Category: The Jewelled Garden

For more about the influential Chan monk Linji or Lin-chi (d. 866 CE), see this earlier post. When students today fail to make progress, where’s the fault? The fault lies Continue Reading →

The Orthodox Christian saint Theophan the recluse (1815-1894 CE) gave the following advice ‘for one who is on the path of a God-pleasing life.’ By prayer rule, he means a Continue Reading →

Sachal Sarmast (1739 – 1827 CE) was born in Daraza, in the province of Sindh of what is now Pakistan, and although he never left his small village, he wrote Continue Reading →

For more about the Italian monk and mystic Jacopone da Todi (or Jacopone Benedetti), see this earlier post. When you no longer love yourselfBut love Goodness,You and your Beloved will Continue Reading →

Jacopone da Todi (1230 – 1306 CE) was born Jacopone Benedetti in Todi, Italy. Little is known with certainty about his life. He seems to have been well educated and Continue Reading →

Bodhidharma (early 5th c. CE) was a Buddhist monk who is credited with bringing Buddhism to China, and is regarded as the first patriarch of Chan/Zen Buddhism. There are numerous Continue Reading →

In the religion of Islam, the Hadith are reliably recorded sayings of the Prophet Mohammed, and among them is a sub-category, called Hadith Qudsi, in which the Prophet recounts words Continue Reading →

The Christian monk and theologian Isaac of Stella (1100 – ca. 1175 CE) was born in England, and studied in Paris, after which he joined the Cistercian Order. In 1147 Continue Reading →

Theophan the Recluse (1815 – 1894 CE) is a saint of the Orthodox church. He was the son of an Orthodox priest, became a monk as a young man, and Continue Reading →

Although Hadewijch (13th c. ) was one of the most significant of the medieval Flemish and Dutch mystical writers, very little is known of her life. She was from Brabant, Continue Reading →