A fantastically presented and informative thesis. I look forward to learning more about the intersections of Pure Land Buddhism and de Lubac’s supernaturalized nature.
I must admit the whole postmodern situation (broadly conceived, if it even can be) gives me a headache. Can anyone of a more or less of an intellectual bent honestly survey the current mess and say to himself, "ah, yes! All is going swimmingly". Forgetting for a moment that few people use the word 'swimmingly' anymore. But the point remains.
Nonetheless, we keep at it as if the correct answer is just around the corner. "A few more books read, experiments done, etc. and we'll have it!" Are we getting 'closer'? How would we know? How would we know if we *weren't* capable of the universe? (if I am even understanding that term correctly). An infinite forest of diverging opinions, perhaps.
And the stakes keep getting higher as our technological means make our differences and contentions inescapable. Our political conflicts and ambitions are no longer containable. We are fighting for the whole enchilada! How does this ever get resolved except through power, control and propaganda--but I don't believe that will work either.
Humility isn't our strong suit, or we wouldn't have to go to such trouble to learn how to do it, or why we should. To think we can return to simplicity, at least en masse, is extremely unlikely. And at what point does the complexity of the situation (and it may not even be *a* situation to be grasped) exceed our limited ability to understand it. Are we already there? Even a recourse to postmodernism, at least in my eyes, falls well short.
Of course all of what I am groping to express here is itself highly contestable. And will be contested, if anybody cares to even bother with it. The whole thing is making me want to read Thoreau again, which I haven't since High School. But what good will *that* do me?! Other than a day or two of pleasant reading. If there were an available hermit hut out there, I might take up residence.
How about The Cloud of Unknowing meets Zhuangzi meets Nagarjuna? What would *that* look like!?
I like "swimmingly," along with "capital," but draw the line at "wizard" and "spiffing." But good grief, how anyone can subscribe to the myth of progress after the 20th century, let alone what's going on now, is as beyond me as it is beyond you! Drowningly, at best, and without waving.
As you seem to have been thinking, I could get me to an hermitage, certainly. My family might not be too pleased about it. What I can do is try to keep going in my academic work, here in Japan, trying to persuade Christians and Buddhists alike that there must be more to "interfaith dialogue" than just echoing the mores of the political systems which are flushing away our respective cultures.My means to that end is pulling apart the divisive (anti-)metaphysical claims of modernity and appealing to premodern ways to find some kind of solidarity and stability amid this mess. Power and control are, as you imply, part of the problem rather than the solution.
My little project may be doomed to failure, but the wordhoard grows and ever so often needs emptying. In the meantime, I continue to celebrate the sacraments and preach the faith of the Church, which I know cannot fail, though I may not see the victory in this life.
A wild card for you to contemplate - a reasoned theological exposition of polytheism. Contains some excellent arguments for polytheism. A World Full of Gods, An Inquiry into Polytheism by John Michael Greer
Being in Jesus is a felt embodiment of the Holy Spirit., more than philosophical head trip.This is an assumed tangible experience in the New Testament. I have a saying “If the pipes break open under the kitchen sink you know it” John 7:37-39. Maybe you can have fun finding parallels between this and stuff in Shingon Buddhism and other varieties of Vajrayana Buddhism. I have Pentecostal tendencies and knowing your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit is part of the Jesus of Nazareth experience.
We'll come to that! Dionysius is not at all about a head trip. He teaches that the material world, including our bodies, is essential in our ascent to God - and that ultimately, it is material things in the physical community of the Church that Christ uses to lift us out of our "heads" into ecstatic unknowing. His vision is sacramental. The whole cosmos both reveals and conceals God. The philosophy is only of use if it helps in the spiritual life: if it does not, then leave it aside!
PS - perhaps in the sentence 'The strategies of class warfare are instead applied to resolve an ever-expanding plethora of perceived social ills, the symptoms of which vary widely according to whomever is making the diagnosis'
Thanks for this enlightening essay. I look forward to reading "the lost way to the Good" and, if my reading skills are up to it, " An Infinite Forest of Meaning".
A fantastically presented and informative thesis. I look forward to learning more about the intersections of Pure Land Buddhism and de Lubac’s supernaturalized nature.
I must admit the whole postmodern situation (broadly conceived, if it even can be) gives me a headache. Can anyone of a more or less of an intellectual bent honestly survey the current mess and say to himself, "ah, yes! All is going swimmingly". Forgetting for a moment that few people use the word 'swimmingly' anymore. But the point remains.
