What) In November 1956, a book called The Third Eye was published in the United Kingdom. It was written by a man named Tuesday Lobsang Rampa and purported to relate his experiences while growing up in a monastery in Tibet after being sent there at the age of seven. The title of the book is derived from an operation, similar to trepanation, that Rampa claimed he had, in which a small hole was drilled into his forehead to arouse the third eye and allow stronger powers of clairvoyance.

    The manuscript of The Third Eye had been turned down by several leading British publishers before being accepted by Secker and Warburg for an advance of £800. Prior to the book's publication, Fredric Warburg sent the manuscript of the unpublished book to a number of scholars, several of whom expressed doubts about its authenticity. Nevertheless, the book was published in November 1956 and soon became a global bestseller. The Times Literary Supplement said of the book: "It comes near to being a work of art."

    Explorer and Tibetologist Heinrich Harrer was unconvinced about the book's origins and hired a private detective from Liverpool named Clifford Burgess to investigate Rampa. The findings of Burgess' investigation were published in the Daily Mail in February 1958. It was reported that the author of the book was a man named Cyril Henry Hoskin, who had been born in Plympton, Devon in 1910 and was the son of a plumber. Hoskin had never been to Tibet and spoke no Tibetan. In 1948, he had legally changed his name to Carl Kuon Suo before adopting the name Lobsang Rampa.

    Rampa was tracked by the British press to Howth, Ireland and confronted with these allegations. He did not deny that he had been born as Cyril Hoskin, but claimed that his body was now occupied by the spirit of Lobsang Rampa. According to the account given in his third book, The Rampa Story, he had fallen out of a fir tree in his garden in Thames Ditton, Surrey while attempting to photograph an owl. He was concussed and on regaining his senses had seen a Buddhist monk in saffron robes walking towards him. The monk spoke to him about Rampa taking over his body and Hoskin agreed, saying that he was dissatisfied with his current life. When Rampa's original body became too worn out to continue, he took over Hoskin's body in a process of transmigration of the soul.  Rampa maintained for the rest of his life that The Third Eye was a true story. (1)

    Why) I was on my way back to the motel carrying a small backpack already loaded with purchases from The Bookshop when I happened by one of those little signs advertising a garage sale.  I decided to wander in and ended up purchasing 4 related paperback novels by Tuesday Lobsang Rampa.  I did not read the What section above until after I had read the first book.

I enjoyed reading the sequel as well.

I haven't read this one yet.

Or this one either but I think I will start it first.

    What #2) In 2015 I once again found myself walking back to my motel from The Bookshop when I saw the same garage sale sign that I had seen five years earlier. I went in again and found myself buying four more books.

This one is the usual sort of Science Fiction that I like to buy but the next three are a bit out of character for me.

I bought this one because I liked the cover. You can guess whether I am referring to the back or the front.

I bought this one because I am always trying to further my understanding about what motivates human beings.

I bought this last one because I find the front cover compelling for some reason.