Terry Patten, Ken Wilber, Adam Leonard & Marco Morelli
In September 2014, our Ipraktik crowdfunding initiative for publishing Integral literature released the Russian electronic edition of the Integral Life Practice book, a foundational textbook for how to do integral practice in your life. Its authors (Terry Patten, Ken Wilber, Adam Leonard and Marco Morelli) kindly agreed to write a special foreword for this edition. — E&K
Special Foreword to the Russian Edition
We’re excited to see Integral Life Practice finding its way into the Russian language.
We are living in “the best of times and the worst of times.” On one hand it is a tremendously exciting moment, in which the world is coming together as never before and in which consciousness is rapidly evolving. The capacity of more people to hold and act on a greater number of perspectives is already beginning to transform global culture. On the other hand, our daily news reminds us of the bitter consequences of narrow, unhealthy and fragmented worldviews. Clearly our world cries out for compassionate, spiritually awakened, integral leadership.
The Russian language is one of the most important in the world. It is widely spoken—by 150-200 million people—and yet its importance is even greater than those numbers suggest. It is the language of a culture that has long been a global leader in scientific research and technological innovation, not to mention an important sanctuary for esoteric Orthodox Christian practices. We are now at a time when the unique treasures of that heritage are poised to express themselves in a Renaissance of Russian spirituality—that will, in turn, inform the larger evolutionary currents washing fresh waves of wisdom and compassion across our global shores.
But in order for this new culture of practice to emerge, a shared understanding must first be present. And that’s why translation is so crucial. To bring Buddhism to Tibet, early Tibetan masters translated a core canon of texts of Mahayana and Tantric Buddhism. We’re gratified to see that several important Integral texts have already begun to appear in Russian translation.
One of the key implications of Integral philosophy is that it implicates the philosopher. Every truly integral scholar is an integral scholar-practitioner. So the publication of this particular book in Russian has special significance.
Welcome to Integral Life Practice. In its pages you’ll find a manual for encountering all of life as a practice — a comprehensive approach that embraces the opportunity we are presented in every moment of our lives for awakening, choice, growth, and meaningful contribution.
Signed, Ken, Terry, Adam & Marco
October 2013