the power within

5/26/2018 The Power Within

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MIND, HEALTH & SPIRITUALITY IN ASIAN

CULTURES 120

TThheePPoowweerrWWiitthhiinnThe Feminine Principle in Chinese and Jewish Mystical

Traditions

Name: Moshe Y BernsteinID: 13973849Tel: 0437-208-892Date of submission: October 27, 2008Word count: 2668Workshop: Mondays, 12:00- 1:00 PM


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Introduction

A perfunctory examination of Chinese and Jewish cultures reveals many

features that are patriarchal. In the Confucian order a wife must abidingly obey her

husband (Jinfen 2002, 4); Jewish law adopts a similar demand and further excludes a

woman from acting as a legal witness and the performance of certain religious

precepts. Both cultures display a significant bias towards the procreation of male

progeny (Kaup 2007, 330; Rosner 2001, 168), while the Chinese veneration of

ancestors and the lineage of Jewish rabbinic and priestly traditions are reserved

exclusively for males. However, when one delves beneath the surface into the

ancient, mystical traditions of China and Israel-- Daoism and kabbalah-- a different

picture emerges. In both of these traditions, the feminine aspect plays a vital role not

only in the celestial realm but also in the earthly relationships between men and

women. Furthermore, in both of these traditions a surprising yet paradoxical

element of feminine superiority comes to the fore.

The focus of this study will be of principles manifest in the earlier conventions

of philosophical Daoism, dao jia(), and theoretical kabbalah, kabbalah ha-iyunit

). The former begins with Lao Zi in the 6thcentury BCE and extends )roughly 500 years until the development of a more ritualised Daoist church,

including ideas from this time period antedated to the legendary Yellow Emperor,

Huang Di () (Fowler 2005, 29-33). Theoretical kabbalah begins at a much later

date with the appearance of Sefer Ha-Bahir, (The Book of Illumination) in the 12th

century and stretches to its apex in the 16thcentury, the period of the renowned

kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria of Safed in the Upper Galilee (Kaplan 1991, 5). Many of

these kabbalistic views on the feminine principle were embellishments of earlier

references in the Torah (i.e. the Pentateuch) and Talmud. Although subsequent

religious Daoism, dao jiao (), and practical kabbalah, kabbalah ma-asit )), both exhibit certain feminine elements-- the former in its pantheon ofdeities (e.g. the goddess Dou-Mu,, the Mother of Light) and the latter in its


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demonology (e.g. Lilith, Queen of the Night)these expressions had already

degenerated into superstitions as opposed to purely philosophical doctrine.

The Supernal Feminine

Unlike Western religions, philosophical Daoism lacks the concept of a

personal God. The Dao, the source of all creation, is ineffable. As described

succinctly in the first chapter of the Dao De Jing():

The way that can be spoken is not the real Way

The name that can be named is not the real name.

A euphemism for the Daois wu-ji (), a primordial state of Nothingness

that is without bounds and limits. It is from this Nothingness that Taiji (), the

Supreme Ultimate Source, manifesting as absolute Oneness, comes forth. From Taiji

then proceed the dual, yet entwined forces of yin() and yang (), which in turn

become the components of the myriad forms that characterize creation:

Daogave birth to the One;

The One gave birth to two things,

Then to three things, then to ten thousand(ibid, 42)

Whereas the Daois the ineffable and nameless void, its manifestation as Taiji

represents its latent immanence in all existence. It has also been referred to as thesupreme mother of all things (Fowler 2005, 108); as such, it may be conceived of as

a womb of complete potentiality. From this womb the generation of masculine yang,

literally the sunny place or south slope,and feminine yin, the shady place or

north slope, encompasses a tripod of Heaven(the transcendent), Earth (the

immanent) with Humanity poised between them. Through descent into the Four

Realms and substantiation into the Wu Xing (), the five elements of Fire, Earth,

Metal, Water and Wood, the physical world with all of its possibilities materialises. It


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should be emphasized that Daoisms worldview is holistic rather than dualistic: its

masculine and feminine elements are interdependent and dynamic. Moreover, as

every quality is defined by the gradient of its opposite, the feminine yinis contained

as potential within the masculine yang, and vice-versa (Fowler 2005, 81-84).

Readers of the Old Testament are familiar with the anthropomorphic imagery

of the patriarchal Jehovah. In Jewish tradition this name, better known as the

Tetragrammaton, or four-lettered name represented as Y-H-V-H ( --- ) is neverpronounced but replaced with the euphemistic adonai ( --- ), meaning my Lord.According to Jewish mysticism, however, neither of these names, nor the

personalised, masculine deity they signify, is indicative of the intrinsic nature of God.

Not unlike the Dao, the absolute nature of the Supreme Being is ineffable and

completely unknowable; the kabbalists gave it the appellationAyn Sof( ),literally without bounds or Nothingness without limits(Kaplan 1991, 23-24).

In order for this Nothingness to manifest as

creation, a process of Divine Emanation occurs. This

results in the model of the Ten Emanations, or

Sefirot. The arrangement of these Divine

Emanations in a tripartite alignment, with the rightcolumn representing masculine forces, the left side

feminine and the centre their line of mutual

confluence, is known as tikun, or rectification.

Furthermore, the Sefirotcombine in such a way to

reflect the quality of the Four Worlds through

which they descend in order to become manifest.

These are: the World of Emanation (Atziltuh), the


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World of Creation (Beriyah), the World of Formation (Yetzirah) and the World of

Action (Assiyah). A further ethereal quasi-realm of Primordial Man,Adam Kadmon,

signifying the Divine Will to emerge from Nothingness, precedes these four (Kaplan

1991, 15-16). These five sefirotic combinations are known in kabbalah as Partzufim, or

Divine Expressions, and from the sublime to the more mundane, are known asArich

Anpin, the ExtendedFace(but also referred to asAyinor Nothingness),Aba, Father,

Ima,Mother, Zeir Anpin, the Reduced Face and, finally Nukva, the Female,

comprised solely of the final SefirahofMalchut, Kingdom (Kaplan 1991, 95-96).

The feminine aspects of Imaand Nukvaare also referred to respectively as the

Upper and Lower Shekhina. The term Shekhina, literally meaning dwelling place, is

mentioned frequently in the Talmud as a referent to the Divine Presence. In this

earlier usage, however, despite its grammatical feminine gender, the term had not

yet developed into the female hypostases within the Godhead that later kabbalistic

works like Sefer Ha-Bahir and, in particular, Sefer Ha-Zohar(The Book of Radiance)

would boldly articulate (Scholem 1991, 150).

The Upper Shekhina, which is designated in Sefer Ha-Zoharas the Palaceor

Celestial Womb andreminiscent of Taiji, exemplifies the process wherebyNothingness transforms into infinite potentiality. The Upper Shekhina, while serving

as a receptor of the supernal flow of Divine Life, simultaneously functions as a

dynamic agent in which the ineffable becomes revealed through the emanations (i.e.

the seven lower Sefirot) that it emits. Borrowing Indian terminology, Gershom

Scholem describes the Upper Shekhinaas the Shakti of the latent God: it is entirely

active energy, in which what is concealed within God is externalized.

By contrast, the Lower ShekhinaofMalchut(Kingdom) receives the influx of all

the supernal emanations but what it transmits is no longer within the realm of the

Godhead but rather Creation itself. Allegorized in Sefer Ha-Zohar as the Moon and

the Earth, the Lower Shekhina possesses no light of its own. (This attribute

resulted in its later development as the potential to at times infuse darkness and

evil into the world.) Apart from the influx of the nine Sefirotpreceding it, more

significantly, the Lower Shekhinareceives a reflux from below through human


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actions, which it then transmits upwards to the transcendent realms of being.

Significantly, the kabbalists held that the sin of Adam and Eve and their expulsion

from Eden had caused the Shekhinato likewise become exiled from her earthly

domain and separated from her male counterpart Zeir Anpin, also known as The

Higher Man from Ezekiels vision. The Zohar repeatedly emphasizes the

fundamental role of human endeavour in restoring the immanent Shekhinain union

with her transcendent partner, Zeir Anpin. In the kabbalah of R. Isaac Luria many

meditative prayers known as yichudim(unities) were established to precede the

performance of certain Torah precepts, expressing the conscious intent to restore the

harmonious balance within the Divine (Scholem 1991, 186-187).

