Running Toward Mystery: The Adventure of an Unconventional Life

Priyadarshi, president and CEO of the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT, explores his lifelong pull toward spirituality in his remarkable debut. Priyadarshi does not offer spiritual teachings or meditation instructions, but instead opens up his life as a living example of what it means to engage in “aesthetics of relationship.” At the age of six, he first had visions of monks meditating on a mountain. At 10, he ran away from home and found the place of his vision—a monastery in Rajgir, India—and began training as a monk. Later, he attended universities in Varanasi, India, where he studied under Samdhong Rinpoche, who introduced him to Tibetan Buddhism as well as Tibetan “diaspora and politics,” which became an interest of his and helped to fuel his work with conflict resolution and international peace efforts. By recounting the deep relationships he cultivated with “virtuous friends” across religious, social, and geographic boundaries, he reveals the motivation, discipline, and sense of purpose required for spiritual development and courageous “interconnectedness.” While the lack of explicit teachings or instructions may be a turn off for some readers, this is nonetheless a deeply moving account of a life dedicated to friendships formed through a common interest in spirituality. (Mar.)