A radical and powerful reappraisal of the impact ofConstantine’s adoption of Christianity on the later Roman world,and on the subsequent development both of Christianity and ofWestern civilization. When the Emperor Contstantine converted to Christianity in 368AD, he changed the course of European history in ways that continueto have repercussions to the present day. Adopting those aspects ofthe religion that suited his purposes, he turned Rome on a coursefrom the relatively open, tolerant and pluralistic civilization ofthe Hellenistic world, towards a culture that was based on the ruleof fixed authority, whether that of the Bible, or the writings ofPtolemy in astronomy and of Galen and Hippocrates in medicine. Onlya thousand years later, with the advent of the Renaissance and theemergence of modern science, did Europe begin to free itself fromthe effects of Constantine's decision, yet the effects of hisestablishment of Christianity as a state religion remain with us,in many respects, today. Bri

The Zen school of Mahayana Buddhism contends that each one ofus is already a Buddha — the enlightenment we seek is always withinus, waiting to be realized through mindfulness and concertedspiritual work. This truth pushes us toward practice, in the hopesthat we may awaken our potential and live up to what is insideus.?This is a?notion taught widely by ninth century Zen Master LinChi, and in his tradition Thich Nhat Hanh employs the teachings andwritings of Mahayana Buddhism to discuss specific topics inBuddhist study and practice. With these teachings, readers have thetools to awaken the Buddha within.