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Sharon Salzberg in Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness
Generosity has such power because it is characterized by the inner quality of letting go or relinquishing. Being able to let go, to give up, to renounce, to give generously--these capacities spring from the same source within us. When we practice generosity, we open to all of these liberating qualities simultaneously. They carry us to a profound knowing of freedom, and they also are the loving expression of that same state of freedom.
Generosity has such power
The Wisdom of Islam
This beautifully designed paperback is by Robert Frager, who embraced Islam in 1981 and currently serves as a sheikh in the Halveti-Jerrahi Sufi Order. He has written three books on Sufism (Essential Sufism, Love Is the Wine, and Heart, Self, and Soul) and several books on psychology. Frager is past president of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology and founder of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California.
The author provides a succinct and thought-provoking overview of Islam with a masterful mix of juicy quotations, insightful commentary, and spiritual practices at the end of each chapter. He covers the five pillars of Islam, the messenger of God, the Qur'an, the history of Islam, the path of Islamic mysticism, the mind of Islam, women in Islam and Islam today. Throughout he adds details that bring this faith to life. For example, discussing the required pilgrimage to Mecca, he notes that in Indonesia where the cost of the journey is more than many could ever afford, many rural communities pool their money each year in order to send the oldest couple who have not yet gone to Mecca. The whole town accompanies them to the Jakarta airport to see off their representatives.
After a description of the devotional act of fasting, Frager presents this exercise: "Fast two or three days from using untruthful, harmful, or hurtful language. Try to be aware of your language whenever you speak. Every evening, look over your day and review how well you did at the fasting of the tongue."
Although Muhammad has been praised for his skills as a philosopher, orator, legislator, warrior, and statesman, Sufis like to remind us that he once said: "I was sent to teach adab."
This capacious term, according to Frager, refers to the basic Islamic virtues of generosity, good hospitality, and service to others. "To have good adab is to think of others' needs instead of thinking only of oneself." The author elaborates: "I have learned much about adab from the old dervishes. When one dervish serves another tea, adab turns this event into something profound. The server is aware that it is an honor and a privilege to serve another human being. The one being served realizes that she is being given a real gift from the heart. Both are conscious; both are grateful."
It is this kind of graceful illustrative material that makes The Wisdom of Islam such a salutary and inspirational work.
A rich and full-hearted overview of this religious path with a masterful mix of juicy quotations, insightful commentary, and devotional exercises.
The Faces of Buddhism in America
Buddhism is one of the fastest growing religions in America and it has many different faces. In the introduction to this survey of the current situation, Charles S. Prebish points out that Asian Buddhist teachers and a growing number of American Buddhist masters are building an institutional foundation that is "stable, solid, and even ecumenical." The essays here for the most part are very academic and sober-minded.
Practitioners of Chinese Buddhism in the U.S. have taken vows aimed at alleviating the suffering and aiding the spiritual progression of all sentient beings. Chanting is very popular in Vietnamese and Korean temples. In many Dharma communities organized by Tibetan Buddhists, practitioners spend upwards to four hours a day performing tantric practices alone or in group settings. Insight meditation is particularly popular in America; it is organized around the spiritual practices of mindfulness, loving-kindness, ethics, and generosity.
This anthology also includes essays on Buddhist psychotherapy, Western Buddhist women, the gay community in American Buddhism, and, best of all, the socially engaged Buddhism of North America.
Academic and sobering survey of Buddhism's variety.
Traces of Wisdom
"Slow down. That is what my people think the world needs to do. The metaphors for slowness abound in the Amish community. Horses and buggies. The exquisite slow chant of Sunday morning hymn singing. The labored chugging of an old Maytag wringer washer. Homes free of microwave ovens, telephones, television, and radios," writes Louise Stoltzfus, a former member of the Amish community in Pennsylvania.
In this enlightening collection of essays, the author pays tribute to Amish values, which produce contentment in so many women. There are the simple pleasures of domesticity such as baking, quilting, and gardening. Stoltzfus emphasizes the sturdy importance of neighborliness symbolized by barnraisings. Here mutual aid is a way of "putting feet on your prayers." Although austere, the Amish enjoy laughter and lightness of being. These plain-spoken humble people also are great believers in the significance of small pleasantries — courtesy, generosity, kindness.
Stoltzfus does reveal some of the problems of life in ingrown, tightly woven societies. Some of the leaders are too authoritarian. Community rejection — shunning — can be driven by the need for power or personality differences. Traces of Wisdom vividly demonstrates both the sunny and the shadow sides of the Amish way.
Vividly demonstrates both the sunny and the shadow sides of the Amish way.
The Brighter Side of Human Nature
This book contends that caring and generosity are aspects of human nature which have been downplayed by scientific studies and institutional policies. He then suggests pathways toward a more altruistic society.
Contends that caring and generosity are aspects of human nature which have been downplayed by scientific studies and institutional policies.
The Gift of Giving
For Rachel Naomi Remen, author of My Grandfather's Blessing, medicine has been "a front row seat for mystery." In the early part of her career as a doctor, she saw a heavy emphasis upon mastery, the facts, and fixing people up. Now after 25 years of working with cancer patients and training doctors, she stresses stories instead of facts, questions instead of answers, and wonder instead of analysis.
