Ursi's Eso Garden

This five-volume set (and an included, separately bound index) offers accessible information on a broad scope of topics.

Two volumes are devoted to biographies, two contain an almanac, and one volume contains primary sources. The cumulative index for the set is contained within a paperbound pamphlet. The almanac consists of chapters summarizing the history, traditions, and world views of 16 religions both ancient and modern as well as an introductory essay on what religion is, and a chapter on agnoticism and atheism. Each of these volumes is indexed and a glossary is provided. Books, periodicals, and web sites are identified as sources of further information; there is no cross-referencing.

Biographies of 50 men and women are contained in two volumes, ranging from figures in ancient Egypt (Akhenaten) to current figures (Thich Nhat Hahn, Desmond Tutu). The volume on primary sources contains 18 excerpts from a broad variety of sacred texts, each of them accompanied by thorough explanatory material, including an introduction, study questions, additional facts, and definitions of terms in the text's margin. The texts are grouped according to theme, whether creation stories, characteristics of the divine, or religion as a guide to living.

Details see after the jump.

World Religions Reference Library - All 5 Volumes + Index
U·X·L Thomson Gale 2007 edition | PDF | 98.5 MB | 1002 Pages

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The Full Reference Library is also available for download in separate parts:
World Religions RL. Vol. 1. Almanac (22 MB)
World Religions RL. Vol. 2. Almanac (22 MB)
World Religions RL. Vol. 3. Biographies (22 MB)
World Religions RL. Vol. 4. Biographies (18 MB)
World Religions RL. Vol. 5. Primary Sources (13 MB)
World Religions RL. Vol. 6. Cumulative Index (1 MB)




Contents: Almanac - VOLUME 1

Chapter 1: What is Religion?
Chapter 2: Agnosticism and Atheism
Chapter 3: Ancient Religions of Egypt and Mesopotamia
Chapter 4: Baha´

Chapter 5: Buddhism
Chapter 6: Christianity
Chapter 7: Confucianism
Chapter 8: Daoism
Chapter 9: Greco-Roman Religion and Philosophy

Almanac - VOLUME 2

Chapter 10: Hinduism
Chapter 11: Indigenous Religions
Chapter 12: Islam
Chapter 13: Jainism
Chapter 14: Judaism
Chapter 15: Neo-Paganism
Chapter 16: Shinto
Chapter 17: Sikhism
Chapter 18: Zoroastrianism

Biographies - VOLUME 1

Abraham
Akhenaten
Ali ibn Abi Talib
Anaxagoras
Aristotle
Baha´ulla´h
Black Elk
The Buddha
Caitanya Mahaprabhu
John Calvin
Confucius
Dalai Lama
Dayananda Sarasvati
Anagarika Dharmapala
Dipa Ma
Enheduanna
Mahatma Gandhi
Gerald Brousseau Gardner
Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali
Gobind Singh
Ibn Khaldun
Israel ben Eliezer
Jalal ad-Din arRumi
Jesus Christ
Khadijah

Biographies - VOLUME 2

Laozi
Nechama Leibowitz
Ignatius of Loyola
Martin Luther
Madhva
Mahavira
Moses Maimonides
Karl Marx
Moses Mendelssohn
Moses
Muhammad
Nichiren
Saint Paul
Plato
Rabiah al-Adawiyah
Ramanuja
Mother Maria Skobtsova
Malidoma Patrice Some´
Mother Teresa
Thich Nhat Hanh
Desmond Mpilo Tutu
Usuman Dan Fodio
Swami Vivekananda
Isaac Mayer Wise
Zarathushtra

Primary Sources

Chapter 1: Creation Stories and Foundation Myths 1

Excerpt from the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)
Excerpt from Tales from the Kojiki
Excerpt from the Quran
Excerpt from Black Elk Speaks
Excerpt from Collected Essays, vol. 5: Science and Christian Tradition

Chapter 2: Characteristics of the Divine

Excerpt from The Epic of Gilgamesh
Excerpt from The Odyssey
Excerpt from Shri Guru Granth Sahib
Excerpt from Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
Excerpt from ‘‘Paper on Hinduism’’

Chapter 3: Religion as a Guide to Living

Excerpt from The Analects of Confucius
Excerpt from Gaina Sutras
Excerpt from Dao De Jing
Excerpt from The Dhammapada
Excerpt from The Hidden Words of Baha´ulla´h
Excerpt from Avesta, as reproduced in The Divine Songs of Zarathushtra
Excerpt from ‘‘The Philosophy of Atheism’’
Excerpt from the Bible