Crossing Boundaries : Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism

"Crossing Boundaries" is an important and significant book in the study of religion that addresses the present growing interest in the history, philosophy, and phenomenology of mysticism. The book represents the high level of original, sometimes radical, but responsible thinking about mysticism now being done by the best minds in the subject. What, if anything, does the mystical have to do with the ethical? Why do mystical traditions so often dramatically cross the ethical boundaries set up by a particular society? "Crossing Boundaries" explores critical issues such as these through a series of original essays on the mystical traditions themselves (from Kabbalah to Chinese religion) and on some of the most pressing theoretical issues and theorists (from Bergson to Schuon) of the twentieth-century study of religion. The Contemporary Study Of Religion Has Witnessed A Consistent Interest In And Concern About The Relationship Between The Unitive, Ascetic, And Ecstatic Tendencies Of Mystical Traditions And The More Mundane But Ethically Pressing Realms Of Society, Custom, And Civilized Life. Crossing Boundaries Explores These Issues Anew In A Series Of Original Essays On The Mystical Traditions Themselves (from Kabbalah To Chinese Religion) And On Some Of The Most Pressing Theoretical Issues And Theorists (from Bergson To Schuon) Of The Twentieth-century Study Of Religion.--book Jacket. Debating The Mystical As The Ethical : An Indological Map / Jeffrey J. Kripal -- Debating The Mystical As The Ethical : A Response / G. William Barnard -- Beyond Good And Evil : Hypernomianism, Transmorality, And Kabbalistic Ethics / Elliot R. Wolfson -- Above The Law : Mysticism And Antinomianism In The High Middle Ages / Richard Woods -- The Infinity Of Desire : Love, Mystical Union, And Ethics In Sufism / Michael Sells -- Seeing Inside And Outside The Goddess : The Mystical And The Ethical In The Teachings Of Ramakrishna And Vivekananda / Jeffrey J. Kripal -- The Lack Of Ethics And The Ethics Of Lack In Buddhism / David R. Loy -- The Sage In The World, The Perfected Without Feelings : Mysticism And Moral Responsibility In Chinese Religion / Livia Kohn -- Vital Intuitions : Henri Bergson And Mystical Ethics / G. William Barnard -- Ethics And The Experience Of Happiness / Jonathan Shear -- Amoral Trickster Or Mystic-saint? Spiritual Teachers And The Transmoral Narrative / Michael Stoeber -- A Dance Of Masks : The Esoteric Ethics Of Frithjof Schuon / Hugh B. Urban -- Of Ethics And Mysticism : Concluding Reflections / Purushottama Bilimoria -- Afterword : On The Ethics Of Crossing Boundaries In Academic Writing / Jeffrey J. Kripal. [edited By] G. William Barnard, Jeffrey J. Kripal. Includes Bibliographical References.