I read a fun book over the holidays. Has anyone else read it and would like to comment? This is David Michie's "The Magician of Lhasa".
Billed as the first ever thriller based on Tibetan Buddhism, its subtitle is "A novice monk. A quantum scientist. An ancient secret.". It certainly lives up to the description. I found it exciting, sometimes scary, and a lot of fun. 
Before publication the publishers asked me to read the book to see whether I would be prepared to comment or provide a recommendation they could use for their publicity. I replied, truthfully, that I was pretty sceptical. I have seen some appalling films that trivialise Buddhism, make ridiculous claims for Buddhist monks, and seem to have no idea what Buddhist practice is really all about. So I was dreading something similar.
Happily my fears were largely unjustified.
The two topics that always cause most trouble are reincarnation and psychic powers. I cannot believe in either of them - at least in their popular forms. However, although both are involved in the story, I thought they were rather cleverly dealt with.
First - reincarnation: I cannot believe in anything like the popular personal kind of reincarnation that so many people seem to believe in and which is commonly attributed to Tibetan Buddhism. That is the idea that something of a person survives the death of their body and goes on to appear in some other human or animal body at a later time. I think this is rubbish both because it makes no scientific sense and because it conflicts with the most fundamental insight of the Buddha which is that the self is not a persistent entity that lives through a lifetime - let alone a persistent entity that can live through lots of lifetimes. Clearly reincarnation has to be understood in some much subtler way. Although the mystery around which the whole clever plot of The Magician of Lhasa revolves does involve someone being reincarnated, there are points in the book where much more subtle teachings are given by the lama. He implies that in the end everyone is really reincarnated as everyone else - we are not separate individuals at all. I got the impression that the writer needed the popular interpretation to make the plot work but was actually understood the teachings at a much deeper level.
Then there's the whole question of psychic powers. The title "Magician" implies psychic powers, and there are occasional events that suggest telepathy or clairvoyance, but these are not overdone and even I - arch-sceptic about the paranormal - was able to enjoy the story.
I wrote back to the publisher with the following comment:
" Fanciful caves, scary adventures, and a creepy plot are all mixed up
with deep truths about human existence and the nature of mind. A terrific
read, even if the reincarnation theme is wildly implausible.
How rare to get an exciting story and be made to think deeply about
the meaning of life as well.
I'm looking forward to the sequel - what is the purpose of the sacred
texts, does he get to Lama Tsering in time, and what about Alice?"
