''The Teachings of the Mystics'' is a

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

work of popular

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

by the Princeton philosopher Walter T. Stace that lays out his philosophy of mysticism and compiles writings on mystical experience from across religious traditions. The book’s comprehensive selections met with broadly positive responses.

Synopsis

An introductory chapter lays out Stace’s philosophy and psychology of mysticism. He defines the principal characteristic of mystical experience as "the apprehension of an ultimate nonsensuous unity in all things", and differentiates it from

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

parapsychological Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...

phenomena, visions, voices, and anything "misty" or vague. Stace distinguishes between two types of mystical experience: extrovertive mysticism experiences unity in the world through the physical senses, while an introvertive type experiences unity in the self. Stace sees introvertive mysticism as more important and the focus of ''The Teachings of the Mystics''. He proposes that there is a core to mystical experience, which is more basic and important than superficial differences over time and across cultures. This hypothesis can only be justified by a survey of mystics’ descriptions of their experiences – the book purports to be that. Stace chooses texts that describe mystical experience, rather than interpret or analyse it. Hindu mysticism Stace selects from the ''

Chandogya Upanishad The ''Chandogya Upanishad'' (Sanskrit: , IAST: ''Chāndogyopaniṣad'') is a Sanskrit text embedded in the Chandogya Brahmana of the Sama Veda of Hinduism.Patrick Olivelle (2014), ''The Early Upanishads'', Oxford University Press; , pp. 166-16 ...

'', '' Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'', ''

Svetasvatara Upanishad The ''Shvetashvatara Upanishad'' ( sa, श्वेताश्वतरोपनिषद् or or , IAST: ' or ') is an ancient Sanskrit text embedded in the Yajurveda. It is listed as number 14 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads. The Upa ...

'', and

Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...

’s book ''

The Life Divine Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...

''. Buddhist mysticism Stace selects from the Udana on Nirvana, the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Digha Nikaya and the Majjhima Nikaya from the Hinayana school. Mahayana selections are taken from '' The Awakening of Faith'' by Aśvaghoṣa, the '' Maha Prajna Paramita Hridaya'' and the '' Diamond Sutra''. Zen is represented by DT Suzuki on Satori,

Eugen Herrigel Eugen Herrigel (20 March 1884 – 18 April 1955) was a German philosopher who taught philosophy at Tohoku Imperial University in Sendai, Japan, from 1924 to 1929 and introduced Zen to large parts of Europe through his writings. While living in ...

on the Koan and satori. Taoist mysticism Selections are taken from

Laozi Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state ...

’s '' Tao Te Ching'', Plotinus Enneads selected include those that describe The Ascent to Union with the One. Christian mysticism Selections are taken from Dionysius the Areopagite’s ''The Divine Names'' and ''Mystical Theology'', various Meister Eckhart sermons, Jan van Ruysbroeck’s ''The Adornment of Spiritual Marriage'' and ''The Book of Supreme Truth'', excerpts from ''The Life of St. Theresa'' and ''The Interior Castle'' by St Theresa of Avila, and from ''The Dark Night of the Soul'' by

St. John of the Cross John of the Cross, OCD ( es, link=no, Juan de la Cruz; la, Ioannes a Cruce; born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Catholic priest, mystic, and a Carmelite friar of converso origin. He is a major figu ...

. Islamic mysticism Mystics represented include Abu Said Ibn al Arabi's ''Kitab al-Wajd'', Abu Yazid Al Bistami,

Ibn Sina Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...

(Avicena),

Farid al-Din Attar Abū Ḥamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm (c. 1145 – c. 1221; fa, ابو حامد بن ابوبکر ابراهیم), better known by his pen-names Farīd ud-Dīn () and ʿAṭṭār of Nishapur (, Attar means apothecary), was a PersianRitter, H. ( ...

’s '' The Conference of the Birds'',

Ibn al-Arabi Ibn al-ʿArabī may refer to: *Ibn Arabi (1165–1240), Andalusi Muslim philosopher *Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi (1076–1148), Andalusi Muslim scholar of Maliki jurisprudence See also * Ibn al-A'rabi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ziyād (), surna ...

, and Jalal al-Din Rumi. Jewish mysticism Stace quotes Gershom Scholem, the leading authority on Jewish mysticism, writing that union with God is extremely rare in Judaism, although there are some instances of this in Abraham Abulafia and some later Hasidism. None the less, Stace finds quotes from ''The Zohar''. After laying out the contemporary mystical experiences of Arthur Koestler in his book '' The Invisible Writing'', Stace in his final chapter rounds up his conclusions drawn over the course of the book and looks to the future of mysticism.

Critical response

''The Teachings of the Mystics'' was seen as a useful historical overview of the central ideas of mysticism, and despite losing something in translation between experience and authorship is never tedious. For Huston Smith, the book could be seen as a companion volume to Stace’s more academic work, ''Mysticism and Philosophy'', although representing his ideas at an earlier stage. ''The Teachings of the Mystics'' helps overcome the difficulty that many readers experience with understanding the writings of mystics by its use of clear introductions and brief selections. However, Stace does not spell out his concept of the "universal core" of mysticism precisely enough. Writing in ''

Mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

'', Thomas McPherson regarded the book as a by-product of ''Mysticism and Philosophy'' and, despite quibbling over a few selections, he concluded the book’s introductory essay was useful and the selections sensible.McPherson, Thomas, "Review of ''Mysticism and Philosophy'' and ''Teachings of the Mystics''", ''Mind'' n.s. 71, 1962, p. 566.

References

External links

Introductory chapter, ''The Teachings of the Mystics''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teachings Of The Mystics, The Mysticism texts 1960 non-fiction books Religious pluralism Philosophical literature Philosophy of religion literature