What I've Learned from More Than a Year's Worth of Blogging About Platonism

26 December 2023

What I’ve Learned from More Than a Year’s Worth of Blogging About Platonism

My first post for The Presence of Eternity was posted on 26 September 2022.  The first year of blogging was in 2023.  This means I have posted on an irregular schedule for about 16 months.  According to the stats issued by blogspot, I have published 185 posts over this time.

I have enjoyed doing this blog and plan to continue it for at least one more year.  It has surprised me how much I learned from the process of blogging about Platonism.  But it turns out I have learned quite a bit:

1.  The blog has kept my focus on Platonism more continuously than before.  This was an unexpected benefit.  But it makes sense; knowing that I should post a blog about some aspect of Platonism would often focus my mind on a topic I wanted to share.  This might entail tracking down a quote from Plato or Plotinus, or perhaps a scholar whose researches were on this aspect of Platonism.  It might also entail comparing alternative translations and, perhaps, seeing what others had written about the quote and topic.  Then would begin the process of thinking about, or contemplating, the topic and quote; my usual pattern was to write numbered, unsystematic, comments and observations on the quote.  This way of commenting differs from that of the systematic scholar.  It has more to do with a Japanese approach to this kind of literature sometimes used in Japan called Zuihitsu which means ‘follow the brush,’ now usually known as ‘follow the pen.’  What this means in practice is that I did not have an outline or a step-by-step series of points I wanted to make that would come to some kind of inevitable conclusion.  Instead, I would let the quote inspire me, sometimes from different perspectives, sometimes through free association, sometimes through metaphor, sometimes through personal history with the passage, and let the pen run its course before moving on to the next point.  On a macro level, this also applies to the selection of quotes as such; I would let the ‘pen’ of my mind wander until something appeared that felt like it was calling me to include in the blog.

It might seem odd to apply a Japanese literary style to Greek philosophical works like those written by Plato and Plotinus.  I mean neither of these philosophers used Zuihitsu in their own works.  On the other hand, things like allegory, simile, metaphor, and the widespread use of mythic stories and imagery, that are found in these writings seem to move the mind into a more spontaneous and less analytical mode to these philosophers and their tradition.  The method seems to work for me and produces results that I had not expected when I started out which I find pleasing.

2.  My decision to write ‘notes and comments’ on the entire Phaedo was unplanned, but it seemed to be where the ‘pen’ was taking me.  My intention was to restrict the blog to notes and comments on quotes from various sources rather than write a full-length commentary which seemed like an overwhelming task when I thought about it.  But I kept returning to Phaedo both on the blog and in discussions with others in real life.  I had read multiple translations of Phaedo and for that reason already had some clearly formed views about the dialogue; meaning I wasn’t starting from scratch.  I decided to give it a go.

Unexpectedly, when I started the ‘notes and comments’ on Phaedo my readership numbers about tripled and remained there through the period of the Phaedo posts.  Following the last Phaedo post the numbers slowly dropped back down to what they were before.  This surprised me.  I didn’t think there would be such a big response to the Phaedo posts but I was pleased to see the response.  I may decide to do something similar next year; I have in mind Ennead I.6 On Beauty because it was so hugely influential in the development of my becoming a Platonist.  And, like Phaedo, it is not very long or dauntingly complex.  That’s not a commitment; I’ll see.

3.  The inclusion of poetry for the blog is very much in keeping with the Zuihitsu aesthetic and technique, as well as famous Japanese travel journals where the discursive material is broken up by poetry; usually haiku or tanka.  Poetry is another way of expressing some of the points I was raising in the blog, but done through imagery and rhythm.  Perhaps this clashes with the complex, and nuanced, remarks about poetry that Plato makes in The Republic on poetry.  A case could be made for that.  On the other hand, poetry can act as a teacher for the mind in how to engage with the allegories found in the Dialogues and in a culture where the ability to comprehend allegory has atrophied, such teaching is, I think, badly needed.

4.  There were some things I learned over these sixteen months that surprised me.  In particular my insight into the shift from philosophy to theology under the influence of Late Classical Platonists became clearer.  I began to see the scope and implications of this shift and how Platonism has still not, in my opinion, recovered from this.  This is a complex and controversial topic and it is likely I will learn more on this in the future.  If so, expect more posts on the topic.

