6. Emptiness and Unknowing: An Essay in Comparative Mysticism
| Dublin Core | PKP Metadata Items | Metadata for this Document | |
| 1. | Title | Title of document | 6. Emptiness and Unknowing: An Essay in Comparative Mysticism - Buddhist Path, Buddhist Teachings |
| 2. | Creator | Author's name, affiliation, country | Rupert Gethin; University of Bristol; United Kingdom |
| 3. | Subject | Discipline(s) | Religious Studies |
| 4. | Subject | Keyword(s) | Buddhist path; L.S. Cousins; Abhidhamma; Pali literature; meditation; Samantha Trust; Theravada; interpretation of dreams |
| 5. | Subject | Subject classification | Buddhist Studies; Asian Studies |
| 6. | Description | Abstract | Over the last fifty years the study of mysticism has been shaped by the debate between ‘perennialists’, who claim that mystical experiences are the same across different cultures, and ‘constructivists’, who claim that mystical experiences are shaped by, and hence specific to, particular religious traditions. The constructivist view is associated with the ‘discursive turn’ that has dominated the humanities for the last half century, emphasising cultural relativism. Nonetheless, the constructivist position is not without problems. Inspired in part by Lance Cousins’ 1989 comparison of Buddhaghosa’s Path of Purification and Teresa of Ávila’s Interior Castle, the present article seeks to bring out parallels in the contemplative exercises and the progress of the ‘spiritual life’ found in Buddhist accounts of meditation (such as the Cūḷa- Suññata-sutta) and Christian apophaticism (as presented in The Cloud of Unknowing). The article seeks to establish specific parallels in the techniques of and approaches to contemplative practice in both traditions, as well as in the phenomenology of the experiences of the meditator (yogāvacara) or contemplative at different stages in the work of meditation and contemplation. |
| 7. | Publisher | Organizing agency, location | Equinox Publishing Ltd |
| 8. | Contributor | Sponsor(s) | |
| 9. | Date | (YYYY-MM-DD) | 08-Oct-2019 |
| 10. | Type | Status & genre | Peer-reviewed Article |
| 11. | Type | Type | |
| 12. | Format | File format | |
| 13. | Identifier | Uniform Resource Identifier | https://journals.equinoxpub.com/index.php/books/article/view/33391 |
| 14. | Identifier | Digital Object Identifier | 10.1558/equinox.33391 |
| 15. | Source | Journal/conference title; vol., no. (year) | Equinox eBooks Publishing; Buddhist Path, Buddhist Teachings |
| 16. | Language | English=en | en |
| 18. | Coverage | Geo-spatial location, chronological period, research sample (gender, age, etc.) | |
| 19. | Rights | Copyright and permissions | Copyright 2014 Equinox Publishing Ltd |