Oak and Lotus

Imagine the Celtic saint Brigid and the great bodhisattva Guanyin sitting down together for a cup of tea. I certainly would want to listen in to their conversation! Oak and Lotus takes us to a similar place. It's a beautiful, expansive book about the joyful integration of Eastern and Western wisdom, a resource I expect to return to again and again.
- Carl McColman, author of The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism and Eternal Heart
Oak and Lotus is a joy to read. Bringing Celtic Christianity into conversation with three major Eastern faith traditions-Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism-this book delights the heart again and again with parallels both uncanny and enlightening. Reader-friendly, it draws you in and won't let you go.
- Rev. John R. Mabry, PhD, author of God as Nature Sees God: A Christian Reading of the Tao Te Ching and A Christian Walks in the Footsteps of the Buddha
Kenneth McIntosh's book, Oak and Lotus, is a masterpiece of scholarship, insight, and wisdom itself, focusing on the mystic heart of Celtic Christian and three major spiritual traditions of Asia. I highly recommend this book for individuals as well as groups who want to deepen their spirituality.
- Edward Sellner, professor emeritus of theology, spirituality, and animal theology, author of numerous books on Celtic spirituality, including Celtic Saints and Animal Stories: A Spiritual Kinship
Critics may say, "This book is dangerous." My reply is: "Being born is dangerous. Live dangerously and find the Divine at the heart of the universe."
- Ray Simpson, author of many books on Celtic Christianity, including The Celtic Book of Day, Brendan's Return Voyage: A New American Dream-Indigenous, Post-Colonial and Celtic Theology, and Celtic Christianity and Climate Crisis
Kenneth McIntosh's Oak and Lotus takes you on a holy adventure in which you set sail on your coracle in companionship with Celtic pilgrims, Buddhist monks, Hindu sages, and Taoist wanderers. On your journey, you may catch a glimpse and receive guidance from Brigid of Kildare, St. Brendan, Gautama Buddha, and Lao Tzu. McIntosh describes a spiritual path, and more than that, he provides tools and practices for spiritual transformation. When you read this book, you take a voyage of discovery and venture toward far horizons. This is one of the most inspirational books you will read on interspirituality and the universal wisdom of the Celtic sages.
- Bruce Epperly, author of Jesus - Mystic, Healer, and Prophet and The Elephant is Running: Process and Open and Relational Theology and Religious Pluralism