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All the figures profiled in Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages have one experience in common: they achieved enlightenment, the elusive promise of "profound peace, extreme happiness, and a deep understanding of the truth," as editors Robert Ullman and Judith Reichenberg-Ullman...(more) describe it. In gathering the autobiographical stories, essays, and poems written by these various seekers, the editors explore diverse pathways to transcendence. Some, such as the Buddha, suffered. Others found the right guide, such as the Sufi poet Rumi, who met his beloved teacher in a bustling Turkish marketplace. Some went to the brink of suicide, such as the Canadian Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now. The editors offer a brief biographical sketch before each essay, giving readers context for digesting these inspiring experience, which span thousands of years and many regions of the world. The editors claim to be nondenominational, but there are significantly more contributions from Eastern traditions than any other. -- Gail Hudson(less)