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Asian Inspiration – Chris Harding
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Asian Inspiration – Chris Harding

Insights from Western encounters with Eastern traditions

What can we learn from over 2,000 years of fascination with the East? Chris Harding explores this question in The Light of Asia – a book that shares its title with a poem about the Buddha from the nineteenth century. He focuses on characters whose personal engagement with Asian traditions shaped Western perceptions.

Chris Harding and The Light of Asia

Together, we reflect on the impact of efforts to reconcile different viewpoints. Does one way of seeing predominate? What guards against cherry-picking? Among other topics, we also consider:

  • The early influence of Jesuits in spreading ideas

  • Alan Watts as a priest, blurring multiple boundaries

  • Bede Griffiths and inter-religious experiments in India

  • The importance of community to spiritual practice

  • What it might mean to “decolonise philosophy

Chris is a cultural historian at the University of Edinburgh, specialising in modern India and Japan. He contributes regularly to the BBC and a range of publications, including Aeon and Unherd. He is also the author of

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Ancient Futures
Ancient Futures
Timeless wisdom for modern dilemmas, combining yoga philosophy, practical insight and critical thinking. Hosted by Daniel Simpson.