Singing the Way: Insights into Poetry & Spiritual Transformation

242 Pages·2005·3.529 MB·English

by  Patrick Laude

Singing
Poetry/Spirituality
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Th is is the fi rst major study of the world’s n
great traditions of spiritual poetry in g the
its relationship to the perennial i
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wisdom at the core of our humanity.
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Th e central theme of this groundbreaking study of the intricately
Insights in Poetry and
woven subject of poetry and spiritual transformation is the loss of
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Spiritual Transformation
sacred knowledge which accompanies the debasement of poetry. Th is
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work underlines the primordial richness of language by focusing upon
the spiritual qualities of poetic expression, which serve to bridge the
human and the Divine. Ranging across topics as diverse as Hindu
poetics, Sufi sm and poetry, Shamanistic chant, poetry as contempla-
tion in the Chinese classics, direct perception of reality in Japanese
haiku, and inspiration in Western poetry, this book directs us to the
farthest reaches of language, where word and silence merge in the
ineff able Reality of God.
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P
PATRICK LAUDE is Professor in the French Department at Georgetown University.
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His books include Music of the Sky: An Anthology of Spiritual Poetry (co-edited with t
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Barry McDonald), Approches du quiétisme, Massignon intérieur, and Frithjof Schuon: i
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Life and Teachings (co-authored with Jean-Baptiste Aymard).
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World Wisdom e
World
Patrick Laude
Wisdom
$19.95 US / $25.95 CAN
World Wisdom
The Library of Perennial Philosophy
The Library of Perennial Philosophy is dedicated to the exposition of the time-
less Truth underlying the diverse religions. This Truth, often referred to as the Sophia
Perennis—or Perennial Wisdom—finds its expression in the revealed Scriptures as well
as the writings of the great sages and the artistic creations of the traditional worlds.
The Perennial Philosophy provides the intellectual principles capable of explaining
both the formal contradictions and the transcendent unity of the great religions.
Ranging from the writings of the great sages of the past, to the perennialist authors
of our time, each series of our Library has a different focus. As a whole, they express the
inner unanimity, transforming radiance, and irreplaceable values of the great spiritual
traditions.
Singing the Way: Insights in Poetry and Spiritual Transformation appears as one of our
selections in the Perennial Philosophy series.
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The Perennial Philosophy Series
In the beginning of the Twentieth Century, a school of thought arose which
has focused on the enunciation and explanation of the Perennial Philosophy.
Deeply rooted in the sense of the sacred, the writings of its leading exponents
establish an indispensable foundation for understanding the timeless Truth and
spiritual practices which live in the heart of all religions. Some of these titles are
companion volumes to the Treasures of the World’s Religions series, which allows
a comparison of the writings of the great sages of the past with the perennialist
authors of our time.
Cover:
“Jizo Bosatsu playing a flute” by Kano Tan’Yu (1602-1674)
Edo Period, Japan
Singing the Way
Insights in Poetry
and Spiritual Transformation
by
PATRICK LAUDE
Singing the Way: Insights in Poetry and Spiritual Transformation
© 2005 World Wisdom, Inc.
Parts of this book have been published
under the title The Way of Poetry,
Oneonta Philosophy Series, Oneonta, New York, 2002.
All rights reserved.
No portion of this publication may be duplicated
in any way without the express written consent
of the publisher, except in the form of brief excerpts
or quotations for the purpose of review.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Laude, Patrick, 1958-
Singing the Way : Insights in Poetry and Spiritual Transformation / by Patrick Laude.
p. cm. -- (The perennial philosophy series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-941532-74-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Religion and poetry. I. Title. II. Series.
PN1077.L38 2005
809’.93382--dc22
2004028850
Printed on acid-free paper in Canada
For information address World Wisdom, Inc.
P.O. Box 2682, Bloomington, Indiana 47402-2682
www.worldwisdom.com
C
ONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vii
INTRODUCTION 1
1. HINDU POETICS:
The Liberating Word 15
2. ISLAM:
Sufism and Poetry 47

3. LU CHI’S WEN FU:
Poetry as Contemplation in the Chinese Classical Tradition 83
4. JAPANESE POETRY:
The Sketch of Metaphysical Perception 115
5. WESTERN POETICS:
Inspiration, Self-knowledge, and Spiritual Presence 149
6. SINGING THE SACRED WAY:
Poetry and Shamanism 183
CONCLUSION 209
BIBLIOGRAPHY 213
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 221
INDEX 223

L I
IST OF LLUSTRATIONS
I. Page from an illustrated manuscript of the Jñāneshvari, a
commentary on the Bhagavad Gītā, Nagpur (18th century) 14
II. Sāqī Nāmeh, from the Dīwān of Hāfez Shirazi (1300-1389) 46
III. Poem of the Hall of Pines and Wind, by Huang T’ing-chien
(1045-1105), Sung Dynasty, cursive script 82
IV. “There is no one in the mountain ...”, Muromachi Period
(1392-1573) 114
V. Page from Proclus’ On Platonic Theology, written by
Stelianus Chumnus, Constantinople (1357/8) 148
VI. American Indian pictographs 182
vii

I
NTRODUCTION
The connection between poetry and contemplation has been highlighted on
many accounts and in many ways, so much so that it has become a sort
of truism. In common parlance, the poet is often considered as an intuitive
and meditative soul who enjoys a rare ability to contemplate reality in a more
profound and subtle way than do most fellow human beings. Accordingly,
one often deems poets to be endowed with a mediumistic ability that some-
how allows them to gain access into the deepest layers of reality. By virtue
of this ability, the poet was traditionally conceived as a mediator or a channel
between the essence of things and the magic of words, crystallizing his per-
ceptions into sounds and images that pierce through the veil of trivial usage
and bring miracles out of language. However, the idea of poetic contemplation
covers a wide spectrum of phenomena, and while all genuine poetry is in a
sense “contemplative,” it does not follow that the discipline of contemplative
practice necessarily enters into the alchemy of poetic creation; hence the need
to specify the scope of our understanding of contemplation.
* * *
In the Christian spiritual tradition, contemplation has often been defined in
contradistinction to the reading of Scriptures (lectio divina), meditation, and
the practice of vocal prayer. The latter is most often envisaged as a personal,
volitional, and sentimental motion of the soul directed towards God. By con-
trast, meditation involves the discursive process of reason, even though this
discourse may be accompanied by the evocation of images and ultimately
results in emotional affects, as in the practice of Ignatian meditation. In con-
templation, as suggested by the prefix “con-,” motion and discourse are some-
how superseded by a synthetic, immediate, and inarticulate mode of being—
not mere thinking—that entails both totality and centering. Contemplation
engages our entire being while rooting it in the unshakable ground of the
Divine; it suggests union with God, and therefore Self-sufficiency and repose
in Being.

* * *
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