A Journey in Ladakh

A Journey in Ladakh: Encounters with Buddhism This is one of my favorite books. I gave it to a friend for Christmas.

Ladakh is an unbelievable spot, very unique. Although almost 30 years old, this book hasn't lost any of its magic and relevancy. It helped me understand Ladakh and its Buddhism better.

After being advised to visit Ladakh by a number of people, traveller & writer Andrew Harvey finally arrives in the remote Himalayan region. His journey is more of a spiritual quest & is further propelled by his meeting of a Tibetan Rinpoche. He finds himself torn between his rational Western ego which is telling him that this Tibetan Rinpoche could be a fraud & giving up his former life to stay in Ladakh & immerse himself in Tibetan Buddhism.Like any Westerner who visits such a remote region, he laments over the encroachment of the West to an ancient culture & wonders what will happen to Ladakh in the future. Wishing that he could help conserve Ladakh's unique identity, his hope is that this book will show an honest account of Ladakh, it's people & it's culture. A brilliant book for anyone travelling on their spiritual journey.

...and your heart will open also. This is the feeling I was left with towards the end of this story. It became a physical thing - a very real sense that my heart opened. Extraordinary.The sadness was that what Harvey learned in a few months most of us will fail to achieve in many years - even lives. And that, following this book, was a depressing thought.

In my reading of spirtual journeys none has been told with the personale depth that Mr. Harvey has been able to capture and infuse in this reader. This is a book for those both old and new to reading about spiritual quests. A true and universal love story of awe.