Adventures with the Buddha: A Buddhism Reader (Paperback)

by Jeffery Paine (Author) "As the ship ploughed the rough sea passage, the passengers aboard gradually realized a human puzzle was in their midst..." (more)
Key Phrases: bright faith, head monk, buttered tea, Lama Yeshe, Dalai Lama, Geshe Rabten (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. "Many Buddhist books will edify you," Paine writes, "but will any entertain you?" Paine (Re-enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes to the West) here offers up an enthralling anthology of nine Western "writer-adventurers" who journeyed to India, Tibet, Nepal, China and Japan to study the various incarnations of Buddhism. The first five writers, including a disaffected Frenchwoman and a Dutch mystery novelist, tell of their experiences in Asia during the first half of the 20th century, when there were still tantalizing unexplored "white spaces" on the map. They reverently describe a wild and woolly land filled with magic: lamas discoursing via mental telepathy; almost-naked gurus meditating in icy caves for years at a time; Shangri-La landscapes filled with clanging processions of gaily-dressed pilgrims. The book's second half features four contemporary American Buddhist writers such as Sharon Salzberg and Michael Roach. To one degree or another, they also share their experiences in Asia, but these writers' main focus is the interior realm: how Buddhism has affected their own day-to-day emotional and spiritual lives—a familiar theme in current Buddhist writing, but one which these writers make fresh. Paine's own contributions are limited to brief introductions, but these are lively and illuminating. Paine's real genius, however, is constructing a cohesive, potent anthology that informs, delights and fires the imagination, a work that both recalls a lost world and illustrates its continued relevance today.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Buddhist books for Westerners abound, but almost all are edifying rather than entertaining. Determined to create a beguiling and pleasurable Buddhist collection, Paine, author of Re-enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes to the West [BKL Ja 1 & 15 04], turned to the personal stories of nine Western pilgrims to Tibet, China, India, Japan, and Nepal to assemble a unique and eye-opening anthology of judiciously excerpted spiritual travel memoirs. Paine's commentary is lively and informative, and his selections are excellent, beginning with the greatest "religious investigator" of them all, Alexandra David-Nell, the first European woman to travel in Tibet. She sets a high standard for courageous quests intelligently chronicled, but the German Lama Anagarika Govinda, who traveled in Tibet in the 1930s and 1940s, and the Russian exile Peter Goullart, who lived in China, are equally compelling. As are the living Buddhist travelers Paine showcases, including popular Buddhist writer Sharon Salzberg and African American Buddhist Jan Willis. These inspiriting adventure stories testify to both personal discoveries and Buddhism's great vitality. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (December 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393327469
• ISBN-13: 978-0393327465
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #316,978 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)