Chop Wood, Carry Water A Guide to Finding Spiritual Fulfillment in Everyday Life

9780874772098

0874772095

More than a thousand years ago a Chinese Zen Master wrote: Magical Power, Marvelous Action! Chopping Wood, Carrying Water... The message is as true today as it was then: the greatest lessons and theprofoundest heights of the spiritual path can be found in our everyday life. It is thegreatest challenge for people living in contemporary society to find the spiritual aspects ofworking in an office, store, or factory; balancing a checkbook; raising a family; or makinga relationship work. How can we make all these daily activities a part of the path? Howcan we apply the insights of great spiritual traditions, and our own experience, to the waywe live and develop? This book is a guide - a handbook filled with information, advice, hints, stories,inspiration, encouragement, connections, warning, and cautions, for the inner journey aswe live throughout our lives. Chop Wood, Carry Water contains much ancient wisdom, but theemphasis is on contemporary perceptions. Many of our guides have been known tohumanity for millennia: they are the world's great spiritual teachers- Christ, the Buddha,Loa Tse, Confucius. Others are contemporary teacher and healers, widely recognized andrespected. All offer ways to integrate the events, our focus on relationships and family,our struggle with technology, money, politics and more- into the quest for spiritualfulfillment.