Remen believes that service is more than duty and obligation. It is closer to love and generosity. She learned this from her Jewish grandfather who died when she was only seven years old. He told her stories with a seed of wisdom in them. He believed in giving to others, making things better for them. Or as he put it — be a blessing!
One of the challenges in our time is to see our place in the larger story. Remen respects everyone as a work in progress. Oftentimes, we learn more about ourselves and our mission in life when we go through the darkness rather than trying to avoid it. Remen reads several of her favorite stories from My Grandfather's Blessing. She concludes: "Life has an elegance that far exceeds anything we might devise."
A discussion about medicine, mystery, and the elegance of life.
Love Is the Wine
Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak was head of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order in Istanbul, Turkey, where he ran a bookshop. These talks, compiled and edited by Dr. Robert Frager, were given in California and New York over a period extending from 1980 to Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak's passing in 1985. Frager calls these teachings as "one ray in the magnificent rainbow of the world's treasury of spiritual wisdom."
As the mystical core of Islam, Sufism travels well all over the world. On these pages Sheikh Muzaffer explores the spiritual uplift of faith, love, submission, and generosity. Deeds done in this life have great repercussions in the other world: "When human beings remember God, angels are born. Gossip, criticism and other bad actions give birth to devils."
Sheikh Muzaffer proclaims the value of reading the book of the world and of seeing yourself "as a visible example of God." That is why treating strangers with great hospitality is recommended. Sufi courtesy is also evident throughout these talks as this teacher follows the names of prophets, messengers of God, saints, and great teachers with an honorific phrase, such as "God's peace and blessings be upon him" or "May his [or her] soul be sanctified." These spoken signs of respect are markers of the depth of this spiritual practice.
Talks on the mystical lore of Sufism.
The Holy Chariot
On this nine-hour audio retreat, Rabbi David A. Cooper expands and the exploration of Judaism's ancient path of inner knowing begun with "The Mystical Kabbalah" (Sounds True, 1994). Here the chariot of the prophet Ezekiel's vision is a vehicle that can take us into the presence of the Divine Source of life. The heart and soul of this excellent resource is Cooper's explanation of the twelve paths to higher consciousness, including respect, generosity, lovingkindness, moderation, joyful surrender, and equanimity.
In a time when practice has become the touchstone of spirituality, the author hits the mark with concrete suggestions on cultivating awe, creating reservoirs of understanding in moments of anger, giving to charity, and harnessing imagination to reach higher realms. All of these practices are part of drawing closer to the God consciousness within. The emphasis is always upon living fully in the present moment and raising the divine sparks in oneself and in the world. Selflessness comes from releasing pride and ego attachment.
Through his lively mix of teaching stories, meditations, and journal exercises, Rabbi Cooper challenges us again and again to invest our time and talent in spiritual development for the sake of the world. The Holy Chariot unfurls the deep wisdom of kabbalistic mysticism and presents a path of enlightenment that is spiritually exhilarating.
A nine-hour retreat on the mystical Kabbalah and the twelve paths to higher consciousness.
Your Buddha Nature
"Your Buddha Nature" is a twelve-part, nine-hour session with therapist, author, and meditation instructor Jack Kornfield. In 1975 he cofounded the Insight Meditation Society after years of study as a monk in Thailand, Burma, and India.
On this audio retreat Kornfield, using a relaxed and gracious teaching style, introduces the Ten Perfections of Buddhism — generosity, the virtuous heart, renunciation, wise effort, wisdom, patience, truthfulness, dedication, lovingkindness, and equanimity. By cultivating these inner qualities, we can enrich our lives and deepen our relationships with others. Kornfield is a gifted storyteller and he dips into all the world's religions for illustrations. These tapes also contain meditations and mindfulness techniques designed to open our minds and hearts to the gifts that lie within. This is an invaluable resource for those seeking to establish a regular spiritual practice of mindful living.
A nine-hour audio retreat on mindful living through the Ten Pefections of Buddhism.
Stepping into Freedom
Thich Nhat Hanh has taught four generations of Buddhist monks and nuns in Vietnam and the West as well as thousands of lay practitioners. This eight-part paperback contains guidelines, reminders, and poems used in monastic training. These practices reveal the importance of maintaining mindfulness, cultivating compassion and loving kindness, and increasing wisdom every day.
Gathas are short poems, often learned by heart, which help monks and nuns to live with the fullness and beauty of the present moment. While washing their hands, they say "Water flows over these hands. May I use them skillfully, to preserve our precious planet." While cleaning the bathroom, they say, "How wonderful to scrub and clean. Day by day, my heart and mind grow clearer."
The Ten Novice Precepts and the teachings on Mindful Manners have been updated by Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Community from 400-year-old Chinese texts; the Encouraging Words of Master Guishan date from the ninth century. They emphasize protecting life, the value of equanimity, studying sutras and other books, sharing a room, leading retreats, and much more. Thich Nhat Hanh's talk for young monks and nuns lifts up the fruits of practice as awakened understanding, peace, freedom, generosity, fearlessness, and love. "Stepping into Freedom" presents a cogent primer on the essentials of Buddhist practice.
Guidelines, reminders, and poems used in monastic training.