The Inner Eye of Love: Mysticism and Religion

by William Johnston

The Inner Eye of Love offers a contemporary theology of mysticism that locates it at the very center of authentic religious experience. It provides as well a practical guide for meditation even as it maps out the oceanic experience toward which meditation points. Johnston begins with the mystical tradition itself, its roots and origins, its appearance and significance in the Gospels, the letters of Paul, and the early Church. He explains what mysticism is and is not, and how it is inextricably bound up with love. It is at the level of mysticism, he maintains, that the two traditions of East and West can at last understand one another and begin to work together to heal a broken world. The Inner Eye of Love escorts the reader through the stages of the mystical journey, from initial call to final enlightenment. Johnston compares and contrasts the Oriental and Christian experience, continually revealing new points of commonality The much discussed "dark night of the soul" is seen here in a positive way, as an emptying preliminary to the overbrimming of the soul with the knowledge and love of God. Finally, the author considers the often misunderstood relation between mysticism and practical action.

Genres: Mysticism, Spirituality, Christianity, Religion, Prayer, Buddhism, Theology

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

William Johnston, a Jesuit missionary living in Japan, has extensive knowledge both of Western spirituality and mysticism and also, through his experiences in Japan, of Eastern spirituality and mysticism, especially Zen Buddhism.

An authority on fourteenth century spirituality, he has translated several works from the contemplative traditions of both East and West, as well as work by the great Japanese novelist Shusaku Endo.

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess I would have to say William Johnston is my favorite author. I'm not sure how to say more then the back cover says which is this is "contemporary theology of mysticism that locates it at the very center of religious experience." Those are big scary words and would probably scare me off but Johnston is not scary. The book is "exciting" to read. It goes into one's inner life that we often forget we have until he talks about it. And then suddenly we remember. That is what is exciting in this book. It is not so much he is talking in abstract mysticism (which nobody wants) he is reminding us of our own personal experiences with a God that seems to have slipped our mind. So the book is like coming home to a great adventure we are right in the middle of. This is a book I will save and read over and over as I do most of his books.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

1978. This book is about mysticism in various faith traditions but the author speaks mostly from the 2 he knows best - Catholic Christianity and Japanese Zen. He was a Jesuit priest who lived in Japan for many years and had many deep conversations with Zen practitioners. He sees the things all religions have in common, pointing to a possible universal spiritual path.