Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World by Lama Surya Das

Book review by Pamela Hopkinson

Not living very close to a local group, I place great store by the books I read on Buddhism. I picked this one up because Surya Das has constructed the book following the Eight-Fold Path, and I'd been meditating on parts of this for a long time.

Inside I found one of the liveliest and most enjoyable books on Buddhism that I have read for a long time. With the aim of providing Westerners with a from-the-ground-up introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, Surya Das has written a book that is part guide for living and meditation instruction, part background to Tibetan theology and thought, part autobiography and reminiscence. He's tried to give the reader as much as he can and for me, interest in the book's 450-plus pages never flagged.

Surya Das has some great reminiscences, he's studied with many many masters - not just Tibetan, but Zen and Burmese as well. He was involved in establishing one of the first Tibetan centres in the US. He writes about his first experiences in a Tibetan monastery, Kopan in the Kathmandu valley in 1971: "We didn't think about it then, but the bridge that would help the Dharma cross from East to West was being constructed right before our eyes and under our noses." There are quotes from many other Buddhist teachers, meditation instruction and a wide variety of excercises. At the end of the book is an overview of Buddhism in the West where Surya Das identifies ten emerging trends. There's also practical advice on finding your own path.

The warmth of the Tibetan path shines through every page. My battered paperback copy quickly became a well loved friend, and the book I would most recommend to anyone who wanted to know about Tibetan Buddhism.

Book Details

Published by Bantam Books £8.99

Available from Amazon.co.uk