Publisher's Synopsis
An empty space has opened up in our culture by the decline of Christianity and the failure of our dominant systems of thought - whether political, religious or materialistic - to provide a compelling account of what it is to be human, and how we should conduct ourselves in this world.
Buddhism speaks in an intelligent and compelling way to the emptiness at the heart of Western culture. And yet, despite the emigration of Buddhist teachers to the West, despite translations of its classical texts, and despite many books on its core teachings, Buddhism remains confined to the periphery of Western culture, in small, suburban 'dharma centers' and niche cultural spaces.
Why is it that Buddhism has not yet entered the mainstream of Western culture? In exploring this question, Jampa Thaye surveys the conditions under which Buddhism has arrived in the contemporary West, providing a fascinating and original insight into Buddhism's encounter with Western culture and the Western mind.
