SPIRITUALITY STUDIESVolume 5 / Issue 2 FALL 2019
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S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 1 EDITORIAL Issue content Editorial 1 Martin Dojčár An Interview with Ajahn Jotipālo: Meditation Leads to Experiential Understanding That What We Think of As Ourselves is Actually Stressful, Unstable & not Really Ourselves 2 Martin Dojčár “Ethics of Three Persons” and Transcendence 12 Andrej Rajský The Influence of Emotions on Spiritual Life in the Discernment of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint John of the Cross 24 Radovan Šoltés Cognitive Science and Spirituality 36 Michal Kutáš Islamic Reproductive Bioethics Knowledge Among University Students in the Czech Republic 44 Monika Záviš The Way of Heavenly Knight 54 Petr Pavlík Ignorance 78 Sandó Kaisen Editorial There is only one function that characterizes consciousness – reflecting or mirroring as Māhāyana sūtras typically describe it. Consciousness reflects what is as it is. It does so both in regard to what appears as an object in an intentional act, as well as regarding the very condition of every intentional act – the consciousness itself or non-intentional consciousness. However, the mirroring function of consciousness is limited as far as it is reduced to “ordinary” human consciousness, which we usually experience as dim and impermanent. That is why numerous methods and tools have been developed throughout the history aiming at “purification” of consciousness – restoration of its authentic function that, at the same time, refers to authenticity of human being as such: one is fully authentic only when “his” or “her” consciousness functions in the above mentioned sense as the Latin notion of aut-ens suggests – distinguished (Lat. aut) from beings (Lat. ens). 2019 Fall edition of Spirituality Studies thematizes a few of these methods and tools – such as ethics and moral education, discernment of spirits in Christian spirituality, or objectless contemplation in Zen Buddhism – elaborated in their specific contexts with regard to the specific objectives of the particular research studies, articles and essays. All together they provide a reader with a multidisciplinary look at the vast landscape of spirituality in its multiple forms and expressions. Neither aspects of lived spirituality nor interfaith dialogue are omitted in the current edition of the journal. They are represented mainly by the introductory interview with Ajahn Jotipālo, a Buddhist monk, interfaith promoter and an icon writer. These aspects are also depicted on his icons, which accompany the interview and point to the idea of building “bridges” between spiritualities and religions not primarily through the doctrinal approach, but rather through lived spirituality. ←← Cover: Icon of Ajahn Chah by Ajahn Jotipālo Copyright © Ajahn Jotipālo 2019 Spirituality Studies 5-2 Fall 2019 Publisher: The Society for Spirituality Studies Published in partnership with Monastic Interreligious Dialogue and European Union of Yoga Available online: www.spirituality-studies.org Editor-in-Chief: Doc. Dr. Martin Dojčár PhD. Graphic Design: Martin Hynek Contact: editor@spirituality-studies.org ISSN 1339-9578 Cordially Martin Dojčár
2 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 An Interview with Ajahn Jotipālo: Meditation Leads to Experiential Understanding That What We Think of As Ourselves is Actually Stressful, Unstable & not Really Ourselves Received July 15, 2019 Revised July 27, 2019 Accepted July 28, 2019 In the interview with Martin Dojčár, Ajahn Jotipālo discusses a set of issues concerning monastic life in the strict Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism along with fundamental Buddhist spiritual practices and his views on interfaith dialogue based on his long-lasting engagement in it. Key words Buddhism, Theravada, mindfulness, BuddhistChristian dialogue, icons Martin Dojčár
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 3 Ajahn Jotipālo is a Buddhist monk of American origin ordained in Theravada tradition, who has been actively involved in Buddhist-Christian interfaith dialogue for many years. Jotipālo was staying in several monasteries of his tradition in Thailand, Canada and New Zealand; however, his home monastery remains Abhayagiri – a Buddhist Monastery of the Thai forest tradition of Ajahn Chah in Redwood Valley, California. The following interview is a continuation of our conversations with Jotipālo on spirituality and dialogue that occurred at the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at Saint John’s University, MN, in fall 2018. You have been a Buddhist monk for two decades now – since 1999. My first question concerns your vocation: What moved you to join the Sangha in the strictest monastic tradition of all, the Thai forest tradition of Theravada? I mean, you made a choice for a disciplined lifestyle based on 227 monastic rules (vinaya) of Vinaya Pitaka as opposed to the mainstream consumer lifestyle of the American culture with its emphasis on the values of individual success, wealth, and unlimited consumption. The two are in direct opposition: the former promotes detachment; the latter promotes attachment. It was not an easy decision, wasn’t it? First, thank you Martin for the opportunity to reflect on your interesting and insightful questions. It was a pleasure to meet you at the Collegeville Institute last year and I’m glad we are still in contact. In some ways, it was just luck! I started asking questions about life after a near death experience while trekking in Nepal. It’s a long story but in short, I got altitude illness and for about three days I knew I could die at any moment. On the last day of this ordeal, I came to a point where I knew I had the choice of life or death. Ajahn Jotipālo is American Buddhist monk ordained in Theravada Thai forest tradition, who has been involved in Buddhist-Christian inter-religious dialogue for years. As a Buddhist artist Jotipālo also learns from Christian iconography, in particular icon writing. His email contact is jotipalo@abhayagiri.org. About the author Doc. PaedDr. Martin Dojčár, PhD., is professor of religious studies at Trnava University, Slovakia, specializing in spirituality and inter-religious dialogue. He is the author of an inspiring bookSelf-Transcendence and Prosociality and Editor-in-Chief of the Spirituality Studies Journal. His email is dojcar@gmail.com. MARTIn DoJčáR
