Journeys of Transformation
Searching for No-Self in Western Buddhist Travel Narratives

Compelling exploration of how journeys to a Buddhist culture changed 30 Western writers as they explored the meaning of 'no-self'.

John D. Barbour (Author)

9781009098830, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 31 March 2022

342 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.65 kg

'… a lustrous analysis of spiritual journeys that transformed individual lives and provided new perspectives on Buddhist enlightenment.' Alisha Saikia, Religious Studies Review

Western Buddhist travel narratives are autobiographical accounts of a journey to a Buddhist culture. Dozens of such narratives have since the 1970s describe treks in Tibet, periods of residence in a Zen monastery, pilgrimages to Buddhist sites and teachers, and other Asian odysseys. The best known of these works is Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard; further reflections emerge from thirty writers including John Blofeld, Jan Van de Wetering, Thomas Merton, Oliver Statler, Robert Thurman, Gretel Ehrlich, and Bill Porter. The Buddhist concept of 'no-self' helps these authors interpret certain pivotal experiences of 'unselfing' and is also a catalyst that provokes and enables such events. The writers' spiritual memoirs describe how their journeys brought about a new understanding of Buddhist enlightenment and so transformed their lives. Showing how travel can elicit self-transformation, this book is a compelling exploration of the journeys and religious changes of both individuals and Buddhism itself.

Introduction: A literary genre and some questions about self-transformation
1. The origins of the genre: John Blofeld and Lama Govinda
2. Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard and Nine-Headed Dragon River
3. In a Zen monastery: Ambiguous failure and enlightenment
4. Thomas Merton and Christian and Jewish pilgrims in Buddhist Asia
5. Walking the Dharma on Shikoku and in India
6. Trekking and tracking the self in Tibet
7. Life-changing travels in the Tibetan diaspora
8. Encounters with Theravada Buddhism
9. Searching for Buddhism after Mao
Conclusion: Theories of no-self, stories about unselfing, and transformation.

Subject Areas: Buddhism [HRE], Non-Western philosophy [HPD], Literature: history & criticism [DS]