A Parliament of Souls: In Search of Global Spirituality

by Bettina Gray (Editor), Jane Morrison, Bettina Gray

A collection of one-on-one interviews with international religious and spiritual figures includes the perspectives of such individuals as Hans Kung, Azizah al-Hibri, Susannah Heschel, and the Dalai Lama. Original. TV tie-in. IP.

289 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

Reviews

[Kate]

This book is based interviews from some of the leaders who participated in the 1993 "Parliament of the World's Religions" in Chicago. I was there, so I experienced the this book in a different way than most people. The main takeaway from the Parliament was all of the dissension and in-fighting that took place. We have SO much work to do in interfaith dialog. There is a fair amount of bloviation in this book. It does not address in any meaningful way the ways in which the Parliament looked more like the Tom Lehrer song, "National Brotherhood Week," with the various religions with scores to settle fighting with one another. In reality, the actual parliament was a jarring experience in the distance we need to travel to be truly able to celebrate religious diversity. So, this book felt a tad dishonest to me, which is why so few stars.

[Gospodyina]

Not for me; I'd rather just listen to whatever Krista Tippett is doing on NPR.

The one thing I connected with was from Lao Tzu: "I have three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. Simple in actions and in thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world."

Pretty much the only reason I'm even logging this book is to have a place to write that down.