{"id":4423,"date":"2018-07-16T10:34:55","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T10:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2018\/07\/16\/meditation-as-inner-listening\/"},"modified":"2018-07-16T10:34:55","modified_gmt":"2018-07-16T10:34:55","slug":"meditation-as-inner-listening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2018\/07\/16\/meditation-as-inner-listening\/","title":{"rendered":"Meditation as Inner Listening"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our friend Vlastimil V. worries that his meditation practice might lead him in a Buddhist direction, in particular toward an acceptance of the three marks of phenomenal existence: anicca, anatta, dukkha<\/em>.  He shouldn't worry. Those doctrines in their full-strength Pali  form are dubious if not demonstrably untenable. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, the doctrine of anicca<\/em>, impermanence, is not a mere recording of the Moorean fact that there is change; it is a radical theory<\/em> of change along Heraclitean lines.  As a theory it is dialectically driven and not a summary of phenomenology. One could read it into the phenomenology of meditational experience, but one cannot derive it from the phenomenology. The claim I just made is highly contentious; I will leave it to Vlastimil to see if he can verify it to his own satisfaction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since he is a Christian I recommend to Vlastimil an approach to meditation more in consonance with Christianity, an approach  as inner listening.  In one sentence: Quiet the mind, then listen and wait.  Open yourself to intimations and vouchsafings from the Unseen Order.  But be aware that the requisite receptivity exposes one to attack from demonic agents whose power exceeds our own. So discernment is needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The East no more owns meditation than the Left owns dissent.  Here is a quick little bloggity-blog schema.<\/span><\/p>\n

Buddhist Nihilism<\/em>: the ultimate goal is nibbana<\/em>, cessation, and the final defeat of the 'self' illusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hindu Monism<\/em>: the ultimate goal is for the little self (jivatman<\/em>) to merge with the Big Self, Atman = Brahman<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christian Dualism<\/em>: the ultimate goal is neither extinction nor merger but a participation in the divine life in which the participant, transfigured and transformed as he undoubtedly would have to be, nevertheless maintains his identity as a unique self.  Dualism is retained in a sublimated form.<\/span><\/p>\n

I warned you that my schema would be quick. But I think it is worth ruminating on and filling in.  The true philosopher tacks between close analysis and overview, analytic squinting and syn-opsis and pan-opsis.<\/span><\/p>\n

You say you want details?<\/span><\/p>\n

Related<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A 'No' to 'No Self'<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

Can the Chariot Take Us to the Land of No Self?<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

Buber on Buddhism and Other Forms of Mysticism<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our friend Vlastimil V. worries that his meditation practice might lead him in a Buddhist direction, in particular toward an acceptance of the three marks of phenomenal existence: anicca, anatta, dukkha.  He shouldn't worry. Those doctrines in their full-strength Pali  form are dubious if not demonstrably untenable.  For example, the doctrine of anicca, impermanence, is … Continue reading “Meditation as Inner Listening”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[269,105,106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-meditation","category-spiritual-exercises"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4423\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}