Zen Buddhism and the Phenomenology of Mysticism

Summary

A comparative analysis of mysticism in Zen and the Abrahamic faiths is used to formulate a phenomenological account of mysticism as such. Zen Buddhism differs from other forms of mystical experience in important ways but can still fit into a general phenomenological category. The accounts of Anthony Steinbock and Angela Bello are explicated, then Zen mysticism is shown to both cohere with and problematize these accounts, demonstrating their inadequacy as universal descriptions. A new formula for speaking phenomenologically about mystical experience is proposed to capture the phenomenon in all its manifestations.

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Abstract

In this paper, I use a comparative analysis of mysticism in Zen and the Abrahamic faiths to formulate a phenomenological account of mysticism “as such.” I argue that, while Zen Buddhism is distinct from other forms of mystical experience in important ways, it can still be fit into a general phenomenological category of mystical experience. First, I explicate the phenomenological accounts of mysticism provided by Anthony Steinbock and Angela Bello. Second, I offer an account of Zen mysticism which both coheres with and problematizes these accounts, arguing that Zen demonstrates the inadequacy of these accounts as descriptions of mysticism as a universal religious category. Lastly, I use this investigation to propose that Zen mysticism does generally cohere with the mystical experiences of other religions, but only if we devise a new formula for speaking phenomenologically about mystical experience as such which captures this phenomenon in all of its manifestations.

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