The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry [Paperback]

Stephen Mitchell (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 1993

An anthology of poetry chosen from the world's great religious and literary traditions--the perfect companion to the bestselling Tao Te Ching.

• The Upanishads • The Book of Psalms • Lao-tzu • The Bhagavad Gita • Chuang-tzu • The Odes of Solomon • Seng-ts'an • Han-shan • Li Po • Tu Fu • Layman P'ang • Kukai • Tung-shan • Symeon the New Theologian • Izumi Shikibu • Su Tung-p'o • Hildegard of Bingen • Francis of Assisi • Wu-men • DÕgen • Rumi • Mechthild of Magdeburg • Dante • Kabir Mirabai • William Shakespeare • George Herbert • Bunan • Gensei • Angelus Silesius • Thomas Traherne • Basho • William Blake • RyÕkan • Issa • Ghalib • Bibi Hayati • Wait Whitman • Emily Dickinson • Gerard Manley Hopkins • Uvavnuk • Anonymous Navaho • W. B. Yeats • Antonio Machado • Rainer Maria Rilke • Wallace Stevens • D.H. Lawrence • Robinson Jeffers •

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This refreshing collection is a sampler of mystical poetry from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, and Muslim traditions. A chronological order--e.g., Bunan follows George Herbert--reinforces the theme of unity. Whitman writes, "In the faces of men and women I see God"; Kabir finds "Inside this jar the music of eternity"; Blake sees "a World in a Grain of Sand." Some delights: Mechtild of Magdeburg translated by poet Jane Hirschfield; Chuang-Tzu's "Cutting Up an Ox" translated by Thomas Merton; Rumi's "One half of the planet is grass./ The other half grazing." A disappointment: weak translations of the Psalms. Some poets professing no religion are included, leading one to reflect on the universal nature of "sacred" poetry as distinguished from more parochial "religious" verse.
- Kathleen Norris, Lemmon P.L., S.D.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Those Who Realize Tru Wisdom by Bhagavad Gita
Psalm 1 by Bible
Psalm 104 by Bible
Psalm 131 by Bible
Psalm 19. [the Heavens Above And The Law Within] by Bible
Auguries Of Innocence by William Blake
Eternity by William Blake
Die While You're Alive by Bunan
Cutting Up An Ox by Chuang Tzu
But You Who Are So Happy Here by Dante Alighieri
The Love Of God, Unutterable And Perfect by Dante Alighieri
This Mountain Of Release Is Such by Dante Alighieri
The Brain - Is Wider Than The Sky by Emily Dickinson
I Dwell In Possibility by Emily Dickinson
Mother Nature by Emily Dickinson
Not 'revelation' - 'tis - That Waits by Emily Dickinson
The Soul's Superior Instants by Emily Dickinson
On Non-dependence Of Mind by Dogen
On The Treasury Of The True Dharma Eye by Dogen
Canticle Of The Sun by Francis Of Assisi
Poem Without A Category by Gensei
Clambering Up The Cold Mountain Path by Han Shan
My Home Was At Cold Mountain From The Start by Han Shan
Before There Was A Trace Of This World Of Men by Bibi Hayati
The Elixir by George Herbert
Love (3) by George Herbert
Prayer (1) by George Herbert
Holy Spirit Giving Life To All Life by Hildegard
God's Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins
The Immanent by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Pied Beauty by Gerard Manley Hopkins
That Nature Is A Heraclitean Fire & Of The Comfort Of The Resurrection by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Watching The Moon %at Dawn by Izumi Shikibu
All Day And Night, Music by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
Don't Grieve. Anything You Lose Comes Round by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
The Drunkards Are Rolling In Slowly by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
I Have Lived On The Lip by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
Morning: A Polished Knifeblade by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
Out Beyond Ideas Of Wrongdoing And Rightdoing by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
Outside, The Freezing Desert Night by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
Praise To The Emptiness That Blanks Out Existence by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
Say Yes Quickly by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
Totally Conscious, And Apropos Of Nothing by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
When Grapes Turn by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
When It's Cold And Raining by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
You Are The Notes, And We Are The Flute by Jalal Ad-din (jalaluddin) Ar-rumi
The Treasure by Robinson Jeffers
Are You Looking For Me? I Am In The Next Seat by Kabir
Between The Conscious And The Unconscious by Kabir
'i Have Been Thinking Of The Difference Between Water' by Kabir
Inside This Clay Jar There Are Meadows And Groves by Kabir
My Friend, This Body Is His Lute by Kabir
Student, Do The Simple Purification by Kabir
Swan, Tell Me Your Old Story by Kabir
The Colors Of Tulips And Roses Are Not The Same by Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan
Even At Prayer, Our Eyes Look Inward by Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan
Let The Ascetics Sing Of The Garden Of Paradise by Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan
Two Ghazals by Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan
The World In No More Than The Beloved's Single Face by Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan
Flying Out From The Great Buddha's Nose by Kobayashi Issa
In The Cherry Blossom's Shade by Kobayashi Issa
The Man Pulling Radishes by Kobayashi Issa
Singing Image Of Fire by Kukai
The Ancient Masters Were Profound And Subtle by Lao Tzu
Empty Your Mind Of All Thoughts by Lao Tzu
Every Being In The Universe by Lao Tzu
A Good Traveler Has No Fixed Plans by Lao Tzu
Some Say That My Teaching Is Nonsense by Lao Tzu
The Tao That Can Be Told by Lao Tzu
Pax by David Herbert Lawrence
You Ask Why I Make My Home In The Mountain Frost by Li Po
Zazen On The Mountain by Li Po
Between Living And Dreaming by Antonio Machado Ruiz
In Our Souls Everything by Antonio Machado Ruiz
Old Pond, Frog Jumps In by Matsuo Munefusa
Though I'm In Kyoto by Matsuo Munefusa
Effortlessly, Love Flows From God Into Man by Mechthild Von Magdeburg
A Fish Cannot Drown In Water by Mechthild Von Magdeburg
Of All That God Has Shown Me by Mechthild Von Magdeburg
The Clouds by Mirabai
O My Friends by Mirabai
Why Mira Can't Go Back To Her Old House by Mirabai
My Daily Affairs Are Quite Ordinary by P'ang Yun
When The Mind Is At Peace by P'ang Yun
Ah, Not To Be Cut Off by Rainer Maria Rilke
As Once The Winged Energy Of Delight by Rainer Maria Rilke
Buddha In Glory by Rainer Maria Rilke
Dove That Ventured Outside by Rainer Maria Rilke
The Duino Elegies: 7 by Rainer Maria Rilke
Rose, Oh Pure Contradiction, Joy by Rainer Maria Rilke
The Sonnets To Orpheus: First Part, 22 by Rainer Maria Rilke
The Sonnets To Orpheus: Second Part, 23 by Rainer Maria Rilke
The Sonnets To Orpheus: Second Part, 29 by Rainer Maria Rilke
The Sonnets To Orpheus: Second Part, 75 by Rainer Maria Rilke
First Days Of Spring - The Sky by Ryokan
In All Ten Directions Of The Universe by Ryokan
Too Lazy To Be Ambitious by Ryokan
God Is A Pure No-thing by Johannes Scheffler
God, Whose Love And Joy by Johannes Scheffler
It Depends On You by Johannes Scheffler
The Mind Of Absolute Trust by Seng-ts'an
Be Cheerful, Sir by William Shakespeare
The Snow Man by Wallace Stevens
To An Old Philosopher In Rome by Wallace Stevens
The Roaring Waterfall by Su Shih
We Awaken In Christ's Body by Symeon
The Salutation by Thomas Traherne
Written On The Wall At Chang's Hermitage by Tu Fu
If You Look For The Truth Outside Yourself by Tung-shan Liang-chieh
I Ask All Blessings by Anonymous
My Heart Was Split, Fr. The Odes Of Solomon by Anonymous
The Golden God, The Self, The Immortal Swan by Upanishads
Two Birds, One Of Them Mortal, The Other Immortal by Upanishads
The Great Sea Has Set Me In Motion by Uvavnuk
Song Of Myself: 4 by Walt Whitman
Song Of Myself: 48 by Walt Whitman
The Great Way Has No Gate by Wu-men Hui-k'ai
Moon And Clouds Are The Same by Wu-men Hui-k'ai
One Instant Is Eternity by Wu-men Hui-k'ai
Ten Thousand Flowers In Spring, The Moon In Autumn by Wu-men Hui-k'ai
Gratitude To The Unkown Instructions by William Butler Yeats
Lapis Lazuli (for Henry Clifton) by William Butler Yeats
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (August 20, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006092053X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060920531
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful poetry, October 3, 2001

