I Am Because of You

Hermit, Zen Christian, spiritual globetrotter, "Brother David" tells his incomparably rich life story spanning the nine decades of his life. Beginning with his childhood in Vienna, he describes his time in World War II and his years as a student after the war, his family's immigration to the United States, and his entry into the then newly founded Benedictine monastery in the state of New York. There he soon began looking for what were then still untrodden spiritual paths with undiscovered entry ways to non-Christian religions. He became particularly involved in the dialogue between Christianity and Buddhism, founding the Center for Spiritual Studies in 1968, together with Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. His work encouraging dialogue between religions earned him the 1975 Martin Buber Award for his achievements in building bridges between religious traditions. Contemplation and periods of public life alternate with Brother David: be spends half the year living as a recluse in the hermitage near his Benedictine monastery. Mysticism is his mission-but not a mysticism devoid of connection to the world. His is a mysticism of the everyday, of life immediate in the now, of experiencing fully. He is convinced that God's spirit speaks in and to us all. Book jacket.