Reddit reviews The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks (Penguin Classics)

May God bless you, brother. You are struggling! As such, you are an example to many around you.

There is a story in the Orthodox Christian tradition about a poor village, somewhere in the country in Russia - sometime long ago, in the time when the country was occupied by the Mongols. For years, the villagers struggled with poor crops, illness, Mongol raids, bad weather, etc. Then one year, there was a great crop, no one got sick, the Mongols stayed away, and the weather was pleasant, with just the right amount of rain and just the right amount of sunshine. All of the villagers were happy, except for some woman, who could be found in the Church crying. When they asked her what was wrong, she cried out, "God has abandoned us!"

Another story comes out of Greece, retold by a Greek monk from the island of Mt. Athos. Apparently there was one particular monk that had a drinking problem. He neglected all the work he was assigned, skipped going to church sometimes, and stayed in his cell and drank either wine he had stolen from the church or something stronger he had stolen from the mainland. He would get drunk in the afternoon, but in the morning he would arise with tears and beg forgiveness and try to stay sober that day ... and fail. Eventually this monk died and an elder elsewhere on the island who knew him heard about it. When the other monks brought him the news, tears of joy filled his eyes and a smile came over his face. Those around him were astonished and gently reprimanded him: "Elder, this man was a great sinner! Why are you happy for him?" The elder answered, "No, you don't understand. This brother struggled with his passion his entire life and never gave up struggling until the very end. The angels are receiving him with gladness today!"

I'm sorry if these stories seem kind of silly or disconnected to you. If so, I apologize. The point I was trying to make is that often trying to follow God calls our attention to things in ourself that we otherwise would give no care about. I can witness to this personally. Becoming a Christian (specifically, an Orthodox Christian) did not make me a better person nor take away all of my passions and temptations. On the contrary, in some cases the temptations grew stronger. But when I was a complete apostate, I gave no care at all to these things - I even was proud of them, and would try to outdo my sinfulness when the right opportunities arose, just to see how far into the dark I could go. But now you and I recognize our sinfulness, and we find it painful. We are finally putting it into the right context.

When we think badly of ourselves when we fall as you describe, sometimes there is a little bit of pride involved. We thought we were a better person than that, no? But actually, what we are learning - what God seems to be teaching us - is that we are weak, and that without Him we can do nothing (John 15:15).

Again, based on my own personal experience, when you get up after you fall, never assume that you will not fall again. Ask God for help and forgiveness, move forward, and don't look back on what just happened. Adopt an attitude of poverty of spirit (Matthew 5:3ff), and I think things may go better. And avoid asking God why these temptations come to you. Everything that happens in our life happens for a purpose. A sports athlete does not get stronger without gradually lifting more weight, and a spiritual athlete does not get stronger without struggling with obstacles that appear in his or her way. Another Orthodox story: Someone once asked a monk what they do in the monastery. He said, "We fall, we get up. We fall, we get up. We fall, we get up."

I think the other suggestions you've been given also make sense. Personally, I think my particular tradition is best equipped to handle struggling with the passions, but we do not deny that there is grace in other Christian faiths. I might recommend one book by an Australian layman, Breaking the Chains of Addiction: How to Use Ancient Eastern Orthodox Spirituality to Free Our Minds and Bodies From All Addictions, which writes in a pretty down to earth way of the Scriptures and teachings of the Church Fathers that relate to not only "hard" addictions, but also to dealing with everyday passions like anger, envy, etc. I think you might also find The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks helpful.

May God keep you! Christ is in our midst.

Hey, /u/Eskoe. I'm no longer busy, for now.

To begin with Hinduism, /u/wza recommended me Shankara's Crest-Jewel of Discriminiation. I purchased it and have yet to read it, though I do recommend you read about Adi Shankara, as well as the school of Hindu philosophy he expounded, Advaita Vedanta. The three canonical texts of the school (and of all Hindu schools of philosophy) are available on Project Gutenberg: the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. Visit /r/hinduism if you have questions specific to Hinduism. In fact, two of the most recent posts are ascetic:

It is not the fulfillment of a desire that makes you happy it is only the contentment that makes you happy ~ Sri Swami Tattvavidananda

and

If you want to pursue yoga you must do away with all forms of indulgence ~ Sri Swami Tattvavidananda

Now, Buddhism. Of course, read about the Buddha, who lived a life of much asceticism, and read the Dhammapada, a short Buddhist text available on Project Gutenberg. This list of notable hermits includes numerous Buddhist ascetics you may enjoy reading about. Also read about Buddhist monasteries and monks. In terms of "warrior asceticism", you may like to read about Shaolin Monastery. I personally enjoy reading about Bodhidharma, the Buddhist monk credited for transmitting Ch'an (known in Japanese as Zen) to China. Legend has it that, "he also began the physical training of the Shaolin monks that led to the creation of Shaolinquan". Visit /r/Buddhism if you have questions specific to Buddhism.

