Sufism and Taoism

Sufism and Taoism PDF Author: Toshihiko Izutsu
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520292472
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 502

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Book Description
In this deeply learned work, Toshihiko Izutsu compares the metaphysical and mystical thought-systems of Sufism and Taoism and discovers that, although historically unrelated, the two share features and patterns which prove fruitful for a transhistorical dialogue. His original and suggestive approach opens new doors in the study of comparative philosophy and mysticism. Izutsu begins with Ibn 'Arabi, analyzing and isolating the major ontological concepts of this most challenging of Islamic thinkers. Then, in the second part of the book, Izutsu turns his attention to an analysis of parallel concepts of two great Taoist thinkers, Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu. Only after laying bare the fundamental structure of each world view does Izutsu embark, in the final section of the book, upon a comparative analysis. Only thus, he argues, can he be sure to avoid easy and superficial comparisons. Izutsu maintains that both the Sufi and Taoist world views are based on two pivots—the Absolute Man and the Perfect Man—with a whole system of oncological thought being developed between these two pivots. Izutsu discusses similarities in these ontological systems and advances the hypothesis that certain patterns of mystical and metaphysical thought may be shared even by systems with no apparent historical connection. This second edition of Sufism and Taoism is the first published in the United States. The original edition, published in English and in Japan, was prized by the few English-speaking scholars who knew of it as a model in the field of comparative philosophy. Making available in English much new material on both sides of its comparison, Sufism and Taoism richly fulfills Izutsu's motivating desire "to open a new vista in the domain of comparative philosophy."

Sufism and Taoism

Sufism and Taoism PDF Author: Toshihiko Izutsu
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520292472
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 502

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this deeply learned work, Toshihiko Izutsu compares the metaphysical and mystical thought-systems of Sufism and Taoism and discovers that, although historically unrelated, the two share features and patterns which prove fruitful for a transhistorical dialogue. His original and suggestive approach opens new doors in the study of comparative philosophy and mysticism. Izutsu begins with Ibn 'Arabi, analyzing and isolating the major ontological concepts of this most challenging of Islamic thinkers. Then, in the second part of the book, Izutsu turns his attention to an analysis of parallel concepts of two great Taoist thinkers, Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu. Only after laying bare the fundamental structure of each world view does Izutsu embark, in the final section of the book, upon a comparative analysis. Only thus, he argues, can he be sure to avoid easy and superficial comparisons. Izutsu maintains that both the Sufi and Taoist world views are based on two pivots—the Absolute Man and the Perfect Man—with a whole system of oncological thought being developed between these two pivots. Izutsu discusses similarities in these ontological systems and advances the hypothesis that certain patterns of mystical and metaphysical thought may be shared even by systems with no apparent historical connection. This second edition of Sufism and Taoism is the first published in the United States. The original edition, published in English and in Japan, was prized by the few English-speaking scholars who knew of it as a model in the field of comparative philosophy. Making available in English much new material on both sides of its comparison, Sufism and Taoism richly fulfills Izutsu's motivating desire "to open a new vista in the domain of comparative philosophy."

Sufism and Taoism

Sufism and Taoism PDF Author: Toshihiko Izutsu
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520052642
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description
"Professor Izutsu's work is a pioneering attempt to bring into focus the shareable philosophical concerns of two seemingly unrelated landmarks into religious thought. His method is suggestive, interpretation new and bold, and material used important for further research. His book is useful to students of comparative religion, philosophy of religion, cultural anthropology, Asian thought and religion, and Islamic and Taoist studies."—Tu Wei-ming "[This book] carries out a comparison in depth between Islamic and Chinese thought for the first time in modern scholarship. . . . Since this book appeared it has influenced every work on Ibn 'Arabi and metaphysical Sufism...[and] any cursory study of Sufism during the last fifteen years will reveal the extent of Izutsu's influence."—Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Sufism and Taoism

Sufism and Taoism PDF Author: Toshihiko Izutsu
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sufism
Languages : en
Pages : 493