4 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 At that moment, I felt I needed to ask forgiveness from my parents and thus, I was not ready to die. The pain was unbelievable, so I asked to be separated from the pain and I came out of my body. This experience gave me a strong conviction that something happens to us after the body dies, that there is a continuation. If this is the case, that means everything we do in life has consequences, and I wanted to start living a life based on that understanding. It took about five years of reading and studying before I found my first teachers. I started attending day-long meditation retreats with a Zen group and also got interested in Yoga. I eventually quit my job and moved into a large ashram in Massachusetts. It was here that my roommate was a passionate follower of S. N. Goenka. Something happened to me while sitting my first ten-day retreat and I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to a more formal meditation practice. Being a monastic is not always easy and there are many frustrations along the way, but the same is true for lay life. I guess, at some level, I wasn’t looking for the most comfortable path. I was initially looking for a path, where I felt those around me were benefiting and give me confidence to try it out. Fortunately, I noticed the results in myself, and thus was able to continue with the support of Sangha. We all need to constantly renew our motivation in order to persevere in what we have chosen. What are the main sources of inspiration for you and what keeps your motivation alive: inspiring individuals, teachings, intensified practices…? Contemplation of death is probably the most effective motivation tool that I use. It was the fundamental reason I started on this path and it is a reflection that the Buddha encourages us to reflect on daily. When we use this reflection, it eventually dawns on us that not only am I going to die, but so is everybody I know and love, and all beings everywhere. This reflection helps me to “not take things so seriously”. It allows me to hold my views and opinions more lightly, and thus reduces my anxiety and stress. Portrait of Neil Fallon Here is the portrait that only took two hours to paint: One of the potters at Saint John’s Pottery asked Jotipālo to paint this as Neil Fallon is his favorite musician.
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 5 me, is that I will consciously invoke memories of when I felt one of these emotions. Then I will let that memory saturate my entire body and mind. Afterwards I watch and study how that emotion feels in the body. With practice, and in most situations, you can actually consciously bring up one of these positive emotions. The more you “hang out” in these states of mind, the more likely it is that this will become your default emotion and the way you can interact with your life. In the monastic tradition I was ordained into, meditation is very important – we meditate as a group usually for two hours a day, and are encouraged to develop our own sitting and walking practice at our private dwelling places. But a significant amount of time during the day, even while doing more intensive practice periods, is spent in “non-meditation”. So, our teachers spend a lot of time talking about developing continual mindfulness practice. The previous question can also be recontextualized in regard to the human psychosomatic structure. In contrast to certain interpretations, where meditation appears as a kind of mental activity, in Buddhism, as well as in the majority of Yoga traditions, meditation is approached on the background of psychosomatic unity of human – in concerns both body and mind. Actually, the two are inseparable and mutually interconnected. The idea can be demonstrated on all fundamental meditation practices of the Theravada tradition – on the contemplation of the Three Characteristics of Existence (impermanence, suffering, egolessness, i.e. Pa. anicca, dukkha, anattā), the contemplation of the Four Elements (earth, water, fire, air), the contemplation of the Five Aggregates of Clinging (Sa. skandhas, Pa. khandhas), i.e. factors that constitute our individuality (form, i.e. Sa. rūpa; feeling, i.e. Sa. vedanā; discrimination, i.e. Sa. sanjñā; formations of will, i.e. Sa. samskāra; consciousness, i.e. Sa. vijñāna), as well as the practice of four Brahmavihārās (good will, compassion, joy, equanimity) as you eloquently described it. However, if meditation is primarily not aimed at providing an individual with particular benefits in accor- tations – ha! The way these practices work for people if they were not living up to my expec- angry person and wasn’t shy about telling change my world view. I used to be a fairly this practice as a way to help fundamentally other’s good fortune, and equanimity). I see Brahmavihārās (good will, compassion, joy at Another important practice has been the to make a judgement?” year? Might I not have all the information needed ally true? Do you think you will believe that next questioning my own assumptions, “Is that re- question our experience. I often hear myself to views and opinions and allows the mind to ception of this, it allows us to stop clinging anicca, anattā). And once we start to get a per- unstable, and not really ourselves (Pa. dukkha, we think of as ourselves is actually stressful, leads to an experiential understanding that what changed and were never stable. Over time this aspects of my experience and watch how they sciousness). I would tune into one of these feelings, perceptions, mental activity and con- Five Khandhas or Aggregates of Clinging (body, Initially, I used a practice of investigating the is happening in both my body and mind. me to calm down and become present for what breathing and of the body. These practices allow suffering. My teachers focus onmindfulness of create our own suffering, and how we can stop understanding our minds. Learning how we In a nut shell, to me, meditation is about man life according to your understanding? of meditation and its place in the whole of hu- and with various intentions. What’s the purpose proach meditation from various perspectives recent decades. However, various people ap- been facing growing interest in meditation in Buddhism. In Western societies, we have also There is a strong emphasis on meditation in how I see the world. how their teachings or actions have influenced of inspiration. I can think of many examples of and Ajahn Amaro have also been great sources confidence. My primary teachers Ajahn Pasanno eral good monastic communities that inspire I also have been fortunate to be around sev- MARTIn DoJčáR
