest, as this archetypes of the Self and a most powerful and evocative experience involved a sacred entity (i.e., the Goddess), symbol of spiritual ascendance. It warrants repeating sacred place (i.e., Mt. Everest), and a co-creative element that “as Kailas corresponds to the spinal column, it (i.e., one’s shared participation/interaction). As a multi- represents the axis of the spiritual universe, rising local, multi-dimensional event, it is clearly indicative of through innumerable world planes” (Govinda, 1966, p. the participatory vision.

160 International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Davis The participatory perspective suggests that who reach this level focus their energy into . . . work on human consciousness acts as “the agent of religious one’s self, conquering one’s outward-going tendencies, knowing” (Ferrer & Sherman, 2008, p. 38), a process turning all inward” (p. 35). Jung himself described this in which all aspects of perception—imaginal, somatic, level as involving “a full recognition of the psychical intuitive, aesthetic, and rational—can potentially essences of substances as the fundamental essences participate in unison with the Mystery in the unfolding of the world, and not by virtue of speculation but by and bringing forth of spiritual realities. One is thus virtue of experience” (quoted in Clarke, 1994, p. 115). encouraged to “recognize the ontologically creative role This perspective exemplifies the core of Jung’s notion of spiritual cognition,” and to carefully consider the of the primacy of psychic reality, but he had little to notion that “these worlds are not statically closed but say in relation to the two remaining levels. A number fundamentally dynamic and open to the continued of contemporary scholars, including Alan Watts, transformation resulting (at least in part) from the Ken Wilber, and Harold Coward, have speculated creative impact of human visionary imagination” (p. 32). that Jung’s own experiential horizon, while revealing In this sense, both psychic projections and autonomous tremendous insights in its own right, did not allow him dimensions, along with a array of other mysterious to adequately comprehend the Eastern principle of non- spiritual phenomena, can be understood as representing dual awareness. This is due to the fact that he could varying manifestations of this co-creative process. And not conceive of a conscious state independent of the the participatory perspective accordingly suggests that ego and its dualistic subject-object relationship. Indeed, indeed these various phenomena are each valid and Jung considered the psychic stages represented by the ontologically real in their own right. last two chakras—especially the awakened non-dual Jung at the Foot of Mt. Kailash state of the seventh chakra—to be levels that existed o-creative, participatory aspects are prominent in beyond any notion of human consciousness. In this Cboth Jungian psychology and Tibetan Tantra. In sense he referred to chakra six as a state in which “the the Jungian tradition, practices such as active imagination ego disappears completely,” and he considered chakra (as previously discussed) can serve to profoundly amplify seven to be “beyond possible experience” (p. 115). primary dream images from the unconscious. In Thus, from a Tibetan Buddhist standpoint, Jung’s own Tibetan Tantra, meditations upon deities such as Tara spiritual path never lead him to the unconquerable view similarly act as a kind of psychic bridge to the threshold of the Mountaintop. Although his journey took him to of expanded dimensions. But the spiritual heights to considerable heights, he never did make the final ascent which each discipline aspires vary in significant ways, of the World Mountain (the Self), but instead came to and it is through a more thorough consideration of rest at the foot of Mt. Kailash, where he stood gazing at the chakras that further distinctions between the two its objectified, mythic proportions, rather than merging systems emerge. with its unified, definitive totality. Jung felt that the extroverted nature of Of course the most fundamental teachings contemporary Westerners, with its focus on the primacy of Tibetan Buddhism assert that not only are these of exterior existence, had caused the broader culture to two upper levels of the chakras attainable, but that remain at the levels of the second and third chakras. These the seventh chakra, as the very mode of dharmakaya levels emphasize respectively the sexual nature of existence itself, represents one’s true nature as all-encompassing, (in its procreative as opposed to its transformational undifferentiated, non-dual awareness. This signifies an potentiality), and competition and conquest, especially ecstatic, unitary, timeless state that defies all rational in the financial, military and erotic spheres (Campbell, conception, “representing a rapture beyond any god 1986). And though all of the chakras play an important known as of a name or form” (Campbell, 1986, p. role in the process of human development, the last three 37). For it is at the level of chakra seven that “both the levels are especially relevant to spiritual awakening in beheld image and the beholding mind dissolve together that “the uppermost three centers are of increasingly in a blaze that is at once of nonbeing and of being” (p. sublimated spiritual realizations” (p. 37). 39). This is the unrivaled, incomparable vision from the Campbell (2003) suggested that the fifth center summit of the highest peak, the ultimate horizon from “is the cakra of ascetic, monkish disciplines. . . . Those which all is one and where the “I” vanishes, not into the

Jung at the Foot of Mount Kailash International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 161 oblivion of the unconscious as Jung believed, but into the Tarthang Tulku, founder of the Nyingma Institute in eternal light of supreme spiritual realization. Berkeley, California, described this vital process of The meditative practices of Tibetan Tantra are, as unification as one that involves previous noted, designed to induce psychic development meaning which reveals itself not in words or concepts, toward this indomitable state, and the mythic image itself but in the quality of our lives, in the intrinsic beauty stands “at the threshold of passage from time to eternity, and value of all things. When our actions arise which is in fact the of reference of the metaphors naturally from a celebration of living, all concepts of myth” (Campbell, 1986, p. 40). Concurrent with this drop away. We become meaning itself, enlightened perspective is the understanding that by all existence. (1978/1990, p. 116) this threshold is . . . the place of the sacred in its Conclusion archetypal and symbolic manifestations. On this ibetan Buddhist Tantra and Jungian depth threshold we come into relationship with the power psychology each represent a complex system of of archetypal intent, the forces that can shape our T psycho-spiritual transformation. In addition, each views lives. The tantric deity occupies a central place on the human mind, or psyche, as the primary instrument this threshold as a personification of that intent . . . through which the transcendence of duality is achieved. Awakening our relationship to the sacred on this level And it is precisely this experience of transcendence that has a profound influence upon our lives, because the is variously facilitated in both methodologies through the deity is the vehicle or channel through which the creative use of mythic imagery. Spiritual awakening thus power of dharmakaya manifests. (Preece, 2006, p. exists as the ultimate aim in both disciplines, a process 137) that is intended, in Jungian terms, to lead the individual This threshold can be seen as the boundary “from the ego to the Self, from the unconscious to between temporal, dualistic, manifest existence and the consciousness, from the personal to the transpersonal, the eternal, nondual, formless nature of dharmakaya, and it holy, the realization that the macrocosm is being mirrored is the various practices of tantra, and more specifically in the microcosm of the human psyche” (Moacanin, 2003, tantric meditation, or , that “enable a p. 67). In the Tibetan tradition, the path of liberation meditator to cultivate a quality of emptiness with is understood as leading to an awakening to one’s true appearance” (Preece, 2006, pp. 132-133). These exercises nature—the primordial, all-pervasive, inherently empty, are intended to soften our psychosomatic boundaries, non-dual, clear light of bliss. thus gradually diminishing the sense of separation Further, although it appears that Jung’s between one’s solidified sense of identity and the outer understanding of ultimate spiritual potential did not rise environment. Ultimately this transformation reveals a to the same level as revealed in Tibetan Buddhism, he dynamic alchemical process, one that serves to “make nonetheless made a profound and lasting contribution a crystal of our minds, so that there is no separation to the East-West dialogue while addressing many of between inner and outer” (Tarthang Tulku, 1978/1990, contemporary culture’s most pressing issues. Foremost p. 30). Liberation is thus achieved through the dissolution among these in his mind was the need for humanity to of a separate ego and the luminous union of observer and return to it inner roots, to reconnect with the powerful observed, a process that in Highest Yoga Tantra (as the and ever present psychic structures that guide the process final stage of practice) reveals itself as follows: of human development. These archetypal structures reveal an inscrutable variety of deities and dimensions, The meditator experiences the first taste of dharmakaya the ultimate nature of which remains a profound mystery as clear light awareness dissolves into nonduality like a and an important subject for further inquiry. But whether clear sky, or a drop of water dissolving into the ocean. they manifest as autonomous realms, psychic projections, Once this experience arises, , it is said, is or some other form of esoteric phenomena, the precepts possible within this lifetime, and practitioners with and experiential findings of these two vibrant disciplines this quality of awareness can, within their present clearly suggest that psychic engagement with the sacred bodies, complete the final stages of unification. mythic imagery of the mind remains an essential part (Preece, 2006, p. 230) of psycho-spiritual growth and transcendence. In

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About the Author

Judson Davis is a doctoral candidate in East-West Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, California. His present work involves a synthesis of Tibetan Buddhist Tantra and Jungian depth psychology, with particular emphasis on the healing and transformative power of mythic imagery and archetypal forms.

164 International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Davis