Brief biographical note: "Our holy father Nicephoros lived a life of intense spiritual work in Mount Athos, diyng shortly after the year 1340. He was master and guide to Gregory of Salonica (Balamas), in the study and method of training to obtain the highest wisdom according to the testimony of his own disciple. In silent seclusion undisturbed by mundane problems and keeping his attention exclusively within himself, he attained the indescribable internal union with the Eternal God, receiving in his heart the blessed enlightenment of the Divine Grace. Exalted by this divine gift, he is like a father guiding us with his writings on the same path. He selected from the books and lives of the Holy Fathers passages relative to sobriety, attention, and prayer adding finally advice derived from his own experience and inviting us all to elevate towards the most perfect communion with the Lord through the prayer of the mind and of the heart."

Thus begins the translation of the first theme or chapter from the book "Philokalia", translated directly from the Russian text. From Nicephoros himself.

QUESTION (to Nicephoros): We have learnt from previous evidences that the work as practised by the holy fathers pleased God; and that there is a certain work that rapidly liberates the soul from passions and that by love unites it to God. Practice that is indispensable to anyone who is moved by these things. Thus, we beg of you to teach us what is attention of the mind and how to capacitate one to acquire it, for that work is absolutely unknown to us.

REPLY (by Nicephoros): In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Who said: "Without me you can do nothing" (John, XV, 5). Having invoked Him to help me, I shall try to my best to show to you what attention is and how, if God allows it, one can succeed in acquiring it.

Some of the Saints have called attention to the preservation of the mind; others, to the protection of the heart, and yet others awakened have called it so many other similar names. However, all these names mean the same thing. Exactly as of bread, one can say: a slice, a piece, or a morsel, in the same way you must understand all these expressions. Regarding attention itself and its characteristic features, we shall study it right now.

Attention is a signal of sincere repentance.
Attention is the image or appearance the soul can have of itself, rejecting the world and ascending towards God.
Attention is renouncing sin and the acquisition of virtue.
Attention is the absolute certainty of the forgiveness of sins.
Attention is the beginning of contemplation, or rather, its necessary condition, for through it God approaches and reveals Himself to the mind.
Attention is the serenity of the mind, or in other words, is to remain undisturbed, without reveries in the gift of divine mercy.
Attention means stopping thoughts; it is the abode of the memory of God and the house of the treasure where lies the power to resist everything that may come.

Consequently, attention is also the origin of faith, of hope and of love; for he who is lacking in faith cannot resist all the afflictions coming from the world and he who does not voluntarily suffer them, cannot say: "He is my refuge and my strength" (Psalms, X, VI, 2); and he who has not the All Powerful as his refuge, cannot be truly sincere in his love for Him.

This work, the major of all the great works, can be accomplished by many and even by all if they are duly trained. A few men receive this gift directly from God without need for teachings and they work by inner compulsion and at the warmth of their faith. Nonetheless, what is the exception is not the rule.

Therefore, it is necessary to search for a master who is not himself in error, to follow his instructions and thus learn to distinguish, in matters of attention, defects and excesses of the right and of the left, which emerge through diabolic suggestions.

From his own experience about temptations, he will explain what is necessary to do and show us correctly the mental path that we then must follow with fewer impediments.

If such a master is out of your reach, you must search for him relentlessly. However, if in spite of such search he is not found, then, with contrite spirit, invoking God and praying to him assiduously and in humbleness, work according to my explanations.

You know that your breathing consists of inhalation and of exhalation of air. The organ that serves this purpose is the lungs that surround the heart in such a way that the air that circulates through them involves in passing, the heart. Consequently, breathing is the natural path to the heart. Thus, having united your mind within yourselves (which is also attention), direct it towards the respiratory channel through which air reaches the heart and, together with the inhaled air, oblige the mind to descend into the heart and keep it there.

Get used to it brethren, do not come out from the heart too soon although at the beginning you will experience great solitude in such isolation and seclusion. When you become accustomed to it, on the contrary, you will begin to feel disgusted by the non-sense of the external world and it will not be unpleasant or tedious to remain within the heart.

Exactly as a man that has been far away is invaded on returning home by a great happiness on meeting his spouse and his children; he embraces them all and everything that he may say to them will never be enough; in the same way to unite oneself to one's own heart is experienced by an inexpressible happiness and delight. Then one sees that the Kingdom of Heaven is really within ourselves; and seeing it now in oneself, one struggles and make efforts with pure prayer to keep it and strengthen it there, understanding that everything that is external is of no importance and completely unattractive.

When you enter in this way to the place of the heart as I have prescribed, praise God and, asking for his mercy, preserve this work and He will teach you things that you could not possibly learn by any other means. Moreover, you should know that whilst the mind establishes itself in the heart, it should not be left there in silence and idleness but rather to repeat constantly the prayer: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me". For this practice moves away reveries from the mind, makes evasive and impenetrable to the suggestions of the enemy and guides it each day more and more and fervently to love God.