Before I stray from Eastern philosophy, read about dousing:

> Some Japanese ascetic practices, as with Shinto misogi practices, include dousing. This is seen, for example, with some Aikido martialists. Morihei Ueshiba was known to practice cold water misogi.

> Kamakura, Japan has a temple whose Nichiren Buddhist priests in training practice a ritual of 100 days of fasting, meditation and walking which ends with stripping to loincloths and dousing with ice cold water.

If I recall correctly, I discovered the above through reading about samurai, which seems in line with your "warrior asceticism". (A personal anecdote: It wasn't long after reading that that I began having regular cold showers.)

Now, Western philosophy. Read about Cynicism and the Cynics. In particular, Antisthenes, Diogenes of Sinope and Crates of Thebes. Chapters on each can be found in Diogenes Laertius' Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers.

Read also about Stoicism and the Stoics. In particular, Seneca the Younger, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Texts by each can be found here. Epictetus' Enchiridion is a short Stoic text, similar to the Buddhist's Dhammapada. Marcus Aurelius' Meditations is seemingly the most popular Stoic text, though. However, in comparison with Cynicism, Stoicism seems more like simple living than asceticism. In terms of "warrior asceticism", besides the article in my previous comment, read this, a list of books which seem to link Stoicism and the military. Visit /r/Stoicism for questions specific to Stoicism.

Stoicism is said to have inspired much of Christian literature. I recently read The Imitation of Christ and very much enjoyed it - it is very ascetic and is available on Project Gutenberg. Read about the Desert Fathers. In particular, Anthony the Great. I purchased The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks and have yet to read it in its entirely but have liked what I've read hitherto. Read also about Francis of Assisi. A biography of his is available on Project Gutenberg. Read about Leo Tolstoy (that's right, Tolstoy, an ascetic). This is where I recommend you his books, on the world's behalf. Read his books.

As you shall read, Leo Tolstoy is very much inspired by Arthur Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer is inspired by many of the above philosophies, in particular, the Eastern philosophies, though he is very much a Western philosopher. He is best known for his text, The World as Will and Representation. Arthur Schopenhauer is probably the name here most popular in this subreddit. So, ask here for questions specific to him.

I'd exclude the Transcendentalists this time around, as they seem less ascetic and more advocates of simple living. However, because another user recommended them in this post of yours, I shall include them. One Transcendentalist is Ralph Waldo Emerson, best known for his essay, Self-Reliance, which is available on Project Gutenberg. Another Transcendentalist is Henry David Thoreau, who is best known for his text, Walden, and his essay, Civil Disobedience, which are both available on Project Gutenberg, here and here.

That is the reading material I'd recommend you. I have video material, too.

I'd recommend you the series, Extreme Pilgrim. Part One: China can be seen here (which may feature your "warrior asceticism"), Part Two: India, here, and Part Three: Egypt, here. Part Three: Egypt features a man named Father Lazarus El Anthony, a former Marxist/atheist university lecturer who became a Christian hermit. You can watch a series about him here.

I apologise that my comment doesn't tackle much "warrior asceticism", but rather, asceticism generally. However, if you tackle the above, I expect you'll encounter much "warrior asceticism" where I have not. Good luck with your reading, /u/Eskoes. You have me drained.

Generally histories:

Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years

Chadwick - The Early Church

Retrieving Nicaea

Specific Important Authors

Apostolic Fathers

Origen Note: Not everything he said is orthodox, but he was an extremely important figure.

Desert Fathers

Athanasius - On the Incarnation

Basil - On the Holy Spirit

Gregory of Nazianzus

John Chrysostom

Augustine - Confessions

Rule of St. Benedict

Gregory the Great

Maximus the Confessor

John Damascus

Gregory of Nyssa's On Virginity is somewhat of a classic on asceticism. As are Cassian's Conferences and the Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Peter Brown's Body and Society is an excellent secondary source on early Christian ascetic movements.

This book is good too.

http://www.amazon.com/Desert-Fathers-Sayings-Christian-Classics/dp/0140447318/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1450443958&sr=8-2&keywords=desert+fathers

Elaine Pagels is a great contemporary scholar of Christian religion, and particularly textual and historical explication. Her The Origin of Satan is fascinating, and The Gnostic Gospels is a solid survey of some of the lost branches of early Christian tradition.

