Neo-Platonism: The beginning of Comparative Religion?

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Neoplato
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Neo-Platonism: The beginning of Comparative Religion?

Post by Neoplato »

Here is my favorite definition of Neo-Platonism from “Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary”
A philosophical system developed at Alexandria in the 3rd Century A.D. based on a modified form of Platonism combined with elements of Oriental mysticism and some Judaic and Christian concepts and positing a single source from which all existence emanates and with which one can be mystically unified.
Notable points in this definition:

A “philosophical system” not a “religious belief”.

It combines Platonism, “oriental mysticism” (which there are numerous schools), and Judeo-Christian concepts.

This to me represents the first recognized attempt at Comparative Religion/Mythology.
And of course it would begin in Alexandria, the central “data warehouse” of ancient knowledge.

Joseph Campbell briefly mentions Neo-Platonism in Mythos II but since I don’t own a copy I can’t quote it verbatim. He mentions that the birth of Neo-Platonism was somewhere between 300 and 200 B.C. as Buddhist missionaries were being sent to establish colonies in Egypt. I’m suspicious that they also had some influence on Jewish culture as demonstrated by the Essenes.
The Essenes were a Jewish religious group that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE that some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests[1]. Being much fewer in number than the Pharisees and the Sadducees (the other two major sects at the time) the Essenes lived in various cities but congregated in communal life dedicated to asceticism, voluntary poverty, and abstinence from worldly pleasures, including marriage and daily baptisms. Many separate but related religious groups of that era shared similar mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs. These groups are collectively referred to by various scholars as the "Essenes." Josephus records that Essenes existed in large numbers, and thousands lived throughout Judæa. The Essenes believed they were the last generation of the last generations and anticipated Teacher of Righteousness, Aaronic High Priest, and High Guard Messiah, similar to the Prophet, Priest and King expectations of the Pharisees.
There are also theories that state that Jesus was an Essen. This would explain the apparent “link” between early Christianity and Buddhist concepts.

“a single source from which all existence emanates and with which one can be mystically unified.” This concept is also expressed as “I and the Father are One” or “Thou art That”.

However, unifying the two isn’t as “mystical” as it is methodical . As we see from ancient mythology, all be have to do is to undertake a “Hero’s Journey”. :wink:
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Post by jonsjourney »

When one looks at the way Jesus approached his theology, it makes sense that there was some sort of Eastern influence on him. He seemed to be bridging the gap between the definite "Other" and the "Thou art That" that separates the Abrahamic traditions from Buddhism. We have to remember that Jesus was very much a heretic in his day. By putting God into each human (which seems indicated by Gnostic texts), the organizational structure becomes threatened and the power of salvation begins to shift into the individual. This can be bad for collection plates and seating proximity to the throne. :wink:
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Post by Neoplato »

And if there is anyone out there interested, Time-Life books published a small article on Neoplatonism in 1989 in the series "Mysteries of the Unknown" in the volume titled "Search For the Soul". Page 49;
The Neoplatonic Soul

In the third century A.D., ideas based on Platonic concepts coalesced into a new philosophy called Neoplatonism. At its center was the brilliant Egyptian Plotinus, who turned Plato's notion of two worlds-one transcendent and one material- into a new cosmic architecture. The core of Plotinus' vision is the One, or in the Good. So Remote Is the One in its perfection that nothing can be predicated upon: it is not possible even to say "the One Is" without presuming what cannot be known. Says Plotinus: it is beyond being. Beneath The One are two realms, intellect and soul. The sphere of the intellect is beyond time, changeless and eternal. Its hallmark is intuitive understanding-the direct apprehension of reality. Below the intellect, the soul is is a realm of reasoning, of restless questing from premises toward conclusions in search of reality. Soul forms and animates the material world; every material thing shares in it.

A two-way mobility applies in the Neoplatonic cosmos. Intellect yearns Upward toward the One, but can reach down to the world soul. Similarly, soul desires a union with the intellect but can extend down to the smallest particle of matter. The aim of wise, is union with the One, to be achieved by casting off worldly concerns and undertaking strict moral and intellectual discipline.

The last great pagan philosophy, Neoplatonism influenced both Christian and Muslim thought before fading in the sixth century BC. Although it died as a movement, its emphasis on the invisible world helped shape the thinking of some modern mystics. Among them was the visionary 18th-century English poet and painter William Blake, who exalted the human imagination as the highest form of the soul. Blake set himself a great task to open the eternal worlds, "to open the immortal eyes of men inwards into the world of thought, into eternity, ever expanding in the bosom of God, the human imagination"
Thank God for DragonSpeak. :D
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Post by Cindy B. »

Are you familiar with the term syncretism, Neoplato? http://www.answers.com/topic/syncretism

Cindy
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Post by Neoplato »

Reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief, as in philosophy or religion, especially when success is partial or the result is heterogeneous.
Linguistics. The merging of two or more originally different inflectional forms.
As a concept, not at a term.

