Part Three. Body and Methodology
9. Nondirective Meditation. Hermeneutical Situation
9
9. Nondirective Meditation. Hermeneutical Situation
What is today classified as nondirective meditation was until the 1950s first and foremost known as an Indian meditation practice called Transcendental Meditation (TM). This technique was (and still is, at least partly, as we will see) an integrated part of the ancient Vedic religion.830 Not long after TM was introduced into Western culture, however, the technique began serving as the basis for the development of new and revised styles of more or less the same technique. Relaxation Response,831 Clinically Standardized Meditation (CSM),832 and Acem Meditation833 are here the most prominent examples. In contrast to TM, these styles conceive of meditation in fully secular or religious‐neutral terms. That is, instead of conceiving of the meditative practice within the horizon of a traditional religious account,834 the three new‐revisions
829 Lutz et al., "Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation"; Wallace, "The Buddhist Tradition of Samatha, Methods for Refining and Examining Consciousness."; Depraz, Varela, and Vermersch, On Becoming Aware; A Pragmatics of Experiencing.
830 Jack Forem, Transcendental Meditation (London: Hay House, 2012); Carrington, The Book of Meditation ‐ The Complete Guide to Modern Meditation; Beck, Sonic Theology ‐ Hinduism and Sacred Sound. Cf. Chapter 10, "The Mystery of the Mantra."
831 Benson, The Relaxation Response.
832 Carrington, The Book of Meditation ‐ The Complete Guide to Modern Meditation.
833 Holen, Inner Strength; The Free Mental Attitude in Acem Meditation.
834 Cf. Yogi, Science of Being and Art of Living; Transcendental Meditation.
175
understand the practice as a distinguished mental and psychological exercise. Integrated into frameworks of empirical psychology and neurology, it is how the technique works on the human mind and body – independently of beliefs and cultural heritage – which is of prime interest.
In effect, the interpretational process from East to West is itself expressed in the terminology nondirective meditation. This classification is relatively new,835 and it is what we could call a hermeneutical concept. The classification expresses the hybrid of what was until recently a religious practice (i.e. TM) and contemporary Western empirical science. However, the classification represents also a Western, secular, and scientific interpretation of the religious practice. That is, when the term nondirective meditation is used to designate the whole class of the mentioned meditation techniques (TM included) it does so from the viewpoint of Western psychology and neuro‐psychology.
Herein evolves a methodological point also to the evolving philosophical consideration of meditation.
In effect, we will follow in the path of the new Western classification. That is, with the exception of where the differences between the various styles are of interest, we will refer to the current style of meditation merely as nondirective meditation – regardless of whether the cited author actually uses the same word or not. This is done not only to avoid unnecessary complications of terminology, but also to signal our take on the meditative practice. Our philosophical position is a Western, secular and rational account working in accordance with the new Western, secular and rational account of meditation. To the degree that religious assumption of meditation will be considered, this will be to gain phenomenological perspectives on the secularized meditative practice.
The merging of an Asian traditional practice and the Western framework of explanations opens up an intriguing hermeneutical situation. Emerging, directly or indirectly, are different ways of conceiving not only the technique but also the meditating subject. From being inscribed in a traditional world view, so to speak, the meditating subject is not only secularized but also scientifically interpreted. Let us pursue some practical and conceptual outcomes of this reinterpretation.
aa. Sonorous Practice
We begin by expanding on our knowledge of the original, traditional context of nondirective meditation, which is Hinduism. In the Introduction, we indicated how this tradition, in general, had a distinguished sonorous orientation. The perspective is explored by Guy Beck. Orthodox Hinduism, according to Beck, had a strong orientation towards the ontological element of sound. Traditional mythologies described the universe as an emanation of cosmic sound, or the divine origin of sound, including speech, language, and
835 To our knowledge, the term was coined for the current style of meditation in Davanger et al., "Meditation‐specific
prefrontal cortical activation during acem meditation: an fMRI study".
