Mysticism And Experience Essay

The essence of Eckhart Tolle’s teaching, that ‘Being must be felt’ and ‘cannot be thought’ lies in the notion of experience, it is the simple intimacy of the seemingly complex concept of ‘Being’, where ‘Being’ refers to a state recognised in religions like Hinduism and Buddhism as a more collective consciousness, an awareness, a simple universal reality or Brahman (Carmody and Carmody 1996). To say that ‘Being’ must be felt implies that such a state should be experienced, it should be lived; when I was younger my mother would encourage me to do things myself, she explained that I would then know it better than if I had only watched her doing it, this idea of actually experiencing something yourself, bringing a deeper understanding of the thing

However, in considering the concepts of experience and ‘Being’ we become aware of the notion of mysticism – a prominent, albeit somewhat controversial, aspect of religion. The purpose of this essay is thus, to consider the experiential aspects of mysticism, through meditation, of both the Hindu and Buddhist religions. To begin, we look at the purpose and practise of meditation traditions within the prescribed religions, and then we consider the relative mystical experiences, the mystics and their preparations, as well as how such an experience is carried into each religious setting. To conclude, we note the inclusion and importance of such concepts within the religions of Hinduism and

In Carmody and Carmody (1996:85) a distinction is made between meditation and realisation [4] as the ‘method or path’ and the ‘wisdom or fruit’ respectively. This analogy aptly, and quite simply, denotes the significance of meditation in both religions where an interaction with or realisation of ‘Being’ is the ultimate purpose, and meditation is the most appropriate