The Wisdom of the Desert

Author: Thomas Merton
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
ISBN: 0811220133
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 100

Book Description
The Wisdom of the Desert was one of Thomas Merton's favorites among his own books—surely because he had hoped to spend his last years as a hermit. The personal tones of the translations, the blend of reverence and humor so characteristic of him, show how deeply Merton identified with the legendary authors of these sayings and parables, the fourth-century Christian Fathers who sought solitude and contemplation in the deserts of the Near East. The hermits of Screte who turned their backs on a corrupt society remarkably like our own had much in common with the Zen masters of China and Japan, and Father Merton made his selection from them with an eye to the kind of impact produced by the Zen mondo.

Sufis

Author: Idries Shah
Publisher: eBook Partnership
ISBN: 1784790052
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 540

Book Description
The Sufis is the best introduction ever written to the philosophical and mystical school traditionally associated with the Islamic world.Powerful, concise, and intensely thought-provoking, it sums up over a thousand years of Eastern thought - the product of some of the greatest minds humanity has ever produced - into a single work, presenting timeless ideas in a fresh and contemporary style.When the book was originally published in 1964, it launched its author, Idries Shah, on to the international stage, attracting the attention of thinkers and writers such as J. D. Salinger, Doris Lessing, Ted Hughes and Robert Graves.It introduced to the Western world concepts which have subsequently become commonly accepted, varying from the psychological importance of attention and humour, to the use of traditional tales as teaching instruments (what Shah termed 'teaching-stories'), and the historical debt owed by the West to the Middle East in matters scientific, literary and philosophical.As a primer for the many dozens of Sufi books that Shah later produced, it is unsurpassed, offering a clear window onto a community whose system of thought and action has long concerned itself with the advancement of the whole of humankind, and whose ideas about individuals and society, their purpose and direction, need to be understood now more than ever before.

The Wisdom of the Desert

Author: Thomas Merton
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
ISBN: 9780811201025
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 100

Book Description
"The ascetics of Scete and the Thebaid in the Egyptian Desert have been more often admired than known or understood. Translations by such scholars as Helen Waddell have done much to restore the true perspective. This new selection from the Latin 'Sayings of the Fathers' (Verba Seniorum) has been made by Thomas Merton with a special purpose. It is not only a translation and selection, but a new monastic redaction in the spirit of our own time. Merton has felt free, as a monk, to do what generations of monks before him have done. He has made a wholly independent and original use of material which is the traditional basis of Christian monastic spirituality." -- Dust jacket.

Perfume of the Desert

Author: Eryk Hanut
Publisher: Quest Books
ISBN: 9780835607674
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Book Description
Renowned for his inspiring interpretations of world spiritual traditions, celebrated modern mystic Andrew Harvey teams with photographer Eryk Hanut to create a stunning book of readings drawn from Sufi mysticism. Teaching stories, prophetic sayings, folk tales and jests, Hanut's evocative photographs, and Harvey's breathtaking translations of the ecstatic poetry of Rumi, Kabir, and others make this little book an inspirational and artistic treasure.

The Way to Freedom

Author: Lama Dalai
Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco
ISBN: 9780060617226
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Book Description
An introduction to Tibetan Buddhism which highlights the core teachings of the faith, based on a 15th-century text and presented in easy-to-follow steps.

Silence and Honey Cakes

Author: Rowan Williams
Publisher: Lion Books
ISBN: 9780745951706
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The Archbishop of Canterbury explores the lessons we can learn from the wisdom and spirituality of the desert fathers.

In God's Holy Light

Author: Joan Chittister, OSB
Publisher: Franciscan Media
ISBN: 1616368322
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 116

Book Description
The Desert Monastics, thousands of monks and nuns who lived in the Egyptian wastelands between the third and fifth centuries, have come to be seen as the Olympians of the spiritual life. Renowned spiritual writer Joan Chittister explores the sayings of the Desert Mothers and Fathers, finding wisdom from that ancient tradition that speaks to your life today. This popular introduction to a powerful source of Christian wisdom can be a companion to your own spiritual journey.

Desert Fathers and Mothers

Author: Christine Valters Paintner
Publisher: SkyLight Paths Publishing
ISBN: 1594733732
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 183

Book Description
Timeless and contemplative sayings from the earliest Christian sages of desert spirituality can be a companion on your own spiritual journey. The desert fathers and mothers were ordinary Christians living in solitude in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Arabia who chose to renounce the world in order to deliberately and individually follow God's call. They embraced lives of celibacy, labor, fasting, prayer and poverty, believing that denouncing material goods and practicing stoic self-discipline would lead to unity with the Divine. Their spiritual practice formed the basis of Western monasticism and greatly influenced both Western and Eastern Christianity. Their writings, first recorded in the fourth century, consist of spiritual advice, parables and anecdotes emphasizing the primacy of love and the purity of heart. Focusing on key themes of charity, fortitude, lust, patience, prayer and self-control, the Sayings influenced the rule of St. Benedict and have inspired centuries of opera, poetry and art. This probing and personal SkyLight Illuminations edition opens up their wisdom for readers with no previous knowledge of Western monasticism and early Christianity. It provides insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that describes historical background, explains the practice of asceticism and illustrates how you can use their wisdom to energize your spiritual quest.

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Author:
Publisher: Liturgical Press
ISBN: 0879079592
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Book Description
`Give me a word, Father', visitors to early desert monks asked. The responses of these pioneer ascetics were remembered and in the fourth century written down in Coptic, Syriac, Greek, and later Latin. Their Sayings were collected, in this case in the alphabetical order of the monks and nuns who uttered them, and read by generations of Christians as life-giving words that would help readers along the path to salvation.

Desert Wisdom

Author: Vasantha Lakshmi Sai
Publisher: BalboaPress
ISBN: 1452505098
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 157

Book Description
Desert Wisdom brings us back to the realization that we are not separate from God or from one another. We are at a new frontier where it is time to weave East with West and spirit with matter. Author Vasantha Lakshmi Sai does not ask that you believe blindly in a God; instead, she asks that you believe in yourself and that you realize the truth of who you really area soul with a body, not a body with a soul. Desert Wisdom: Ask Spirit, Feel the Emotions, Use the Intellect, Then Act is an autobiographical account of Vasanthas spiritual odyssey with Sai Baba, the universal teacher. Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has made his advent into this world with a view to raising humanity as a whole to a higher consciousness, based on the living faith that all human beings are inherently divine. He does not seek followers, nor does he wish for people to change their religious faiths. He asks only that we open ourselves to the truth of who we really are. Now Vasantha Lakshmi Sai shares her journey, her learning and a few simple but effective techniques to help you listen to your own inner guru, your soulthe God within.