Oxford University Press eBooks
December 7, 2000
Steven T. Katz
25 citations
This chapter begins with a review of extant scholarly literature on mysticism, ranging from William James's classic, pioneering work at the beginning of the 20th century, through the studies of Evelyn Underhill, Rufus Jones, Baron Von Hugel, and Rufus Jones, to the near-contemporary and contemporary investigations of Walter T. Stace, R. C. Zaehner, Frits Staal, Ninian Smart, Nelson Pike,...
Oxford University Press eBooks
December 7, 2000
Ninian Smart
This chapter shows that while Brahmanism rested on a kind of sacramental and mantric ritual, Buddhism did not encourage such rites. Buddhism looked mostly on concentration, involving the purification of consciousness. The Buddhist theory of causation was inimical to both mantric causation and the use of ritual other than in a psychological manner. There could not be any strict revelatory...
Eckhart Review
April 1, 2000
Michael Anthony Sells
(2000). Meister Eckhart and Ibn ‘Arabi on the Mysticism of Perpetual Transformation. Eckhart Review: Vol. 9, Including Papers Given at the Twelth Annual Conference of the Eckhart Society, Oxford, August 1999, pp. 3-19.
The Journal of Religion
2000
Rik Van Nieuwenhove
Denys Turner's excellent study The Darkness of God has focused the attention of scholars of Western spirituality on the Neoplatonic discourse of medieval mystical theologians.' Turner argues that their descriptions of the union between God and man should not be read in experiential terms but in the light of a Neoplatonic discourse that contains the resources for an implicit critique of an...
Enlighten: Theses
2000
Marline Shaheen
The intellect has a unique role in the mystical transformation. Mystics claim that the intellect as a mystical tool leads to the perfection of the self. The state of perfection is achieved when the true human essence and meaning are realised through this mystical intellect. Thus, mysticism has a rational aspect to it which can be defined in terms of the role the intellect in the mystical...
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
December 1, 1999
Matthew C. Bagger, Robert K. C. Forman
60 citations
This book is the sequel to Robert Forman's well-received collection, The Problem of Pure Consciousness (Oxford, 1990). The essays in the earlier volume argued that some mystical experiences do not seem to be formed or shaped by the language system-a thesis that stands in sharp contradistinction to deconstruction in general and to the constructivist school of mysticism in particular, which holds...
Sixteenth Century Journal
September 1, 1999
David Salomón
1 citation
Explores themes of transformation, wholeness, and healing as presented by both Eastern and Western mystics, and how their ideas parallel the global insights found in Hinduism, Taoism, Islam, and Buddhism.
The Enigma of the Oceanic Feeling
June 17, 1999
William B. Parsons
Abstract In order to interpretative justice to the reconstructed version of Rolland’s mysticism, it 1s clear that the two avenues of analysis suggested by Freud-one championing a view of mysticism as regressive arid defensive; the other as therapeutic and adaptive—need to be expanded and developed, if riot altogether superseded. New resources must be found to not only ground a fresh...
Is There a Jewish Philosophy?
March 1, 1999
Leon Roth
This chapter suggests that we are all mystics nowadays but we need not be contentiously so. It queries the mystic vision, asking if it is conceivable that just this, allegedly the greatest prize of all, is denied to the vast majority of mankind. The chapter suggests is that it is not so denied — everyone can, in some way, sense the divine. The chapter brings up other concepts related to the...
Beyond Reasonable Doubt
March 1, 1999
Louis Jacobs
This chapter highlights Jewish mysticism. It talks about Rabbi Yitshak Horowitz, also known as Reb Yitshak Masmid who is a leading exponent of mystical theology in the Habad vein. Reb Yitshak Masmid seemed to be a typical ascetic whose head reached to the heavens. He ate very little but drank heavily in the belief that alcohol could act as a stimulant to the deeper longings of the soul. The...