Gendun Chopel is considered the most important Tibetan intellectual of the twentieth century. His life spanned the two defining moments in modern Tibetan history: the entries into Lhasa by British troops in 1904 and by Chinese troops in 1951. Recognized as an incarnate lama while he was a child, Gen[...]

In a culture where poetry is considered the highest form of human language, Gendun Chopel is revered as Tibet's greatest modern poet. Born in 1903 as British troops were preparing to invade his homeland, he was identified at any early age as the incarnation of a famous lama and became a Buddhist mon[...]

Donald Lopez provides in this book a cultural history of the strange encounter between Tibetan Buddhism and the West. He reveals fanciful misconceptions of Tibetan life and religion and examines the movement for independence from China and the politics of the term "Lamaism", a pejorative synonym for[...]

Over the past century Buddhism has come to be seen as a world religion, exceeding Christianity in longevity and, according to many, philosophical wisdom. Buddhism has also increasingly been described as strongly ethical, devoted to nonviolence, and dedicated to bringing an end to human suffering. An[...]

"The Tibetan Book of the Dead" is the most famous Buddhist text in the West, having sold more than a million copies since it was first published in English in 1927. Carl Jung wrote a commentary on it, Timothy Leary redesigned it as a guidebook for an acid trip, and the Beatles quoted Leary's version[...]

An enlightening historical survey of Buddhism illuminates the great variety of teachings, schools, and practices associated with the religion, and traces the historical development of Buddhism throughout diverse cultures. Reprint.[...]

With more than 5,000 entries totalling over a million words, this dictionary of Buddhism in English covers terms from all of the canonical Buddhist languages and traditions: Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. It also includes an appendix of Buddhist lists, a timeline, six maps, [...]