Abstract

This study examines the doctrine of spiritual ascent, central to mysticalexperience, as taught in theistic mysticism, as exemplified in Christianityand Islam, and non-theistic or monistic mysticism, as manifested inBuddhism. The study highlights the common characteristics and thevariations in the teachings of spiritual ascent according to these three worldreligions. The primary objective is to explore how the universal humanaspiration for a transcendent al experience common to these mysticaltraditions could be brought into contact with, or understood in the light of,the belief systems and values in which a particular mystical concept orformula sprouts