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    The Wisdom of the Desert with Nicholas Buxton: The origins, way of life and spiritual practice of Christian Monasticism, the spiritual teachings of Evagrius
    The Wisdom of the Desert with Nicholas Buxton: The origins, way of life and spiritual practice of Christian Monasticism, the spiritual teachings of Evagrius
    The Wisdom of the Desert with Nicholas Buxton: The origins, way of life and spiritual practice of Christian Monasticism, the spiritual teachings of Evagrius
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Wisdom of the Desert with Nicholas Buxton: The origins, way of life and spiritual practice of Christian Monasticism, the spiritual teachings of Evagrius

    Written by Nicholas Buxton

    Narrated by Nicholas Buxton

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The course begins by looking at the origins of Christian monasticism during the third century CE, when thousands of men and women renounced the world and withdrew to the deserts of Egypt, Syria and Palestine to seek God in a life of solitude and prayer. What inspired them to do this? What were they trying to achieve? In seeking answers to these questions, we will examine the lives and sayings of the so-called ‘desert fathers’, with a particular emphasis on the theological writings of Evagrius of Pontus (c. 345-399).

    1 – Monks of the Desert – Historical origins of Christian monasticism • the story of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness • St Antony, the ‘first monk’ • fleeing the world to face the self • life in the desert • Pachomius and the beginnings of institutional monasticism.

    2 – The Ascetic Rationale – The theology of Origen of Alexandria • principles of monastic asceticism • the importance of humility and purity of heart • Evagrius of Pontus, theologian of the desert • stages on the path of spiritual progress • the cultivation of apatheia (equanimity).

    3 – The Eight Thoughts – On the subject of demons • the eight categories of obsessive thoughts: gluttony, lust, avarice, sadness, anger, acedia, vanity and pride • the practice of the discernment of thoughts.

    4 – On Prayer – Types of prayer in the Christian tradition • prayer in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus • the nature of the mind • the notion of ‘pure prayer’ in Evagrius • the legacy of the Desert Fathers.

    The Reverend Dr Nicholas Buxton is a Church of England priest in the Northeast of England, and a founder of ‘Just Meditation’. He has a PhD in Buddhist philosophy from the University of Cambridge and is an experienced meditation teacher and retreat leader.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWise Studies
    Release dateMay 13, 2018
    ISBN9781987148374
    The Wisdom of the Desert with Nicholas Buxton: The origins, way of life and spiritual practice of Christian Monasticism, the spiritual teachings of Evagrius

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    Reviews for The Wisdom of the Desert with Nicholas Buxton

    4.5/5

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    • 5/5
      This book is gem, and I am grateful to Nicholas Buxton for making an audiobook version available, as audiobooks are sometimes the preferred format for weary eyed spiritual travelers. Evagirus of Pontus' is still among us teaching, and Nicholas's transmission of desert wisdom allows the ancestors to speak.

      The messaging will resonate for all levels of aspirants on the spiritual path. I discovered this book after an ambushing of the noonday demon (acedia) during a holiday gathering. Listening helped to calm the brooding, ruminations, and murmurings after such projections. It does so by identifying and reconciling the vulnerabilities of the ego, and encourages aspirants a way to fortify one's spiritual authority through the mystic path of contemplation, integrity, equanimity, and compassion.

      This wisdom has healed a soul wound that was previously inaccessible and I have been recommending it to others. Thank you!
    • 3/5
      I could not finish this book. I don’t precisely know why. I think it has something to do with how I felt that the author is a professional author who has only an intellectual (rather than experiential) knowledge of the subject. I am not Christian, I am secular.

      Conclusion: I got the strong sense that the author is neither Orthodox nor Coptic in his personal life, but a mish-mash of multiple humanisms. Somehow hearing him pontificate on the mysteries of Orthodoxy I did not like one bit.