6 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 dance with one’s taste, and at the same time, it cannot be limited to a set of techniques applied only in privileged moments of a day, then how is it related to that wholeness of human life? In other words, how can we keep mindfulness in daily life and make it a lifestyle rather than a technique? Or more precisely: What is the connection between the formal and informal practice from your point of view? Your question, “How can we keep mindfulness in daily life and make it a lifestyle rather than a technique?”, that’s a good question. If you find the answer, please let me know! We call meditation “a practice”, and there is good reason for that. I think, we all approach practices with a limited understanding of how practices work, how our own minds work, or really what we need to know so that we can stop suffering. The teachers I have studied with, encourage us to investigate, experiment and to a certain extent “play around with” various techniques and practices. But we always need to be truthful about the results we are getting from those experiments. My primary teacher, when somebody asks him, how they should practice with a particular technique, usually answers, “Give it a try and pay attention to the results.” “Paying attention to the results” gives us opportunities to make adjustments, for self-knowledge to arise, for a real understanding of what works for us (not just following somebody else’s instructions). It is in this way that the mindfulness practice takes hold, as we need to pay attention to how our practices effect every aspect of our lives. It can almost become a game, or we become detectives spying on our minds. There are several points of intersection between Buddhism and classical Yoga (unlike the so-called postural yoga and other non-traditional practices presented as yogic by their promoters). Dhyāna is one of them. In the classical Yoga-darsana of Patañjali, dhyāna is the seventh stage or anga of Yoga. The Chinese Chanor Chana, and JapaneseZenor Zenna– concepts central for the Chan or Zen branches of Buddhism come from the same Sanskrit root as dhyāna. Following the doctrine of Pāli Canon (Sutta Pitaka), Theravada tradition distinguishes between the four rūpa dhyānas (Pa. jhāna). The very principle of the Yoga-darsana is defined inYoga Sutras of Patañjali as “Yoga is the inhibition of the fluctuations of consciousness/ mind” (Sa. “yogaś-citta-vr̥tti-nirodhaḥ”; I.2), and “[t]hen the Seer is recognized as such” (Sa. “tadādraṣṭuḥ-svarūpe-‘vasthānam”; I.3). By the means of virtue and concentration discontinuity of conscious acts, as well as dim consciousness are eliminated, and permanent continuity of consciousness along with integration of all cognitive acts with/in consciousness is established. In Buddhism, concentration on breath (Pa. ānāpānasati; Sa. ānāpānasmrti) is considered to be the basic method of concentration. By anchoring the attention on breath, one is gradually becoming aware of one’s own psycho-mental processes and contents manifested in the fluctuation of thoughts, psycho-mental states, and finally psycho-mental patterns as impermanent, i.e. as appearing and disappearing. Later on, other methods and techniques may come into play. Is this the reason mindfulness is so stressed by many Buddhist teachers nowadays? One of my favorite teachings is the Seven Factors of Awakening. The classical approach starts with the development of mindfulness. One way I look at this is, at first, we try to be mindful, but we fail (and that is why we are paying attention to results). So, we ask, “Why wasn’t I able to be mindful?” This question is the awaking of the second factor – investigation. By investigating “why”, we might learn more about our habits and patterns, both positive and negative, which then allow us to approachmindfulness with more clarity, understanding and hopefully we are able get better results. When we bring investigation into the practice, this naturally leads to more energy in the practice – more interest and more fun. This energy then leads to the arising of joy. At this point, there can be a tendency to turn our attention to the joy and stop doing the practices that lead to the arising of the joy (mindfulness,
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 7 The Christ Pantocrator & HH the Dalai Lama The Christ Pantocrator of St. Catherine’s Monastery at Sinai is the earliest known version of the Pantocrator type. HH the Dalai Lama appeared on Time Magazine’s cover just as Jotipālo was working on the Pantocrator, and he immediately realized how his face was similarly non-symmetrical, so decided to paint these icons as a pair. investigation and energy). So, it’s important to keep mindfulness during the entire practice. It’s good to study this joy and get to know what cause it to arise, and what sustains it (and it’s opposite). Once we get to know joy, what naturally arises is tranquility (both of body and mind). With all of these factors, it is the previous factor that causes the arising of the next factor, but the next factor needs to be studied, cultivated and perfected, then that factor will automatically cause the arising of the next factor. It is only when our body and minds are calm and tranquil, what we can easily enter into states of concentration or one pointed awareness. Again, this state in not the goal but a state we need to investigate and understand. Once concentration has been developed, it naturally leads into equanimity. In more traditional Buddhist doctrines, the stress on concentration and virtue is equally balanced: They both are considered preconditions of success in practice. Why is it important to develop concentration skills on the moral grounds? Yes, virtue (Pa. Śīla) is very important – practice can be very difficult without it! My understanding is, that without having cultivated virtue, the mind will harbor thoughts of doubt, remorse, shame and guilt, which are hindrances to a concentrated mind. I’ve also heard it said that a concentrated mind that is not freed of greed, hatred and delusion will result in super concentrated states of greed, hatred and delusion! There are two mental qualities that the Buddha calledGuardians of the World. They are in Pāli, Hiri, often translated as “shame to do wrong”, andOttappa, “fear of consequences”. We often think of shame and fear as negative emotions, but in this case, you can see that there are actions, which undertaken can lead us in a bad direction, and we should develop a wise strategy to avoid following those inclination in our minds. MARTIn DoJčáR
