Re-Enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes to the West

by Jeffery Paine

The colorful tale of the successful flowering of an obscure, ancient Eastern sect in the modern world. In a single generation, Tibetan Buddhism developed from the faith of a remote mountain people, associated with bizarre, almost medieval, superstitions, to perhaps the most rapidly growing and celebrity-studded religion in the West. Disaffected with other religious traditions yet searching for meaning, huge numbers of Americans have found their way to the wisdom of Tibetan lamas in exile. Earthy, humorous, commonsensical, and eccentric, these flamboyant teacherslarger-than-life characters like Lama Yeshe and Chogyma Trungpaproved to be charismatic and gifted ambassadors for their ancient religion. So did two Western women, born in Brooklyn and London's East End, whose homegrown religious intuitions turned out to be identical with the most sophisticated Tibetan teachings, revealing them to be reincarnated lamas. With great flair for both the sublime and the human, Jeffrey Paine narrates in page-turning, richly informative fashion how Tibetan Buddhismrarified and sensual, mystical and commonsensicalbecame the ideal religion for a "post-religious" age. 15 photographs.

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Religion, Eastern Philosophy

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 9, 2004

Reviews

[Kaelan Ratcliffe ▪ كايِلان راتكِليف · Rating 5 out of 5]

འགུར་ལྡོག་ (gyur-tog) / change
A wonderful read that perfectly encapsulates the beginnings of the west's eventual love affair with Tibetan Buddhism. Jeffery Paine illuminates some absolutely fascinating figures in this book so effectively, that I found myself migrating away from its pages, and onto YouTube multiple times, just to see if said figures had been captured by camera.

My favourite has to be the story of London born Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, who ended up, eventually, meditating for 14 years alone in a mountain cave. It made for an absolutely astonishing read.

This is most certainly the sort of read that eschews dry academic scholarship, and instead dives into explaining on an emotional level, what a rare happenstance it was that this very particular sect of Buddhism managed to blossom into such a western phenomenon. I myself can't deny its pull, given I attended a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Brisbane Australia for some time when first moving here last year October 2022, and have partaken in a weekend retreat in the first Buddhist temple (also Tibetan) in Australia on the Sunshine Coast; Chenrezig Institute. In fact my copy of this book came from the Library under the Vihara there.

[Gian Manguerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great history read on the import of Tibetan Buddhism to the west. There’s clearly been many great Lamas and other spiritual leaders who spread their religion with their own style and philosophy.

As a catholic, I’ve often had to reconcile how my religion had been forced upon my ancestors to justify the superiority of the colonizers. Part of my believed that that’s always how religion spread - a conquest of others. But what Paine makes clear is that there exists a spiritual hunger in many people, and Buddhism in the 20th century presented a world of possibilities for the entire religious spectrum, even the atheists. My favorite quote in here comes from Lama Yeshe, where he indicates that Buddhism doesn’t have to be considered a religion, but a study of the mind.

I think that statement resonates with me because in many of the techniques of spiritual leaders shared, I was reminded back to my time in therapy. Ideas such as observing your own emotions, centering yourself around your breath, letting go of your preconceived notions, thoughts forming your reality, are ideas I’ve cherished for a while, and I didn’t know that they were rooted in this religion.

My one criticism of this book is the presentation of Trungpa, a spiritual leader. His dedicated chapter will initially have you believe that this guy’s an eccentric but effective teacher. I was following along and was very interested in his story, only to find towards the end of the chapter that this man was an abuser. I understand introducing nuance to people and the entirety of the movement, but in a lot of ways, abuser is the defining word of Trungpa’s legacy, and he should be remembered as such.

[David Pantano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Jeffery Paine writes a highly informative and entertaining account of the introduction, impact and proliferation of Tibetan Budhhism onto the Western Psyche. In an easy-to-read style, Paine outlines the vision Tibet represented in the West, pre and post Chinese invasion, circa 1959 - 2010. Special attention is afforded to the role Tibetan magic and mystery played in stirring the fascination of western adventurers of the psyche. The book does an admiral job of profiling spiritual leaders, such as Lama Yeshe, Chogyam Trungpa and Dalai Lama. to best illustrate how and why Tibetan Buddhism captured the imagination of Westerners searching for spiritual meaning and direction in times of upheaval from their own cultural values.

