This is an essay I plan to use as an advertisment in Parabola magazine for the summer of 2003. In the meantime it is a fairly good overview of apophatic mysticism.

Sovereign contentment

What is unusual in the apophatic (thought emptying) mystical philosophy of the Lao Zi/Zhuang Zi school, as compared to other mystical literature, is that these ancient Chinese writers make abundantly clear that everything the mystic does, she does for her own good; she gives up nothing of substantial personal value in her effort to achieve contentment. Of course there is a catch: It is extraordinarily difficult to realize how it is that there is no essential value in nearly all the things, both material and religious, that we humans are attached to.

The Huainanzi: "(Realizing dao) is sufficient to attain sovereign contentment."
The Zhuang Zi: "Hide your world within the entire world and you won't suffer any loss."
The Lao Zi: "Why do I surrender my specific intentions? Precisely to get what I want."
These three writers were proponents of enlightened self-interest, not selflessness. And not "holiness."

With the realization of "zi le," (sovereign, or auto-generated contentment), the individual's fundamental satisfaction with life will no longer be contingent upon external circumstances. Mystical contentment depends exclusively on the manner by which one perceives, processes and responds to circumstances. How our minds consciously and unconsciously characterize the quality of our reality is not merely descriptive, it is causative. The effectiveness of our responses to the perceived changes in the world around us depends entirely on the emotional and intellectual predispositions with which we assess such changes.

"He summons a season of spring when meeting other beings; his heart welcomes the birth of each moment." Zhuang Zi

Mystical engagement of the world (a world both outside and inside "the skin") is achieved by suspending all premeditated ideas of what constitutes benefit and loss. The effort needed to suspend such deeply ingrained mental habits is great. But also great is the resulting creative freedom which lets the mystic continuously reevaluate, reconfigure, and re-sacralize her world. If one succeeds in this mystical endeavor, one will be able to cherish every encounter with another being, and any possible circumstance, as integral gifts in the stream that endlessly furthers personal satisfaction.

Mysticism is paradox: The mystic virtually effaces self-will and gains sovereignty over her well-being. By entirely surrendering her premeditated ideas of what life means, and what and who are needed for contentment, she summons forth an innate mystical process. This process is the natural capacity which the Lao-Zhuang writers recognized as auto-generated contentment (zi le). Paradoxically, surrender also requires giving up one dearly and widely held spiritual misconception: the belief that one can attain selflessness . The apophatic mystic relinquishes this tempting self-deception.

"Ambiguity and doubt provide the illumination which guides the sage."
Zhuang Zi

To fondly embrace the vagaries of fate and the impenetrability of life's fundamental mysteries; this is a rare and precious accomplishment. The consummation of this emotional and ideological surrender is the apophatic event which the ancient daoists called "unknowing." This cleansing event transports the heart to the state of sovereign contentment. It gives birth to a ubiquitous affection, an effortless positive regard for every being, including one's own self.

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