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The World Could Be Otherwise
Norman Fischer is a Zen priest, poet, translator, and director of the Everyday Zen Foundation. He is profiled in S&P's Living Spiritual Teachers Project. Given his creativity and sensitivity, it was only a matter of time until this wisdom maker would write about the salutary value of imagination. He states:
"In this book I advocate the development of the imagination as a necessity for human survival and thriving in times ahead. The practice of imagination has to be more than a good idea or an aspiration. It needs a path of development, a process, a discipline, to support it. My intention is to use what I have learned over a lifetime of Buddhist practice — with contributions as well from my longstanding work as a poet — to propose an imaginative path of spiritual practice that can be used by anyone."
The imagination expands the heart and makes way for the six perfections or paramitas which Fischer calls "pathways for the development of character." They are generosity, ethical conduct, patience, joyful effort, meditation, and understanding. He is convinced that the more we practice them "the more we will see how ordinary human life, with all its pressures and difficulties, can also be a heroic and passionate spiritual journey." Imagination and practice, in short, help us see the world differently.
In his teachings on the perfection of generosity, Fischer discusses openness, giving and letting go, fearlessness, the world as gift, seeing me and you as empty concepts, and giving merit. At the end of the chapter are some "Daily Life Practices" including a "One Heart Grace."
In his discussion of the other paramitas, Fischer demonstrates wisdom in his examination of the word "refuge," the fact that words matter more than we think they do, the challenges of being with difficulty, dealing with personal hardship and pain, relating to desire, practicing mindfulness, and emptiness. Fischer's teachings on the six paramitas are incredibly valuable for those on a spiritual path.
A Buddhist teacher's suggestions for practicing the paramitas on our spiritual journey.
The Earth and Me
By Fatema Karimi for KidSpirit's Unity and Division issue.
I feel very lucky to be part of the Muslim community where I can study how humanity affects the earth, as well as understand my duty towards it.
Islam is a religion that teaches duty and responsibility. We are made dependent on one another so that we may help each other. My relationship with the earth isn’t limited to just my lifetime, but to those born after me. While it is true that I must use the earth’s resources, I must always keep in mind the effect that use has on the present and future. In this way, taking care of the earth is important in Islam.
By Fatema Karimi for KidSpirit's Unity and Division issue.
I feel very lucky to be part of the Muslim community where I can study how humanity affects the earth, as well as understand my duty towards it.
Islam is a religion that teaches duty and responsibility. We are made dependent on one another so that we may help each other. My relationship with the earth isn’t limited to just my lifetime, but to those born after me. While it is true that I must use the earth’s resources, I must always keep in mind the effect that use has on the present and future. In this way, taking care of the earth is important in Islam.
How to Be Spiritual But Not Religious
Victor M. Parachin is a yoga and meditation teacher. He has a Master's degree in religion from the University of Toronto and is the author of numerous books about eastern practices and spirituality. He is on the faculty of Yoga Spirit Academy, a yoga teacher training program.
We have given Parachin two S&P Book Awards — in 2007 for Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds, which models hospitality as a way for Christians to enrich their faith with the principles and practices of Eastern religions, and in 2012 for Eleven Modern Mystics and the Secrets of a Happy, Holy Life, an
impressive book with an interspiritual flair and a deep appreciation for mysticism.
As Parachin states in the introduction to this book, we are seeing an increase in the number of people who call themselves spiritual but not religious. Parachin has discovered great meaning in Eastern approaches to spirituality as found in yoga, meditation, and Buddhist teachings. He contends that because these teachings are "inherently flexible and flowing, they allow you to combine them with one another as well as with your cultural and religious background allowing you to produce your own unique spiritual hybrid."
Since ancient times, people have had yearnings for something more. Today we are seeing the same quest for meaning. We are joining a conversation that has been going on for 3,000 years. Reading the 108 pearls of Eastern wisdom Parachin has gathered for us here, we are thankful for his use of questions as an essential practice on the spiritual journey; they are powerful allies that can stretch our minds, bodies and souls.
