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2022/05/17

Tao Te Ching: Trans. Liang, Yuhui

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This is not just another English version of the Tao Te Ching, this is the new English version that makes good sense to readers for the very first time in the history. While the Tao Te Ching is a famous ancient Chinese classic and has substantially influenced the lives of so many people over the centuries, it is also one of the most profound and misinterpreted spiritual and philosophical text. Some of its chapters may appear confusing and difficult to understand. What can you do when you just can not make sense of them?

Yuhui Liang, the author of this book, has in-depth research on the Tao Te Ching and found many misinterpretations in many English and Chinese versions of The Tao Te Ching. After years of research and study, he has made significant progress in three important areas and successfully corrected all the misinterpretations. And his new translation let Lao Tzu's words finally make good sense to readers. His work takes the translation of the Tao Te Ching to the next level of better accuracy, coherence and contextualization, while keeping the sentences reasonably concise. You can benefit from this book whether you are a first time reader or a long time fan. It will help you read Lao Tzu's book with greater understanding, re-examine its original meaning, and find out what it means to you today.

The content of this book: Introduction, Translation, Pinyin version, Annotation, Notes, and a Brief Analysis of the Symbol Pair for each of eighty one chapters.

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3 November 2018

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ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07K63KM35

Language ‏ : ‎ English

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Customer Reviews: 4.3 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

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There are so many version Tao Te Ching Q&A | Goodreads

There are so many version of this book!... — Tao Te Ching Q&A | Goodreads

Shoaib Rehman asked:

There are so many version of this book! Which one should I read first? https://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=+Tao+Te+Jing++Lao+Tsu&search=Find+book

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5 Years Ago

10 Answers

John An online search will pull up a pdf with 8 translations, the Bureau of Public Secrets archive links to many, and there is an Hungarian site (in English too) which has data on nearly a hundred.

So far I found Ursula Le Guin's anarcho-eco-feminist "creative interpretation" congenial, if free.

Jonathan Star achieves a balance of the literary and scholarly; his "definitive ed." has transliterations of each ideogram with multiple meanings so you can "assemble your own'!

Gia-Fu Feng + Jane English convey the TTC in a popular version many like;

I found as have others Stephen Mitchell's influenced by his Zen bent. Like ULG, SM as with many "translators" does not know classical (or modern) Chinese; they both worked from Paul Carus' 1898 transliteration. Red Pine's and David Hinton's renderings show a blend of scholarship and accessibility from two who truly know Chinese.

Finally, the classical Chinese is different than the modern version, which makes me wonder if one needs to be a native speaker of modern Chinese to claim translation credibility, as some born-bilingual interpreters insist.

P.S. Thomas Merton adapted Chuang Tzu's tales, unfortunately not the TTC.

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4 Years Ago

Gary Jaron The Jonathan Star text is an update on the Paul Carus 1898 Chinese to English lexicon. Though I don't like his translation. The translation of Red Pine and his collection of classic commentary is excellent. My favorite for insight and translation is the definitive work by Ellen Chen. Her commentary is deep and rich. She is a native Chinese reader and western graduated scholar. All her books on Taoism are brilliant and deeply rewarding. Though her own scholarly analysis text on Taoism is not an essay read but a excellent comparison and contrast of Western thinking to Lao Tzu text.

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2 Years Ago

Ellen I have read multiple translations of this work, and personally I believe that the best to understand the true meaning is: ISBN 9781585426188. I hope this helps!

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4 Years Ago

Ward Hammond The one by Ursula K. Le Guinn is great. I have many. I just picked this one up.

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7 Days Ago

Larry Campbell I experienced the same frustration with "which translation". As a result, I have just released a book "The Parallel Tao Te Ching: A Comparison of English Translations". I am NOT a "Taoist Scholar", but this is an anthology-type book, using 11 total translations. Each verse has 3 side/side translations from those 11, with some further comments and info. If you're interested, visit my website: larryncampbell.com, or e-mail me at larrycampbell@aftermathenterprises for further questions and ongoing discounts.

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51 Days Ago

David Howell The author Michael Finkel, in his book The Stranger in the Woods, suggested that the Red Pine translation should be read. That is the version I will seek to read as I enjoyed his book immensely.

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One Year Ago

Wayne Leung The original Chinese

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One Year Ago

Forked Radish John C. H. Wu's 1961 translation in very good. He was born in Ningbo, China and graduated from the University of Michigan Law School.

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2 Years Ago

David I have three translations in my library, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Gia-Fu Feng, or Derek Lin. They are pretty good.
I just have read a new one, Tao Te Ching: The New English Version That Makes Good Sense (ISBN-13: 978-1727252248). Unlike others who believe the Tao can not be told or explained, the TTC is full of paradoxes and you have to give up language to learn the Tao, the author of this book asserts that the Tao not only can be experienced, but also can be told or explained; and language and mind can be useful tools to learn the Tao if you have the know-how. Thus, if you want to know exactly what is the Tao, what are Being and Non-Being, how to experience the Tao, how to know your true nature and how to follow the Tao in your life, you can read this one.

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3 Years Ago

C.G. Masi Start with the one closest to your hand. Then read another. And, another ... .

Probably the least authoritative is Thomas Merton's. It may, however, be the most beautiful.

