Rating: 
Summary: Great for sleepyheads too
Review: Many of the poems are very simple, very short. This does not diminish their quality; it is merely a matter of the poet's style. Perfect material for those that want to read great poems before hitting the sack even though that are exhausted. Of course, great reading anytime.Zen afficiandos will also appreciate the close tie between Western mystic poets' thoughts and those from the East.
Rating:
Summary: God's humor, simplicity and directness
Review: Now this is one delightful book! My husband and I enjoy reading a poem or two just before going to sleep.
I appreciate the directness of the talks with God, as portrayed in Ladinsky's translations. I think these days, when so many people doubt God's intimacy with us, the idea of a direct line with Him is refreshing and opens a door for us to step into.
Two of my favorite poems are "It works" by Rabia, and "Hey" by Rumi. My husband's favorite is "He asked for charity" by St. Francis of Assisi.
Thank you, Dan, and we are curious to see what you'll do next..
Rating:
Summary: God's humor, simplicity and directness
Review: Now this is one delightful book! My husband and I enjoy reading a poem or two just before going to sleep.
I appreciate the directness of the talks with God, as portrayed in Ladinsky's translations. I think these days, when so many people doubt God's intimacy with us, the idea of a direct line with Him is refreshing and opens a door for us to step into.
Two of my favorite poems are "It works" by Rabia, and "Hey" by Rumi. My husband's favorite is "He asked for charity" by St. Francis of Assisi.
Thank you, Dan, and we are curious to see what you'll do next..
Rating:
Summary: On a historic night...
Review: On this historic night, as tanks rolled in the sand, I read in this precious book, "I have come into this world to see this: the sword drop from men's hands even at the height of their arc of anger because we have finally realized there is just one flesh to wound and it is His - the Christ's, our Beloved's." Hafiz, 14th century Persian poet, page 159 And while I am quoting from it, here is another, "On a day when the wind is perfect the sail just needs to open and this world is full of beauty. Today is such a day." Thanks Rumi for that jewel which is now taped to my icebox and car dash as well. That quote is also from this remarkable anthology; Coleman Barks watch out -- Ladinsky seems to make Rumi whirl even more than you. How is that possible? Did he bribe some angels? Indeed, may our "sails" -- our hearts -- open enough to see the extraordinary wonder of life and God in all creatures.
Rating: 
Summary: A book with too much open-minded error
Review: The "Kabir" chapter had a number of rotten poems. One of them said that God cries. God is perfect and strong in all his ways. While he can be disappointed in humans' misuse of their free will, he does not become spiritually weak ever. If he did not have plans otherwise he could eliminate all devils and the earth in the blink of an eye.I don't believe God cries.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to believe
Review: The stunning beauty in this book is hard to believe. I feel in gratitude for the comfort and hope, and laughter it has brought me. I don't think I can say more than that.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous Collection
Review: This book is a marvelous collection of the poetry of twelve of the world's great saints and mystics. This is divinely inspired poetry at its best.
Here is a little gem from the great poet Jalaludin Rumi.
RUMI, PAY HOMAGE
If God said, "Rumi, pay homage to everything
that has helped you
enter my
arms."
there would not be one experience of my life,
not one thought, not one feeling,
not one act, I
would not
bow
to.
The poet is saying that everything that happens to us is meant to bring us closer to God. We should give thanks for everything that God sends.
These positive and life-affirming poems are so welcome in today's chaotic world. Check this book out. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Not the Real Thing
Review: This book is seriously misleading. Ladinsky claims to "edit" this volume of poems of Eastern and Christian mystics, but at least with respect to the Christian sources, he has not edited them in any meaningful sense - he has fabricated entirely new poems from whole cloth. They certainly were NOT written by the people to whom he attributes them. At most, they are Ladinsky's own (erroneous) impressions of these great Christian mystics. Each of these men and women actually did write their own poems, but you won't find them in this book. Look instead at, for example, "The Aquinas Prayer Book: The Prayers and Hymns of St. Thomas Aquinas", edited by Robert Anderson, "The Prayers of Catherine of Siena" edited by Suzanne Noffke, or "The Ascent of Mount Carmel" by St. John of the Cross, edited by Henry L. Carrigan. The real poems by these authors are well worth many hours of meditation, but Ladinsky's "edited" versions only give you what Ladinsky himself thinks.
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