Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Citations | 395 |
| Key points | Argues that the modern scholarly tendency to interpret Buddhist technical terms as referring to discrete meditative states of consciousness is based on an unquestioned assumption that Buddhist practice is primarily about inculcating religious or mystical experiences. |
Abstract
Abstract The category “experience” has played a cardinal role in modern studies of buddhism. Few scholars seem to question the notion that Buddhist monastic practice, particularly meditation, is intended first and foremost to inculcate specific religious or “mystical” experiences in the minds of practitioners. Accordingly, a wide variety of Buddhist technical terms pertaining to the “stages on the path” are subject to a phenomenological hermeneutic—they are interpreted as if they designated discrete “states of consciousness” experienced by historical individuals in the course of their meditative practice.