We,
in the West, have a very helpful concept of a personal deity that meets us
halfway (or, even in some extreme cases, all the way) towards a spiritual awakening.
The closest we come to this awakening in the East would probably be in Zen practice,
where we have one example after another of the Zen student suddenly becoming
enlightened as the master, or sensei (teacher), whacks him/her with koan, or, the
student stumbles upon an unexpected incident, that throws a monkey wrench into
her/his perceptions. However, this experience comes along the way, not after
being defeated by indulgences and surrender to a supreme deity, but by satori achieved
through a sometimes rigorous process. I’m not suggesting that one is better
than the other; in fact, William James would have called this the “educational”
variety of religious experience in contrast to a sudden burst of light. Even in
the West, most of us do not have a Cecil B. Demille opening of the clouds type
experience. In the East and in the West, we practice prayer and meditation
regardless and do not usually expect to be Zapped into the sublime of our own
accord. Even those fortunate to experience this are compelled to practice to
stay in the grace of a power greater than ourselves.
geo, 4,680
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