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Huston Smith, the author of the classic bestseller The World's Religions, delivers a passionate, timely message: The human spirit is being suffocated by the dominant materialistic worldview of our times. Smith champions a society in which religion is once again treasured and authentically practiced as the vital source of human wisdom.
This book has seven basic chapters: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. These he calls the "Major Historical Religions." They all have sacred texts. This book was intended to be a brief survey without an in-depth analysis. A new section was added to The World's Religions. It is entitled "The Primal Religions." It describes a broad sweep of religions such as those practiced by the Australian Aborigines, by the Native American Indians of North and South America and the religions of the interior of Africa. Huston Smith's masterpiece explores the essential elements and teachings of the world's predominant faiths, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the native traditions of Australia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Emphasizing the inner--rather than the institutional--dimension of these religions, Smith devotes special attention to Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, Sufism, and the teachings of Jesus. He convincingly conveys the unique appeal and gifts of each of the traditions and reveals their hold on the human heart and imagination.
For more than sixty years, Huston Smith has not only written and taught about the world’s religions, he has lived them. This Reader presents a rich selection of Smith’s writings, covering six decades of inquiry and exploration, and ranging from scholarship to memoir. Over his long academic career, Smith’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 Smith’s lifelong endeavor to enrich the inner lives of his fellow humans.
This classic companion to The World's Religions articulates the remarkable unity that underlies the world's religious traditions
Huston Smith is recognized and revered as the preeminent teacher of world religions while being a prolific author and scholar. His bestselling The World's Religions, sold more than two million copies and is still the most popular introduction to comparative religion. Huston Smith followed a lifelong spiritual quest that led him around the world many times. He studied the world's religions and mystical traditions directly with Aldous Huxley, D. T. Suzuki, J. Krishnamurti, Alan Watts, Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr, the Dalai Lama, Joseph Campbell, Ram Dass, and a host of others. Huston, as a renowned philosopher of religion, taught at WashingtonUniversity, M.I.T., SyracuseUniversity, and the University of California-Berkeley, and during his career helped shape the contemporary face of comparative religion, interfaith dialogue, and religious tolerance. As a seeker, he became a citizen of the world, plunging into its various spiritual traditions. His many insights and adventures fill this compelling and edifying book, the authorized biography of a 21st-century spiritual giant.
"A Seat At The Table is a valuable and insightful book about a too long overlooked topic - the right of Native American people to have their sacred sites and practices honored and protected. Let's hope it gets read far and wide, enough to bring about a real shift in policy and consciousness.”—Bonnie Raitt "Phil Cousineau has created a fine companion book to accompany the important film he and Gary Rhine have made in defense of the religious traditions of Native Americans. [Native Americans] are recognized the world over as keepers of a vital piece of the Creator's original orders, and yet they are regarded as little more than squatters at home. This book features impressive interviews, beautiful illustrations, and gives a voice to the voiceless.”—Peter Coyote
"Where can we find what is ultimately meaningful? How can we discover what is truly worth knowing?" In one form or another Huston Smith has been posing these questions to himself—and the world—all his life. In the course of seeking answers, he has become one of the most interesting, enlightening, and celebrated voices on the subject of religion and spirituality throughout the world. The twenty-three interviews and essays in this volume, edited by cultural historian and filmmaker Phil Cousineau, offer a uniquely personal perspective on Smith's own personal journey, as well as wide-ranging reflection on the nature and importance of the religious quest. In The Way Things Are, readers will f...
A challenging and provocative collection of essays on comparative philosophy, religion and culture from one of the foremost thinkers of our time, this volume gathers Huston Smiths most insightful and important reflections on the state of the human spiritual life. With a range and depth seldom seen in contemporary religious studies, Smith examines the contributions of religion and philosophy to the worlds great civilizations, both past and present. He explores the traditions of East Asia, South Asia, and the West, discusses the importance of comparative studies in a religiously pluralistic world in energetic prose that can be appreciated by both the layman and the student.
Huston Smith, the man who brought the world's religions to the West, was born almost a century ago to missionary parents in China during the perilous rise of the Communist Party. Smith's lifelong spiritual journey brought him face-to-face with many of the people who shaped the twentieth century. His extraordinary travels around the globe have taken him to the world's holiest places, where he has practiced religion with many of the great spiritual leaders of our time. Smith's life is a story of uncanny synchronicity. He was there for pivotal moments in human history such as the founding of the United Nations and the student uprising at Tiananmen Square. As he traveled the world he encountered...
This book takes a serious look at the use of psychedelic drugs as a means to achieve mystical union with the divine.