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4 Years Ago

2022/05/11

British Fiona Gardner: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle

Amazon.com.au: Fiona Gardner: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle

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About Fiona Gardner

I trained and worked as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and before that as a social worker and am now a spiritual director and a writer. I was a previous chair of the Thomas Merton Society of Great Britain and Ireland and was co-editor of The Merton Journal. I received a Louie award from the International Thomas Merton Society in 2015.

My main interest is in exploring the overlap, the differences and the connections between spirituality and psychotherapy and I try to do this now through writing.

'Taking Heart' 'published January 2021 explores the idea of spiritual journeying, self-acceptance and the search for meaning.

I also worked for six years as safeguarding advisor for the diocese of Bath and Wells, Church of England. 'Sex, Power, Control, Responding to abuse in the institutional church' published by The Lutterworth press February 2021 is based on analysing how and why the church has responded so poorly to allegations of clergy abuse.

My website is: http://fionagardner.co.uk

(NB The book of lectures to Australian friends - 'Seeking Union with the Spirit' is by another Australian Fiona Gardner - we seem to have very similar interests! For some reason I cannot remove it from this page ...)
-----

2022/05/02

Buddhism and the Art of Psychotherapy: Carolyn and Ernest Fay Series in Analytical Psychology (Audible Audio Edition): Hayao Kawai, Tom Pile, University Press Audiobooks: Books

Amazon.com: Buddhism and the Art of Psychotherapy: Carolyn and Ernest Fay Series in Analytical Psychology (Audible Audio Edition): Hayao Kawai, Tom Pile, University Press Audiobooks: Books

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Buddhism and the Art of Psychotherapy: Carolyn and Ernest Fay Series in Analytical Psychology

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Hayao Kawai (Author), Tom Pile (Narrator), University Press Audiobooks (Publisher)
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In this engaging and intriguing work, renowned Japanese psychologist Hayao Kawai examines his own personal experience of how a Japanese became a Jungian psychoanalyst and how the Buddhism in him gradually reacted to it.

Kawai reviews his method of psychotherapy and takes a fresh look at I in the context of Buddhism. His analysis, divided into four chapters, provides a new understanding of the human psyche from the perspective of someone rooted in the East.

Kawai begins by contemplating his personal koan: "Am I a Buddhist and/or a Jungian?" His honest reflections parallel Jung's early skepticism about Buddhism and later his positive regard for Buddha's teachings. He then relates how the individuation process is symbolically and meaningfully revealed in two philosophical and artistic picture series, one Eastern and one Western.

After exploring the Buddhist conception of the ego and the self, which is the opposite of to the Western view, Kawai expands psychotherapy to include sitting in silence and holding contradictions or containing opposites.

Drawing on his own experience as a psychoanalyst, Kawai concludes that true integration of East and West is both possible and impossible. Buddhism and the Art of Psychotherapy is an enlightening presentation that deepens the listener's understanding of this area of psychology and Eastern philosophy.

The book is published by Texas A&M University Press.
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©1996 Hayao Kawai (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks

Listening Length

5 hours and 21 minutes
Author Hayao Kawai

Narrator Tom Pile
Audible release date

July 21, 2016
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Listening Length 5 hours and 21 minutes
Author Hayao Kawai
Narrator Tom Pile
Audible.com Release Date July 21, 2016
Publisher University Press Audiobooks
Program Type Audiobook
#177 in Eastern Philosophy (Audible Books & Originals)
#203 in Behaviorism Psychology
#286 in Behavioral Psychology (Books)
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Top reviews from the United States

Neal J. Pollock
5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous insight into the intersection of East & WestReviewed in the United States on December 10, 2005

This is a unique & inspired book by the 1st Jungian analyst in Japan, who provides rare & unusual insight into the differences & similarities between East & West psychology- both theoretical & personal. Kawai provides inputs from his family's Jodo (Pure Land) sect as well as his "2nd Master" the Buddhist monk Myoe's (1173-1232) Kegon (Garland) sect & Zen (both Soto & Rinzai). He begins with an eye-opening biography of his personal journey to both Jungian psychology & Buddhism with relationships to Freud's & Rogers' psychologies. He expands on his friends' Spiegelman & Miyuki's "Buddhism & Jungian Psychology" analysis of the Zen Ox-herding Pictures, including photos both Ku-on's & a contemporary Japanese woman's version (but not Pu-ming's) & a similar comparison with the alchemical Rosarium Philosophorum but with an interesting chart comparing the titles of each plate-pointing out the amazing similarity. Many of his observations are revealed in a personal manner--he shares himself with the reader.

Comparing East & West: p. 110: "Complementarity of Buddhist `eachness' & Western individuality" & pp. 30-1: "I found that my psychotherapy was deeply related to what Buddhist sutras deal with," & p. 102: "Jung's concept of synchronicity belongs to the thought pattern of interdependent origination." He references specific sutras to buttress his views/observations. From his comparisons of sutras vs. Jung's psychology, it seems that the "Collective Mind" in the sutras resembles Jung's Self (see The Awakening of Faith sutra). On the other hand, p. 105: "Jung, as a psychologist, limited his work to considering those things which can be grasped by ego & then verbalized," p. 106: "Probably I still have a different kind of ego from Westerners. Compared to the Western ego, the Japanese ego is living far more `in everything,'" pp. 130-1: "When I sit with a client in the therapy session, I am sometimes reminded of the motto, `just sitting,' appreciated by the Soto monks-not caught by `treatment' or `solution,' but simply sitting..."Sometimes I feel that client's complaints are similar to koans, at least for the therapist," & p. 147 note 2: "During Thomas Merton's visit to the East, he discovered that Buddha encompassed both self & no-self; that is, he discovered `the Middle Way'."

He also shines a light on some contemporary issues 1) in Western Buddhism from a united perspective: p. 19: "When getting close to someone, even a great man, you start to see his shadow side. Living in Japan, you sometimes see or know about a `great Zen master,' but when you find out that, even after he reaches `enlightenment,' his selfish aspect, for example, remains as great as before." He notes, however, that the same can hold in psychoanalysis! 2) modern Jungian psychology--powerfully defining what it is to be a Jungian. 3) Explaining important Buddhist concepts in modern terms: p. 31: "Monks did not `read,' they chanted it. It was in chanting the sutra, while repeating many similar & gracious names, that transformation of consciousness was to be expected. You can approach the sutra only though this sort of consciousness." [~the Ecstatic Kabbalah of Abraham Abulafia] & p. 89: from an old Buddhist story-"The "I" of a human being is a composite of various elements. It's only temporarily formed into one thing. Foolish people captured by this "I", suffer a great deal. Once you know what this real I is, your suffering with disappear at once."

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Michael Staples
3.0 out of 5 stars Need to be clear on what you are looking for here.Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2008

This is a well written high quality book, but I was a little disapointed. I think if you are a Jungian it might be of a more interest because that seems to be its strength. There are many questions left unadressed. I would have like to have had a cogent discussion of the differences, for instance, in the Jungian and Buddhist notions of Self. Kawai points out that Spiegleman (one of his influences) takes issue with the Buddhist notion of no self...or at least feels the idea needs to be reframed. But he doesn't really elaborate. I was looking for a discussion that would bridge what appear to be theoretical differences between the "All Self" of Jung (and Vedanta), and the "No Self" of Mahayana. Didn't get it. In Chapter 1, Kawai writes that "...I have no intention of writing about psychotherapy based upon Buddhist ideas or of comparing Jung's theories with Buddhist cosmology." So that was that. But without that discussion it is difficult to make the leap from Psychology to Psychotherapy -- and after all, the book is entitled "Buddhism and the Art of Psychotherapy." So I felt the book was a little dissapointing. But again, there are some intersting things in this book for Jungians. There is a unique and interesting correlation explored between the Rosarium Philosophorum and the 10 Ox-herding Pictures of Zen, for instance.

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Andrew Grimes JSCCP, JCP
5.0 out of 5 stars The work and life of the psychotherapist Dr Hayao KawaiiReviewed in the United States on October 12, 2010

A fascinating and clearly written explanation of the introduction of Jungian Psychotherapy into Japan, its transformation into the mainstream of counseling and group therapy practice and the teaching of psychology, and the influence of the life and work of Dr. Hayao Kawai in the planting of Analytical Psychotherapy into Japan and the promotion of integration of a broad range of psychotherapies in the service of the people of Japan. Still as timely and thought provoking as when it was first published in Japan, it is a book that makes one question the wisdom or otherwise of adhering solely to a single school of psychotherapy in the service of our clients and patients.

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宮寺良平
5.0 out of 5 stars 心理学に関心があり、英語で内容がある本を読みたい人にお勧めです。Reviewed in Japan on February 18, 2019
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　河合隼雄氏による仏教と心理療法の本である。これはアメリカの分析心理学会での河合氏による講演を基にしている。
　西洋の心理療法家の中には、仏教に深い関心を持っている人達がいる。彼らによれば、西洋が科学を発達させるために多大な努力をしたのに対して、東洋では人間の心、意識の問題を深く探求して来ており、そのために人間の心や意識の問題については、膨大な研究の蓄積があり、その多くは仏教などの経典として残っているという。
　ユングは、西洋の人が持つ心の病気はしばしば、強固になりすぎた自己意識が原因で、それを解決するためには、「自我」(ego)を超えて、もっと広い「自己」(self)へ至らないといけないと考える。これを自己実現と呼ぶ。
　河合は、自己実現と仏教の悟りの共通点なども詳細に説明していく。私は、自己実現の方が、悟りよりも普通の人に可能な範囲ではないかと考える。そうすると、心理学から仏教に興味を持つだけでなく、仏教の実践者からも心理学への道が開ける。
　実際には、河合氏は、小さい時から仏教には抵抗を感じていて、仏教に関心を持ち始めたのはかなり後で、心理療法を進めていくうちに、アメリカで十牛図や曼荼羅に出会ったという。さらに、心理療法で経験を積んでから、次第に仏教から学ぶべきことが多くあることが分かったという。
　河合氏は井筒俊彦氏の本から多くのことを学んでいるようだが、かなり難解な井筒氏の本を、心理療法という現実的な見地から読むということは、私には驚きである。
書かれている英語はとてもわかりやすいので、しっかりした内容を英語で読むという貴重な経験ができる。
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電気うさぎは耳かきの夢を見るか
5.0 out of 5 stars 仏教、日本人のメンタリティ、西洋文化との対比など。Reviewed in Japan on March 15, 2010
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David H. Rosen氏による序文によると、英訳された河合氏の４冊目の本とのこと。
でも内容的には西洋人向けに書かれているので、河合先生が直接英語で書いたのか、日本語で書いて誰かが翻訳したのかな、と思ったり。日本国内向けに書いた文章ではないです。
米国のユング派の研究所が出しているブックシリーズから刊行。
ふーん、テキサスにもこういう人達がいるんですね。

