Great research! I bought The Philokalia volume One. I was planning to go to Mt Athos, considered a sacred mountain I think is very similar concept to sacred mountains of Daoism in China, places that enhance cultivation and where to find realized people to support it. I've read several stories about how in Mt Athos there were very advanced beings that basically could do all sorts of miracles, some even told to be couple of hundred years old. One modern saint that was living there is Saint Paisios of which there are some videos and books available, he also adviced often about The Heart Prayer and doing good deeds, saying that this world is like an illusion and we must work for the true reality.
Thanks for a fascinating article. The similarity between hesychasm and Sufism is striking, though should not be surprising given the historical and geographical proximity (and of course the parallels between Sufism and Daoism have been well researched though little publicised).
Great research! I bought The Philokalia volume One. I was planning to go to Mt Athos, considered a sacred mountain I think is very similar concept to sacred mountains of Daoism in China, places that enhance cultivation and where to find realized people to support it. I've read several stories about how in Mt Athos there were very advanced beings that basically could do all sorts of miracles, some even told to be couple of hundred years old. One modern saint that was living there is Saint Paisios of which there are some videos and books available, he also adviced often about The Heart Prayer and doing good deeds, saying that this world is like an illusion and we must work for the true reality.
Thanks for a fascinating article. The similarity between hesychasm and Sufism is striking, though should not be surprising given the historical and geographical proximity (and of course the parallels between Sufism and Daoism have been well researched though little publicised).