Scholars, illusions and enlightenment

An online study group with Daniel Simpson

Sundays, July 26 – August 16, 2020

5:00 – 6:00 PM (UK)

Scholarship and spiritual practice are often at odds, because each seeks truth in different ways. Are their methods compatible, or is the academic instinct to pick things to pieces a fundamental obstacle to deeper understanding?

Join us to explore these ideas in a light-hearted way by discussing a novel. Set in India in the 1970s, Maya charts a young man’s quest to escape his intellectual straight-jacket. With echoes of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, it shows how reason can get in the way of experiential insight.

The novel’s protagonist is a student of Sanskrit and Indian philosophy. He sets out for a year of research, leaving behind a failing marriage. His trip begins well with a passionate affair and exciting encounters. But his plans slowly start to unravel – along with his mind and his grip on reality.

Maya introduces him to hippies, a Himalayan hermit, an accountant who loves Sanskrit poems, and a yogi who asks for his help to translate a mysterious Tibetan text. As Stanley gets immersed in Hindu and Buddhist ways of seeing, his scholarly identity falls through his fingers.

As described by its author, C. W. Huntington, Maya is “poised somewhere between memoir and fiction – reality and imagination, waking and dream… in the literary tradition of Henry Miller, Thomas Merton, Jack Kerouac, and Carlos Castaneda.” The Buddhist writer David Loy has a simple verdict: “I’ve been waiting for someone to write a contemporary ‘quest for enlightenment’ novel, but didn’t expect it to be this good.”

We’ll prepare for each week’s session by reading ten of the book’s short chapters. Before the first, on July 26, please read chapters 1 to 10. To spark our discussion, some themes to consider will be shared in advance. I look forward to speaking soon!

Format

We meet on Zoom, using interactive video. Discussions are lightly moderated, so the focus is shaped by participants’ interests.

All sessions are recorded in case you’re unable to join us live. You can also ask questions or comment by email, or share a short audio file.

We start at 5:00 PM, UK time (12:00 PM in New York and 9:00 AM in California), and sessions last an hour – or slightly longer if needed.

About the Facilitator

Daniel Simpson presents ancient texts for modern times.

He teaches courses on yoga philosophy at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, at Triyoga in London, and on teacher trainings.

He holds a Master’s degree from SOAS, University of London, where he studied with some of the world’s leading scholars of yoga.

He is also a devoted practitioner, having first encountered yoga in India in the 1990s. His practical guidebook to yoga philosophy will be published soon.

Endorsements

Student feedback from previous courses.