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Bezig met laden... And Live Rejoicing: Chapters from a Charmed Life — Personal Encounters with Spiritual Mavericks, Remarkable Seekers, and the World's Great Religious Leadersdoor Huston Smith
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Spiritual trailblazer Huston Smith has written comprehensive books about religion and a memoir of his own life, but nowhere has he merged the two elements of seeking and experience with such storytelling flair as he has in these pages. Few have done as much as Smith to explore and illuminate the world's religions and spiritual traditions, and none have done it with such accessibility, wonder, and delight. In this joyous volume, he looks back on his extraordinary life, describing riveting scenes with unforgettable characters in India, Africa, Tibet, and Japan. Smith's charm and exuberance come through on every page. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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 Google Books — Bezig met laden...GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)200.92Religions Religion Religion History, geographic treatment, biography BiographyLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde: (4)
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Extended review:
This compilation of anecdotes, many of them touching on luminous figures such as Aldous Huxley, Pete Seeger, and the Dalai Lama, reflects a long life lived with joy in abundance.
Almost too giddy for me, Huston Smith nonetheless sounds sincere in relating with gushing exuberance a number of episodes and vignettes from his very full life as a student and teacher of comparative religion and worldwide spiritual practice. With no taint of false modesty, he tells us of the countless ways in which he has enjoyed exceptional privileges, received special treatment, and basked in extraordinary recognition from a significant array of distinguished persons and personages. In fact, I don't think I've run across another personality who was so genuinely and unabashedly delighted to be himself. He doesn't even blush to tell us about a song that he thinks of "when I suspect that I am becoming infatuated with myself" (page 85).
This book reads like outtakes from his memoir Tales of Wonder (reviewed here, together with some background). They seem to be miscellaneous recollections of standout memories, some very personal--ecstatic reunions with his wife after separations, sometimes of only a day; cute sayings of his grandchildren--and some of brushing sleeves with the world's great and near great of the past seven or eight decades.
Because Smith seems so ingenuous about his delight in displays of mutual admiration, it's hard to begrudge him all the name-dropping and self-congratulation. Rather, I think I would do myself the greatest service by putting aside my native cynicism for a minute and taking a lesson or two. Here is a man who has actively sought opportunities to expand the scope of his life, has made the most of every opportunity that has come to him, and has learned to embrace all experiences, even life's tragedies, with gratitude and an appetite for enlightenment. Now 95, he does not even express a longing for his own youth and physical robustness but revels in the joy of the moment. Reveling, it seems, is something for which he has a boundless talent.
It makes me think I should try to revel a little more. (