Quakerbooks

Approaching The Quran

The Early Revelations Second Edition

INTRODUCED AND TRANSLATED BY MICHAEL SELLS
This new edition from Quaker Michael Sells offers, important new translations of Quranic suras, details of the controversy over teaching about Islam and the Quran in American Universities, an Introduction to the Quran, commentaries on the suras, a glossary, discussion of the sound nature and gender aspects of the Arabic text. These are translations of the suras, associated with the first revelations to the Prophet Muhammad. Complex and powerful, most appear at the end of the Qur'an's written text and are commonly reached only by the most resolute reader of existing English translations. Containing the Qur'an's prophetic and revelatory passages, the suras offer a vision of a meaningful and just lif.

2007 224 PP. Paper

$22.95 (backorder)

The Battle For God

BY KAREN ARMSTRONG
Now in Paperback! "Karen Armstrong has given us a wide-ranging review of the wrenching 'Battle for God' between the forces of modernism and fundamentalism. Too many prefer to curse and denigrate the rise of fundamentalism. Karen Armstrong chooses to light a candle of understanding and comparative analysis."-Rabbi Irving Greenberg

Ballantine 2001 464 PP. Paper

$15.95 (low stock)

Buddhism Without Beliefs

A Contemporary Guide To Awakening

BY STEPHEN BATCHELOR
The former monk gives here a solid, straightforward introduction that demystifies Buddhism and explains simply and plainly how its practice can enrich our lives. Avoiding jargon and theory, Batchelor concentrates on the concrete, making Buddhism accessible and compelling and showing how anyone can embark on this path-regardless of their religious background.

Penguin 1998 127 PP. Paper

$13.00 (low stock)

Dao De Jing

A Philosophical Translation

BY ROGER AMES, DAVID HALL
In this elegant volume, Ames and Hall feature the original Chinese texts of the Dao de Jing and translate them into crisp, chiseled English that reads like poetry. Each of the eighty-one brief chapters is followed by clear, thought-provoking commentary exploring the layers of meaning in the text. The book's extensive introduction is a model of accessible scholarship in which Ames and Hall consider the origin of the text, place the emergence of Daoist philosophy in its historical and political context, and outline its central tenets.

Ballantine Books 2003 256 PP. Paper

$13.95 (low stock)

The Essential Rumi

TRANSLATED BY COLEMAN BARKS WITH JOHN MOYNE
A collection of the ecstatic poetry of the well known thirteenth century Islamic mystic. "Perhaps the world's greatest spiritual poet - the gold of Rumi pours down through Coleman's words. The words leap off the page and dance!" -Jack Kornfield

HarperCollins 1996 310 PP. Paper

$14.95 (in stock)

The Garden Of Truth

The Vision And Promise Of Sufism, Islam's Mystical Traditio

BY SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR
One of the world's leading scholars of Islamic thought and spirituality, Iranian-born and Western-educated Nasr is a respected intellectual figure in both the West and the Islamic world. The Garden of Truth explores Sufism, the Islam of the whirling dervishes of Turkey, the Qawwali musicians of India, the esoteric philosophers of Arabia, the Persian painters of miniatures, the architects of the Ottoman Empire, and the love poets such as Rumi.

2007 252 PP. Cloth

$9.00 (in stock)

The Great Transformation, Unmarked Remainder Edition

The Beginnings Of Our Religious Traditions

BY KAREN ARMSTRONG
Karen Armstrong traces the development of today's religious ideology, examining the contributions of such figures as Buddha, Socrates, Confucius, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the mystics of the Upanishads, Mencius, and Euripides. She looks at how similar ideas inspired different religions across the world as they developed from 1600 years before Christ to the present day. Her gift makes the complex maze understandable and gives hope for interfaith initiatives. This large format paperback makes the writing even more accessible with larger maps and tables easier to follow.

Knopf 2006 469 PP. Paper

$8.00 (in stock)

The Great Transformation - Paper

The Beginning Of Our Religious Traditions

BY KAREN ARMSTRONG
In this book Karen Armstrong reveals how the sages of this pivotal "Axial Age" can speak clearly and helpfully to the violence and desperation that we experience in our own times. Armstrong traces the development of the Axial Age chronologically, examining the contributions of such figures as Buddha, Socrates, Confucius, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the mystics of the Upanishads, Mencius, and Euripides. With regard to dealing with fear, despair, hatred, rage, and violence, the Axial sages gave their people and give us, Armstrong says, two important pieces of advice: first there must be personal responsibility and self-criticism, and it must be followed by practical, effective action.

