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Tibetan Buddhism In Northern California, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

When the Dalai Lama was forced to flee Tibet before a Chinese invasion force in the 1950’s, Tibet became an icon in the eyes of the West as an underdog; albeit an incredibly spiritual and exotic one. Due to a dwindling of the religious followers and resources within the community of Tibet in exile, Tibetan Buddhists ventured out from their self-imposed isolation to spread the teachings to any who would listen, (Coleman, 2001, 72). Buddhism, already a source of fascination in America due to the Beat poets and Zen Buddhism, became a craze between the years 1960-1997, (ibid, 103). California …