Tibetan Buddhism and mystical experience

304 Pages·2015·2.61 MB·English

by  Komarovski

TIBETAN BUDDHISM AND MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE

TIBETAN BUDDHISM AND
MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE
Yaroslav Komarovski
1
1
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I prostrate to the mother of victors of the three times,
The unutterable, inconceivable, ineffable perfection of wisdom,
The unborn and unceasing space[-like] nature,
The object of functioning of individually
self-cognizing primordial mind!
From Rahulabhadra’s
Praise to the Perfection of Wisdom
(Prajñāpāramitāstotra)

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
1. The Mystical Panorama 1
Setting the stage 1
What does Tibetan Buddhism have to do
with mysticism and experience? 10
Glancing at the issue of (un)mediated
mystical   experience 26
2. The Mind Dimension 44
Mind models 46
Conceptuality and direct perception 56
The problem with pure consciousness 68
3. The Path Dimension 79
Path models 79
Mediations: whither and when 93
Negations and deconstructions 102
Contents
4. Mystical Complexities 117
A few words about ineffability 117
Mystical experiences and polemics 127
Mystical commonalities 143
5. Contesting the Ultimate Experience 161
The Geluk position 166
The Sakya position 194
Contemplating differences differently 218
Conclusion and Final Remarks 241
Bibliography 249
Index 263
viii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Although the idea of writing this book was born less than four
years ago, my interest in the topics explored herein was initi-
ated by people and events encountered much earlier. I’ve had a
vague interest in things “mystical”/mysterious since about age
seven. While going to bed I asked my father questions about
whether the universe is finite or infinite, what lies beyond it,
what lies beyond that which lies beyond it, etc., until I eventually
fell asleep. Shortly afterwards, I was discussing with my family
such “semi-Buddhist” questions about findability of phenomena
as when a car stops being a car: does it happen after one or all
of its wheels have been removed, after its doors have been taken
away, after its steering wheel has been taken off, earlier, later,
when exactly? Although my parents had neither answers to such
questions nor interest in philosophical or religious matters, they
were understanding, patient, and supportive during my preado-
lescent deconstructionist “quest.” In my teens I remember lying