Doing a research paper on mysticism, looking for resources

[johncmcleod]

I'm doing a research paper on mysticism. I need internet access the writings of mystics of all religions. I type in mysticism or mystic writings on the search engine and I don't get much. Does anyone have any suggestions?

And, I want to quote the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita for descriptions of mystical experiences (what the Hindus would call finding the Brahman within oneself), but they are kind long to read all the way through, and I'm lazy. Are there any places that I should look for in those works in particular?

[Agathon]

Julian of Norwich, Thomas Traherne, The Cloud of Unknowing, Plotinus, etc.

[monolith94]

Check out stuff on Sufism. That's pretty intense. Good luck if you do Kabbalah, though - it's hard to seperate the genuine from the new-age baloney.

[Agathon]

The Zohar.

I read a bit of that as an undergrad. It is heavy going though.

[johncmcleod]

Check out stuff on Sufism. That's pretty intense. Good luck if you do Kabbalah, though - it's hard to seperate the genuine from the new-age baloney.

Yeah, I find the Sufis fascinating. My paper will be a little more broad though. It is the junior thesis-at my school they require juniors to write a collegiate level research paper. It is only is required to be 5-7 pages though, but I'm shooting for over 10. I have it narrowed down to two topics. The first is I could do is compare the descriptions and interpretations of spiritual experiences of mystics of all the different religions.

But now I am thinking I should compare the mystics themselves. There are striking parallels between the mystics of different religions. They all tend to find beauty in all things and are almost quasi-pantheistic. The Sufis, for example, see all things as God behind a veil of some sort. Their image of God also isn't the personal one either, so they tend to have a greater understanding of religion and spirituality, and they aren't affected by cultural biases. They tend to be more tolerant of other religions, even embracing them. They tend to be very peaceful, too. The experience always involves transcending the self which leads them to understand that there is something greater than the self. They tend to identify with the world rather than the self, so they tend to be selfless and learn to be very accepting of what comes in life.

The first seems a little too narrow, the second a little too broad, and this is the first time I've written a research paper like this. So it is very important that I chose a good topic.

I don't want to have to sift through hundreds of pages of reading, either. If I can get a few simple descriptions of spiritual experiences than I'll be in business.

[JimmyCracksCorn]

JSTOR.org

You need a subscription, but if you find some articles you like, maybe someone here (like me) with a subscription can download them for you.

[Ted Striker]

Thich Nhat Hanh:

http://www.plumvillage.org/teachings/DharmaTalkTranscripts/TranscriptsOfSelectedDT.htm

A Buddhist Monk from Vietnam who also understands Christian Mysticism and the parallels and crossovers between Chritisianity and Buddism.

GOLDEN



Living Buddha, Living Christ is an excellent book

[JimmyCracksCorn]

Originally posted by Ted Striker
Thich Nhat Hanh:

http://www.plumvillage.org/teachings/DharmaTalkTranscripts/TranscriptsOfSelectedDT.htm

A Buddhist Monk from Vietnam who also understands Christian Mysticism and the parallels and crossovers between Chritisianity and Buddism.

GOLDEN



Living Buddha, Living Christ is an excellent book

One of my Professors studied under him...

[Ted Striker]

whoah!

[Agathon]

[philosophy redneck]That's all woofter mysticism. [/philosophy redneck]

Plotinus!!!

[Dinner]

I worked with a fair number of sufis while over seas. Those guys would intentionally stab themselves in order to show how brave and disaplined they were.

[monolith94]

johncmcleod - always remember. Take control of the input, and you will master the output.

/yang

[Proteus_MST]

For christian Mysticism google for Meister Eckhart,
a medieval Theologist who published some great works in this field
(and was afterwards condemned by the catholic church for doing so, as he saw faith as something personal which didn´t need a clerical hierarchy, something which was, of course, seen as dangerous for a hierarchical structured organization like the church )

Here´s a good resource on him (with his works in german, though [only natural as it was his mother language])

http://www.ellopos.net/theology/eckhart_resources.htm

[Ben Kenobi]

John Mcleod:

This is not really something I've spent much time studying. I'd look up, for Christian mysticism, things about the Charismatics, since that should cover plenty of things you will be looking for.

[molly bloom]

Re: Doing a research paper on mysticism, looking for resources

Originally posted by johncmcleod
I'm doing a research paper on mysticism. I need internet access the writings of mystics of all religions. I type in mysticism or mystic writings on the search engine and I don't get much. Does anyone have any suggestions?

And, I want to quote the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita for descriptions of mystical experiences (what the Hindus would call finding the Brahman within oneself), but they are kind long to read all the way through, and I'm lazy. Are there any places that I should look for in those works in particular?

I'd suggest that you go to the library and see if they have anything by the Qawwali musicians of Iran, Pakistan or India. Or the Gnaoua musicians of Morocco.

If you listen to their music (even though you may not read or understand Farsi, Urdu or Arabic) I think you'll get an intuition for what mysticism is partly about- the altered states of consciousness part, anyway.

I prefer the feeling induced by the music to fasting, mortification of the body or non-stop dancing anyway.

You might find Dame Julian of Norwich and Abbess Hildegard of Bingen helpful too- especially as Hildegard combines ecstatic visions in painting with stunning music.