Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Beacons Of Dharma: Spiritual Exemplars For The Modern Age. Edited By Christopher Patrick Miller, Michael Reading, And Jeffery D. Long. Landham, Md: Lexington Books, 2020, Karma Lekshe Tsomo

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

While the canon is replete with biographies of individual spiritual exemplars—Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi, Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain, and the Dalai Lama’s Freedom in Exile come to mind—few have examined exemplars across faiths. This collection focuses on Hindu masters from many different perspectives and practices, as well as a variety of Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh masters. The editors set their focus on religious leaders and spiritual guides who have served as sources of inspiration and “dispellers of darkness.” Their introduction discusses the defining characteristics of these “beacons of Dharma,” recognizing that the Sanskrit term …