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A review by pattydsf
The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd by Mary Rose O'Reilley
4.0
’In the Christian calendar, November 1 is the Feast of All Saints, a day honoring not only those who are known and recognized as enlightened souls, but more especially the unknowns, saints who walk beside us unrecognized down the millennia. In Buddhism, we honor the bodhisattvas - saints - who refuse enlightenment and return willingly to the wheel of karma to help other beings. Similarly, in Judaism, anonymous holy men pray the world from its well-merited destruction. We never know who is walking beside us, who is our spiritual teacher. That one - who annoys you so - pretends for a day that he's the one, your personal Obi Wan Kenobi. The first of November is a splendid, subversive holiday.”
“I would not say I am looking for God. Or, I am not looking for God precisely. I am not seeking the God I learned about as a Catholic child, as an 18-year-old novice in a religious community, as an agnostic graduate student, as - but who cares about my disguises? Or God's.”
“When I speak in Christian terms or Buddhist terms, I'm simply selecting for the moment a dialect. Christian words for me represent the comforting vocabulary of the place I came from hometown voices saying more than the language itself can convey about how welcome and safe I am what the expectations are and where to find food. Buddhist words come from another dialect from the people over the mountain. I've become pretty fluent in Buddhist it helps me to see my home country differently, but it will never be speech I can feel completely at home in.”
I have mentioned the serendipity of finding books often in my reviews. I am always reading reviews and making lists and trying to figure out what my next book will be. Should I follow a memoir with fiction or more non-fiction. When am I going to read more poetry? What about that book that I have heard about from more than one other reader? And what do I do about the fact that I cannot read everything I am interested in.
This lovely book was referenced in David Dark’s Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious. The title caught my eye and then I figured out that it was available from Hoopla. So, I checked it out. It didn’t go on my ever-growing list of to-be-read-books. I am so glad that I picked it up at once.
O'Reilley is a magical writer. She showed how the disparate parts of her life made up a fascinating whole. I learned about her novitiate, her interested in music especially Sacred Harp music, her visit to Plum Village in France and most of all her work as a shepherd. Little bits came out as if we were having a conversation, not as if I was reading her writing. O’Reilley’s style is not what I am used to, but I found that I really had to pay attention to the threads of her story.
I am not sure to whom I would recommend this memoir. It is part autobiography, part spiritual guide and all thought provoking. I would give anything to spend a day, week or whatever in O’Reilley’s company. She makes me think and I am grateful.
“I would not say I am looking for God. Or, I am not looking for God precisely. I am not seeking the God I learned about as a Catholic child, as an 18-year-old novice in a religious community, as an agnostic graduate student, as - but who cares about my disguises? Or God's.”
“When I speak in Christian terms or Buddhist terms, I'm simply selecting for the moment a dialect. Christian words for me represent the comforting vocabulary of the place I came from hometown voices saying more than the language itself can convey about how welcome and safe I am what the expectations are and where to find food. Buddhist words come from another dialect from the people over the mountain. I've become pretty fluent in Buddhist it helps me to see my home country differently, but it will never be speech I can feel completely at home in.”
I have mentioned the serendipity of finding books often in my reviews. I am always reading reviews and making lists and trying to figure out what my next book will be. Should I follow a memoir with fiction or more non-fiction. When am I going to read more poetry? What about that book that I have heard about from more than one other reader? And what do I do about the fact that I cannot read everything I am interested in.
This lovely book was referenced in David Dark’s Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious. The title caught my eye and then I figured out that it was available from Hoopla. So, I checked it out. It didn’t go on my ever-growing list of to-be-read-books. I am so glad that I picked it up at once.
O'Reilley is a magical writer. She showed how the disparate parts of her life made up a fascinating whole. I learned about her novitiate, her interested in music especially Sacred Harp music, her visit to Plum Village in France and most of all her work as a shepherd. Little bits came out as if we were having a conversation, not as if I was reading her writing. O’Reilley’s style is not what I am used to, but I found that I really had to pay attention to the threads of her story.
I am not sure to whom I would recommend this memoir. It is part autobiography, part spiritual guide and all thought provoking. I would give anything to spend a day, week or whatever in O’Reilley’s company. She makes me think and I am grateful.