Wisdom Hunter recently caught up with Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions. He shared his insights on the origin of our spiritual beliefs, and revealed how he incorporates "body, mind and spirit" into his everyday routine.

ABOUT RELIGION
WH: How do religions differ from spirituality in your mind?

HS: They’re on the same track. Religion is organized spirituality. It’s very simple.

WH: In your book The Forgotten Truth, you say that the contemporary mind is science-ridden. What do you mean by that?

HS: History was sliced in two in the 16th and 17th century by the discovery of what we call the scientific method -- laboratory experiments to prove or disprove false hypotheses, and to validate correct ones. That discovery ushered in the modern age. The benefits were very quick in arriving, and there were three in number. One, material goods could be mass-produced and manufactured; two, drudgery could be reduced with things such as washing machines and microwaves; three, life expectancy could be extended.

Now those are pretty good "goods". We went for them hook, line and sinker. The problem is that they're all material benefits; they have to do with the material world. But in traditional society, their perspective is all religious. They think that there is this world for sure, but that there is another world that surpasses it. I was born in China; my parents were Methodist missionaries. Confucius said it very clearly: "Heaven and earth; only heaven is great."

All traditional societies are, you might say, two-storied: there’s the ground story of the material world and there’s the upper story of the spiritual world. The entire world of science is an extrapolation of our physical senses, primarily sight. And all the way from the very small quantum mechanics, all the way up to relativity theory, it's all an extrapolation of what our physical senses can disclose.

Though our physical senses are very important, they're not the only sense that we have. Nobody has ever seen a thought. Nobody has ever seen feelings. Yet the world of our thoughts and feelings is the most immediate world that we live in. So by my phrase science-ridden, science is good, but we are on a galloping steed of science that dominates our society. That's not good. Science itself is good. Without science we couldn't be having this conversation, I couldn't have a cochlear implant; without PST monitoring I would have been gone by prostate cancer 30 years ago. Science is great, but society is being dominated by science and that’s bad.

WH: The other interesting thing I heard you say is that all seven major religions were revealed by the same source.

HS: Yes, the same god.

WH: At approximately the same time?

HS: Buddhism comes in 2,500 BC, then Christianity, then Islam in the 14th century -- at different times but by the same god, speaking in different idioms --that is to say the language of the civilizations to which these religions and revelations came. Actually the revelations generated the civilizations. Few people realize that.

WH: Why did god deliver religion so many different times and in so many different ways?

HS: That gets us into the history of civilization. I don’t know.

WH: For each major religion, it’s the same god but manifested in different ways?

HS: The same and different. I like the adage of the old Irish tailor who described trousers as, "Singular at the top and plural at the bottom." That’s exactly right for religions. Singular, speaking with one voice at the top: we are all created by god and ethically they all say in gratitude for that fact, it would be good if we bore each other’s burden. However, I don’t need to tell you that they are not carbon copies of each other. Christianity is trinitarian; Islam and Judaism are severely monotheistic. In the realm of ethics: Christians are permitted to drink wine; Muslims are not.

WH: Is there a contemporary religion that has been revealed by god? How do you look at the new age movement?

HS: I don’t want to badmouth it entirely. It’s upbeat, optimistic and we can use a little of that right now. But its roots are very shallow.

ABOUT HIS WRITING
WH: How would you describe the common theme that runs through your books?

HS: We are made in the image of god. And that is the best thing within us. It’s the fundamental. It’s our soul, the divine spark within us. The object of life is bringing up that precarious flame and let it flower in our lives as much as possible.

WH: How would you describe your "mission" or "purpose" in writing?

HS: Well, because I’m good at it. Also being creative is a pleasure in itself. Even little toddlers are being creative in developing muscles and coordination and you see them being creative.

WH: What type of person would benefit most from reading your books?

HS: Those who are searching for meaning in their own lives and in the universe.

WH: What book (or themes from your books) are you most proud of and why?

HS: Always the last book: The Soul of Christianity.

The book that has been phenomenal has been The World’s Religions.
Its original title was The Religions of Man. But when the gender issue came up, why that had to be changed. And it has been a publishing phenomenon. Within two years, it swept the field as the introductory text book for courses in world religion. And today, about 40 years later, it is still the same. The sales keep rising every year.

The illustrated World's Religions text is cut in half to make room for the world’s art; this is great for the general public. The Religions of Man text is twice as long.

WH: Did you do a lot of research to write your books?

HS: I taught in philosophy and religion for 45 years in the classroom. Sure, you have to be qualified.

I’ve given away most of my library. My wife and I are determined to empty out as much as we need so that our heirs will not have to go through them. About 20 blocks from here, in Berkeley, there is the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery. They opened the second floor with a big plaque with the Huston Smith library. They want to build up their holdings, which is great for me. Every month the director comes over and I give him a couple of grocery sacks with books. It’s wonderful, since should I need anything, I can go over there and get what I need.

WH: When you were researching and preparing your books, what sorts of things did you learn that surprised you?

What was most important for me was the discovery of our indigenous religious, which the local example is our native Indians. When I went to Syracuse University (to teach) I had not given the indigenous religions the time of day. My teachers said that they couldn’t even write, "They were an oral tradition; what did they know?" Of course now most of them can. Well my ignorant professors -- I inherited their ignorance. But during the ten years in Syracuse I spent more and more of time out there with the chief Oren Lyons, and chief Shenandoah, and I ended up leaving honoring the indigenous religions as fully developed and wise as the historical religions. That was a biggie. That was the chief reason that in The Religions of Man that there’s a final chapter on the primal native religions.

