THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT – WHAT IS IT? New Age Series – Part One
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Abraham Maslow on Experiential and Conceptual Understanding T
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Volume 14 Article 2 Iss. 1-2 (1995) 1-1-1995 Abraham Maslow on Experiential and Conceptual Understanding T. Cleary S. I. Shapiro Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/ijts-transpersonalstudies Part of the Philosophy Commons, Psychology Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Cleary, T., & Shapiro, S. I. (1995). Cleary, T. S., & Shapiro, S. I. (1995). Abraham Maslow on experiential and conceptual understanding. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 14(1-2), 30–39.. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 14 (12). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/ijts-transpersonalstudies/vol14/iss12/2 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. This 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]. ABRAHAM MASLOW ON EXPERIENTIAL AND CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING TOMS. CLEARY AND S. I. SHAPIRO DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF HA WAI'I AT MANOA HONOLULU, HAWAI'I, U.S.A. If you want to see the world. • . Make yourself into a good instrument of knowledge. -- A. H. Maslow (1966, p. 48) It is apparent from Abraham Maslow's biography (Hoffman, 1988) and from his published journals (Maslow, 1979) that he felt strongly about the importance of maximizing intellectual growth and maturation, and that he derived deep satisfac tion from his own intellectual activities. Indeed, Maslow's intellectual activities, in the form of theoretical and empirical contributions, helped to legitimize, develop, and sustain the humanistic and transpersonal psychology movements. -
Yoga, Psychedelics and American Mental Health Lucas Richert,1 Matthew Decloedt2
Original research Med Humanities: first published as 10.1136/medhum-2017-011422 on 30 March 2018. Downloaded from Supple bodies, healthy minds: yoga, psychedelics and American mental health Lucas Richert,1 Matthew DeCloedt2 1Faculty of Humanities and ABSTRact in a postmodern world: “We’re stuck now in our Social Sciences, University of Much discussion about mental health has revolved own culture…stuck in a silly world which makes Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK 5 2Central European University, around treatment models. As interdisciplinary scholarship all sorts of unnecessary problems”. Mental health, Budapest, Hungary has shown, mental health knowledge, far from being a by many accounts, suffered as a result. Thus, tran- neutral product detached from the society that generated scending the present was one means of coping. Correspondence to it, was shaped by politics, economics and culture. By Eastern religion, experimentation with yoga and Dr Lucas Richert, Faculty of drawing on case studies of yoga, religion and fitness, psychedelics seemed a useful alternative to Amer- Humanities and Social Sciences, ican capitalism, conservatism, militarism, racism, University of Strathclyde, this article will examine the ways in which mental Glasgow G4 0LT, UK ; health practices—sometimes scientific, sometimes violence and the prospect of nuclear war. Not only that, the experimentation seemed a useful alterna- lucasrichert@ yahoo. co. uk spiritual—have been conceived, debated and applied tive to other mental health strategies (Sessa, p. 99; by researchers and the public. More specifically, it will Accepted 27 February 2018 Sacks, p. 90ff; Osto, p. 41–207).4 6–8 ii Yogis and interrogate the relationship between yoga, psychedelics, drug takers were after the same thing: an expe- South Asian and Eastern religion (as understood and rience that reframed the way they looked at the practiced in the USA) and mental health. -
An Energetic Example of Bidirectional Sino-Japanese Esoteric Buddhist Transmission
