John Powers gave a presentation in Sydney University yesterday under the auspices of the AABS. Entitled “Tortured Logic”, he dealt with the presentation of Tibet and of Tibetan Buddhism as provided by the Chinese Communist Party, as against its mirror image provided by the Central Tibetan Administration. Very informative, very clear.
John P is the author of what I think is one of the best introductions to Tibetan Buddhism there is. It’s called Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, straightforwardly enough. I’ve often recommended it, as it is solid, sympathetic yet impartial, assumes no prior knowledge at all on the part of the reader but really does give you an introduction, not just a few hand-waving, good-feeling morsels. So it was nice to meet the author and see a sharp, open and greatly knowledgeable mind combined with a warm personality and an enthusiasm for communication. A real scholar.
