Thinkers of the East

A collection of entertaining Sufi anecdotes and “parables in action” from the Middle East and Central Asia illustrating the practical and lucid approach of Eastern dervish teachers. Thinkers of the East is a collection of short but potent teaching stories distilled from the guidance of more than one hundred sages in three continents. The recorded narratives ranging from dialogues, to fables, to conversations, to legends, stresses the experiential impact of Sufi knowledge in living situations. As the book’s subtitle, ‘Studies in Experientialism’ suggests, these tales illustrate Sufi thinking in action, rather than in abstract theory. The stories were arranged partly with this in mind by the author to counteract the Western idea of the East as a place of convoluted spiritual and philosophical theory without tangible practice. As Idries Shah himself said, “Without direct experience of such teaching, or at least a direct recording of it, I cannot see how Eastern thought can ever be understood.” Thinkers of the East is a book of enormous breadth and depth, the impact and vitality of which reflect the Sufi emphasis on the human illuminate’s action upon the world.