Desideri explores key Buddhist concepts including emptiness and rebirth, together with their philosophical and ethical implications, with startling detail and sophistication. This book also includes an introduction situating the work in the context of Desideri’s life and the intellectual and religious milieu of eighteenth-century Catholicism.

Praise & Reviews “Of all the Roman Catholic missionaries to Asia, the Italian Jesuit Ippolito Desideri (1684-1733) was perhaps the most remarkable. Despite his fervent hope of converting Tibet to the Christian faith, he was in important ways the first Western scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, translating Buddhist texts into Italian and writing scholarly tomes in Tibetan, complete with quotations from Nagarjuna. Mission to Tibet offers the first complete English translation of Desideri's captivating account of his sojourn in Tibet.”—Donald Lopez, Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Michigan “As this accomplished translation by Michael J. Sweet, edited by Leonard Zwilling, demonstrates, Desideri was more than merely a determined and subtle opponent of a religion not his own; he was also a perceptive scholar of Tibetan doctrine, an amazing linguist, and a fascinating travel writer. Sweet has captured his essence in this commanding work. Everyone with an interest in Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism, world history, and world religion will enjoy this wonder-filled account of Desideri's pioneering adventure, intimately detailed from Rome to Lhasa and back.”—Jeffrey Hopkins, author of Meditation on Emptiness “Mission to Tibet is the most important work to appear in the field of Desideri studies since Luciano Petech's critical edition of the Jesuit's writings over fifty years ago. That Mission to Tibet provides a rip-roaring adventure, political intrigue, and a window onto a long-lost Tibet only adds to the pleasure of reading this new translation.”-Trent Pomplun, Department of Theology, Loyola University Maryland, and author of Jesuit on the Roof of the World “Sweet's and Zwilling's thorough historical work and beautiful translation make this book an instant classic and essential resource for anyone interested in the history of intercultural learning, comparative theology, and missiology.”—John Makransky, Associate Professor of Buddhism and Comparative Theology, Boston College “Nearly half a century ago, the linguist Roy Andrew Miller lamented the lack of an English edition capable of conveying the true value of Desideri's precise and informative contributions on central aspects of Tibetan life. Today, at last, the English-speaking world finally has access to Desideri's monumental work.”—Enzo Gualtiero Bargiacchi, Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente, author of Ippolito Desderi S.J. Opere e Bibliografia

Michael J. Sweet, Translator Michael Sweet received a B.A. in Asian studies from City College of New York in 1969 and studied Buddhism with Geshe Wangyal from 1967 to 1978. After earning an M.A. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1973 and doing research in Sri Lanka (under a Fulbright-Hays grant) and Nepal between 1973 and 1975, he received a Ph.D. in Buddhist studies from UW–Madison in 1977 under the direction of Geshe Lhundub Sopa, with a thesis on the Madhyamaka. During 1977 and 1978 he taught and did research at the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. He later received a Ph.D. in psychology from UW–Madison and from 1980 to 2004 was a psychotherapist in public and private practice and a sometime lecturer at UW–Madison, where he is a clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry. He has written extensively on Buddhist studies, including Peacock in the Poison Grove (Wisdom, 2001) with Geshe Sopa and Leonard Zwilling. Since 2001 his work has focused on Ippolito Desideri and the Catholic Tibet missions; in 2005 he was a visiting scholar at the American Academy in Rome, and he has published on this subject in various scholarly journals. Leonard Zwilling, Editor Leonard Zwilling studied with Geshe Wangyal from 1967 to 1978 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a B.A. in 1970, going on to receive an M.A. in Hindu studies (1972) and a Ph.D. in Buddhist studies (1976) also at UW– Madison. His dissertation, on apoha in Buddhist logic, was directed by Geshe Lhundub Sopa. He did predoctoral research in Sri Lanka (1973–74) and Nepal (1974–75) under Ford Foundation and Fulbright-Hays scholarships. From 1977 to 1983 Dr. Zwilling taught Asian religions, Sanskrit, and Tibetan at UW–Madison and elsewhere. He received an M.L.S from UW–Madison in 1985 and from 1986 to 2009 was the general editor and bibliographer of the Dictionary of American Regional English in the department of English at UW–Madison, where he is presently senior scientist emeritus. Dr. Zwilling has published in a number of fields, and since 2005 his work has centered on Desideri and missions in Tibet.