Beacons of Dharma

By Christopher Miller

As the sun continues along its southern course (dakṣināyaṇa) and the days get shorter approaching the Winter Solstice, those of us living in the northern hemisphere find ourselves enveloped in increasing darkness. For the majority of us living in America, the darkness appears to mirror our current political situation even as we anxiously keep our eyes open in search of a viable alternative.

In the gloomy weeks following the 2016 US presidential elections, I unexpectedly found myself thrilled when I received an invitation from my colleague Michael Reading to co-edit a volume he was envisioning for Jeffery Long’s Explorations in Indic Traditions book series. I was particularly intrigued by the proposed title of the volume we would be working on together: Beacons of Dharma (Lexington Books, 2019). Light (Sanskrit: jyotis; dīpa; prakāśa), as it turned out, would be a central metaphor for describing how dharma – a polyvalent term used here to refer to something akin to “virtue” – has and continues to be reflected into the world by spiritual leaders from the Hindu, Buddhist (dhamma), Sikh (dharam), and Jain traditions in order to inspire positive social and environmental change.