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Splendor of the True: A Frithjof Schuon Reader
A new anthology of the work of Frithjof Schuon that includes philosophical writings along with a selection of his poems, artworks, and unpublished pieces from his personal papers.
Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998), the leading figure in the perennialist school of comparative religious thought, remains one of the most provocative voices on religion. Bridging the divide between seeker and scholar, Schuon challenges the prevailing notion that religion should be studied with agnostic neutrality. He speaks to those who are looking for greater interfaith understanding and a deeper penetration to the esoteric heart of specific traditions, while turning the tables on an increasingly noisy chorus of skeptics.
In Splendor of the True, James S. Cutsinger selects essential writings that reflect the full range of Schuon’s thought on religion and tradition, metaphysics and epistemology, human nature and destiny, sacred art and symbolism, and spirituality and contemplative method. In addition to Schuon’s essays, the book includes a number of poems, artworks, and previously unpublished materials drawn from his letters, personal memoirs, and private texts for disciples. An introductory chapter provides a careful examination of Schuon as perennial philosopher, Sufi shaykh , and teacher of gnosis.
“Professor Cutsinger’s reader provides a comprehensive introduction to the teaching of Frithjof Schuon, one of the most wide-ranging and lastingly influential religious thinkers of the past century. Of particular interest is the close attention to essays revealing Schuon’s extraordinary sensitivity to aesthetic, devotional, and other key aspects of practical spiritual realization. His illuminating observations in these widely shared areas of religious experience are communicated with remarkable clarity and cogency, clearly drawing on his own lifelong activity as both artist and spiritual guide. — James Winston Morris, translator of Ostad Elahi’s Knowing the Spirit
“The vision of the universal metaphysician, shaykh, and poet Frithjof Schuon is finally accessible to the English-speaking reader in this outstanding collection of his writings. The foremost thinker of the perennialist school, Schuon insisted on the unity of God, arguing that this divine Absolute reveals itself perfectly in the orthodox form of each of the world’s great religions. His uncompromising rejection of relativism has made him a cult figure for some and a pariah for others, including many in the academic study of religion.
“ Splendor of the True offers a thoroughgoing rehabilitation of this primordial twentieth-century thinker by a courageous scholar, our generation’s leading Schuon expert. James Cutsinger draws on decades of communion with his subject’s many dimensions in order to reveal their essence. Carefully selected across a wide range of topics, insightfully translated from the French and German, and elegantly curated, Schuon’s writings now make their case with unprecedented clarity. Cutsinger is sensitive to Schuon’s ongoing role as lightning-rod; with judicious balance, he shows why this has been the case; why it may well be unfair; and how Schuon’s philosophy was born out of the gnosis of lifelong, deep spiritual practice, marrying heart and intellect. Cutsinger is able to interpret Frithjof Schuon to skeptics as well as to seekers—unafraid, like Schuon himself, to be provocative in the service of the True.” — Kimberley C. Patton, Harvard Divinity School
Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998), the leading figure in the perennialist school of comparative religious thought, remains one of the most provocative voices on religion. Bridging the divide between seeker and scholar, Schuon challenges the prevailing notion that religion should be studied with agnostic neutrality. He speaks to those who are looking for greater interfaith understanding and a deeper penetration to the esoteric heart of specific traditions, while turning the tables on an increasingly noisy chorus of skeptics.
In Splendor of the True, James S. Cutsinger selects essential writings that reflect the full range of Schuon’s thought on religion and tradition, metaphysics and epistemology, human nature and destiny, sacred art and symbolism, and spirituality and contemplative method. In addition to Schuon’s essays, the book includes a number of poems, artworks, and previously unpublished materials drawn from his letters, personal memoirs, and private texts for disciples. An introductory chapter provides a careful examination of Schuon as perennial philosopher, Sufi shaykh , and teacher of gnosis.
“Professor Cutsinger’s reader provides a comprehensive introduction to the teaching of Frithjof Schuon, one of the most wide-ranging and lastingly influential religious thinkers of the past century. Of particular interest is the close attention to essays revealing Schuon’s extraordinary sensitivity to aesthetic, devotional, and other key aspects of practical spiritual realization. His illuminating observations in these widely shared areas of religious experience are communicated with remarkable clarity and cogency, clearly drawing on his own lifelong activity as both artist and spiritual guide. — James Winston Morris, translator of Ostad Elahi’s Knowing the Spirit
“The vision of the universal metaphysician, shaykh, and poet Frithjof Schuon is finally accessible to the English-speaking reader in this outstanding collection of his writings. The foremost thinker of the perennialist school, Schuon insisted on the unity of God, arguing that this divine Absolute reveals itself perfectly in the orthodox form of each of the world’s great religions. His uncompromising rejection of relativism has made him a cult figure for some and a pariah for others, including many in the academic study of religion.
