ABSTRACT
Appeals to religious experience as evidence for religious belief arenot, of course, limited to consideration of experiences that are takenby their subjects to be experiences of God. Appeals are made to enlightenment experiences as well. While, as noted earlier, the psychological features (detachment, calm, bliss, and the like) of Advaita, Jain, and Buddhist enlightenment experiences are very similar, their reported structure and their proposed doctrinal significance are quite different. Enlightenment experiences are not viewed by religious traditions in which they are prized as a sort of cosmic Prozac; they are not primarily prized for their psychological features. They are believed to cure, not remove symptoms, and the ills they are said to cure are not depression, but the basic illness common to us all, as each particular religious tradition perceives it. If a devotee of Advaita Vedanta appeals to Advaita enlightenment experience as evidence for religious belief, it will be Advaita beliefs that are said to be supported by the experience. Analogously, of course, for Jain or Buddhist appeals to Jain or Buddhist enlightenment experiences.