religions Article From China to Japan and Back Again: An Energetic Example of Bidirectional Sino-Japanese Esoteric Buddhist Transmission Cody R. Bahir Independent Researcher, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA; [email protected] Abstract: Sino-Japanese religious discourse, more often than not, is treated as a unidirectional phe- nomenon. Academic treatments of pre-modern East Asian religion usually portray Japan as the pas- sive recipient of Chinese Buddhist traditions, while explorations of Buddhist modernization efforts focus on how Chinese Buddhists utilized Japanese adoptions of Western understandings of religion. This paper explores a case where Japan was simultaneously the receptor and agent by exploring the Chinese revival of Tang-dynasty Zhenyan. This revival—which I refer to as Neo-Zhenyan—was actualized by Chinese Buddhist who received empowerment (Skt. abhis.eka) under Shingon priests in Japan in order to claim the authority to found “Zhenyan” centers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and even the USA. Moreover, in addition to utilizing Japanese Buddhist sectarianism to root their lineage in the past, the first known architect of Neo-Zhenyan, Wuguang (1918–2000), used energeticism, the thermodynamic theory propagated by the German chemist Freidrich Wilhelm Ost- wald (1853–1932; 1919 Nobel Prize for Chemistry) that was popular among early Japanese Buddhist modernists, such as Inoue Enryo¯ (1858–1919), to portray his resurrected form of Zhenyan as the most suitable form of Buddhism for the future. Based upon the circular nature of esoteric trans- mission from China to Japan and back to the greater Sinosphere and the use of energeticism within Neo-Zhenyan doctrine, this paper reveals the sometimes cyclical nature of Sino-Japanese religious influence. -
RD 071 937 SO 005 072 AUTHOR Payne, Judy Reeder TITLE Introduction to Eastern Philosophy, :Jocial Studies: 6414.23
DOCIDIENT RESUME RD 071 937 SO 005 072 AUTHOR Payne, Judy Reeder TITLE Introduction to Eastern Philosophy, :Jocial Studies: 6414.23. INSTITUTION Dade County Public Schools, Miami, Fla. PUB DATE 71 NOTE 39p.; An Authorized course of instruction for the Quinmester Program EDRS PRICE MF -S0.65 HC -93.29 DESCRIPTORS Activity Units; Asian Studies; Behay.aral Objectives; Chinese Culture; Curriculum Guides; Grade 10; Grade 11; Grade 12; *Non Western Civilization; *Philosophy; *Religion; Resource Units; Secondary Grades; *Social Studies Units; Values IDENTIFIERS Flcrida; *Quinmester Program ABSTRACT Major Eastern philosophies and/or religions col sisting of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintoism are investigated by 10th through 12th grade students in this general social studies quinmester course. Since Eastern philosophical ideas are already influencing students, this course aims to guide students in a universal search for values and beliefs about the meaning of life. Through suggested activity learning, the five major religions are compared and contrasted for their differences, similarities, and .are examined for their influences upon Non Western and Western civilizations. Lastly, students trace contemporary ideas to Eastern philosophies. The course is arranged, as are other quinmester courses, with sections on broad goals, course content, activities, and materials. (SJM) AUTHORIZED COURSE OF INSTRUCTION FOR THE Uo Vlige1/45) 0 O Spcial Studies : INTRODUCTION TO EASTERNPHILOSOPHY 64111.23 6448.69 DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION1971 ED 071937 SOCIAL STUDIES INTRODUCTION TO EASTERN PHILOSOPHY zwoom5,13,0-mmmMZ17,MmMgg25.±:1"21'zmy., -omc 6448.696414.23 mmzocon>owao5zar4o--4m-5).35o5mt7zom74oviSollAmstwoz.3:14mm_pm..'mo mzsimmZ .momoo5,7,09c JUDY REEDERby PAYNE CmzQrfi7!!400z0m'10'.00m:;CS-,.740Olapm zMrsg;,T,m, for the 517,ZE5c00,m2.00'T23-DOM OM 2..I DadeDivision CountyMiami, 1971of PublicFloridaInstruction Schools DADE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD Mr. -
Chinese Philosophical Traditions Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism (+Buddhism in China)
Primary Sources: Chinese Philosophical Traditions Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism (+Buddhism in China) Confucianism: Confucius (c. 551 - 479 BCE) has been one of the most important thinkers in Chinese culture. Confucius redirected Chinese philosophy toward establishing the correct moral behavior of people within society. Significantly, Confucian thought was founded on the oldest and most respected traditions of Chinese society. Confucius himself claimed that he did nothing new, but in reality he fundamentally changed the direction of Chinese thought. Selections from the Analects (5th Century B.C.E.) On Filial Piety Mang I asked what filial piety is. The Master said, "It is being obedient." Soon after, as Fan