The Mundane Feminine

Daoism maintains that sexual relations between male and female are a

microcosmic paradigm of the macrocosmic Yin and Yang. Works ascribed to the

legendary Yellow Emperor, such as The Classic of the Plain Girl, viewed heterosexual

relations as a natural function and discuss its various aspects with candour. Since thehormonal secretions of both male (yang) and female (yin) were considered

storehouses of life essences, orjing (), the goal of sexual relations was to achieve

a healthy absorption of these essences. There was, however, a fundamental

difference in the sexual nature of men and women. As expressed by the Daoist adept

Wu Xian of the Han Dynasty (Reid 1989, 258):

Themale belongs to Yang. Yangs nature is such that the male is

easily aroused but also quick to retreat. The female belongs to Yin.

Yins nature is such that the female is slow to be aroused and also slow

to be satiated.

Furthermore, male orgasm involved a depletion ofjing, whereas female

climax entailed its retention. In order to balance the inequity of nature in this arena,


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Daoists advocated a regimen of semen retention during coitus. This type of sexual

practice was meant to enable the female to have more time to reach her climax, at

which time her partner would reap the dual benefits of retaining his ownjing, while

simultaneously absorbing hers (Reid 1989, 263-264). Although younger adepts were

allowed occasional ejaculations, these were viewed as progressively detrimental

with age (Reid 1989, 261). According to Daoist principles, sexuality was not about

satisfaction of desires but rather a means to nurture vital essence. As stated by the

renowned Tang dynasty Daoist Dr. Sun Ssu-Mo, a man must think of how this act

will benefit his health and thus keep himself free from disease. This is a subtle secret

of the art of the bed-chamber.

A hedonistic stream of Daoism subsequently developed by the 3rdcentury,

and its utilization of these sexual techniques in Daoist temples without regard to

moral ramifications, at various junctures in Chinese history evoked a strong public

reaction by the authorities against these practices (Reid 1989, 13).

Like the Daoists, kabbalists also saw the sexual act as the primary earthly

paradigm of the Union between the Bride (Shekhina) and her Spouse, the Higher Man(Zeir Anpin). Kabbalah, however, imbued the sexual act with a sanctity and moral

quality which naturalistic Daoism did not. This meant that the sexual act could only

be performed within the sanctity of marriage and after the womans ritual

purification following her menses.

Though both the Talmud and the medieval Jewish physician Maimonides call

attention to the deleterious mental and physical effects of excess depletion of semen,

Judaism still championed the procreative effects of sexuality as fulfilment of the first

Torah precept Be fruitful and multiplyThe Talmud, however, recommends that

during intercourse a husband delay his ejaculation in order that his wife may climax

first. (Ironically, the stated purpose of this practice is to engender male offspring!).

Furthermore, according to the laws of onah(Exodus 21:11), in which a husband is

obliged to provide his spouse with food, clothing and sexual relations, it is not


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merely the frequency of the latter for which the male is responsible but also its

qualitative aspect.

The unio mysticaadvocated by the kabbalists was reinforced with the Zohars

interpretation of the creation myth. Mentioned several centuries years earlier in both

Midrash and Rashi commentaries, Adam was said to have been created du-partzufim

( - ), or androgynous. The taking of Adams rib (Genesis 2:21)in order to

create Eve was the forceful Divine act of separating this heretofore unified

androgynous being. The human process of finding a mate and binding that

relationship within the sanctity of marriage was deemed a restoration of the pristine

unity that had existed prior to this rupture. This restoration was in itself

paradigmatic of the rectification inside the Godhead which occurred during

performance of the sexual act within the parameters of sanctity and morality set by

the Torah (Green 2006, 39).

As with the licentious tendencies that developed in the Daoist tradition, the

Sabbatian and Frankist heresies which emerged in Europe during the 17thand 18th

centuries respectively were perversions of this kabbalistic notion that human

coupling could affect the restitution of unity within the Godhead. These heresiessimilarly affected a reactionary backlash against the promulgation of kabbalah.

Conclusion

Excepting the enhanced stamina of the female in sexual matters, Lao Zi makes

several references in the Dao De Jingto an intrinsic superiority of the Yin aspect:

The female by quiescence conquers the male;

By quiescence she gets underneath.(61)

Truly, the hard and strong are castdown,

While the soft and weak rise to the top.(76)


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When you know the male, yet hold on to the female,

Youll be the ravine of the country.(28)

In the psychological, political and spiritual matters referred to in these verses, the

Dao De Jingregarded the yielding Yin as more capable of attaining results than the

more abrasive Yang. Likewise, the practice of Wu-Wei, or effortless achievement,

involved a passive Yin approach that enabled all human artifice to acquiesce to the

greater flow of Dao.

