Pātañjala Yoga and Buddhist Abhidharma on the Sources of Extraordinary Accomplishments (siddhi and ṛddhi): The Constructed Mind (nirmāṇacitta) as a Framework for Understanding Religious and Psychedelic Experience (original) (raw)
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Yoga, Meditation, and Mysticism: Contemplative Universals and Meditative Landmarks
2016
Contemplative experience is central to Hindu yoga traditions, Buddhist meditation practices, and Catholic mystical theology, and, despite doctrinal differences, it expresses itself in suggestively similar meditative landmarks in each of these three meditative systems. In Yoga, Meditation and Mysticism, Kenneth Rose shifts the dominant focus of contemporary religious studies away from tradition-specific studies of individual religious traditions, communities, and practices to examine the 'contemplative universals' that arise globally in meditative experience. Through a comparative exploration of the itineraries detailed in the contemplative manuals of Theravada Buddhism, Patañjalian Yoga, and Catholic mystical theology, Rose identifies in each tradition a moment of sharply focused awareness that marks the threshold between immersion in mundane consciousness and contemplative insight. As concentration deepens, the meditator steps through this threshold onto a globally shared contemplative itinerary, which leads through a series of virtually identical stages to mental stillness and insight. Rose argues that these contemplative universals, familiar to experienced contemplatives in multiple traditions, point to a common spiritual, mental, and biological heritage. Pioneering the exploration of contemplative practice and experience with a comparative perspective that ranges over multiple religious traditions, religious studies, philosophy, neuroscience, and the cognitive science of religion, this book is a landmark contribution to the fields of contemplative practice and religious studies. Table of contents Table of Figures Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration, Spelling, and Translations Prologue Introduction Part One 1. A New Comparative Religion and the Search for Contemplative Universals 2. Recovering the Mystical in the Reign of Constructivism 3. Biological Essentialism and the New Sciences of Religion Part Two Introduction to Part Two: Charting the Common Itinerary of the Contemplative Experience 153 4. The Concentrative Itinerary of the Buddhist Jhanas 5. The Concentrative Itinerary of Yogic Samadhi 6. The Concentrative Itinerary of Catholic Unio Mystica Conclusion Bibliography Index Endorsements “Kenneth Rose rehabilitates interreligious comparison as a necessary and powerful tool of Religious Studies. Moreover, he shows how comparative work on religious experience benefits from the insights of cognitive science and neuro-physiology without falling into the trap of materialistic reductionism. Studies like his create a constructive and much needed link between Comparative Religion and Interreligious Theology.” – Perry Schmidt-Leukel, Professor of Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology, University of Muenster, Germany “Kenneth Rose's Yoga, Meditation and Mysticism breaks through the somewhat stagnant discussion between the impoverished arguments of the perennialist/essentialist proponents of mysticism and the by now predictable rebuttals to these from the constructionists. His project is to recover or rehabilitate religious essentialism, but not, like his perennialist predecessors, based on a search for shared underlying concepts or universal symbols, which are easy targets for constructivist deconstruction, but based on the trans-cultural commonalities of contemplative experiences themselves. Using deeply researched case studies from Buddhism, Yoga and the Christian traditions, Rose identifies five “contemplative universals' or shared landmarks of the meditative journey common to these traditions. In other words, he identifies an almost identical set of meditative experiences accompanying the deepening focus of consciousness in these traditions precisely because they are based in experience rather than preconditioned doctrine. Rose harnesses neurobiology to his cause here (ironically, given it is a field primarily inhabited by materialists convinced of a neurological correlate of consciousness), where meditative states show repeatable, observable neurological chemistry that is shared trans-culturally, and trans-doctrinally and therefore not socially constructed. Part of Rose's stated purpose is to seek to loosen the all too often dogmatic materialistic presuppositions and reductionistic ideologies that hold sway over the production of much scholarship in the academic field of Religion, and secure a sui generis grounding for the religious life, at least in its contemplative forms, eschewing the pitfalls of previous efforts in this regard. Thus Yoga, Meditation and Mysticism will likely be welcomed by intellectually responsible meditation practitioners who seek a spirituality grounded in a trans-sectarian metaphysics of meditation that resonates with cutting edge research in the emerging field of contemplative neuroscience. And I envision it will certainly be a seminal text for the next generation in the academic study of mysticism.” – Edwin Bryant, Professor of Hindu Religion and Philosophy, Rutgers University, US and author of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with Insights from the Traditional Commentators (2009). See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/yoga-meditation-and-mysticism-9781472571694/#sthash.pfLWzlqf.dpuf
