Timeless Truths and Modern Delusions: The Perennial Philosophy as a guide for contemporary Buddhists (Paperback)

In this curated selection of articles and talks, Harry Oldmeadow explores the Traditionalist perspective and, through this, heunearths many assumptions of the modern mindset. These assumptions, once uncovered, reveal the propaganda and conditioning that we are unwittingly subject to from without and within.The yearning for spiritual knowledge is as old as humankind itself, and so we find an array of spiritual traditions around the world. These traditions exist, by necessity, within cultural landscapes, and yet these landscapes are constantly changing, from ancient to pre-modern, from modern to postmodern and so on.In this book, Oldmeadow adeptly surveys the challenges and opportunities facing Eastern religious traditions in their transmission to the modern West. He examines the role of key figures in the East-West encounter, and compares the traditional doctrines of time and cosmic cycles to notions of ‘progress’ and ‘evolutionism’ so prevalent in the modern mentality. Bylooking at the Buddhist tradition and confronting some of the greatest issues facing the spread of Buddhism to the West, Oldmeadow offers insight into what it really means to follow a spiritual tradition, not in ‘feel good’ terms but for those wanting to get to the bare bones of the Truth.

HARRY OLDMEADOW was, until his retirement, Coordinator of Philosophy and Religious Studies at La Trobe University, Bendigo. He has degrees in History, Comparative Religion and Cinema Studies. His principal interests include the spiritual interactions of East and West, the perennial philosophy, environmental philosophy, and primordial traditions, especially those of the indigenous people of Australia and the Plains Indians of North America.Disclaimer: this book is directly addressed to Buddhist practitioners but will repay the attention of anyone seeking a spiritual path amidst the confusions of our age.