It is in the eschatological teleology of kabbalah, where aspects of feminine

superiority become visible. In the world of time and space, the six masculine

emanations of Zeir Anpinsymbolized by the 6thmasculine letter vav,,representing the phallus, encapsulate the six directions of space (N, S, E, W, up,

down) and the six days of the week. By contrast, the feminine letter heh

corresponding to the (Lower) Shekhinarepresents a singular, internal spatial point

and the temporal Sabbath day (Kaplan 1991, 11). Though the Sabbath is the seventh

and final day of the week, the Talmudic sages classified it as the last in Creation;

the first in Thought. In this context, in the same way that in the Jewish religioustradition the Sabbath day has a greater sanctity than weekdays, likewise the

revelation of Divinity in the immanent natural order of the Shekhina appears as the

primary motif of Creation itself (Green 2006, 8-9).

Furthermore, according to Jewish tradition, with the dawn of the Messianic

era, predicted to occur after 6000 years of the Jewish calendar (currently at 5769) at

the threshold of the Sabbatical millennium, Adams sin will be removed. This will

have a profound effect on the status of women. Isaiahs prophecy that the light of

the Moon will be like the light of the Sun (Isaiah 30:26) is said to reflect this

transformation in the eminence of women. So too, according to the Zohar, does the

prophecy of Jeremiah: For God will create a new thing, a woman shall court a man

(Kaplan 1993, 62).

With the socio-cultural advancement of women in the postmodern era, more

people are questioning the mythology of the masculine God portrayed in exoteric


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Jewish scriptures and other religious narratives. Furthermore, men and women

alike are rejecting patriarchal structures as enshrined in Confucian thought and still

operative in numerous societies around the world. The exploration of mystical

traditions such as Daoism and kabbalah reveal a worldview where the feminine

principle plays a dominant role both in the supernal and earthly domains. A greater

understanding and implementation of these ideas could ultimately facilitate a more

sophisticated notion of the Divine. More importantly, the respective practices

associated with each of these traditions radically transform our view of Ultimate

Reality from a transcendent concept beyond our grasp to a simple experiencewhich,

if we can only surrender to the power within, we all have the capacity to access in

every moment of our lives.


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REFERENCE LIST:

Fowler, Jeaneane D.An Introduction to the Philosophy and Religion of Taoism: Pathways

to Immortality. 2005. Sussex: Sussex Academic Press. Google Books. http://

books.google.com (accessed September 22, 2008).

Green, Arthur.A Guide to the Zohar. 2004. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Green, Arthur. Seek My Face: A Jewish Mystical Theology. 2006. Woodstock: Jewish

Lights Publishing.

Jinfen, Yan. 2002. A feminine expression of mysticism, romanticism and syncretism

inA Plaint of Lady Wang. Inter-Religio 42: 3- 18. Nanzan University. http://

www.nanzan-u.ac.jp (accessed September 29, 2008)

Kaplan, Arye. Immortality, Resurrection and the Age of the Universe: A Kabbalistic View.

1993. Hoboken: Ktav Publishing House.

Kaplan, Arye. Innerspace. 1991. Brooklyn: Moznaim Publishing Company.

Kaup, Katherine P., ed. 2007. Understanding Contemporary Asia Pacific. London: Lynne

Rienner Publishers,

Lao-Tzu. Te Tao Ching. 1993. New York: Random House Inc.

Reid, Daniel P. The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity: A Modern Practical Guide to the

Ancient Way. 1989. New York. Simon and Schuster.

Rosner, Fred. Biomedical Ethics and Jewish Law. 2001. Hoboken Ktav Publishing House.

Google Books. http://books.google.com (accessed October 4, 2008).

Scholem, Gershom. On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead: Basic Concepts in the Kabbalah.

1991. New York: Schocken Books.
http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/miscPublications/I-R/pdf/42-Yan.pdfhttp://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/miscPublications/I-R/pdf/42-Yan.pdf

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