"This advice was given to someone by the Prophet, on him be peace: 'When you pray, pray like a person who is saying farewell,' i.e. saying farewell to himself, to his passions and to his life, before setting off on the journey to his Lord."
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship
I know that this is a very simple statement, but so far this is the statement from al-Ghazali that floored me the most thoroughly and profoundly. As I've admitted I have more than a bit of, as my Buddhist friend opined, monkey mind, and I don't think I do a very good job reaching the stage that al-Ghazali envisions. I enjoy prayer, although I don't know if it goes beyond the level of a series of quiet meditative reflections on my blessings and my personal faults, and clearly I need to get to another level. Hopefully reading this work, and more from al-Ghazali, and more of the mystics will help me with one of my many failings.
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship
I know that this is a very simple statement, but so far this is the statement from al-Ghazali that floored me the most thoroughly and profoundly. As I've admitted I have more than a bit of, as my Buddhist friend opined, monkey mind, and I don't think I do a very good job reaching the stage that al-Ghazali envisions. I enjoy prayer, although I don't know if it goes beyond the level of a series of quiet meditative reflections on my blessings and my personal faults, and clearly I need to get to another level. Hopefully reading this work, and more from al-Ghazali, and more of the mystics will help me with one of my many failings.
No comments:
Post a Comment