Zen as Trans-Mysticism
Zen Pathways February 10, 2022 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197573686.003.0013 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that Zen is not a mysticism aimed at transcending the everyday, but a path to fully mindful engagement in ordinary life, one that passes through both the negation of unenlightened everydayness and the shedding of extraordinary mystical union. Drawing on Ueda Shizuteru's comparisons with Meister Eckhart, the author calls this path "trans-mysticism." |
Abstract
Abstract This chapter explains why Zen cannot be sufficiently understood in terms of “mysticism,” if one means by mystical experience a transcendent or otherworldly experience that transports one beyond the mundane world. The path of Zen leads, rather, to a wholehearted and fully mindful engagement in the ordinary activities of everyday life. Zen master Zhaozhou says that “Everyday Even Mind is the Way,” and Zen master Linji tells us to “just be ordinary.” Nevertheless, the path to this enlightened everydayness requires passing through both a negation of unenlightened everydayness and a shedding of any extraordinary mystical experience of union with God (unio mystica) or oneness with the One. Drawing on Ueda Shizuteru’s comparisons of Zen with Meister Eckhart, the path of Zen is explained as that of a “trans-mysticism.”
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |