World Wisdom's Spiritual Classics series

This series includes seminal, but often neglected, works of unique spiritual insight from leading religious authors of both the East and West. Ranging from books composed in ancient India to forgotten jewels of our time, these important classics feature new introductions which place them in the perennialist context.

The following slides contain some of the titles which are included in this series.

The Gospel of the Redman was written by Ernest Thompson Seton. Seton was a prolific writer, artist and student of nature. Co-founder of the Boy Scouts, Mr. Seton had a deep respect for the environment which is demonstrated throughout his numerous books about plants and wildlife. This book, which focuses on the spirituality of American Indians, has been praised as exemplifying the principles of numerous religions. Mr. Seton’s thought provoking observations about the spirituality of a people who were at the time, considered savages and heathens, makes this book truly unusual. His praise for a civilization based on nature and community, not one focused on “money greed” like that of white men allows the reader a unique chance to experience American Indian values through Seton’s eyes, thus making this book applicable to readers of all backgrounds.

“How good it is to see the thoughtful tributes of Mr. Seton brought forth for a new generation of readers. We so desperately need the Native wisdom in these times.”
—James Alexander Thom, author of Follow the River and Warrior Woman: The Exceptional Life Story of Nonhelema, Shawnee Indian Woman Chief

Music of the Sky: An Anthology of Spiritual Poetry is a collection of spiritual poetry from antiquity to the present, reflecting many styles and expressions of our experince of the sacred through the medium of poetry. All traditions will be represented, including the great world religions.

The short poems in this book reflect the spiritual insights of some of the greatest poets, saints, and sages known to Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Native American traditions. Their voices rise above the outward limitations of sect and creed into a single chorus affirming the deeply human need for the Sacred. The words of these poets underline the great and universal challenge of facing suffering and death, the boundless compassion and love which touches all life, and the knowledge and unity of the transcendent and immanent Real. This book is an inexhaustible well of light to carry along the way.

An excerpt from Music of the Sky

Eternal spring wind,
I know you won’t be too rough
On the delicate
Branches and buds
Of the weeping willow.
—Rengetsu, Lotus Moon: The Poetry of the Buddhist Nun Rengetsu

Naturalness , written in 1949, is more than an introduction to the essence of Shin Buddhism. It is a profound and enlightened meditation on the relationship between man and Amida Buddha, who is pure mercy and whose Name is a vehicle of Nirvanic Reality. Combining the erudition of a philosopher with the sensitivity of a poet, Kenryo Kanamatsu leads the reader into the heart of the subject where man may unite with the Buddha-Nature even in the ordinary activities of everyday life. The deep compassion and beautiful simplicity of this classic work– which like a haiku speaks volumes with few words– will appeal to all people who seek a spiritual antidote to the artificiality and ugliness that causes much of the suffering in our world.

“Kenryo Kanamatsu’s Naturalness, written in 1949, is a profound introduction to the essence of Shin Buddhism. It brings together the key elements of the Shin tradition, explaining the relationship between the Amida Buddha, man’s essential true Buddha Nature, and the achievement of enlightenment. It is beautifully written, at times seeming more like poetry or perhaps a Koan than a normal text. Much can be gained from deep reflection on this work.”
—Living Traditions

“Kenryo Kanamatsu elucidates the emphasis in Shin Buddhism (Jodo-shinsu) on the presence and call of Amida Buddha in the here and now. The book, first printed in Kyoto in 1956, has not been widely available in North America before now. The author, a Japanese scholar from Otani University, gives neither a history of Shin Buddhism nor a detailed analysis of a particular text. Rather, he translates the profundity of the tradition, still little understood in the West, into commonplace English using simple, poetic and striking language.”
—Buddhadharma

This is a centuries-old text by a 16th-century Turkish Sufi and scholar, Imam Birgivi. It has been translated for the first time into English by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak, who has also “interpreted” the text. Through numerous references to the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, the book portrays the beauty and depth of the Prophet’s character and the excellence of his example for followers of God in all times and places.

The Path of Muhammad is accompanied by another, shorter text, The Last Will and Testament by Imam Birgivi. Together, these two texts range through traditional Islamic views on the nature of God, revelation, angels, prophethood, religious duties, virtue, faith, mysticism, the nature of knowledge, and many more topics. From lofty considerations on, for example, the nature of evil, to earth-bound considerations on, as another example, how to spend money, Imam Birgivi’s texts always show readers how they can purify their minds, hearts, and bodies. This incredible compendium of moral and spiritual topics, all seen through the eyes of a traditional Sufi and scholar, always hearkens back to the earliest sources of the Islamic faith (i.e., the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet) in order to “remind you of your own departure from this world, and help in your salvation.”

This volume, Lamp of Non-Dual Knowledge and Cream of Liberation, brings together two classic works of Advaita Vedanta.

Many people have found that the Advaita Bodha Deepika (Lamp of Non-Dual Knowledge) is the clearest, easiest to understand summary of the system of Hindu thought known as Advaita Vedanta. The Lamp of Non-Dual Knowledge is in the form of a dialogue between a seeker and his spiritual master, with the seeker posing many probing questions about the nature of existence, the universe, and humankind. Of course, these fundamental questions still puzzle people, and so these clear answers from the ancient past often strike home with readers today.

The Kaivalya Navaneeta (The Cream of Liberation) is a classical Tamil book attributed to Tandavaraya Swami. It is a widely known Advaita classic. The Cream of Liberation outlines the basic philosophical principles of Advaita Vedanta and reviews these in a way intended to make them very clear to readers, again in the form of a dialogue between a master and devotee.

The Essential Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa): Light on The Indian World combines for the first time the most important writings of Ohiyesa (Charles Eastman),the first Native American author to live simultaneously in both the traditional world of the Santee Sioux and the modern civilization of the white man.

Ohiyesa’s works represent the most complete explanation of the philosophy and moral code of the Plains Indian. Providing much of the basis of our knowledge of their sacred world view in which ‘we are all related,’ they sound a profoundly spiritual note which speaks directly to the ecological crisis and the de-humanization of man so often discussed in our time. On a deeper level, Ohiyesa’s message speaks to every person who seeks a spiritual way in the midst of a society increasingly dominated by materialism and industrial technology.

It was around the turn of the twentieth century that he wrote, “It is my personal belief, after thirty-five years’ experience of it, that there is no such thing as ‘Christian civilization.’ I believe that Christianity and modern civilization are opposed and irreconcilable, and that the spirit of Christianity and of our ancient religion is essentially the same.”

“It is a remarkable publication.”
—Richard West, Director of the National Museum of the American Indian