Toward Awakening represents the sole literary endeavor of Jean Vaysse, a French disciple of G.I. Gurdjieff. He was engaging with groups in Paris and subsequently contributing to their leadership throughout the 1960s, Jean Vaysse perceived an imperative to articulate Gurdjieff’s written doctrine with heightened coherence and logical precision. His objective was to render it accessible to the averagely educated reader. The culmination of this endeavor is encapsulated in this volume.

Jean Vaysse’s biographical details are scant; however, he was born in Le Mans in 1917 and passed away in 1975. Within his mundane existence, Jean Vaysse partook in several pioneering advancements in modern surgery during the 1950s and 1960s. Noteworthy contributions include renal transplants, cardiopulmonary bypass procedures, and surgical interventions for arterial hypertension.

Download Jean Vaysse’s work on Gurdjieff’s teachings here (168 pages/1 MB):

Toward Awakening by Jean Vaysse

An introduction to the teachings of Gurdjieff

“Toward Awakening” by Jean Vaysse serves as an introductory exposition of the doctrinal corpus of G.I. Gurdjieff, an eminent spiritual pedagogue who promulgated a distinctive system of personal evolution termed the Fourth Way. Jean Vaysse, an acolyte of Gurdjieff, endeavors to navigate readers through the intricate path towards spiritual enlightenment and self-actualization.

The treatise meticulously explores the pragmatic dimensions of the Fourth Way, underscoring the imperative for rigorous self-scrutiny and internal labor. It elucidates the significance of cultivating an acute awareness of one’s own automatized comportments and underscores the exigency of fostering an equanimous integration of the intellectual, affective, and corporeal faculties. Vaysse explicates pivotal Gurdjieffian tenets such as self-remembering, the multiplicity of ‘I’s, and the enneagram—a symbolic schema employed to elucidate the dynamics of human psychological processes and transmutation.

In summation, “Toward Awakening” functions as an exhaustive manual for those endeavoring to attain a profound comprehension of Gurdjieff’s philosophical teachings and the actionable measures requisite for embarking upon an odyssey of substantive inner metamorphosis and spiritual refinement.