The Path of Direct Awakening: Passages for Meditation [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

~ Stephen H. Ruppenthal (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

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

Product Description

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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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Berkeley Hills Books; illustrated edition edition (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893163571
• ISBN-13: 978-1893163577
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #260,735 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply beautiful!, June 27, 2004

By A Customer

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, April 1, 2006

By	H. D. Wagener "Author of, The Entire Packet; ... (Portland, Maine, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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, March 5, 2009

By	T. Harrington - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.