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Here is your
invitation to join us in our journey to find authentic
spirituality and meaning in the modern world. Find out more about the Perennial
Philosophy that represents the eternal, universal Truth that
underlies the writings of the many significant teachers that can
be found on this site. For an orientation to the website
and to find out what it's all about, the David
Library is now online.
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accept our sincere gratitude your orders and support. To continue
our efforts to provide satisfaction for our website visitors and book
customers, Sophia Perennis titles will be distributed by www.sophiaperennis.com
or Charles Upton Books, cupton@sbcglobal.net
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Spiritual Resources and Events
“Sacred Roots of the Imagination:
Wisdom and Practice in an Uncertain World”
Information about the important conference that we're
hoping to organize for the future! If things come together, this
will be a great conference..
If you want Serious Seekers to host an event, please request
the speakers you would like us to book, and we will do our best to
meet your lecture needs.
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Featured Books
(10% Discount on many books taken at time of
order)
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 Seyyed
Hossein Nasr, The
Essential Writings of Frithjof Schuon Originally
published in 1986, this new edition of what will surely become
a great classic was published by Vega Books in June, 2002.
'I have met with no more impressive work in the comparative study of
Oriental and Occidental religion'. -- T.S. Eliot. A momentous volume. |
 Translated
by Colm Luibheid, Pseudo-Dionysius:
The Complete Works The only
English translation of these complete works of the
writings attached to the great Christian Saint, Dionysius the
Areopagite , which are seminal in the development of the
mystical tradition. "For it is by passing beyond yourself
and all other things, and so purifying yourself of all worldly,
carnal and natural love in your affection, and of everything
that can be known according to its own proper form in your
intellect; it is in this way, when all things are done away
with, that you shall be carried up in your affection and above
your understanding to the Substance beyond all substance, the
radiance of the divine darkness." --from the included
essay, The Pursuit of Wisdom
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 Naturalness:
A Classic of Shin Buddhism , by Kenryo Kanamatsu.
Shin, or Pure Land, is the flower of Japanese Buddhism. Although it is
less well known in the West than Zen, Vipassana or Tibetan Buddhism, its
message of holy freedom, or naturalness, which arises when man conforms
with sincere attachment to the Eternal saving will of the Buddha has
been an illuminating way of spiritual awakening for multitudes of
Japanese people since the sixth century when Buddhism came to Japan. |
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Important new titles from Sophia
Perennis |
Lord Northbourne, Looking
Back on Progress Most of us are deeply committed to a cult
of change. We believe in the essential beneficence of progress. We
deal piecemeal with the frightening range of new problems that
increasingly beset our society, but the assumptions underlying the
ideology of progress are seldom seriously called into question. It
is becoming increasingly urgent that these assumptions be
questioned dispassionately and with a real desire to see the
truth. |
 Lord Northbourne, Religion
in the Modern World
I have just finished reading your book Religion in the Modern
World...Not only is the book interesting, but I have found it
quite salutary and helpful in my own case. It has helped me to
organize my ideas at a time when we in the Catholic Church, and in
the monastic Orders, are being pulled this way and that. —
Thomas Merton |
 Gurdjieff
in the Light of Tradition, by Whitall Perry. Probably
no figure of our time has excited at once more enthusiasm and
controversy among serious intellectuals seeking spiritual guidance
than Georgi Ivanovitch Gurdjieff. Whatever be the opinion of
Gurdjieff gained by the reader, one thing is certain is that he or
she will come away with a far clearer understanding of the
background, teaching, and phenomenon per se than has ever been
accessible before. |
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 The Collected Works of René
Guénon
The remaining 9 volumes of the series are forthcoming.
Please see the Guenon
page for an update on publication dates and a complete listing of these insightful volumes. 
Guénon offers an important and illuminating view of the rhythms
and patterns that define our spiritual, social, and political landscape.
They are relevant to the times, and to the ongoing crisis (The
Reign
of Quantity and The Signs of the Times provides unequaled insight).