Chi was driving him, the Master told him "Mang asked me what filial piety is, and I answer him 'being obedient.'" Fan Chi asked, "What exactly did you mean?" The Master replied, "That parents, when alive, should be served according to ritual; that, when dead, they should be buried according to ritual; and that they should be sacrificed to according to ritual." On Goodness The Master said, "A youth, when at home, should behave well toward his parents, and when abroad, respectfully to his elders. He should be earnest and truthful. He should overflow in love to all, and cultivate the friendship of the good. When he has time and opportunity, after doing those things, he should study the polite arts." Zhonggong asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "When abroad, behave to everyone as if you were receiving an important guest; treat people as if you were assisting at a great sacrifice; do not do to others as you would not wish done to yourself. -
Elements of Chinese Religion
ELEMENTS OF CHINESE RELIGION Professor Russell Kirkland Department of Religion University of Georgia 1) CONFUCIANISM: A humanistic value-system based on the teachings of Confucius (Kongzi: 551- 479 BCE). It stresses the moral responsibilities of the individual as a member of society. Confucian ideals are to be attained in one's everyday life, through individual moral cultivation and the fulfillment of one's proper roles in society. Though the early thinkers Mencius (Mengzi) and Hsün-tzu (Xunzi) debated human nature, Confucians generally share a common assumption that human nature and/or society are ultimately perfectible. Though called "humanistic," Confucian ideals were originally grounded in a belief that humanity is perfectible because our higher qualities somehow come from "Heaven" (T'ien/Tian). Also, the Confucian tradition includes a liturgical tradition in which Confucius is venerated as a spiritual being. But most Confucian leaders since the 10th century have been humanistic intellectuals leery of any concept of a personalized higher reality. Influenced by Taoism and Buddhism, those "Neo-Confucians" developed sophisticated metaphysical theories as well as meditative practices. Westerners often overlook the Neo-Confucian pursuit of individual "sagehood." 2) TAOISM: Includes both a classical school of thought (fl. 4th-2nd centuries BCE) and an organized religion (fl. 2nd-12th centuries CE). Classical Taoism — represented by texts like the Nei-yeh (Neiye), Lao-tzu (Laozi), Chuang-tzu (Zhuangzi), and Huai-nan-tzu (Huainanzi) — stressed a return to natural harmony with life's basic realities; such harmony, they thought, typified humanity's original state. Later Taoism is rich and complex. It began as a sacerdotal, liturgical tradition centered upon the socio-political ideal of a world that functions in holistic harmony. -
The Three Teachings of Ancient China
Social Studies – 6 Name: ______________________ The Three Teachings of Ancient China Taoism Laozi (Lao-tzu) wandered out to the western border of his state, riding his water buffalo. When he was eighty years old he set out for the western border of China, toward what is now Tibet, saddened and disillusioned that men were unwilling to follow the path to natural goodness. He searched for a place to live a simple life, close to nature and without trouble. With him, he carried his ideas. Before he could cross the boarder, officials made him write down his ideas: “Live a simple life, be free, be yourself, and be close to nature. Do these things and you will be happy.” Theses words have been kept in a little book called Tao Te Ching, the “Writing of God’s Way for a Good Life.” Like Confucius, Laozi had been troubled by the violence if his times. He thought it was a mistake to try to change people. He believed that people were naturally good. Man didn’t have to be “controlled.” Too much control was spoiling man. He saw that men were trying to live by “man-made” laws, customs, and traditions. They couldn’t do this and were unhappy. If men follow the ways of Tao, they will lead a good life. He really told each man to “do your own thing” – be yourself. Laozi wanted people to be closer to nature. He wanted to get away from the rules made by the government or society. To him, the government was selfish and power-hungry. -
In Search of the Tao in Taoism: New Questions of Unity and Multiplicity
