Saturday, 29 August 2026

Contemplation

In Poul Anderson's Technic History, one Wodenite, Adzel, converts to Mahayana Buddhism when he studies planetology on Earth. In a later historical period, another Wodenite, Axor, is converted to Jerusalem Catholicism and ordained by missionaries on his planet. Buddhism is contemplative. Catholicism is Abrahamic, therefore prophetic, but also incorporates contemplation.

When Buddhists practice "just sitting" meditation, they enter the presence of that which theistic contemplatives call "God." Practitioners of the Abrahamic faiths identify ultimate reality with the deity that is described or "revealed" in their scriptures whereas many - although not all - contemplatives in other traditions think that personification of reality is anthropomorphic. But we can meditate in any case. When some of us say that we must sit with whatever comes up in meditation, theists say that God wants us to sit with whatever comes up: same practice, different understanding.

I am using these Andersonian characters as a hook to hang one of my personal hobbyhorses on but I think that it is a legitimate hobbyhorse nevertheless. We can find much in Anderson's works.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Paul!

To be nitpicky, Adzel must have been ordained by a bishop. Catholicism believes only bishops can ordain men to the priesthood. And maybe eligible beings from other species?

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

Sure. There must have been a bishop among the missionaries.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Exactly, Catholic missionary regions are generally headed by Apostolic Vicars, who are almost always bishops.

Ad astra! Sean