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I give this more than 5 stars? Couldn't put it down.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating look at a process that began as long ago as the dawn of the 20th Century. Beginning with the interpid explorers of the early days which, by the way, included women acouple of whom had some of the greatest success in infiltrating Tibetan culture, even learning the notoriously difficult Tibetan language in an astonishingly short time - almost unheard of in that era. The book takes us from those beginnings through the tragedy of the Chinese occupation and the subsequent meeting of the refugees and those members of the long-haired Flower Power generation who were searching for something more than just another high; it also moves into the modern era of Dali Lama and Richard Gere photo ops in a seamless, informative and insightful manner which makes a pretty complex subject a pleasure to explore; conversely sometimes so much detail can make your temples throb a bit! Overall, definitely worth a look!

[Joel Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Consistently engaging throughout! Learned alot more in depth about some familiar names and some not as familiar.

Most of the book is NOT about the Dalai Lama which was refreshing in studies of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, but this quote stuck out to me regardless of that fact. "The Dalai Lama insists that he is a simple Buddhist monk and his insistence goes beyond words. With his constant travel his home is practically on airplanes, but unlike financiers and politicians with their private planes, he flies commercial airlines and refuses to fly first class. In 1963 when Tibetans in exile drafted their first constitution, the Dalai Lama insisted, against everyone's protests, on inserting a clause that he could be impeached. American presidents and other elected servants of the world's democracies now expect to be treated like royalty, while the monarch of a divine theocracy illustrates how a democratic leader might actually behave.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of THE best books I’ve read this year. Hands down. Not only is the subject matter great, but he focuses not on the religious aspect of Tibetan Buddhism, but the people as well, crafting amazing tales around some figures that are worth reading into, like Tenzin Palmo, the Dalai Lama, Chogyam Trungpa, and Alexandra David-Neel.

His attitude for a traditional bibliography is great, too. He says it would be longer than the book itself, and really, he quoted a lot of books within the work itself, so if the common reader is interested in it, they should be taking note anyways!

I enjoyed his book. It was wonderfully written and funny and touching and I can’t say enough about this little unknown book I found in the library, having never been checked out.

[Rick Goff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a set of brief accounts of Western adventurers and seekers exploring Tibet and its mystical Buddhist tradition, and of the 1959 dispersion of Tibetan Buddhism that arose from Chinese suppression. I really enjoyed reading about these people, particularly 19th century Frenchwoman Alexandra David-Neel, who seems just too interesting to be real, and Chogyam Trungpa, who could have been the Rat Pack Lama had he been introduced to Frank Sinatra. One Jeopardy fact to take from this book is that Uma Thurman is the daughter of Robert Thurman, a significant figure in the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the West.

[Craig Bergland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It's a delightfully insightful account of Tibetan Buddhism coming to the west. Actually, it begins with the west going to Tibet in the form of some early pioneers. I especially enjoyed that the author didn't shy away from some controversial figures in western Tibetan Buddhism, but also didn't address them less than charitably. I found the book full of insight, information, anecdotes, and compassion. This is one of the most human books I have read about Tibetan Buddhism. Highly recommended!

[Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quietly, humorously edifying - the book moves across time and space at a confident clip, in part to show how time will have its way with intransigence, in part to show how a practice - particular to a time and place - still teaches those who have stumbled upon or inherited its capacity to re-enchant.

[Catherine Auman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful gossipy account of the spread of Tibetan Buddhism after the Chinese holocaust. Stories about the Dalai Lama, Richard Gere, and a fascinating hero named Alexandra David-Neel who I now want to read more about. Reads like a novel.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of how Tibetan Buddhism came to the West (mostly the U.S.) told via the lives of particular teachers, some Tibetan, some American. The interesting lives of these people really move the story along. Very engaging. I finished it in 8 days (unusual for me).

[Amy kohut]

fabulous writing.