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states establish the truth of those theological affections in



which the saintly life has its root?















In spite of their repudiation of articulate self…description;



mystical states in general assert a pretty distinct theoretic



drift。  It is possible to give the outcome of the majority of



them in terms that point in definite philosophical directions。



One of these directions is optimism; and the other is monism。 We



pass into mystical states from out of ordinary consciousness as



from a less into a more; as from a smallness into a vastness; and



at the same time as from an unrest to a rest。  We feel them as



reconciling; unifying states。  They appeal to the yes…function



more than to the no…function in us。 In them the unlimited absorbs



the limits and peacefully closes the account。  Their very denial



of every adjective you may propose as applicable to the ultimate



truthHe; the Self; the Atman; is to be described by 〃No! no!〃



only; say the Upanishads'263'though it seems on the surface to



be a no…function; is a denial made on behalf of a deeper yes。



Whoso calls the Absolute anything in particular; or says that it



is THIS; seems implicitly to shut it off from being THAT it is



as if he lessened it。  So we deny the 〃this;〃 negating the



negation which it seems to us to imply; in the interests of the



higher affirmative attitude by which we are possessed。 The



fountain…head of Christian mysticism is Dionysius the Areopagite。







He describes the absolute truth by negatives exclusively。







'263' Muller's translation; part ii。 p。 180。















〃The cause of all things is neither soul nor intellect; nor has



it imagination; opinion; or reason; or intelligence; nor is it



reason or intelligence; nor is it spoken or thought。  It is



neither number; nor order; nor magnitude; nor littleness; nor



equality; nor inequality; nor similarity; nor dissimilarity。  It



neither stands; nor moves; nor rests。 。 。 。 It is neither



essence; nor eternity; nor time。  Even intellectual contact does



not belong to it。  It is neither science nor truth。  It is not



even royalty or wisdom; not one; not unity; not divinity or



goodness; nor even spirit as we know it;〃 etc。; ad libitum。'264'







'264' T。 Davidson's translation; in Journal of Speculative



Philosophy; 1893; vol。 xxii。; p。 399。















But these qualifications are denied by Dionysius; not because the



truth falls short of them; but because it so infinitely excels



them。  It is above them。  It is SUPER…lucent; SUPER…splendent;



SUPER…essential; SUPER…sublime; SUPER EVERYTHING that can be



named。  Like Hegel in his logic; mystics journey towards the



positive pole of truth only by the 〃Methode der Absoluten



Negativitat。〃'265'







'265' 〃Deus propter excellentiam non immerito Nihil vocatur。〃



Scotus Erigena; quoted by Andrew Seth:  Two Lectures on Theism;



New York; 1897; p。 55。















Thus come the paradoxical expressions that so abound in mystical



writings。  As when Eckhart tells of the still desert of the



Godhead; 〃where never was seen difference; neither Father; Son;



nor Holy Ghost; where there is no one at home; yet where the



spark of the soul is more at peace than in itself。〃'266' As when



Boehme writes of the Primal Love; that 〃it may fitly be compared



to Nothing; for it is deeper than any Thing; and is as nothing



with respect to all things; forasmuch as it is not comprehensible



by any of them。  And because it is nothing respectively; it is



therefore free from all things; and is that only good; which a



man cannot express or utter what it is; there being nothing to



which it may be compared; to express it by。〃'267'  Or as when



Angelus Silesius sings:







 〃Gott ist ein lauter Nichts; ihn ruhrt kein Nun noch Hier;



  Je mehr du nach ihm greiffst; je mehr entwind er dir。〃'268'







'266' J。 Royce:  Studies in Good and Evil; p。 282。







'267' Jacob Bellmen's Dialogues on the Supersensual Life;



translated by Bernard Holland; London; 1901; p。 48。







'268' Cherubinischer Wandersmann; Strophe 25。















To this dialectical use; by the intellect; of negation as a mode



of passage towards a higher kind of affirmation; there is



correlated the subtlest of moral counterparts in the sphere of



the personal will。  Since denial of the finite self and its



wants; since asceticism of some sort; is found in religious



experience to be the only doorway to the larger and more blessed



life; this moral mystery intertwines and combines with the



intellectual mystery in all mystical writings。







〃Love;〃 continues Behmen; is Nothing; for 〃when thou art gone



forth wholly from the Creature and from that which is visible;