Anchor Books 2007 565 PP. Paper

$15.95 (low stock)

How To Be A Perfect Stranger

The Essential Religious Ettiquette Handbook

EDITED BY STUART MATLINS AND ARTHUR MAGIDA
Lively, straightforward guide to the basic services and ceremonies of all major religions and denominations in the United States. Winner of the best reference book of the year ward. Now available as a single updated volume.

SkyLight Paths Publishing 2006 Paper

$19.99 (in stock)

I Have Always Wanted To Be Jewish

And Now, Thanks To The Religious Society Of Friends, I Am - Php 350

BY CLAIRE GORFINKEL
The author's story of her spiritual journey through Quakerism home to Judaism.

Pendle Hill Pamphlet 2000 32 PP. Paper

$5.00 (in stock)

The Illustrated World's Religions

A Guide To Our Wisdom Traditions

BY HUSTON SMITH
"In lucid and captivating prose, Smith, the dean of world religionists, conducts readers on a whirlwind tour of the beliefs, practices and experiences of the world's religious traditions. Smith explores the major features of these religions by combining his own worlds with passages from the sacred texts of each. .The words and images of this book continually remind us that the world's faiths are not stagnant pools of decaying values but dynamic and vibrant waters from which their practitioners daily drink. .If one buys only one of the number of recent introductions to world religions, this should be it."- Publishers Weekly

HarperSanFrancisco 1995 256 PP. Paper

$24.95 (low stock)

Interfaith Dialogue At The Grass Roots

EDITED BY REBECCA KRATZ MAYS
These essays seek to empower Quakers, rabbis, imams, pastors, and their congregants to take up the work of interreligious dialogue as a peacemaking activity. The book provides guidelines for conducting interfaith encounters, showing how storytelling and conversations can make these meetings productive and constructive. Additional chapters reveal how to establish and inspire peace. Lastly, Joseph Stoutzenberger writes questions for reflection and suggestions for action at the end of each chapter. The editor is Quaker Rebecca Kratz Mays.

Ecumenical Press 2008 131 PP. Paper

$15.00 (in stock)

Islam From A Quaker Perspective

Updated 2008 With Friends And The Interfaith Movment

BY ANTHONY MANOUSOS
This pamphlet was written shortly after 911 to help facilitate an understanding of Islam and Quakerism and to encourage interfaith dialogue and work towards a cooperative peace. This new edition has an additional section describing the rise of Interfaith groups that bridge the world religions with understanding and Friendship. The modern equivalent to citizen diplomacy.

Friends Bulletin/Quaker Universalist Fellowship 2008 30 PP. Paper

$5.00 (in stock)

The Mindful Quaker

A Brief Introduction To Buddhist Wisdom For Friends

BY VALERIE BROWN
In recent decades, many Quakers have been drawn to the study of Buddhist teachings and to the practices of meditation and mindfulness as taught in Buddhism. Valerie Brown, who is both a Quaker and a Buddhist, explores the gifts that Buddhism has to offer Friends in our search for unity with the Divine Ground, for clarity in our worship, and for equanimity in our lives. Writing as a dedicated seeker in both traditions, she identifies the points of commonality as well as the valuable insights and techniques that Friends can derive from a discipline that has developed through more than 2,500 years of practice.

Pendle Hill Pamphlet 2006 36 PP. Paper

$6.50 (in stock)

Patterns And Examples

Experiencing The Spirit Of Other Faiths

EDITED BY PETER JARMAN
A collection of writings by 14 Quakers describing their thoughts and experiences of other faiths, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. In the quest for spiritual fullfilment following the advice of George Fox to "be patterns, examples in all countries, then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one," Jonathan Fryer, Peter Jarman, Jennifer Kavanagh, Alison Leonard, John A. McConnell, Judy Moody-Stuart, lhsam R. Rasmy acknowledge the jewel of Love and Truth at the heart of all beings through their experience of the Spirit of other faiths.

Sessions of York 2005 155 PP. Paper

$25.00 (in stock)

A Quaker In The Zendo

Php 370

BY STEVE SMITH
"At a time of my life when I had drifted far from my Quaker origins, I found the practice of Zen meditation to be clarifying, healing and liberating. Curiously this Asian spiritual practice led me back to the Society of Friends: the more I practice Zen, the more thoroughly Quaker I become. The spiritual insights of Christianity and Quakerism have regained for me fresh depth, power and charisma. Within the earliest records of Quakerism, in the writings of George Fox and other early Friends, I find - to my wonder and delight - remarkably explicit guidelines for spiritual practice that are often diluted or obscured in contemporary unprogrammed Friends' worship.".

