All religion, whether Western or Eastern, forms a bridge between the absolute and the relative, between the apparently real, and the truly real, between what we perceive as secular and what we know as holy. Most Western traditions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, see the absolute as transcendent, beyond, and other. Most Eastern traditions, on the other hand, envision it as immanent, within, and...

Is there anything more pure, more full of wonder and hope for the future, than the prayer of a child? For a child's heart, when it forms a prayer of thanks or praise or petition, has none of the self-consciousness and ambivalence of adulthood; it is a laser beam of light and love -- focused, clear, and burning with urgency.