5.  Another thing I learned is how riddled with typos my posts are and I came to rely on a Platonist friend who would regularly email me or call me with the latest, and sometimes embarrassing, typos.  I know that it is difficult to proof one’s own writing and many people I have discussed this with nod in understanding.  Still, it was sometimes embarrassing.

6.  There were also a few friends in real life who took the time to read the posts and then speak directly with me about them, usually face to face.  These comments were invaluable and often led to ideas about the topic of the next post.

7.  I want to thank all the people who dropped by.  Perhaps you read a single post, or perhaps you are a regular reader. But it surprised me that I had readers from many countries outside the U.S. such as Germany, England, Hong Kong, Russia, Switzerland, and so forth.  This was unexpected and greatly appreciated.

Wishing all of you the best for 2024!

See you next year,

Xenocrates

The Tradition of Virtue

20 December 2023

The Tradition of Virtue

“The eye, to see, must be adapted to the object of its vision.  So, too, with soul; only the good may know the Good; only the pure may know the All-Pure.  Ethical purification is the process through which we become virtuous, for the sake of virtue itself, but also, and ultimately, for the sake of our ascent to the divine.  We seek metaphysical insight, knowledge of Truth, unification with the One.  This is a daunting goal; perhaps we are presumptuous to aim so high.  Nevertheless, we are moved to make the attempt.  We have been told, after all, that this is the telos toward which our human nature inclines.  Therefore, it is not impossible.  Yet it is not easy, this we have also been told.  If, then, we would undertake the journey sincerely, we must follow the road tradition has laid down for us.  The road is under our feet, and its paving stones are inscribed with instructions on how to proceed.  We must talk, they say, with virtue.”

(Pure: Modernity, Philosophy, and the One, Mark Anderson, Sophia Perennis, San Rafael, CA, 2009, page 84, ISBN: 9781597310949)

1.  The Platonic tradition is deeply rooted in virtue ethics.  Anderson views the cultivation of virtue as similar to the physical cultivation of the body.  I think Anderson means that people cultivate the strength, endurance, and beauty of the body in order to improve themselves in terms of their physical condition and appearance.  Similarly, cultivating virtue trains the soul and the soul’s characteristics, such as courage, wisdom, temperance, generosity, and so forth, so that they become second nature, they become features of a virtuous life.  This establishment of virtue allows for the soul to begin the process of philosophical ascent, ultimately culminating in uniting with the One.

The purpose of these two trainings differs.  The goal of physical training is worldly attention and acclaim.  The goal of training in the virtues is, as Anderson points out, for the sake of our ascent to the One. 

2.  Cultivating the virtues is a kind of purification.  In a Platonic context purification means to move in the direction of separating the soul from the body.  This is accomplished through the virtues by countering, or pulling away from, the natural tendency of the body to act on the basis of the body and its demands.  For example, a natural tendency of the body is anger and this is countered by the practice of temperance and wisdom.  Another natural tendency, based on the body, is to be admired for worldly attainments; it takes courage to live a life that is not based on acquiring worldly and material attainments; the virtue of courage in this kind of situation is something that every philosopher has to rely at some point in their life as demonstrated in the life of Socrates.

3.  “. . . we must follow the road tradition has laid down for us.”

This quote from Anderson brings to mind the passage towards the end of Phaedo where Socrates tells his students, who are at that moment distraught at their teacher’s imminent death, that if they follow his instructions ‘step by step’ they will be fine.  I see Socrates at that moment as not just pointing to his own teachings, but to the tradition that he inherited and upon which his own teachings are based, as are the Platonic teachings as a whole.  The origins of this tradition’s are still noticeable in the remnants of the Pythagorean and Orphic traditions.

In modernity this way of looking at spiritual practice, as a tradition that has been handed down to us, is difficult to access.  The tendency in modernity is to comprehend the past as deficient.  Viewed in this way there is an automatic suspicion that arises towards ancient teachings simply because they are ancient.  It takes the virtues of wisdom and courage to cut through our own culture’s unthinking rejection of the past and to then root ourselves in the ancient ecology of eternity that nourishes Platonic philosophy.

 

 

Return to Wisdom

18 December 2023

Return to Wisdom

I’ve been thinking a lot about the shift in the Platonic tradition that took place in the late classical period from philosophy to theology, from wisdom to theurgy.  This shift was common to the two main spiritual traditions of that period; Christianity and Paganism.  I mean that Platonists in both Christianity and Paganism reinterpreted the Platonic tradition and its focus and they did so in the same way.  This is masked by the fact that Pagans and Christians were at odds and so the underlying unity of their approach at that time is not immediately apparent.