176
music.836 The practice of mantras is an integrated part of sonorous rituals and religious practices. (Mantra is a Sanskrit word. The prefix man means "to think", and the suffix tra indicates "tool".837) Integrated into what Beck describes as a sonic theology,838 mantras were considered as concrete means to individual salvation.839 Mantras were not directly comparable to recitation of prayers in the traditional Western sense, nor were they words in the more direct sense. Rather than being sounds expressing human thoughts (e.g. words) mantras were considered as sounds that generated an intimate and privileged closeness to the sacred, authoritarian and all‐encompassing power of the divine. In other words, the mantras were sacred sounds – they embodied the divine presence.840
In contrast to what we saw in the Western context (Part One), the Vedic sonorous tradition was largely nonscriptural.841 Typically, a written form of communication was considered worthless, or even forbidden.842 "It is by mantra that God is drawn to you" reads a classical Hindu communique: "It is by mantra that He is released. By secret utterance these are mantras, and therefore, these are not to be published. Their form is not to be written and their features are not to be described."843 Thus, the divine being was present in sounds, and the sounds were the only way to preserve and perceive the divine presence. It could not be conveyed in written words.
The legacy of Hinduism harbors an immense number of mantras844 and a large and heterogeneous field of practices surrounding these sounds. By itself, the word mantra can, for instance, designate a song, played by orality and literacy in the formation of knowledge? In Part One, we saw how the sonorous dimension of mythos, exemplified with Homer's medesthai, was downplayed in the process wherein writing became implemented as the new form of technology for restoring and presenting knowledge. This move, we could have added with David Espinet, comes together with a favoring of the visual at the cost of the audacity.(David Espinet, Phänomenologie des Hörens; eine Untersuchung im Ausgang von Martin Heidegger (Tübingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 2009). Espinet discusses here what he call a Hörvergessenheit characterizing the Western philosophical context. Cf. Section 1 "Sehen und Hörvergessenheit.") In the dialogues of Plato, the visual is generally closer to being used in metaphors for rational thinking, than hearing. As exemplified in the cave parable, insight in the truth of logos is coupled with the ability to see how things are. Following the metaphor of vision into the Neo‐Platonic Christianity, we could have traced how the visual orientation impacted on the Western philosophical traditions. The contrast to the Vedic sonorous orientation is here striking. What, we could have asked, would be relationship between the sensory emphases of the
177
being mumbled, sung, or chanted.845 They could be integrated into a great variety of communal services, accompanied by gongs, drums, bells, or flutes, etc.846 However, existing side by side with the practices of
"externalized" sonorous mantras here indicated were also practices of silent or fully "internalized" mantras not meant to be spoken out loud. These mantras were believed to be too pure and nonearthly to be verbalized directly.847 The sonorous materiality of the voice was conceived to be too coarse, or accidental for the presence of the divine.848 To borrow an explanation from Livia Kohn, the sound was (or is) believed to "[approach] the subtler layers of consciousness through the auditory system, creating vibrations […]
that have a calming effect and, especially if used in conjunction with deity devotion, lead[s] to a sense of selfsameness and connection to the divine."849 Apparently, in the calm mind, and in the silence of the nonspoken sound, resounded the order of the divine creation.
However, to the axis of spoken/nonspoken mantras another axis of meaning/nonmeaning can be added. Within the tradition of silent mantras, a practice of meditation has developed that lacks meaning in any conventional sense of the word.850 That is, whereas mantras in forms of hymns or mystical verses can have elements of metaphorical or enigmatic meaning, and while there also exist silent mantras that obviously have meaning,851 the silent mantra‐tradition also developed sounds that are meant to be radically meaningless. Emerging for the inner ear only, so to speak, and in a purified sonorous way void of earthly and accidental associations, the divine presence was considered to be all the purer.
We turn now to the contemporary Western situation of nondirective meditation. What has happened with the sonorous practice within this new, cultural context? Let us begin with some observations regarding practices of the meditation sounds. How are the traditional aspects of nonspoken and nonearthly sounds reflected in the contemporary styles of nondirective meditation?
Among the contemporary styles of nondirective meditation, we find different practices. Herbert Benson, the neurologist who founded the style called Relaxation Response, makes no particular concern regarding the type of sound used in meditation or how the meditator is to handle the sound. According to him, any word, phrase, prayer, or mantra can be used as a "mental device" of meditation.852 Regardless of what these words, phrases, prayers or mantras mean or do not mean, they induce an effect on the mind and body – a relaxation response, as the neurologist calls it. For Benson, this response is the important
845 Cf. Wheeloc, "The Mantra in Vedic and Tantric Ritual."; M. D. Muthukumaraswamy, "Vedic Chanting as a Householder’s Meditation Practice in the Tamil Śaiva Siddhānta Tradition", in Meditation and Culture, ed. Halvor Eifring (London:
Bloomsbury, 2015).
