Re-Enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes to the West [Hardcover]

At the beginning of "Re-Enchantment", (2004) a study of Tibetan Buddhism and the West, Jeffery Paine describes Thomas Merton's journey to Dharamsala, the home of the Tibetan government in exile, in 1968. Paine describes how Merton's initial skepticism towards the Tibetan form of Buddhism quickly vanished and how Merton came to think that this then-obscure sect of Buddhism might "spiritually reanimate" (p.8) the West.

Following his exploration of Tibetan Buddhism's reception in the West, Paine discusses (pp. 257-259) three factors that he believes have influenced many people in the West in their search for spiritual renewal: 1. universality and nonpartisanship, by which Paine means that this esoteric Buddhist sect has been transformed in the West to a religion accessible to people of all backgrounds, races, and creeds; 2. individual responsibility, by which Paine means the emphasis given in all schools of Buddhism to individuals working towards their own enlightenment; and 3.heightened capabilities, or the hope Tibetan Buddhism holds out of deepening one's understanding of oneself and reaching new spiritual depths. Paine concludes that "even if Tibetan Buddhism disappeared tomorrow, it would have meanwhile enriched numerous lives and renewed appreciation for what spirituality is." (p. 260)

This is an inspiring vision indeed, and there is much in Paine's study and to teach. Paine introduces the reader to a mixed group of seekers who helped bring Tibetan Buddhism to westerners searching for a revitalized form of spirituality. The prominent characters include Alexandra David-Neel, a woman who made a hazardous journey to Lhasa in the 1920s, while in her mid-50s, overcame her own skepticism, and helped spread early knowledge of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism, Diane Perry, an English woman raised in the slums who became a Tibetan Buddhist nun named Tenzin Palmo and spent 12 years meditating in a cave in Tibet, Lama Thubten Yeshe, one of the first Tibetan lamas to attempt to teach Westerners, the American Harold Talbot, one of the first Americans to study in Tibet and the founder of a publishing house, and, of course primarily, the Dalai Lama himself. The book also discusses other important figures with a mixed influence including Chogyam Trungpa, a former Tibetan monk who became highly influential in the United States but whose life and particularly that of his successor was tainted by sexual, alcoholic, and financial scandal, and Catherine Burroughs, the founder of a large Tibetan center outside Washington, D.C. who has been described in Martha Sherrill's highly critical book, "The Buddha from Brooklyn" (2000)

There is much to be learned from this account, and Paine does not hesitate to point out the scandals that have plagued Tibetan Buddhism in the West, or its adoption by a host of Hollywood and media types. But he also points out that there is something fresh and alive in the movement and that, transplanted and Westernized, Tibetan Buddhism, has brought awakened many people of differing backgrounds -- including secularists -- to possibilities of spiritual growth within themselves.

Paine's book lacks the detail and breadth of a scholarly study. His decision not to include at least a basic bibliography was unfortunate. More importantly, the book does not give much of an account of the teachings of Buddhism and of the specific teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. Such an account, of course, is essential to understanding how this form of Buddhism has itself been transformed by its contact with the West. There is also some tendency, common to many writers on this subject, towards idealization of Tibetan Buddhism -- a too quick attempt to project some of the needs and values of Western secularism onto a religious teaching from a much different source.

Paine's study, I think, is too quick and too heady, but still valuable. I recommend that those readers wanting a more scholarly and sober account of the doctrinal bases of Tibetan Buddhism, as transferred to the West, see the many books of Professor David Lopez. His "Prisoners of Shangri-La" is a good place to start.

Robin Friedman

Even those who already know the story will enjoy spending time between the pages of Jeffrey Paine's engaging narrative. Through profiles of four well-known teachers, plus a few lesser lights, he recounts Tibetan Buddhism's arrival in North America after being driven in mid-20th century from its native environment, a tale of cynical and world-weary westerners becoming re-enchanted with the world.

A regular contributor to national publications, Paine knows how to keep a reader's attention. The book never lags and I would guess that most readers will be unwilling to put it down at the end of the evening. When the occasion warrants, Paine also lets his sense of humor shine, as in his discussion of actor Steven Segal, the world's most unlikely reincarnated lama and the only one, Paine observes, capable of uttering _Dalai Lama_ and _motherf......_ in the same sentence.

The book's most interesting insights are found in the chapter on Hollywood, a place where many are infatuated with the Dalai Lama and where you can even find a few practicing Buddhists, most prominently Richard Gere. Paine argues that actors already share a world view consistent with Buddhism, that thoughts and actions create reality. This dovetails nicely with the American ethos of being able to reinvent oneself, to start a new life. Paine sees a correlation in the growth of Buddhism in a society raised on film. Where the Buddha declined to discuss the soul and instead focused on our moment-to-moment experience of life, so too does the cinema ignore the metaphysical in building reality from sound, motion, and feeling.

The first of the book's five sections covers what little was known about Tibet in the west before the Chinese invasion of 1951 through the story of Alexander David-Neel (1868-1969), one of the first westerners (and the first western woman) to spend years in Tibet and to return home to write about it. This is followed by chapters on two lamas who had a lasting influence on North American Buddhism: Thubten Yeshe, whose teaching tours sprouted more than a hundred study and mediation centers across the United States and Canada; and Chogyam Trungpa, who started what is today the only accredited Buddhist university in North America. From the exiles Paine moves on to profile two homegrown lamas, the first generation of western teachers: Tenzin Palmo (Diane Perry), who spent 12 years in retreat and was only the second woman to be ordained in a Tibetan tradition; and Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo (Alyce Zeoli), the world's first female western-born reincarnated lama. The fourth section traces Hollywood's infatuation with Buddhism, and the last features sketches of three work-a-day North American converts.

Except for those in the last section, the figures profiled here are quite well known and for many of those already familiar with Tibetan Buddhism in North America, Paine has little new to offer to the story. What he brings is a deft sense of narrative, as well as a sensitive and sympathetic understanding of people and Buddhism. It's not clear from the text nor from online references whether Paine is a practicing Buddhist. But his balanced treatment of some of Tibetan Buddhism's more controversial characters, ones that often invite polarized reactions, suggest more than a need to live up to journalistic standards, more than a desire to protect these figures (and by implication Buddhism) from ridicule, but a genuine Buddhist-like concern for the welfare of others and an ability to see that none of us are perfect beings.

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I also was amazed by who was left out. A sample: namkhai norbu, tenzin wangyal, ole nydahl and...(drum roll)...tarthang tulku(!!!)

All these people are very, very interesting (sometimes controversial) teachers of tibetan buddhism. That's why it's so surprising he doesn't include them. They're all so interesting!!! That said, this is very much worth reading. It's well done and he doesn't candy coat any of the bad stuff (refreshing). There were plenty of new things (to me, anyway) here that made me seriously think. I particularly liked the great dzogchen master that one man put up in his lavish upstairs bedroom, only to have the master move into a walk-in closet and convert it into a version of a "himalayan cave." I loved the story where some man in a western audience said to the dalai lama, "Just tell us the fastest way to
enlightenment-" only to have the Great One burst into tears (tears of compassion, to my mind; read it and come to your own conclusion). Anyway, you get the idea.

So, the bottom line is I'm very glad I read this book. However, the definitive story of tibetan buddhism in the west remains to be told. That said, you'll enjoy this book a lot. I know I did.

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