Huston Smith
| Huston Smith | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Huston Cummings Smith May 31, 1919 Suzhou, China |
| Died | December 30, 2016 (aged 97) Berkeley, California, United States |
| Occupation | Author and professor of religious studies |
| Known for | Author of The World's Religions |
| Spouse(s) | Kendra Smith |
| Website | hustonsmith.net |
Huston Cummings Smith (May 31, 1919 – December 30, 2016) was a religious studies scholar in the United States. His book The World's Religions (originally titled The Religions of Man) sold over two million copies and remains a popular introduction to comparative religion. He died on December 30, 2016.
Smith was born in China to Methodist missionaries and spent his first 17 years there. Upon coming to the United States for education, he studied at Central Methodist University and the University of Chicago.
During his career, Smith not only studied but also practiced Vedanta (studying under Swami Satprakashananda, founder of the St. Louis Vedanta Center), Zen Buddhism (studying under Goto Zuigan), and Sufi Islam for more than ten years each.
As a young man, Smith suddenly turned from traditional Methodist Christianity to mysticism, influenced by the writings of Gerald Heard and Aldous Huxley. In 1947, before moving from Denver to St. Louis, Smith set out to meet with then-famous author Gerald Heard. Heard responded to Smith's letter, inviting him to his Trabuco College (later donated as the Ramakrishna Monastery) in Trabuco Canyon, Southern California. Heard made arrangements to have Smith meet the legendary author Aldous Huxley. Smith recounts in the 2010 documentary Huxley on Huxley meeting Huxley at his desert home. Smith was told to look up Swami Satprakashananda of the Vedanta Society once he settled in St. Louis. So began Smith's experimentation with meditation and association with the Vedanta Society of the Ramakrishna order. Smith developed an interest in the Traditionalist School formulated by René Guénon and Ananda Coomaraswamy. This interest has become a continuing thread in all his writings.
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