8 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 A Firefighter with Saint Benedict as Protector Jotipālo made a series of paintings using firefighters as the theme not only as a way of honoring their hard work but also as a way to heal from his experience of big fires in California during the last years. These two images he eventually framed as a diptych and gave it to the Saint John’s Fire Department. communities. wants is also a significant similarity between our a cause bigger than their individual needs and people who are seriously dedicating their lives to that community is important too. Being around uals who live there have asked to be part of Also being in a community where the individ- group meals, as well as some social activities. communal harmony, having group prayer and place a high standard on working things out in communities’ intentions were also similar. Both members…Some of the “religious” aspects of our ing care of guests, teaching new community tend to look after maintenance, cooking, tak- roles, some people who have practical skills like some people need to be in leadership probably will be organized in a similar way, When you have any intentional community, it comed. sit, but it felt nice to be so open-heartedly wel- it wasn’t obvious to me that is where I should monks of course, unless he doesn’t want to.” Well, sit in the church. He responded, “With the John Klassen, and we asked him where I should into the Collegeville Institute, I met with Abbot displayed all the time. Right before I moved welcoming guests, and I saw examples of this of the focuses in the Rule of Saint Benedict is and I felt 100 % welcomed and supported. one for me to fit into the Saint John’s community munities. Despite the differences, it was easy we perform very different roles to our lay com- between Christian and Buddhist monastics, and As you mention, there are many differences religious settings? vious differences in their specific cultural and Benedictine monastic lifestyles despite all ob- any similarities between the Theravada and John’s Abbey on a daily basis. Have you noticed you were in touch with Benedictines of Saint at Saint John’s University, MN. On that occasion, Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research you were a resident scholar at the Collegeville Throughout the academic year of 2018/2019, greatly improved. for developing concentration practices will be oping the Guardians of the World, the potential As a natural result of practicing Śīla and devel-
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 9 Martin Dojčár At the Collegeville Institute, you were working on your project “What can Buddhist artistic traditions learn from Christian Iconography”. As far as I know, developing your painting technique was one of its aims, but not the only one. What is the main outcome of your almost a yearlong inquiry? Okay, now you are asking me questions about my true passions! Ha. Yes, a significant part of the program was for me to explore what would happen if I had the majority of my day available just to focus on creating icons. At the monastery in California, I had many duties and the monastic schedule made it difficult to find time to keep up a daily practice of writing icons. Being able to have more space in the day made for a much more even flow of energy. I didn’t get as concentrated as I did when I had only a few hours, but the even flow of energy seemed to be more calming and relaxing in general. The number of hours dedicated to writing almost tripled in any given day, and as a result, I went from writing an icon in about two weeks to be able to complete one in a day. Actually, at the very end it took me only two hours to complete a couple of portraits. So, there was a greatly improved sense of comfort with the technique. I could also see a bit of my own style starting to emerge. One of the bigger questions I was asking before the program started was, “Is there a way to write a Buddhist icon, so that anybody looking at it can tell the intention of the artist?” It seems to me now that this is not possible, as painting an icon is called writing because we are dealing with a visual language. And just as I can’t appreciate say French poetry since I don’t speak French, unless we take the time to understand the language of various religious art techniques, the real meaning behind the works will be lost. At first this kind of saddened me but I realize my first Christian Icon teacher, Fr. Damian Higgins of Mount Tabor Monastery in Redwood Valley, CA, partly uses his icons as a way to talk about his faith. In this way, I can see that continuing to develop my icons skills could have some benefit. Having the year to explore icon writing as a meditation technique has given me the incentive to go a bit deeper. I hope to start creating icons from scratch (not just copying existing icons), and hopefully someday get to a point where I might be able to lead workshops on creating religious art. Another aspect of my trying to develop my own style of writing Buddhist icons by using an ancient Christian technique is to show that people from different faiths and backgrounds can learn from each other. This reminds me, you mentioned you might be doing an interfaith walk with one of the monks from Collegeville, is that correct? What is your intention behind that? Father Michael Peterson, monk of Saint John’s Abbey, and myself have one monastic camping trip planned for June 2020. We are also looking at the possibility of doing a longer hike in 2021. The camping trip in 2020 will hopefully be two Christian and two Buddhist monks camping together just outside Yosemite National Park for a week. All the monks have participated in monastic dialogue before, and I see this as a way for us to get to know each other in a setting outside of a conference or being a guest at a monastery. I made the joke a few years ago that if we really want to get to know each other, we shouldn’t be meeting for conferences, we should go hiking and call it “Monks in the Mountains”. I’ve invited Fr. Michael to accompany me on a three- or four-month hike in 2021, doing a large section of the Pacific Crest Trail. I hope that we would create a YouTube channel and post about our walk. The idea is that I would be reading the Rule of Saint Benedict or some Christian teachings that Fr. Michael suggests, while he, on the contrary, would be studying my monastic rules and reading some talks from my teachers. Afterwards, in the evenings we could have discussions, sharing, and hopefully capture some of the better insights we get from our discussions on
