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(More customer reviews)I bought this book for the 20 page section entitled The One Alone, which is very nondual. I also read the 18 page Translator's Introduction, which tells about the life of Ibn 'Arabi. These two sections alone make the book an important addition to a library of nonduality books. The bulk of the volume, a book of wisdom on governing oneself, I have only so far scanned and therefore have not included any other mention of it in this review.
Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi lived from 1165 to 1240. He "has become one of the most important expounders of Sufi wisdom." "Ibn 'Arabi all his life felt the pain of not being understood. Yet the breadth and depth of his wisdom, insight, vision, and knowledge was and is awesome to whomever catches a glimpse of it. Many of his expressions of divine mysteries have never been improved upon. Many important affairs, which he foretold centuries ago, have taken place and continue to take place."
This introduction is brief, a distillate of the life of Ibn 'Arabi. It covers his life from birth to death, describes his physical appearance, reveals extreme controversy surrounding Ibn 'Arabi, demonstrates his wisdom, tells about a meeting with an adolescent Rumi, and more. Throughout this distillate is communicated the author/translator's love and understanding of Ibn 'Arabi, the person and his works; clearly, it must be the case, otherwise how could Ibn 'Arabi's words set forth in this book cut so cleanly?
The One Alone is a work of pure nonduality. To demonstrate that, here are a few quotations, a few fragments which do not do justice to this entire work:
"Therefore, if you know yourself without being, not trying to become nothing, you will know your Lord. If you think that to know Allah depends on your ridding yourself of yourself, then you are guilty of attributing partners to Him -- the only unforgivable sin -- because you are claiming that there is another existence besides Him, the All-Existent: that there is a you and a He."
"You presume others to be other than Allah. There is nothing other than He, but you do not know this. While you are looking at Him you do not recognize Him. When the secret opens to you, you will know that you are none other than He."
"...do not think that you need to become nothing, that you need to annihilate yourself in Him. If you thought so, then you would be His veil, while a veil over Allah is other than He. How could you be a veil that hides Him? What hides Him is His being the One Alone."
"When the secret of a single atom out of all the atoms from which the elements are made becomes known, the secrets of the whole universe visible and invisible will be revealed. Then you will not see anything but Allah either in this world and in the Hereafter."
"Thus when you know yourself, your self and selfishness will leave you, and you will know that there is nothing in existence but Allah."
"...the meaning of 'The eyes cannot see Him...' is that there is no existence other than His. The Truth can only be conceived of by Itself, which has no other identity except the Truth: Allah sees Himself by Himself and by none other than Himself. His Essence sees His Essence."
Anyone who loves nondual expression will value this book and might choose to set it on a shelf alongside other books expressing the nonduality of the other major religions.
Jerry Katz
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