Category: The Jewelled Garden

Abu al Hassan al Shustari (1203–1269 CE) was born in the province of Granada, and became a highly influential poet and mystic, travelling from Andalusia to North Africa and Mecca. He Continue Reading →

For some background on the Desert mystic Syncletica, see this post. Amma Syncletica said, ‘There are many who live in the mountains and behave as if they were in the Continue Reading →

For some information on the 13th c. Indian Sufi Sharafuddin Maneri, see this post. O heart, if you go seeking along His way,Look carefully in front and behind, and only Continue Reading →

Once the Buddha’s cousin and attendant Ananda came to him to express his recognition of how important friendship is in the spiritual life. On one occasion the Blessed One was Continue Reading →

For some background on the 12th c. CE Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi, see this post. My mind has got blisters on its feet,and the road is narrower than a hair! Continue Reading →

For some background on Hildegard von Bingen, see this post. Father,Great is our need and we beg,we beg with a word that wasfullness within us:look again.It is fitting — let Continue Reading →

Anthony the Great, called ‘The Father of Monks’, was born in central Egypt about A. D. 251, the son of peasant farmers who were Christian. As a young man he Continue Reading →

The Upanishads are Sanskrit spiritual texts that are part of the foundation of the philosophical school called Vedanta. The Katha Upanishad is one of the earliest, ‘principal’ Upanishads, and may Continue Reading →

Amma Syncletica of Alexandria was a Greek Christian ascetic of the 4th c. CE, a desert mother among the ‘desert fathers’ of the time. She came from a wealthy family, Continue Reading →

For some information on the Buddhist monk and teacher Han Shan Te Ching (1546–1623 CE) see this post. Look at people who keep tigers as pets. Even while they’re laughing Continue Reading →