Wayne Muller - How Then, Shall We Live?: Four Simple Questions That Reveal the Beauty and Meaning of Our Lives

In his wonderful new book, Wayne Muller asks the most important questions of lifenot to provide pat answers, but as a guide to the clarity, openness and freedom in the asking. Through this book we can gratefully touch what it really means to be alive.

Sharon Salzberg, founder of the Insight Meditation Society and author of Loving-Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

In this wise and comforting book, Muller, by delving beyond jargon and theory, offers a glimpse into the heart of living well.

Publishers Weekly

A wonderful exploration of the weight, the breadth, and the possible answers to our ultimate queries. This one should be read slowly and savored, with many pauses for reflection on ones own answers.

NAPRA ReView

With tenderness and compassion, clarity and insight, [Muller] guides us on a journey of awakening and healing. A wonderful, enchanting book.

Editors Choice, Bodhi Tree Book Review

In more than twenty years of practice as a therapist and spiritual counselor, Wayne Muller has enabled people to tap the divine source within and to make use of the wisdom learned from pain. How, Then, Shall We Live? vividly and compellingly describes what a path with heart really means.

Body Mind Spirit

This fine book speaks in a gentle voice that penetrates a readers whole being.

Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind

How, T HEN , S HALL W E L IVE ?
A Bantam Book

PUBLISHING HISTORY
Bantam hardcover edition published July 1996
Bantam trade paperback edition / June 1997

All rights reserved.

Copyright 1996 by Wayne Muller
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 96-825
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.

eISBN: 978-0-8041-5124-5

Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words Bantam Books and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.

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I dedicate this book to my children,
Sherah and Maxwell.
May they be happy, wise, and kind.

I want to thank all those who invited me to be a part of their healing, especially those whose stories appear within these pages. I am grateful for their loving company on this challenging and fruitful journey.

I also thank everyone who, through their lives, their companionship, and their suggestions, taught me to listen carefully to the meaning of these questions and helped me write with more precision and accuracy: Dottie Montoya, Max Cordova, Jone and Cullen Hallmark, Julie Daniel, Katherine Shelton, Owen Lopez, Henrietta Calderon, Paul Glick, Kenneth Siciliano, Peter Djordjevich, Dr. Fred Ey, Peter Guardino, Ed Broderick, Herbie Mann, Sharon Salzberg, Steve Chambers, Marcy Grace, Ben and Carolyn Whitehill, S. J. Sanchez, Henri Nouwen, Dr. Richard Heckler, Stephen and Ondrea Levine, Jack Kornfield, and many others who have given so much. And it would be impossible to express the fullness of my gratitude to my dear friend Dr. Trevor Hawkins, a man who has cared for the lives of so many, and who also happened to literally save mine as well, just as I was completing this book.

I am grateful for all those individuals who have supported the work of Bread for the Journey, through their time and generous donations of critically needed funds. I also want to especially thank the McCune Foundation for their faith in us, and for their innumerable gifts to the people of northern New Mexico.

Thanks also to Jennifer and Jeffrey for generously allowing me to use their home to finish this manuscript.

As always, I am grateful for my friend and agent Loretta Barrett, a loving and ethical beacon by which many of us guide our way. And I am deeply indebted to Toni Burbank, a consummate editor and artist, and a delightful colleague. Her infallible ear and persistent companionship have helped make this book come alive.

And finally, of course, for Christine Tiernan, my best friend and dharma sister. Her beauty, her wisdom, and her company are blessings beyond measure.

Four simple questions have shaped the spiritual journeys of pilgrims and seekers for thousands of years. They call forth the very nature of who we are and how we live our brief time on the earth.

Many of us, distracted by the rush and pressure of our days, manage to suppress or ignore these fundamental questionsuntil we are confronted with something that wakes us up, and we begin to listen to how things really are in our life. Perhaps we face a divorce, a change of employment, a move, some inexplicable spiritual experience, a grave illness, the birth of a child, or the death of a loved one. Or perhaps something that used to feed or satisfy us now seems strangely over or complete. We feel pulled in a new direction; one phase of our life journey has ended, and a new one is beginningbut we do not know where it will lead us. Where do we find the map for this new path?

When we meditate upon these four questions, they reveal the true nature of our love and our strength, our courage, and our wisdom. They allow us to break free, to grow beyond what we already know. And through them we glimpse that relentless spark of spiritual magic that burns within each of us, a spark that can light our way as we venture forth.

In this book I offer these questions as contemplations, something to hold in the hand as we walk, something to feel in the heart as we live our daily lives. They enable us to gently awaken the four fundamental realms of the inner life: Identity, Love, Daily Practice, and Kindness.

Who am I?

Beneath all the stories of our past, beneath our joys and sorrows, we have within us an essential nature that is whole and unbroken. What is this true nature, and how do we find it? If we can take nourishment from this inner strength and wisdom, we will find great peace and courage.

What do I love?

By what star do we navigate our journey on the earth? What we love will shape our days and provide the texture for our inner and outer life. How can we plant what we love in the garden of this life?