The colorful tale of the successful flowering of an obscure, ancient Eastern sect in the modern world. In a single generation, Tibetan Buddhism developed from the faith of a remote mountain people, associated with bizarre, almost medieval, superstitions, to perhaps the most rapidly growing and celebrity-studded religion in the West. Disaffected with other religious traditions yet searching for meaning, huge numbers of Americans have found their way to the wisdom of Tibetan lamas in exile. Earthy, humorous, commonsensical, and eccentric, these flamboyant teacherslarger-than-life characters like Lama Yeshe and Chogyma Trungpaproved to be charismatic and gifted ambassadors for their ancient religion. So did two Western women, born in Brooklyn and London's East End, whose homegrown religious intuitions turned out to be identical with the most sophisticated Tibetan teachings, revealing them to be reincarnated lamas. With great flair for both the sublime and the human, Jeffrey Paine narrates in page-turning, richly informative fashion how Tibetan Buddhismrarified and sensual, mystical and commonsensicalbecame the ideal religion for a "post-religious" age. 15 photographs.
- ISBN10 0393019683
- ISBN13 9780393019681
- Publish Date 16 March 2004
- Publish Status Inactive
- Out of Print 23 August 2012
- Publish Country US
- Imprint WW Norton & Co
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 288
- Language English