".a most stimulating and provocative book." -- Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies ".this is an enjoyable and wide-ranging book, and one that is sure to provoke fruitful disagreement from scholars while introducing a complex field to students and the interested lay reader." -- Philosophy East & West ".a nicely balanced comparison of approaches to self-transcendence within major worldviews, both East and West." -- Journal of Ecumenical Studies "Coward has found the most useful question to ask in order to enhance the reader's understanding of the clear differences between Eastern and Western philosophies and religions. In pursuing the notion of 'perfectibility' through Western philosophy, psychology, and religions, and Eastern philosophies and religions--a task he is eminently qualified to do--he brings a vast body of material into a manageable frame.

By his choice of focus and his brilliant examination of this question through many traditions, he brings forth a new distinct point of view." -- Robert M. Garvin, University at Albany, State University of New York.