In Search of a Common Core of Theosophy in Celtic Myth, Yoga, and Tibetan Buddhism: Walter Y. Evans-Wentz’ and the Comparative Study of Religion
(pre-print, please do not quote) https://tinyurl.com/yd5h77kr
A b s t r a c t.
The contribution will discuss the impact of American Theosophist Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz (1878-1965) on the emerging "science of religion." Evans-Wentz first pursued Celtic studies, concluding in his The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. Here, in line with theosophical doctrines and Psychical Research, he claimed a "Fairyland" as "a supernormal state of consciousness into which men and women may enter temporarily in dreams, trances, and in various ecstatic states." "Fairies" are nothing less than the "intelligent forces now recognized by psychical researchers." Already in his early work, he drew freely on various other religious traditions in comparative perspective, aiming to corroborate evidence that the idea of rebirth has been advanced as a "common core" of the earliest strand of esoteric traditions. Later, he became attracted to Indian Yoga traditions, and, after periods of intensive practice and study in India, published a translation and commentary of the Tibetan Book of the Dead (1927). Being the first translation into a Western language, this work was a groundbreaking contribution, yet loaded with theosophical ideas projected into Tibetan Buddhism. An esoteric reading of the Book, Evans-Wentz argued, offers an almost scientific proof of reincarnation, but also a theory of karmic hallucinations that helped to explain cultural variants of after-death imagery. However, even though Evans-Wentz did offer an array of comparative remarks, he never advanced a methodology or system of religious thought, ritual, or a history of religion that overcomes the speculative assumptions of Theosophy. Therefore, the contribution argues that the innovative aspect of Evans-Wentz' studies should be seen in his appreciation of informants belonging to the respective traditions, but also in being a catalyzer for the emerging field of the study of esoteric traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.
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