N.B. I list my occupation as a "Reconciler" :wink:

I prefer the terms Synthesize or assimilate. Merging the "Two into One" is what we Neo-Platonists do best. :D :wink:
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Post by Neoplato »

And as long as I’m building an “Everything you ever wanted to know about Neo-Platonism thread” here’s a quote from Wiki talking about an article Written by Evelyn Underhill- an English Anglo-Catholic writer and pacifist known for her numerous works on religion and spiritual practice, in particular Christian mysticism. :D

"The Mysticism of Plotinus" (1919)

An essay originally published in The Quarterly Review (1919),[22] and later collected in The Essentials of Mysticism and other essays (London: J.M.Dent 1920) at 116-140.[23] Underhill here addresses Plotinus (204-270) of Alexandria and later of Rome.

A Neoplatonist as well as a spiritual guide, Plotinus writes regarding both formal philosophy and hands-on, personal, inner experience. Underhill makes the distinction between the geographer who draws maps of the mind, and the seeker who actually travels in the realms of spirit. [page 118] She observes that usually mystics do not follow the mere maps of metaphysicians. [page 117]

In the Enneads Plotinus presents the Divine as an unequal triune, in descending order: a) the One, perfection, having nothing, seeking nothing, needing nothing, yet it overflows creatively, the source of being; [121] b) the emitted Nous or Spirit, with intelligence, wisdom, poetic intuition, the "Father and Companion" of the soul; [121-122] and, c) the emitted Soul or Life, the vital essence of the world, which aspires to communion with the Spirit above, while also directly engaged with the physical world beneath. [123]

People "come forth from God" and will find happiness once re-united, first with the Nous, later with the One. [125] Such might be the merely logical outcome for the metaphysician, yet Plotinus the seeker also presents this return to the Divine as a series of moral purgations and a shedding of irrational delusions, leading eventually to entry into the intuitively beautiful. [126] This intellectual and moral path toward a life aesthetic will progressively disclose an invisible source, the Nous, the forms of Beauty. [127]

Love is the prevailing inspiration, although the One is impersonal. [128] The mystic will pass through stages of purification, and of enlightenment, resulting in a shift in the center of our being, "from sense to soul, from soul to spirit," in preparation for an ultimate transformation of consciousness. [125, 127] Upon our arrival, we shall know ectasy and "no longer sing out of tune, but form a divine chorus round the One." [129]
WOW! What a woman! :shock:
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Re: Neo-Platonism: The beginning of Comparative Religion?

Post by Nick_A »

Neoplato wrote:Here is my favorite definition of Neo-Platonism from “Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary”
A philosophical system developed at Alexandria in the 3rd Century A.D. based on a modified form of Platonism combined with elements of Oriental mysticism and some Judaic and Christian concepts and positing a single source from which all existence emanates and with which one can be mystically unified.
Notable points in this definition:

A “philosophical system” not a “religious belief”.

It combines Platonism, “oriental mysticism” (which there are numerous schools), and Judeo-Christian concepts.


This to me represents the first recognized attempt at Comparative Religion/Mythology.
And of course it would begin in Alexandria, the central “data warehouse” of ancient knowledge.

Joseph Campbell briefly mentions Neo-Platonism in Mythos II but since I don’t own a copy I can’t quote it verbatim. He mentions that the birth of Neo-Platonism was somewhere between 300 and 200 B.C. as Buddhist missionaries were being sent to establish colonies in Egypt. I’m suspicious that they also had some influence on Jewish culture as demonstrated by the Essenes.
The Essenes were a Jewish religious group that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE that some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests[1]. Being much fewer in number than the Pharisees and the Sadducees (the other two major sects at the time) the Essenes lived in various cities but congregated in communal life dedicated to asceticism, voluntary poverty, and abstinence from worldly pleasures, including marriage and daily baptisms. Many separate but related religious groups of that era shared similar mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs. These groups are collectively referred to by various scholars as the "Essenes." Josephus records that Essenes existed in large numbers, and thousands lived throughout Judæa. The Essenes believed they were the last generation of the last generations and anticipated Teacher of Righteousness, Aaronic High Priest, and High Guard Messiah, similar to the Prophet, Priest and King expectations of the Pharisees.
There are also theories that state that Jesus was an Essen. This would explain the apparent “link” between early Christianity and Buddhist concepts.

