Blessings, light and peace to all ~
Anyone read this book?
In the introduction, Stephen Mitchell tells that Thomas Jefferson cut and pasted his own version of the gospels - saying that Jefferson took offense to certain sections (comparing swine to jewels) and said that a discerning mind could capture the jewels and have them stand beautifully alone. Mitchell takes his best stab at the same thing. His background is in language. Also translating the works of Rilke.
Mitchell also has a grand offering called "The Enlightened Mind" which is full of maxims, short passages from wisdom literature around the world - the entire book is a great argument for deep ecumenism.
In "The Gospel According to Jesus" Mitchell focuses on parts of the Gospels (canonical and noncanonical) that he, and the Jesus Seminar folks, find to be closest to what they believe to be the original words of Jesus, without the flavoring of the early Church. (hell, damnation, fear-creating, and Jesus proclaiming himself the *only* son of God).
Mitchell makes the argument that much of Jesus' suffering came from being an illegitimate child in a culture where this was anathema.
I am now reading his translation of the Bahgad-Vita - he sets his readers almost to the place where he uses words to describe that which is beyond the conveyance of words - truths only housed in experience.
I take a section a day, and grade my day against it. Fun and hard all at the same time.
Hope all are well in Reiki-cafe land.
I have found good medicine for bipolar illness and have had 6 months without breakdown or hospitalization.
Blessings and light to all.
/~gassho~\
Dale