河合先生がなぜ米国留学、スイス留学することになったのかという話、少年時代の敗戦経験から日本文化を嫌って西洋文化に憧れたこと、でも欧米での勉強過程で自分が日本人であることを意識するようになったこと、帰国後に心理療法をするうちに自然と日本的、仏教的な考えに近づいて行ったことなどが語られています。これらの話は既に河合先生の様々な日本語著作の中で語られていることですが、英語で西洋人に対して語っているのを読むのも興味深いと思います。

他には、禅の「十牛図」と西洋のアルケミー（錬金術）の男性性・女性性の統合図との対比、現代の日本人女性が描いた新しい十牛図の紹介（表紙が中国的に見えますが、この日本女性の描いた十牛図のうちの1枚です）、仏教の概念、西洋、東洋や日本の意識・無意識の捉え方の違いなどについて語られています。

西洋と日本のメンタリティの違いを英語でどう語ればいいんだろう、と思っている方はお読みになってみると興味深いかと思います。日本人として日本人について読んでも興味深いです。なるほど、と。

ユング派心理学に興味のある人向けに書かれているため、ユング派の概念や箱庭療法がどんなものかを全く知らないと理解しにくいかもしれません。一般人にも読めますので、心理学の専門家である必要は全然ないのですが。
箱庭について簡単に知りたい方は、朝日文庫から出ている『ブッダの夢』（中沢新一氏との対談）をお勧めします。

私は仏教に造詣が深くないので、Part4の肝心な仏教のところがよく理解できませんでした。
阿頼耶識（あらやしき）とか。名前は知っているんですが、難しい。

西洋文化と東洋文化の統合は不可能でもあり、可能でもある。
河合先生をしてこう言わせしめるんですから、相互理解は簡単ではないんでしょうね。
しかし、日本人が西洋文明と付き合って行くことの精神的な難しさを早くから指摘していたのは、改めて卓見であったと感じる次第。
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2022/05/01

Paths To The Heart: Sufism and the Christian East - Cutsinger, James S.

Paths To The Heart: Sufism and the Christian East - Kindle edition by Cutsinger, James S.. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

https://archive.org/details/pathstoheartsufi0000unse

Paths To The Heart: Sufism and the Christian East

Kindle Edition
by James S. Cutsinger (Author)

Publication date 2002

Topics

Orthodox Eastern Church -- Relations -- Islam, Islam -- Relations -- Orthodox Eastern Church, Islam -- Relations -- Christianity, Christianity and other religions -- Islam

===

Description

This book is a collection of essays concerning the mystical and contemplative dimensions of Eastern Christianity and Islam presented at the October 2001 conference on Hesychasm and Sufism at the University of South Carolina. Contributions from internationally recognized spiritual leaders and scholars include Kallistos Ware; Seyyed Hossien Nasr; John Chryssavgis; Reza Shah-Kazemi; Huston Smith; Williams Chittick and more.

Despite the long and well-known history of conflict between Christians and Muslims, their mystical traditions especially in the Christian East and in Sufism, have shared for centuries many of the same spiritual methods and goals. One thinks, for example, of the profound similarities between the practices of the Jesus Prayer among the Hesychast masters of the Philokalia and the Sufi practices of dhikr or invocation.

These commonalities suggest the possibility for a deeper kind of religious dialogue than is customary in our day, a dialogue which seeks to foster what Frithjof Schuon has called inward or "esoteric" ecumenism, and which, while respecting the integrity of traditional dogmas and rites, "calls into play the wisdom which can discern the one sole Truth under the veil of different forms."

The purpose of this book, the first major publication of its kind, is to promote precisely this more inward kind of ecumenical perspective. These essays point to a spiritual heart in which the deeper meaning of Christian and Muslim beliefs and practices come alive, and where spiritual pilgrims may discover, beyond the level of seemingly contradictory forms, an inner commonality with those who follow other paths.

===

Table of Contents for Paths to the Heart

Foreword

Dimensions of the Heart

How Do We Enter the Heart?

Kallistos Ware

St Seraphim of Sarov in Sufic Perspective

Gray Henry

The Heart of the Faithful is the Throne ofthe All-Merciful

Seyyed Hossein Nasr

The Path of Remembrance

On the Cosmology of Dhikr

William C. Chittick

Presence, Participation, Performance: TheRemembrance of God in the Early Hesychast Fathers

Vincent Rossi

Paths of Continuity: Contemporary Witnesses ofthe Hesychast Experience

John Chryssavgis

Toward an Esoteric Ecumenism

The Metaphysics of Interfaith Dialogue:Sufi Perspectives on the Universality of theQuranic Message

Reza Shah-Kazemi

A Unity with Distinctions: Parallels in theThought of St Gregory Palamas and Ibn Arabi

Peter Samsel

Hesychia: An Orthodox Opening to EsotericEcumenism

James S. Cutsinger

Conclusions

The Long Way Home

Huston Smith

Panel Discussion

Contributors

===

Excerpts from Paths to the Heart

Excerpted from Chapter 1:

How Do We Enter the Heart?

by Kallistos Ware, Bishop of Diokleia

Within the heart is an unfathomable depth.

