All Is Change, written by Lawrence Sutin, is an historical account of the migration of the Buddhist faith. Sutin, a former lawyer, is well known for his four other nonfiction books. His forte seems to be history, memoir and biography. While it is certainly unusual to find someone giving up a lucrative career to become an author, Lawrence also teaches courses in fine arts and liberty studies at a university and a college in Vermont.
Four hundred sixteen pages, including eight pages of black and white photographs and dozens of pages for author’s notes and sources that were used in the research of this project, await readers of this title. All is Change is a story about the numerous seekers, sages, explorers and charlatans during the journey of this faith across the globe.
Beginning with early contact between Greece and India and following along to Western infusion and current happenings, the author explores the two millennia-journey that Buddhism endured before being embraced in the West. Lawrence comments on how the religion is now so popular that books in this genre are on Western bestseller lists.
Sutin makes clear statements in the Preface section to ensure the reader understands that he is personally not a Christian - nor a Buddhist. All Is Change is neither a spiritual guide nor a religious text. It is simply a non-biased historical study and report of the journey of this religion. I enjoyed many parts of this book and found the comments upon the parallels of many religions, including Buddhism, quite interesting. It was also interesting to find that the key to Western interest lies in the Buddhist beliefs of interconnection, Karma and compassion.