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Mark "M.F." Sawyer with Ramesh Balsekar,
Mumbai, India, March 2009.
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“Truth is Truth.
It has to be, or it wouldn't be true at all.
It is the same for all of us.
Therefore, every great teacher, every truly enlightened sage,
at the most basic level,
irregardless of language, culture, religion,
or anything else,
must
agree with all of the others.”
Mark Sawyer believed this,
and most of his life looking for this common thread.
He believes he found it in Advaita.
More correctly, Advaita became the evident Truth
to the mind-body organism that goes by the name Mark
“Don’t preach, but if you are asked, answer.”
Mark Sawyer lives by these words,
which were given to him in India during one of his last visits
to his primary Advaita teacher,
Ramesh Balsekar.
Mark came to Advaita after a strong upbringing in Christianity followed by years of studying and practicing aspects of Zen and Shingon Buddhism during about fifteen years living in Japan and in Korea. He has taken the eight precepts while practicing at Forest Tradition Temples in Thailand, and still lives by the five precepts. Since the 1980’s he has been in India for extended periods. In India (and Nepal) he has visited the four main pilgrimage spots of Buddhism,. He has stayed for extended periods in the hills above Dharmasala, the spiritual capital in exile of the Tibetan Buddhists.
In India he heard much of Krishna (Vishnu), Shiva, and Brahma. He savored the spiritual energy of some of the Hindu holy places. Among holy books, he was particularly attracted by aspects of the Bhagavad Gita.
Then came Advaita, where (to his mind, as much as he’ll admit to having one) it all comes together. Before Ramesh, his first, and continuing, inspiration was Ramana Maharshi.
About Mark's (M.F.'s) Books
Mark writes as "M. F. Sawyer" to keep away from web searches that get caught up with Mark Twain and Tom Sawyer.
Mark's (M.F.'s) books include:
The Priest Wonho’s Memories of Admiral Yi
and
Married To Islam,
which was co-written with Dalia Shah.
His third book is
The Shiva Paradox,
a spiritual-adventure-travel book
set in India.
For more about Mark's (M.F.'s) books,
see below or go to:
www.marksawyerbooks.com |
The Shiva Paradox
by
M. F. Sawyer
The Shiva Paradox is set in India,
and features many of his own teachers,
places visited, and experiences.
About The Shiva Paradox, Mark says,
"It is a spiritual-travel-adventure novel. Every location, every teaching, and most of the characters,
though their names have been changed
for privacy's sake,
are real.
They are things I've heard or been taught, people I know,
and places I've been.
The main character, is both on a quest and a fugitive,
looking for Truth and avoiding assassins,
all while in the best parts
and with some of the most bizarre people
of wonderful India."Rishikesh. Bodh Gaya, Ellora. Adjanta. Hampi,
Bangalore. Tiruvannamalai, Delhi. Tattapani.....
The Ganga (Ganges), the Himalaya,
Arunachala, the Arabian Sea,
the Bay of Bengal....
Elephants, cobra, cows,
monkeys, dogs, tigers, dragons....
Advaita, Vedanta, Buddhism, New Age,
Meditations, Satsangs, Healings, Martial Arts...
Swamis, gurus, masters, saints,
beggars, vendors, guesthouse managers,
The Forever Sage,
sexy women, wild men, bounty hunter assassins, and....
All this and more in
The Shiva Paradox.
info@mfsawyer.com
Married To Islam
by
Dalia Shah and M. F. Sawyer
Married To Islam is the true story of Dalia Shah. Born and raised a Christian in Europe, Dalia was disenchanted by what she felt was tthe insincerity and superficiality of the Christianity around her. As a young woman she explored Judaism and Buddhism, but is was the Islam of the Koran as brought to the faithful by Mohammed, peace be upon him, that grabbed her.
Dalia converted to Isllam, and then met and married a Euro-Arab Moslem man. In the ceremony they signed an Islanic Marriage Contract, in accordance with the words of the Koran. They had children, and for a while they were happy. However, things changed.
First Dalia learned that the schools of Islam were taught in terrible ways. The students were taught about Islam in a way which did not distinguish the truths of the Koran from collections of stories that are called ahadith. Some ahadith are unproven and disreputable, but they are are taught the same as stories from the Koran itself.
