From Library Journal
The West has shown an almost inexhaustible interest in the spiritual teachings of the Buddhist East, and Tibet in particular has evoked a special fascination. It is not difficult now to read in English the major and minor Buddhist scriptures of Tibetan Buddhism, but until now there has not been a collection of related poetry in a Western language. This anthology from Jinpa (the Dalai Lama's principal translator) and Elsner's anthology makes a strong case for the spiritual importance of this poetic tradition, and their translations are, by and large, readable and somewhat less forbidding than some of the long prose instructions characteristic of Buddhist scripture. Poetry makes the insights more accessible: "When I first began meditating,/ I felt a surge of bliss,/ like a couple in love gazing on each other." A fine volume; recommended for collections where there is interest in Buddhism.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
This is the first major anthology of Tibetan poetry to become available in the West. Translators Thupten Jinpa—one of the Dalai Lama's principal interpreters—and Jas' Elsner have created an accessible collection geared toward a general audience. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, poetry has long been one of the primary means of expressing spiritual experience. The splendid poems in this collection communicate spiritual insight with astonishing grace and precision.
Songs of Spiritual Experience includes original translations of fifty-two poems, a lengthy introduction about the role of poetry in Tibetan Buddhism, and a helpful glossary that includes commentary on the poems. The book serves both as an introduction to Tibetan poetry and to Tibetan Buddhist philosophy.
