Prisoners of Shangri-La

Tibetan Buddhism and the West

Nonfiction, History, Asian, India, Religion & Spirituality, Eastern Religions, Buddhism
Cover of the book Prisoners of Shangri-La by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr. ISBN: 9780226485515
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: February 27, 2018
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
ISBN: 9780226485515
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: February 27, 2018
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

To the Western imagination, Tibet evokes exoticism, mysticism, and wonder: a fabled land removed from the grinding onslaught of modernity, spiritually endowed with all that the West has lost. Originally published in 1998, Prisoners of Shangri-La provided the first cultural history of the strange encounter between Tibetan Buddhism and the West. Donald Lopez reveals here fanciful misconceptions of Tibetan life and religion. He examines, among much else, the politics of the term “Lamaism,” a pejorative synonym for Tibetan Buddhism; the various theosophical, psychedelic, and New Age purposes served by the so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead; and the unexpected history of the most famous of all Tibetan mantras, om mani padme hum. More than pop-culture anomalies, these versions of Tibet are often embedded in scholarly sources, constituting an odd union of the popular and the academic, of fancy and fact.

Upon its original publication, Prisoners of Shangri-La sent shockwaves through the field of Tibetan studies—hailed as a timely, provocative, and courageous critique. Twenty years hence, the situation in Tibet has only grown more troubled and complex—with the unrest of 2008, the demolition of the dwellings of thousands of monks and nuns at Larung Gar in 2016, and the scores of self-immolations committed by Tibetans to protest the Dalai Lama’s exile.

In his new preface to this anniversary edition, Lopez returns to the metaphors of prison and paradise to illuminate the state of Tibetan Buddhism—both in exile and in Tibet—as monks and nuns still seek to find a way home. Prisoners of Shangri-La remains a timely and vital inquiry into Western fantasies of Tibet.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

To the Western imagination, Tibet evokes exoticism, mysticism, and wonder: a fabled land removed from the grinding onslaught of modernity, spiritually endowed with all that the West has lost. Originally published in 1998, Prisoners of Shangri-La provided the first cultural history of the strange encounter between Tibetan Buddhism and the West. Donald Lopez reveals here fanciful misconceptions of Tibetan life and religion. He examines, among much else, the politics of the term “Lamaism,” a pejorative synonym for Tibetan Buddhism; the various theosophical, psychedelic, and New Age purposes served by the so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead; and the unexpected history of the most famous of all Tibetan mantras, om mani padme hum. More than pop-culture anomalies, these versions of Tibet are often embedded in scholarly sources, constituting an odd union of the popular and the academic, of fancy and fact.

Upon its original publication, Prisoners of Shangri-La sent shockwaves through the field of Tibetan studies—hailed as a timely, provocative, and courageous critique. Twenty years hence, the situation in Tibet has only grown more troubled and complex—with the unrest of 2008, the demolition of the dwellings of thousands of monks and nuns at Larung Gar in 2016, and the scores of self-immolations committed by Tibetans to protest the Dalai Lama’s exile.

In his new preface to this anniversary edition, Lopez returns to the metaphors of prison and paradise to illuminate the state of Tibetan Buddhism—both in exile and in Tibet—as monks and nuns still seek to find a way home. Prisoners of Shangri-La remains a timely and vital inquiry into Western fantasies of Tibet.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Valuing Life by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book Political Descent by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book The Correspondence of Hannah Arendt and Gershom Scholem by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book Firebreak by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book Bourgeois Equality by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book Not in Our Lifetimes by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book Why Not Parties? by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book The Dawn of the Deed by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book Dreams, Illusion, and Other Realities by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book Making Marie Curie by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book Natural Visions by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book Realizing Educational Rights by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book Michael Polanyi and His Generation by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book Digital Paper by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Cover of the book NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2014 by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr.
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy