- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: WW Norton; Reprint edition (Nov 1 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0393326268
- ISBN-13: 978-0393326260
- Product Dimensions: 21 x 14 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 159 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #928,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Memorable anecdotes, great storytelling and keen observations mark this cogent exploration of the explosive growth of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. Paine offers chapters on many famous Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama (who, refreshingly, doesn't appear until nearly the end of the book), the pioneering Lama Yeshe, who first taught Westerners, and the controversial rogue playboy Chogyam Trungpa, Yeshe's character foil. Other chapters profile Westerners who discovered Tibetan Buddhism, like Tenzin Palmo (formerly a Cockney London girl named Diane Perry), who meditated alone for 12 years in an Indian cave and American lama Jetsunma (Catherine Burroughs), a much-married "tough bird from Brooklyn" who was the first Western woman to be recognized as a tulku (reincarnated Buddhist figure). Of course, there's a chapter on Hollywood, but Paine eschews a superficial chronicle of Tibetan Buddhism's sudden popularity among the glitterati in favor of a compelling analysis of why a Buddhist concept of reality might make sense to people whose lives revolve around the creation of impermanent "realities" like films. Throughout, Paine explores how Tibetan Buddhism has changed the American religious landscape, but also how it has been changed by America: in Tibet, for example, meditation was traditionally a very advanced practice, but in practical-minded America, practitioners "dive straight into meditation immediately." A final chapter introduces the only Tibetan Buddhist on death row; in a fascinating observation, Paine notes that famed Tibetan saint Milarepa was in fact a reformed criminal.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Forty years after Chinese Communists attempted to sweep Tibetan Buddhism off the planet, casting much of its monastic community and the Dalai Lama into exile, Paine asserts that Buddhism is enjoying record-breaking popularity, particularly in the West. Its attractiveness stems from principles that appeal to Americans disenchanted with what has turned out to be the myth of materialism and the politicization of organized religion. Tibetan Buddhism, he says, is universal, places accountability squarely in the hands of the individual, and offers the potential for heightened capacity. What's more, it relocates religion from church and Sunday to anywhere, anytime. In this guide-to-the-common-person narrative, Paine provides a brief history of Tibetan Buddhism, constructs an apology of its basic tenets, and relates the personal histories of several converts. His account of Frenchwoman Alexandra David-Neel's obsession with Tibetan Buddhism and the stories of converts, including an Ivy League professor, a death-row inmate, and a Hollywood movie star, illustrate the broad range of those to whom Buddhism has become a personal salvation. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
TIBET HAD VANISHED, so far as the world's attention and concern went. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
TIBET HAD VANISHED, so far as the world's attention and concern went. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great introduction to Tibetian Buddhism for Westerners,
This review is from: Re Enchantment (Hardcover)
If you'd like to read one book to learn both about Tibetian Buddhism in general and the colorful lives of its proponents in the West, this book will do nicely. The author, who probably is not a Tibetian Buddhist master himself but a kind and tender soul who approaches the issue with empathy and good humor, does a good job in presenting us the life stories of sharp characters such as Lama Yeshe, Dalai Lama, Alexandra David-Neel, Chogyam Trungpa, Alyce Zeoli (Jetsunma) and others. There is plenty references to other English-language sources on the topic to pursue your interest further. Keep your pencil ready. A difficult subject is approached without boring the reader, without hiding the warts and jagged edges, while sharing fascinating anectodes from the lives of some truly remarkable religious savants of the past and current century. A great entertaining introductory book that should not be mistaken for a meditation guide or a critical learned essay.
4.0 out of 5 stars
boy did he leave a lot of folks out!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Re Enchantment (Hardcover)
I also was amazed by who was left out. A sample: namkhai norbu, tenzin wangyal, ole nydahl and...(drum roll)...tarthang tulku(!!!)All these people are very, very interesting (sometimes controversial) teachers of tibetan buddhism. That's why it's so surprising he doesn't include them. They're all so interesting!!! That said, this is very much worth reading. It's well done and he doesn't candy coat any of the bad stuff (refreshing). There were plenty of new things (to me, anyway) here that made me seriously think. I particularly liked the great dzogchen master that one man put up in his lavish upstairs bedroom, only to have the master move into a walk-in closet and convert it into a version of a "himalayan cave." I loved the story where some man in a western audience said to the dalai lama, "Just tell us the fastest way to So, the bottom line is I'm very glad I read this book. However, the definitive story of tibetan buddhism in the west remains to be told. That said, you'll enjoy this book a lot. I know I did.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Too bad, bewitched again,
By John C. Landon "nemonemini" (New York City) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Re Enchantment (Hardcover)
We need good histories of Buddhism and Hinduism, and this work is another incremental bit added to the literature, worth reading. Tibetan Buddhists have reached Hollywood finally but have a nasty habit of getting chased out of one country only to invade another using their 'standard operating procedures', black magic and other nice tactics that leave their fans not knowing what hit them. You can almost spot the game if you study the Lobsang Rampa swindle in motion. It was the guru Rajneeesh who let loose the bombshell of the occult fascism of the Buddhist sangha back when and a lot of Buddhists I know are distinctly 'ex' and permanently paranoid.What is the status of this religion, then? Setting up the usual exoteric museum piece in the middle of American culture is an expensive use of devoted followers who might find liberation in a less devious spiritual path.
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