Now available from Megalithica Books:
Why Buddha Touched the Earth
Zen Paganism for the 21st Century
by Tom Swiss
"Swiss has clearly done his research, but he maintains a friendly tone reminiscent of Zen koans as he covers centuries of history.... It’s a thought-provoking, fascinating read, and one that I am likely to revisit in the future." – Jen McConnel, The Busy Witch (Patheos)
"As Western Pagans seek to reflect on what it might mean to seek “awakening” within their traditions, the type of conscious syncretism that Tom is proposing provides an interesting starting point. This is a highly readable and at times iconoclastic book that provides a good insight into the journey of a spiritually creative explorer. Dear reader, I commend it to you!" – Steve Davies, The Blog of Baphomet
Shortly before his death, John Lennon called himself a “Zen Pagan.” With this he gave an excellent name to a religious trend that goes back at least as far as Henry David Thoreau, who wrote of his love and respect for both the ancient nature god Pan and the Buddha.
The connection between Buddhism and nature spirituality is ancient. According to legends of the Buddha's enlightenment, in his hour of need he asked the Earth to bear him witness rather than appealing to a heavenly deity. Over the centuries Buddhism influenced and was influenced by nature religions like Taoism and Shintō, while its introduction to the West came partly through spiritual nature writers like Thoreau and Gary Snyder. Occultists Aleister Crowley and H.P. Blavatsky played key roles in both Buddhist and Neopagan history.
Why Buddha Touched the Earth investigates the rise of Buddhism as a world religion during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, its relationship to the Neopagan movement, and how both are related to the extraordinary changes civilization has seen since the Industrial Revolution. It combines rigorous history with lively and practical discussions of mysticism, magic, meditation, ethics, and the future of religion in a scientific age.
Available at Megalithica Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell's, your local independent book seller (ask them to order ISBN 9781905713905), or directly from the author.
Not convinced yet to order? Read some excerpts, or check out some related links.
