Lanza del Vasto

Lanza del Vasto

Lanza del Vasto Born Giuseppe Giovanni Luigi Enrico Lanza di Trabia 29 September 1901 San Vito dei Normanni, Italy January 5, 1981 Elche de la Sierra, Spain

Died

Occupation Philosopher, poet, artist, and nonviolent activist.

Lanza del Vasto (born Giuseppe Giovanni Luigi Enrico Lanza di Trabia) (September 29, 1901 January 5, 1981) was a philosopher, poet, artist, catholic and nonviolent activist. He was born in San Vito dei Normanni, Italy and died in Elche de la Sierra, Spain. A western disciple of Mohandas K. Gandhi, he worked for inter-religious dialogue, spiritual renewal, ecological activism and nonviolence.

Meeting Gandhi
In December 1936, Lanza went to India, joining the movement for Indian independence led by Gandhi. He knew of Gandhi through a book by Romain Rolland. He spent six months with the Mahatma, then in June 1937, went to the source of the Ganges river in the Himalayas, a famous pilgrimage site. There he saw a vision who told him "Go back and found!" He left then India and went back to Europe. In 1938, he went to Palestine, then in the midst of civil war, to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, "between two lines of tanks". He came back to Paris at the time when the Second World War started. He wrote some poetry books and in 1943 he published the story of his trip to India, Return to the Source, which became a huge success.

Foundation of the Ark

He founded the Community of the Ark in 1948 which first met a lot of difficulties. In 1954, he went back to India to participate in nonviolent anti-feudal struggles with Vinoba Bhave. In 1962 the Community of the Ark settled in Haut-Languedoc, in the south of France, at the Borie Noble, near Lodve, in a deserted village. After numbering over a hundred members in the 1970s and 1980s, some communities were closed in the 1990s due to conflicts, ageing population (under thirty members) and a lack of interest in its work and lifestyle. Since 2000, groups are present in few regions of France, in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Equator and Canada.[1]

Lanza del Vasto

Nonviolent struggles
In 1957, during the Algerian War, del Vasto started with other known people (General de Bollardire, Franois Mauriac, Robert Barrat, etc.) a movement of protest against torture. He fasted for 21 days. In 1958, he demonstrated against the nuclear power plant in Marcoule, France, which produced plutonium for nuclear weapons. In 1963, he fasted for 40 days in Rome during the Second Vatican Council, asking Pope John XXIII to stand against war - "Pour demander au Pape de prendre position contre la guerre." In 1965 he was at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina, talking about no-violence during weeks with the students. In 1972, he supported the farmers of the Larzac plateau against the extension of a military base while fasting for 15 days. In 1974 a community of the Ark settled in the Larzac in a farmhouse bought by the army. In 1976, he participated to the demonstrations against the building of the fast breeder reactor Superphnix at Creys-Malville, Isre (France).

Bibliography
Ballades aux Dames du temps prsent, Paris, 1923. Conquiste du Vento, Florence, 1927. Fantasia Notturna, thtre, Florence, 1927. Judas, rcit biblique, Grasset, 1938, Gallimard, 1992. Le Chiffre des Choses, posies, Robert Laffont, 1942. Le Plerinage aux Sources, Denol, 1943, Gallimard, 1989, Le Rocher, 1993. Dialogue de l'Amiti, avec Luc Dietrich (Laffont, 1942, 1993). Choix, posies, Le Seuil, 1944. 'La Marche des Rois, thtre, R. Laffont, 1944. Principes et prceptes du retour l'vidence, Denol, 1945, Le Rocher, 1996 sous le titre Eloge de la vie simple. La Baronne de Carins, bilingue, pome pique traduit du vieux sicilien, Le Seuil, 1946. La Passion, thtre, Grasset, 1951. Commentaire de l'Evangile, Denol, 1951, Le Rocher, 1994. Histoire d'une amiti, dans L'Injuste Grandeur de Luc Dietrich, Denol, 1951, Le Rocher, 1993. Vinoba, ou le nouveau plerinage, Denol, 1954, Gallimard, 1982. Prfaces aux huit ouvrages de la collection Pense gandhienne, Denol, 1985-1965. Les Quatre Flaux, philosophie, Denol, 1959, Le Rocher, 1993. Pacification en Algrie, ou mensonge et violence, dition clandestine, 1960, L'Harmattan, 1988. Approches de la Vie Intrieure, Denol, 1962, Le Rocher, 1992. No, thtre, Denol, 1965. La Monte des mes vivantes, Denol, 1968. L'Homme libre et les nes sauvages, Denol, 1969 et 1987.
Left to right, Jean-Marie Muller, Lanza del Vasto, Jacques de la Bollardire on the Larzac during the struggle against the military camp extension.

