This anthology, Light from the East , asks the question: what lessons can the modern West learn from the traditions of the East? One of the books central themes is that living traditions of the East may help us to recover our own neglected and obscured spiritual heritage in the West. Light from the East includes essays by leading traditionalist authors such as Rene Guenon, Ananda Coomaraswamy and Frithjof Schuon, as well as contributions from such pivotal figures as the Dalai Lama, Swami Abhishiktananda, Fr. Thomas Merton, Roshi Phillip Kapleau, Diana Eck and Gary Snyder. Light from the East is a companion piece to Harry Oldmeadow’s Journeys East .