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208 pages
February 12, 2019
Editorial Reviews
Review
“That Henry Corbin was one of the great religious thinkers of the 20th century will be apparent to all who delve into this brilliant collection of his previously unpublished writings on Carl Jung and Buddhism, the gnostic Sophia, and Sufism. Corbin’s insights into the profound roots of Jung’s teachings make this essential reading for those who ponder the ties that bind psychology and spirituality and all the great religious traditions to one another.” ― Jeff Zaleski, editor and publisher of Parabola magazine
“Jung, Buddhism, and the Incarnation of Sophia is where two astounding explorers of the inner cosmos, Henri Corbin and Carl Jung, meet in their insights--an intriguing octagon of mirrors surrounding the illuminated soul.” ― Chris H. Hardy, Ph.D., author of The Sacred Network, DNA of the Gods
"Delivered on all accounts in offering me valuable insights into the complexities of the psycho-spiritual nature of Gnostic and Buddhist practices, as well as filling my coffers with a simplicity that inspires a more contemplative approach in the deepening of my own spiritual and philosophical beliefs." ― Robin Fennelly, Spiral Nature Magazine
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applewoodTop Contributor: Blues Music
3.0 out of 5 stars Essays from a Devotee....
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2019
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As a long time student of Jung, Buddhism and Taoism I took a chance, thinking this might be an interesting book, although I knew very little about French philosopher Henry Corbin (1903-1978) before reading it.
Part 1; although based on the writings of Jung about Buddhism and Taoism, it doesn’t add much to the study of any of the subjects, not very insightful or deep exploration of psychology or spirituality, instead mostly a rambling and wordy rehashing of what Jung originally had said (taken from various introductions and commentaries he penned), along with a few references and conjectures based on Corbin’s own expertise in gnostic and esoteric Persian traditions.
And this is perhaps the essence of the problem; that Jung the pivotal subject of these essays, had a rather limited and narrow (some would say misinformed) view of Buddhism specifically, and Eastern spirituality in general, and that speculations about spirituality are rarely helpful when not based on first hand knowledge.
Although Jung had a sincere interest in and appreciation of Buddhism it was for the most part informed only by books, and so relatively superficial and biased. For instance his knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism was via the infamous “translations” by Evans-Wentz, even though Evans-Wentz was no translator, Tibetan scholar, nor even a Buddhist! Instead as an editor he presented these rare and essential mystical teachings 2nd hand through the lens of a Western Theosophist steeped in Advaita Vedanta Hinduism and New Age spiritualism.
(For an informed discussion of this and a critique of Jung’s subsequent view see John Myrdhin Reynolds’ lengthy essay in his translation of a related Tibetan text published as “Self Liberation through Seeing with Naked Awareness.”)
Overall my impression is that after a really slow start Part 1 at least has an interesting essay on Taoist Alchemy, and then Part 2 with essays on Jung's "Answer to Job" and Corbin's "Eternal Sophia" reply, continues in being similarly interesting (although sometimes quite dense and overly intellectual) - specifically because they address the alchemical aspects of Jung's work (Western and Christian) - ground he was much more familiar with than Eastern religions (and which I am less so).
But perhaps the best thing about the book is the general appeal to modern man to rediscover the divine in our own lives – the value and wonder of the soul (in psychology) and spirit (in spirituality), experienced as our Self through myriad masks and paths in the process of becoming (individuation).
“What needs to be emphasized here is the extent to which this imago animae – insofar as its encounter is a decisive stage in the process of individuation – holds, all in all, the secret of the Golden Flower…. The activation of the archetype of the imago animae is therefore a supreme event. It is the undeniable sign that the second part of life has begun” (p. 79)
This may just be the projection of a Jungian, but I can relate to it at least!
Otherwise I’m really not sure who the audience was intended for, but it seems perhaps aimed at a reader unfamiliar with either Jung or Eastern religions, say perhaps a freshman introductory philosophy class on comparative religion and the nature of the soul and Self in various spiritual traditions - East and West. (Is there even such a philosophy class these days? Maybe in Seminary.)
One quirk of the book is it’s an incomplete manuscript (collection of essays really), which was presented to the editor by the author’s widow with the request that it be published completely as is. This is a shame since some judicious editing would have made it both more readable and relevant.
Perhaps there was a good reason these essays remained unpublished during Corbin’s life…although it's clear that from his widow's point of view they make an appropriate, even loving, offering to his memory.
3+ stars.
