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.


A wonderful introduction to asian religion   July 5, 2003
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

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.


Finally!   July 3, 2003
 18 out of 19 found this review helpful

Having devoured Campbell's work in the nineties, I'd almost given up on his unpublished essays and lectures ever seeing the light of day.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.


A joyful exploration of a fascinating subject   June 3, 2003
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Having not much more background in Asian religion than a Zen Buddhism class I took to fulfill a distribution requirement in college 20 years ago, I approached this book with some anticipation and some anxiety. My main memory of those long-ago days in that lecture class was of reading and discussing religious texts that seemed to have been written by another species--the basic assumptions were beyond me, and my professor (who had spent his adult life immersed in the study of esoteric Buddhism) had a hard time understanding why we didn't just get it. But I'd been fascinated by what little I'd understood and always wanted to find a more accessible guide to the ins and outs of Asian myth. This book is it! Campbell, who I knew from Power of Myth, lays out the basic principles that underlie Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism (and he touches on Taoism too) with the same sort of humor and wisdom that I'd expected. What a fun book to start the summer reading season with!