Mission to Tibet recounts the fascinating eighteenth-century journey of the Jesuit priest Ippolito Desideri (1684-1733) to the Tibetan plateau. The Italian missionary was most notably the first European to learn about Buddhism directly with Tibetan scholars and monks-and from a profound study of its primary texts. While there, Desideri was an eyewitness to some of the most tumultuous events in Tibet's history, of which he left us a vivid and dramatic account. Desideri explores key Buddhist concepts including emptiness and rebirth, together with their philosophical and ethical implications, with startling detail and sophistication. This book also includes an introduction situating the work in the context of Desideri's life and the intellectual and religious milieu of eighteenth century Catholicism.
Industry Reviews
"Since the nineteenth century, Indo-Tibetan Madhyamaka philosophy has held a special fascination for many in the West-for those who work in the fields of Buddhist studies and comparative philosophy as well as for Buddhist practitioners. Madhyamaka analysis probes essential issues in the philosophy of language, the philosophy of mind (how we think about the world), ontology (how we think the world is constituted), and epistemology (how we know the world). D. Seyfort Ruegg's multiple incursions into this subtle mode of thinking have been path-breaking and, I dare say, of unique importance to anyone investigating Madhyamaka ideas."
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