{"product_id":"the-madmans-middle-way-reflections-on-reality-of-the-tibetan-monk-gendun-chopel-9780226493176","title":"The Madman's Middle Way: Reflections on Reality of the Tibetan Monk Gendun Chopel","description":"Gendun Chopel is considered the most important Tibetan intellectual of the twentieth century. His life spanned the two defining moments in modern Tibetan history: the entry into Lhasa by British troops in 1904 and by Chinese troops in 1951. Recognized as an incarnate lama while he was a child, Gendun Chopel excelled in the traditional monastic curriculum and went on to become expert in fields as diverse as philosophy, history, linguistics, geography, and tantric Buddhism. Near the end of his life, before he was persecuted and imprisoned by the government of the young Dalai Lama, he would dictate the \u003ci\u003eAdornment for Nagarjuna's Thought\u003c\/i\u003e, a work on Madhyamaka, or \"Middle Way,\" philosophy. It sparked controversy immediately upon its publication and continues to do so today.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Madman's Middle Way\u003c\/i\u003e presents the first English translation of this major Tibetan Buddhist work, accompanied by an essay on Gendun Chopel's life liberally interspersed with passages from his writings. Donald S. Lopez Jr. also provides a commentary that sheds light on the doctrinal context of the \u003ci\u003eAdornment\u003c\/i\u003e and summarizes its key arguments. Ultimately, Lopez examines the long-standing debate over whether Gendun Chopel in fact is the author of the \u003ci\u003eAdornment\u003c\/i\u003e; the heated critical response to the work by Tibetan monks of the Dalai Lama's sect; and what the \u003ci\u003eAdornment\u003c\/i\u003e tells us about Tibetan Buddhism's encounter with modernity. The result is an insightful glimpse into a provocative and enigmatic workthatwill be of great interest to anyone seriously interested in Buddhism or Asian religions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDonald S. Lopez Jr.\u003c\/b\u003e is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan. His books include \u003ci\u003eCurators of the Buddha: The Study of Buddhism under Colonialism\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003ePrisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West;\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCritical Terms for the Study of Buddhism\u003c\/i\u003e, all published by the University of Chicago Press.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Chicago Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50318490403090,"sku":"9780226493176","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_caa8caed-7843-45eb-b954-ba6fcb3e6a27.jpg?v=1727556133","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-madmans-middle-way-reflections-on-reality-of-the-tibetan-monk-gendun-chopel-9780226493176","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}