Paths Religion / Comparative Mysticism R to e “Paths to Transcendence is an important book in the school of z a Sophia Perennis.” Transcendence S —Martin Lings, author of the classic Muhammad: His Life Based h a on the Earliest Sources h - K According to “Th ose who need extrinsic proofs of what Frithjof Schuon called a the ‘transcendent unity of religions’ have been rightly dissatisfi ed Shankara, Ibn Arabi, Meister Eckhart z and with chrestomathies of short quotations from the sacred texts and e m spiritual authorities of the great traditions. Hence the irreplace- i able value of Paths to Transcendence, a meticulous and far-reaching study of three of history’s most important sages, each fi rmly rooted in the doctrines and practices of his own religion … and each in turn rising to join with his counterparts at the Divine summit of apophatic unanimity.” —James S. Cutsinger, University of South Carolina, author of Advice to the Serious Seeker: Meditations on the Teaching of Frithjof Schuon “Here is a major landmark in comparative metaphysics. Th e universality of spiritual realization through knowledge is rendered apparent with a rare combination of analytic rigor and depth of synthesis. Th is book demonstrates that spiritual intuition can inform and innervate academic discourse without compromising its conceptual demands.” —Patrick Laude, Georgetown University, author of Singing the Way: Insights in Poetry T and Spiritual Transformation r a “Paths to Transcendence is superlatively perspicuous despite the exalted nature of its n P conceptual content and the great subtlety with which it is handled. Th e book brims with s insight and is an exceptional addition to the fi eld.” ca t —Tobias Mayer, the Institute of Ismaili Studies, co-author of Struggling with the eh Philosopher: A Refutation of Avicenna’s Metaphysics n s d t “Paths to Transcendence has the merit of gathering, in the same volume, the deepest think- eo ing of the most intellectual and spiritual elite of three great traditions and civilizations: n Shankara for Hinduism, Ibn Arabi for Islam, and Meister Eckhart for Christianity. It c provides detailed analysis and lucid examination of the misinterpretations which fre- e quently occur nowadays about these spiritual authorities.” —Jean-Pierre Lafouge, Marquette University, editor of For God’s Greater Glory: Gems of Jesuit Spirituality ISBN-13: 978-0-941532-97-6 World Wisdom ISBN-10: 0-941532-97-6 World Wisdom $26.95 US / $34.95 CAN Reza Shah-Kazemi World Wisdom The Library of Perennial Philosophy Th e Library of Perennial Philosophy is dedicated to the exposition of the time- less Truth underlying the diverse religions. Th is Truth, oft en referred to as the Sophia Perennis—or Perennial Wisdom—fi nds its expression in the revealed Scriptures as well as the writings of the great sages and the artistic creations of the traditional worlds. Th e Perennial Philosophy provides the intellectual principles capable of explain- ing both the formal contradictions and the transcendent unity of the great reli- gions. Ranging from the writings of the great sages of the past, to the perennialist au- thors of our time, each series of our Library has a diff erent focus. As a whole, they express the inner unanimity, transforming radiance, and irreplaceable values of the great spiritual traditions. Paths to Transcendence: According to Shankara, Ibn Arabi, and Meister Eckhart appears as one of our selections in the Spiritual Masters: East and West series. (cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5) Spiritual Masters: East and West Series This series presents the writings of great spiritual masters of the past and present from both East and West. Carefully selected essential writings of these sages are combined with biographical information, glossaries of technical terms, historical maps, and pictorial and photo- graphic art in order to communicate a sense of their respective spiritual climates. Cover: “A Th ousand Li of Rivers and Mountains,” hand scroll, Wan Xi Meng (c.1096-c.1120), Song Dynasty PATHS TO TRANSCENDENCE According to Shankara, Ibn Arabi, and Meister Eckhart REZA SHAH-KAZEMI Paths to Transcendence: According to Shankara, Ibn Arabi, and Meister Eckhart © 2006 World Wisdom, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission, except in critical articles and reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shah-Kazemi, Reza. Paths to transcendence : according to Shankara, Ibn Arabi, and Meister Eckhart / Reza Shah-Kazemi. p. cm. -- (Spiritual masters. East and West series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-941532-97-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-941532-97-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Transcendence of God. 2. Sankaracarya. 3. Ibn al-’Arabi, 1165-1240. 4. Eckhart, Meister, d. 1327. I. Title. II. Series. BL205.S24 2006 204’.2--dc22 2005033670 Printed on acid-free paper in Canada. For information address World Wisdom, Inc. P.O. Box 2682, Bloomington, Indiana 47402-2682 www.worldwisdom.com Dedicated to the memory of FRITHJOF SCHUON CONTENTS PREFACE ix INTRODUCTION xi CHAPTER 1 — SHANKARA: Tat tvam asi 1 Part I: Doctrine of the Transcendent Absolute 2 1. Designations and Defi nitions of the Absolute 2 2. Being and Transcendence 8 Part II: Th e Spiritual Ascent 12 1. Th e Role of Scripture 13 2. Action 17 3. Rites and Knowledge 21 4. Meditation 24 5. Concentration and Interiorization 28 6. Moksa 36 Part III: Existential “Return” 53 1. Th e Mind 54 2. “All is Brahman” 56 3. Action and Prarabdha Karma 59 4. Suff ering and the Jivan-Mukta 63 5. Devotion 65 CHAPTER 2 — IBN ARABI: La ilaha illa’Llah 69 Part I: Doctrine of the Transcendent Absolute 71 1. Doctrine as Seed or Fruit? 71 2. Unity and Multiplicity 75 Part II: Th e Spiritual Ascent 79 1. Sainthood and Prophethood 79 2. Ontological Status of the Vision of God 87 3. Fana’ 92 Part III: Existential “Return” 105 1. Poverty and Servitude 105 2. “Th e People of Blame” 111 3. Th eophany: Witnessing God’s “Withness” 113 4. Th e Heart and Creation 116 Part IV: Transcendence and Universality 118 CHAPTER 3 — MEISTER ECKHART: Th e Geburt 131 Part I: Doctrine of the Transcendent Absolute 132 1. Beyond the Notion of God 132 2. From God to Godhead 135 Part II: Th e Spiritual Ascent 142 1. Virtue and Transcendence 142 2. Unitive Concentration, Raptus, and the Birth 152 3. Intellect and Grace 160 Part III: Existential “Return” 172 1. Th ought and Action in the World 173 2. Seeing God Everywhere 175 3. Th e Saint and Suff ering 178 4. Poverty 182 CHAPTER 4 — THE REALIZATION OF TRANSCENDENCE: Essential Elements of Commonality 193 Part I: Doctrines of Transcendence 193 1. Dogma and Beyond 193 2. One Absolute or Th ree? 196 Part II: Th e Spiritual Ascent 198 1. Virtue 198 2. Ritual and Action 198 3. Methods of Ascent 200 4. Bliss and Transcendence 203 5. Transcendent Union 205 6. Agency in Transcendent Realization 207 7. Grace 211 Part III: Existential “Return” 211 1. Poverty 211 2. Existence and Suff ering 214 3. Devotion and Praise 217 4. Vision of God in the World 218 EPILOGUE — RELIGION AND TRANSCENDENCE 221 APPENDIX — AGAINST THE REDUCTION OF TRANSCENDENCE: A Critical Appraisal of Recent Academic Approaches to Mystical Experience 229 Part I: Against Reductionist Epistemology: Katz and “Contextualism” 229 Part II: Against Reductionist Experience: Forman’s “Pure Consciousness Event” 237 Part III: Against Reductive Typologies: Stace, Zaehner, and Smart 241 1. Stace and the “Universal Core” 241 2. Zaehner: “Monism” vs. “Th eism” 243 3. Smart: Th e “Numinous” vs. the “Mystical”; “Union” vs. “Identity” 245 Part IV: Against Reductive Universalism: Staal and Huxley 248 BIBLIOGRAPHY 253 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 257 INDEX 259 PREFACE Th e present book is based upon a doctoral thesis that was submitted to the University of Kent at Canterbury in 1994. Th e central chapters and conclusions remain fundamentally the same, but I have placed some of the material that formed part of the original work at the back of the present book, in the form of an appendix, entitled “Against the Reduction of Transcendence.” Here, the focus is on recent important academic attempts to situate and explain mystical experience; the perspectives associated with Steven Katz, Robert Forman, W.T. Stace, R.C. Zaehner, Ninian Smart, and Fritz Staal are all critically examined. Th e common element uniting all these approaches can be expressed by the phrase “the reduction of transcendence,” inasmuch as they all, in diff erent ways, fail to do justice to the summit of mystical realization. Th e reductionism—implicit or explicit—of these perspectives is thrown into sharper relief by the conclusions of this study. Grateful acknowledgment of the support I received while conducting the doctoral research that forms the basis of this book is due, above all others, to two people: my supervisor, Dr. Peter Moore, of the University of Kent at Canterbury, whose initial advice led to the conception of this research; and to Ghazi bin Mohammed, without whose generous assistance, from 1991 to 1993, the research could not have been so swift ly completed. I am also profoundly grateful to Antony Alston for the many illuminating hours spent discussing Shankara’s doctrines, which he so graciously accorded me. Finally, I cannot suffi ciently thank Dr. Martin Lings for reading the present text in its entirety, for making many valuable suggestions, and, most of all, for providing me with a living embodiment of many of the principles, themes, and mysteries explored in this book. ix