“ Splendor of the True offers a thoroughgoing rehabilitation of this primordial twentieth-century thinker by a courageous scholar, our generation’s leading Schuon expert. James Cutsinger draws on decades of communion with his subject’s many dimensions in order to reveal their essence. Carefully selected across a wide range of topics, insightfully translated from the French and German, and elegantly curated, Schuon’s writings now make their case with unprecedented clarity. Cutsinger is sensitive to Schuon’s ongoing role as lightning-rod; with judicious balance, he shows why this has been the case; why it may well be unfair; and how Schuon’s philosophy was born out of the gnosis of lifelong, deep spiritual practice, marrying heart and intellect. Cutsinger is able to interpret Frithjof Schuon to skeptics as well as to seekers—unafraid, like Schuon himself, to be provocative in the service of the True.” — Kimberley C. Patton, Harvard Divinity School
370 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2013
36 people want to read
About the author
Huston Smith
123 books315 followersSmith was born in Suzhou, China to Methodist missionaries and spent his first 17 years there. He taught at the Universities of Colorado and Denver from 1944–1947, moving to Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri for the next ten years, and then Professor of Philosophy at MIT from 1958–1973. While at MIT he participated in some of the experiments with entheogens that professor Timothy Leary conducted at Harvard University. He then moved to Syracuse University where he was Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Philosophy until his retirement in 1983 and current emeritus status. He now lives in the Berkeley, CA area where he is Visiting Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
During his career, Smith not only studied, but practiced Vedanta Hinduism, Zen Buddhism (studying under Goto Zuigan), and Sufism for over ten years each. He is a notable autodidact.
As a young man, Smith, of his own volition, after suddenly turning to mysticism, set out to meet with then-famous author Gerald Heard. Heard responded to Smith's letter, invited him to his Trabuco College (later donated as the Ramakrishna Monastery) in Southern California, and then sent him off to meet the legendary Aldous Huxley. So began Smith's experimentation with meditation, and association with the Vedanta Society in Saint Louis under the auspices of Swami Satprakashananda of the Ramakrishna order.
Via the connection with Heard and Huxley, Smith eventually experimented with Timothy Leary and others at the Center for Personality Research, of which Leary was Research Professor. The experience and history of the era are captured somewhat in Smith's book Cleansing the Doors of Perception. In this period, Smith joined in on the Harvard Project as well, an attempt to raise spiritual awareness through entheogenic plants.
He has been a friend of the XIVth Dalai Lama for more than forty years, and met and talked to some of the great figures of the century, from Eleanor Roosevelt to Thomas Merton.
He developed an interest in the Traditionalist School formulated by Rene Guenon and Ananda Coomaraswamy. This interest has become a continuing thread in all his writings.
In 1996, Bill Moyers devoted a 5-part PBS special to Smith's life and work, "The Wisdom of Faith with Huston Smith." Smith has produced three series for public television: "The Religions of Man," "The Search for America," and (with Arthur Compton) "Science and Human Responsibility." His films on Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Sufism have all won awards at international film festivals.
His latest DVD release is The Roots of Fundamentalism - A Conversation with Huston Smith and Phil Cousineau.
During his career, Smith not only studied, but practiced Vedanta Hinduism, Zen Buddhism (studying under Goto Zuigan), and Sufism for over ten years each. He is a notable autodidact.
As a young man, Smith, of his own volition, after suddenly turning to mysticism, set out to meet with then-famous author Gerald Heard. Heard responded to Smith's letter, invited him to his Trabuco College (later donated as the Ramakrishna Monastery) in Southern California, and then sent him off to meet the legendary Aldous Huxley. So began Smith's experimentation with meditation, and association with the Vedanta Society in Saint Louis under the auspices of Swami Satprakashananda of the Ramakrishna order.
Via the connection with Heard and Huxley, Smith eventually experimented with Timothy Leary and others at the Center for Personality Research, of which Leary was Research Professor. The experience and history of the era are captured somewhat in Smith's book Cleansing the Doors of Perception. In this period, Smith joined in on the Harvard Project as well, an attempt to raise spiritual awareness through entheogenic plants.
He has been a friend of the XIVth Dalai Lama for more than forty years, and met and talked to some of the great figures of the century, from Eleanor Roosevelt to Thomas Merton.
He developed an interest in the Traditionalist School formulated by Rene Guenon and Ananda Coomaraswamy. This interest has become a continuing thread in all his writings.
In 1996, Bill Moyers devoted a 5-part PBS special to Smith's life and work, "The Wisdom of Faith with Huston Smith." Smith has produced three series for public television: "The Religions of Man," "The Search for America," and (with Arthur Compton) "Science and Human Responsibility." His films on Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Sufism have all won awards at international film festivals.
His latest DVD release is The Roots of Fundamentalism - A Conversation with Huston Smith and Phil Cousineau.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 8, 2025
Quintessential reading for anyone interested in the Traditionalist school of Perrenialist thought. The selection is broad and highly informed, and continues to be useful for a wide variety of purposes.
December 9, 2013
His poetry is liquid grace ♥
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews