Living with the Devil: A Meditation on Good and EvilWhether we are religious or not, the Devil--evil incarnate--is a concept that can still strike fear in our hearts. What if he does exist? What if he is causing all our problems in his determination to keep us from reaching our full potential? Buddhist philosopher Stephen Batchelor takes the concept of the Devil out of literature and history and brings him to life in his many forms and guises: the flatterer, the playmate, the caring friend, the stranger who offers rest and solace, the person who knows you best and shows you your greatness in the world. And, most of all, as the great obstructer that blocks all paths to goodness and true humility. For the first time, Batchelor fuses Western literature--Milton, Keats, Baudelaire--with Buddhism and the Judeo-Christian traditions in a poetic exploration of the struggle with the concept and reality of evil.--From publisher description. |
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Page 143
... Agnes was born from the imagination of a storyteller . Each new piece of information we acquire about her is like a brush- stroke that highlights another feature of her character . We swiftly and effortlessly build up a portrait of Agnes ...
... Agnes was born from the imagination of a storyteller . Each new piece of information we acquire about her is like a brush- stroke that highlights another feature of her character . We swiftly and effortlessly build up a portrait of Agnes ...
Page 144
A Meditation on Good and Evil Stephen Batchelor. Agnes cannot be photographed . For a photograph presents material evidence that something took place in the world we share . The unrepeatable way in which light reflected off that face or ...
A Meditation on Good and Evil Stephen Batchelor. Agnes cannot be photographed . For a photograph presents material evidence that something took place in the world we share . The unrepeatable way in which light reflected off that face or ...
Page 145
A Meditation on Good and Evil Stephen Batchelor. tify and empathize with Agnes and Tereza because we share their storylike nature . People get to know us through our sto- ries much in the same way they come to empathize with a character ...
A Meditation on Good and Evil Stephen Batchelor. tify and empathize with Agnes and Tereza because we share their storylike nature . People get to know us through our sto- ries much in the same way they come to empathize with a character ...
Contents
Parallel Mythologies | 3 |
This Need Not Have Happened I 2 | 12 |
MaraThe Killer | 17 |
Copyright | |
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Agnes Ajatasattu anguish appears astonishment awareness Batchelor Baudelaire become Bhikkhu Bhikkhu Bodhi Bimbisara Bodhi body Brahma brahmin brain breath Buddha buddhanature Buddhist called Chuang-tzu compulsive consciousness contingent craving created creature culture of awakening death demonic describes Devadatta devil devil's circle dharma diabolic discourses earth emptiness enclose evil existence existential experience eyes fear feel fixation followed freedom Gampopa Gotama grip Huai-jang Hui-neng human hurt Ibid incarnation insight Kamadeva king Kosala Kosalan Lin-chi live London Magadha Mara Mara's meditation metaphor mind monk Nagarjuna Nanamoli nature ness nirvana one's oneself ourselves Pali Pali Canon Pascal Pasenadi path Penguin person question Rajagaha realize religion root samsara Samyutta Nikaya Sanskrit Satan says seems selfless sense Shantideva someone space Stephen Batchelor struggle sublime Sutra Te-shan texts things thoughts Tibetan tion traditions Translated truth understand unfolding University Press verse York