The Spirit of Tibet; The Life and World of Khyentse Rinpoche, Spiritual Teacher

Best-selling author of The Monk and the Philosopher engages readers with his eighteen-year pilgrimage in The Spirit of Tibet.

Poet, scholar, philosopher, and master of Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche led a life of profound dedication to spiritual enlightenment and teaching. During the final fourteen years of his life his personal assistant was Matthieu Ricard. Together they traveled throughout Tibet, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, returning to the places of Khyentse Rinpoche's youth: his birthplace in Eastern Tibet; the monastery of Shechen which he had entered at the age of eleven; and the retreats where he spent years in meditation and study. At every stop on his journey, Khyentse Rinpoche was welcomed with elaborate ceremonies and outpourings of devotion.

Ricard's deeply personal photographs of this journey are enhanced by a biographical narrative that is interspersed with extensive passages from the writings and teachings of Khyentse Rinpoche. Together, these images and texts form an inspiring portrait of one of the great spiritual leaders and teachers of our time. Many masters of Tibetan Buddhism studied with Khyentse Rinpoche, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who regarded him as his principal instructor in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Spirit of Tibet brings us the color and pageantry of the spiritual life and cultures of Tibet, Nepal, India, and Bhutan-- the countries where Khyentse Rinpoche taught and traveled. The story imparts a rare view of a spiritual leader's journey to enlightenment, against a backdrop of a land whose traditions are both ancient and remarkably relevant to our times.

"Khyentse Rinpoche was a model for all other holders of the teachings. We should not only admire his inconceivable knowledge, wisdom, and accomplishment, but, more importantly, we should follow his example and emulate those qualities ourselves. The Buddha's teachings are of enormous value for everyone, not only to dedicated practitioners but to lay people, too, and we must try our best to practice and implement them, and to emulate the great teachers who have followed him."--His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from his Remembrance

Matthieu Ricard has been a Buddhist monk for eighteen years. He has translated and edited numerous books on Tibetan Buddhism and is highly praised for his scholarship and knowledge of Tibetan religion and culture. Born in France in 1946, Ricard studied biology at Paris Science University and wrote, Les Migrations animales, a widely read book on animal migration. His multiple talents also led him to expertise in astronomy, music, sports, scientific journalism, and photography. His photographs were first published in Réalités. While doing postgraduate research in cell genetics at the Institut Pasteur under Nobel Laureate François Jacob, Ricard traveled to India for the first time in 1967 to pursue his interest in Tibetan Buddhism, studying first with Kangyur Rinpoche and later with Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Ricard has lived in the Himalayan region since 1972; he currently resides at Shechen Monastery in Nepal.