Books recommended in conjunction with the “Bridging Worlds” events
on campus celebrating His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Visit to Ithaca

Click here to purchase any of these titles

The Cakrasamvara Tantra
by David Gray, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Santa Clara University

On August 31 Gray spoke at The Cornell Store about the Cakrasamvara (Circle of Bliss) tantric system.  His landmark study and translation of the central text has just been published.  Regarded as the most powerful teachings attributed to the historical Buddha, these teachings have been regarded as secret and accessible to only the most advanced practitioners, but with the spread of Tibetan Buddhism globally these teachings have been interpreted and misinterpreted by many scholars and pseudo-scholars.

Basic Teachings of the Buddha: Gotama the Philosopher
by Glenn Wallis, Professor of Applied Meditation, Won Institute of Graduate Studies

With this new translation of Pali suttas, Glenn Wallis brings to the contemporary reader the core truths expounded by Gotama the Buddha on ethical, psychological, and philosophical matters.  These present a coherent vision of existence that spread across Asia in the following centuries, becoming enmeshed in local traditions and cultures. (Sept. 13 lecture at The Cornell Store)

Sons of the Buddha: The Early Lives of Three ExtraordinaryThai Masters,
by  Kamala Tiyavanich, Cornell PhD and  independent scholar 

Cornell alum and local resident Tiyavanich shows how three boys evolved into remarkable teachers of life lessons by drawing on everyday experience. Filled with lively anecdotes and illustrations and brimming with local color, this brand new book succeeds as Tiyavanich’s other books (Forest Recollections, The Buddha in the Jungle) have in bringing to life a complex religious tradition. (Sept. 25 event)

Emptiness and Quantum Nonlocality (not yet published)
by Vic Mansfield,Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Colgate University 

Watch for this upcoming book exploring the interaction between Buddhism and science.  Mahayana Buddhism is built upon the two pillars of emptiness and universal compassion.  Mansfield discusses the extraordinarily deep connections between emptiness and quantum nonlocality.  This most puzzling feature of quantum mechanics has a precise and detailed connection to emptiness, the philosophic heart of Tibetan Buddhism.  (Sept. 27 lecture at The Cornell Store)

The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God,
by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan

Ann Druyan, wife and collaborator of preeminent Cornell scientist Carl Sagan, edited Sagan's 1985 Gifford lectures to create this recent book about the interaction between science and religion. When the Dalai Lama visited Cornell in 1991, one of the highlights of his trip was meeting with internationally renowned Cornell astronomer Carl Sagan. The Dalai Lama himself has been a lifelong student of science, insisting that religion and science need not be at odds, as is increasingly the case. Sagan too was known for his desire to open avenues of communication between the scientific and religious communities. The meeting of these two brilliant minds, whose insistence on the fundamental priority of humanity over either science or religion, resulted in a further meeting in New Delhi, where the Dalai Lama cleared his calendar to meet with Sagan and Druyan. (Sept. 28 event was co-sponsored by The Cornell Store and Cornell United Religious Works)

The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama ,
by Thomas Laird

Journalist Thomas Laird visited The Cornell Store for a second time on Oct. 2 to discuss the fundamental issues of the Sino-Tibetan conflict.  Laird gained unprecedented access to the Dalai Lama to compile this unique understanding of the conflict from its most significant participant. 

Tibetan Cooking: Recipes for Daily Living, Celebration, and Ceremony,
by Elizabeth Kelly 

The first cook at Woodstock’s Dharma Chakra Triyana, Elizabeth Kelly offers easy-to-follow recipes using ingredients readily available locally. Included are serving suggestions, meal planning, traditional foods, and numerous vegetarian dishes: everything needed to make a complete Tibetan dinner or just to try something different.  (Oct. 4 event)

Buddhist Philosophy: Tenets and Advice,
by Craig Preston, Founder, Nagarjuna Language Institute 

Popular local teacher and translator Craig Preston brings an impassioned immediacy to the Tibetan genre of tenets, those philosophical points which are held to be true for a given meditator.  But are those tenets final truths or merely provisional steps along the path to greater and greater insight?  Tibetans inherited this complex issue and debated it for centuries – to the present day. (Oct. 16 lecture at The Cornell Store)

Several books about Tibetan Buddhism and a lecture entitled "Tibetan Buddhism: Female Buddhas, Flying Mystics, and Other Esoteric Topics"
by Glenn Mullin independent scholar  

World famous Tibetologist, art curator, translator, and Dalai Lama expert Glenn Mullin joins us for an exciting look into the esoteric aspects of Tibetan Buddhist culture he has chronicled for three decades.  Drawing on vast experience with the great teachers of the tradition, Mullin elucidates the farthest reaches of human experience with flying mystics and the deepest potentials with female buddhas.  (Nov. 9 event)

The Dalai Lama: A Policy of Kindness
by Sidney Piburn, Founder of Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies, Ithaca, NY and Snow Lion Publications  

Sidney Piburn, long-time friend of the Dalai Lama and the principle organizer of the historic 1991 visit to Cornell looks back on these two visits. Considering the Dalai Lama’s continuing concerns, such as social justice and compassion, as well as seemingly recent interests, such as the role of science in society, Piburn discusses the consistent vision that the Dalai Lama elaborates as he travels the globe. (Nov. 15 event)

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