Embracing the Opposites
October 21-29, 2017
A 9-day study course in Jakarta of the Fusus al-Hikam (Bezels of Wisdom) by Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi.
Course Description
The theme of this year’s Beshara SEA 9-day course is “Embracing the Opposites”.
It is a study of selected passages from the Fusus al-Hikam, which aims to explore the essential ingredients and practical implications of the discernment, which the Shaykh al-Akbar, Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi insists we should develop in facing the Real (al-Haqq), who is both absolute and relative, immanent and transcendent, interior and exterior, so that we do not confuse ‘me’ with ‘Him’ while we affirm His Unity.”
Abraham Abadi, who has been a student of the work of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi for many years and is currently based in the UK, will facilitate the course.
The course will start Saturday morning (Oct 21, 10am) and run until after lunch on the following Sunday (Oct 29, 2pm). It will be non-residential, but those who travel from out of town may contact us for recommendations on accommodation. The timetable will incorporate meditation, study, conversation, devotional practice, private contemplation and service.
The course will take place in the Senopati area, Jakarta (details of the venue to be confirmed) and is open to all who wish to attend it. The fee is Rp 4 million, including course materials and all meals.
Applicants who are not familiar with Ibn Arabi’s terminology and the central themes of the Fusus al Hikam, however, need to be advised that the ideas that will be presented and discussed on the course will be demanding.
As Ibn ‘Arabi wrote, “Retreat brings knowledge of the world” – this Beshara course, in the spirit of active and intentional retreat, aims to open a space for real knowledge to emerge through all dimensions of the retreat, be it focused study, devotional practice, private contemplation or service. All of these dimensions are held in equal regard as each is a direct way to be of service to Reality, to our fellow human beings and to the world.
We look forward to welcoming you on this valuable course. Please feel free to contact beshara.sea@gmail.com should you have further questions or would like to participate.
About the Fusus al-Hikam
This seminal work by Ibn ‘Arabi, dating from the 13th century, describes the meaning of universal human spirituality through the medium of 27 prophetic figures, from Adam through Abraham, Moses and others to Jesus and Muhammed. Ibn ‘Arabi’s aim is to show how each of these luminary figures exemplified a particular wisdom available to mankind; a harmonious vision of reality which integrates differences without destroying them. Themes that arise range from explorations of uniqueness, fate and destiny, the place of worship and devotion, praise and service and the role of mankind. To read this book is to encounter the full scope of what it means to be truly human.
