Showing results by author "Nicolas Soames" in All Categories

The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most important Mahāyāna texts and the most widely read, chanted and revered, particularly in Asian Buddhist countries, notably China and Japan. It is certainly a remarkable document, replete with the Mahāyāna characteristics of fantastical images, extraordinary appearances, magical happenings, views of time and space which are galactic in size; and pronouncements which are definite, unequivocal, practical in some areas and dependent upon a faith commitment in others.

Here are the stories of nine people whose energy, imagination, courage, and determination changed the world.

Jason and the Golden Fleece is one of the finest tales of Ancient Greece, an epic journey of adventure and trial standing beside similar stories of Perseus, Theseus and the Labours of Heracles. The finest classic account comes from Apollonius of Rhodes, the Greek poet of the 3rd century BCE and librarian at Alexandria. Though less well-known than Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and much shorter, it is an epic poem which is both exciting and moving, with remarkably vivid portraits of the main characters, Jason and Medea.

This is a story from the Famous People in History II collection.

The Essential Englishman is a fascinating portrait that seeks to define at least some of the Englishman's attitudes, to celebrate his successes, admire his strengths, to glance with understanding at his weaknesses and also to reflect the way that others see him. The archetypal Englishman, it seems, adores animals yet has a passion for fox hunting; he has founded empires but has an inherent mistrust for anything foreign; he is suspicious of government yet trusts his (unwritten) Constitution implicitly.

This is a story from the Famous People in History II collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History II collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History II collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History II collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History II collection.

This is a story from the Famous People in History II collection.