Here are some questions the author suggests as part of a "Spiritual Self-Examination":
"• How well am I living?
• How well am I loving?
• How well am I forgiving?
• How well am I letting go?
• What is my true nature?
• What is my purpose for being here?
• What am I doing and why does it matter?
• What is my contribution to others?"
Parachin has a special fondness for paradox, selfless giving, and going with the flow of the present moment. Some of these qualities are part of his "Ten Zen Commandments":
"1. Pay attention.
2. Awaken your mind.
3. Open your heart.
4. Follow your own light, not someone else's.
5. Don't cling to anyone or anything.
6. Be flexible: not too tight, not too loose.
7. Be mindful: be here while moving there.
8. Practice compassion.
9. Meditate as often as you can.
10. Choose joy."
Those of us on the wisdom path share a love of quotations as a firm foundation for our multidimensional quest for meaning. Parachin never fails to come up with soul-shaping quotes from unusual sources. In this book you will find gems from Dr. Seuss, Swami Rama, Swami Sivananda, Alfred North Whitehead, and many others.
The tools of wisdom highlighted in How to Be Spiritual But Not Religious are as varied as our quest for the Holy Grail: reading, personal experiences, inner exploration, spiritual practice, conscience, creativity, and devotional exercises. Wisdom is life's gift to us, and we are fortunate to have spiritual teachers like Parachin who keep their eyes and hearts open to her manifold and often surprising comings and goings.
Quotes and practices from the flexible, flowing traditions of the East to combine into your own spiritual hybrid.
Saracen Chivalry
Pir Zia Inayat-Khan is a scholar and teacher of Sufism in the lineage of his grandfather Hazrat Inayat Khan. He is president of the Sufi Order International and founder of Suluk Academy, a school of contemplative study with branches in the United States and Europe. Together with Shaikh al-Mashaik Mahmood Khan, he leads the Knighthood of Purity of the Hazrati Order. For more information see www.sufiorder.org and www.knighthoodofpurity.org.
In the introduction to this lost book of counsels by Queen Belacane to her newborn son, Pir Zia Inayat-Khan characterizes this oath of chivalry (futuwwa) as a code of honor that "unites Christians and Saracens in a commonwealth of courtesy and conscience." This path is "the way of truth, honor, justice, and largesse."
Those on the chivalry path see prayer as both "a solemn duty and a delicate pleasure." There are five kinds of formless prayers beginning with gratitude, which is seeing the good and giving thanks for it. Other spiritual deeds which are described on these pages are alms (giving freely to the poor and needy), fasting (discipline in the virtue of fortitude), pilgrimage (the advance toward Mecca is "following a current that flows through all the vessels and veins of the earth"), the duty of struggle (as an ordinance of faith), and the challenges of the greater struggle against the entrapments of the ego.
The art of chivalry is built upon reverence and it leads to the spiritual practices of wisdom, courage, temperance, generosity, justice, and nobility. What does wisdom hold within its embrace?
"Every fragment and fiber of creation exists to celebrate the glory of the sacred mystery that stands openly revealed in the panorama of the heavens and the earth. The world is the theatre of the divine revelation, and within this bewildering spectacle you and I, and indeed everyone and all things, are at once spectators and performers, witnesses of the perfection of the Real and embodiments of that perfection, however imperfect we may be. Our purpose is to know and to worship God to the fullest of our powers."
Wisdom also comes from contemplation of the names of God, a smiling forehead and a faithful heart, and an exploration of the Life that lives in you. Another mark of the chivalrous person is courage, which embodies a reliance upon God, a willingness to sacrifice, and strength in the face of death.
