title: Maya: A Novel
author: C. W. Huntington
description: The idea of a spiritual quest fills me with melancholy yawns. However, <i>Maya</i> hit me hard so that I finished it in two days. I wasnt sure I wanted to go along on the ride, but moment by moment I was intrigued. <i>Maya</i> isnt fueled by pride or intellect, the usual grievous errors. The door to the spirit is humility, and Huntington is to be congratulated for his grace and spiritual power. Its an uncommonly vital book. (Jim Harrison, author of Legends of the Fall)<br /><br />This is a marvelous book. Huntington brings India alive not as it is, not even as it was, but perfectly as those of us who studied and lived there long ago experienced it.<i> Maya</i> is a loving evocation of a place and time, and a powerfully honest expression of the enthusiasm and pain that attend passions of all kinds, whether for flesh or for truth. Most of all it is a splendid addition to the tradition of stories of how one met ones guru. This is life not as it is, and yet not otherwise; a perfect evocation of the world of illusion we actually inhabit. (Jay Garfield, author of Engaging Buddhism)<br /><br /><i>Maya</i> is a work of the imagination that presents itself as such, and simultaneously asks the reader to ponder how such imagination differs from what we understand as reality. This playfulness connects <i>Maya</i> to traditional East Asian literary practicessuch as the classic dream talethat are inspired by Buddhist theories of the imagination. This is fiction writing that is as philosophical as it is creative, and which turns art into religion without the preachiness or didacticism. (Francisca Cho, coauthor of Religion and Science in the Mirror of Buddhism)<br /><br />Ive been waiting for someone to write a contemporary quest for enlightenment novel, but didnt expect it to be this good. It evokes all the color and sensuousnessthe <i>feel</i>of 1970s India, along with the hard-won insights of what reads like a painfully honest memoir leading to a powerful conclusion. (David R. Loy, author of Money, Sex, War, Karma)<br /><br />Rich and evocative, packed with unforgettable characters and sensory, aromatic description. (Dinty W. Moore, author of The Mindful Writer)<br /><br />Teaching <i>Maya</i> this semester was a joy. As the final text in an ancient world religions course, this remarkable novel facilitated lively discussions of fictional truth, perception and the nature of reality, sexuality and spiritual awakening, experiential versus academic approaches to religious studiesand it generated important student observations regarding cultural values in the East and West, as well as the exhilarations of expatriate life. (Mark S. Ferrara, professor at SUNY Oneonta and author of Palace of Ashes)<br /><br />C.W. Huntingtons<i>Maya</i>is<b>a compelling and richly textured novel.</b>As a work of narrative philosophy, it is also<b>eminently suitable for an academic course on Buddhist thought.</b>I recently taught a class titledEmptiness and Form: Philosophical and Literary Expressions of the Dharma.Mayaworked well . . .giving students a literary lived experience of confusion, desire, the play of reality, and insight.Moreover, Huntingtons novel also explicitly engages . . .early Buddhist discourses, Mahayana sutras, NagarjunasMulamadhyamakakarika, and SantidevasBodhicaryavatara.Exploring central Buddhist ideas and commenting on these classic Buddhist texts,Mayais itself a contemporary work of Buddhist thought . . .My students very much appreciated this experiential study of Buddhist philosophywith its explorations of sex, desire, confusion, love, learning, meditation, and death . . .<b><i>Maya</i>gave us new and important perspectives for thinking about how to articulate Buddhist thought,</b>and how our thinking changes when we change genres.<b>I recommend<i>Maya</i>to colleagues interested in teaching courses that explore literary and experiential elements of Buddhist philosophy,</b>as well as anyone interested in curling up on the couch with a good read. (William Edelglass, Marlboro College)
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  Mayan Thief
  
  
  
  
  
  by
  
  
  
  
  
  Sabine A. Reed
  
  
  
  
  
  Cover Design by Melody Simmons
  
  
  
  
  
  Amazon Edition
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events described
  herein are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and
  are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations,
  organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mayan Thief
  
  
  Copyright © 2017 by Sabine A. Reed
  
  
  
  
  
  Amazon Edition – License Notes
  
  
  All rights reserved. Except for use in review, the reproduction or utilization
  of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or
  other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written
  permission of the author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this
  author.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mayan Thief
  
  
  In her free time, kicking and screaming, she is forced to weed, garden, or
  teach young apprentice mages – but her collaboration