1 0 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 Our friendship has stayed strong all these years partly because I get a sense, we are both inquisitive and our bond of inter-monastics dialogue is not based on wanting to change the other, but to better understand our own tradition. Seeing how other communities function, practice together, how we interact, deal with issues that arise, how we live the teachings that we profess… All these things and more give us insights into our own communities, and how we can become better community members within our own group. I definitely see the world through a Buddhist perspective, and I allow that view to shape how I respond in my daily interactions. It is fun to see where I have differences with people, and to realize I don’t need anybody else to see the world the way I do to feel secure. It’s interesting to watch somebody who I have a lot of confidence in, and who I respect, but see them believe something that seems so alien to me. It gives me great confidence to not trust my own views and opinions, but also to know I don’t need to throw out my views either. It’s just the way it is. Another aspect of inter-monastic dialogue is that we are actually fairly new at this, I’m not sure of the history, but world religions have not been talking to each other for so long. I see our gatherings as a way of building trust and developing relationships. When things do happen in the world, and where different communities need to help find solutions, hopefully some of the ground work has already been done. His Holiness the Dalai Lama often, when asked about how to resolve issues in the world, especially where violence is happening, will invariably say, something like, “In these cases it is almost too late, we need to look for where these situations could flare-up in the future and start laying a foundation to prevent it from happening.” In the same way I hope that is one of ways that interfaith dialogue is providing benefit to the world. experience. walk in northern Minnesota, which was a great regain my health and we did a 10-day, 160 km to that point. After a few years I was able to reason I had to stop the walk before we got Fr. William would join us, but due to health that if we reached the state of Minnesota, started emailing each other. We had hoped Fr. William was really intrigued by this and we Bay, ontario, Canada (which is about 2,500 km). N walk, totally on faith (no money), starting near group that I was planning to do a pilgrimage Abhayagiri for a tour. My abbot had told this ering at a nearby monastery and they came to group for a future monastic dialogue was gathother was at Abhayagiri when a planning fifteen years. our initial introduction to each I think we have known each other for almost a source of inspiration for me for a long time. Father William has been a dear friend and perspective based on your own experience? what is your take on interfaith dialogue and its worldwide). It would be interesting to learn institutional promoter of interfaith dialogue ter-religious Dialogue (currently the leading and Secretary General of the Monastic InBenedictine monk of Saint John’s Abbey, MN, ship between you and Fr. William Skudlarek, dictines. As I know, there is a bond of friend- dialogue with Christians, particularly Bene- You have been involved in inter-religious start to dream about it now. a hike, but nothing will happen if we don’t fall into place for us to be able to attempt such journey? meeting, but what happens over a four-month towards another over a short conference or It’s easy to show respect and appreciation a 2000 km hike over an extended period of time? of different faiths doing something difficult like of this, and what is a better way than two people ent faith. I think the world needs to see examples dition from opening up to the wisdom of a differ- learning about myself, or about my monastic tra- tape. I would see the focus would be on what I’m
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 1 1 Martin Dojčár Our Lady of Guadalupe The Virgin of Guadalupe is considered the Patroness of Mexico and the Continental Americas. Replicas of the tilma can be found in thousands of churches throughout the world and numerous parishes bear Her name. And what about the intra-Buddhist dialogue? For the last couple of decades, there is growing ecumenical awareness among different Buddhist branches, doctrinal schools and monastic traditions. What is your take of that? Very similar to how different religions have not really been in dialogue for long, it is also true that the different Buddhist traditions have not really met each other until we all started showing up in the West. When I first got interested in Buddhism, I would often hear people talk negative about “other” traditions, kind of like, “Our team is the best and you better not trust that team…” Maybe that kind of talk still happens and maybe I’ve learned to associate with people who don’t think that way? Personally, I have only attended one or two Buddhist monastic meetings – there is only limited time and energy available to us. But other members of my community have taken the opportunity to learn from and share what we find valuable to other monastics trying to figure out how to be nuns or monks in the West. This sharing is important as what we are doing is very alien to the West. There are many practical issues where we might be able to act together to form a coalition – like around health care, nursing homes for elder monastics, issues with regards to Visa and Work Permits, etc. At a deeper level, when we learn more about different Buddhist traditions, we can see clearly that we all have the same Buddha as our teacher, and many of the differences that have developed over the centuries could have been caused by culture. Seeing where we have similarities or understand why a different tradition does something differently also helps us to appreciate each other and also deepen our faith and understanding of our own teachings. Thank you very much for sharing your insights with us!
