The Wish-fulfilling Gem
John Blofeld
Routledge eBooks October 9, 2023 DOI: 10.4324/9781003442615-1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that a universal "mystic's quest" exists beyond organized religions, and that mystical experience across faiths is essentially identical except in intensity, giving direct intuition of Ultimate Reality. Contends that Eastern traditions openly endorse this path as the highest, while Christian and Muslim mystics were often regarded with suspicion or suppressed. |
Abstract
In Buddhist circles in China and Tibet there are many stories current about a marvellous gem that, once located, fulfils its finder’s every wish. There is a religion beyond religions which leads directly to the grasping of the wish-fulfilling gem. For want of a better term, it may be called the mystic’s quest. For, whereas Christian and Moslem mystics have generally been looked upon askance by their co-religionists and not infrequently suppressed, Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist authorities openly proclaim the mystic’s way to be the highest path of all. In any case, the affirmations of mystics of many faiths demonstrate quite clearly that the experience, except as regards its intensity, is the same, those who attain it being transported to a level at which distinctions such as ‘being’ and ‘state’, ‘God’ and ‘no-God’ are meaningless. A mystical experience, whether vague or intense, is nothing less than direct intuition of Ultimate Reality.