Santa Clara University Scholar Commons Religious Studies College of Arts & Sciences 11-1993 In Search of the Tao in Taoism: New Questions of Unity and Multiplicity Catherine M. Bell Santa Clara University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/rel_stud Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Bell, C. M. (1993). In Search of the Tao in Taoism: New Questions of Unity and Multiplicity. History of Religions, 33(2), 187–201. https://doi.org/10.1086/463363 Copyright © 1984 The University of Chicago Press. Reprinted with permission. https://doi.org/10.1086/463363 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts & Sciences at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Religious Studies by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REVIEW ARTICLE IN SEARCH OF THE TAO IN TAOISM: NEW QUESTIONS OF UNITY AND MULTIPLICITY Histoire du taoisme des origines au XIVe siecle. By ISABELLE ROBINET. Paris: Les ltditions du Cerf, 1991. Pp. 274. 147 F. Taoist Mystical Philosophy: The Scripture of Western Ascension. By LIVIA KOHN. Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 1991. Pp. 345+xvi. $59.50 (cloth); $19.95 (paper). "Dans le Mystere, il est un autre Mystere", dit Lao zi, maintes fois cite par les maitres qui ajoutent: "Dans le souffle il est un autre Souffle", "Dans le corps il est un autre corps." Plus on extrait l'int6rieur de l'interieur, plus on obtient un ele- ment "pur", "reel." [ISABELLE ROBINET] Lao-tzu's sense of the mystery within the mystery, or the theory of a truer reality within the real that was elaborated by later Taoists, is an idea not all that far removed from the analytical quest to identify an essential unity under- lying some tantalizing set of diverse phenomena. -
An Illustrated Introduction to Taoism: the Wisdom of the Sages by Jean C
An Illustrated Introduction to Taoism: The Wisdom of the Sages By Jean C. Cooper, Edited by Joseph A. Fitzgerald, Foreword by William Stoddart Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom, 2010 Reviewed by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos “Tao is primordial; it is Absolute. In its descent it begets one. When one is begotten, Tao becomes relative and two comes into existence. When two things are compared there is their opposite and three is begotten.”1 Yen Fu f all of the world’s religions, or more specifically the three religions Oof the Chinese civilization, Taoism is least known. While Buddhism and Confucianism are commonly known, why is it that Taoism, one of the great religious and philosophical movements in Chinese thought, remains relatively unknown? One clue might be that Taoism belongs to pure metaphysics as Chuang Tzu alludes to in the following, “It cannot be conveyed either by words or by silence. In that state which is neither speech nor silence its transcendental nature may be apprehended.” (p. 5) While each religion has an outer (exoteric or formal) and inner (esoteric or mystical) dimension, it is said that “Taoism is a purely metaphysical and mystical religion. Other religions have their mystical aspects; Taoism is mysticism.” (p. 5) Even though this work articulates the spiritual landscape of Taoism, its author also makes “points of contact 1 Yen Fu, quoted in J.C. Cooper, Yin & Yang: The Taoist Harmony of Opposites (Welling‑ borough, UK: Aquarian Press, 1981), p. 71. SACRED WEB 38 101 Review: An Illustrated Introduction to Taoism – Samuel Bendeck Sotillos with the perennial philosophy in other major religions…illustrating how, in many essential ways, they speak with one voice.”2 The author of this book, Jean Campbell Cooper (1905‑1999), was born in Chefoo, in Northern China where she spent her formative years in the Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian cultures of China. -
The Commune Movement During the 1960S and the 1970S in Britain, Denmark and The
