The Taoist Mystical Experience: Analysis of the Numinous and Mystical Aspects

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The Taoist Mystical Experience: Analysis of the Numinous and Mystical

Aspects

by Jennifer Layton

 

In his essay " Mysticism and Meditation, " Robert M. Gimello's praises

Ninian Smart for his distinction between the " numinous "

and " mystical " experience; however, this distinction can be

misleading for it assumes that the " numinous " experience belongs

solely to those mystics of the prophetic religions - Judaism, Islam

and Christianity - and that the religious experience of " certain

strands of Buddhism (along with some varieties of Taoism, Hinduism,

etc.) " is exclusively " mystical " (Katz 171). Gimello, paraphrasing

Smart, goes on to describe a numinous experience as " an encounter

with a being wholly other than oneself . . . gratuitous, in the sense

that those subject to it are not themselves responsible for its

occurrence " (Katz 171). By contrast, the mystical experience is " not

so much an encounter with a `sacred other' as it is the interior

attainment of a certain supernatural state of mind " and is the result

of the " subject's own efforts in following a certain contemplative

discipline or method " (Katz 172).

 

Following Ninian Smart's distinction, one would naturally assume that

the experience of the Taoist mystic is " mystical " ; first, because

Taoism is not a prophetic religion, and second, because the

experience is self-initiated. However, the Taoist mystical experience

is unique in that it can be considered both mystical and numinous.

The Taoist mystical state is: spiritually elevated, supernatural, and

incapable of being described, all of which are qualities that define

the term " numinous. "

 

Huston Smith, in his book The World's Religions, states that there

exist three meanings of Tao: the Way of Ultimate Reality, the Way of

the Universe, and the Way of Human Life (Smith 198). These three

meanings of Tao allow for a more comprehensive understanding of how

the Taoist mystical experience contains both numinous and mystical

aspects.

 

The Way of Ultimate Reality: Smith states that " though Tao is

ultimately transcendent, it is also immanent " (Smith 198). This point

is crucial in that it shows that both numinous and mystical aspects

exist in the Taoist mystical state. The concepts of transcendence and

immanence directly relate to Smart's distinction. The numinous

experience in a prophetic religion deals exclusively with

transcendence because adherents of this type of religious tradition

worship a supreme being that transcends humankind. In order for a

union to form between the mystic and the supreme being, the mystic

must " step outside " his or her mundane and bodily existence. By

contrast, in mystical religions, the experience of the mystic

involves immanence; one must reflect internally to form a union with

the desired state of being, i.e., Atman/Brahman for the Hindu mystic,

Enlightenment for the Buddhist disciple. While the Taoist mystical

experience also involves internal reflection, both immanence and

transcendence occur. Tao not only lies within the human " veiled in

our consciousness by the artificiality's of civilization " (Eliade

291), but transcends all that it has created - Man, Earth and Nature.

As Sidney Spencer states in his book Mysticism in World

Religion, " the Tao is the Source of all things; it is self-existent;

it transcends time and space " (Spencer 99). Tao is spiritually

elevated not only as the Way of Ultimate Reality, but as the Way of

the Universe - Smith's second and significant meaning of Tao.

 

Although a supreme being does not exist in Taoism, disciples of this

religion speak of a " supreme state of being and can be reached only

through the greatest personal effort and self-discipline " (Reid 4).

This supreme state of being is Tao - the Way of the Universe.

According to F.C. Happold in his text Mysticism: A Study and an

Anthology, " though Tao is sometimes translated as the Way, in its

transcendental aspect it is the Primal Meaning, the Undivided Unity

which lies behind all phenomena " (Happold 149). Transcendence invokes

the feeling of a clear separation between God and man, and in

prophetic religions this meaning is solely accepted. However, Tao, as

a supreme and supernatural state of being transcends all that is

life, and the Taoist saint must " leave his material body " in order to

return to Tao. According to the great Taoist sage Chuang-tzu, the

Taoist adept " has the internal impression of flying off and moving

freely in space but externally the individual in a state of ecstasy

resembles a piece of dead wood " (Eliade 292). Through the discipline

of meditation and inner contemplation, the Taoist saint is able to

spiritually leave his/her material body and return to Tao. Once the

Taoist mystic has achieved this state, he/she is able to return to

the ordinary world with a spiritually illumined soul similar to the

Buddhist arhat living in Nirvana with substrate. According to Mircea

Eliade, " mystical ecstasy is neither accessible to all Taoists nor

permanent, a Taoist saint did not necessarily withdraw from the

world, but he could at the same time be `outside the world' and live

as an ordinary man among others " (Eliade 292). This " spiritual

voyage " illustrates the transcendental aspect of the Taoist mystical

experience; although Tao is not a supreme being that transcends

humankind, it is a supreme state of being that transcends humankind

in its supernatural state as the Way of the Universe.