1 2 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 “Ethics of Three Persons” and Transcendence Received September 17, 2019 Revised September 30, 2019 Accepted October 1, 2019 The author of the paper points out the reducing manner of Kantian division of morality toheteronomous morality and autonomous morality, which is projected also to the advanced reduced dichotomous division of psychological and pedagogical theories of moral education to individual-progressivist and normative-cognitivist ones. Insufficiency of “two ethics” is criticized using three-fold argumentation: a philosophical, a psychological and a pedagogical one. Instead of “two ethics”, a perspective of the “first person”, “third person” and “second person” is suggested, which enables the author to highlight a dialogical model of the “second-person ethics” against themonological models of the first two types. At the same time, necessity of the transcendental dimension for conceiving morality based on respect to the Other in the midst of a community is justified. The thought-line followed by the author in the submitted study is based mainly on the field of ethics, however, it continually refers to psychological and pedagogical aspects of the researched topic. A conclusion is reached that not the binary approach, but the integral approach to man and their education enables maintaining respect to transcendence and vice versa, openness to transcendence secures conditions for a holistic formation of man. Key words Ethics, moral education, transcendence, ethics of dialogue, virtue ethics Andrej Rajský
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 1 3 1 Introduction In spite of the fact that the submitted study unfolds mainly in the field of ethics as a philosophical discipline, its basic research question was born “three steps further”, in the area of theory of moral education. A several years long effort of my team to analyze moral-educational concepts that linger in contemporary pedagogical practice and current scientific discourse (Podmanický and Rajský 2014; Rajský and Podmanický 2016; Rajský and Wiesenganger 2018; Brestovanský 2019) make me state that they divide on two mutually competing models: a model of ethics as an effort toward personal profit with the smallest possible impacts on social and natural environment (a progressive-optimistic position emphasizing development of one’s own competences, technical sustainability and well-being) and a model of ethics understood as a socializing and enculturating imperative (a socio-normative position accentuating collective values, equality and principles of political inclusion). Analyzing theoretical (psychological and philosophical) background of these two models we reached an understanding that their mutually dichotomic position may be grasped using Kantian terms such as a model of autonomous morality and a model of heteronomous morality. Kant’s distinction of ethical worlds to “kingdom of goods” and “kingdom of unconditioned law” (Kant 1788, 28) occurred in the background of the enlightenment competition between empiricism and rationalism and it maintained fundamental features of these two approaches, including both their strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, however, all forms of ethics that assumed the movement of transcendence as relevant for realization and reflection of human praxis were excluded from the game of the concept of morality. Resignation to thematizing of transcendence in ethical thinking caused that morality was stuck in immanence of calculable handling and thus, it hit the question of its own raiAbout the author Doc. PhDr. Andrej Rajský, PhD., specializes in philosophical-ethical and anthropological areas of research and education. He is a founding member of the Central European Philosophy of Education Society (CEUPES), as well as a member of editorial boards of several Slovak, Czech, Polish and Italian scientific journals on philosophy of education. Professor Rajský serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Scientia et Eruditio and a scientific guarantor of annual doctoral conferences on educational science Juvenilia Paedagogica held at Trnava University. He authored and co-authored multiple scholarly books, research studies and articles. His email is andrej.rajsky@truni.sk. AnDREJ RAJSKý
1 4 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 son d’être– may we still speak of morality if aims transcending the manipulatable objectified world were excluded from the reflection of action? This ethical question, hiding a kind of skepsis, resulted from the original pedagogical question: May we speak of moral education at all if we have limited it only to the ability of social negotiation for the most comfortable individual life without evident negative social and environmental consequences, possibly, if we have narrowed it only to the development of a competence to verbalize rational arguments? Educational and moral practice as well as analysis of theoretical discourses suggest that the dichotomy of heteronomy and autonomy of morality (and moral education) does not provide sufficient explanation of the phenomenon of morality of man in its entire integrality and with regard to realization of life good in its whole in particular. Both above-indicated models lack openness to transcendental sources of morality. In this study, however, it is not my intention to reproduce classical metaphysical or religious theses that directly refer to theonomous reasoning of morality. The aim of this research study is to disturb the thesis on binarity of ethical conceptions by including the “third type” of ethics that phenomenologically uncovers transcendence of the Other as a source and necessary condition of morality. The Other (the other person, Thou) seems to be the path of “return” of transcendence to ethical reflection, but mainly to moral practice [1]. At the level of pedagogical thought, cultivation of virtuous relationality (benevolence, beneficence, help to the other, responsibility for the other, solidarity, prosociality) appears to be the key criterion of the processual and, predominantly, content side of moral education oriented at so-called flourishing life (Aristotle). Without attempting to grasp the entire spectrum of ethical theories, I have methodically narrowed them to three groups bearing distinctive labels “the first-person ethics”, “the third-person ethics” and “the second-person ethics”. This symbolic grammatical reduction has its philosophical background that is clarified below. Even though this auxiliary terminology is mine, its philosophical inspirations may be found already in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (particularly where it conceives three forms of life: a life of pleasure, a life of political activity and a philosophical life [Aristotle 1934, 1095b], where it differentiates between the perfect and imperfect friendship [Aristotle 1934, 1155a–1156b]). These philosophical inspirations are also to be found in philosophers of dialogue who deal with the “problem of the third” in ethics (e.g. Lévinas 1997c, 189 and the following). 