La Trinit spirituelle, philosophie, Denol, 1971, Le Rocher, 1994. Technique de la non-violence, Denol, 1971, Gallimard, 1988. L'Arche avait pour voilure une vigne, Denol, 1978, 1982.

Lanza del Vasto Les etymologies imaginaires: Verite, vie et vertu des mots [2], Denol, 1985. (ISBN 2207230090) David Berger, thtre, Lion de Judas, 1988. Pour viter la fin du monde, Le Rocher, 1991. Le Viatique, 2 tomes, Le Rocher, 1991. Les Quatre Pilliers de la paix, Le Rocher, 1992. Le Grand Retour [3], Le Rocher, 1993. (ISBN 2268015343) Pages d'enseignement [4], Le Rocher, 1993. (ISBN 2268016072)

Books in English
Return to the Source, Schocken, New York, 1972. Includes an account of Shantidass stay with Gandhi. (ISBN 0805234411) Make Straight the Way of the Lord: An Anthology of the Philosophical Writings of Lanza del Vasto, Knopf, New York, 1974. (ISBN 0394493877) Warriors of Peace: Writings on the Technique of Nonviolence, Knopf, New York, 1974. (ISBN 0394709330) Gandhi to Vinoba: The New Pilgrimage, Shocken, New York, 1974. (ISBN 080523554X) (Reprint from Rider, London, 1956) (translated by Philip Leon from Vinoba, ou le nouveau plerinage, Denol, 1954)

Essays on Lanza del Vasto

Qui est Lanza del Vasto, par Jacques Madaule, Lanza del Vasto, par Arnaud de Mareuil (Seghers, 1965) Dialogues avec Lanza del Vasto, par Ren Doumerc (Albin Michel) Les Facettes de Cristal, entretiens avec Claude-Henri Roquet (Le Centurion) Lanza del Vasto, sa vie, son uvre, son message, par Arnaud de Mareuil (Dangles)

References
[1] [2] [3] [4] Rgions (http:/ / www. arche-nonviolence. eu/ regions. html) Community of Ark website. http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 2207230090 http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 2268015343 http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 2268016072

External links
uvres de Lanza del Vasto (French) Friends of Lanza del Vasto (http://www.lanzadelvasto.fr/)

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Lanza del Vasto Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=556672710 Contributors: Airunp, Angela, Antandrus, CLW, Carl Logan, CommonsDelinker, D6, Docu, Frheinheimer, Garcilaso, Gene Nygaard, Good Olfactory, Jerry, Johnfos, Koavf, Krakowpoland, Mountdrayton, Nilmerg, Olivier, Olympe 404, Omnipaedista, Pjoef, Prof75, Rama, Randy Kryn, Rosarinagazo, Shahab, Shardan, Shenme, Stone XXI, StuHarris, SummerWithMorons, URBIS, Uriber, Woolalan, Wouterhagens, Yann, Yone Fernandes, 23 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Lanza.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lanza.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 Contributors: Community of the Ark of Lanza del Vasto. Image:Lanza muller bolardiere.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lanza_muller_bolardiere.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 Contributors: Community of the Ark of Lanza del Vasto.

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