Huston Smith: Essays in World Religion - Hardcover

Smith, Huston

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1557784477 ISBN 13: 9781557784476

Publisher: Paragon House, 1998

Synopsis

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 Smith's 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 worldÆs 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.

About this title

About the Author:

M. Darroll Bryant, is professor of Religion and Culture at Renison College and Chairman of the Department of ReligiousStudies at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.

From Publishers Weekly:

Marked by clarity, rare philosophical depth and a truly global perspective, these 19 essays in comparative religion are filled with challenging ideas and bold speculations. Smith ( The Religions of Man ) argues that each of the world's three great civilizations has overspecialized--the West in natural wisdom, China in social ethics, India in religious psychology--with disastrous consequences for each culture. He looks to Taoism for guidance in solving the ecological crisis, faults postmodernism for its blindness to transcendent experience, and interprets Western philosophy as a great religious enterprise fueled by a thrust toward transcendence. On a more mundane level, Smith discusses spiritual discipline in Zen, analyzes Tibetan lamas' chants and offers insights on Japanese Shintoism, the Christian ecumenical movement, ancient Vedic priests' imbibing of soma (possibly a psychedelic mushroom, he concludes) and how to teach religion. These highly accessible essays previously appeared in scholarly journals or books.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Paragon House
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 1557784477
• ISBN 13: 9781557784476
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 290
• Editor: Bryant M. Darroll