Nonetheless, we keep at it as if the correct answer is just around the corner. "A few more books read, experiments done, etc. and we'll have it!" Are we getting 'closer'? How would we know? How would we know if we *weren't* capable of the universe? (if I am even understanding that term correctly). An infinite forest of diverging opinions, perhaps.
And the stakes keep getting higher as our technological means make our differences and contentions inescapable. Our political conflicts and ambitions are no longer containable. We are fighting for the whole enchilada! How does this ever get resolved except through power, control and propaganda--but I don't believe that will work either.
Humility isn't our strong suit, or we wouldn't have to go to such trouble to learn how to do it, or why we should. To think we can return to simplicity, at least en masse, is extremely unlikely. And at what point does the complexity of the situation (and it may not even be *a* situation to be grasped) exceed our limited ability to understand it. Are we already there? Even a recourse to postmodernism, at least in my eyes, falls well short.
Of course all of what I am groping to express here is itself highly contestable. And will be contested, if anybody cares to even bother with it. The whole thing is making me want to read Thoreau again, which I haven't since High School. But what good will *that* do me?! Other than a day or two of pleasant reading. If there were an available hermit hut out there, I might take up residence.
How about The Cloud of Unknowing meets Zhuangzi meets Nagarjuna? What would *that* look like!?
Anyway, I will end my screed here. Thank you.
I like "swimmingly," along with "capital," but draw the line at "wizard" and "spiffing." But good grief, how anyone can subscribe to the myth of progress after the 20th century, let alone what's going on now, is as beyond me as it is beyond you! Drowningly, at best, and without waving.
As you seem to have been thinking, I could get me to an hermitage, certainly. My family might not be too pleased about it. What I can do is try to keep going in my academic work, here in Japan, trying to persuade Christians and Buddhists alike that there must be more to "interfaith dialogue" than just echoing the mores of the political systems which are flushing away our respective cultures.My means to that end is pulling apart the divisive (anti-)metaphysical claims of modernity and appealing to premodern ways to find some kind of solidarity and stability amid this mess. Power and control are, as you imply, part of the problem rather than the solution.
My little project may be doomed to failure, but the wordhoard grows and ever so often needs emptying. In the meantime, I continue to celebrate the sacraments and preach the faith of the Church, which I know cannot fail, though I may not see the victory in this life.
I am behind on my "Mysta-biology!"
I have to catch up.
A wild card for you to contemplate - a reasoned theological exposition of polytheism. Contains some excellent arguments for polytheism. A World Full of Gods, An Inquiry into Polytheism by John Michael Greer
https://www.amazon.com/World-Full-Gods-Inquiry-Polytheism/dp/1801520801/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3G8A5H2U8B36Y&keywords=a+world+full+of+gods+an+inquiry+into+polytheism&qid=1690732708&sprefix=A+world+full+of+gods%2Caps%2C263&sr=8-1
Being in Jesus is a felt embodiment of the Holy Spirit., more than philosophical head trip.This is an assumed tangible experience in the New Testament. I have a saying “If the pipes break open under the kitchen sink you know it” John 7:37-39. Maybe you can have fun finding parallels between this and stuff in Shingon Buddhism and other varieties of Vajrayana Buddhism. I have Pentecostal tendencies and knowing your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit is part of the Jesus of Nazareth experience.
We'll come to that! Dionysius is not at all about a head trip. He teaches that the material world, including our bodies, is essential in our ascent to God - and that ultimately, it is material things in the physical community of the Church that Christ uses to lift us out of our "heads" into ecstatic unknowing. His vision is sacramental. The whole cosmos both reveals and conceals God. The philosophy is only of use if it helps in the spiritual life: if it does not, then leave it aside!
PS - perhaps in the sentence 'The strategies of class warfare are instead applied to resolve an ever-expanding plethora of perceived social ills, the symptoms of which vary widely according to whomever is making the diagnosis'
'whomever' is a typo for 'whoever'?
You are gracious to assume that it was a typo - it was in fact a genuine grammatical error, so thank you for pointing it out. Will amend.
Thanks for this enlightening essay. I look forward to reading "the lost way to the Good" and, if my reading skills are up to it, " An Infinite Forest of Meaning".
Thank you! I hope you enjoy them both.