> My understanding is that mystics do get magic through their practices.
> Mystics that remain on the path think that these magics are inconsequential
> (I've been looking for a reference but can't find it right now).
Warning: what follows is off the cuff, from memory and not properly backed up by researched.
My interpretation is that in Glorantha -- as is believed by certain real world Eastern traditions -- the practices that one uses on the mystical path can grant magical abilities. What follows is my thoughts on how this could work.
The sort of meditation practices that result in a purified and intensely concentrated mind can itself grant magical powers. Such a highly refined and concentrated mind allows the practitioner to manipulate the natural energies within and around his body -- chi, "winds" etc. -- to do magic.
The mystic uses this highly developed concentration to strip away illusion and see the ultimate truth of how things are - the Void, etc. Since the mystic is going for the concentration for use as a tool for better understanding reality, the magic is entirely irrelevant and possibly even perilous since using it for personal gain, even for benevolent purposes, can distract the mystic from his/her path and into delusion - only now with the power to *really* screw up. See Sheng Seleris.
Some people might pursue such practices with no mystical intention at all. One might call such a person a sorcerer, with all the negative baggage that term brings.
Note that we are talking about practicing mystics here, not fully enlightened beings, who are a different kettle of fish. Enlightened beings might be able to ignore the normal rules of "reality" because they KNOW it is illusory.
Why would an enlightened being act when it has transcended the world and thus are beyond such entanglements? One answer is that they don't, at least not from their own side. In some real world traditions, this is explained as being the result of the worshiper/venerator/whatever's karma. When the practitioner prays to Tara for aid it is not Tara's karma that causes action. It is the practitioner's karma. Tara is like the moon, reflecting in a thousand pools of water.
So, what forms of magic are being used in Gloranthan terms? Chi/wind magic acquired from mind-sharpening meditation sounds like sorcery to me. The flavor/trappings are very different, but the source of the magic is similar. Praying to enlightened beings for aid could be veneration in some cases, and theism in others. I know of some practices where the practitioner tries to identify as completely as possible with the enlightened being and act magically using that identification, which sounds theistic to me.
Just my 2 cents.
-KevinMcD
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