Unlike similar works, The Path of Direct Awakening references an impersonal divine — expressed as "Nature" or "Mind" — for meditators or seekers who resist the notion of a personalized divinity such as God, Krishna, or Yahweh. Selections in this illustrated collection are drawn from the Buddhist literature of India and China, and the Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist traditions of China. They include 70 poems and 10 prose pieces -- writings by such legendary figures as Lao-Tzu, Confucius, Buddha, Han Shan, Huang Po, and Wang Wei. Brief essays and annotations provide context, and four Chinese-style brush-stroke drawings enhance the text and help the reader address the Absolute directly.
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Editorial Reviews
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Inspirational passages from the Buddhist and Taoist traditions: lovely, lucid, accessible. . . help the reader approach the Absolute directly. Highly recommended. -- Many Rivers Books & Tea, April 25, 2004
Ruppenthal's translation was full of Wisdom, Great at heart full of love. It brought tears to my eyes. -- Rediff.com, August 31, 2004
This book takes us beyond OM: try exercising your mental muscles and meditate on these readings from Buddhist literature. -- Beliefnet.com July 20, 2004
Unique! Weds Buddhism with love of the environment.. practice a time-honored spirutuality based on the world around us. -- Psychic Reader Newspaper
Ruppenthal's translation was full of Wisdom, Great at heart full of love. It brought tears to my eyes. -- Rediff.com, August 31, 2004
This book takes us beyond OM: try exercising your mental muscles and meditate on these readings from Buddhist literature. -- Beliefnet.com July 20, 2004
Unique! Weds Buddhism with love of the environment.. practice a time-honored spirutuality based on the world around us. -- Psychic Reader Newspaper
From the Inside Flap
SPIRITUALITY
THE PATH OF DIRECT AWAKENING culls the flower of Eastern wisdom in the form of passages suited for memorization and meditation. The book is unique in that it references an impersonal divine-- expressed as "Mind" or "Nature-- for meditators and seekers who resist the notion of a personalized divinity such as God, Krishna, or Yahweh. Selections are drawn from the Buddhist literature of India, and the Buddhist, Confucian, and Taosist traditions of China. It includes seventy poems and thirty-three prose pieces-- writings by such legendary figures as Lao-Tzu, Confucius, the Buddha, Han Shan, Huang Po, and Wang Wei. The introduction provides historical context, and the author provides instructions on meditation, an essay on the Tao and Emptiness, and helpful notes on the individual texts. This is a one-of-a-kind collection that enables the reader to approach the Absolute directly.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply beautiful!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Path of Direct Awakening: Passages for Meditation (Paperback)
The book is simply beautiful. The selections are splendid, and the introductions and explanations read so smoothly, as being told them by a dear old friend-- restrained yet warm, personal but never cutesy (or even close to it), simple, dignified. For anyone of a non-deistic bent -- or mood -- what a welcome collection this is: meaningful passages, the translations crystal clear, smooth-running, elegant, a great pleasure to read. And the book sits cozily in my hand.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Path of Direct Awakening,
By H. D. Wagener "Author of, The Entire Packet; ... (Portland, Maine, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
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This review is from: The Path of Direct Awakening: Passages for Meditation (Paperback)
I use Steve Ruppenthal's, The Path of Direct Awakening in my course on the sacred and mystical literature of the world. The passages, selected from Lao Tsu, Confucius, The Buddha, Huang Po, Han Shan, The Sixth Patriarch of Zen, and others from the Chinese tradition, radiate the spirit of nontheistic thought and experience of seekers who sought peace directly, without the intervention of any soul or deity.
Instructions for meditating on passages are included. Those who wish merely to read and be inspired can read happily here, but the means of going deeper are given for those who wish to make the attempt, and are willing to accept the challenge. Ruppenthal hopes we take it up, and that we will experience "...the ever-real possibility of a breakthrough from the mundane world into that higher realm of light we all have, unnoticed and untapped, within ourselves."
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Path of Direct Awakening,
This review is from: The Path of Direct Awakening: Passages for Meditation (Paperback)
My search for passages from Lao Tsu has been amply rewarded in The Path of Direct Awakening. I am a meditation student of Eknath Easwaren and have read his translation of the Bhagavad Gita. Easwaren's amazing translation makes it seem as though the Gita was originally written in English. The translations in this book are every bit a fluid, readable, and sensible. I am also looking forward to becoming familiar with the work of Han Shan and Chuang Tsu, both new to me.
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