Yet successful national elections have been held, independent newspapers abound, and a fresh climate of open debate has developed. While the economic aspirations of the 1990 and 2008 revolutions remain largely unfulfilled, they nonetheless transformed a tradition-bound society. However the situation plays out, Nepalis are now responsible for their own future.
Still, as much as I love Nepal, it’s hard to visit the once charming Valley without thinking about what might have been. Modern Kathmandu appears to be the product of 50 years of bad choices, one on the heels of another. The situation has reached a point where the brilliant journalist Barbara Adams (long a Kathmandu resident, now an honorary Nepali citizen) believes the country requires a third revolution: one of ethics and morality, to turn back the tide of self-interest destroying this once mythic setting. I fully agree. Such a revolution would not necessarily be directed against the nation’s leaders; it would also be a collective soul-searching, and an honest investigation of how Nepalis—as a nation—wish to advance, together, into the future. Because the current framework cannot hold. Nepal risks losing everything—even its character—which would be a terrible tragedy.
Because, despite its turmoil, the country at the foot of the Himalaya remains the most fascinating place I have ever been. I hope this book has conveyed a small portion of the magic. Many of the places described in these pages—Boudha, Swayambhu, Asan Tole and the back streets of Patan—are as wonderful and exotic as ever. Even in the midst of urban blight and decay, the Nepalis have maintained a sense of humor, and show great kindness toward visitors. Not only that, their unmatched lunar calendar of festivals offers some of the most colorful and profound storytelling in all of global culture.
Twenty-five years after the first publication of Shopping for Buddhas, my hope is the same as it was late last century: that the people of Nepal and the Kathmandu Valley throw off the yoke of corruption, and find the wise and compassionate leadership and path they deserve. I continue to believe that Shangri-la is not some lost Himalayan paradise, but a vision of the best possible future.
JEFF GREENWALD
Oakland, California
Acknowledgments
I owe a debt of gratitude to the many exceptional friends, supporters and spiritual guides who helped to bring Shopping for Buddhas to life—first as a performed monologue, and ultimately as this 25th Anniversary Edition.
First, of course, I wish to greet those who actually participated in these various and sundry excursions, adventures and shopping sprees. Rick Gaynor and Nancy Lindborg were my great friends and traveling companions in Nepal and Tibet. Karen Nuñez, intrepid traveler, joined me as sweet Shakti and smart shopper extraordinaire. Ray Rodney offered me the hospitality of his lovely Snake Lake compound, where I conceived and completed this book. He has also contributed his considerable wisdom to subsequent editions.
I extend a cup of hot rakshi to toast Elliot Marseille, who helped launch the SEVA Foundation’s marvelous eye-care program in Nepal; to the late Ani Marilyn (aka Marilyn Silverstone), for the gift of her humor, wisdom and generosity; and to Lalji, whose keen insight and droll wit have kept me gratefully off balance for a good 35 years.
Thanks also to Jim Goodman and Mukunda Aryal, and to Padam Thakurathi, a journalist whose personal courage and commitment to his homeland added profoundly to this book. Grateful acknowledgment to Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai for permission to reprint sections of The Teaching of Buddha. I also express my gratitude to the Rising Nepal, and to the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu for helping me get a handle on the (now much improved) human rights situation in Nepal.
Numerous other friends and artists have aided and inspired me in various phases of the writing. I especially want to thank World Media Warrior Rob Brezsny, John O’Keefe, the late Richard Kohn, Wes “Scoop” Nisker, Nonnie Welch, Linda Watanabe-McFerrin, Karen West and Elaine Petrocelli of Book Passage, Carroll Dunham, Thomas Kelly, Frances Howland, Chrissie Gregory, Dwayne Newton, Angel Johnson, John Miller, Jen Schwerin, Diane Summers, Kerry Moran, Diane Siegal, Louis B. Jones, Sheila Davies and Roxy Lippel.
Shopping for Buddhas was originally conceived, in shorter form, as a staged monologue. It was the first time I had ever attempted such a thing, and my immediate discovery was that theater work is far more complicated than one might think. I could not have pulled it off alone.
My allies included Shelly Ruston at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Roberto Bedoya at (the now-defunct) Intersection for the Arts, Tim Hansen and Arnie Passman of the Julia Morgan Theater, Aislinn Scofield at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and the marvelous Nina Wise—still an inspiration. When opening night sold out, it was due in large part to the support and friendship of Donald W. George, travel editor extraordinary.
Finally, I wish to thank the people responsible for Shopping for Buddhas’ life as a book. Aram Amadeus Gerstein was the one who convinced me to write it all down in the first place. “What I owe you” (as Alec Guinness tells Peter O’Toole at the end of Lawrence of Arabia) “is beyond evaluation.”
Shoshana Alexander put the publishing process in motion by recommending the monologue to her friends at Harper & Row. Alexandra Pitcher, mystical twin, edited the first draft. Hillary Vartanian and Mark Salzwedel, my editors at Harper, offered excellent comments on the revised manuscript.
The legendary Tony and Maureen Wheeler republished Shopping for Buddhas in a Lonely Planet edition in 1996, where it had a wonderful home until LP discontinued their fine line of travel narratives. Now Larry Habegger and James O’Reilly, the much-admired creative team behind the Travelers Tales series, are breathing new life into the tale.
To those people, and many others who remain unmentioned, I offer my gratitude. But my ultimate expression of appreciation goes to the people of Nepal, whose warmth, hospitality and profound spirituality have had such a vast and unexpected influence on this particular lifetime. Please accept my humble, heartfelt and inexpressibly grateful namaste.
About the Author
Oakland-based Jeff Greenwald is the author of six best-selling travel books, including The Size of the World (for which he created the first international blog), Scratching the Surface and Snake Lake, set in Nepal during the 1990 democracy revolution. His stories and essays have appeared in many print and online publications—including Smithsonian, The New York Times Magazine, Wired, Tricycle, National Geographic Adventure, Outside and Salon. Jeff also serves as Executive Director of EthicalTraveler.org, a global alliance of travelers dedicated to human rights and environmental protection. His improvised solo show, Strange Travel Suggestions, premiered at The Marsh in San Francisco in 2003 and continues to draw critical acclaim.
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