Blurb:

This paper examines function and structure within the religious paths advocated
by John of the Cross (1542–1591), and the Buddha, with particular
reference to the jhānas and the arūpa states, as represented in selected suttas
within the Pāli texts. First, John of the Cross and the jhāna and arūpa states
are contextualised. The teaching in The Ascent of Mount Carmel and The Dark
Night (John of the Cross), and the Sāmaññaphala Sutta, the Nivāpa Sutta and the
Anupada Sutta (Sutta Piṭaka) is then summarised. The two are then brought
into conversation with each other to examine the extent to which the religious
paths described move within the same landscape of spiritual practice.
Differences in context and metaphysical underpinning are recognised. The
paper argues, nevertheless, that similarities are more than evident, particularly
with reference to attachment to sensory objects, discursive thought, and
the idea of the self or the ‘I’. The paper demonstrates that the two speak of
mystical paths, which share many of the same practices and fruits, although
couched in different metaphors.