—The Macarian Homilies

Le Point Vierge

In the experience of almost everyone there have surely been certain texts—passages in poetry or prose—which, once heard or read, have never been forgotten. For most of us, these decisive texts are probably few in number; but, rare though they may be, they have permanently altered our lives, and they have helped to make us what we are. One such text, so far as my own life journey is concerned, is a paragraph on le point vierge, “the virgin point”, in Thomas Merton’s Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (definitely my firm favorite among his many books):

At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us. It is so to speak his name written in us, as our poverty, as our indigence, as our dependence, as our sonship. It is like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely. . . . I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere.(1)

Here Thomas Merton is seeking to elucidate the moment of disclosure which came to him on 18 March 1958, and which he recorded in his journal on the following day: “Yesterday, in Louisville, at the corner of 4th and Walnut, suddenly realized that I loved all the people and that none of them were or could be totally alien to me. As if waking from a dream—the dream of my separateness.” (2) It is noteworthy that, when attempting later on in his Conjectures to understand what was clearly for him an experience of intense visionary insight, Merton makes use of a term, le point vierge, which he had derived from Sufi sources. He had come across this phrase in the writings of the renowned French Orientalist Louis Massignon, with whom he had been in correspondence during the year 1960. Massignon in his turn employed the phrase when expounding the mystical psychology of the tenth-century Muslim saint and martyr al-Hallâj, whose custom it was to say, “Our hearts are a virgin that God’s truth alone opens.” (3)

Significantly al-Hallâj refers in this context to the heart. This word does not actually occur in the passage quoted above from Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, but Merton is in fact describing precisely what the Christian East has in view when it speaks in its ascetic and mystical theology about the “deep heart” (see Psalm 63:7 [64:6]). By “the virgin point” Massignon, interpreting al-Hallâj, means “the last, irreducible, secret center of the heart”, “the latent personality, the deep subconscious, the secret cell walled up [and hidden] to every creature, the ‘inviolate virgin’”, which “remains unformed” until visited by God; to discover this virgin point is to return to our origin. (4) Thus le point vierge or the innermost heart is, in the words of Dorothy C. Buck, the place “where God alone has access and human and Divine meet”; it embodies “the sacredness hidden in the depth of every human soul”. (5)

This is exactly what is signified by the “deep heart” in the neptic(6) theology of the Orthodox Church. St Mark the Monk (? fifth century), for example, speaks of “the innermost, secret and uncontaminated chamber of the heart . . . the innermost and untroubled treasury of the heart, where the winds of evil spirits do not blow”. According to Mark the Monk, it is to this hidden temenos that Christ is alluding when he states, “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21), and when he talks about “the good treasure of the heart” (Luke 6:45). (7) A similar understanding of the heart is beautifully expressed by the Roman Catholic Benedictine Henri le Saux, who wrote under the name Swami Abishiktananda, when he terms it “the place of our origin . . . in which the soul is, as it were, coming from the hands of God and waking up to itself”. (8) In the words of another Roman Catholic author, the Dominican Richard Kehoe, “The ‘heart’ is the very deepest and truest self, not attained except through sacrifice, through death.” (9)

It is immediately apparent that St Mark the Monk, al-Hallâj, and Merton share in common an all-important conviction concerning the character of this deep or innermost heart. For all three of them it is something pure, inviolate, inaccessible to evil; and specifically for this reason it can rightly be described as “the virgin point”. Thus Mark says of the “secret chamber of the heart” that it is “uncontaminated”, “untroubled”, a hidden sanctuary “where the winds of evil spirits do not blow”. For al-Hallâj it is opened by “God’s truth alone”. Likewise Merton insists that it is “untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God”. While the outer levels of the heart are a battleground between the forces of good and evil, this is not true of the innermost depth of the heart. As “the virgin point” the deep heart belongs only to God. It is pre-eminently the place of Divine immanence, the locus of God’s indwelling.

1. Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (New York: Doubleday, 1966), p. 142.

2. The Intimate Merton: His Life from His Journals, ed. Patrick Hart and Jonathan Montaldo (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2001), p. 124.

3. See Sidney H. Griffith, “Merton, Massignon, and the Challenge of Islam”, in Merton and Sufism: The Untold Story: A Complete Compendium, ed. Rob Baker and Gray Henry (Louisville: Fons Vitae, 1999), pp. 63-64.

4. Griffith, p. 65.

5. “Mary and the Virgin Heart: A Reflection on the Writings of Louis Massignon and Hallaj”, Sufi, 24 (1994-95), p. 8; Sufi, 28 (1995-96), p. 8.

