Embracing Heaven & Earth: The Liberation Teachings of Andrew Cohen

For those who like their Buddhist mysteries unadulterated, Cohen, founder of the Impersonal Enlightenment Fellowship and author of Enlightenment Is a Secret, Freedom Has No History and An Unconditional Relationship to Life, provides a slim handbook on his understanding of the Buddhist experience of enlightenment. Cohen does not discuss Buddhism's history, tell the story of the Buddha's life, recount myths or even use much Buddhist terminology. Rather, he goes straight to the heart of Eastern mysticism--enlightenment, or, as he sometimes calls it, liberation--explaining what is required to attain it, what prevents it and its effects. Unlike much mystical literature currently on the market, this volume does not aspire to be a harmonization of the world's great religions. Plainly written and free of religious jargon, it is about one thing, enlightenment, and everything relates to that topic. Cohen presents his ideas uncompromisingly: one will not attain enlightenment unless one desires nothing else; the ego must disappear; all human experience is impersonal; enlightenment means realizing ""nothing ever happened""; and one sees nothing by looking into the face of God. These stark concepts are not for the idly curious, but for readers who are serious in their desire to seek enlightenment in this pure form. (Sept.)