Receive a 10% discount by ordering now. |
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Audio and Video
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| Our
collection of audio and video is limited but growing; we have important content that
reflects our purpose of unveiling the
various expressions of truth in our times. Audio and video is available in
a variety of formats. There is currently no charge for online,
streaming audio and video in RealPlayer format. We continue to search for and
add selections that will hopefully make a difference in the lives of
serious seekers. |
| Paths
to the Heart Conference Audio
Now Available. Includes talks from Huston Smith, S.H. Nasr, Kallistos Ware, and others.
Listen to profound and moving commentary on metaphysics and
spirituality in our times.
Get the truth about September 11. Don't
miss Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Paths to the Heart Conference commentary on
the historical and contemporary dynamics of the September 11 crisis. |
| Huston Smith,
The
Long Way Home A heartfelt and magisterial talk by the man who
has touched so many with his ability to present important spiritual and
religious dialogue in present times. Here H. Smith discusses the meaning
of "home" in the spiritual journey, based on his own
experiences. |
Martin Lings,
Metaphysics
and the Perennial Philosophy An important contributor to the
understanding of spirituality and religion in our times discusses the meaning of the
Sophia Perennis. In Real Player format for online listening. |
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Other Features
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News and Articles
The
Marriage of Wisdom and Method, by Marco Pallis. An excellent summary
of Tibetan Buddhism. Marco Pallis provides a unique perspective on
Tibetan Buddhism that is heightened by his own providential experiences,
his natural style of writing, and his profound insights into the
spiritual life and the Way. Pallis relates the commonalities and
divergences of the beliefs and practices of the "Yellow-hat"
and the "Red-hat" Buddhist orders, including variations in
moral codes and methods of study, meditation, and contemplation. Through
the example of Buddhism in a pure form, Pallis shows that, on a
spiritual path, beyond the supports of logic and ego, the divorce of
the
wisdom and knowledge of a given revelation from its corresponding method
of practice can lead to a dangerous abyss.
In The
Symbolism of the Taoist Garden , J.C. Cooper captures the depth of
meaning intended by Taoist philosophers in their gardens, representing the earthly
expressions of the beauty and splendor of the Mother of All Things.
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Discussion
The first round of comments in the Discussion
Section
address important spiritual issues that we face in our quest for meaning
and authentic spirituality. The second set of discussion question
comments from our contributors are in coming. If you'd like, please make
your own comments on these and other questions. 1. What do people
mean when the say things like "this is all an illusion"? Does
the world matter? 2. Are there statements that are really, absolutely
true? Or is everything just relative? How can we know the Truth? 3. Are
there really "god-men"? How can I identify a "cult"?
How can I distinguish between the genuine and the phoney?
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Prose, Poetry and Thought
Poetry or thoughts to remind us of Beauty and
Truth in our lives.
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Please use the Index
page to see new selections. |
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They say:
The World is not real,
it's a hindrance to hear, see, and feel.
The beauty you perceive does not compare,
to Nothingness, beyond despair
You must lose yourself,
to find the key,
to end your human misery.
Release the crutch, do not grasp,
painful attachments to the past.
He says:
To unite with the One,
is surely the Way,
But what of the sunset,
That closed the day?
And the Virgin's beauty,
that explodes,
in infinite chords,
in the sweet music,
that brings tears of joy,
to my eyes?
—Anonymous
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Star-Born
What music of what star
Did Schubert hear?
What celestial power
Touched Shelley's lyre?
What heavenly order
Raised spires of stone,
Moulded sculptured gesture
Of Gothic saint and king?
Dear human voices,
Faces loved and known,
From what unseen realm
Is that beauty born?
—Kathleen
Raine
Harmonies
unheard create the harmonies we hear and wake the soul to the
consciousness of beauty, showing it the one essence in another kind; for
the measures of our music are not arbitrary, but are determined by the
Principle whose labor is to dominate matter and bring pattern into being.
—Plotinus
No man that
hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, strategems, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus:
Let no such man be trusted.
—Shakespeare, from The Merchant of
Venice
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More
Prose, Poetry and Thought...
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