6. “Neptic”: from the word nepsis, meaning sobriety, vigilance, spiritual insight. “Neptic theology”, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, includes the realms of both “ascetical theology” and “mystical theology”, as these are understood in the Roman Catholic tradition. For the importance of the term nepsis, note the

Greek title of The Philokalia, a classic collection of Orthodox spiritual writings from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries: “The Philokalia of the Holy Neptic [Fathers]”.

7. Mark the Monk (alias Mark the Ascetic or Marcus Eremita), “On Baptism”, §§4, 5, 11 (Patrologia Graeca [PG] 65: 996C, 1005 BCD, 1016 D), ed. Georges-Matthieu de Durand, Sources chrétiennes 445 (Paris: Cerf, 1999), pp. 322, 342-43, 368.

8. Abishiktananda, Prayer (London: SPCK, 1972), p. 54.

9. “The Scriptures as Word of God”, in The Eastern Churches Quarterly, VII, Supplementary Issue on “Tradition and Scripture” (1947), p. 78.

===

4.7 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

Part of: Perennial Philosophy (47 books)

Despite the long and well-known history of conflict between Christians and Muslims, their mystical traditions especially in the Christian East and in Sufism, have shared for centuries many of the same spiritual methods and goals.

The purpose of this book, the first major publication of its kind, is to promote precisely this more inward kind of ecumenical perspective.

These essays point to a spiritual heart in which the deeper meaning of Christian and Muslim beliefs and practices come alive, and

where spiritual pilgrims may discover, beyond the level of seemingly contradictory forms, an inner commonality with those who follow other paths.

289 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
... opens the way for a deep healing of the wounds of ignorance that have arisen ... between ... two great traditions. -- Alan Godlas, Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Georgia

Professor Cutsinger is to be congratulated for having organized such a memorable interchange of opinions. -- Martin Lings, formerly Keeper of Oriental Manuscripts in the British Museum and author of Mohammed: His Life According to the Earliest Sources

The essays in Paths ... evidence a rare combination of intellectual rigor, breadth of spirit, and deep personal faith. -- Scott C. Alexander, Director of Catholic-Muslim Studies, Catholic Theological Union

This book is a spiritual treasure to be read and to be lived. -- Albert J. Raboteau, Henry W. Putnam Professor of Religion, Princeton University

[An] informative study of the common threads and traits shared between the traditions of the Christian East and Islamic Sufism. -- The Midwest Book Review --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author James S. Cutsinger

A widely recognized authority on the Sophia Perennis and the Perennialist school of comparative religious thought, Professor Cutsinger is best known for his work on the German philosopher Frithjof Schuon. He serves as secretary to the Foundation for Traditional Studies, and he is currently editing the Collected Works of Frithjof Schuon. In addition he is editing an anthology of Christian Mystical writings entitled "Not of this World," as part of World Wisdom's "Treasures of the World's Religion's" series.

The recipient of numerous teaching awards, he was honored in 1999 as a Michael J. Mungo University Teacher of the Year. He offers courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levles in Religious Studies, and he is a frequent contributor to USC's Honors College, where he has taken the lead in developing a series of courses in the study of Great Books.

Professor Cutsinger is a nationally known advocate of Socratic Teaching based on the classics. His consulting work has included curriculum development and design, contributions to great books seminars for professionals, and workshops in discussion-based pedagogy. He has also served as director of three National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminars.

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004FN1LW4
Publisher ‏ : ‎ World Wisdom (August 1, 2010)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 1, 2010
Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
4.7 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

Customer reviews

Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful bookReviewed in the United States on February 22, 2013
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Any Traditionalist would be insane not to pick up this book. Even though I don't belong to either tradition discussed, the parallels are beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's also a great conversation starter between someone who is Orthodox and another who is Muslim. Often Muslims are demonized in the West, and I hope this helps to shed some of that.

6 people found this helpful

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GEORGE W ENGELHARD
5.0 out of 5 stars meditative prayersReviewed in the United States on September 27, 2018
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Loved the meditative prayers at the end of Huston Smith's contribution!!!

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Sarah B
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States on June 25, 2016
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A heavenly gift... Replete with meaning.

2 people found this helpful

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Ishraqi
5.0 out of 5 stars A Spiritual Harmony Among TraditionsReviewed in the United States on April 27, 2008

Reading "Paths of the Heart" was a true learning experience.

In an age of strained relations between Christians and Muslims (and a time in which widespread ignorance of each others Traditions exist) this book could prove immensely helpful. If you know anything about Eastern Orthodoxy in the English speaking world you have probably heard of Bishop Kallistos Ware. Bishop Ware presents an excellent chapter on the Jesus Prayer and the way of entering the heart. The same can be said of Seyyed Hossein Nasr - That is, if you are at all knowledge regarding Islam in America you have probably read one of his books or at least heard of him before. Nasr's chapter on the Mercy of God alone is worth the price of the book.

If anyone is interested in previewing a chapter of this book before they purchase it I would recommend checking out James Cutsingers web page. On his page you can find the chapter " Hesychia, an Orthodox Opening to Esoteric Ecumenism" - [wont let me put the web address just Google " James Cutsinger, Hesychia, an Orthodox... "]

https://www.cutsinger.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/hesychia_an_orthodox_opening.pdf

https://sejinlifeforce.blogspot.com/2023/06/hesychia-orthodox-opening-to-esoteric.html

To comment on a previous review:

Yes, Hesychasm is not recognized as "mainstream Christianity" in most Western denominations

but it is perfectly mainstream among Orthodox Christians (including those living in the west). It's also compatible with the teachings of many of the great Catholic Mystics and Saints.

