Jeffery Paine

A really interesting look at the people who "discovered" Tibetan Buddhism when it was still an unfamiliar philosophy in a little-known and inaccessible place, and then the explosion of interest after the Dalai Lama was forced from Tibet by the Chinese invasion. The author clearly sees the displacement of Tibet's religious elite and the diaspora to the West as a huge and beneficial change for both the religion and the rest of us.

I'm marking this as finished, but I will return to it often. It is great to dip into a few pages or the whole thing.

It is just what I had hoped for. A wonderful introduction to Huston Smith. This man is a genius. I had been looking for a book I could hand to patrons of the library that would introduce them to his wonderful works. I highly recommend this. Once you read a little you will want to read a lot!

This is an anthology of excerpts from books about Buddhism. Personally, I'd rather read the originals.

My favorite collection of Buddhist essays, most written from the perspective of Westerners who have become enraptured with the dharma. I absolutely love John Blofeld's essay "The Lost World of Chinese Buddhism" and Alexandra David-Neel's "Tibet as it Once Was." Definitely recommended.