The Diamond Path: Tibetan and Mongolian Myth

Myth and Mankind

by Time-Life Books

A dramatic series that captures, culture by culture, the information that never makes it into the history books: strange stories, mystic rites, angry gods, vision quests.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, History, Spirituality, Religion, Asia, Reference

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Diamond Path is wonderful, yet challenging read. Though I know very little of Tibetan and Mongolian Myth, I feel as though a book like this is more of a primer. I will definitely be on the lookout for more in-depth books on the subject in the future.

[Paul Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great coffee table book on the early history of Tibetan-style buddhism

[Bremen Whitlock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like most of the other books in this series, it is a relic of the year 2000. While it handles most of its discussion of non-white European cultures with some grace, there are bits here and there that probably haven't aged well. Overall, a fine introductory text and I learned a few new interesting things (such as the Bon religion), and this one handled a bit better than others of not just throwing random stories at you without some additional historical context (such as how tales of Roman Caesars were recontextualized in new cultures) which I appreciate.

[Paul Groos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange to find so few truly Buddhist stories in this book on Tibetan myth. The book focuses on the myth of the Bon-religion and on Mongolian myth. Despite the lack of Buddhist stories (which may be covered in another book in this series), this is a nice collection of stories, linked to history and descriptions of Mongolian and Tibetan culture.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating mélange of fact and folklore.