Secular Mysticism

Secular Mysticism

A Buddhist Commentary

John Author

Evelyn Underhill

Copyright 2016 Johnathon L Pendall

Derivation and fair use of the Public Domain work

Practical Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill

Cover art is Creative Commons

Derived from a photo by

Sami Keinan

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Table of Contents

Forward

Preface

What is Mysticism?

The World of Reality

The Preparation of the Mystic

Meditation and Recollection

Balance

Love and Will

The First Form of Contemplation

The Second Form of Contemplation

The Third Form of Contemplation

The Mystical Life

About the Authors

Connect with John Author

Forward

EVELYN UNDERHILL was a Twentieth Century mystic. She’s dead now. As the cliché goes, her legacy lives on: in this short book, in the words and mouths of scholars, offbeat philosophers, and the public domain. This book isn’t a re-printing of her work, Practical Mysticism, it’s an abridged Secular Buddhist derivative commentary. That was fun to say out loud.

Underhill borrowed from many walks of life to form her worldview and practice, though she definitely leaned toward Christianity and Advaita Vedanta. Since this is a Buddhist exploration, I’ve omitted or substituted all references to GOD, Divinity, or the soul.

Christian mystics focus on cultivating a unity with God or the Divine Spirit. I think that’s an excellent enadeavor, but it isn’t what we’re focusing on here. Our focus is on a union with Reality, with the way things are. To sum it up, our mission is to uncover some kind of balance. This is especially vital for stuffy, dry, and skeptical empiricists like we secular types.

Balance is, optimally, the center-point between poles. It’s said that that’s where wisdom and compassion romp and play. There are probably millions of pages dedicated to that pursuit. In my experience, it’s tough to intuit the center if the entire spectrum hasn’t been experienced.

The secular and the mystical naturally complement each other from the get-go, but it does take a little doing to see that fact firsthand. Most of us already occupy some version or another of the secular world — the world of practical labels, views, and actions.

We suffer from depression, anxiety, boredom, and so many other maladies when this perspective is taken to the extreme. Yet there is another side of the spectrum. The other side promises transcendence, liberation, and genuine communication with the principles of reality.

If we go to that extreme, then we live in varying degrees of creative madness. Since we’re already so familiar with the secular extreme, this book details the process of traveling to the other end of the spectrum — not because it’s better or ultimate, but because then we can tie the two ends together. Equilibrium isn’t really at the middle of this thread; it’s the thread tied in a circle.

Underhill presented her own step-by-step way to tour the mystical. Her detailed sight-seeing guide has served as a fantastic foundation for a dynamic Buddhist practice. We’ll start with meditation and mindfulness, applying focus to the world of concepts, labels, hatred, greed, and ignorance — the surface appearances. Then our focus goes deeper into perceptions, emotions, and finally raw sensation. That leg of the journey is reminiscent of Theravada or Vipassana practice.

Then we’ll cultivate Metta and Bodhicitta, warmth and will. After that we extend this warmth, compassion, and equanimity outwards to our fullest capacity. We’ll feel more and more joy, bliss, and good will for all beings. It becomes almost like a high. The will to be free and serve all beings begins to transform into an insatiable craving to go further, experience fuller, love deeper, and see clearer.

This desire results in an ember of tension which soon roars into a ferocious blaze. We push, and push, and push until we feel like we’re going to bust open and then… stillness, silence, a cool relief. Our practice