Temperance is not a quality of character that is much in vogue today. Yet in the chivalric code it has its honored place as a virtue of reserve, peace, and gravity. Standing alongside it is generosity which is described on these pages as a kindly largesse — giving to and serving others. The counsel on practicing justice is cogent:
"Do not brood over the wrongs that have been done to you, nor seek the cold solace of revenge. Pray, instead, for the souls who wrong themselves by wronging you. They stand in need of your prayers."
A visionary classic on the spiritual zest and transformative power of the chivalric code.
In Time
The best science fiction always uses some trend or policy of the present as a foundation and projects it into the future with a picture of some possible results. Through this glimpse of tomorrow, we can ponder anew the spiritual or philosophical ramifications of what we are doing today. In The Adjustment Bureau, we were given a chance to assess the idea of free will or the alternative of following a plan mapped out by God. In Gattaca the idea of genetically engineered perfection is explored. Writer and director Andrew Niccol who wrote and directed the latter thriller is also at the helm of this thought-provoking sci-fi drama that has many resonances with today's world.
The Preeminence of Time
A search on Google for "time" yields more than 11 billion hits whereas there are fewer than 3 billion hits for "money" and 241 million hits for "sex." Time is very much on our minds and at the hub of our concerns. We speak of "having" and "saving" and "wasting" time but we never seem to find a way of "conquering" it. We are caught up in the obsessive-compulsive need to make the most of the time we have each day. Pagers and cell phones are taken everywhere. We don't want to miss a moment of connection.
In Time is set in a future dystopia where living zones separate the rich from the poor. Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) lives in a ghetto zone with his mother Rachel (Olivia Wilde). She looks very young since all aging stops at 25.
Will works in a factory and she has a job as well, but still it is hard to make ends meet. Time in this society is literally money. Each person has a timer on his or her arm and at 25 you are given one year of free time after which you die — unless you can find a way to get more time. Wages are doled out in days of added longevity. All expenses (rent, a cup of coffee, clothes, phone calls) are paid for with time and scanners are used to deduct the time for the purchase. The biggest fear in the ghetto is that your time will run out unexpectedly. That is exactly what happens to Will's mother.
Time Is Strange
"Time is stranger and deeper than anything else in our lives."
— Jacob Needleman
The biggest dream in the ghetto is acquiring a surplus of years and the prospect of immortality. When Will saves a young man with a century on his clock, the fellow gives the years to him and then commits suicide. An intrepid "Timekeeper," Raymond Leon (Cillian Murphy), is convinced that Will stole the years from the dead man. He launches a man hunt for him. Also hot on Will's trail are some nasty time thieves.
Caught in Time
"Time is the element in which we exist. We are either borne along with it or drowned in it."
— Joyce Carol Oates
Will begins a daring journey into the zone for the time rich called New Greenwich. After winning more than a millennium at a casino, he meets Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried), the daughter of Philippe Weis (Vincent Kartheiser), an immensely wealthy and powerful banker who has been exploiting the poor by making high interest time loans. A believer in "Darwinian capitalism," he's stored up enough years to be immortal. But Sylvia thinks there must be more to life than the favored existence she knows. She is intrigued by Will's wild ideas about changing the system which favors the rich over the poor and allows many to die so a few can be immortal. After he takes her hostage when the Timekeeper is closing in on him, Sylvia doesn't take very long to pledge her allegiance to what becomes their own mutual crusade. They begin robbing time banks and giving time to the poor and the down-and-out.
In Time is a winning sci-fi thriller that taps into some of the troubling problems of our era, such as the view of time as money, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, and all the ways that we waste time and fail to value every moment. It is also a meditation on the healing and restorative medicine of generosity and sharing. Writer and director Niccol has given us a cautionary tale about the possible future consequences of class consciousness, the high cost of trying to stay young or live forever, and the need for something more meaningful than just spending time to get ahead of the game.
A thought-provoking sci-fi thriller set in the future that taps into some of the most troubling inequities and problems of our era, the lack of time.
