Patrick Laude is Professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. He is the author of several books, including Pathways to an Inner Islam: Massignon, Corbin, Guénon, and Schuon and (with Jean-Baptiste Aymard) Frithjof Schuon: Life and Teachings, both published by SUNY Press.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Shimmering Reality: Contemplative and Mystical Concepts of Relativity2. Christian and Buddhist Insights into a Metaphysics of Salvation3. On the Good beyond Good and Evil4. On Hindu Bhedābheda and Sufi Barzakh 5. Knowing the Unknowable: Upāya and Gods of Belief6. Transmutation, the Sacred Word, and the FeminineEpilogueNotesBibliographyIndex

"This book is a pioneering exposition on comparative metaphysics, demonstrating exceptional breadth and depth. While certainly not intended for the casual reader, it will no doubt reward serious seekers who hunger for a more profound perspective on religion and its inner dimensions." — Sacred Web"I have rarely read a work that is so lucid in explaining complex philosophical theories across multiple traditions, so articulate in constructing concise ideas, and so strategic in assembling a framework for analysis. This is a unique and special work of comparative metaphysics rarely found in contemporary works on philosophies of religion." — Lee Irwin, author of Alchemy of Soul: The Art of Spiritual Transformation