Inner space as sacred space: the temple as metaphor for the mystical experience

Cross Currents, Fall, 2002 by George Wolfe

In actuality though, there is a role for designated sacred gathering places if they are built to call attention to the infinite spiritual dimension of life, initially experienced by looking within. Spirituality unfolds through a growth process that begins in infancy. The teachings and myths of the great world religions are meant to be appreciated on different levels as one proceeds along life's path. The meaning apparent to a long time adult devotee may not be the meaning appropriate for a child. As an example, let us consider the well-known Christian nativity story.

For the person who has reflected upon the concept of incarnate divinity, the virgin birth serves as metaphor for the First Cause, articulating the mystery of how the divine reveals itself without anticipation through the process of realization. It is an experience that appropriately lends itself to the birth metaphor. The timing of a woman's water breaking and the emergence of the baby during natural childbirth invariably eludes anticipation. So, too, does the realization experience consistently contain an element of surprise as the idea is suddenly born and grows to maturity. At another stage, the nativity of Christ becomes understood for its Zen-like teaching of value inversion--the supreme omnipotent Creator of the universe entering Creation in humble and even somewhat scandalous circumstances, born in a "barn" as an illegitimate child, with the announcement of the birth given not to kings and clergy, but to those who were among the lowest in the social order of the day, the shepherds! For the literalist, the nativity may be viewed primarily as an incomprehensible miracle, but for a small sexually unawakened child, it is a story idealizing motherhood and birth, depicting God's love as it is found within the cold unwelcome domain of the human world.

As a father of two children, I can observe and assist my children as they progress through some of the stages I have mentioned. Unfortunately, many of the established religions, and here I include the popular expression of all faiths, do not adequately guide a person towards appreciating the internalized, mythological meaning of scripture. One way to address this deficiency is to design sacred space so as to present various interpretations of the stories important to a given religious tradition. Temple art and design could serve to educate believers to multiple interpretations of sacred stories so as to encourage the process of internalizing religious teachings.

A second approach to encourage a broader view of religion is to employ design to call attention to stories, themes, and metaphors that the great world religions share in common. Today, there is a very active interfaith movement spreading in the United States and throughout the world. Future architects will undoubtedly be called upon to design spaces for interfaith gatherings and ceremonies. Successful designs could help counter the provincialism inherent to popular religion. In addition to the Christian nativity story, for example, there are several other miraculous birth images present in the various religious traditions. There is the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus in Greek mythology. In this mythological image, wisdom (Athena) is portrayed as feminine, symbolic of intuition, the faculty of insight. Athena is born within each of us every time we are struck with a startling and transforming realization. The book of Genesis tells the story of Sarah, the wife of Abraham whose womb was barren. Sarah mirac ulously gives birth to Isaac while in her nineties, conveying the message that the Divine can reveal itself through anyone, regardless of age. And there is the myth of Buddha being born from the side for his mother and immediately walking upright (MacQuitty, 1969). Walking upright (as opposed to crawling on all fours like an animal) represents living according to one's higher spiritual nature. This birth image suggests Buddha was guided by his divine nature from birth, and was never ruled by his lower animal nature. Such myths, when studied in parallel for their internalized meaning, render a more complete message and serve as a lens to gain deeper insight into the Divine.