By 

merrymousies (Waterford, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry (Paperback)

I bought this book after reading about it in my yoga magazine thinking I could really use a good book of poems to ponder and this book is terrific. The poems really will quiet your mind. I love that such a wide array of authors are represented - from Rumi to Dogen to Emily Dickenson to Walt Whitman. A great collection. Glad I bought it.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars you can hold the whole world in your hands, May 10, 2000

By 

william woolum - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry (Paperback)

Elegantly, Stephen Mitchell has compiled sublime poetry from the world's sacred traditions in this inspiring collection. In a single reading one can experience the lyrical wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, paradoxical precision of Chuang-Tzu, enthusiasm of Gerard Manley Hopkins, and the sensuality of Rumi and the Song of Solomon. When poets of the sacred explore the divine, whether as a part of a religious tradition or apart from religious tradition, all rises and all converges. Beauty reigns. This collection invites one to hold the whole world of the sacred in one's hands and savor the mystical beauty of poetry and divinity.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for meditation and life reflections, March 17, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Black Hills, SD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry (Paperback)

The collection of poetry from various spiritual teachers within this book finds its way into the talks I give at church, correspondence with friends, and meditation moments. I borrowed this book from our church library, and have found it so inspiring I couldn't let it go back until I found a copy for my personal library...I've had the book for over a year. It is my favorite collection of spiritual poetry.