1.  The idea that historical periods have a certain spirit, or focus, or that a particular time embodies certain unexamined understandings or premises, has been presented by a number of philosophers.  I think that this shift from philosophy to theology in the history of Platonism is a good example of this.  During the formative period of Platonism, and for centuries after, the idea of wisdom had a lot of attraction.  Philosophy grew up and emerged as a discipline in a society where wisdom was admired.  This could be ‘practical wisdom,’ which is to say broad knowledge of a specific topic, or it could be truly philosophical wisdom, which means wisdom regarding the transcendental.  It could even manifest as a distorted, or fake, wisdom as in the Sophists.  But in a way the Sophists are a further example of how wisdom was valued even if the presentation was just a mask of wisdom.

2.  But these broadly shared views eventually fade.  Wisdom as the primary focus of a well lived life slowly dimmed.  In its place theology emerged and faith took the place of wisdom.  This was expressed at the time of this transition as an opposition between Athens and Jerusalem. 

3.  I’m not opposed to faith, so my purpose here is not to critique faith.  But I tend to view faith as trust in something that as yet one does not have any experience of.  On a mundane level, for example, if I want to study some topic I know nothing about I have to trust that I am capable of such study and that trust comes before any experience of the topic or interaction with it.  If I don’t have this kind of trust, I simply won’t bother to take the first steps in learning; but the trust precedes those first steps.

4.  In contemporary culture there has been a shift away from faith as the dominant, unquestioned, paradigm, to ideology.  We live in an ideological era.  In an ideological context there is no mystery or transcendence and faith is equated with ignorance; the lack of the transcendental in ideological systems is not thought of as a lack, rather it is understood to be a virtue, a sign of progress.  The rejection of the transcendental is the way modernity undermines the previous era of faith because faith in the previous era meant faith in the transcendental.

Ideologies also have the characteristic of being thoroughly encompassing; that is to say that everything is interpreted through a few key ideas of the ideology.  Any criticism of the ideology is considered evidence that actually supports the ideological view.  For example, materialist ideologies regard advocacy for the transcendental as arising out of economic and political factors and are expressions of domination.

5.  Looked at in this way, Platonism as a wisdom tradition, because it is a wisdom tradition, has been out of touch, or out of sync, with the dominant society ever since there was the shift from philosophy to theology, from wisdom to theurgy.  Platonism didn’t disappear, but it was drained of sufficiency, becoming instead a means of support for theology.  In contemporary ideological systems, Platonism was further drained of sufficiency, though certain of its ideas were still found useful in fields like mathematics.

6.  I see the contemporary Platonist task as that of a Return to Wisdom.  This refers to the wisdom found in the Dialogues of Plato and the Enneads of Plotinus.  It is a return to transcendent wisdom.  At the same time, this is a recognition of the sufficiency of Platonism as a spiritual path, that Platonism does not require theology to be complete or theurgy (Christian or Pagan) to be practiced.  It is a return to the specific practices and virtues of Platonism as given in dialogues such as Phaedo and works such as Porphyry’s On Abstinence from Killing Animals.  It is unhyphenated Platonism.

Misunderstanding Our Situation

15 December 2023

Misunderstanding Our Situation

“So true it is that no two things agree in this world of ours: everyone shares a single desire for the Good, but they make their way towards it by many and various routes, according to the different rank and status of the occupation each has been allotted.  Desire for the Good is common to all, but for all that no one man has more success than any other in achieving this goal.  They are just like people searching for gold and silver in the dark, unable to secure light to reveal what they are searching for and reduced to fallible guesswork by weight and touch, bumping into each other and snapping at each other, not daring to let go in case they really have something, nor able to cease their labours in case they have not.  Hence there is a tumult of quarrelling and exhortation, and of the cries of people searching, groaning, chasing, lamenting, snatching, and being robbed: everyone is calling out and shouting in triumph, as if they have stumbled on the Good, though no one actually has it; but at the same time everyone mistrustfully examines his neighbor’s findings to be on the safe side.

“It is these experiences that make chaos of land and sea, it is these that pack the Assembly and convene the courts, these that fill the prisons and build navies and launch triremes, these that start wars and mount the cavalry on their horses and the charioteers on their chariots and install tyrants on the Acropolis.  These are what make men condottieri and mercenaries,

Killing the men, while fire razes their city to the ground,

And others lead their children and deep-girdled wives into slavery (Il.9.593.4)

Many thousands of other ills besides men suffer, from no other cause than their hopes for the Good and their ignorance.  God has breathed expectation of the Good into the human race like a spark of life, but has concealed the Good itself and made it hard to find.”

(Maximus of Tyre, translated by M. B. Trapp, The Philosophical Orations, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1997, pages 242 and 243, ISBN: 0198149891)

1.  The human condition is difficult.  What is the source of these difficulties?  Maximus offers an analysis which suggests that the source of difficulties is that human beings desire the Good and the One, but are unable to access it because they are blind as to how to gain that access.  This is a Platonic way of looking at the human condition.  It is an argument that the difficulties of the human situation arise because of ignorance of the transcendental, and, more specifically, how to access the transcendental, meaning the Good and the One. 

2.  This is a different way of looking at causation.  Material analysis of human difficulties would go into material history, economics, political theory, psychology, evolutionary theory, and other, similar, topics to establish a causal chain that eventually manifests in discord and strife whether at the individual or social levels.  In contrast, Platonism in general, and Maximus in particular, views strife and conflict as arising out of ignorance as to the actual condition of the metaphysical cosmos and that the only solution to rancor and strife is the peace that is found in the transcendent. 

3.  “Desire for the Good is common to all.” 

If this is true, why does this desire for the Good not manifest?  From the Platonic perspective, the reason that the desire for the Good does not manifest is attachment to the body and its desires as taught in Phaedo.  The soul is immortal and because of this is, in a sense, naturally inclined to that which is immortal as found in nous and the Good.  But the soul is concerned with the welfare of the body and because of this is also naturally drawn to the material domain in order to maintain the body.  This can result in the body and its desires becoming the ruler of the soul as it demands more and more sensory gratification.  This in turn causes the soul to forget its immortal nature and its home in that which is eternal.  That is why Platonism advocates for separation of the body and soul as far as it is possible to do so while still having a body.  And this separation is accomplished through asceticism.  Asceticism is the means whereby people can return to the Good and the One.

4.  “Many thousands of other ills besides men suffer, from no other cause than their hopes for the Good and their ignorance.” 

I have read similar teachings in other traditions, such as Buddhism.  Both Buddhism and Platonism view ignorance of ultimate nature, and ignorance of the path to ultimate nature, as the cause of strife and suffering.  Other traditions see human nature is flawed or ‘fallen’ and therefore structurally incapable of awakening to higher, or ultimate, reality.  In Phaedo there is a brief passage where Socrates is describing the specifics of the afterlife journey and the journey to a new birth that suggests that some souls are beyond redemption, that their accumulated attachments and hindrances, and their subsequent behaviors based on these, have condemned them to eternal separation from the Good.  Socrates does not dwell on this; like I said it is a passing suggestion.  As I have grown older, I have become more inclined to give weight to the idea of a fallen human nature that requires some assistance, or grace, to overcome its condition.  Perhaps both views are true; I mean by this that it may be impossible for some to overcome their negative karma, because it is so extensive and thick, without the intervention of grace.  On the other hand, others, whose karmic burden is not so extreme may not require such intervention, or they may need only a modest amount of grace, to overcome their ignorance.  In other words, I can see value in both interpretations (by ‘both interpretations’ I mean the view that human beings are trapped in samsara/genesis solely by ignorance and the view that human beings are trapped in samsara/genesis by their fallen nature.)

5.  “God has breathed expectation of the Good into the human race like a spark of life, but has concealed the Good itself and made it hard to find.”

This is a beautiful way of talking about the human condition.  The Good is a spark that resides in all people; it is the spark of life itself.  But that spark is difficult to find.  Why is it difficult to find?  The expectation is that we can access the Good easily, but that is not the case.  At times this can create frustration and it may feel that God has deliberately concealed the presence of this spark.  But I don’t think we can blame God, or the Good, for our situation.  Instead I think we should take responsibility for our own situation, our own actions, beliefs, and activities that cast the spark into deep shadows.  When we take responsibility for our own difficult situation then we are motivated to live a life of asceticism whereby we can overcome that situation and ascend to the Good, the One and the Beautiful.

Haiku

11 December 2023

Haiku

Cold dawn, wooden fence --

I ask the sun a question

On impermanence.

 

 

Translations

9 December 2023

Translations

My interaction with Platonism is primarily through translations; and by ‘primarily’ I mean almost exclusively.  As I have noted before at this blog, I don’t know Greek, though, interestingly I have taken tentative steps to become more familiar with it.  The truth, though I am fascinated by languages, and have spent time studying a number of them, I’m not very good at acquiring languages to the state of being fluent in them.  I quickly reach a plateau that seems almost impossible to get beyond.  I’ve known people who are very quick at absorbing languages, but I am not one of these people.  On the other hand, I have found that even knowing a little bit about another language can assist in understanding the central teachings of a tradition whose primary documents are in a foreign language. 

I think my situation is common; I mean that most English speakers who become attracted to Platonism are going to have to rely on translations either because they don’t have the time to study Classical Greek, or because, like me, they are simply not that skillful at acquiring new languages.  Here are a few comments about this:

1.  A translation is always an interpretation.  This is true, but the meaning implied by this is, I think, often overstated.  I say this because I could easily say that every reading of a written work, whether in the original language or in a translation, is an interpretation.  I mean that when I read something in English I am interpreting what I am reading.  Most of this interpretation happens automatically; on the other hand, it happens regularly that we openly ask ourselves what something we are reading means, we may even ask someone for assistance as to the meaning. 

2.  What happens with a translation is that we are reading someone else’s interpretation of what has been translated and then entering into the process of interpretation ourselves.  This sounds complicated, but we seem to be able to do this with ease.

3.  One way of overcoming the problem of the translator as interpreter is to read multiple translations; this is what I have done for many years and I have found it very helpful.  Take, for example, the Enneads of Plotinus.  There are four complete translations of the Enneads into English at this time:

A.  Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie, Plotinus: Complete Works in Chronological Order, Grouped in Four Periods published in 1918.  Currently available through reprint houses that use print-on-demand technology.

B.  Stephen MacKenna, Plotinus: The Enneads, published in several volumes and revisions which was concluded in 1930.  Currently published by Larson Publications.

C.  Arthur Hillary Armstrong (A. H. Armstrong), Plotinus Ennead I – VI, published in seven volumes by the Loeb Classical library from 1966 to 1988.

D.  Lloyd P. Gerson et al, Plotinus: The Enneads, published by Cambridge University Press in 2018.

I have previously written about taking a year to read the Enneads and cycling through all four of the full translations.  This creates a four-year cycle, which might seem like a big commitment when first considering it.  But I see reading the Enneads as a primary practice.  I think of it as a type of prayer and just as some people pray on a daily basis, so I also understand the reading of the Enneads to be an essential Platonist practice.  Looked at in this way it’s a reasonable demand.  And taking a year to read the entire Enneads amounts to about three pages a day which allows for a relaxed pace that also allows for time to contemplate the reading for the day.

4.  As an aside, one can do the same with the Dialogues of Plato.  But there are a very large number of complete translations of Plato.  In this situation you might want to ask others what their favorite translation of Plato is, collect three or four of these, and then cycle through them in the same way I refer to cycling through the translations of the Enneads.

5.  The virtue of reading multiple translations is that you get to see how different people vary in their understanding of the same work.  These differences can be helpful in searching out an overall understanding that might favor one of the translations, or might encompass more than one. 

These differences can be both at the macro and micro level.  For example, in the case of the Enneads the first translation, by Guthrie, arranges the Enneads in chronological order which is not the standard order that Porphyry put them in.  Most scholars do not think that the chronological order reveals anything of significance and so they have refrained from following Guthrie’s lead.  This is because Plotinus did not start writing until he was in late middle age, when his views had already fully matured.  On the other hand, there are a minority who see the chronological order as having significance because some of the Enneads that were broken up by Porphyry into several separate Enneads are brought back together as a whole.  I think it is good to have both options (the chronological order and the topical order of Porphyry) available.

Another macro difference can be found in things like Chapter Titles and section divisions which might have sub-headings.  Paragraphing can also be of significance in determining meaning.

