Product Description

This is the first English translation of one of Rene' Guenon's most important works, and constitutes a major contribution to the field of traditional studies. What is owed to Guenon for having outlined so clearly the cause of the spiritual crisis of the modern world, and for having offered remedies that are uncompromising in their application, is realised more and more by each generation of his readers. For Guenon presents an approach to religion that satisfies at once the highest level of intellectual rigour and the deepest level of religious practice, in the context of a perennial wisdom that acknowledges the integral 'way' of each revealed religion as a path to the totality of Truth - as the rays of the Sun can be traced to their luminous source. The great triad is centred on Taoism while being characteristically rich in illuminating cross-references to other traditions, for the ternary in question - Heaven, Hearth and Man - is an inescapable feature of all spirituality. Seldom can the multiple levels of significance of a single symbol have been expounded in such profound and meaningful detail so as to reveal that, when properly assimilated, the triad symbol possesses the possibility of functioning as an initiatory means of support for inner realisation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6834655 in Books
• Published on: 1991-10
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: French
• Binding: Hardcover
• 171 pages

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About the Author
Rene' Guenon is without doubt one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. The Great Triad was first published in French in 1946 and was the last of the author's books to appear in his lifetime. A considerable quantity of uncollected writings has appeared in posthumous volumes, among which is one of Guenon's major works, Fundamental Symbols of Sacred Science. A translation of this work has been published by Quinta Essentia.

Customer Reviews

Correction
Please, in the 4 next comments where you read "Tin You Jen", the corect is "Tien Ti Jen". IRGET, Luiz Pontual

A path to understand the Taoism.
Among the traditions still existing today, perhaps the most exotic and enigmatic to the Westerners, is the Taoism, and this is the subject of this book of René Guénon. It is not without reason that a great master Taoist, in the 40's, confirmed Guéon as the "only contemporary Westerner that captured and transmitted the true spirit of the Taoism ". " Tien You Jen ", or " Sky, Earth, Man ", these the terms of the Great Triad, the starting point from which Guénon begins his explanation, with the chapter "Ternary and Trinidad ". In the sequence, the author clears the true symbolism and meaning of Yin and Yang, so mentioned and so little understood nowadays. In the chapter on " Subjects of Orientation ", several informations rescues the true meaning of the "sacred geography" and we can come to some conclusions about the fragility of the pure and simple conversion of " Feng Sui " to our days, as simple decorative fashion. Guénon approaches several analogies that the taoist iniciatic process keeps with the other traditional forms, in the chapter "The True Man and the Transcendent Man" . The reading of this masterly book is, therefore, indispensable to everyone that want to contact the atmosphere of the Taoist tradition and the unique characteristics of the Chinese race and civilization, whose mental lines indeed keep great differences in relation to ours. The Institute René Guénon of Traditional Studies (www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/9638) since several years is giving the basic course "The Oriental Sight" whose fundamental orientation is given by René Guenon's work. Luiz Pontual IRGET

Uma magistral exposição sobre o Taoísmo.
Dentre as tradições que ainda hoje existem, talvez a mais exótica e enigmática, aos ocidentais, seja o Taoísmo, e este é o assunto deste livro magistral de René Guénon. Não é sem razão que um grande mestre taoísta, na década de 40, confirmou Guénon como o "único ocidental contemporâneo que captou e transmitiu o verdadeiro espírito do Taoísmo". "Tien Ti Jen", ou "Céu, Terra , Homem", estes os termos da Grande Tríade, a partir da qual Guénon inicia sua exposição, com o capítulo "Ternário e Trindade". Na seqüência, o autor esclarece o verdadeiro simbolismo e significado do Yin e Yang, tão falados e tão pouco compreendidos hoje em dia. No capítulo sobre "Questões de Orientação", várias informações nos resgatam o verdadeiro significado da "geografia sagrada" e ali podemos tirar algumas conclusões sobre a fragilidade da transposição pura e simples do "Feng Sui" a nossos dias, como simples moda de decoradores. Guénon aborda várias analogias que o processo iniciático taoísta guarda com as demais formas tradicionais, no capítulo sobre o "O Homem Verdadeiro e o Homem Transcendente". A leitura deste livro magistral é, portanto, indispensável a todos que queiram ser apresentados à atmosfera da tradição taoísta e às características próprias à raça e civilização chinesas, cujos traços mentais efetivamente guardam grandes diferenças em relação aos nossos. O Instituto René Guénon de Estudos Tradicionais há vários anos vem lecionando seu curso básico "Olhar Oriental" cuja orientação fundamental está na obra de René Guénon.

Luiz Pontual-