A Little Book of Love
Moh Hardin is a senior teacher in the Shambhala lineage. The son of a Methodist minister, he graduated from Duke University with a B. A. in music. He teaches Buddhism and meditation in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he lives. Hardin believes that changes in the world come through "the little-drop approach":
"The forces of aggression and greed have a lot of strength in the world these days. Every time we add a drop of love, of caring, of deeper understanding, we are countering those forces and establishing a world based on friendship and openness. Each little drop is so very important."
The first step towards a fuller understanding of love is acknowledging your basic goodness and experiencing the warmth of friendship with yourself. The second step is loving your partner. Hardin quotes his teacher Chogyam Trungpa on what this means: "Being in love does not mean possessing the other person; it simply means appreciating the other person." This can be done through flashing generosity, skillfully listening, and trusting your partner.
Loving your child is the third step and it involves connecting with that person’s inner goodness. Appreciating him/her as he/she really is means letting go of perfectionism.
The last section of the book explores and explains taking the Bodhisattva Path which is described as "love beyond ego." It involves opening our hearts to strangers and wishing them well-being and joy. This path takes generosity, discipline, and patience. We become bodhisattva warriors to ease the suffering in the world.
Wisdoms and tools from the Buddhist tradition for awakening and expanding love.
Joseph and the Sabbath Fish
Joseph is a devout Jew who lives in Tiberias, a city on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He loves the Sabbath and invites strangers and even beggars to his home. His neighbor Judah asks him why he wastes money feeding poor people. "Everyone is important," says Joseph. "Those who come to my table are honoring me, and together we honor the Sabbath. What we give to the Sabbath is repaid a thousandfold."
In this teaching story for children 5 and up, writer Eric Kimmel has fashioned a tender-hearted, generous, and compassionate hero who is subjected to some hard times. But God is there to carry him through and the Sabbath is his lifeline offering him peace and contentment. His neighbor and friend Judah suffers the loss of his wealth and his views on what really matters in life are changed drastically.
Children need more spiritual heroes nowadays, and Joseph is certainly one worth emulating. He exemplifies the ethical foundations of Judaism with his reverence of the Sabbath and his open-hearted spiritual practices of kindness and hospitality.
An invigorating teaching story about a Sabbath-loving Jew and his spiritual practices of kindness and hospitality.
Cognitive Surplus
Think about. How much time have you spent in your life watching television? Many have complained that being a passive couch potato siphoned away precious time that could have been spent with their family and friends. Someone born in 1960 may have watched fifty thousand hours of TV already.
Clay Shirky teaches at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University and is the author of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. In this visionary work, he takes a hard look at television, time, the rise of social media (Facebook, My Space, Twitter, YouTube), and the collaborative efforts of creativity and generosity it has spawned.
"In the space of a generation, watching television became a part-time job for every citizen in the developed world," he writes. But now cohorts of people are watching less TV than their elders and are engaged with one another on the Internet. In 2010 the global Internet-connected population will cross two billion people. And many of these individuals are voluntarily creating and sharing things. Ask them why they are spending so much time connected in this way and they, no doubt, will respond that people have always found time to do things that interest them. Shirky quotes a character in Kurt Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan: "The worst thing that could possibly happen to anybody would be to not be used for anything by anybody."
The liberation of ordinary citizens from dozing in front of TV has resulted in a cognitive surplus — a new burst of intellect, energy and time— that enables them to pursue activities they like or care about: "The wiring of humanity lets us treat free time as a shared global resource, and lets us design new kinds of participation and sharing that take advantage of that resource." Shirky shares relevant examples from Wikipedia (reference tool), Ushahidi.com (Kenyans reporting human rights violations), PickupPal.com (a carpooling site), ICanHasCheezburger.com (people sharing funny animal videos), Grobanites for Charity (fan club raising money to help others), Napster (site for music sharing), Responsible Citizens (cleaning up trash), PatientsLikeMe (health site offering information and support), CouchSurfing (a social network for travelers), and others. All these examples point to the diverse, large, and unending stream of people involved in collaborative efforts to create a better world.
