Synopses & Reviews
and#147;I read Huston Smithand#8217;s
The Worldand#8217;s Religions as a teenager. It was the most influential event in my life. He has shaped my thinking, my lifelong quest, and guided me to where I am today.
The Huston Smith Reader will enlighten you, delight you, and expand your awareness. I intend to carry this book with me wherever I go.and#8221;and#151;Deepak Chopra, author of
War of the Worldviewsand#147;Huston Smith approaches religion with the wisdom of a philosopher and the wonder of a child. He looks for similarities that unite, not differences that divide. He comes armed with knowledge and blessed with understanding."and#151;Don Lattin, author of The Harvard Psychedelic Club
"This remarkable book by the beloved scholar-practitioner Huston Smith has the depth and breadth of no other. It is wise and full of insight, at times funny, at times poignant. Manifesting both lived and living wisdom, the book's power, beauty, and courage will take the reader into the heart of the world's religions."and#151;Joan Halifax, Founding Abbot, Upaya Zen Center
and#147;No one in our time, neither Martin Buber nor Elie Wiesel, neither Karen Armstrong nor Simone Weil, has made a greater contribution to our understanding of religion and spirituality than Huston Smith. We are privileged to live in his era, not only for his books and films, but for his emphasis on gleaning the wisdom from ancient traditions, and the example he has afforded the rest of us in practicing what he preaches, thus illuminating for us what it means to have a lived-in philosophy of the religious life. In turn, this book affords us the widest and most penetrating range of insights yet published into the mind and heart of this great teacher.and#8221;and#151;Phil Cousineau, editor of The Way Things Are: Huston Smith on the Spiritual Life and author of The Art of Pilgrimage
"Huston Smith's words serve me well in traversing my spiritual path."and#151;Ram Dass, author of Be Here Now
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and#8220;The most excitingly eye-opening . . . serious reading on religion many will feel they have ever encountered.and#8221;
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and#8220;A lively and informative compilation of Smithand#8217;s scholarly writing, interviews, and memoirs.and#8221;
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"A terrific sampling of Huston Smith's work over many years."--Read the Spirit
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"A great summing up of Smith's work over the last half-century."--Los Angeles Times Book Review
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and#8220;A wonderful selection of world religion expert Huston Smith's writings over a 60-year period.and#8221;
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and#8220;A great summing up of Smith's work over the last half-century.and#8221;
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“A lively and informative compilation of Smiths scholarly writing, interviews, and memoirs.” Louis Sahagun - Los Angeles Times Book Review
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“A terrific sampling of Huston Smiths work over many years.” Kristine Morris - Foreword
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“A wonderful selection of world religion expert Huston Smith's writings over a 60-year period.” David Crumm - Read The Spirit
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and#8220;A terrific sampling of Huston Smithand#8217;s work over many years.and#8221;
Synopsis
For more than sixty years, Huston Smith has not only written and taught about the worldand#8217;s religions, he has lived them. This Reader presents a rich selection of Smithand#8217;s writings, covering six decades of inquiry and exploration, and ranging from scholarship to memoir. Over his long academic career, Smithand#8217;s tireless enthusiasm for religious ideas has offered readers both in and outside the academy a fresh understanding of what religion is and what makes it meaningful. The Huston Smith Reader offers a comprehensive guide to understanding religion and spirituality as well as a memorable record of Huston Smithand#8217;s lifelong endeavor to enrich the inner lives of his fellow humans.
About the Author
Huston Smith is regarded as one of the most prominent authorities on religions of the world. His classic text, The Worldand#8217;s Religions, has seen multiple editions and has sold in excess of three million copies. He has been the subject of a Bill Moyersand#8217; PBS series called and#147;The Wisdom of Faithand#8221; and is the author of numerous books, including Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief, The Way Things Are: Conversations with Huston Smith on the Spiritual Life, and The Soul of Christianity: Restoring the Great Tradition. Jeffery Paine is the author of Father India, Re-enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes to the West, and Adventures with the Buddha.
Table of Contents
Preview: The Book Now in Your Hands
Introduction: Grand Tour of All the World
Welcome to the Reader
Huston Smith
Book One: A Personal Starting Point
1. No Wasted Journey
2. The Way Things Are
Book Two: The Sacred Dimension of Everyday Life
3. Two Kinds of Teaching
4. The Sacred Dimension of Everyday Life
5. Light
6. The Revolution in Western Thought
7. Empirical Metaphysics
Book Three: I Never Met a Religion I Didnand#8217;t Like
8. My Three Other Religions
9. Explaining Fundamentalism
10. What They Have That We Lack: On Native American Religion
11. Three Ways of Relating to the World. Three Geographies. Three Religious Traditions
12. Shinto: A Japanese Sense of the Sacred
13. The Spiritual Heritage of India
14. The Importance of the Buddha
15. Tibetan Chanting
16. The Relevance of the Great Religions for the Modern World
Book Four: The Big Picture
17. Educating the Intellect: On Opening the Eye of the Heart
18. Do Drugs Have Religious Import?
19. The Levels of Reality
20. The Levels of Selfhood
21. Western Philosophy as a Great Religion
Book Five: Return to the Personal
22. Encountering God
23. Reflections upon Turning Ninety
Conclusion: The Sacred Unconscious
Afterword: The Man Who Took Religion Seriously: Huston Smith in Context
Dana Sawyer
Works by Huston Smith
Credits