In recent years, Asian philosophies have captured increasing attention in the West, setting off a profusion of new translations of classic Asian philosophical texts. Yet these texts are often inaccessible to Western readers because of subtleties of the concepts and difficulties inherent in reading across cultures.

The only book of its kind, Classic Asian Philosophy is an highly accessible guide to philosophy and culture, which gives someone new to Asian philosophy a clear sense of its most foundational and widely available texts, ranging from the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita through Confucius to Zen. It presents philosophies that are at the roots of the cultures of India, China, Korea, and Japan, as well as other countries of south and east Asia.