In the first edition of The World’s Religions, I could be embarrassed by the fact that the word Sufi is not even in the index. In Islam, Sufis are the mystics. But I take solace in the fact that I’ve learned something.

WH: What is the most memorable thing a reader has told you about how your work affected him or her?

HS: I have been lavished with praise. But there is one. The Discipline of Christ person that manages retirement wrote me a letter that is the most amazing one. The gist of it is” Without any doubt, next to the bible, your book, ‘Why Religion Matters’ is the most important book in my life. As you were pointing out the word ‘scientized’, or brainwashed, that science had the answer to everything important.” There I’m talking about how the modern world becoming secular due to being science ridden.

WH: Is that a unique theme? Have other people written about that?

HS: I think it’s fair to say that no, they have all nibbled away at it. But it’s important to really pinpoint science ridden as the cause of it.

ABOUT THE GENRE
WH: In the realm of personal development or spirituality, are there any new ideas in personal development and spirituality that are evolving your views or that you especially like?

HS: Right after the Second World War the message was “globalize the universities”. The thought being, that if we knew more about other cultures, we wouldn’t get into the wars that we’ve been in. Unfortunately we are in war now.

Nevertheless, the dean’s message came down that every course in the university except of the sciences must teach at least one non-western course. I, in my department of philosophy, was the low man of the totem pole, so I got assigned it. I was ignorant, but fortunately, there was a Vedanta society--the universal element of Hinduism. I heard about that, and I was ignorant; I started to have weekly tutorials for ten years when I was in St. Louis.

These were incursions in coming into my awareness. The main “cataphetic and apaphetic” distinctions. Cataphetic is what can be spoken. Apapehtic cannot be spoken because it is too profound to be put in words. That has been a powerful vectoring of my thought. That came to me through Swami Saprakashanadan who explained that.

Another from the vendanta example are the four yogas, the four ways to knowledge, in the book on Hinduism: 1) through knowledge, 2) through love, 3) through service and 4) prayer and meditation.
Well I had not known that distinction.

WH: Are there any books, other than your own, that you have referred other people to time and time again?

HS: The most important is somebody very few people have heard about who died about ten years ago. I would be amazed if a single one of your readers would recognize his name. It’s not out of print.

This is my introduction to the most important book by this man. Alden Shuman. He is my mentor, a wonder, because he does exactly the kind of thing I try to do, but at dimensions of knowledge and insight that put me in the shade. In breadth and depth. I can never come close to rivaling that man. Because he is so profound, he doesn’t cater to the public.

WH: Are there any of the more popular authors of spirituality that you like?

The most popular is Marcus Borg. The Soul of Christianity is a response to his book The Heart of Christianity I think he has the ear of more protestant Christians than any other writer. I don’t think he is the last word, so I had to write my book The Soul of Christianity to fill in the gaps.

WH: Are there any other books that you recommend often.

Not of This World, which is an anthology which is an anthology of Christian mystics, edited by James Cutsinger. Not all religious people are mystics. Any who have this mystical bent, this is the best book.

There are many that are good books, but they are too deep; they are for academics and theological professors.

ABOUT HIMSELF
WH: Do you have any activities or practices that would benefit your readers? Like meditation…

HS: I’ve retired from giving advice, but if you resonate with it, god bless you.

My day begins with three components: Body, Mind and Spirit.

I begin with the body, and for 35 years I did yoga, culminating in the head stand. I learned asanas, which is their word for postures, from Ambu, my teacher in Southeast Asia; I did that until I was struck down by osteoporosis. I still think it is important to tend to the body, such as breathing exercises; ranging from heavy breathing to almost the very faint.

Next comes mind. So I followed that every morning by reading a few pages of one of the sacred texts of the authentic religions: the bible, the Koran, the bhagavidita, the Tao.

The third component that I followed by a pendulum swing between prayer and meditation; there’s no sharp line between the two. Normally we think of meditation as silent and prayer in word. But the dividing line is not sharp. There is also the prayer of silence.

WH: As a child, what did you think you'd be doing as an adult?

HS: Oh no, we never know, our lives are unformed then. I didn’t try to mastermind the future

WH: Who or what has influenced you most?

HS: My parents; they were missionaries who were good people. We had a functional family. That’s very important. I found them inspiring in what they did. In that time, China was racked with infectious diseases, and actually their first son died in his second year on Christmas eve in their arms. It took courage to do that. Of course they were flawed. They were a little narrow in their outlook. But that was a different time. But I credit my spiritual development to them.

WH: What is the biggest mistake that people make about spirituality and what should they do differently?

HS: “I’ve got the truth and the rest of you are going to hell in a wheelbarrow fast.” Genuine spirituality is humble. This type of arrogance and contempt is just bad.

WH: So separation from each other is a problem?

HS: Yes, but that doesn’t say it precisely. We should separate ourselves from evil-doers. It’s not separation per se. The bad part when it comes to spirituality is to be ungenerous and to think that what you believe in is (the only truth); watch out for the shadow side of that and (never) say “you and your religion is bad”.