Read "The Invocation of the Name of Jesus As Practiced in the Western Church" by Rama Coomaraswamy for evidence of this.

20 people found this helpful

John M. Cathey
5.0 out of 5 stars As an individual who takes great interest in all the topics in this bookReviewed in the United States on June 15, 2017

As an individual who takes great interest in all the topics in this book, I found the book enlightening on several grounds. For one, the collection focuses not only on what is shared and common to both the Eastern Christian Hesychast path and Sufism, but the authors feel comfortable enough to be honest about their Tradition's perspective(s), including where these two represented do not agree. As well, the collection does not shy away from the depth of its topics; there is no cutting corners; this is a full course meal.

Coming to the text with a background in Western Christianity and years of studying Sufism as well, I left the text with a new enthusiasm and interest in the Eastern Christian world. Just to read about the lofty states of some Eastern Christian saints was a grace.

4 people found this helpful

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matt
5.0 out of 5 stars Seeking the "virgin point"Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2002

A perusal of current media in print, radio and television reinforces the observation that we are living in a time when the cultures of the Middle East are portrayed as ideologically opposed to the West. At the core of our alleged differences is the role of Islamic fundamentalism with its hegemonic determination to dominate cultures both in the Middle East and abroad. Such views are not new. The "clash of civilizations" theory of Samuel Huntington had already proposed and popularized this understanding in the mid-1990s. At a time when this perspective is gaining momentum, it is helpful to seek a corrective to a myopic understanding of Islam that often accompanies Huntington's theory; namely, that Islam is nothing more than Wahhabism. Moreover, a historical reexamination of Christianity's own understanding of God can be beneficial for "Westerners" who tend to understand their own religious heritage typically through modern Protestant lenses, which often leads to the positing of false dichotomies between Islam and Christianity, seeing them as mutually exclusive with no common ground. By reconsidering the mystical theologies of each religion it can be shown that a fundamental convergence occurs in the mystical thought and experience of each tradition. In particular, this inner commonality can form the basis of a deeper conversation between Christians and Muslims than has been typical in our day, aiding in a clearer mutual understanding of the similarities that exist between the fundamental religious traditions of our cultures. To this end, Paths To The Heart is an excellent beginning.

As Thomas Merton said in his Conjectures:
"Le point vierge is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see the billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely...I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere."
May we seek the gate of heaven everywhere.

40 people found this helpful

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baphomette de medici
5.0 out of 5 stars the best and most essential of the two mystic traditionsReviewed in the United States on August 11, 2008

aside from gnosticism and the essences (and the more buddhistic/mazdaian silk road forms of a less patriarchical 'christianity' and already dyed heavily with the wisdom of the pre-islamic sufis!), this book distills some wisdom of the two best aspects of islam and christianity...if anything, hesychasm and certain sufi practices/paths truly transcend these worn out labels (of christianity and islam...).

if you follow the more fundamentalist viewpoint...very contracting/centrifugal, not open and expansive/centripetal, don't
raise a fuss at the ecumenical gesture this book (re)presents.

5 people found this helpful

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======
Paths to the Heart: Sufism and the Christian East

by James S. Cutsinger (Editor)

4.29 · Rating details · 31 ratings · 4 reviews
With wisdom that rings well with the heart, this volume answers the questions What do the mystical traditions of the Christian East and Sufism have in common? and Is there a dialogue that can promote a deep and lasting bond between Christianity and Islam? Amongst others, the contributors include Gray Henry, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Huston Smith.

Jan 31, 2013 Gwen rated it really liked it
Shelves: islam-related, relgion
I picked this one up to see if there was a way to reconcile my Sufi path with my grandfather's Russian Orthodox path. This book does a pretty good job of bridging the gap. Some of the passages are much stronger than others. The first two and the one from Houston Smith were my personal favorites. I'm giving this one a four because it has quite a bit of good information in it, but at the same time I don't think this book will change anyone's mind one way or the other. In the introduction it's said that the point of the book, and the conference that it came from, was to bridge the gap between the religions. I just didn't get that sense from reading it. I'm not really sure why I feel that way though. (less)
flag 1 like · Like · comment · see review

Jan 31, 2021 Mark David Vinzens rated it it was amazing
Shelves: sufi
This book is a jewel of divine wisdom.
flag Like · see review

Feb 28, 2019 Quan Rjpt rated it it was amazing
A collection of articles from traditional authors. my favorite has to be Chittick. Always enjoy anything written by him.
flag Like · comment · see review …

ABOUT JAMES S. CUTSINGER

James S. Cutsinger

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James S. Cutsinger (Ph.D., Harvard) is Professor of Theology and Religious Thought at the University of South Carolina.

The recipient of a number of teaching awards, including most recently USC’s Michael J. Mungo Distinguished Professor of the Year for 2011, Professor Cutsinger offers courses in Religious Studies at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and directs a series of great books semi ...more

BOOKS BY JAMES S. CUTSINGER

QUOTES FROM PATHS TO THE HEAR...

