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For Articles - Click on underlined term for definition from
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Printed Editions Available for Purchase
Newest Commemorative Annual Editions:
A special web site:
To visit a special web site, "Frithjof Schuon Archive," dedicated to featured Studies contributor Frithjof Schuon, click here.
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Schuon, Frithjof
Citing examples from Islamic, Christian, and Buddhist doctrine, Schuon discusses various concepts of Reality, Goodness, Manifestation, the Absolute, Infinity, and All Possibility: “If in our daily experience we are confronted by things that are real at their own level—if ‘such and such’ realities actually exist in the world—this is because before all else there is Reality ‘as such’, which is not the world but by which the world comes to be. And if the world exists, it is because Reality as such, or the Absolute, includes Infinity or All-possibility, from which the world is a consequence and of which it is a content.”
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Burckhardt, Titus
Burckhardt comments on the symbolic importance of the image of the Heavenly Jerusalem, which first appeared in a medieval manuscript. He compares this image side-by-side with a drawing of the mandala of Vaikuntha, the home of the Hindu god, Vishnu. Also comparing relevant scriptural texts, Bruckhardt is more interested in the objective comparison of the two images/texts than in drawing conclusions as to why and how such similarities came into existence.
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Lings, Martin
In this article, Lings discusses the idea of the Uncreated Principial Substance in relation to the Christian doctrine of original sin, as well as common 20th century attitudes towards human evolution. The author claims that it is a “sign of the times” that most modern people capitulate unconsciously and blithely to a diminished awareness of the divine presence. Rather than reacting strongly to this critical deprivation, which has been brought about through the actions of some who are not held accountable, instead modern men believe that they are now better than at any time in history.
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Gelfand, Michael
Gelfand discusses the religious beliefs of the Shona in regards to such concepts as Peace, Happiness, Freedom, and Beauty. He contrasts the Shona philosophy of munhu—or the human being with an almost complete neglect of the material aspects of life—with ideas concerning material wealth held by cultures of the Western world.
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Bando, Shojun
Bando discusses the Buddhist concept of jōbutso, also known as Enlightenment or the attainment of Buddhahood. He argues that Shinran’s Pure Land teaching differs in its conception of jōbutso in that in the Pure Land teaching, one cannot achieve Buddhahood in life, due to an inability to detach ourselves from the “defilement” of earthly life.
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Saher, P. J.
"While Western philosophy assumes that mere intelligence is all that is necessary, Eastern wisdom demands that the student must have attained control over himself and his physical body, his emotions and reactions, before wisdom will reveal her secrets," J.C. Cooper argues in her summary and critique of Saher’s book. Breaking the book into parts, Cooper discusses what she feels are the most noteworthy points Saher makes regarding the similarities and contrasts between Western and Eastern spiritual philosophy.
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Dewar, Douglas
After giving a short introduction to the history of thought surrounding evolutionism and religious doctrine, Martin Lings discusses and criticizes Dewar’s condemnation of evolutionism. Lings then presents and summarizes the ways in which Dewar constructs and supports his argument, approaching it from many different angles (physical, geological, paleontological, geographical, etc.). In the conclusion of his review, Lings says, “Most people are altogether ignorant of this [Ed.: i.e. that the theory of evolution requires its own 'miraculous' leaps of faith] and other equally significant facts that The Transformist Illusion lays bare. One result of this ignorance is the flood of books by non-scientists about the history of mankind, books for adults and books for children, which take evolution altogether for granted…”
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Trungpa, Chogyam
In this review, J.C. Cooper summarizes and supports this book by of Trungpa on the Buddhist emphasis on the experience of truth versus education via books and teachers alone. Cooper outlines the theme of Trungpa’s book in this accessible and short review. She praises the author’s use of allegories and parables, and ends the review with this praise: "In these days of so much pinchbeck Hindu and Buddhist writing, it is a relief and a privilege to be given the real gold."
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author(s), various
Rupert Gleadow writes to the editor in regard to a previously published correspondence by Mr. R. Bolton. Gleadow claims that Bolton does not recognize both the historical and character analysis perspectives on the zodiac. In the second letter, John M. Addey comments on Dr. Hans Bandmann’s letter in the autumn issue. Addey points out that Bandmann is incorrect in fixing the “heaven of the signs” as the locus of the heavenly archetypes, pointing out that the latter are necessarily beyond any fixed assignment in the realm of space and time.
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