2017
In this paper I reflect on the mind-body relationship as presented in or at least linked to the yogic texts synthesized in this volume. “Yogic body,” a key chapter in this volume, addresses the issue of a visualized body that interacts with the flesh, creating a mesocosmic platform for a dialogical infusion of the habit-oriented Hathayogic practices and cognitively-focused contemplative practices. The emergent structure of the yogic body also makes a case for the study of yogic tradition through the lens of contemporary cognitive science, with its central focus on the dynamics of the mind-body complex. Exploring the synthesis presented by Mallinson and Singleton, and at times exploring the scope of textual reference outside of these parameters, I explore the contribution yogic traditions can make for the contemporary studies of consciousness and the body. Inspired by McMahan and Dunne, I conclude that the practices that inform the construction of yogic bodies, can be categorized as either Innateist or Constructivist. Innateist tradition employ apophatic strategies for stripping away false concepts (vikalpa) that distort our recognition of Self. Constructivist tradition utilize the imagination powers (bhāvanāśakti) to construct subtle energy worlds and bodies in which the practitioner can roam as a kind of super being. Neurological studies indicate that Innateist yogic practices seem to activate the metabolic processes of the pasympathetic nervous system, associated with rest and regeneration. Constructivit practices seem to activate the metabolic processes of the sympathetic nervous system, associated with bodily activity and the combustion of energy. When simultaneously activated, as in advanced Tantric practices, the autonomic nervous system produces a host of positive neurological registers. I conclude that it is indeed this positive-impact-on-the-body that is the means by which Tantra Yoga makes possible the ultimate recognition of the poure consciousness that is one’s innate Self.
in: ‘Emotions in Indian Thought-Systems’, ed. Purushottama Bilimoria and Aleksandra Wenta, 2015
This essay focuses on the concept of saṃvega in Buddhist, Jainism, and the theistic traditions of Pātañjala Yoga and early Śaiva Siddhānta. Given the similarity of themes shared by the textual sources of those traditions, I argue in favour of a ‘subtle link’ connecting the early Buddhist and Jaina traditions to the Brāhmaṇical system of Pātañjala Yoga and early mediaeval Śaiva Siddhānta. To strengthen my point, I present data from Old Javanese Śaiva texts, which possibly feature an interesting doctrinal blend bridging the Pātañjala and Śaiva Saiddhāntika traditions.
‘Verità e Bellezza’: Essays in Honour of Raffaele Torella, 2022
This article comparatively surveys pertinent passages on the meaning and goal of yoga found in the Pātañjalayogaśāstra and in selected genres of medieval Śaiva literature, namely scriptural sources and commentaries belonging to the Pāśupata and Saiddhāntika traditions, as well as Old Javanese Śaiva scriptures. Its aim is to analyze and link together some relevant passages to advance the argument that, even though Pātañjala and non-Pātañjala systems of yoga might very well have emerged from a shared prototypical milieu, the Pātañjalayogaśāstra appears to have exerted an influence on the textual sources belonging to rival systems. For instance, many Śaiva authors, while providing their own sectarian accounts of the ultimate goal of yoga, did have the Pātañjala understandings in mind. This intertextuality reveals an appropriation or creative (re)use of the Pātañjala terminology by the Śaiva sources, and its application to affirm the hierarchically higher soteriological efficacy of the Śaiva system. Whether characterized by silent appropriation or more open criticism, this attitude suggests not only that the Śaivas may have been partly indebted to Pātañjala Yoga, but also that they could not avoid engaging in a dialectic relationship with what must have been a widespread and authoritative system of yoga in the mainstream Brahmanical religio-philosophical discourse.
Brush Strokes of Sentience: The Painting of Saṃsāra in Buddhist Yoga
Forthcoming in Charles DiSimone (ed.), Reading Outside the Lines: On the Intersection of Art and Texts in Buddhist Studies. Contemporary Issues in Buddhist Studies. Berkeley, CA: Institute for Buddhist Studies.
