Matthew S. Barnes has 2 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 2 narrators. The most-rated is Jesus Christ, Zen Master: The Top 116 Sayings of an Enlightened Jesus.
Albert Einstein, Zen Master
Summary
Albert Einstein was a Zen master? I think so, and I aim to prove it. In this work, I outline the top 54 sayings uttered by “Uncle Albert” that, in my opinion, show his views of reality to be very similar to those of some of the greatest Zen masters to have ever lived, past, and present. Ranging from funny to contemplative to serious, these quotes outline my belief that through his unique understanding of the universe, Einstein seems to have developed an appreciation for the forces of the natural world that are congruent with the philosophical ideals held by Zen and Taoism masters through the ages. Though Einstein considered himself non-religious (because he dismissed the idea of a personalized God), he nevertheless developed, through his work, an appreciation and even an admiration for the intelligence that animates the living world - an intelligence whose essence he felt to be far beyond the sphere of human comprehension. For this reason, he famously claimed to be “a deeply religious nonbeliever”, and felt his viewpoint to be a “somewhat new kind of religion”. Though Einstein's non-personalized beliefs were definitely new compared to Western concepts of religion, they fit right in with well-established Eastern concepts from Zen, Taoism, Buddhism, and even Hinduism. Through this work, I hope to point out a fairly different approach to spiritual appreciation than what most of us are used to; an approach I believe to be every bit as valid as the Western, personalized-god variety. At the very least, I hope this work will serve as a simple introduction to the eye-opening contributions of Eastern philosophical thought. “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” (Albert Einstein)
©2020 Matthew Barnes (P)2020 Matthew Barnes
Jesus Christ, Zen Master: The Top 116 Sayings of an Enlightened Jesus
Summary
Jesus Christ was a Zen master? In at least one version of early Christian belief, he sure sounded like one. Early Christianity was far from the gentle and unified belief system that we have been led to believe it was. In fact, in the earliest stages of its development, interpretations of the meanings of Jesus’ teachings varied widely, were hotly debated, and differing views were not tolerated well at all. The Jesus narrative that eventually won out was passed on to future generations while the losers had their books burned and adherents imprisoned, tortured, or put to death. Talk about issues with freedom of religion! Luckily, an early Christian group called the “Gnostics”, in seeing their beloved books burned and adherents mistreated, buried their most important works in hopes of future discovery. These works were discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 and have shed quite a bit of light on an alternative and very different interpretation of Jesus’ teachings - one that was widely followed in the early years of Christianity, yet more closely resembles the “enlightenment” teachings of Zen and Buddhism. The Zen-like nature of the Gnostics' Jesus is the focus of this work. “What you seek after is within you.” (Dialogue of the Savior) Buy this audiobook today!
©2020 Matthew Barnes (P)2020 Matthew Barnes