Eastern Spirituality

Founded in 1966, The Institute For Cultural Research brought together an eclectic group of individuals - from the sciences, the arts, business, government, and all manner of other disciplines. Established under the leadership of the writer and thinker Idries Shah, ICR considered profound questions facing human society, seeking answers by tackling problems in new ways.

The 55 minutes you spend listening to this audiobook can be magical. Some of these stories and ponderings will be understood clearly, while others may elude you, but not to worry, you will want to listen several times, and the meaning will come to you. Like all great writing, these stories will remain with you.

The man who would come to be known as Buddha experienced the extremes of hunger and poverty on the path that he had chosen for himself. Finally enlightened to the truths of life and suffering, he set off on a mission to spread his teachings far and wide. Today, the questions that he spent his life seeking answers to are more prevalent than ever before.

Confucius, dit-on, vit le jour en 551 avant notre ère, non loin de la ville de Qufu, dans la province de Shandong. Après la mort de sa mère en 527av. J.-C., il enseigna sa connaissance des textes anciens au petit groupe de disciples qui le suivait. Bien qu'il n'ait jamais développé sa pensée de façon théorique, on peut dessiner à grand traits ce qu'étaient ses principales préoccupations et les solutions qu'il préconisait, en lisant les "Entretiens".

El Tao Te King, de más de 2000 años de antigedad, es uno de los ejes referenciales del pensamiento oriental. Atribuido de Lao-Tsé, del cual se dice que estuvo meditando durante 80 años en el vientre de su madre virgen antes de decidirse a nacer, consta de 81 puntos compuestos de máximas breves en torno al "Tao", y de modo singular empieza la obra afirmando que 'Del Tao que se puede hablar, no es el Tao eterno'.