SCIY.Org Archives

Originally posted on sciy.org by Ron Anastasia on Tue 21 Nov 2006 11:17 AM PST  

The Buddha on Meditation & States of Consciousness,
Part II, by Daniel Goleman

The file attached below, titled "The Buddha on Meditation & States of Consciousness-Part II," is the second part of Part I of the article which I posted yesterday.

This article was also originally published in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology (JTP), Vol. 4, 1972.

Repeating part of my introduction to Part I:

"Although written over 35 years ago, this article remains one of the most comprehensive Western scientific papers I know of that attempts a systematic analysis of some forms of Buddhist and yogic meditative disciplines, their physiological correlates, and outlines a possible program for an integration between scientific research and personal practice."

---

Note: This article is formatted as a .pdf document. Mac users will be able to read it automatically. Windows users may need to download a free version of Adobe's Acrobat Reader from:

https://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html

---

INTRODUCTION to Part II, by Daniel Goleman

There is inevitable great difficulty in translating from noumenal experience to the realm of discourse, from raw reality to abstract concept. Experience is the forerunner of all spiritual teachings, though similar experiences may come to be articulated differently; the Vedas say, "The Truth is one, only the sages call it by different names." In any given exploration of higher states of consciousness, the version set down in words is of necessity an arbitrary, and perhaps nebulous, delimitation of states, their characteristics, and their bounds. Lao Tzu recognizes this dilemma in the Tao Te Ching:


... the Tibetans recognize two levels of religious doctrine and practice: "The Expedient Teaching" and "The Final Teaching." The Expedient Teachings are the multitude of world religions, each shaped by and for the people who adhere to it; the variance among faiths is accounted for by these shaping factors. But the Final Teaching at the (often esoteric) core of all faiths is essentially one and the same. The typology of techniques which follows here is aimed at the level of Final Teaching, where doctrinal differences fall away, the unity of practice coming into focus. Religious systems differ by virtue of accident of time and place, but the experience that is precursor to religion is everywhere the same. The unity in Final Teaching underlying the various techniques is inevitable: all men are alike in nervous system, and it is at this level that the laws governing Final Teaching operate.

The Buddha's map of MSC in the Visuddhimagga embodies a threefold generic typology of meditation practices which undercuts ostensible distinctions in techniques stemming from differences in ideologies. Though any given system may draw on techniques from different categories, it is the specific technique that is classifiable in this typology, and not the system as a whole. As a first step in a systematic investigation of the myriad meditation practices, the Visuddhimagga roadmaps serve here as the skeleton of a typology allowing the sorting out of techniques in terms of their mechanics, despite the conceptual overlay that accompanies them. This exercise in typology is intended to be seminal, not exhaustive. In some cases only one of numerous techniques belonging to a given system will be discussed by way of illustration. This typology is one of parts, of specific practices, rather than a taxonomy of the complex totality of religious systems and spiritual paths. In this classificatory application of the Visuddhimagga, I have drawn examples from among the meditation systems represented at present in the West, dealing with both their specific techniques and their antecedent roots in the schools of the East. The summaries that follow are based primarily on published sources rather than personal investigation. They may, therefore, seem incomplete or imprecise to a person on any of these paths, for each is a living tradition that presents itself differently to each person according to his needs and circumstances. The summaries are intended to discuss each technique in enough detail to show its unique flavor while demonstrating its place within the typology. ...

---

Attachment: