Biography of Silence: An Essay on Meditation

by Pablo D'Ors, David Shook (Translator)

Overview

A publishing phenomenon in Spain: a moving, lyrical, far-ranging meditation on the deep joys of confronting oneself through silence by a Spanish priest and Zen disciple.

With silence increasingly becoming a stranger to us, one man set out to become its intimate: Pablo d'Ors, a Catholic priest whose life was changed by Zen meditation. With disarming honesty and directness, as well as a striking clarity of language, d'Ors shares his struggles as a beginning meditator: the tedium, restlessness, and distraction. But, persevering, the author discovers not only a deep peace and understanding of his true nature, but also that silence, rather than being a retreat from life, offers us an intense engagement with life just as it is. Imbued with a rare beauty, Biography of Silence shows us the deep joy of silence that is available to us all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781946764232
Publisher:	Parallax Press
Publication date:	10/30/2018
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	4.50(w) x 6.60(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Pablo d'Ors is a Spanish priest and writer. He was born in Madrid in 1963 and educated in New York, Vienna, Prague, and Rome. He was ordained in 1991 and he received a doctorate in theology in 1996. In 2014, he founded the Amigos del Desierto foundation with the aim of promoting the practice of meditation. In the same year, Pope Francis made him a consultant of the Pontifical Council for Culture. d'Ors debuted as a writer in 2000 with El estreno, a critically acclaimed collection of short stories. His essay Biografía del silencio was a publishing phenomenon in Spain, selling 130,000 copies in just a few years. Pablo d'Ors has gone on to publish almost a dozen fiction and nonfiction titles, which have been translated into French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and other languages. This is his first English translation.

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Editorial Reviews

★ 08/27/2018
D’Ors, a Spanish Catholic priest and novelist with 11 books published in Spain, debuts in English with this tranquil exploration of his introduction to meditation practice. “Until I decided to practice meditation with all the rigor I could,” he writes, “I can say that I did not properly know who I was.” In 49 short chapters—many just a paragraph—d’Ors studies the influence that regular meditation, and an acclimation to silence and stillness, have had on his mind, his body, and his way of living. “Pure observation is transformative,” he writes, quoting from Simone Weil. Silence, d’Ors continually tells readers, is necessary for human development and curative for the human condition. “No one really knows what the human being’s conscience is, because no one has traveled all of its domains,” he writes. “Some have gone very far in their explorations; many remained at the doorway; most don’t know that such a territory exists.” In accessible language reminiscent of Thomas Merton, d’Ors’s enchanting book, a bestseller in Spain, channels his Catholic spiritual heritage into a persuasive meditation guide for Western readers. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"In accessible language reminiscent of Thomas Merton, d’Ors’s enchanting book, a bestseller in Spain, channels his Catholic spiritual heritage into a persuasive meditation guide for Western readers." —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review 

“Biography of Silence invites us to stop and catch our breath. Each chapter inspires a hunger for the contemplative silence the author has come to love with such contagious affection. The word ‘God’ is mentioned only a handful of times, but few books have rendered me more vulnerable to a divine encounter. Pablo d'Ors has given us a literary and spiritual gift.” —Brian D. McLaren, The Great Spiritual Migration

"Biography of Silence is a poetic yet baldly honest account of what it means to persevere with meditation." —Lion's Roar

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