Myths of Light: Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) [Hardcover]

Joseph Campbell (Author), David Kudler (Editor)

Book Description

Series: The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell | Publication Date: May 2003

Following such volumes as Baksheesh and Brahman, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space, and Thou Art That, this previously unpublished title is Volume six in the Collected Works of Joseph Campbell series. It shows Campbell’s remarkable mind engaged with a favorite topic, the myths and metaphors of Asian religions. Myths of Light collects seven lectures and articles on subjects ranging from the ancient Hindu Vedas to Zen koans, Tantric yoga, and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. A worthy companion to Campbell’s Asian journals, this volume conveys complex insights through warm, accessible storytelling, revealing the intricacies and secrets of his subjects with his typical enthusiasm.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this volume of previously unpublished lectures and articles, the late world folklorist and comparative mythologist Campbell extols the myths of Asian religions, though, as always, the whole of humanity is the author's intended audience. With jaunty, American optimism, Campbell delves into the stories and imagery, as he defines them, of Buddhism and Yoga and other "Oriental" systems of belief, to find a well of deep humanistic wisdom in each one, sharply in contrast to the anti-spiritual habits of the West. "You may have practical ethics and that kind of thing, but there is no spirituality in any aspect of our contemporary Western civilization," Campbell writes, suggesting that Western society "is disintegrating as a result" of the loss of religious myth. Campbell molds his stories into Jungian vessels of mystical awe, finding recurring archetypes and story lines embedded in large swaths of the Asian continent; sometimes a sort of fetishizing awe towards the object of his study creeps in: "When one goes to the Orient, of course, one may be physically shocked by the squalor and misery of the people and the life they're living there. Yet this coordinating principle comes shining through all the poverty in a strangely fascinating way, shining with the radiance of this mythic world." Campbell excels in telling the stories themselves-which feature brahmins and yogis, gods and monsters, as they disguise themselves as charioteers, eat themselves up and spy on mortals-and in his glancing descriptions of traditions foreign to us: Japanese "play language," an exceedingly polite mode of speech, for instance, or Jainism's insistence on quenching "all desire for life." His persistent, unifying interpretations cans sometimes deflate the power of these traditions, but this is nevertheless a solid primer.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Campbell has become one of the rarest of intellectuals in American life: a serious thinker who has been embraced by the popular culture." — Newsweek

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: New World Library; First Edition edition (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577314034
• ISBN-13: 978-1577314035
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful introduction to asian religion, July 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Myths of Light: Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) (Hardcover)

This book was a lovely, focused introduction to Hinduism and Buddhism, with a little Jainism and Taoism thrown in for good measure. I loved Cambpell's ability both to find the lovely, telling details in each of these traditions, and to find the overarching themes--especially the idea of Brahman, which he sees as underpinning all of them. I also particularly loved Cambpell's sense of humor--in one section he's describing the reincarnation of the soul, and says it's putting on and taking off bodies "like a shopper at Macy's trying on scarves"! That page is marked in my copy by the tea I sputtered because I laughed so loudly.
The only downside from my point of view was an emphasis in the sections on Buddhism on Mahayana as opposed to Theravada Buddhism. Though he does discuss the older branch of the Buddhist tradition, it is somewhat in passing. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book enormously.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction to Asian Religion, January 22, 2004

By 

Tony (Summit, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Myths of Light: Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) (Hardcover)

I heard about this book at the Campbell Foundations website and was very interested--I'd always wanted to learn more about Asian religions but had found the books I'd looked at either too hard-core academic or too new-agey or too obscure. I tried reading the Bhagavad Gita ten years ago, and thought it was cool, but couldn't really understand it.

This book really gave me an insight into the mindset that lies behind Buddhism and Hinduism. I'd always thought the emphasis on reincarnation was a little creepy, but now I have an idea of what its about. Campbell tells some wonderful stories and connects the dots between what seem like really random ideas. And the short section on the Bhagavad Gita was really eye-opening. I went back and reread the book and feel like I finally understand it.

This is a perfect book to start your exploration of Eastern Religion.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, July 2, 2003

By 

G. James (Colorado Springs, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Myths of Light: Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) (Hardcover)

Having devoured Campbell's work in the nineties, I'd almost given up on his unpublished essays and lectures ever seeing the light of day. Then came Thou Art That and now Myths Of Light. These books are just perfect echoes of Campbell's comparative conclusions, only more concise. After a lifetime of work, his lectures honed his thoughts into great clarity. These two books are actually great introductions to Campbell's thoughts and work. They touch here and there on historical evidence, but mainly stay in the line of clarifying what occident and orient mythology entails.
If you've been waiting a long time to read more Campbell, you'll have bought these books already. And if you haven't, you'll be very surpised.