“a single source from which all existence emanates and with which one can be mystically unified.” This concept is also expressed as “I and the Father are One” or “Thou art That”.

However, unifying the two isn’t as “mystical” as it is methodical . As we see from ancient mythology, all be have to do is to undertake a “Hero’s Journey”. :wink:


Neo, you may appreciate this link. It gives a good feel of the idea of levels of reality.

http://www.kheper.net/topics/Neoplatonism/Plotinus.htm

Emanation is a mechanical process moving into creation while contemplation is a conscious process that leads back to the source.

Notice that without the psych and what it means in relation to soul, there can be no contemplation.
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Post by Neoplato »

Thanks Nick for posting the link. I remember this website. :D

This little table sums up Neoplaonism nicely.



THE ONE
The Absolute and Source
|
emanation contemplation
|
N O U S
The "Divine Mind";
Eternal and Transcendent.
|
emanation contemplation
|
P S Y C H E
"Soul"; the dynamic, creative temporal
power, both cosmic ("World-Soul") and
individual (e.g. human consciousness).
|
The world of the senses.
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Post by Neoplato »

And I would also like to note that Joseph Campbell himself stated, as documented by Mythos II episode 2 at 53:15 that Aschoca(sp?), the first Buddhist emporer of India, sent Buddhist missionaries to Cyprus, Macedonia, and Egypt around 300 B.C.

"And this is important!"-JC

At around 250 BC, neoplatonic (and something called sankiat?) philosophy begin to arise and we begin to have a synthesis of eastern and western thinking. (Hooray).

Unfortunately, that's one of the few times it is mentioned by Joe. :(
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Post by Myrtle »

Hi Neoplato,

Here's the quote from Transformations of Myth Through Time (pages 125-127)

...So about 250 B.C. we begin to have Buddhist missionaries in the Near East, and it is at that time that neo-Platonic philosophy begins to arrive. There have been important studies - one by a German named Garba, for example - of parallels between neo-Platonic and Sankhya philosophies. And there's no doubt about it. The influence began coming over, so we begin then to have a synthesis of Eastern and Western thinking. - J. Campbell

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Post by Neoplato »

Thanks Myrtle. I think that is the same exact quote in Mythos. :D :D

Now I have to look up "Sankhya"; I don't think I've run across this term before. :D
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Post by Neoplato »

It looks like I’m getting lost in the words (again). Is Samkhya Hinduism the same as the Charka thing? Wiki wasn’t much help here. :(
Samkhya philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two realities: Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (phenomenal realm of matter).
And now I remember Karen Armstrong talking about this in “The Great Transformation”. However, she doesn’t talk about Neo-Platonism (very disappointing). :(

I can’t find “Garba” anywhere. Does anyone have any more information? :?

Wiki makes it sound like the Purusha is a separate entity than the Prakriti. Which would like it more to paneatheism than the pantheism of Neo-Platonism. :?

I would really like to know what the similarities were. However, I did manage to find something under “Charkra”. :)
They (Charkras)are therefore part of an emanationist theory, like that of the kabbalah in the west, lataif-e-sitta in Sufism or neo-platonism.
Then under “emanationist theory”:
Emanationism is an idea in the cosmology or cosmogony of certain religious or philosophical systems. Emanation, from the Latin emanare meaning "to flow from", is the mode by which all things are derived from the First Reality, or Principle. All things are derived from the first reality or perfect God by steps of degradation to lesser degrees of the first reality or God, and at every step the emanating beings are less pure, less perfect, less divine. Emanationism is a transcendent principle from which everything is derived, and is opposed to both Creationism (wherein the universe is created by a sentient God who is separate from creation) and materialism (which posits no underlying subjective and/or ontological nature behind phenomena, being immanent).
Well…at least this is a much better term than “mystic”. It leaves out the “sorcerer and fireball” imagery. :wink:
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Post by Myrtle »

It's spelled Garba in the book, but I think it's the German professor Richard Garbe.

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Post by Neoplato »

Thanks again Myrtle! It appears that it is or even Richard von Garbe. The name lead me to this wiki page if anyone is interested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Christianity

:D :D :D
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Post by jonsjourney »

Neo....as I was reading Confession of a Buddhist Atheist by Stephen Batchelor today I came across a section where he describes a Tibetan Buddhist term called Rigpa. In Tibetan, it is defined literally as knowing, but has become better known to mean "pristine awareness" (or Buddha mind).

I thought I would share that with you....perhaps you can research it a bit and see if it works into your Pristine Cognition thoughts.
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