Point of View

As a reference book, the novel is written in a first person perspective, with several references to third person narratives. Sogyal Rinpoche, the author, is a well-spoken, reliable, and insightful Tibetan Buddhist master, and thus, has the ability to effectively explain concepts and themes inherent to the novel's lectures. This first-person viewpoint is necessary for the success of the novel, in that the teachings presented are those of Tibetan Buddhism, of which Sogyal is fluent. Further, since the concepts presented are vast in content and difficult to comprehend, a single, first person viewpoint is necessary to remain consistent throughout the novel. Further, Sogyal's own personal experiences with Buddhism are presented with clarity and are convincing, because they are presented through the first person viewpoint. His addition of third person accounts of Buddhist tradition, legend, and teachings, however, adds a necessary level of real life examples to...