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This is a collection of spiritual poetry from antiquity to the present, reflecting many styles and expressions of our experince of the sacred through the medium of poetry. All traditions will be represented, including the great world religions – as well as those of hyperborean shamanism.
Organized into three universal dimensions of spiritual life, the awareness of suffering and death, the experience of the depth of compassion and love, and the knowledge of the unity of the transcendent and immanent Real, Music of the Sky collects short poems from Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Native American traditions. Meant neither as an historical survey of spiritual poetry, nor as a definitive collection of essential poems, the reader may open this book at any page, at any time, in virtually any situation, traveling or at rest. The truth and beauty of these poems are certain to provide a source of inspiration for countless generations.
The short poems in this book reflect the spiritual insights of some of the greatest poets, saints, and sages known to Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Native American traditions. Their voices rise above the outward limitations of sect and creed into a single chorus affirming the deeply human need for the Sacred. The words of these poets underline the great and universal challenge of facing suffering and death, the boundless compassion and love which touches all life, and the knowledge and unity of the transcendent and immanent Real. This book is an inexhaustible well of light to carry along the way.
About the Author(s)
Patrick Laude
Patrick Laude is a writer, editor, professor, and researcher in the fields of language, literature, symbolism, and mysticism. He is a professor at Georgetown University, currently at their School of Foreign Service in Qatar. Laude's writings have been published in the US and Europe in numerous journals.
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Reviews
- [This is] a work that is sure to enchant one who has reflected much on poetry’s relation to the spirit, or one who merely enjoys the spiritual effects of the lyrical word.…These poets’ words seek to remind readers of Truth, Reality, and Origin; they offer a path upon which the stones are symbols and the destination is home. Kabir laughs at us thirsty fish, swimming in the ocean of the Real. In our consciousness, we have seen death. In our pursuit, we have tasted life. Clinging desperately to one or both, we struggle through our lives, forgetting emptiness, forgetting what it is to be whole. Zen poet Dogen reminds us that this is what language forever expresses but does not bind. Music of the Sky expresses it beautifully, its leaves shining, reflecting pools of the heart.
from a review in Sacred Web
- It is indeed a ‘jeweller’s eye’ which has strung together these pearls of illumination, rendered in poetic form.
Banyen Books and Sound
- There are books one hardly has to open to know they are of highest quality. This is one of those treasure troves. One has to sit down, stop hurrying for a while and allow the music of noble souls to replace the noises of our electrified lives.
Frederick Franck, editor, author, artist, and humanitarian
- Music of the Sky…is a golden treasury of spiritual poems drawn from a variety of religious traditions and world-renowned poets. The selections are well chosen and represent religious diversity and yet reflect universal truths. If it is true that ‘mystics of different religions speak the same language,’ then this work proves the point. Where else would one find the great minds of the East and West brought together in a volume that can be easily read and treasured for its spiritual wealth?
This short volume compresses the longing of the human heart and its quest for wholeness. One is led to experience such emotions as angst, hope, faith, love, and union through the words for the great mystics of the world. It forces the reader to search in the deepest corner of his/her being to truthfully confront his/her own spiritual condition. Ultimately it inspires one to find solace in the bosom of the Eternal, the Absolute, the One.
It is a book that needs to be read, re-read, and read again and again.Ishwar Harris, the College of Wooster, and author of The Laughing Buddha Of Tofukuji: The Life Of Zen Master Keido Fukushima
- Poetry is truly the language of the gods. The modern world has usurped and sentimentalized this spiritual media. It is wonderful to find in up to date collection that brings back the original purpose and meaning of this art form. One is grateful to those who have collected and presented to us this wonderful collectin that draws its sources, not only from the great traditions, but also from individuals who spontaneously speak to us of truth and beauty.
Rama Coomaraswamy, editor of The Essential Ananda K. Coomaraswamy
- The editors of this delightful and revealing volume have brought together a selection of religious poetry, rich in its variety. Drawing from many saints and sages from around the world, they enable us, at our leisure, to peer into the throbbing heart of the universal human spirit which yearns to know the source of its life and meaning.
Alfred Bloom, author of Shinran’s Gospel of Pure Grace, and editor of Living in Amida’s Universal Vow: Essays on Shin Buddhism
- Most poets write too much for not heeding the Muse who scants her treasures. But this collection of poems come from the Muse, most definitely. Each poem threatens to spark the noetic
Mark Perry, author of On Awakening and Remembering: To Know Is to Be
- in the reader, who will see the world—and himself—suddenly from a newly enlightened perspective where the thrill of meaning and joy crystallize in deepest insight.
