Parabola Volume 44, No. 1, Spring 2019: Change & the Changeless

In his heralded poem “Burnt Norton,” T.S. Eliot speaks of “The still point of the turning world,” a near perfect expression of Change and the Changeless. Eliot attended lectures in 1920s London by the Russian philosopher P.D. Ouspensky, featured in this Spring 2019 issue of Parabola; no surprise as the search for that still point is a perennial spiritual quest, one that has inspired seekers from the Buddha to Thoreau, Thomas Merton, and countless others including G.I. Gurdjieff, Ouspensky’s own teacher.

If we can rest in that stillness, the sages say, we will find there “the peace…that surpasses all understanding”; or “I Am”; or God: call it what you will, it is the Center that does hold. To reach it requires effort and guidance. And so this issue opens with meditations on the changeless and change by masters of the spirit: Ramana Maharshi, Lewellyn Vaughan-Lee, and Adyashanti. At this year’s World Parliament of Religions, those who share those teachers’ visions and many others exchanged their practices and wisdoms; a report by Trebbe Johnson appears in these pages.

This issue delves into less traditional realms as well. There is a powerful photo essay on sand dunes by David Ulrich; a call to conscience and common sense from Lucinda Herring, a pioneer of the green burial movement; an exploration of hidden esoteric wisdom in Shakespeare; and a brief visit with an extraordinary man in touch with both change and the changeless, Mister Fred Rogers.

May this issue of Parabola serve you well.

—Jeff Zaleski

Cover Description: Unsplash.com. Photograph by Yuran Ding

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ESSAYS AND CONVERSATIONS

There is Something Which is Eternal and Changeless
Ramana Maharshi
Encouraging words from a Hindu sage

Living the Moment of Love Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Awakening to ourselves and the world

The Simple Joy of Being Adyashanti
Backpacking into deepest Reality

A Prophet for Our Times Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle
The shining example of Father Bede Griffiths

The Calling Lucinda Herring
Meeting death with dignity

Change, Suffering, and Illusion Richard Smoley
A meditation on ultimate things

Dune David Ulrich
A photo essay

They Were Free Rev. Diane Wilde
Buddhism comes to a California state prison

A Moment with Mister Rogers Jeff Zaleski
Chatting with America’s favorite saint

A Fuller Life Charles Halton
A conversation with Trappist monk Brother Paul Quenon

Mastering Change Sheri Ritchlin
The wisdom of the I CHING

The Garden of Time and Timelessness
Martin Hakubai Mosko and Alxe Noden
Cultivating the Real in a Zen garden

The World Is One P.D. Ouspensky
The Russian philosopher on the nature of our world

EPICYCLES

Madame White Snake Anonymous / Chinese
Retold by Betsy Cornwell

Tam Lin Anonymous / Scottish
Retold by Betsy Cornwell

TANGENTS

Spiritual Activists Confront the Woes of the Planet Trebbe Johnson
The 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions

The Esoteric Shakespeare Michael White
“All the world’s a stage…”

BOOK REVIEWS

Timeless in Time: Sri Ramana Maharshi
A.R. Natarjan / reviewed by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
Jordan B. Peterson / reviewed by David P. Stang

ENDPOINT