The particulars of a mystical experience color and shape its essence. But as Denise and John Carmody tell us, be it a Native American vision quest, or the intense soul-wrenching experience of a great storm, or a passionate love, or a dialogue in deep prayer with a personal divinity--any of these can be considered a mystical episode, if it draws us into a direct encounter with ultimate reality. In Mysticism: Holiness East and West, the Carmodys apply this broad definition of mysticism--a direct encounter with ultimate reality--to mystical experiences found in the world's great religions, providing insight into mysticism and into religious practice around the globe. The Carmodys offer an informative survey of the six major world religions--the Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions--and they also examine the religious practices of North American, Latin American, African, and Australian native peoples. They illuminate the history, principal beliefs, and teachings of each religion, and then examine the lives and works of each tradition's outstanding mystics. They show, for instance, how yoga has played a large role in the development of the mystical outlooks that we can trace to India, how prophecy has been significant in the mysticism of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and how shamanism has characterized oral religious practice. We learn how Greek ideas about God came to furnish the basic language of Christian mysticism, from the concerns of the desert fathers for virtue and vice, to the flights into the divine darkness of Gregory, Denis, and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing. Equally important, the Carmodys compare the mysticism found in one tradition with that found in the others, revealing how mystical practice varies widely from one religious group to the next. They find, for instance, that Jewish mystical experience has seldom been given to the magical flight practiced by native American shamans, nor has it over-regarded miracle working. Likewise, the book compares John of the Cross's negation of the self with the Indian doctrine of "not this, not that," which relates to the Buddhist idea of Nirvana. Mystical experience takes us to the center of the world, the source of all creation, the divine place where all that happens finds its sense. Yet it may well be the least understood dimension of humanity's yearning for ultimate meaning. In providing a comprehensive and accessible guide to mysticism, the Carmodys have done a major service for anyone seeking mystical experience and for all those interested in religion as practiced throughout the world.

Mysticism: Holiness East and West

Politics & Social Sciences

Carmody, Denise Lardner

Carmody, the late John Tully

Social Sciences

Oxford University Press

Mysticism is pervasive throughout the religions of the world, yet varies widely in its particulars. This comprehensive work surveys the mystical dimension of the world's major religions, beginning with a working description of mysticism as "direct experience of ultimate reality," and examining how this understanding of mysticism holds up when set in interaction with Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese, Japanese, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions. The authors also examine the religious practices of North American, Latin American, African, and Australian native peoples, illuminating the history, principal beliefs, and teachings of each religion, and examining the lives and works of each tradition's outstanding mystics. The result is a dialogue between the particulars of mystical experience, which vary from tradition to tradition, and the generalities they share which make it possible to discuss mysticism across these traditions. This accessibly written introduction will appeal to students of mysticism, readers seeking mystical experience, and all those interested in religion as practiced throughout the world.

History

World

Buddhism is deeply attractive to many in the West. Its ideals of serenity and compassion seem to supply a dimension of personal spirituality that they don't find in their own traditions. For those raised in the Christian Church, Buddhism can appear to exemplify the best in their own religion--qualities such as peacefulness, simplicity, and reverence for life--while dispensing with rigid doctrines and legalistic morality. Indeed, the number of Christian converts to Buddhism--especially in the United States--has grown exponentially over the years. At the same time, Buddhists and Christians, recognizing the affinities of the two faiths, have increasingly sought to advance an inter-religious dialogue. In Serene Compassion, John and Denise Carmody provide an accessible overview and evaluation of Buddhist thought and practice from a Christian point of view. They find that Buddhism is, in many ways, an ideal complement and companion to Christianity. To show why, the Carmodys focus on Buddhist ideas about holiness--comprising such virtues as purity, devotion, orderliness, compassion, and wholeheartedness--and reveal how they compare to similar values in traditional Christianity. They emphasize the kinship between seekers of holiness in both traditions, and offer a nuanced and sympathetic portrait of meditative practices that bring attention and imagination into the service of spiritual life. At the same time, however, they are frank about matters of doctrinal disagreement, making it clear that some aspects of Buddhist thought are not compatible with a Christian world view. Moving well beyond a simple exposition of Buddhist notions, or a comparison of Christian with Buddhist practice, Serene Compassion concludes that Buddhists and Christians share a basic humanity, and that Buddhism's success at the task of nourishing this humanity has much to teach all Christians. Informative and insightful, it will appeal to readers approaching the dialogue from either side, and to all engaged in the spiritual quest.

Serene Compassion: A Christian Appreciation of Buddhist Holiness

Religion & Spirituality

Buddhism

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Books by Carmody, the late John Tully