Several contemporary philosophers have charged that there is a conceptual tension between nondualistic types of mystical awareness--an awareness of some particular conception of the divine as an all-pervasive unity within which there are no distinct substances--and the social character of morality. However, some nondualistic mystics have conceptualized enlightenment not only as being compatible with moral virtue--specifically, compassion and care--but as providing a foundation for it. I here offer a conceptual model for this grounding, at least according to Dōgen Zenji and (...) Meister Eckhart. Briefly, the model suggests that some forms of nondualistic mystical awareness are accompanied by the mystics' prudential concerns extending to include the well-being of "others" under their scope. Finally, utilizing this model, I suggest possible responses to two common arguments for the claim that nondualistic mysticism is essentially amoral. (shrink)

In this highly original and accessible book, one of our leading philosophers of religion seeks to answer this question by analyzing the several states of mystic union as they are described and explained in the classical primary literature ...

Explores the nature and types of mystical experience and discusses the value of mysticism for humanity.

Are mystical experiences primarily formed by the mystic's cultural background and concepts, as modern day "constructivists" maintain, or do mystics in some way transcend language, belief, and culturally conditioned expectations? Do mystical experiences differ in the different religious traditions, as "pluralists" contend, or are they identical across cultures? Twelve contributors here attempt to answer these questions through close examination of a particular form of mystical experience, "Pure Consciousness"--the experience of being awake but devoid of intentional content for consciousness. The contributors (...) analyze pure consciousness and other mystical experiences from historical Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Jewish sources, as well as from modern mystics. They demonstrate that pure consciousness poses serious conceptual problems for a contructivist understanding of mysticism. Revealing the inconsistencies and inadequacies of current models, they make significant strides towards developing new models for the phenomenon of mysticism, breaking new ground for our understanding of mysticism and of human experience in general. (shrink)

I attempt to dispel the misconception that all of mysticism advocates seclusion from and apathy towards the concerns of the social world. To this end, I offer a phenomenological analysis of key aspects of two particular mystical ways of life, one propounded by Meister Eckhart and the medieval Christian mystics whom he inspired and the other advocated by Dogen Zenji and the Soto school of Zen Buddhism which he founded. In contrast to the relativism of Steven Katz' 'constructivism', I demonstrate (...) that these ways of life, each of which was purported to be the pinnacle of spiritual achievement, are fundamentally similar and thus can be meaningfully placed under the same general class, which I refer to as engaged unitive mystical being. Both involve the maintenance of an attitude of nonattachment, a continuous awareness of the Divine as a pervasive unity encompassing all things, a loss of a sense of oneself as a separate individual, a general mood of serenity, sympathetic connection with the feelings of others, and virtues of humility, respect, and compassion. I then turn to offering phenomenological analyses of the perception of unity, the attitude of nonattachment, and the sense selflessness which are consistent with the continuous maintenance of these characteristics. Next, I offer an account of the moral aspects of engaged unitive mystical being, which suggests that the virtues of humility, respect, and compassion can be viewed as generalizations of ordinary prudential considerations causally owing to the enlightened mystic's attitude of nonattachment and perception of unity. Finally, I demonstrate that this account can serve as an effective response to common objections that mysticism is essentially amoral. In particular, I challenge the conclusions decreeing a gulf between mysticism and morality offered by Arthur Danto and William Wainwright. (shrink)