Huston Smith — at 90, still saying ‘yes’ to life’s possibilities

Huston Smith — Bay Area [California] eminence, grand communicator about religion and its mysteries, friend to Huxley, Merton and the Dalai Lama — may be stooped by osteoporosis at age 90. Yes, he rises with studied effort from the chair in his one-room apartment in an assisted living facility in Berkeley. He uses a walker. Life’s physical machinery has grown creaky.

But that is all so beside the point.

“I still have no troubles getting out of bed in the morning: ‘Let me at it!’ ” he says, rubbing his hands together, gleefully, like a child. His eyes sparkle: “Life, let me at you.”

Those eyes, the directness of the gaze; they tell it all. They bespeak mischief, curiosity, bluntness and wonder, attributes that anyone who has spoken to Smith over the years will recognize. In an age of generalized fear and “just say no,” Smith, who taught for years at the University of California-Berkeley, a venerated figure there, has said “yes” to life’s possibilities.

Which probably explains much of his success as the author of 15 books, including The World’s Religions, a report from the front lines of the planet’s major faiths, which helped fuel the American fascination with Eastern religions and has sold about 3 million copies since its publication in 1958.

Bill Moyers once devoted a five-part public television series to Smith’s life and influence. That was in the ‘90s. Now Smith, raised in China, the son of Methodist missionaries, a man with many stories to tell, has a new memoir in which he tells them: Tales of Wonder: Adventures Chasing the Divine (HarperOne). Read Article

By Richard Scheinin