August 27, 2005
Myths to Live By (Joseph Campbell)
"The word zen itself is a Japanese mispronunciation of the Chinese word ch'an, which, in turn, is a CHinese mispronunciation of the Sanskrit dhyana, meaning 'contemplation, meditation.'" [p. 126]
"One of the most amazing images of love that I know is Persian--a mystical Persian representation of Satan as the most loyal lover of God. You will have heard the old legend of how, when God created the angels, he commanded them to pay worship to no one but himself; but then, creating man, he commanded them to bow in reverence to this most noble of his works, and Lucifer refused--because, we are told, of his pride. However, according to this Moslem reading of his case, it was rather because he loved and adored God so deeply and intensely that he could not bring himself to bow before anything else. And it was for that that he was flung into Hell, condemned to exist there forever, apart from his love." [p. 148]
Posted by Morgan at 01:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.spareink.com/mt-tb.cgi/104
Comments
Post a comment
E-mail this entry to a friend!
