Open Theology
January 26, 2017
Olga Louchakova-Schwartz
19 citations
The author applies Michel Henry's philosophy to propose a new concept called 'material introspection,' which differs from ordinary self-examination. In material introspection, attention turns inward toward embodied self-awareness to seek mystical self-knowledge or union with God. This process reveals a field of consciousness where phenomenological materiality discloses itself. Using Vedantic self-inquiry as an example, the author shows that material introspection requires an attitude of 'I see myself' and uses reductions that free phenomenological materiality from intentionality. The goal is inward self-transcendence into purified materiality.
Open Theology
March 13, 2020
Stepanenko Walter Scott
2 citations
Wayne Proudfoot argued that rejecting all reductionism in accounts of religious experience is not viable; he distinguished illegitimate descriptive reductionism from legitimate explanatory reductionism and accused William James of using a protective strategy to shield religious experience from scientific explanation. This article argues that James occasionally uses that protective strategy in *The Varieties of Religious Experience* but more importantly develops a pragmatic method that leads to noetic pluralism—the view that no single knowledge practice is privileged. This pragmatic method challenges explanatory reductionism, which implicitly assumes noetic monism.
Open Theology
October 1, 2018
Bermant Gordon
Dennis Hirota, a modern Shin Buddhist master, argues that Shinran Shonin (1173-1263) accepted the Mahayana teaching of nondual awareness as necessary for awakening but held that ordinary people historically could not achieve it through disciplined practice. Shinran taught that the Buddha Amida's perfect wisdom and compassion become available to those who call his Name with joyful sincerity, a difficult teaching of non-practice. To illustrate Hirota's presentation, the paper introduces a painting by Iwasaki Tsuneo, a modern Japanese scientist and artist, which connects an ordinary person's aspiration to ultimate truth through the Heart Sutra, a key nondual awareness text.
Open Theology
October 2, 2017
Panin Stanislav
Astral Karate was a late-Soviet eclectic spiritual movement that blended esoteric interpretations of martial arts and yoga. The term spread in the 1980s thanks to spiritual leader Valery Averianov, who called himself Guru Var Avera. The movement reflected global interest in Eastern cultures and spirituality, yet developed in isolation from European and American esoteric currents under unique ideological and legal pressures in the USSR. This combination produced original late-Soviet esoteric currents, making Astral Karate a valuable subject for understanding Soviet spirituality and its later developments in post-Soviet states.