A somewhat hidden macro difference has to do with what scholars refer to as a ‘critical text.’  A critical text is a complex scholarly apparatus that takes many older Greek versions of, for example, the Enneads, and compares the various readings, highlighting discrepancies (which are always to be found) and alternative readings of the same passage.  Sometimes a critical text will also incorporate ancient quotations from the text being examined, like the Enneads, and incorporate those variants as well.  Some of the differences in translations of the complete Enneads will be due to the different translators using different critical texts.  Critical texts are revised because scholars discover new quotes and, occasionally, new discoveries of whole or partial Enneads.  The domain of critical texts is a scholar’s domain; but if you have the inclination and the linguistic skill a critical text can be helpful in unpacking meanings that may be eluding you; and, who knows, if you are so inclined you might be able to participate in the making of a new critical text that incorporates newer findings.

6.  At the micro level there will be differences between translators in how a word is translated.  Many important philosophical terms have multiple meanings, but in translation the translator will have to choose one each time the word appears.  This requires skill and a refined intuition; and there are likely to be honest disagreements.

7.  There is a view about languages that sees languages as encoding foundational views of that language’s users and, furthermore, shapes perception.  This is a widely held view, sometimes known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.  I am skeptical regarding this view; I think it is inconsistent with Platonist metaphysics.  I tend to see words functionally; I mean that words have many ordinary uses expressed in things like ‘pass the salt’, ‘look at that oak tree’, ‘the sun will set soon’, and so forth.  I don’t think it makes much difference what language these kinds of things appear in.  And I also think this is likely true of philosophical and spiritual realities as well.  In a sense, because the One is ineffable, you could say that language is inherently a hindrance to ultimate realization; but that would be equally true of every language.  It would also be true of chairs and mountains; any material manifestation. 

Thinking in this way has led me to think that there is more overlap of meaning between languages than might initially be assumed.  It’s kind of like listening to different versions of a symphony.  Different conductors will bring forth different nuances for sure, but behind all of the conductors’ interpretations is the music of the composer; you could say that each performance is an emanation of the composer’s original notated score.  In a similar way you could say that each translation of the Enneads is an emanation of the original of Plotinus.

8.  None of this is meant to discourage people from learning the original Classical Greek of Plato and Plotinus.  If you are linguistically talented then it would be very good to engage in such learning, not just for yourself but for the Platonist community as a whole. 

What I do mean to suggest is that not knowing Classical Greek is no reason to refrain from contemplating the works of Plato and Plotinus in translation. 

9.  I have a deep respect and admiration for translators of the central works of Platonism, as well as those who have translated the large number of secondary, though still significant, works of that tradition.  It is not easy; reports I have read from these translators refer to their struggles with finding the right word or expression, particularly with difficult passages.  These translators, for the most part, received almost no payment for their efforts and it is clear that, for example, the translators of the Enneads did so as a labor of love.  I am very grateful to them; they have opened the door to the Temple of the Text.

 

 

Refuge

7 December 2023

Refuge

Yesterday a friend came to visit.  He will be moving away soon and we wanted to have some visits before that happened.   I made a vegan lunch for us.  As usual we spent hours in good conversation.

One of the topics of conversation was our history of involvement in spiritual traditions.  In my friend's case he was born into a Protestant Christian family and for a long time felt comfortable within that tradition.  He had a particular admiration for his father’s adherence to this tradition.  Eventually, though, he decided to depart from this tradition and he sought spiritual refuge in other, though still Christian, traditions.  As his interest in mysticism grew and deepened he found himself more and more unable to fit in and made attempts to find a community of others with a similar focus.  He was unable to do so and reconciled himself to a solitary path.

My own story, though it shares a similar conclusion, started off differently.  I wasn’t raised in a religious home.  I had only vague notions of Christianity.  When I became interested in religion and spirituality it was Buddhist teachings that I found most agreeable.  But like my friend, as I became more and more inclined to a mystical understanding I sensed a wider and wider gap between me and the community of practice, the sangha.  Eventually I departed and wandered through a number of traditions seeking a community of others who were similarly inclined to mysticism and the journey to the transcendental.  With great reluctance, I concluded that this was very unlikely to happen and resigned myself to a solitary journey.

A few comments:

1.  Ideally a spiritual community supports those who are engaged in the journey to the transcendental.  In this situation the spiritual community is a refuge from worldly concerns that facilitates such a journey.  That is the purpose of religious groups including churches, monasteries, and other religious organizations.  If they do not live up to that purpose then they have failed.  Most religious groups today have failed in that purpose.