846 Beck, Sonic Theology ‐ Hinduism and Sacred Sound. 6.
847 Cf. Yogi, Science of Being and Art of Living; Transcendental Meditation. xxvii.
848 Bevan Morris, "Foreword", in Science of Being and Art of Living; Transcendental Meditation., ed. Mahesh Yogi (New
York: Plume/Penguin, 2001). xxvii.
849 Kohn, Meditation Works; in the Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist Traditions. 6.
850 Beck, Sonic Theology ‐ Hinduism and Sacred Sound. 8. Cf. Halvor Eifring, "Types of meditation", in Asian Traditions of Meditation, ed. Halvor Eifring (University of Hawai, Forthcomming). Erifring and Holen, "The Uses of Attention." 17.
851 Exemplified by Carrington, The Book of Meditation ‐ The Complete Guide to Modern Meditation. 84.
852 Benson, The Relaxation Response. Cf. 57 and 174.
178
dimension of the meditative practice; it helps to reduce stress.853 In the style called Clinically Standardized Meditation, on the other hand, we find an interest taken in the traditional sound. Patricia Carrington has collected a series of traditional mantras from various religious contexts, some of which she presents in her book,854 others being available on a CD.855 Thus underlining the secular aspect of the sounds, Carrington makes clear that in the context of Clinically Standardized Meditation the meditation sounds are not supposed to be anything but a calming and resonant mental device. Each individual is encouraged to pick a sound preferred by how soothing856 the sounds appear to be. In addition, Carrington advises a certain privacy in regard to the sound being chosen. The meditator is advised against reciting the sound in accidental social contexts and using the sound in contexts other than meditation. In contrast to the traditional account, the rationale for the practice is not a reference to a divine order, but merely a psychological. The meditation sound can bring the meditator into contact with subtle aspects in consciousness easily obscured in everyday activities. Keeping the sound out of direct or accidental communication with others is a way to preserve awareness towards these nuances.857
TM and Acem Meditation differ from both Benson's and Carrington's approaches. Here, the sounds being used are neither anything (Benson) nor publically accessible in books or CDs (Carrington). In the context of TM and Acem Meditation, the meditation sounds are taught only verbally, in face‐to‐face communication, by qualified instructors. The meditator is encouraged not to speak out the meditation sound in casual social contexts, to use it for purposes other than meditation, but also not to write it down.
As for TM, the rationale for the practice is ambiguous. On the one hand, the style presents itself as a mere technique which is held to be effective independent of religious beliefs and metaphysical assumptions. On the other hand, the explanations and rationales of the technique are de facto largely religious or half‐
religious. Thus, the reason why the sounds are taught orally and the why one is encouraged to keeping them private is inscribed in a framework explicitly prolonging the traditional Vedic religious ontology into the contemporary context. The mantras embody the divine being: "These Primordial sounds are not sounds which can be heard by the human ear. Rather they are the sounds which Being makes when it interacts with itself, and which are automatically heard by the Rishis, because their awareness is fully awake and open to the field of Being."858
By contrast, in the case of the strictly secular Acem Meditation, the rationale of oral teaching and private sound is a methodological concern analogous to Carrington's. Keeping the sound both out of everyday social contexts and out of the visual sphere of writing is a way to preserving an openness towards
853 Ibid. The impact on stress‐reduction is the basic claim pursued in Benson's book. We return to the point below.
854 Carrington, The Book of Meditation ‐ The Complete Guide to Modern Meditation. 84.
855 Cf. Patricia Carrington, "CSM [Clinically Standardized Meditation] ‐ Guidance for Health Proffesionals," UR.
856 Carrington, The Book of Meditation ‐ The Complete Guide to Modern Meditation. 24.
857 Ibid. 167.
858 Cf. Morris, "Foreword." xxvii. Rishis is explained to be part of the wholeness of Samhita; an unbound and all‐
encompassing field of consciousness. Ibid.
179
nuances in consciousness easily overlooked in direct social contact.859 The basic idea being communicated is this: the fewer social and interpersonal associations attached to the sound, also in terms of scriptural associations, the potentially freer is the stream of spontaneous thoughts during meditation.
