S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 2 1 1 5 Slavomír Gálik memories, bringing them up to consciousness. After being mentally processed, they lose their negative influence. This stage is known as the purification phase in Christian religion and purification of mind in Buddhism, but it generally means the same. Next follows the phase of revealing subtle energies, which become visible also for other people in the case St. Teresa of Ávila and Jiyu-Kennett as well. We found differences only in terms of location. While St. Teresa of Ávila spoke of spiritual energies coming from the chest, Rōshi Jiyu-Kennett believed it was around the navel. However, we need to mention that in her case, the source of energy was deeper than just Manipūra chakra because subtle energies appeared after the last obstacle had been removed in the depth of the memory (non-biographical memory of white jaguar). Further accompanying sign of development and releasing of subtle energies can be seen in the dramatic experience of internal transformation, called also mystical death. St. Teresa of Ávila describes this experience in the Fifth mansion and compares it to a silkworm transformed into a butterfly. Rōshi Jiyu-kennett speaks of a temporary death and localizes it in the Sixth chakra – Āgyā. Another accompanying phenomenon are to do with the development of subtle energies, they come with various transcendent experiences. St. Teresa of Ávila speaks of the “flight of the spirit” in the Sixth mansion. Rōshi Jiyu-Kennett mentions various visions that come with the development of golden pillars over her head. The last accompanying effect of the development of subtle energies is spiritual marriage (Lat. unio) in the case of St. Teresa of Ávila and awakening (Ja. kenshō) in Rōshi Jiyu-Kennett. St. Teresa describes unity without any difference (“drop of water in the sea”, “light in the light”), which suggests overcoming the subject–object dualism. In the case of Rōshi Jiyu-Kennett, it is explicitly about overcoming duality, in the form of emptiness of the mind that is behind everything, including the “I” of an individual person. 4 Conclusion In this work, we studied and compared two great spiritual leaders – St Teresa of Ávila, a Carmelite nun, and Rōshi Jiyu-Kennett, a Zen Buddhist. We came to a conclusion: If comparation relies on linguistic tools, it can easily fail because we compare not only two different spiritual traditions but also different personal experiences. Furthermore, we speak about something that exceeds the capabilities of language. Nevertheless, when we scrutinized the so-called subtle energies, we found striking similarities. These helped us better understand texts describing spiritual experiences in both cases of St. Teresa of Ávila and Rōshi Jiyu-Kennett. Margaret South (2001, 246) also believes that it is possible to compare subtle energies, when she speaks of a great comparative potential of subtle energies (in her words Kundalinī): “The Kundalini model offers a wider understanding of mystical experiences …within a cross-cultural framework.” She also mentions that there is a possibility for scientific observation: “Since Kundalini is defined as a psychophysiological mechanism, it is amenable to scientific observation.” We believe that comparison through subtle energies has great potential not only for interreligious dialogue but also for studying the nature of human. We currently often speak of posthumanism and improving of human through technology, genetic manipulation, or nanorobots, yet we still have not succeeded in finding all possibilities that human nature offers, specifically in terms of one’s capacity for self-transcendence in the sense of transcendence of the ordinary state of human consciousness as proposed by Martin Dojčár (2017, 165–170). Carmelite and Zen Buddhism spiritualities show us that there are some more details. Using and developing them may bring some reward – self-knowledge, or salvation and liberation. Since there are accompanying effects of mysticism, there is also a possibility for systematic scientific research. Though a small step has already been made in this, we believe this is just the beginning of the journey for studying higher forms of spirituality.
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