2.  The tendency today is for religious groups to get sidetracked by secular concerns such as political activity, psychological interpretations, and therapeutic practices only slightly modified for their weakly religious context.  The consequence of this transformation is that those who seek guidance regarding the transcendental find that there is no one in their community who even knows what they are talking about. 

3.  If a gardening club was taken over by people dedicated to politics and therapy the consequences would be clear: there would be no more talks about soil, fertilizer, time of year to plant particular flowers, watering, and so forth.  Instead there would be talks about who was running in the next election, or how the latest self-help book had worked out for members.  If someone new joined and asked when they were going to have talks and demonstrations about gardening, the new person would be told that he had a view that was no longer valid, that electioneering was real gardening, and that if he really wanted to be a gardener he better align himself with the new regime.

4.  The difficulty is that people genuinely do have personal and political problems and because these problems are genuine they don’t see any reason why they should not bring them up in the context of a religious group.  They take attempts to keep the focus of religion and spirituality on the transcendental as a dismissal of their concerns.  It’s not; but I can understand where they are coming from.

5.  This tendency to transform religious and spiritual organizations into secular groups has been going on for a long time.  But there has been a change in that people who advocate for this secular transformation have become more adamant about it, and much less tolerant or accepting of anyone who does not agree with their secular orientation.

6.  This has left a lot of people in the situation of having to go it alone; sometimes people like this are referred to as ‘solitary practitioners.’  I observe this across the whole spectrum of religions and spiritualities; from Wicca to Platonism this is a trend that I think is growing.

7.  Younger people seem to be more accepting of the idea of a solitary practitioner.  People my age tend to have a kind of nostalgia for an idealized communal practice.  Younger people aren’t sentimental about this and seem to step into solitary practice with more grace and less personal drama.

8.  In Buddhism there is a ceremonial commitment known as ‘Taking Refuge.’  It is a three-fold commitment consisting of Taking Refuge in the Buddha, Taking Refuge in the Dharma (the Buddha’s Teachings), and Taking Refuge in the Sangha (originally the community of Buddhist monks and nuns.)  It is this third refuge that the solitary practitioner questions.  The reasons for this questioning have to do with the often political co-opting of sanghas, or the involvement with worldly finance, interpersonal rivalries that often dominate sanghas, the merging of state and sangha, and so forth.  For those dedicated to contemplation and study, it is often necessary to depart from such an organized institution.

9.  There is historical precedence for today’s solitary practitioners.  The forest dwellers of Buddhism and other Shramana traditions are an example.  The early Desert Fathers who separated themselves from Christian institutions so that they could dedicate themselves to asceticism is another.  We need to recover these precedents to nourish our own solitary journeys.

10.  As I have written before on this blog, I regard Platonic writings such as the Dialogues of Plato and the Enneads of Plotinus as the Temple of the Text.  They are a refuge from worldly distractions and concerns.  In some ways, I think that this Temple of the Text is stronger and more enduring than material temples; and for me the Temple of the Text is more nourishing.

11.  In some spiritual traditions, such as orthodox Christianity, there is what is known as the ‘communion of Saints.’  Recently I have felt that this idea illuminates how I feel about our Platonic ancestors; people like Socrates, Plato, Xenocrates, Plutarch, Maximus, Plotinus, Porphyry, Hypatia, Boethius, and so forth, right down to modern practitioners of the Platonic Path.  They are a living presence both individually and collectively.

In Porphyry’s biography of Plotinus, Porphyry briefly mentions that his community held some kind of gathering on the anniversary of Socrates and Plato.  It’s not clear to me if this was their birthdays or their death days, or some other kind of date.  But it is an intriguing passing reference to honoring their spiritual ancestors.  Perhaps something like this can be done today?  I’m not sure what form it would take; it could be very simple, something like a vegan meal that included a toast to Plato, Socrates, or some other Platonic Sage, an acknowledgement of their living presence.

12.  We are used to a communal vision of spirituality, but perhaps that is changing.  Perhaps spirituality will evolve in the future to resemble something more like gardening which is done by most people as a solitary activity.  This doesn’t mean that solitary Platonist practice would be sealed off from the world.  Just as a gardener enjoys sharing their craft with others, so the Platonic practitioner enjoys sharing their path with others.  Just as the significance of gardening is not diminished because of its predominantly solitary nature, so also the significance of the Platonic Path is not diminished by its solitary nature.  The Platonic Path is hidden in plain view.