Tibetan Buddhism is the most widely encountered and generally known Buddhist tradition in the world. From meditation classes to garden statues, from music and film to the popularity of the Dalai Lama, Introducing Tibetan Buddhism is the ideal starting point for students wishing to undertake a comprehensive study of the fascinating Tibetan Buddhist and Tibetan Bon religions. This lively introduction covers the whole spectrum of Tibetan religious history, from early Tibetan figures, and the development of the old and new schools of Buddhism, to the spread and influence of Tibetan Buddhism throughout the world.

Introducing Tibetan Buddhism, Geoffrey Samuel, Routledge, Paperback, 280 pages, $39.95

Geoffrey Brian Samuel was educated at Leeds Grammar School and University College, Oxford, graduating with a bachelor's degree in physics in 1967.[1] Moving to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, he took Part III of the Mathematical Tripos (theoretical physics) in 1968, switching to gain a certificate in Social Anthropology in 1969.[1] He carried out ethnographic fieldwork in India and Nepal in 1971-2, and completed his PhD on Tibetan religion and society at Cambridge in 1975.[1] He then gained a Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Science at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, in 1985.[1] He has carried out fieldwork in India, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, and other Asian countries, studying religion and health practices.[1] He became a Professorial Fellow at the University of Cardiff in 2007, and then a full professor, a post he held until his retirement in 2014. He then moved to Australia, where he researches and supervises postgraduates.[1]