Coming Home: The Experience of Enlightenment in Sacred Traditions (The Library of Spiritual Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Hixon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1988

Explores the experience of enlightenmentin sacred traditions and how it affects those who experience it.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Hixon provides a somewhat idiosyncratic yet fascinating and informative view of ten paths to enlightenment, moving from the contemplative views of Heidegger and Krishnamurti through the tantrism of Ramakrishna and the naturalism of Ramana Maharishi to the Zen ox-herding pictures, Mother Serena (a contemporary Rosicrucian teacher), the Hasidic masters, and Paul of Tarsus seen as a mystic announcing the new age of divine-human union. Included are Hixon's consultations of the I Ching and an explication of Turiya as taught by Advaita Vedanta and experienced by Hixon with Swami Nikhilananda as his teacher. Though the tone is not consistent--some chapters are philosophical, others personal, still others purely expository--the book is certainly worth consideration.
- Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Coll., Farmville, Va.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 215 pages
• Publisher: J. P. Tarcher (December 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874775035
• ISBN-13: 978-0874775037
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,186,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Think: Ken Wilber with a Lot More HEART, February 27, 2002

By 

Mark Canter "university instructor in compara... (Tallahassee, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coming Home: The Experience of Enlightenment in Sacred Traditions (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book so much that I wrote to Lex Hixon. To my suprise, he telephoned me and we talked for an hour! His PhD in comparative religion from Columbia University should not make you think that his approach to the world's mystic traditions was the least bit dry or academic. He was an ecstatic lover of God, like Rumi, while remaining an encyclopedic scholar and a wonderful writer, like---well, like Rumi. I've read all of his books. This is one of his best. Lex Hixon died of cancer at age 55, but like a 20th Century version of Ramakrishna (a great mentor of his) he had lived the lives of several devotees rolled into one.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique Insight into the Mystical Tradition, January 5, 2001

By 

Netman1 (Between Here and There) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coming Home: The Experience of Enlightenment in Sacred Traditions (Paperback)

An excellent book - well written and insightful.

At one level the book is a survey of "enlightenment" or the mystic experience/way of life (direct experience of the Divine) in several religious traditions.

At another level - and the more important one from my perspective - the book uses its discussion of the particular nuances of each of these mystic traditions to draw a common definition/description of enlightenment. The clear message here is that the apparent differences among religions are more a matter of the nature of human perception/ways of communicating than any fundamental difference at the real level.

The last chapter of the book contains a valuable set of guided exercises in prayer and meditative practice to equip the reader with the tools to embark on the path of mystic experience.

Hixon was both a scholar (Ph.D. in Comparative Religions from Columbia) and a practicing mystic (Sheikh in the Havleti-Jerrahi Sufi Order) so this book combines the best of scholarship and direct experience. He is the author of several other very valuable books.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional guide to the spiritual journey., April 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Coming Home: The Experience of Enlightenment in Sacred Traditions (Paperback)

Contrary to what the heading says, the book is by Lex Hixon alone, with a brief forward by Ken Wilber. That aside, the book is a welcome addition to the literature on the world's religions. Focusing as it does on the territory of enlightenment in various traditions, it is a breath of fresh air from narrow minded, my-way -is -best religious wrangling. He cover some of the greats: Maharshi, Ramakrishna, the Baal Shem Tov, Plotinus...and his ending with a consultation of the i ching is intriguing.