DAVID-NÉEL, Alexandra, & Lama Yongden.

£5,250 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Le Lama aux cinq sagesses (Mipam: The Lama of the Five Wisdoms). First edition, first printing, presentation copy, inscribed on the half-title: "A Monsieur Henry Bénazet avec mes compliments, Alexandra David-Néel" and additionally in Tibetan by Lama A. Yongden. While relatively well-represented institutionally, inscribed copies are notably scarce; an exceptionally well-preserved example of the first novel written for Western readers by a Tibetan lama.The French-Belgian explorer Alexandra David-Néel (1868-1969) travelled extensively in India and Tibet in the first half of the 20th century in order to study Buddhism. Her interest in travel was nurtured from a young age, and while studying in Paris in 1889-90 she immersed herself in Asian languages and joined a number of secret and spiritual societies. In 1917, she travelled to China and took up a three-year residence at the famous Kumbum monastery, where she spent her time translating Buddhist texts into English and French. A talented linguist, she became conversant in multiple Tibetan dialects, affording her access to fascinating experiences unavailable to most other outsiders. Aphur Yongden, also known as Lopon Tenzin Namdak (1899-1955), was a Tibetan lama and spiritual teacher. He first met David-Néel in 1919, and the two quickly formed a close bond. Together they embarked on a journey to Lhasa in 1924, which was fraught with danger and difficulty, as the two had to travel incognito in order to avoid detection by the Tibetan

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