Each of these two traditions, Buddhism and Sufism, use unfolding flowers—the rose and the lotus, respectively—as symbols of the opening of the illumined mind.
The Rose and the Lotus is a compact volume that provides a journey through two of the world’s largest wisdom traditions, Sufism and Buddhism. It delves deeply into what the practitioners of these two approaches have in common and may have to learn from one another. It includes chapters on important teaching texts—both ancient and modern—and the clues they offer for spiritual practice; interviews with esteemed teachers such as Shaikh Kabir Helminski, Roshi Bernie Glassman, Tibetan philosopher Geshe Sonam Rinchen; as well as memories and reflections on spiritual masters such as Javad Nurbakhsh, Idries Shah, Inayat Khan and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. It also includes a new look at the mystic works of Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing and their usefulness in contemplation practice.
An ingenious and enlightening book, The Rose and the Lotus brings material to light, which provides some surprises and new insights about the integration of these two traditions into modern life. While it draws a comparison of the two great wisdom paths, it is intended as a tool for understanding the ways in which we may work on ourselves.
Though Sufism and Buddhism have long been treated as religious manifestations, in this fascinating book, Yousef Daoud (Joe) Martin places them squarely among the great wisdom traditions and explores a wide variety of topics relating to both Sufism and Buddhism. One of the most prolific authors for the journal "SUFI", he has done a real service for anyone concerned with spirituality and gnosis.
-- Professor Jeffrey Rothschild, C.U.N.Y., Editor, SUFI
On Rumi’s MATHNAVI: A Stage Adaptation “Absolutely remarkable and memorable! It was as if I had gone to a party, and had been offered an entire pot of gourmet food … but with every new bite I felt even hungrier [It] was endowed with a complex simplicity or a simple complexity! It was all very inspiring and enlightening … It felt as if the actors analyzed Rumi’s stories, lifting the veils one after another.”
--- Lida Saeedian, Author and co- translator of The Pocket Rumi
On Parabola: Shorter Fictions “...through the tightly structured geometry of this metaphorically rich [work is] recognition of the search we undertake to fix a place for ourselves … and try to make sense of a confusing, alienating and often combative world.”
--- Cheryl Pallant, High Performance