By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – You might want to add a few books about the Dalai Lama to your summer reading list. As UB continues its preparations for the Tibetan leader's September visit to Buffalo, it has posted a suggested reading list.
If you are feeling the need to learn more about the Dalai Lama, an extensive reading list has been posted on UB's Web site. A book publication company in Ithaca helped the University with the suggested list. Sidney Piburn is vice president, and editor and chief of Snow Lion Publications. He says the list includes a number of books written by the 14th Dalai Lama.
Piburn says it really helps to read some of the books in order to understand the Tibetan leader's visit to Buffalo.
Piburn says when Snow Lion first opened back in 1980, there were only about half a dozen books dealing with Tibet and Buddhism. But now he suspects there are about a thousand. Piburn says it is difficult to narrow down a reading list, but offered his expertise. One of the books Piburn highly suggests was written 25 years ago by the Dalai Lama, called "Kindness, Clarity and Insight." It was written after one of his very first trips to North America.
"(The book) has a sequence of topics that were selected by the Dalai Lama," Piburn said. "He thought (these topics) were the most essential for Western people interested in Buddhism, Tibet or his views."
The Dalai Lama reading list includes a number of books by other authors on Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan history and culture. The list also includes suggestions on intermediate and advanced reading.
But for those looking for a simple explanation, Piburn says there is "A Beginners Guide to Tibetan Buddhism" and "Buddhism for Beginners." What is not on the list is "Buddhism for Dummies", but Piburn says it's out there as well for purchase.