The Fruitful Darkness: A Journey Through Buddhist Practice and Tribal WisdomGrove Press, 2004 - 240 pages In this "masterwork of an authentic spirit person" (Thomas Berry), Buddhist teacher and anthropologist Joan Halifax Roshi delves into "the fruitful darkness"--the shadow side of being, found in the root truths of Native religions, the fecundity of nature, and the stillness of meditation. In this highly personal and insightful odyssey of the heart and mind, she encounters Tibetan Buddhist meditators, Mexican shamans, and Native American elders, among others. In rapt prose, she recounts her explorations--from Japanese Zen meditation to hallucinogenic plants, from the Dogon people of Mali to the Mayan rain forest, all the while creating "an adventure of the spirit and a feast of wisdom old and new" (Peter Matthiessen). Halifax believes that deep ecology (which attempts to fuse environmental awareness with spiritual values) works in tandem with Buddhism and shamanism to discover "the interconnectedness of all life," and to regain life's sacredness. Grove Press is proud to reissue this important work by one of Buddhism's leading contemporary teachers. |
Contents
The World Wound | 1 |
The Way of Silence | 23 |
The Way of Traditions | 35 |
The Way of the Mountain | 51 |
The Way of Language | 81 |
The Way of Story | 103 |
The Way of Nonduality | 127 |
The Way of Protectors | 169 |
The Way of the Ancestors | 187 |
The Way of Compassion | 197 |
Epilogue | 211 |
Appendix | 226 |
Notes | 229 |
Credits | 237 |
Other editions - View all
The Fruitful Darkness: A Journey Through Buddhist Practice and Tribal Wisdom Joan Halifax Limited preview - 2007 |
The Fruitful Darkness: A Journey Through Buddhist Practice and Tribal Wisdom Joan Halifax Limited preview - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
ancestors asked Barbara Myerhoff beautiful body breath Buddhist canoe ceremony Chan K'in Viejo cloud compassion continue continuum corn creation creatures culture darkness dead death deep ecology deeply our lives Deer desert Dineh Dogen Dogon Don José Doubleday dream Earth elder energy enter Excerpt experience eyes fire friends gods Grandfather heal hear Holy Wind Hopi Huichol human Jorge journey K'ayum K'in Kailas Lacandon Lakota Lame Deer landscape language listen look meditation mind mother moun mountains and rivers Nahá Nancy Wood night nonduality Ojai ourselves Parallax Press peyote plants Plum Village practice prayer realized Reprinted by permission rite Robert Bly rock roots Roshi sacred shaman silence sing solitude song spirit stone story suffering Thich Nhat Hanh things Tibet told traditions transformed tree tribal true nature Valley village voice walking Wallace Black Elk Warao whales wild wilderness wisdom words wound