The Commune Movement during the 1960s and the 1970s in Britain, Denmark and the United States Sangdon Lee Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of History September 2016 i The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement ⓒ 2016 The University of Leeds and Sangdon Lee The right of Sangdon Lee to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 ii Abstract The communal revival that began in the mid-1960s developed into a new mode of activism, ‘communal activism’ or the ‘commune movement’, forming its own politics, lifestyle and ideology. Communal activism spread and flourished until the mid-1970s in many parts of the world. To analyse this global phenomenon, this thesis explores the similarities and differences between the commune movements of Denmark, UK and the US. By examining the motivations for the communal revival, links with 1960s radicalism, communes’ praxis and outward-facing activities, and the crisis within the commune movement and responses to it, this thesis places communal activism within the context of wider social movements for social change. Challenging existing interpretations which have understood the communal revival as an alternative living experiment to the nuclear family, or as a smaller part of the counter-culture, this thesis argues that the commune participants created varied and new experiments for a total revolution against the prevailing social order and its dominant values and institutions, including the patriarchal family and capitalism. -
Matthew Fox and the Cosmic Christ
Matthew Fox and the Cosmic Christ ~GARETBREARLEY The myth of matricide Matthew Fox, an American Dominican, is a prolific and controversial author, whose 'creation spirituality' is gaining wide influence within both Roman Catholic and Anglican churches and retreat centres. To review his recent book, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance (Harper & Row, San Francisco 1988) is an even more complex task than reviewing his earlier writings, for it is somewhat like a hologram; its beginning, entitled: 'Prologue: A Dream and a VISion', already contains its end; each segment of the text is interdependent on the rest and, in a sense, contains the whole. Rather than developing thought and argument in logical progression, the book represents shafts of light thrown from different perspectives on one central image or myth. For the first time Fox has constructea an all-embracing myth which he believes is capable of explaining the totality of contemporary reality. He then demonstrates a new ethic, derived from that myth, and finally demands that an utterly new reality be formed on the basis of his central myth and its ethic. The dominant myth is that of matricide. Fox accuses traditional Christi anity - and therefore Western culture - of being matricidal. In earlier writings he had already radically condemned Christian orthodoxy. While claiming to restore the Hebrew roots of Christianity, Fox had in fact rejected both the God of Israel and traditional prayer as 'useless' and denied both Old and New Testaments as sources of revelation.1 In The Coming of the Cosmic Christ Fox is even more radical. -
Platonic Mysticism
CHAPTER ONE Platonic Mysticism n the introduction, we began with the etymology of the word I“mysticism,” which derives from mystes (μύστης), an initiate into the ancient Mysteries. Literally, it refers to “one who remains silent,” or to “that which is concealed,” referring one’s direct inner experi- ence of transcendence that cannot be fully expressed discursively, only alluded to. Of course, it is not clear what the Mysteries revealed; the Mystery revelations, as Walter Burkert suggested, may have been to a significant degree cosmological and magical.1 But it is clear that there is a related Platonic tradition that, while it begins with Plato’s dialogues, is most clearly expressed in Plotinus and is conveyed in condensed form into Christianity by Dionysius the Areopagite. Here, we will introduce the Platonic nature of mysticism. That we focus on this current of mysticism originating with Plato and Platonism and feeding into Christianity should not be understood as suggesting that there is no mysticism in other tradi- tions. Rather, by focusing on Christian mysticism, we will see much more clearly what is meant by the term “mysticism,” and because we are concentrating on a particular tradition, we will be able to recog- nize whether and to what extent similar currents are to be found in other religious traditions. At the same time, to understand Christian mysticism, we must begin with Platonism, because the Platonic tra- dition provides the metaphysical context for understanding its latest expression in Christian mysticism. Plato himself is, of course, a sophisticated author of fiction who puts nearly all of what he wrote into the form of literary dialogues 9 © 2017 Arthur Versluis 10 / Platonic Mysticism between various characters.