Page 2 - 2021 April Listen - 15-2 final
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AWAKENING AND MATURITY
The book chronicles this lifelong and ongoing he argues, does not mean spiritual maturity, as
commitment, through thick and thin, as well counterintuitive as this may seem.
as a courageous embrace of many difficulties, So, we get on with the hard work of continuously
shortcomings and flaws. reconstructing ourselves, with our wounds and
scars acknowledged and visible to us and to
Genjo composts all of these into assets, our spiritual companions, who help support us,
establishing them as the building blocks for his gently and tenderly, as we rebuild ourselves from
own ongoing spiritual growth and evolution. our broken constituent pieces.
And by extension, for ours.
This book is itself a loving form of spiritual
In the process, he engages with numerous companionship, as Genjo shares his story and
spiritual companions and models, most notably becomes a model for us all in how to turn pain,
the Buddha, St Teresa of Avila, and the Zen loss and trauma into the necessary fertilizer for
Oxherding pictures. They reveal insights and spiritual growth and maturity.
challenges both easy and joyful, along with some
quite hard and painful.
Warmly,
As Genjo often says, “every day is a new Rev. SeiFu Anil Singh-Molares
beginning,” and a new opportunity for us to
become our better selves. But that doesn’t mean
it’s going to be easy.
Indeed, one of the more arresting conclusions
of the book is that even after we awaken
spiritually, we are all still a mixed bag, with
shining moments, less flattering ones, and some
where we fall far short of the mark. Awakening,
HOW SHALL WE
PROCEED?
NO KNOWING.
LET’S INVESTIGATE
TOGETHER.
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