“The heart is the center of the human microcosm, at once the center
of the physical body, the vital energies, the emotions, and the soul,
as well as the meeting place between the human and the celestial
realms where the spirit resides. How remarkable is this reality of the heart, that mysterious center which from the point of view of our earthly existence seems so small, and yet as the Prophet has said it is the Throne (al-‘arsh) of God the All-Merciful (ar-Rahmân), the Throne that encompasses the whole universe. Or as he uttered in another saying, “My Heaven containeth Me not, nor My Earth, but the heart of My faithful servant doth contain Me.”

It is the heart, the realm of interiority, to which Christ referred
when he said, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Lk 17:21), and it is the heart which the founders of all religions and the sacred scriptures advise man to keep pure as a condition for his salvation and deliverance. We need only recall the words of the Gospel, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8)

[…]

In Christianity the Desert Fathers articulated the spiritual, mystical, and symbolic meanings of the reality of the heart, and these teachings led to a long tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church known as Hesychasm, culminating with St Gregory Palamas, which is focused on the “prayer of the heart” and which includes the exposition of the significance of the heart and the elaboration of the mysticism and theology of the heart. In Catholicism another development took place, in which the heart of the faithful became in a sense replaced by the heart of Christ, and a new spirituality developed on the basis of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Reference to His bleeding heart became common in the writings of such figures as St Bernard of Clairvaux and St Catherine of Sienna. The Christian doctrines of the heart, based as they are on the Bible, present certain universal theses to be seen also in Judaism, the most important of which is the association of the heart with the inner soul of man and the center of the human state. In Jewish mysticism the spirituality of the heart was further developed, and some Jewish mystics emphasized the idea of the “broken or contrite heart” (levnichbar) and wrote that to reach the Divine Majesty one had to “tear one’s heart” and that the “broken heart” mentioned in the Psalms sufficed. To make clear the universality of the spiritual significance of the heart across religious boundaries, while also emphasizing the development of the “theology of the heart” and methods of “prayer of the heart” particular to each tradition, one may recall that the name of Horus, the Egyptian god, meant the “heart of the world”. In Sanskrit the term for heart, hridaya, means also the center of the world, since, by virtue of the analogy between the macrocosm and the microcosm, the center of man is also the center of the universe. Furthermore, in Sanskrit the term shraddha, meaning faith, also signifies knowledge of the heart, and the same is true in Arabic, where the word îmân means faith when used for man and knowledge when used for God, as in the Divine Name al-Mu’min. As for the Far Eastern tradition, in Chinese the term xin means both heart and mind or consciousness. – Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Chapter 3: The Heart of the Faithful is the Throne of the All-Merciful)”

“The heart is the center of the human microcosm, at once the center of the physical body, the vital energies, the emotions, and the soul, as well as the meeting place between the human and the celestial realms where the spirit resides. How remarkable is this reality of the heart, that mysterious center which from the point of view of our earthly existence seems so small, and yet as the Prophet has said it is the Throne (al-‘arsh) of God the All-Merciful (ar-Rahmân), the Throne that encompasses the whole universe. Or as he uttered in another saying, “My Heaven containeth Me not, nor My Earth, but the heart of My faithful servant doth contain Me.” It is the heart, the realm of interiority, to which Christ referred when he said, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Lk 17:21), and it is the heart which the founders of all religions and the sacred scriptures advise man to keep pure as a condition for his salvation and deliverance. We need only recall the words of the Gospel, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8)

[…]

In Christianity the Desert Fathers articulated the spiritual, mystical, and symbolic meanings of the reality of the heart, and these teachings led to a long tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church known as Hesychasm, culminating with St Gregory Palamas, which is focused on the “prayer of the heart” and which includes the exposition of the significance of the heart and the elaboration of the mysticism and theology of the heart. In Catholicism another development took place, in which the heart of the faithful became in a sense replaced by the heart of Christ, and a new spirituality developed on the basis of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Reference to His bleeding heart became common in the writings of such figures as St Bernard of Clairvaux and St Catherine of Sienna. The Christian doctrines of the heart, based as they are on the Bible, present certain universal theses to be seen also in Judaism, the most important of which is the association of the heart with the inner soul of man and the center of the human state. In Jewish mysticism the spirituality of the heart was further developed, and some Jewish mystics emphasized the idea of the “broken or contrite heart” (levnichbar) and wrote that to reach the Divine Majesty one had to “tear one’s heart” and that the “broken heart” mentioned in the Psalms sufficed. To make clear the universality of the spiritual significance of the heart across religious boundaries, while also emphasizing the development of the “theology of the heart” and methods of “prayer of the heart” particular to each tradition, one may recall that the name of Horus, the Egyptian god, meant the “heart of the world”. In Sanskrit the term for heart, hridaya, means also the center of the world, since, by virtue of the analogy between the macrocosm and the microcosm, the center of man is also the center of the universe. Furthermore, in Sanskrit the term shraddha, meaning faith, also signifies knowledge of the heart, and the same is true in Arabic, where the word îmân means faith when used for man and knowledge when used for God, as in the Divine Name al-Mu’min. As for the Far Eastern tradition, in Chinese the term xin means both heart and mind or consciousness. – Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Chapter 3: The Heart of the Faithful is the Throne of the All-Merciful)”

===

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