This dissertation presents a selective study of the works of Santa Teresa of Avila (1515 - 1582), a Doctor of the Catholic Church since 1970, and regarded as a "great contemporary spiritual teacher" by the Church. She was born in the most glorious epoch of Spanish Empire during the reign of Felipe II, which is the period that produced the most Christian Saints. Not only is Santa Teresa the first but also one of the most representative female mystics in the history of Spain.
This analysis focuses on the mystical religious, and cultural aspects of her writings as expressed in the Book of Life and The Mansions or Interior Castle. The project first analyzes Santa Teresa's Christian background of the time and then analyzes her works from Taoist, Confucian and Buddhist perspectives. My aim is to reveal a parallel between both the mystical and the religious cultural worlds of the Spaniards and the Chinese. In the spiritual world, this parallel overlaps with an intimate energy that is recognized among all mystics. Christians call it the "Union with God", Taoists and Confucians label it the "Union with Heaven or Tien" and Buddhists refer to it as "Nirvana," "Satori" or "Enlightenment". Looked at in this interdisciplinary way Santa Teresa can be explained and understood without difficulty, despite the difference among faiths, cultures and traditions.
I was raised in a Buddhist, multi-lingual (Japanese, Chinese, Hakka
and Taiwanese) family and was educated in a Catholic Foreign Language School,
studying exclusively Spanish and English. Coming from this multicultural background, I perceived peace and harmony within every cultural encounter. Therefore, I wish to give this tremendous Spanish woman and mystic special recognition in this globalized century. Although Santa Teresa is already a famous spiritual figure for mystical and religious studies, the inclusion of her in the oriental perspective of culture, will provide a positive encounter, a tolerant awareness, to the dark night of the Christian culture of guilt. I also attempt to reveal that Christian contemplation is not only a balance between physical and spiritual achievement, but also a path to a union with God.