In this article, I analyze a set of Buddhist meditation practices—tied to a specific theory of mind—found in an obscure but important text that has received very little scholarly attention, the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthānasūtra (Saddhsu). The practices serve as clear examples of the intimate interconnectedness of textual, visual, and contemplative cultures in the history of Indian religious practice in general, and the history of Buddhist yogic practices in particular. In focusing on the representations of practice found in the Saddhsu, I wish to highlight the way in which developments in the practices of visual culture came to serve as a formative conceptual force in the development of the Saddhsu’s textual and contemplative program. I argue that the Saddhsu provides evidence of the continued and innovative use of Buddhist canonical textual material during Buddhism’s middle period, and that a traditional Buddhist analogy of the practice of painting becomes a fundamental reference point for the text’s philosophical and contemplative agenda. I suggest that the text— influenced by burgeoning art-centered practices—serves as pertinent evidence of a historical bridge between early Buddhist contemplative cultures and the more visually elaborate Buddhist practice cultures of the early medieval period.
Journal of Indian Philosophy 41 (2013), pp. 57-78
This article examines Swami Hariharānanda Āraṇya’s unique interpretation of smṛti as “mindfulness” (samanaskatā) in Patañjali’s Yogasūtra I.20. Focusing on his extended commentary on Yogasūtra I.20 in his Bengali magnum opus, the Pātañjaljogdarśan (1911), I argue that his interpretation of smṛti is quasi-Buddhistic. On the one hand, Hariharānanda’s conception of smṛti as mindfulness resonates strongly with some of the views on smṛti advanced in classic Buddhist texts such as the Satipaṭṭhānasutta and Buddaghośa’s Papañcasūdanī. On the other hand, he also builds into his complex account of the practice of smṛti certain fundamental doctrines of Sāṃkhyayoga—such as mindfulness of the Lord (“īśvara”) and mental identification with the Puruṣa, the transcendental “Self” that is wholly independent of nature—which are incompatible with Buddhist metaphysics. I will then bring Hariharānanda’s quasi-Buddhistic interpretation of smṛti of Yogasūtra I.20 into dialogue with some of the interpretations of smṛti advanced by traditional commentators. Whereas many traditional commentators, such as Vācaspati Miśra and Vijñānabhikṣu, straightforwardly identify smṛti of I.20 with “dhyāna” (“concentration”)—the seventh limb of the aṣṭāṇgayoga outlined in Yogasūtra II.28-III.7—Hariharānanda argues that smṛti is the mental precondition for the establishment of dhyāna of the aṣṭāṇgayoga.
The truth of the body: the liberating role of physical (and mental) boundaries in asubhabhāvanā
sh.mahidol.ac.th
The literary corpus of the Suttas outlines a soteriology based on a contemplative and investigative approach. The key instrument is given by the term paññ (generally translated with 'wisdom' or 'discernment') or by the kindred compound satisampajañña (mindfulnessunderstanding), mostly used in the satipaӱӱhÂnas' formulas. As the aim of the teachings contained in the NikÄyas can be epitomized by the compound paññÂ-vimutti (liberation by wisdom), any attempt to deࠎ ne paññ assumes crucial relevance. The term 'wisdom' conveys only a part of the profound semantic signiࠎ cance of paññÂ, while the compound satisampajañña directly refers to a quality cultivable by means of a speciࠎ c method (the four satipaӱӱhÂnas). It is reasonable to argue that the equation paññÂ=satisampajañña, with the consequent direct relationship between the four satipaӱӱhÂnas and ࠎ nal liberation, suggests the importance of contemplative practice over doctrinal formulas and ontology. In other words, meditative techniques show a profundity of thought that actually weaves the whole net of the Buddhist philosophical system. On this basis, I would like to explore some nuances of contemplative practices applied to physical experience, trying to outline their implicit rationale.
Meditation and Knowledge in Indian Buddhist Epistemology (2023)
In: Hiroko Matsuoka, Shinya Moriyama, and Tyler Neill (eds.), To the Heart of Truth: Felicitation Volume for Eli Franco on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday. Wien: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 2023, pp. 667-684, 2023