[Buddha-l] Seduction of a holy man

[curt]

I'm pretty sure that the dogs are meant to represent "discursive 
thoughts". The "hunter" (the intellect) has gone out in search of truth 
"out there" and, having caught a glimpse of it, has been transformed 
into the hunted. Looked at this way it may appear to be a description of 
a descent into madness - but this is no ordinary madness - it is, 
according to Ficino, anyway, Divine Frenzy.

 From a Buddhist point of view it can be seen as the extinguishing 
(dismemberment and consumption) of the discursive mind upon some kind of 
"kensho" experience. After all, I believe that the literal meaning of 
"kensho" is "seeing nature". Acteon has, in fact, "seen" the very 
Goddess of "nature" Herself (Diana) - and is destroyed/transformed by 
that experience.

- Curt

jkirk wrote:

> Hmmmm--that's a daunting interpretation. But maybe the dogs were  
> frustrated disciples. Perhaps why some sages chased them away with
> sticks or brooms and hid in caves.
> Joanna
> ==========================
>
>> Then there is the famous story of Acteon, the hunter who accidentally 
>> (or maybe not so accidentally) caught a glimpse of the Goddess Diana 
>> in all Her glory while she was bathing. Diana turned Acteon into a 
>> deer, and sicked his own dogs on him - who then proceeded to tear him 
>> to pieces and consume him. One take on this story (favored by the 
>> Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino) is that it describes the 
>> desire (or "hunt") of the human intellect for Divine Wisdom - and 
>> what happens if the intellect ever actually catches sight of what its 
>> looking for.
>> - Curt
>>
>> jkirk wrote:
>>
>>> There's a similar story from the Sufi tradition of a Sufi sage 
>>> falling in love with a woman and following her to the ends of the 
>>> earth,  pining until half-dead from hunger and distraction, when he 
>>> finally he gets the realization.
>>> Joanna K.
>>> ==========================================
>>
>
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