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Book Description


Insights Into Islamic Esoterism and Taoism

Insights Into Islamic Esoterism and Taoism PDF Author: René Guénon
Publisher: Sophia Perennis
ISBN: 9780900588259
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
This small volume brings together a number of Guénon's early articles relating to Sufism (tasawwuf), or Islamic esoterism. A later article, 'Islamic Esoterism', has also been included, since it articulates so well the particularities of initiation in Islam by defining the fundamental elements of tasawwuf: shari'ah, tariqah, haqiqah. The first constitutes the necessary fundamental exoteric basis; the second, the Way and its means; the third, the goal or final result. In the other chapters, Guénon expresses with his usual synthetic clarity what tawhid and faqr are, and gives examples of traditional sciences, relating angelology to the Arabic alphabet, and chirology to the science of letters ('ilm al-huruf). A number of book and article reviews give further insights into Islamic cosmology. Some may feel that the essay 'Taoism and Confucianism' here included has little relevance to Sufism and Islam. However, such writers as Toshihiko Izutsu and Sachiko Murata have drawn many parallels between the two traditions. Confucianism, concentrating on social and interpersonal norms, functions as a kind of shari'ah in the context of Chinese religion, while Taoism, like Sufism, is precisely the esoteric Way.

Sufis of Andalusia

Sufis of Andalusia PDF Author: M. Ibn 'Arabi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415442591
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
First published in 2008. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

"Shower of Stars" Dream & Book

Author: Peter Lamborn Wilson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
A tradition of intentional and initiatic dreaming connects the sufism of Ibn Arabi and the Owaysi Order, medieval Kabbala, Taoist scriptures, Afro-Brazilian spirit-cults, Siberian shamanism, and early Christian "angel alphabets." This book deals with specific methods for inducing prophetic or "veridical" dreams, because this book has a purpose: the experimental achievement of non-ordinary consciousness through autonomous openings ("Initiations") to the world of the imagination

Sufism

Sufism PDF Author: Jean-Louis Michon
Publisher: World Wisdom, Inc
ISBN: 0941532755
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
A collection of essays on Sufism, written by such contemporary contributors as Seyyed Hossein Nasr, William Chittick, and Frithjof Schuon, demystifies its language, philosophies, and history, in a volume that also provides interpretations of classic and modern essays. Original.

Creation and the Timeless Order of Things

Creation and the Timeless Order of Things PDF Author: Toshihiko Izutsu
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Brings together Toshihiko Izutsu's most important essays on Islamic mystical philosophy. Though primarily concerned with Iranian mystics and philosophers, this penetrating group of essays displays Izutsu's unique insights in comparative philosophy by comparing and contrasting Islamic Sufism and philosophy with Vedanta, Mahayana Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Archetypal Psychology and modern Existentialism fluent in over 30 languages, Izutsu's comparative research is based on careful reading of original texts in Persian, Arabic, Chinese, Pall, Sanskrit, Greek, and Japanese. The studies in this volume explore the deep structures of mystical insight and experience.

Tuḥfah Yi- ʻAbbāsī

Tuḥfah Yi- ʻAbbāsī PDF Author: Muḥammad ʻAlī Sabzvārī
Publisher: University Press of America
ISBN: 9780761838012
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
This book is one of the oldest and most important sources written on the esoteric teachings of Islam from a Shi'ite perspective. It demonstrates the Qur'anic origins of Sufism and its close relationship with Shi'ism. The book is based mainly on the teachings of the Qur'an, Hadith narrations of Shi'ite Imams, and the teachings of earlier Sufi masters. In this lies the uniqueness, authenticity, and strength of the book. Tuhfah yi-' Abbasi is written in a typical prose style of the Safavid period and is replete with Arabic words and phrases. The difficulty and dryness of the style, however, is properly compensated by timely quotation of Prophetic traditions, narrations of the Shi'ite Imams, and Sufi poetry composed by 'Attar, Rumi, Hafiz, Mansur Hallaj, as well as the author. This work conveys a universal message for all human beings, particularly at a time when Sufism and Shi'ism are misrepresented by pseudo-Sufis and extremist Shi'ite, and misunderstood by many readers in the Muslim world and in the West.

Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light

Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light PDF Author: Sachiko Murata
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791446379
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
The first study in English of Islamic thought in China, this book shows that this tradition was informed by both Sufism and Neo-Confucianism; translations of two classic works are included.