2 Insufficiency of “Two Ethics” Immanuel Kant, in his groundwork of The Metaphysics of Morals (1785) placed autonomy in a radical contrast to heteronomy. He considered suchmorality heteronomous that is governed by external or affective motivations (e.g. lust or sympathy), or social expectations. The autonomous morality, on the contrary, is governed by reason and has to be forced by obedience to general law. Kant’s distinction of morality and ethics to these two kinds reduced the criterion of morality to rationality and obedience to general rules, while each conditioned (heteronomous) morality is, according to this key, beneath man. I suggest that ethical dichotomy, outlined in the introduction, cannot grasp and explain richness of human moral action, and it even dehumanizes it in the end. I offer three kinds of arguments to support this assertion – a philosophical, psychological and pedagogical one. In the following part, I would not like to offer a broad outline of argumentations, my intention is to suggest their layeredness and interdisciplinarity. Philosophical argumentation against the disunity of ethics by Kant may be led in several lines, I state only some. The notion of autonomy has several meanings; in Kant’s writings, too, shifts in meaning can be found, and he admits himself that the notion is full of paradoxes: autonomy (sovereignty, independence) of an acting subject is in perfect accordance with the will of Nature (Providence) only in enlightened individuals who, at the same time, have a great power of realization. The French revolution, however, showed Kant that abuse of power may easily occur with justification of a higher moral order: the autonomy of the powerful slips to despotism, the autonomy of the weak ends in blood. This condition may be transferred to everyday life “in peace and freedom”, where the moralizing superiority of some uses moral arguments on the expense of the others in political or common interpersonal communication. In general, it may be stated that narrowing of morality to the question of mandatory power appears to be particularly problematic, which has also been expressed by the author of the paper in a semantic manner through differentiation between the so-called hypothetical and categorical imperative. Acting in accordance with the law needs to be therefore forced internally (but also externally), which means that the morally good identifies with the obedient, based on duty. Other limits and problematic points are pointed out further, in the part 4 The Third-Person Ethics.
Psychological argumentation, weakening the division to heteronomous and autonomous ethics, is directed mainly at the cognitivist paradigm that can be found in the background of founders of the so-called moral psychology (e.g. Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, Elliot Turiel and others). The cognitivists directly followed Kant’s normative ethics (ethics of rules) and held the relationship of a subject to rules for the key distinguishing criterion. Based on the development of a relationship to rules, Piaget, for example, created a theory of moral development of children and differentiated two stages of moral judgement – heteronomous and autonomous. A child keeping the rules not because of a reward or punishment, but because of their own acceptance of the implicit justice in them is the aim. A more differentiated conception of six developmental stages in three levels by Kohlberg is also wellknown, nevertheless, the relationship to norms, measured predominantly as an ability of moral judgement, is also definitely set. Criticism by psychologists is oriented mainly against the thesis of universal validity and consecutiveness of stages, against intellectualization of morality (what went through the process of cognition and justification in a subject is morally good) and against crowding out of the affective and social motivational structure from the moral decision-making process (Vacek 2013, 42–45). An important critical place is also the separation of cognitive powerfulness from the very action, known in psychology as “knowledge–behavior gap”, or “attitude–behavior gap”. Kohlberg’s thesis “he who knows the good chooses the good” (Kohlberg 1981, 189) does not hold. Augusto Blasi (1980, 1983) reported that moral reasoning only accounts for 10 % of the variance in moral behavior (Walker 2004). Eventually, several theoreticians (Carol Gilligan, Sam A. Hardy, Gustavo Carlo) blame cognitivists for monocratic ethics based solely on the value of justice (or, accordance with the norm), which ignores a pluralist model of ethics integrating several sources of morality (besides rational consistency, for example, care for others, sensitivity to interpersonal relationships, etc.). Moreover, concepts based on the autonomous-heteronomous duality of morality do not notice contextual and situational factors, automatism and hidden impacts of man’s action. Pedagogical argumentation partially holds on to the criticism of cognitivism, but at the same time, it transcends it. An educator and teacher have the entire student’s person in front of them, including emotional capabilities, inner desires, social context and real action, to which creation of their identity is related. With respect to the importance of rational faculty in moral processes, it is not possible to reduce moral education AnDREJ RAJSKý S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 1 5 spread that human nature is naturally egoistic and as such 2011). At the beginning of the modern times, an opinion was dividualism and post-dutynarcissism (Gilles Lipovetsky 2008, poraryutilitarianism (Peter Singer), but also post-modern in- Pearce), classical (Jeremy Bentham, John S. Mill) and contem- on one’s own indulgence (Epikuros, Michel onfray, David egoism (e.g. Thomas Hobbes, Max Stirner), hedonism focused philosophy up to present. It embraces explicit philosophical and schools dating back to the beginnings of the European oriented toward the profit of “I” is contained in many currents A set of ethical theories that includes this type of thinking interest. criterion of person’s decision-making is their own individual in a sophisticated manner assumes that the final aim and main in it that explicitly and in a program manner, or implicitly and thor, means every ethical theory and moral practice included The “first-person ethics” (I–ethics), as understood by the au- 3 The First-Person Ethics very morality and moral education. mension of transcendence as constituting meaningfulness of the ethics”, from which “the second-person ethics” includes the di- binary conception of two ethics, I propose a conception of “three guaranteeing human dignity to man. Therefore, instead of the the challenge to transcend, which is a deep inner motive, complexity and, above all, it disposes the acting subject of not sufficient for understanding morality of man in its entire tional conceptions to heteronomous and autonomous ones is The division of ethical systems and the associated educa- relationship. fundamentally engaging all the involved in the educational not lay duties, it points out the attractive beauty of good, other values” (Buber 2016, 76). Effective moral education does an approach that prioritizes unconditionally valid values over all ues exist in the universal sense is impossible to be educated to values is absent. “A man for whom no unconditionally valid val- the Western man, the sense of universal validity of truths and carry it out. Moreover, in the contemporary post-duty world of may be sensitive to good contained in the act and they may might not be able to justify their decisions, however, they dividual principles or values, is capable of moral action; they (Buber 2016, 65). After all, even a man who cannot denote in- class will write a great treatise on the destructive power of a lie” may even easily happen that “the worse notorious liar in the to moral schooling (incitation of cognitive competences). It
