Shangri-La: Buddhist Dreamscapes in the Western Imagination
January 9, 2025 at 9:00 am - 11:00 am MST
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In the late 19th century, two priests journeyed into the mountains of Tibet discovering a monastic community previously unknown to the Western world. Their travelogues inspired Shangri-La, the Buddhist paradise in James Hilton’s 1937 novel Lost Horizon, as well as Aldous Huxley’s Island, and the work of Alan Watts.
For the first time, Buddhist philosophies entered the Western consciousness, ushering in new dreamscapes of paradise. How did the Western imagination become so captivated by Eastern ideals? What is it about Buddhist thought that felt and feels so utopian? What parts of that world did we want in ours? And do we want as part of our future?
Let’s read James Hilton’s Lost Horizon and study Shangri-La and Buddhist dreamscapes in the Western imagination.
Come prepared to discuss:
- James Hilton’s Lost Horizon
- Aldous Huxley’s Island (optional)
- Tao Yuanming’s Peach Blossom Spring (optional)
- Martin Brauen’s Dreamworld Tibet (optional)
- Huc & Gabet’s Travels in Tartary Thibet and China 1844-1846 (optional)
