Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience
Numen January 1, 1995 DOI: 10.1163/1568527952598549 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe category of 'experience' has been central to modern Buddhist studies, with scholars often assuming that monastic practice and meditation aim to produce specific religious or mystical experiences. This has led to a phenomenological interpretation of Buddhist technical terms related to stages on the path, treating them as if they describe distinct states of consciousness experienced by historical practitioners. The author argues that this approach may be misguided, questioning whether such a focus on subjective experience accurately reflects Buddhist traditions.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 395 |
| Key finding | The assumption that Buddhist practice primarily inculcates specific religious or mystical experiences may be flawed, as it imposes a phenomenological hermeneutic on technical terms that might not correspond to discrete states of consciousness. |
Abstract
Abstract The category “experience” has played a cardinal role in modern studies of buddhism. Few scholars seem to question the notion that Buddhist monastic practice, particularly meditation, is intended first and foremost to inculcate specific religious or “mystical” experiences in the minds of practitioners. Accordingly, a wide variety of Buddhist technical terms pertaining to the “stages on the path” are subject to a phenomenological hermeneutic—they are interpreted as if they designated discrete “states of consciousness” experienced by historical individuals in the course of their meditative practice.