Overview

This is an interspiritual commentary -- largely though not exclusively Buddhist-inspired -- on the life of Elijah as recounted in the Bible. It treats the externals of his life as metaphors for internal mind-states, his story as a labyrinth-like journey toward enlightenment, an unfolding realization of the non-duality of himself and God. Elijah begins with a henotheistic conception of God as a national deity connected to the land of Israel and progresses to a realization of God as the ground of being, being-itself, the God of those who struggle with God, which is the deeper meaning of the name Israel. While the inner dimension is emphasized, there is also a focus on the political dimension of the story, which liberation theologians call God’s preferential option for the poor, and here it is called the politics of anatta -- the core Buddhist principle of not-self.

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9781803412771

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In a beautiful meditation that exemplifies our interdependence, Malcolm Brown reflects on the life Elijah, a forefather of monasticism in the West and one of the great Hebrew prophets, thru the striking lens of Buddhism and the Bodhisattva. Building a bridge that goes both ways, Brown's work enriches both Christianity and Buddhism, as well as the other traditions he engages. However, the greatest gifts herein lie for the spiritual practitioner. By placing an emphasis on the spiritual nature of a transformative path, Brown unearths tantalizing Biblical interpretations, with contemplations that roam across our religious traditions. In a world where traditional boundaries between religious traditions are being rapidly worn down in the existential lives of interspiritual practitioners, more books like this are needed--offering deep, respectful, and practice-oriented reflections between and among traditions. As an unsystematic theology that makes liberal use of spiritual imagination, this book is a gem for anyone interested in interspirituality, new monasticism, spiritual practice, comparative theology, the essential interdependence of our contemplative traditions, or in being a better Christian or Buddhist--or simply a better human being.

Within the Judeo-Christian-Humanist tradition, Quakerism has uniquely centered the ethics of right relationship. Combined with the ethics of reverence for life, it lifts the veil on a flowering landscape of readaptation in which a social economy of adequate access to the means of life under the governance of 'no more than needed' provides a bountiful and satisfying way of life. I am delighted to see Pamela Haines take up this theme in such a fresh and wide-ranging collection of essays. I commend them to the attention of all.

Author Information

Malcolm David Brown is an ex-sociologist and interspiritual writer. He has a PhD in the sociology of Islam and lived experience of different strands of Christianity and Buddhism. He lives near Pisa, Italy.

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