A Lamp unto Yourself: A Beginner's Guide to Asian Spiritual Practices, from Advaita and Buddhism to Yoga and Zen

by C. Pierce Salguero Narrated by Luke Anthony-Rey Oller

Overview

For “spiritual explorers” ready to travel beyond Western bounds, a beginner's guide to Asian spiritual traditions spanning regions, cultures, and history

Asian spiritual practices, from yoga and tai chi to qigong and mindfulness meditations, permeate our culture. But these practices are often casually used in the West, and sometimes little understood. As informative as it is inviting, A Lamp unto Yourself introduces “spiritual explorers” of all experience levels to embodied Eastern spiritual practices.

Employing decades of personal and professional experience with Asian spiritualities, C. Pierce Salguero explains the origins of key Asian spiritual practices. He grounds them in their historical and philosophical contexts and provides information on how the reader can begin and deepen their personal practices. Salguero also discusses the focus of the path (heart, body, or perception) and describes what one might experience as they develop their practice. In A Lamp unto Yourself, readers will learn more about such traditions as

• mindfulness meditation, insight meditation, and loving-kindness meditation
• yogas, tai chi, and qigong
• Taoism and Advaita
• mantras, chakras, and tantra

Those looking to begin practicing for the first time or to simply expand their ever-growing spiritual tool kits will feel empowered to explore Eastern spirituality with knowledge and autonomy. With Salguero as their guide, readers can confidently embark on their journeys to becoming, as Buddha would encourage, a lamp unto themselves.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

02/10/2025

Historian Salguero (Buddhish) takes readers on an accessible tour through Asian spiritual traditions. Breaking down practices that center the heart, body, and nondual perception (the awareness that there are no boundaries between humans and the divine), he covers Theravada Buddhism’s vipassana (a meditation that involves observing thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations without judgment); Hinduism’s meditative absorption (using a “deep stillness of the mind” to unlock “subtler and subtler states of concentration”); and Daoism and neo-Advaita’s doing-nothing meditation (an “unstructured” practice of “rest in the natural state”). Salguero brings a cheerful and inquisitive spirit to his exploration, inviting readers to view spirituality in an expansive, non-exclusionary way (a means of “experienc reality differently” rather than a rigid set of rules) while gently challenging them to avoid such pitfalls as spiritual materialism (focusing on external trappings, like expensive meditation retreats) and spiritual bypassing (avoiding the difficult work of self-exploration to “get to the bliss”). The result is a skillful distillation of Asian religious practices and a solid starting point for seekers. (Apr.)

From the Publisher

This the perfect introduction for understanding what Asian-inspired spiritual practices might offer you and what their philosophical underpinnings are, and for helping you get started. And Salguero is just the right guide: knowledgeable, companionable, and aware that, like just about everything in life, one size does not fit all.”
—Dr. Zubin Damania, creator of the ZDoggMD Show and founder of Turntable Health

Product Details

BN ID:	2940191885742
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	04/22/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged