The Truth Within: A History of Inwardness in Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism

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Gavin Flood (Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion, Oxford University.)

The Truth Within

Name: The Truth Within
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ISBN: 9780198745211

A History of Inwardness in Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism

Gavin Flood (Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion, Oxford University.)

$100.95

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English

Oxford University Press
07 November 2015

Religion & beliefs; Comparative religion; Christian spirituality & religious experience; Buddhist life & practice; Hindu life & practice

The idea that there is a truth within the person linked to the discovery of a deeper, more fundamental, more authentic self, has been a common theme in many religions throughout history and an idea that is still with us today. This inwardness or interiority unique to me as an essential feature of who I am has been an aspect of culture and even a defining characteristic of human being; an authentic, private sphere to which we can retreat that is beyond the conflicts of the outer world. This inner world becomes more real than the outer, which is seen as but a pale reflection. Remarkably, the image of the truth within is found across cultures and this book presents an account of this idea in the pre-modern history of Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Furthermore, in theistic religions, Christianity and some forms of Hinduism, the truth within is conflated with the idea of God within and in all cases this inner truth is thought to be not only the heart of the person, but also the heart of the universe itself. Gavin Flood examines the metaphor of inwardness and the idea of truth within, along with the methods developed in religions to attain it such as prayer and meditation. These views of inwardness that link the self to cosmology can be contrasted with a modern understanding of the person. In examining the truth within in Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, Flood offers a hermeneutical phenomenology of inwardness and a defence of comparative religion.

By: Gavin Flood (Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion Oxford University.)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 231mm, Width: 158mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 498g
ISBN: 9780198745211
ISBN 10: 0198745214
Pages: 330
Publication Date: 07 November 2015
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

1: The Mountains of the Mind Part I: History and Text 2: Prayer and Vision in the Middle Ages 3: Inwardness as Mystical Ascent 4: Inwardness and Visual Contemplation in Hinduism 5: A Hindu Philosophy of Inwardness 6: Inwardness Without Self Part II: Theory 7: A Theory of Religious Inwardness 8: The Phenomenology of Inwardness 9: The Historical Self and Comparative Religion

Gavin Flood is Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion at Oxford University and the Academic Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Among his publications are An Introduction to Hinduism (CUP 1996), The Ascetic Self: Subjectivity, Memory, and Tradition (CUP 2004), and The Importance of Religion: Meaning and Action in Our Strange World (Blackwell 2012).

Reviews for The Truth Within: A History of Inwardness in Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism

In this stimulating study, Flood maps premodern ideas of inwardness in medieval Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism...His approach is generous, open-minded, and stimulating...Highly recommended. --CHOICE