 

Paradoxically, Tao lies within all humankind as it simultaneously

transcends. Although the Taoist saint must " leave his body " in order

to attain spiritual salvation, the " spirit " of Tao is also immanent.

Happold states that the word Tao has a double meaning. " In addition

to its transcendental aspect, Tao is a way of life bound up with a

moral principle or `virtue' inherent in the very nature of the

cosmos " (Happold 149). Thus, Tao is inherent in all humankind despite

claims that it is impersonal. John Blofeld in his book Taoism: The

Road to Immortality states that Tao is " an impersonal perfection from

which beings including man are separated only by delusion " (Blofeld

2). By contrast, if Tao is a way of life for humans to follow, then

it must contain a personal and spiritual element in which humans are

able to follow throughout their existence in this world. Smith

defines the third meaning of Tao as the Way of Human Life. According

to Smith, the object of philosophical Taoism is to " align one's daily

life to the Tao, to ride its boundless tide and delight in its flow "

(Smith 207). To do this one must live a life of wu-wei or " non-

contrivance. " This means that human behavior should always follow

intuition, " unmediated by thought or deliberation. " The only way to

truly understand Tao is through wu-wei or tzu-jan - " the attitude

that does not discriminate or make distinctions about things but

responds immediately or spontaneously " (Eliade 739). According to

Smith, the effectiveness of wu-wei requires extraordinary skill. It

is the Taoist saint, through deep internal contemplation and

experiential knowledge through accordance with Nature, who can attain

union with Tao.

 

The experience of the Taoist mystic has the numinous quality of

ineffability. Happold dedicates a chapter of his book to the

characteristics of mystical states and includes ineffability as a

universal aspect of the mystical experience. The first two lines of

the Tao-Teh-Ching state that the true Tao is incapable of being

talked about or named. Names infer manipulation and limitation, and

Tao is limitless, infinite and universal. Thus, the Taoist mystic

realizes that any interpretation of his or her experience would be

impossible and inconceivable. Adherents of philosophical Taoism

recognize the ineffability of Tao and realize that Tao can be known

only through direct and experiential knowledge. Tao cannot be

comprehended through the intellect, and " elimination of knowledge " is

encouraged. According to Eliade, " the Taoists in fact condemn all

discursive knowledge, for, they maintain, it introduces multiplicity

into the soul, which should, rather, `embrace Unity' - be unified in

the Tao " (Eliade 291). Thus, Taoism advocates the

gradual " elimination of knowledge " in order for the Taoist saint to

gain intuitive wisdom and cultivate wu-wei.

 

Ninian Smart's distinction between the " numinous " and " mystical "

experience provides the intellectual community with a way to

categorize mystical states and, even more important, a way to

differentiate interpretations of mystical experiences. However, this

method of distinction is not without a flaw, for it causes the " one

or the other " syndrome in one's attempt to name the unique experience

of the Taoist saint as being either " numinous " or " mystical. " While

Rudolf Otto claims " Taoism moves wholly in the numinous " (Spencer

102), the Taoist mystical experience contains qualities that enable

it to fall under both of Smith's labels. Concepts that define the

term " numinous " such as " spiritually elevated, " " supernatural "

and " indescribable " also can be ascribed to the Taoist mystical

state. Further, union with Tao involves both immanence and

transcendence. In relation to Ninian Smart's distinction theory, the

mystical state of the Taoist can be understood in both " numinous "

and " mystical " terms.

 

The Taoist Mystical Experience: Analysis of the Numinous and Mystical Aspects

http://www.students.vcu.edu/counsel/MC/tao.html

 

Works cited

 

Blofeld, John. Taoism: The Road to Immortality. Boston: Shambhala,

1985.

Eliade, Mircea, ed. Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 14. New York:

Macmillan PC, 1982.

Robert M. Gimello, " Mysticism and Meditation. " Mysticism and

Philosophical Analysis. Ed. Steven T. Katz. New York: Oxford UP,

1978.

Happold, F.C. Mysticism: A Study and an Anthology. London: Penguin

Group, 1963.

Reid, Daniel P. The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity. New York: Simon

& Schuster Inc., 1989.

Smith, Huston. The World's Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins

P, 1991.

Spencer, Sidney. Mysticism in World Religion. Harmondsworth: Penguin

Books Ltd., 1971.

Tao Teh Ching. Trans., John C.H. Wu. Boston: Shambhala, 1989.