The Open Road

THE OPEN ROAD
By Pico Iyer
Bloomsbury, $37.99

This traces the concerns and compromises of the Dalai Lama during his nearly 50 years of exile from Tibet.

The writer knows him well, as did his father. It is refreshing to observe through his eyes the spiritual leader's efforts to nourish his kingdom in exile and balance his deep sense of the impermanence of things with his younger followers' ideas of democracy in the here and now.

The globalisation of society means younger Tibetans want access to the material things the rest of us enjoy. The Dalai Lama sees the lure of such things and does not criticise them, for it is the Buddhist philosophy to see good in all things. But Iyer looks at the Dalai Lama's suggestion that globalisation could bring deeper and more valuable connections between countries than just economic ones.

This is a thoughtful and objective book with quotes and examples from followers of other traditions.