Pendle Hill Pamphlet 2004 38 PP Paper

$6.50 (in stock)

Quakers And Jews

BY ALLAN KOHRMAN
"Allan Kohrman's pamphlet, `Quakers & Jews,' is primarily focused on Friends response to the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He asserts that Friends organizations, including the AFSC and FUM, are uneven and unfair in their support of Palestine over and against Israel. Allan contends that longstanding systemic and even conscious anti-Semitism underlies the policy stances of these organizations. As we work to assist peoples suffering from the effects of war and injustice, Allan reminds us that the heart of Friends witness is to listen for and respond to `that of God' in all people, on all sides." - Jonathan Vogel-Borne

Kohrman 2004 68 PP. Paper

$7.00 (in stock)

The Quran; A Biography

BY BRUCE LAWRENCE
George Fox read the Koran but perhaps today few Quakers have. Sent down in a series of revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, the Qur'an is the unmediated word of Allah, a ritual, political, and legal authority, an ethical and spiritual guide, and a literary masterpiece. Bruce Lawrence's work is a beautifully written and, in these increasingly troubled times, invaluable introduction to and exploration of the core sacred text of Islam.

Atlantic Monthly Press 2007 231 PP. Cloth

$8.50 (in stock)

Reading The Muslim Mind

BY HASSAN HATHOUT, FOREWORD BY AHMAD ZAKI YAMANI
A thoughtful reflection on Islam by an Egyptian-born physician, scholar, speaker, poet and ethicist who is regarded as one of the great spiritual teachers of Islam in America today.

American Trust Publications 1995 152 PP. Cloth

$14.00 (low stock)

The Tent Of Abraham

Stories Of Hope And Peace For Jews, Christians, And Muslims

BY RABBI ARTHUR WASKOW, JOAN CHITTISTER, MURSHID SAADI SHAKUR CHISHTI
Provides readers with stories that can bring all the faiths together., the book explores in accessible language the mythic quality and the teachings of reconciliation that are embedded in the Torah, the Qur'an, and the Bible. It also weaves together the wisdoms of the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions into a deeper, more unified whole.

Beacon Press 2007 240 PP. Paper

$15.00 (in stock)

The Way Of Chuang Tzu

BY THOMAS MERTON
Working from existing translations, Thomas Merton composed a series of personal versions from his favorites among the classic sayings of Chuang Tzu, the most spiritual of the Chinese philosophers. Chuang Tzu, who wrote in the fourth and third centuries B.C., is the chief authentic historical spokesman for Taoism and its founder Lao Tzu (a legendary character known largely through Chuang Tzu's writings). Indeed it was because of Chuang Tzu and the other Taoist sages that Indian Buddhism was transformed, in China, into the unique vehicle we now call by its Japanese name - Zen. The Chinese sage abounds in wit, paradox, satire, and shattering insight into the true ground of being.

New Directions 1962 159 PP. Paper

$12.95 (low stock)

The World's Religions

Our Great Wisdom Traditions

BY HUSTON SMITH
In this compendium Huston Smith explores essential elements and teachings of the world's predominant faiths, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and the native traditions of the Americas, Australia, Africa, and Oceania. Smith emphasizes the inner, rather than institutional, dimensions of these religions and gives special attention to Zen, Tibetan Buddhism, Sufism, and Jesus' teachings. He convincingly conveys the unique appeal and gifts of these traditions and reveals their hold on the human heart and imagination. "This is one book on world religions I can't do without. I return to it often--and always with reward." - Bill Moyers

harper san francisco 1995 448 PP. Paper

$16.95 (in stock)

The World's Wisdom

Sacred Texts Of The World's Religions

COMPILED BY PHILIP NOVAK; FOREWORD BY HUSTON SMITH
An essential collection of the world's spiritual wisdom--a world bible for our time from Buddhist, Hindu, Confucian, Taoist, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and primal religion sources. "Philip Novak's loving and imaginative presentation of key texts from several traditions offers an excellent resource . . . showing that all the wisdom we need is already available to us in abundance." - Thomas Moore

HarperSanFrancisco 1995 448 PP. Paper

$16.95 (low stock)

Zen And The Birds Of Appetite

BY THOMAS MERTON
"Zen enriches no one," Thomas Merton provocatively writes in his opening statement to Zen and the Birds of Appetite--one of the last books to be published before his death in 1968. "There is no body to be found. The birds may come and circle for a while... but they soon go elsewhere. When they are gone, the 'nothing,' the 'no-body' that was there, suddenly appears. That is Zen. It was there all the time but the scavengers missed it, because it was not their kind of prey." This gets at the humor, paradox, and joy that one feels in Merton's discoveries of Zen during the last years of his life, a joy very much present in this collection of essays.

A New Directions Book 1968 144 PP. Paper