Many books on Buddhism will edify you, but will they entertain you? Here, finally, is a book that yields an understanding of Buddhism; not by its metaphysics or rituals but through real characters and true stories as dramatic as those in the most imaginative novel. Jeffery Paine has assembled the breathtaking adventures of nine Westerners who traveled in China, Tibet, and Japan, in Nepal and India, and in that new Buddhist frontier, America, chanced across Buddhism, and made it an integral part of their lives. Through vivid travel writing and gripping human tales, the reader is exposed not just to the theory of Buddhist philosophy and practice but also to what it looks like from the inside. From enchanting, now-lost kingdoms in Asia to the American workplace where a practitioner is profitably applying the dharma, "Adventures with the Buddha" is a tour de force across nations, generations, and, ultimately, spirituality.

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.