If, however, and in spite of all your efforts you do not succeed to entering in the kingdom of the heart according to what I have said, do what I shall now tell you, and with the help of God you will find what you are seeking. You know that in every human being, internal talk depends on the chest. Thus, in spite of our lips being silent, it is in the chest where we converse and talk to ourselves, pray, sing hymns, and do many other unsuitable things.

Then, having driven away all thoughts of this inner chattering (which can be done if one wishes), give the chest the following short prayer: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me" - and force it in spite of any other thought in order to have only this sound within. If you work in this manner with permanence, in all attention, then, and in time, this will open the path to the heart, as it has been already described. It is not possible to doubt this for we have verified it by ourselves through experience.

If you work in this way with a strong wish and with great attention, full of sweetness, a complete range of virtues will come: love, joy, peace, and others, through which every petition you make will be answered in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be in honour and glory, power and adoration now and always and for ever more. Amen.

"Few tasks which I have been commanded to undertake by obedience have been so difficult as this present one of writing about matters relating to prayer: for one reason, because I do not feel that the Lord has given me either the spirituality or the desire for it; for another, because for the last three months I have been suffering from such noises and weakness in the head that I find it troublesome to write even about necessary business. But, as I know that strength arising from obedience has a way of simplifying things which seem impossible, my will very gladly resolves to attempt this task alhough the prospect seems to cause my physical nature great distress; for the Lord has not given me strength enough to enable me to wrestle continually both with sickness and with occupations of many kinds without feeling a great physical strain. May He Who has helped me by doing other and more difficult things for me help also in this: in His mercy I put my trust."

Thus begins the introduction to "Inner Castle" by St. Teresa of Avila of Our Lady of Carmel to her sisters and daughters, the nuns of the convent of the Discalced Carmelite of Seville. July 2, 1577.

( From "Interior Castle", from Christian Classics Ethereal Library - Translated and edited by E. Allison Peers, from the Critical Edition of P. Silverio de Santa Teresa, C.D. )

"... I began to think of the soul as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions."

"... Let us now imagine that this castle, as I have said, contains many mansions, some above, others below, others at each side; and in the centre and midst of them all is the chiefest mansion where the most secret things pass between God and the soul."

"... Before passing on, I want you to consider what will be the state of this castle, so beautiful and resplendent this Orient pearl, this tree of life, planted in the living waters of life -- namely, in God -- when the soul falls into a mortal sin."

"... It should be noted here that it is not the spring, or the brilliant sun which is in the centre of the soul, that loses its splendour and beauty, for they are always within it and nothing can take away their beauty."

"... As I write this, the noises in my head are so loud that I am beginning to wonder what is going on in it. As I said at the outset, they have been making it almost impossible for me to obey those who commanded me to write. My head sounds just as if it were full of brimming rivers, and then as if all the water in those rivers came suddenly rushing downward; and a host of little birds seem to be whistling, not in the ears, but in the upper part of the head, where the higher part of the soul is said to be; I have held this view for a long time, for the spirit seems to move upward with great velocity. Please God I may remember to explain the cause of this when I am writing of the later Mansions: here it does not fit in well. I should not be surprised to know that the Lord has been pleased to send me this trouble in my head so that I may understand it better, for all this physical turmoil is no hindrance either to my prayer or to what I am saying now, but the tranquillity and love in my soul are quite unaffected, and so are its desires and clearness of mind. But if the higher part of the soul is in the upper part of the head, how is it that it experiences no disturbance? That I do not know, but I do know that what I say is true."

"... I think I was talking about spiritual consolations and explaining how they are sometimes bound up with our passions. They often cause fits of sobbing; I have heard, indeed, that some persons find they produce constrictions of the chest and even exterior movements, which cannot be controlled, and which are violent enough to make blood gush from the nose and produce similar disconcerting symptoms."

TA'I I CHIN HUA TSUNG CHIH (Translated by R. Wilhelm, 1929, from the the first Chinese printing. (Chi'en lung period, XVIII century).

Fragment from the "Circular course of the light".

4. ...Master Lu-tsu said: "The decision must be carried out with a collected heart and not seeking success; success will then come of itself. In the first period of release, there are chiefly two mistakes: indolence and distraction. However, that can be remedied; the heart must not enter into the breathing too completely. Breathing comes from the heart. What comes out of the heart is breath. As soon as the heart stirs, there develops breath-energy. Breath-energy is originally transformed activity of the heart. When our ideas go very fast, they imperceptibly pass into fantasies, which are always accompanied by the drawing of a breath, because this inner and outer breathing hangs together like tone and echo. Daily we draw innumerable breaths and have an equal number of fantasies. Thus the clarity of the spirit ebbs away as wood dries out and ashes die.

"So, then, should a man have no imaginings in his mind? One cannot be without imaginings. Should one not breathe? One cannot do without breathing. The best way is to make a medicine of the illness. Since heart and breath are mutually dependent, the circulation of the light must be united with the rhythm of breathing..." etc.

