Source Text
The alchemical transmutation of mundane awareness into that which is capable of fulfilling its destiny was his sole occupation.
He tells of events that happened to him primarily to make a point and convey a message to the reader, and he often speaks of these episodes in an elliptical manner, posing a kind of riddle to the reader, inviting him to find out what he really means. Only by correlating different passages can one begin to piece the jigsaw together.
1 In search of new perspectives
A good word is as a good tree: its roots are firmly established and its branches are in heaven; it gives its produce every season by permission of its Lord.1 The wise man is not he who speaks of wisdom or makes use of it, but he whom wisdom makes act, even if he is not aware of it.2
The genius of Ibn ‘Arabī lies in exposing this revelation of the unknown within the arena of Unity and according to Its dictates. His insight into human experience is vast and encompassing. He describes thoughts as “visitors from heaven that cross the field of the heart”, where the heart describes the most fundamental ground of our awareness. In this sense, thought does not refer simply to a process of the brain, or even something we can think about or reflect upon. It indicates that which arises at each instant within us, within our innermost consciousness.
All these visitors require the existence of someone to think them, someone to “carry” them, a “place” where they can manifest.
In the world of human spirituality, originality depends on totality and integration, a unified field of being and knowledge which is by definition all-inclusive of the principles of all other fields. This unity represents, as it were, the very ground that the other fields operate on, like the heart from which all the faculties are derived. Occasionally, rare individuals appear in this world, bringing out the genuinely new regarding the whole human condition, and making it accessible for others.
These people have gone beyond the norms of what has already been revealed, and have reached a level of true humanity that is not bound by time or place.
The most evident feature of these writings is their universality and breadth, coupled with an astonishing penetration into the central issues of human experience. Few people can claim to have read more than a portion of these works, and even fewer would be bold enough to claim to have understood them. They represent an unparalleled resource for all genuine seekers of Truth, and often openly state, or prefigure, insights more commonly attributed to later figures. For example, the concept of human evolutionary development appears in one of his poems, several centuries before it was taken up in the West. It is equally clear that his works have a remarkable power to transform the state and mentality of his readers. Ibn ‘Arabī has always aroused fierce passions, and his writings have never been considered “easy”.
He was one of those who realise their true nature through experience and state rather than through intellectual thinking, and yet at the same time he was able to express his vision in words, in the most comprehensive manner. His own life must rank as one of the most remarkable lived by any human being.
AI Summary
The Unlimited Mercifier by Stephen Hirtenstein presents key insights from the contemplative tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
- [To be expanded]
Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
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