Islam
Smith discovered Islam as an adult, and became enamored with Islamic conceptions of order, justice, mercy, and compassion. He still prays five times a day as Muslims do. The Sufis opened the doors of Islam to Smith. Through their trance-inducing dan...
Christianity and Judaism
Because we are removed from spirituality today, Smith believes we find it difficult to understand the true meaning of Christianity. Smith explains that Christianity wouldn’t have existed if its “spirit had not been real and dense and palpable an...
A Personal Philosophy
This program summarizes and distills what we have learned about the great religions in this series. Smith’s lifetime of experience and study helps him to go beyond the differences between each tradition. He shows how the cultivation of virtues val...
The Heart of Things
Adrienne Rich, Victor Hernandez Cruz, and Michael S. Harper have changed the way poetry is heard, read, and absorbed. This program showcases these three poets who exult in language’s ability to illuminate culture and history. Filmed at the Biennia...
The Field of Time
Two courageous women artists who have turned potential tragedy into triumph are testimony to the healing powers of poetry. In this program, authors Sandra McPherson and Linda McCarriston revel in the beauty of love, family, and nature, exploring and...
Come Celebrate with Me
In this program, two poets reflect on the cultural legacies they have inherited. Lucille Clifton and David Mura bring their talent and humor to bear as they look at the past and the lives they live in America today. Filmed at the Biennial Geraldine ...
Confucianism
Born in China of missionary parents, Huston Smith learned about Chinese language, culture, and religion while growing up near Shanghai. Smith explains how the intertwining of opposites is key to understanding the great religions of China—Confucian...
Here in the Mind
Gary Snyder and Daisy Zamora have each, in their own way, engaged in battle. In this program, the staunch defender of the natural world and the combatant in the Nicaraguan civil war wield their preferred weapon, language, which in their hands has th...
Swirl Like a Leaf
Poetry offers a way for individuals to make sense of themselves, understand their motivations and fears, gain insight into their past and their future. As this program shows, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Robert Bly, and Marilyn Chin have all found routes to...
Hinduism and Buddhism
This program explores the two great religions to come from India. “The historian of religion can find almost anything he wants in India, enacted with intensity. What remains is to carry its insight into everyday life.” Smith uncovered the myster...