5. Mistakes during the circulation of the light. Master Lu-tsu said: "Your work will gradually become concentrated and mature, but before you reach the condition in which you sit like a withered tree before a cliff, there are still many possibilities of error which I would like to bring to your special attention. These conditions are recognised only when they have been personally experienced. I shall enumerate them here. My school differs from the Buddhist yoga school (Chang-tsung) in that it has confirmatory signs for each step of the way. First I would like to speak of the mistakes and then of the confirmatory signs.

"When one begins to carry out one's decision, care must be taken so that everything can proceed in a comfortable, relaxed manner. Too much must not be demanded of the heart. One must be careful that, quite automatically, heart and energy are co-ordinated. Only then can a state of quietness be attained. During this quiet state, the right conditions and the right space must be provided. One must not sit down (to meditate) in the midst of frivolous affairs. That is to say, the mind must be free of vain preoccupations. All entanglements must be put aside; one must be detached and independent. Nor must the thoughts be concentrated upon the right procedure. This danger arises if too much trouble is taken. I do not mean that no trouble is to be taken, but the correct way lies in keeping equal distance between being and not being. If one can attain purposelessness through purpose, then the thing has been grasped. Now one can let oneself go, detached and without confusion, in an independent way.

Furthermore, one must not fall victim to the ensnaring world. The ensnaring world is where the five kinds of dark demons disport themselves, This is the case, for example, when, after fixation, one has chiefly thoughts of dry wood and dead ashes, and few thoughts of the bright spring on the great earth. In this way, one sinks into the world of the dark. The energy is cold there, breathing is rough, and many images of coldness and decay present themselves. If one tarries there long, one enters the world of plants and stones.

"Nor must a man be led astray by the then thousand ensnarements. This happens if, after the quiet state has begun, one after another all sorts of ties suddenly appear. One wants to break through them and cannot; one follows them, and feels as if relieved by this. This means the master has become the servant. If a man tarries in this stage long, he enters the world of illusory desires. At best, one finds oneself in heaven, at the worst, amongst the fox-spirits. Such a fox-spirit, it is true, may be able to roam in the mountains enjoying the wind and the moon, the flowers and fruits, and taking his pleasure in coral trees and jewelled grass. . But after having done this for three to five hundred years, or at most for a couple of thousand years, his reward is over and he is born again into the world of turmoil.

All of these are wrong paths. When a man knows the wrong paths, he can then inquire into the confirmative signs…"

6. Confirmatory experiences during the circulation of the light. Master Lu-tsu said: "There are many kinds of confirmatory experiences. One must not content oneself with small demands but rise to the thought that all living creatures have to be redeemed. One must not be trivial and irresponsible in heart, but must strive to make deeds prove one's words. If, when there is quiet, the spirit has continuously and uninterruptedly a sense of great joy as if intoxicated or freshly bathed, it is a sign that the light-principle is harmonious in the whole body. Then the Golden Flower begins to bud. When, furthermore, all openings are quiet, and the silver moon stands in the middle of heaven, and one has the feeling that this great earth is a world of light and brightness, that is a sign that the body of the heart opens itself to clarity. It is a sign that the Golden Flower is opening. Furthermore, the whole body feels strong and firm so that it fears neither storm nor frost. Things, by which other men are displeased, when I meet them, cannot becloud the brightness of the seed of the spirit. Yellow gold fills the house; the steps are of white jade. Rotten and stinking things on earth that come in contact with one breath of the true energy will immediately live again. Red blood becomes milk. The fragile body of the flesh is sheer gold and diamonds. That is a sign that the Golden Flower is crystallised…

"The great world is like ice, a glassy-jewelled world. The brilliancy of the light gradually crystallises. Hence a great terrace arises and upon it, in the course of time, the Buddha appears. When the golden being appears who should it be but the Buddha? For the Buddha is the golden holy man of the great enlightenment. This is a great confirmatory experience.

"Now there are three confirmative experiences which can be tested. The first is that, when one has entered the state of meditation, the gods are in the valley. Men are heard talking as though at a distance of several hundred paces, each one quiet clear. However, the sounds are like an echo in the valley. One can always here them, but never oneself. This is called the presence of the gods in the valley. At times the following can be experienced: as soon as one is quiet, the light of the eyes begins to blaze up, so that everything before one becomes quiet bright as if one were in a cloud. If one opens one's eyes and seeks the body, it is not to be found anymore. This is called: 'In the empty chamber it grows light.' Inside and outside, everything is equally light. That is a very favourable sign.

"Or, when one sits in meditation, the fleshly body becomes quiet shining like silk or jade. It seems difficult to remain sitting; one feels as if drawn upward. This is called: 'The spirit returns and touches heaven'. In time, one can experience it in such a way that one really floats upwards.

Now, it is already possible to have all three of these experiences. Nevertheless, not everything can be expressed. Different things appear to each person according to his disposition. If one experiences these things, it is a sign of a good aptitude. With these things is just like when one drinks water. One can tell for oneself whether the wateris warm or cold. In the same way a man must convince himself about these experiences, then only are they real".