Ships from: Miamisburg, OH
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Explore the connections between faith, service, and social justice through the prose, verse, and sacred texts of the world's great faith traditions-Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and more. Drawing from diverse literary genres, religious and philosophical perspectives, and historical periods, these short and provocative readings cut to the heart of the many obstacles and joys that accompany lives devoted to faith and service:
This rich collection will create a platform for discussing and understanding the faith-based service of others as well as inspire you to reflect on the meaning behind your own commitment to improving the world.
Preface: The Heavens Of Faith, The Harlem Of Life Eboo Patel ix
Editors' Introduction 1
Part I Why Do I Serve? 9
The Drum Major Instinct Martin Luther King Jr 13
Why the Buddha Had Good Digestion, from Avad&abar;naśataka 25
In Praise of Generosity, from the Rig Veda 30
Solidarity, Reciprocity, and Sanctity, three selections from Who Is Man? Abraham Joshua Heschel 32
A Handful of Dates, in The Wedding of Zein and Other Stories Tayeb Salih 37
The Subjective Necessity of Social Settlements, in Twenty Years at Hull-House Jane Addams 42
Action and Non-Action Chuang-Tzu 51
Isaiah 58:2-12 53
Three Poems Shih Te 55
Luke 10:25-37 57
Miserliness, from Purification of the Heart Hamza Yusuf 59
The River, in A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories Flannery O'Connor 65
Compassion, from The Essential Dalai Lama: His Important Teachings Dalai Lama 83
The Joy of Giving Joy, from On the Genealogy of Morality Friedrich Nietzsche 92
Selfless Service, from the Bhagavad Gita 95
Surahs 93 and 107, from the Qur'an 100
Church, in The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien 102
Section 50, from Gitanjali: Song Offerings Rabindranath Tagore 106
Between Harold M. Schulweis 107
The Base of All Metaphysics, in Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman 109
Part II Whom Do I Serve? 111
A Good Traveler Has No Fixed Plans, in the Tao Te Ching Lao-Tzu 115
The Faces of Poverty, in Loaves and Fishes Dorothy Day 117
The Difference Between Hafiz 121
The Man to Send Rain Clouds Leslie Marmon Silko 126
If Not Higher I.L. Peretz 131
The Same Inside, in Talking to My Body Anna Swir 135
The Problem of Old Harjo John Oskison 137
Meditation on Compassion and NotTwo, from Peace Is Every Step Thich Nhat Hanh 145
The Legend of the Lowly Devotee, in The Tiruva&ccidle;agam 149
Ruth 1-4:22 153
The Mexican-American and the Church Cesar Chavez 160
The Walk, from Leaving Yuba City Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni 165
The Shopping-Bag Lady, in Alma Linda Gregg 168
The Camel Driver and the Adder Bidpai 170
A Rich Young Man on the Road, from Salvation: Scenes from the Life of St. Francis Valerie Martin 173
Say Yes Quickly Rumi 183
His Grace Mikhail Naimy 185
Part III How Do I Serve? 193
God's Grandeur Gerard Manley Hopkins 196
The Secret of Work, in The Complete Works, I:3 Swami Vivekananda 197
Reb Yozifl and the Contractor, in Inside Kasrilevke Sholom Aleichem 206
First Days of Spring Ryokan 214
Sitting with the Dead, in A Bit on the Side William Trevor 216
Mercy: The Stamp of Creation Umar Faruq ABD-Allah 228
Yajna, Welfare, and Service, from a letter to Narandas Gandhi, October 28, 1930 Mahatma Gandhi 238
Reflections on Gandhi, from the Partisan Review George Orwell 241
Levels of Giving, in Mishneh Torah Maimonides 243
The Buddha's Last Instruction, in House of Light Mary Oliver 245
North Light-A Recollection in the Present Tense, in Ellis Island and Other Stories Mark Helprin 247
Come Out and Give Something Rumi 252
The Pure in Heart, in Revelation Peggy Payne 254
The House Gabriela Mistral 275
Proclamation of a National Fast-Day Abraham Lincoln 277
The Yogi Dyes His Garments Kabir 279
Why I Make Sam Go to Church, from Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith Anne Lamott 280
Appendix I Toward Action: The Interfaith Youth Core Model for Interfaith Reflection and Service 285
Appendix II Questions for Discussion 302
Appendix III Guide to Readings by Faith Tradition and Genre 328
About the Supporting Organizations 332
Permissions 334
Overview
Explore the connections between faith, service, and social justice through the prose, verse, and sacred texts of the world's great faith traditions-Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and more. Drawing from diverse literary genres, religious and philosophical perspectives, and historical periods, these short and provocative readings cut to the heart of the many obstacles and joys that accompany lives devoted to faith and service:
This rich collection will ...