Applying the allegorical method to Zohar and other mystic religions

The complete understanding and use of allegory is imperative in openly understanding all religions, not solely modern religions. This is especially true in studying the mystic side of any religion such as Tibetan Tantric Buddhism and Zohar, Jewish mysticism.

So, what is allegory? Allegory is essentially saying one thing and meaning another, such as with the use of metaphor. For example, in his commentary on Lamentations Origen refers to Jerusalem as the human soul. Allegory is poetic in that it allows room for interpretation. During our class lecture on April 11th we stated that allegory was useful in interpreting ancient religions because it adds a spiritual side to the historical facts. I agree with this but I strive to emphasize the importance of applying an allegorical method to studying various forms of mysticism.
The Wikipedia article on Zohar states that practitioners of Zohar assume four kinds of Biblical exegesis (to extract what is written in the text the way it was written, from dictionary.com): peshat (literal), remez (allusion), derash (interpretive), sod (mystic/secretive). These allow for a well-rounded interpretation of Zohar topics and symbols. Without applying the exegesis method to Zohar ideas, an outsider may omit meanings/symbols that provide the base of a mystic religion and thus have an incomplete understanding of a religion. This is prominent in a situation in where an outsider would take the literal meaning of Zohar's use of erotic terminology. Zohar mystics do not use the erotic terms in the literal sense; instead they attach a deeper meaning to the terms to illustrate the relationship existing between God and man.

This allegorical method is also extremely important in studying Tibetan Tantric Buddhism (the mystic sect of Buddhism). Tantric has four initiation stages that practitioners must undergo. To explain my point, I will deal specifically with the second initiation stage. Within the second initiation stage practitioners consume the five nectars. The five nectars are urine, blood, semen, brains, and excrement. Taken in a literal sense, Tantrics would seem inhumane and disgusting but this ritual has more importance when looked through an allegorical lens. Tantrics also refer to the nectars as ambrosias as they each have their own cleansing function in order to purify a Tantric's body. Urine cleanses mind, blood cleanses merits, semen cleanses speech, brain cleanses acts, and excrement purifies the body. Thus through an allegorical method outsiders learn of the true meaning behind mystical ritual which will add to their complete understanding of a religion. For example, the overall goal in Tibetan Tantric Buddhism is to utilize both the body and the mind to attain Enlightenment which is why Tantrics place so much importance on cleansing the body.

The main point is that if outsiders rely solely on literal meanings they have too much opportunity to examine a religion with a closed mind and are able to place too much judgment on what they think they see. Allegory creates a clear lens for outsiders to look into, allowing them to understand a religion in a truthful way, a way in which the practitioner would understand it.