Customer Reviews

The Book of Tibetan Elders

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For those who always wanted to sit next to the wise elders and talk to them but could not, this is a book for them! Travel with the author and spend time and visit with the Tibetan elders and learn the wisdom of dharma.

I like this book because the author cradles the reader and takes him/her on a journey. It seems like you are there with the author asking the questions yourself. There are also concepts of Buddhism and dharma which are discussed in everyday language and also some description of the Tibetan culture. Discussions with different elders adds to the personal touch and makes the reader realize how people can still live in harmony and compassion even in exile.

I reccommend this book highly and in fact I am now interested in reading her other book on the American Indian elders.

This unpretentious little book, printed in its paperback edition on slightly rough, newspapery paper, is humble about itself, but it is so full of warmth, love and heart that I can't see how anyone could *NOT* fall in love with it. The author injects her personal quest for a teacher, for answers, and for a good relationship with her mother into a series of interviews with Tibetans. I found the down-to-earthness absolutely refreshing. Her encounter with the Dalai Lama reinforces my extremely high opinion of him (he jumped down one step and told Sandy "Now I'm on the same level as you!") But all sorts of little vignettes shine forth... This book also has some really practical advice strung throughout, told by Tibetans themselves, instructions on how to meditate, how to honor a guru, how to live with a loving heart. I will definitely read this book again someday soon!

This is a wonderful book. There are countless volumes about Tibetan Buddhism on bookshelves today, but none that speaks of the pilgrim's journey quite like this one. It's written in such a refreshingly honest style, and the answers given to the questions asked provide a clear and useable foundation to the basics of Buddhist practice without being preachy or obtuse.

I think the last paragraph sums up the whole experience very well:

"The people of Shambala hold the secrets, secrets we must once have known but somehow have lost sight of, that peace must be found first within ourselves before we can begin to expect peace in the world. Theirs was a civilization that lived peacefully for at least a thousand years, until their borders were invaded. They offer us some practical advice for achieving inner peace, a handbook for saving the world, written by some of the last people alive who have access to the instructions."

I like that very much. If you read this book you will not be disappointed.

This book was written about ten years ago, when Buddism and tibetology had reached a peak in the spiritualistic minded American West. The influence of expatriated tibetan teachers was starting to significantly influence religious approaches of many unsatisfied peace of mind seekers in different parts of the world. The Author, who had already written a good book on spirituality of American Indians thought to apply her interview method to tibetan wise-men as well. This feat is accomplished with great systematicity and professionality. She started her research from Little Tibet (Ladakh) where many tibetans were residing, to continue to Dharamsala in India where the tibetan government in exile works, to Switzerland and France and back to the USA, where many tibetan lamas are now practicing. However interview books are often boaring or show a discontinuity that does not help smooth reading, so the gluing element lies in the author's personal story, especially her relationship with her family. This element shifts the book from a simple trascription of interviews to a more readable travelogue.

One of the heighlights of the book is the possibility of listening to the tue voice of the speakers, eventhough some of the questions they are asked are somehow biased by the Author's personal experience and her spiritual curiosity. The second meritory point is in the wide sample of tibetans interviewed that ranges from an oracle to the Dalai Lama, from a tailor to the best pick of tibetan aristocracy. And finally a great space is dedicated to tibetan women and their approach to religion and life. I have seldom encountered a femministic approach to buddism and I appreaciate it very much.

Drawbacks: tibetan history, politics, society, culture and religion are very complicated and oversimplification would have required a greater explanation of terms utilized, historical facts, and basically cultural context of the Tibetan problem. I had to look things up in other books to understand the real meaning of many of the interviews reported. At times the impression is of a superficial even if deeply participating feeling of the Author.

I place this book somewhere in between a personal search for illumination, a social study research on one of the most important and devastating acts of communist China, and an amateur description of Tibetan civilization.

Many readers have and will still enjoy the book, since it does have the great merit of arising curiosity on this deep and mystical world and religion that has now come to live among us.

What a great book to read if you want to have an understanding of Buddhism. The author has an incredible way of pulling you in to the book and you feel as if you are there beside her during her journey. I was so touched by the book. Her describing her meeting with the Dalai Lama as if she were in the presence of pure light was so profoundly touching. Interesting subject matter in itself, but the author's talents make the book a must for anyone with curiosity about Buddhism and the Tibetan people and their culture.

This book is a joy to read. The autobiographical aspects are as compelling as the many wonderful dharma insights offered the reader in the interviews with the Tibetan "elders." Lots of good practical advice for the budding Buddhist practitioner.

Johnson gives an excellent account of many of the great spiritual masters. I felt as if I was on the journey with the author at times - the gift for telling a story while "presenting the facts" is evident.

This work helps us understand the unique and powerful perspective on life held by these spiritual masters. What's more, it is told in the context of a fascinating adventure explored by the author. We see how she is is changed by the experience