Gershom Scholem is one of the last century's great explicators of Judaism and mysticism, particularly the Kabbalah. I doubt there's a book he's written that isn't worth reading, but the best place to start may be his book On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, particularly the chapter on the relation of mystical experience to community norms.

Speaking of Kabbalah, it's recent popularity speaks poorly of what is an otherwise venerable and serious tradition of symbolism and ethical concern. If you're interested in spiritual literature, it's probably not a bad idea to take a stab at the Zohar. There's an abridged translation by Scholem out in paperback, but you're probably better off with this edition.

That comes, incidentally, from a series of books issued by a Catholic publisher, Paulist Press, under the name Classics of Western Spirituality, which is generally excellent. So far as I know, it's the only press currently printing some truly classic historical texts, so their catalog is worth browsing. They're particularly good, as you might suspect, on early Christian texts -- I don't know where else you'd go for something like Carthusian Spirituality -- but they also have Sufist, Judaic and non-mainline texts. In particular, I'd say pick up the Pseudo Dionysus.

While we're on the subject of early Christian writers, there's The Desert Fathers, The Cloud of Unknowing, Revelations of Divine Love -- the last of which is a notable early example of feminine Christian spirituality.

On the more modern end, there's Simone Weil, the tragic Marxist-cum-Catholic. I'd recommend either Waiting for God or Letters to a Priest]. While we're talking about modern Christian theology, we should note three of the most important names of the 20th century: Paul Tillich, Rudolf Otto, and Tielhard de Chardin. The books to start with, respectively, are Dynamics of Faith, The Idea of the Holy, and The Divine Milieu.

Shifting away from Christianity, another major name in 20th century theology is Martin Buber, the Jewish German mystic. His I and Thou is the most generally applicable and was widely influential in existential circles, but he also wrote widely on issues of Jewish identity.

More in the mainstream of Jewish tradition, there's the Talmud, although the sheer size of the writings that full under that name are the sort of thing that scholars give their lives over to. For our purposes, something like Abraham Cohen's Everyman's Talmud will generally suffice.

And finally, I just recently bought The Three Pillars of Zen, which is widely held to be the best practical introduction to the topic available in English. There are a bewildering amount of books on the subject, but without some sort of framework for understanding their relation to the historical traditions, it can be nearly impossible to sort out which are worth while.

EDIT: Forgot linking by reference isn't working; fixed with inline links.

I always loved Sr Benedicta Ward's "Sayings of the Desert Fathers" https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0140447318?tag=amz-mkt-fox-uk-21&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-org00-mac00-dsk00-nomod-uk000-pcomp-feature-scomp-wm-5&ref=aa_scomp

I read/re-read one of these books:

Everyday Saints and Other Stories

Mountain of Silence

Beginnings of a Life of Prayer

That is not to say that Scripture is not useful, but these books are about people struggling to live a Christian life in the modern context. For Scripture, when I am dejected I often turn to Ecclesiasticus (Wisdom of Sirach), but if you are from a Protestant tradition, the book has probably been taken out of your Bible.

You might also check out The Desert Fathers. Although it is a collection about 3rd century monks in Egypt, you would be amazed at how they struggled with the same things we do - especially dejection and self-doubt.

Bless you, /u/luckysushi22! It is good and healthy to realise that emotional experiences (whether euphoric or calm) are not the sign of God's presence. "Good fruit" in our lives is (and these may come with or without pleasant emotions).

I wonder if you would find Dom John Main helpful? (The website is not trying to sell you anything, and has some nice short talks on Christian meditation.)

If you PM me your mailing address (and live somewhere I can ship to cheaply) I would happily buy you a used copy of The Desert Fathers. (Many bits and pieces are also findable free online.) It is a collection of sayings from ancient Christian men and women who retreated into the Egyptian desert in order to devote themselves to full-time contemplative prayer. Not all of the sayings are directly about prayer, but many are; others are about temptation, voluntary poverty, love of God and neighbour, etc. Some of it is pretty kooky, but some of it is really edifying (and some of it is kooky and edifying).

https://www.amazon.com/Early-Christian-Writings-Apostolic-Fathers/dp/0140444750

https://www.amazon.com/Desert-Fathers-Sayings-Christian-Classics/dp/0140447318

Suggestion for further reading: the chapter on humility from The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks (Penguin Classics). You will find the other themes addressed there as well.