Dalia discovers that it is these "weak" ahadith that are at the root of many of the problems within Islam. The unquestioning adherence to the lessons learned form these actually un-Islamic, not of the Koran, stories has caused many problems for women for many centuries. This blind belief in falsehoods has also resulted in many of the teachings held as "true" by today's Islamic terrorists.
In Married To Islam the secrets of the Marriage Contract are revealed. By using this Islamic type of Koran-approved pre-nuptial agreement any person, Moslem or not, can make sure of custody rights, alimony, the right to live and work where and when one chooses, and more, before going through with an Islamic marriage. There is also much more about women's rights under true Islam, and the surprising revelation that, especially for his time, Mohammed (s) was actually very progressive regarding women. He even worked for one of his wives for many years.
Points of view regarding Bush versus Osama, 9/11, and how this affected her husband and their marriage are also included. Dalia contends that most Moslems prefer a third way-- not that of an invading US or a terrorizing Al Queda.
All of this comes as Dalia tells the story of her Islamic marriage, of raising her children in Europe amidst the religious and cultural conflicts inherent to her situation, and how 9//11 has made things even harder. All of that, plus he increasing Islamic conservatism of her husband as he grew older combined with his moodiness and strange behavior. Eventually, he lapsed into a full clinical depression, something which happens to many Islamic men in the West.
Married To Islam is an informative, and important book. An interesting story, it also tells much that many in the West would be wise to hear. Plus, just getting to know Dalia is worth it. Her patience and perseverance are traits worthy of a saint (though she would be the last to say so).
To Order---
.
Married To Islam
is available
from M. F. and Dalia's publisher here.
and is also available from
Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com,
and other on-line and neighborhood bookstores.
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The Priest Wonho's
Memories of Admiral Yi
by
M. F. Sawyer
The Priest Wonho's Memories of Admiral Yi are told by the Priest Wonho, a traveling Buddhist scholar who by chance became a loyal aide to a man whose name will forever live as a highlight in the annals of military history. This man became Korea's ultimate hero and one of the truly great military commanders the world has ever seen. He was Admiral Yi Sun-Sin.
Admiral Yi has been credited with inventing the Ironclad warship. He designed his own cannon, and took the tactics and strategies from Sun Tzu's Art of War and the other Chinese classics and improved on them. In doing so, he saved his country and beat the renowned and ferocious Samurai of what would soon be the Shogun's Japan.
Admiral Yi was more than just a fantastic military hero. He was was also a renowned athlete and scholar who during the war risked his rank and even his life in order to help refugees find homes and land to grow food. He led from in the midst of battle, and maintained the highest standards of honesty even in the land of Choson Korea, one of the most corrupt dynasties in Asia.
Admrial Yi's biographer, the Priest Wonho, is an old man when asked to write of the great hero. Near death at a forest temple in the hills above the sea, the abbot asks him to put his story onto scrolls which after completion were then lost for 365 years. Found by accident, this surprising and previously unknown Buddhist's words have been verified by those of the Admiral himself (in his War Diary and his Memorials to Court), by the biography of the Admiral by his nephew, Yi Pun, and by many other sources.
It is time for those of us in the West to know what Koreans and even many Japanese and Chinese have known now for centuries-- Admiral Yi Sun-Sin is a man fo the ages. He is one of the great military commanders, a stalwart whose name deserves to rank with Alexander, Genghis Khan, and Horatio Nelson. Undoubtably, Admiral Yi is one of the most superb leaders a soldier or sailor could ever hope to have as his (or, nowadays, her) leader.
To Order---
The Priest Wonho's
Memories of Admiral Yi
is available from M. F.'s Publisher here,
and is also available from
Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com,
and other on-line and neighborhood bookstores.
. . . . .
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The martial arts used in
The Priest Wonho's
Memories of Admiral Yi
can be found in modern form,
along with superb self-defense instructional DVDs,
at
www.stmarialarts.com
Smiling Tiger Martial Arts
by Tracy's Kenpo
6th Degree Black Belt
Jerry Samuelson
The martial arts of
The Shiva Paradox
also owe a debt to
Mr. Samuelson,
of whom Mark has often said,
"He is simply the best self-defense instructor
in the world."
With this in mind, the fact that the main character's
martial arts teacher in
The Shiva Paradoxis named Jerry
will not be a surprise.
This is meant as a sincere tribute.
_______________
The paintings
by Imanol Basurto
of Indian gurus,
saints, and sages
can be viewed at
www.marksawyerbooks.com .
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