Garden of Peace

Faith: Stories

This book is a collection of short stories on the varieties and vagaries of faith, some being the old classics like Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne and others very contemporary stories, all dealing in some way with the mystery of faith. Obviously some, in my opinion were much better than others but that of course depends on where you're coming from, what you can relate to.

God's Goodness by Majorie Kemper was probably my favorite; a story that stirs an emotional reaction no matter how many times I read or think about it. And it addresses probably more than any of the others the realities of life and how there are no simple answers.

]]> The story deals with Mike, a terminally ill teen-age boy and Ling, the young Chinese girl who becomes his live-in care-taker. A Bible-studying Christian having known many hardships herself, Ling is fiercely optimistic and thankful for the meager blessings in her life. She believes that her prayers will result in a miracle for Mike.

Over the course of the last weeks of Mike's life they develop a very honest relationship and she does her best to encourage and support hi. Their interactions are touching and meaningful, each being changed by the other.

At some point in our lives we may have to reassess our beliefs and modify the meaning of faith in our lives. Faith in something much bigger than us and which we can never understand but that grants us blessings along the way.

Other favorites of mine were The Priest and His Love, Cello, The Resurrection of a Life, Music on the muscatatuck, and Ringworm. I found My Son the Fanatic disturbing on many levels since it deals with Muslim fanaticism but also because there was truth in the motivation.

The Almond Picker - Simonetta Agnello Hornby

An interesting novel set in Italy really provides an inside look at Italian life in the early 20th century. The story begins with the death of Mennulara, a maid in the service of one of the declining elite Italian families. She, however, held a uniquely powerful position, having for many years been responsible for family business affairs. Her funeral requests and panic over their ignorance of the source and status of the family fortune cause extreme distress for the Alffalipe children who are nothing more than spoiled and stupid adults. Mennularas friendships with Dr. Mendico, the town doctor and Father ----- the priest are the major means by which the story of her life is revealed to us. They seem to be the only people who know what an honest, trustworthy and beautiful person she is.
The incredible ignorance and immaturity of the Alffalipes carries through to the end and although one of them has some insight into the true character of Mennulara as she is remembering her childhood, none of them end up drawing any conclusions that are remotely accurate about her. They blunder through the book and go their destructive way.

]]> An interesting part of the story is the political climate of this Italian town and the mysterious connection of the main character to the maffia. The influence and fear they inflicted on the general population is evident through the telling of this story.

Zen and the Birds of Appetite - Thomas Merton

Extremely interesting and thought provoking this book it a collection of essays that address Zen from the perspective of a Western Christian. Merton was not typical but a Christian who had a great appreciation and understanding of Zen and believed that the study of Zen only brings the Christian to a deeper level of spiritual experience.
As usual, Merton provides a wealth of knowledge on a difficult subject, very honestly bringin out the similarities between Zen and Christianity.

Keeping Faith - Fenton Johnson

One mans journey in search for what it means to have and keep faith. Invited to cover an international convocation of Buddhist and Christian monks at Gethsemani, he found his anger at his childhood religion made him unable to make the sign of the cross. He also found that anger was a recurring word among the participants of the Gethsemani Encounter. So he set out to determine the source of this common anger through research into both Christianity and Buddhism.

Mystics and Zen Masters - Thomas Merton

Another very intelligent and well-written book by my favorite spiritual author. Here Merton discusses various religions and theologies, bringing out the similarities between Eastern and Western spirituality.
He begins by illuminating as best as can be expressed in words what Zen is, which is difficult since the essence of Zen is that which is is inexpressible. He does a magnificent job of making a difficult and wildly misunderstood subject understandable. We can then appreciate the depth of this practive and it's similarities to Christianity.
Merton introduces us to classic chinese thought such as in the Tao Te Ching. I found myself drawn to the simplicity and depth of Zen and Confuscian thought which seems to cut straight through to the heart of the matter of what is most important in life. Man's inherent goodness and will of God imprinted on his soul, constantly seeking to express itself in right action. The importance of "personal response" to life.

]]> In the middle of the book Merton covers several areas of Christianity including the English and Russian mystics and a very interesting look at the history of pilgrimage. What originally was a spiritual quest became so distorted during the crusades and this distortion extended to the search for the promised land in America without regard for those already inhabiting this land. What also struck me were the parallels to the current world situation.

The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

A beautiful and thought-provoking little book. Saint-Exupery is a master at presenting complex concepts in an enjoyable and entertaining way. The little prince appears to a pilot who crash-landed on an island. The little prince travels around the universe and meets all of the typical types of human personalities which all seem so silly. It's only the fox that actually teaches him somemthing meaningful. I love his interaction with the fox. Oh how simple it all is. The point of all life is to "tame" each other, to commit to love, to risk the inevitable pain that will be the result of loving and then losing that love.

So, "Has the sheep eaten the flower or not?"
I guess it all depends on how we look at things. When we have a positive "the glass is half-full" attitude then all is right with the world and the stars are laughing. On the other hand when we think negatively, dwelling on mistakes of the past, then the stars will all be weeping.

]]> A couple of my personal observations regarding the actual story:

First, I'd say that the prince didn't really need the muzzle at all but this was provided as a means of dealing with our human tendency to look back, to dwell in the past and feel guilty. If the pilot had not been dwelling on the past he would not have realized that the muzzle didn't have a strap and would never have felt sorry. It's the natural tendency of the ego to rehash and spoil a perfectly good memory by showing us what we did "wrong".

Second, the pilot admitted that his drawings weren't perfect, so his muzzle couldn't be expected to be perfect either.

Third, if you can believe that the rose was still alive after being alone for a whole year on that little planet then you can have no trouble believing that the sheep has not eaten the rose.

And finally, after six years has passed and the pilot starts thinking about the muzzle he says "something extraordinary happened" - not something terrible but extraordinary which is typically something remarkable in a positive way.

Arise My Love - William Johnston

Written by a Christian monk living in Japan it is a wise and open-minded look at the influence Asian theology has had on Christianity and more importantly the influence it will have in the next century.
Also very revealing are the guidelines that came out of the Second Vatican Council in relation to Christianity, other religions and science.
The latter part of the 20th century was a time of great spiritual hunger and disatisfaction with the dogma and doctrines of established religion. What has become evident to many involved in Catholic church is the fact that the message of theology cannot be rigid and objective but subjective, taking into consideration the culture and personal situation of the person. The danger of ojective theology presented in a "one way for all" is fundamentalism.

If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things

This is a very different type of book which describes in vivid detail the activities of the various inhabitants of a London neighborhood during the course of a summer day. I was at first put off by the writing since none of the characters are named but rather referred to in reference to their apartment number, the man in #19, the couple in #21, etc. But I quickly found myself getting very involved with these people in the ordinary struggles of their lives so that I couldn't wait to see what, if anything, would be resolved for them. And all the while knowing that that they are bonded together by a tragic event which is yet to be revealed to me.

The writing is superb providing such exquisite detail that you feel immersed in the story. The surprise ending, foreshadowed at the start of the book, makes you want to go back and re-read the beginning to see things from that perspective again.

A History of God - Karen Armstrong

A very good, thorough study of God in three main religions; Christianity, Judaism and Islam. What struck me about it was how man-made religion is and how in all the traditions what was originally intended for all (men and women) has been distorted to this patriachal view. It's surprising how confused mankind has always been about the meaning of life and the origin of man and God. Also, just the fact that the image we have of God is so far from what God really is. We have tried to make God in our image rather than reach out to Ultimate Being.

The Spiral Staircase - Karen Armstrong

Interesting and well written this book chronicles the period of time after denouncing her vows with numerous flashbacks/glimpses of experiences as a nun.

I felt connected to her in her rejection of "religion". I was curiosity elated by it and could identify with feelings of disgust at any traditional ceremony. Yet she was still drawn to the investigation of "God". It's interesting that she suffered from epilepsy with a very different outcome than Sister John in Lying Awake.

The surprising thing I learned in reading this book were the similarities between all three of the main world religions. They all have the same core beliefs and all have the same figures as their source (i.e. Moses, Abraham). Islam got it's start from communication between Mohammed and the Angel Gabriel.

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Spirituality is not about believing some doctrines or following traditions. Our image of Gad is so far from the true reality of Gods' true nature. Ture mystics undetstad this. It's all about changing ourselves by practicing compassion. The Jewish belief central to the Torah "Find out what distresses you and don't do it to others." Which is essentially the same message as Christianity "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction - J.D. Salinger

The book is totally about Seymour, the deceased brother of Buddy. It's divided into two vastly different parts. The first part - Raise High the Roof Beam was totally enjoyable. The second part was somewhat of a struggle to get through and I was disappointed that there was not more of a revelation at the end.

The Member of the Wedding - Carson McCullers

Very similar to her other book "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" with the main character Frankie (F. Jasmine) being a young girl 11-12 yrs old, intense, unhappy, searching.
It's a good read. Likeable characters, especially Bernice, the Black cook/mother figure. Not much happens - it all occurs in the span of a summer in the hot south but there are some really profound kind of observations made by this little girl about life/momentary connections with other people, longing for love, closeness, meaning in life. One noteable conversation with Bernice about how we're all stuck in our own skins without being able to escape, with others yet separate from all. Frankie prefers to describe it as "loose".

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers

With Carson McCullers books coming back into popularity I wanted to see what this classic book was all about. The story held my attention throughout but overall was rather sad. The events intimitately involve several characters all having in common their friendship with deaf-mute Mr. Singer. There's Mick, the adolesent girl with a passion for classical music, trying to make her place in the world. Jake, the stranger in town, frequently drunk and always with this inner passion for the workers of this country. Dr. Copeland, the black doctor, consumed with his desires to better the negro plight yet nearing the end of his usefulness. And finally there's Biff the restaurant owner who recently lost his wife, but is mainly concerned with his own personal choices. McCullers gives us a vivid picture of the personal struggles of these individuals over the course of a hot southern summer. All form a special bond with Mr. Singer, who comes to stay in the boarding house of Mick's family. The characters are united in their belief that Mr. Singer can help them to work out their problems simply because he is so peaceful and willing to "listen". They all become dependent on their visits with him but no one is aware that he too is desperately struggling with the issues of his own life.
I highly recommend this book as a realistic look at the disappointments of life in a small southern town.

Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger

Great book and extremely well-written, all revolving around Franny's obsession with the Jesus Prayer and her withdrawal from life because it is so unGod-like. Zooey finally makes his sister see that it's not her concern. She just has to do what she was meant to do. "Do It For the Fat Lady"

Faith Fox - Jane Gardam

An entertaining story about people surrounding baby Faith after her mother Holly dies in childbirth. Set in the English countryside with unusual characters, the events that unfold are surprising and not at all what you would expect. Very good and humourous this is a quick and enjoyable read.