1. The alignment of the axis of ground-self-ego-other-cosmos vis a vis
intraobjective, intrasubjective, intersubjective and interobjective
phenomenal categories brings us full circle back to some ideas we were
exploring in private correspondence last year, Phil. What is going on,
putatively, might be brought out in sharper relief by engaging Advaita,
Christianity and Zen as foils through a polydoxic lens that distinguishes
between their unique soteriological-healing trajectories without denying
their salvific efficacies. Of course, these are not monolithic traditions and
different schools and cohorts often emerge and will variously participate,
some more, some less, some not at all, in their authentic orthopathic,
orthopraxic and polydoxic dynamics. Those are instructive, too, and this all
has practical significance for the life of prayer, transformation and the fruits
of love.
There is some peril in thus generalizing but much value to be realized from
noticing such patterns, especially if balanced from a self-critical stance.
Phil's comments sound right-headed and match my own intuitions.
What I would say is that the West has well emphasized the gifts to be mined
from exteriority, the inter-engagements, vis a vis the axes of ego-other and
ego-cosmos (intersubjective & interobjective), while the East has well
emphasized the gifts to be mined from interiority, the intra-engagements
vis a vis the axes of ego-self and ego-ground (intrasubjective &
intraobjective). This is not to say that both East & West do not engage each
aspect of reality, only to note differences in emphases (informed also by a
polydoxic perspective). I won't flesh this out but will leave it here to
develop later, if no one else can crack my jargonistic code. As with any
strengths, these can be practiced to a fault. So, East & West may also be
expected to display certain historical weaknesses along with their
respective soteriological and healing trajectories, which display some
unique giftedness.
The alignment of the axis of ground-self-ego-other-cosmos is not only
modeled, but indeed effected, Christologically, as revealed in the 5-fold
Lukan Christology (Luke) where Jesus orients, saves, sanctifies, heals and
empowers us, carried on by the Spirit in the 5-fold Lukan pneumatology
(Acts). A pan-entheism sees God indwelling in ground, other & cosmos,
distinct from the self-ego axis but as its primal ground, origin, cause,
support, meaning and destiny.
Advaita engages this primal ground. An essential Buddhism engages the
self-ego axis in relation to others and the cosmos with a respectful silence
toward ground & orgin and takes account of the self-ego's relational,
dynamical, processive (nonessentialist, nonsubstantialist) nature (when noself is properly, not literally, conceived). Christianity's emphasis has been
on the self-ego-other axis with a stewardship model toward the cosmos,
which is not as green a stance as the pantheists, panen-theists and absolute
monists but does have its pan-entheists and Francsican sensibilities, which
can move us beyond a wholly instrumentalistic stance to a less dualistic
outlook.
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