Of the dozens of books that I have read on Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism in particular, this book touched me personally in a way that few others can match. While the book does display Professor Klein's impressive scholarship and mastery of Geluk and Nyingma material as well as feminist theory, this is not a work for intellectuals, but rather for those who embrace the challenge of using the Buddhist path to open their hearts with courage and strength to others. In a highly personal narrative, this book gracefully brings Buddhist practice into dialogue with feminist theory in the belief that each may illuminate the other. As a Buddhist, I was grateful for the reflections on how Buddhism must be acculturated to uniquely western concerns regarding identity and autonomy. I also very much welcomed the exploration of which issues Buddhism does and does not address. As a feminist, I was delighted to explore strategies for helping western women regain a sense of wholeness and a compassionate identity without sacrificing strength or autonomy. I would highly reccommend this book for anyone, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, who is looking for a way to accomplish these things in themselves or who wishes to help bring them out in others.

Path to the Middle is a presentation of the teachings of a great Tibetan scholar and monk, Kensur Yeshe Tubden. Formerly abbot of the Drepung Loseling monastery, Kensur-la displays amazing erudition in his explication of the most complicated philosophical topics in Tibetan Buddhism. His wisdom is clearly marked with a penetrating feeling of compassion, and this is mirrored by the gentle and moving account of his life Professor Klein provides in her introduction.

This book is ostensibly a commentary on a few stanzas from the Perfection of Wisdom chapter from Je-Dzong-ka-ba's commentary of Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara. The book does not limit itself to the specific passages under analysis, however, but instead ranges freely and gracefully through numerous difficult questions that arise when closely analyzing the Prasangika-Madhyamika interpretation of emptiness.

Kensur Yeshe Tubden's analysis is unique among Western works on emptiness in at least two counts. Firstly, this is a close and careful analysis of this material at an extremely high level. For those who have already looked into the basics of Prasangika-Madhyamaka, this book will raise many questions about the real meaning of numerous stock phrases, like dependent-arising and valid cognition. Most valuable to me was a rare, in-depth discussion attempting to pin down what is meant by nominal designation or valid imputation.

The second unique point about this book is that Kensur-la is willing to freely discuss points of doctrinal contradiction and conflict and to report different positions that have been held be different scholars. He is also willing to frankly state his own opinions, and admit when he feels his understanding is not clear. Many presentations of Madhyamaka give the impression that its interpretation in Tibet is monolithic and unproblematic, but this book clearly shows this is not the case. It is an exciting foray in into the jungle of reasoning and argument that brings these ideas to life.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Anne Klein who, as editor, clearly spent hundreds of hours sifting through material in order to make this book what it is, a precious, unique, fluid narrative revealing the dazzling inner life of one of the great Tibetan teachers of this century.