HACKER SAFE certified sites prevent over 99.9% of hacker crime.
RELATED AISLES

Ron Rash Read the original essay by Ron Rash and save 30% on Serena.

Serena $17.46
Hardcover Add to Cart



 
Ships free on qualified orders.
$23.00
HARDCOVER, NEW
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
1 BurnsideFeatured Titles- Spirituality and Wellness
5 Local Warehouse Religion Western- Mysticism
Hide store locations


A Rare and Precious Thing: The Possibilities and Pitfalls of Working with a Spiritual Teacher
by John Kain

A Rare and Precious Thing: The Possibilities and Pitfalls of Working with a Spiritual Teacher Cover

About This Book

ISBN13: 9780307335920
ISBN10: 0307335925
All Product Details

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Never have there been so many spiritual seekers and so much readily available information about paths to self-fulfillment. Yet this book is the first in-depth exploration of how to evaluate spiritual teachers, what to expect from them, and what to be wary of, as well as whether it is necessary to study and practice with a guru or possible to achieve the same thing on your own.

John Kain introduces us to teachers (and their students) from a wide range of traditions:

Murat Yagan, a ninety-year-old Circassian teacher of Sufism and Kebzeh in a rural community in British Columbia; Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the nineteenth-generation keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Nation; Joan Chittister, OSB, a sister at a Benedictine monastery in Erie, Pennsylvania, an ardent advocate for peace and justice, a feminist, and a questioner of institutional thinking; Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, enthusiastic teacher of Hasidism, and past holder of the World Wisdom chair at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado; Gehlek Rimpoche, a renegade but beloved Tibetan Buddhist teacher whose aim is to dispense with superficial traditions and integrate the essence of Buddhist teaching into Western culture; Sudha Puri, the American-born head of Ananda Ashram north of Los Angeles and the Vedanta Centre in Massachusetts, in the lineage of the Indian sage Ramakrishna; John Daido Loori, the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery in New York’s Catskill Mountains, who is known for using photography and the arts as bridges to awareness; and Adyashanti, a charismatic American teacher in Los Gatos, California, who has broken away from all established traditions.

Woven throughout Kain’s detailed profiles of the teachers themselves is information on finding a teacher, life in a spiritual community, dealing with problems like disillusionment and abuse of power, and the meeting (or lack thereof) between Western psychology and religion.

A teacher's job is not actually to give us anything but to take away the unnecessary baggage we accumulate in our minds that obscures the truth. It is a rare and precious thing to work with someone whose purpose is to cajole us into opening our eyes and experiencing a saner reality. Kain offers would-be pilgrims an inside look at this relationship and what extraordinary things can result from it.

Review:

“An extremely worthwhile and timely book that provides an inside perspective of eight well-known teachers and clarifies what to expect of authentic spiritual guides.” —Rabbi David A. Cooper, author of God Is a Verb and Ecstatic Kabbalah

Review:

“An excellent, generous book and a much-needed blessing on the varieties of spiritual life. Kain has a genuine feel for the great spiritual quest and enthusiastically immerses you in the many, many ways you can successfully work with a teacher.” —John Tarrant, author of Bring Me the Rhinoceros and Other Zen Koans to Bring You Joy

Review:

“Ever since arriving in the New World in bulk four centuries ago Americans have tried to beat their own spiritual paths. John Kain’s fascinating book is a fine guide to the spiritual possibilities of our time.” —Jim Harrison, author of Saving Daylight

Synopsis:

This book offers the first in-depth exploration of how to evaluate spiritual teachers, what to expect from them, and what to be wary of as well as whether it is necessary to study and practice with a guru or possible to achieve the same thing on one's own.

Synopsis:

Kain explains how to evaluate spiritual teachers, what to expect from them, what to be wary of, and whether it is necessary to study and practice with a guru or possible to travel the spiritual path alone.

back to top

About the Author

John Kain has been associate publisher of Tricycle magazine and his articles on Buddhist teachers and teachings as well as his poetry have appeared in Tricycle, Shambhala Sun, Yoga Journal, and Terra Nova and on Beliefnet.com. This is his first nonfiction book. He lives in Ashland, Oregon.
back to top

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
collince14, November 1, 2006 (view all comments by collince14)
This is the best book I've read this year (and I read many). Though at first glance (at the title) one might think it is either a New Age treatise on spirituality or an overly academic exploration of the psychological dynamics of the teacher-student relationship it is niether. The book reads like a novel; it's a page turner. I started it one evening and didn't put it down for the next two days until I finished.

The author takes us on a rich journey of spiritual traditions (Hinduism, Sufism, Zen, Tibetan, Native American, Avaita, and Benedictine Catholicism), through the eyes and hearts of its practitioners and champions. The teacher stories in this book are mesmerizing (the story of Murat Yagan the 90 year-old Sufi from Turkey is simply incredible) and the student stories are as compelling and heartfelt. Kain lets us open our eyes and our hearts alongside the voices in the book--I felt like I had walked in the shoes of many of the people in the book.

I dont travel in "spiritual" circles, don't belong to any organized religion but I was interested in the relatinship dynamic, which is what drives this story. I think the author has done a superb job in balancing the mystical and the mundane in this book, he has widened the entry point so "regular" (secular?) folks will get as much out of this book as long time spiritual practitioners. The themes covered are familiar to all of us: The abuse of power, the yearning for fulfillment and love, the tug of desire, egos run amok, the pyschological dynamics of relationship, and--thankfully-- humor (and so much more). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(10 of 10 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
back to top

Product Details

ISBN:
9780307335920
Subtitle:
The Possibilities and Pitfalls of Working with a Spiritual Teacher
Author:
Kain, John
Publisher:
Bell Tower
Subject:
Comparative Religion
Subject:
Spiritual life
Subject:
Teacher-student relationships
Subject:
Eastern - Gurus
Subject:
Spirituality - General
Publication Date:
September 2006
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
274
Dimensions:
8.34x5.90x.99 in. .92 lbs.
back to top