and art become Nothing to all that is Nature and Creature; then



thou art in that eternal One; which is God himself; and then thou



shalt feel within thee the highest virtue of Love。 。 。 。 The



treasure of treasures for the soul is where she goeth out of the



Somewhat into that Nothing out of which all things may be made。 



The soul here saith; I HAVE NOTHING; for I am utterly stripped



and naked; I CAN DO NOTHING; for I have no manner of power; but



am as water poured out; I AM NOTHING; for all that I am is no



more than an image of Being; and only God is to me I AM; and so;



sitting down in my own Nothingness; I give glory to the eternal



Being; and WILL NOTHING of myself; that so God may will all in



me; being unto me my God and all things。〃'269'







'269' Op。 cit。; pp。 42; 74; abridged。















In Paul's language; I live; yet not I; but Christ liveth in me。 



Only when I become as nothing can God enter in and no difference



between his life and mine remain outstanding。'270'







'270' From a French book I take this mystical expression of



happiness in God's indwelling presence:







〃Jesus has come to take up his abode in my heart。  It is not so



much a habitation; an association; as a sort of fusion。  Oh; new



and blessed life! life which becomes each day more luminous。 。 。



。 The wall before me; dark a few moments since; is splendid at



this hour because the sun shines on it。  Wherever its rays fall



they light up a conflagration of glory; the smallest speck of



glass sparkles; each grain of sand emits fire; even so there is a



royal song of triumph in my heart  because the Lord is



there。  My days succeed each other; yesterday a blue sky; to day



a clouded sun; a night filled with strange dreams; but as soon as



the eyes open; and I regain consciousness and seem to begin life



again; it is always the same figure before me; always the same



presence filling my heart。 。 。 。  Formerly the day was dulled by



the absence of the Lord。  I used to wake invaded by all sorts of



sad impressions; and I did not find him on my path。  To…day he is



with me; and the light cloudiness which covers things is not an



obstacle to my communion with him。  I feel the pressure of his



hand; I feel something else which fills me with a serene joy;



shall I dare to speak it out?  Yes; for it is the true expression



of what I experience。  The Holy Spirit is not merely making me a



visit; it is no mere dazzling apparition which may from one



moment to another spread its wings and leave me in my night; it



is a permanent habitation。  He can depart only if he takes me



with him。  More than that; he is not other than myself:  he is



one with me。  It is not a juxtaposition; it is a penetration; a



profound modification of my nature; a new manner of my being。〃   



Quoted from the MS。 of an old man by Wilfred Monod: II Vit: 



six meditations sur le mystere chretien; pp。 280…283。















This overcoming of all the usual barriers between the individual



and the Absolute is the great mystic achievement。  In mystic



states we both become one with the Absolute and we become aware



of our oneness。  This is the everlasting and triumphant mystical



tradition; hardly altered by differences of clime or creed。  In



Hinduism; in Neoplatonism; in Sufism; in Christian mysticism; in



Whitmanism; we find the same recurring note; so that there is



about mystical utterances an eternal unanimity which ought to



make a critic stop and think; and which brings it about that the



mystical classics have; as has been said; neither birthday nor



native land。  Perpetually telling of the unity of man with God;



their speech antedates languages; and they do not grow old。'271'







'271' Compare M。 Maeterlinck:  L'Ornement des Noces spirituelles



de Ruysbroeck; Bruxelles; 1891; Introduction; p。 xix。















〃That art Thou!〃 say the Upanishads; and the Vedantists add: 



〃Not a part; not a mode of That; but identically That; that



absolute Spirit of the World。〃  〃As pure water poured into pure



water remains the same; thus; O Gautama; is the Self of



a thinker who knows。  Water in water; fire in fire; ether in



ether; no one can distinguish them:  likewise a man whose mind



has entered into the Self。〃'272'  〃'Every man;' says the Sufi



Gulshan…Raz; whose heart is no longer shaken by any doubt; knows



with certainty that there is no being save only One。 。 。 。  In



his divine majesty the ME; and WE; the THOU; are not found; for



in the One there can be no distinction。 Every being who is



annulled and entirely separated from himself; hears resound



outside of him this voice and t

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