The Spiritual Adventure of Humanity
Encyclopedia
with Ysé Tardan-Masquelier
Bayard Culture, Oct 2002
New edition, Bayard Centurion, October 2005 (format 11 cm x 18 cm)
Presentation
Who are these masters of life, these sages, these mystics who have shaped the spiritual adventure of humanity? What are the great texts they wrote or inspired, what are the sources of their inspiration? From Buddha to Teresa of Avila, from Seneca to Gandhi, from Ibn Arabi to Simone Weil, from Egyptian sages to contemporary Tibetan lamas, from masters of Hasidism to the gurus of modern India… this book first evokes the transformative experience of the greatest spiritual figures in the history of humanity. This is followed by an anthology of texts from around the world, most often in original translations, whose themes punctuate this singular and universal adventure: the scandal of suffering and the aspiration for happiness, the spiritual path, prayer and meditation, love and compassion, freedom and death and the afterlife… A superb fresco of humanity's spiritual quests.
What the press says about it
“A documented and educational anthology of everything that humanity has been able to create in terms of wisdom. This fresco embraces five thousand years of history and all the regions of our planet – from the Egyptian sages to Gandhi and Simone Weil, by way of Homer, Moses, Mohammed, Buddha, Jesus and Saint Paul… A reasonable and balanced use of eclecticism.” Le Monde
"It took at least 2,000 pages of Bible paper to claim to exhaustively compile all the wisdom produced by humanity since the invention of writing. The co-editors of this tome have met the challenge... It is a monument of erudition to which some fifty specialists have collaborated. It prioritizes the readability of biographical accounts and the accessibility of texts before closing with a series of historical panoramas." Human Sciences
"An immense work of memory that the authors have carried out with other specialists. This is a masterful work that responds to the very current aspirations of those who are seeking meaning in their lives." Le Progrès