PS. I fear I have given an impression of this book not being all that good, while it is more a matter of it not appealing all that much to me. To give a better taste of Corbin's writing (from a section I think the most interesting and relevant) I quote at length;
" The conflict introduced by Christianity is this: God wished and wants to become man. And John experienced in his vision a second birth of the Son, having Sophia as his mother. This birth is characterized by the conjunctio oppositorum; it is a divine birth that anticipates the Filius Sapientiae, and it is the very rare substance of the process of individuation. This Son is the mediator of opposites. The conclusion that traditional Christianity came to was omne bonum a Deo, omne malum ab homine. This conclusion maintains the old Yahweh heritage of the opposition between God and man. As such, it gives to man a cosmic and overdrawn grandeur in evil. It charges him with carrying the whole of the dark side of divinity. The irruption of apocalyptic visions is enough to give some idea of what then takes place. However, this irruption produces in John the Image of the divine Child, the Savior to come, born of the divine companion whose Image lives in every man, the Child that Meister Eckhart (he too) contemplated in a vision. Because the shadow side in God is something for God himself to abolish, and this is done precisely be his becoming man and by his being born of Sophia. The Incarnation of Christ is then the prototype that is progressively transferred to the creature by the Holy Spirit, the promised Paraclete. The Filius Sapientiae is thus he through whom the Holy Spirit accomplishes the divine anthropomorphosis - a God of love in a man of gentleness. He is engendered from an "unknown father" and from Sophia-Sapientia. Certainly, for that, "Christian virtues" are needed but not enough. This is not only a moral issue. Wisdom is needed - the wisdom of Job was looking for and up until his anamnesis remained hidden to Yahweh. This filius represents the totality that transcends consciousness in the form or figure of Puer aeternus. It is in the Child that Faust is resuscitated transformed. It is to him that the following evangelical statement refers: "Unless you become like children..." - that is, a child born of the maturity of the age of man and not the unconscious child that many would like to remain or become. All the symbols brought to light in Jung's books and extensive research crowd together here, adding their voices severally as a final chorus of a new "second Faust." (p. 134-6)
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Late night visitor
3.0 out of 5 stars Jung
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2020
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Not my favorite book on Jung.
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Henry Reed
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good to Learn Some of the Background of Today's Consciousness
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2019
What do Jung and Buddhism have in common with the Incarnation of Sophia, and why should we care, and who's Henry Corbin and why didn't they publish his ideas until now, might you ask?
Good questions, all, and I've found on my walks of the past month or so a wonderment building about what I might share with you about this little book that could make a difference.
Marilyn Ferguson, author of The Aquarian Conspiracy, suggested that the central, underlying theme of the current revolution, of the new story, the new paradigm was/is "the end of separation." Today, this theme comes up in so many, unsuspecting areas of life beyond the obvious globalization, and the increasing transparency of our interdependence, of our total dependence on ecological sustainability. And then there's the global consciousness, a not always subliminal awareness of our underlying interconnectedness, if not oneness. Of course, these seeds of change are challenging us to invent new ways of being, and as we do so, what is the effect? It can be akin to giving birth to a new denizen of the planet, such as the increasing involvement of feminine principles in our consciousness of reality.
The incarnation of Sophia refers to an event, a process involving a "spiritual being" of some kind. Such a beingis doing something that has consequences for us... might be a way of putting it. Unlike moving into "the Age of Aquarius," which brings an impersonal aspect of a turning wheel of time has come to bearing water, and the effects of such water will follow. What could be the change, the effect, the consequence alluded to? What changes in consciousness are required in order to detect this particular presence, or essence, this being of "the goddess"? For one, how about taking the imagination to be real? A good place to start.
"The imagination is getting a new image." Such a pronouncement has been one of my themes. Another would be, "the boundaries are dissolving!" Not to mention that I've been noticing that "All my relations" seems to be a better cartographer of my soul than would be my resume. What these different topics have in common is that they are all reflections, or implications, or a relative of the prospect of "the return of the goddess," or, as expressed in the title of this meaningful little book, "the incarnation of Sophia." For some time we've suspected, known, or even sung aloud that the times are changing, and in so many ways, being driven by so many different forces. Is there any underlying rhyme or reason to it? Age of Aquarius? Water? Yang? Affecting everything, an effect in global consciousness.
While the psychiatrist Carl Jung was focused on chasing God via the redeeming value and prophetic acumen of his patients' dreams, Henry Corbin, because of his involvement in Islam and especially Sufism, explored the significance of a realm of being mid-way between the physical and the mental, bringing the status of a living world to Jung's growing idea of an evolving collective unconscious. Were he granted a seat at the table, Edgar Cayce might point out that his readings on the "imaginative forces" in creation are relevant here, especially since he links that concept to his experiences as a child playing with nature spirits.
When The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, declares that "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye,” he is expressing this idea, with "heart" being related to the imagination. It is here that the "soul" enters into our experience, that other dimension of being that provides meaning, purpose, and the experience of the oneness of life. This dimension of being is the feminine mystery, and Sophia is her name.
It is important to recognize these small, elemental aspects of "the feminine," as the domain is quite profound in its implications, reaching into most everything, especially how we imagine things to be, how we imagine the nature of reality, how we imagine the story of life, and other variations on the theme. Reading some of Corbin's thoughts on the subject way back when can stimulate our imagination today beyond the literal vision of the coming Feminine principle affecting our experience of life, especially as it becomes more "interesting" in the days ahead.
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Anna from InannaWorks
5.0 out of 5 stars What does Jung have to do with it?
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2019
This is not a light read. Those who are looking for quick facts will be disappointed. However, for those who have achieved at least a glimpse of the initiations that await those who explore the subconscious/unconscious level of awareness thoroughly, this will prove to be an invaluable guidebook.
Available in English for the first time, Corbin’s close examination of Carl Jung’s work regarding the esoteric traditions of Eastern spirituality will provide those who are ready with an excellent interpretation of the experience of moving through the personal unconscious to the transcendent levels of supraconscious awareness. Corbin believes that the inner explorations of the East, while they underlay the spiritual traditions of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, no longer have an equivalent in the Western world except in psychotherapy. It is Jung, he tells us, who points the way back to a philosophy of Active Imagination that will enable us to transcend duality and reunite with divinity.
Corbin provides us with powerful insights and, thanks to his wife, Stella Corbin, and editor Michel Cazenave, his writings have been reproduced here in the form in which he intended them to be presented to the world.
(InannaWorks.com received a free copy of this book.)
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7 people found this helpful
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