Jeffery Paine Knihy

Why has a tiny old mining town straight out of Gunsmoke or Deadwood —Crestone, Colorado —become home to twenty-five spiritual centers representing nearly all the brand-name faiths of the world? With the keen eye of a storyteller, the insights of a scholar, and the heart of a seeker, Jeffery Paine narrates a truly unique adventure. He explores Crestone's wintry, oxygen-thin mountain geography and introduces a cast of spiritual mavericks and unlikely visionaries. Paine finds in Crestone a remarkable dedication to coexistence. Paradoxically, the town's amazing spiritual diversity highlights fundamental commonalities in a way that will strike and even inspire believers, agnostics, and searchers of every stripe.

Real characters and captivating true stories illuminate Buddhism through the experiences of nine Westerners who journeyed across Asia and America. Their adventures, set against the backdrop of enchanting landscapes and diverse cultures, reveal how Buddhism became integral to their lives. The book combines vivid travel writing with gripping narratives, providing an inside look at Buddhist philosophy and practice. From ancient kingdoms to modern workplaces, it offers a unique exploration of spirituality across nations and generations.

"Jeffery Paine's poems, with their philosophical agitation, erotic intensities, and abject melancholy, are clearly from an eccentrically modern sensibility, but their formal music and haunting locutions equally seem born of the l9th century. Please turn immediately to the poem "Jahrzeit", a stunning elegy to Paine's father. It waits only a stanza to reach its heartbreaking direct address. Paine is a writer of great originality and beauty. And this is an utterly memorable collection"--