The Path of Direct Awakening: Passages for Meditation

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.

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.