The point can be illustrated thus: if, for instance, meditating on the word zebra, associations would inevitably, in more or less subtle ways, be steered into a certain direction. So would also a nonlinguistic word like abracadabra; which would harbor connotations for instance of children's games, sorcery, or towards the original Aramaic meaning of the sequence ("I create as I speak"860). Keeping the sound void of
"outer" associations – social, graphic, religious, symbolic, denotative or connotative, or whatever – is a way to preserve a neutrality in the meditation sound. To the degree that the sounds are also taught in neutral contexts, the meditation sound can be a pure sound – neutral of indications. Herein evolves the analogy to Carrington. The neutrality is held to furnish an increased awareness towards nuances in the spontaneous consciousness that evolves more or less independently of everyday consciousness. By means of the neutral sound the mind can set its own agenda.861
If we look into the three mantras cited by Carrington we soon see that there are certainly various connotations implied in the sounds. One mantra is the Sanskrit mantra ah‐nam, meaning "nameless" or
"without name" in Sanskrit, according to Carrington.862 Speculating on this information in ways Carrington does not, we see that connoted with this sound is apparently something like a detachment from earthly naming; a belonging to a sphere of reality beyond determination. In tradition, apparently, repeating this sound was believed to induce a "nameless" experience. Another example cited by Carrington is the Hindu mantra ra‐mah, which refers to the Hindu deity Rama associated with integrity and passion. Meditating on this word, we can say, was apparently believed to form a certain habitus akin to Rama. Yet another example is shi‐rim, which means "songs" in Hebrew. Implied here, apparently, is something of a denotative evoking of the soothing impact made by songs, such as for instance lullabies or other peaceful songs.
From hermeneutical and phenomenological perspectives, direction in regard of associations is not any other accidental feature of these cited mantras, but rather an essential feature of their status of being meaningful in the conventional sense of the word. In explicit terms, Gadamer makes a point out of the connection between meaning and direction of associations. "Sinn ist, wie uns die Sprache lernen kann, Richtungssinn. Man sieht in eine Richtung, so wie der Uhrzeiger, der sich in einem bestimmten Sinne dreht.
So nehmen wir alle, immer, wenn uns etwas gesagt wird, die Richtung auf Sinn."863 Analogously, the French word sens contains a meaning of direction; a meaning that is utilized philosophically within the
859 Holen and Eifring, Acem Meditation; An Introductory Companion. 14.
860 Lawrence Kushner, The Book of Words: Talking Spiritual Life, Living Spiritual Talk (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1998). 11.
861 Holen and Eifring, Acem Meditation; An Introductory Companion. 80.
862 Information from Carrington, The Book of Meditation ‐ The Complete Guide to Modern Meditation. 84.
863 Hans‐Georg Gadamer, "Gedicht und Gespräch (1988)", in Ästhetik und Poetik II: Hermeneutik im Vollzug, Gesammelte
Werke 9 (Tübingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 1988). 340.
180
phenomenology of Merleau‐Ponty. Executing the act of expressing something, for instance, is to pursue the direction of the expressed. It is to be led by the direction of sens.864
Indirectly, with Gadamer and Merleau‐Ponty we thus better understand the rationale of teaching nondirective meditation orally and keeping the sound private. Potentially, a neutral meditation sound can be a sound that does not mean in the more apparent sense of direction. The sound can be a sound that does not openly point in a direction in ways directly analogous to a hand of the watch (Gadamer). The question left to ponder in Part Five, however, is what such neutrality implies for philosophy. With Gadamer and Merleau‐Ponty, there is little doubt that the orally transmitted sounds would be of particular interest.
Apparently, the mere idea of such neutral sounds embodies the borderline in the ambiguous relationship between the hermeneutical and the perceptual phenomena. Evolving here, it seems, is something like a thorough combination of Text and perception. The organized meditation sound associable with Text in the Gadamerian sense, is perceived in the Merleau‐Pontian sense, so to speak. For apparent reasons, however, the neutral sounds in question cannot serve as the basis for a transparent philosophical analysis. To our knowledge, contemporary discourse on meditation simply offers no written sources on these nonwritten sounds – only the oral practice. What we will do in the philosophical analysis (Section 12), therefore, is to have recourse to the sound just cited by Carrington. If and where the difference between oral and written sounds should be pertinent for our overall perspectives, we can make the point on solid ground.
b
b. Religious Transcendence – Relaxation Response
Let us return to the contemporary hermeneutical situation of nondirective meditation. The different practices regarding the teaching of the meditation sound represent only one aspect of the secularization‐
process of nondirective meditation. Unlike many contemporary enterprises seeking to integrate, for instance, Buddhist meditation into the Western context, Relaxation Response, CSM and Acem Meditation
process of nondirective meditation. Unlike many contemporary enterprises seeking to integrate, for instance, Buddhist meditation into the Western context, Relaxation Response, CSM and Acem Meditation