The term “esoteric” is often used to describe more spiritual pursuits, but not a lot of time is dedicated to describing what the difference is between an esoteric and exoteric practice. Due to the complicated nature of religious beliefs and spirituality in general, the line can get very blurry very quickly. Each sect, each group, and each school will have some mix of esoteric and exoteric principles which merge and build off of one another.
To further complicate matters, the definitions don’t always match up. The term esoteric is derived from the comparative form of esō (Greek) which means “within”. Exoteric is basically the opposite with exō (Greek) meaning “outer” or similar. While this makes sense and the terms make contextual sense for their meaning, what exactly we’re “within” or “outside of” is going to vary.
Without splitting hairs too much, the main differentiation you get with these terms is that they will be used to refer to the information for or about the faith or spiritual system, or they will refer to the “source” of spiritual knowledge and growth. Any faith will have a split between the first form of esoteric and exoteric, but the second is a bit harder to wrap your head around. The second split is easiest to see with Christianity in the split between Christian Kabbalists or Gnostics versus the more traditional faith. God is viewed as represented within the depths of human souls and can be reconnected to for the esoteric branch, but is more an external entity in the exoteric view. This is a gross oversimplification but it’s good enough to build off of.
Esoteric Spirituality
Esoteric spirituality is a lot easier to wrap one’s head around (in terms of understanding the split). On one hand, you have things like the Vatican Library which has a trove of documents not for those outside the inner cloister. On the other, it is rumored to have kept Kabbalistic and Hermetic texts alive for generations among other things. Each of these facets contributes to the more general meaning of the term esoteric.
Esoteric spirituality is going to be a mix of access to information not widely promulgated in the faith, but it also describes the shift of the spiritual fountain to being internal. In Kabbalah, the soul is a representation of a piece in the greater whole. You look inward to connect to your place in the universe rather than looking outward. To know yourself is to know God so to speak.
While this split is pretty straightforward in mainstream Christianity, most religions don’t have quite the same codification. The line between which form of esoteric you’re dealing with can blur between any given temple, school, or other distinction. There is a mix which you are gradually granted access to. Some even disguise esoteric works as something anyone can access, but the key to understanding requires some kind of initiation to make sense of exactly what you’re reading.
Exoteric Spirituality
Exoteric spirituality is the faith or practice as presented to the masses or else the teaching that the source of spiritual knowledge is outside of oneself. The difference between prayer and magick lies in this distinction. Prayer is requesting an external deity aid you or to fulfill your wish, desires, or needs while magick is arguably tapping internal forces to will it to be so. The end result should be the same, the difference is in the structure and belief which makes it work.
If you practice pretty much any major religion, you’ll have dealt with at least the exoteric version. Christianity is unique in that the exoteric form is pretty much the only one left in the mainstream. There are hybrid faiths and new growths towards the esoteric realm, but the gnosticism has largely died from the core of the faith.
Another aspect of exoteric spirituality is that it is often more concerned with the rules and the tenets over their meaning to the spiritual nature of the practitioner. The why behind the rule doesn’t always make sense, but it doesn’t have to. There may be an esoteric reason that a given rule or law exists, but that doesn’t mean the masses need to know the specifics.
Esoteric and Exoteric Daoism
Different branches of Daoism have a different ratio of esoteric to exoteric practices, but there are still more primarily esoteric and more primarily exoteric versions of Daoism. The Daoist Canon is huge and contains multiple texts including things on Fulu and other magical practices as well as works on philosophy, and everything in between. The DaoDeJing is the core work for Daoism, but it is expounded on in a thousand different directions with different takes on different ideas. There are plenty more works which didn’t make it into the Daoist Canon as well.
There is so much material it is impossible for it all to agree. It can be thought of as the bible before revision (or even after) in this sense; not every book is literal and not every book is universal for its context. Different sects will highlight specific texts and ideas as core tenets while others may gloss over them entirely. They won’t disagree on the importance of the DaoDeJing, but they also won’t agree what the most important parts are either.
Daoism has a rich history which has contributed to its continued evolution. There is neidan (inner alchemy) and waidan (outer alchemy), principles of which affect the difference between certain forms of qigong and even meditation. Some works even cover a combination of readings which can be interpreted as either a literal or metaphoric alchemic process to satisfy both views.
Daoist magick can arguably be viewed as a form of neidan to some, or something else entirely. Some will view it as an exoteric process (entreating deities in a pantheon) while others view it as an internal esoteric process (manipulating one’s own energy). The faith is so old and has evolved without a central authority for so long that even the philosophy of how certain parts of the “system” work have taken on different meanings. This isn’t to say there’s a right or wrong answer, just that the faith is much more flexible than most people expect.
Esoteric and Exoteric Buddhism
Buddhism is a completely different beast than most faiths. The core tenets of Buddhism are esoteric in the sense that all spiritual growth and knowledge is an internal pursuit (outside of certain hybrid folk faiths). Due to the reincarnation angle, you get the belief in some areas that certain people are best just practicing a set of rules and looking towards establishing the basics as an exoteric practice for better reincarnation. The faith itself is an esoteric affair, but some people just aren’t ready to proceed down the path to enlightenment (yet).
Buddhism has three principle schools: Theravada (Hinayana; most Southeast Asian schools), Mahayana (Zen and most East Asian Buddhism), and Vajrayana (Tibet primarily). These schools basically boil down to focus on the individual, focus on all sentient beings, and focus on the self in context of the whole. I would argue that these also present a progression from exoteric to esoteric as well.
Theravada is derived from the older schools of Buddhism and views the Buddha as a figure who set the path which one can follow. Mahayana shifted that the path is one which can be followed, but that the ideal is to help all sentient beings down that same path. Vajrayana focuses on the concept of Buddha as a mirror to the innate perfection of one’s inner self in order to realize the path was there all along.
When people think of “esoteric Buddhism”, they tend to think of one of the schools of Mahayana Buddhism (folk Buddhism in China for instance) or Vajrayana Buddhism (Tibetan Buddhism). Vajrayana Buddhism is known for tantric practice and the various yogas among other things.
To make it all more complex, there are subdivisions in each school, but for the most part, Theravada is primarily exoteric esoterism, Mahayana is a mix depending on region, and Vajrayana is a heavily esoteric practice with an exoteric focus for a completely esoteric core. This is a gross simplification as even Theravada has a more traditionally esoteric practice associated with it.
Conclusion
While the definitions are helpful, keep in mind that any organic practice is going to have growth, development, decay, and change which turns strict practice into something which gets blurrier and blurrier without continuous upkeep. Even the most stringent practices change as they are faced with a changing society or practicing populace. Know the definitions and what they mean, but don’t obsess over them.
Definitions are an ideal and real life spiritual practices will rarely keep to that ideal. The line between exoteric and esoteric exists on multiple axes, each one encompassing an entirely different subtext to “in” and “out”. While the core is the same, the implications are not.
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