The Cloud of Unknowing and the Book
of Privy Counselingby William Johnston (Editor), Huston Smith (Introduction)
The Cloud of Unknowing and the Book
of Privy Counseling
by William Johnston (Editor), Huston Smith (Introduction)
Paperback, 195 pages
Published by Image Books
Publication date: August 1, 1996
ISBN: 0385030975
Synopsis:
William Johnston--an authority on fourteenth century spirituality and specifically
on the writings of this unknown author--provides a substantive and accessible
introduction detailing what is known about the history of this text and
its relevance throughout the ages. Also included here is the medieval author's
other principal work, The Book of Privy Counseling--a short and moving
text on the way to enlightenment through a total loss of self and consciousness
only of the divine.
Reviews:
Jonathan from Durham, North Carolina
, 10/03/97, A primer on mystical prayer - knowing the God beyond knowing
This is the best book I have ever read on the life of prayer, and it has
transformed my prayer life. It was originally written as a series of letters
to teach mystical prayer to one particular monk. This book tells us that
our minds are too small to grasp God, and when we try to approach him intellectually,
we freeze up, entering into a "Cloud of Unknowing" which our minds
can not penetrate. Yet God is approachable - "Because he may well be
loved, but not thought. By love he can be caught and held, but by thinking
never." We are told to long for God, to "strike that thick cloud
of unknowing with the sharp dart of longing love". This longing love
calls us to give up everything else for the sake of God - "a naked
intention directed to God, and himself alone, is wholly sufficient".
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