Two books in one, Advice to the Serious Seeker is an introduction for scholars to the perennialist school of comparative religious philosophy and at the same time a guidebook for the general reader who is looking for intellectually serious but accessible answers to questions about the spiritual life.

Scholars will find a comprehensive introduction to the work of Frithjof Schuon, the leading contemporary figure in the perennialist or traditionalist school of comparative religion. Written by James S. Cutsinger, one of the world's foremost academic authorities on the perennial philosophy, the book provides a detailed commentary on the full range of Schuon's spiritual writings.

But the book is also intended for inquisitive and searching readers in general. Composed in a style that is simple and conversational, it reads as an open letter to the author's students. The aim is to cut through the banality of much that passes for spiritual instruction today and to provide intellectually serious but accessible answers to questions typically posed by cynics and skeptics, conservative believers, and persons attracted to the so-called "new age" religions.