1 6 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 should serve organization of the society and state (e.g. Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, 1513). Similarly, Thomas Hobbes claimed that man is fundamentally an egoist, “a man is a wolf to another man” and every expression of self-sacrifice and care for the other is only a hidden behavior following one’s own profit (Leviathan, 1651). Empiricists and naturalists assert that morality is not a spiritual or rational matter, but it emerges from empirical necessity, mediated by affects and feelings. The task of ethics is to describe these procedures and explain self-keeping and hedonistic mechanisms of human action. Perhaps, the best-known confessor of egoistic ethics was the anarcho-individualist Max Stirner, who attacks all general spiritual norms in a polemic manner in his fundamental workThe Ego and Its Own (1844). State, morality and religion and all forms of sociality, according to him, restrain an individual from their own development. The only criterion of action should be the justification, “because I like it”. Stirner states that his philosophical stream is egoism. “The Unique” (Der Einzige), however, is not a man as such, but an individual, an unrepeatable and irreplaceable being that must not be enslaved by purposes and aims that are not desired by the Unique and that would mean loss of domination over themselves. The Unique is not good, nor bad; they are freed from every evaluation and every structure, they are the center of the world and existence of the other, accept rules of the other only if they consider the rules beneficial for themselves, otherwise they create their own rules. The Unique is really themselves only when they freely limit their own freedom for their own aims, for instance, entering an interaction with the other, which means undergoing certain sacrifice, however, it is focused on a greater own profit that cannot be otherwise reached. According to utilitarianists, every thinking and acting subject calculates advantages and disadvantages of their own actions and acts in order to maximize their own benefit or delight. Already the ancient philosophers of Athens rejected hedonism (morality of searching for delight and avoiding stress) and utilitarianism (morality of increasing one’s own and social benefit) as imperfect forms of life, which do not fulfil human yearning for good. Plato’s Socrates, in the work Republic, describes that part of soul he called “lust”, despite its manifoldness, according to “the biggest and strongest in it. For we called it the desiring part on account of the intensity of the desires concerned with eating, drinking, sex, and all their followers; and so, we also called it the money-loving part, because such desires are most fulfilled by means of money” (Plato 1991, 580e). People focused on themselves and their profits will never rise themselves really “above”, “but like cattle, always looking downward with their heads bent toward the ground and the banquet tables, they feed, fatten, and fornicate. In order to increase their possessions they kick and butt with horns and hoofs of steel and kill each other, insatiable as they are.” (Plato 1991, 586a). Plato, in The Laws, rejects extreme self-love as follows, “but of all faults of soul the gravest is one which is inborn in most men, one which all excuse in themselves and none therefore attempts to avoid that conveyed in the maxim that ‘everyone is naturally his own friend’, and that it is only right and proper that he should be so, whereas, in truth, this same violent attachment to self is the constant source of all manner of misdeeds in every one of us” (Plato 1961, 731e). Rejection of selfishness in favor of generosity can be found at several places in texts where Plato and Aristotle declare the value of friendship. Aristotle highlights unselfish love that “has nothing to do with the example of relationship of debtors and creditors” (that is, reciprocal advantage), because “benefactors love those they have benefited, even if they are of no present or future use to them” (Aristotle 1934, 1168a–b). The contemporary French philosopher Gilles Lipovetsky believes that we are citizens of a contradictory culture, where the principles of modernism and democracy, hedonism and the growing consumption, radical individualism and narcissism are being molded together. Art records changes in the moral code of a society spontaneously. The ethical sovereignty gets into conflict with the absolute duty, while sexual liberalism leads to promiscuity, or put in other words – to Eros with a changeable geometry. “The demand for ethics doesn’t remain limited only by the areas that call for responsibility. It crystallizes in the same manner also in the sphere which embodies the ephemeral and spectacular present time the best – in the media. Just as the demand for ethics of future followed from the new possibilities of techno-science; similarly, the polymerous power of media and extravagances of printing press enlivened the need for the ethics of current affairs.” (Lipovetsky 2011, 309). Lipovetsky sees behind the so-called “honesty” of the postmodern man an acute hedonism (the ideology of sensual lust), which has become, under the influence of mass consumption, the central value of our culture. Postmodernism began at a time, when new forms of unrestrained behavior no longer evoked outrage and any form of the search for sensual stimulation was publicly approved. Postmodernism manifests itself in democratization of hedonism, in general sanctification of novelties, in ending the conflict between the values highly regarded and the values experienced. The process of individualization, which he calls “personalization”, “has fronted personal actualization and the respect to subjective particularity and a unique individuality as a fundamental value…The right to be absolutely yourself and to enjoy as much
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