Want to make your thoughts globally available? Take three minutes to express yourself and press a button and it's out there. Interested in supporting animal rights or peace activists, join a group of people who share your commitment and enthusiasm. Share your creativity by contributing a poem to a site that gathers new verse. Put together your own video and post it on YouTube. Speak out against whatever brings your righteous indignation to a boil. The possibilities for connecting with others are endless, and people now have the time and the confidence to be both creative and generous in 10,000 ways. It's all part of the cognitive surplus of our time which Clay Shirky has so brilliantly described in this incisive book.
A visionary and incisive work on the online sharing and caring going on thanks to more time, energy and creativity.
Tanya, the Masterpiece of Hasidic Wisdom
The prolific Rabbi Rami Shapiro is an award-winning writer, storyteller, poet, and essayist. He is also one of Spirituality & Practice's Living Spiritual Teachers. The focus of his attention in this volume in the SkyLight Illuminations series is Tanya, a transformative book of Jewish wisdom written in 1797 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism. Shapiro's intention is to make the mystical and spiritual teachings of this 53-chapter book accessible to as many people as possible and to encourage serious students of this sacred text to seek out a teacher and delve into the original Tanya.
Shapiro's translations of key selections of the work are linked to his commentaries which in turn are animated by his understanding of Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and the field of comparative religion. In the introduction, he outlines the major philosophical ideas of Tanya as the nonduality of God, the close encounter between YHVH and the one true self, the five worlds/five intelligences (body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit), and the distortions of reality. The four core spiritual practices covered are Torah study, contemplative comprehension, breaking the heart, and tzedakah (acts of generosity and economic justice).
Both the Torah and Tanya honor the deep yearning for God that is part of the human makeup. God is both the transcendent One (the Holy One) and the imminent many (Shechina, the Presence of God). Mercy is a mark of divine grace. As Shapiro notes, "Tanya is loathe to condemn anyone or to imagine anyone to be beyond redemption."
In the last sections of this book Shapiro hits high stride in his commentary on passages dealing with the cultivation of humility as an antidote to the dullness of heart; sadness as a tool that can be used in the return to God; the art of loving the One by loving the many; attaining true joy; illuminating the world through generosity; the ways in which love and awe uplift to God; relying on the "inner Moses"; and practicing two types of awe.
A translation and commentary on selections from a classic Hasidic text that is filled with insights into the Holy One and essential spiritual practices.
The Pleasure Prescription
Paul Pearsall is a clinical education psychologist specializing in the interactions between the brain, mind, body, and the immune system. He is a bestselling author who is an ardent admirer of the principles and practices of ancient Polynesian culture. In this up-tempo book, he reveals the relevance of the five components of this path: patience, unity, agreeableness, humility, and tenderness. These virtues address what Pearsall calls our "delight deficiency" which manifests in sleeping disorders, consumerism, carelessness, feeling stressed, and being conflicted. "The Oceanic people taught that a joyful and healthy life was based on following our seventh sense, an instinctive drive to what is healthful and pleasurable."
One of the paradoxes of life, according to Pearsall, is that often those who are terminally ill are the most appreciative of the pleasures of life. They model for us a re-enchantment with everyday life. Pearsall delineates five factors of fitness which are part of the pleasure prescription: food, flexibility, flow, family, and fun. For the Polynesian, balanced pleasure is the purpose of life: each day offers fresh experiences. That is why they would agree with Albert Camus who once wrote: "If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life."
Pearsall spells out more of the thematic richness of the pleasure principle with chapters on each of the aforementioned components as well as on the nature of success, overcoming the illusion of separateness, bliss, saving the soul, and giving. These explanations are followed by ideas on applying the pleasure principle to intimate relationships of marriage, family, working, and healing the planet.
A description of a joyful, fulfilling, and balanced way of life modeled on the principles and practices of ancient Polynesian culture.